Despite people the world over proclaiming the death of the PC many times over the past decade, there are still many of us that soldier away with our giant desktops defying the trend and seemingly changing very little, despite the hardware getting more and more powerful. But of course you don’t need that sort of PC these days to have strong performance and basic functionality.
Sure there are mATX and mini-ITX builds, but if you want to go really small and still pack a punch, micro PCs like Intel’s NUC range are pretty versatile. The latest of them, known as the Grass Canyon, even come packing Windows 10.
Internally the Grass Canyon NUC has a Pentium N3700 Braswell CPU. That processor is twinned with 2GB of RAM (with a maximum of 8GB) and a full 32GB of eMMC storage, despite the fact that the entire system measures just a few inches from corner to corner.
That sizing could be even smaller, but Intel has left enough room for users to attach an internal 2.5 inch HDD or SSD for those that want a little more storage space.
Related: What the NUC? Here’s how to outfit Intel’s miniature PC
Of course you can always connect some more storage to the little NUC too, as it comes with four full USB 3.0 ports, as well as a gigabit ethernet connection for high-speed networking. Other connections include a VGA, HDMI and headset port. There’s a TOSLINK connector on the back for those who want full 5.1 surround sound compatibility.
Perhaps the best aspect of the whole system — for those unsure about buying such a mini machine — is that it also comes with a three-year warranty, so if something goes wrong you’re covered.
Although one of the selling points of this little device is that it comes with Windows 10, Intel has confirmed that it also supports other operating systems, including Windows 8, and Linux distros like Mint, Fedora, and Google’s Android.
