Intel may be looking at refreshing its Next Unit of Computing, or NUC, in 2019 with updated internals to give its miniature lineup of desktop PCs a performance boost. Intel’s NUCs are a great Windows-based alternative to Apple’s Mac Mini, and both systems come in a compact footprint that doesn’t take up much space on your desk. The new hardware will pack in Intel’s latest 9th-Generation processors, which cram in as many as eight cores.
Intel may offer two separate lines for the NUC lineup next year, sporting either the Coffee Lake-H refresh or the Comet Lake-U processors, according to Wccftech. The Coffee Lake-H refresh will be part of the Ghost Canyon X line, while the Comet Lake-U will fall under the Frost Canyon X line.
The Ghost Canyon X series will top out with an Intel 9th-Generation Core i9 processor, but configurations could also ship with either a Core i7 or or Core i5 processor. It’s believed that these units will ship with Intel’s integrated UHD graphics. The top-of-the-line model currently listed by Wccftech is the NUC9i9QNX Ghost Canyon X, which utilizes Intel’s Coffee Lake-HR Core i9 processor with eight cores and 16 threads. The Core i7 model is said to ship with six cores and 12 threads, while the entry-level Core i5 configuration will come with a processor supporting four cores and eight threads.
The Comet Lake-U processors on the Frost Canyon NUCs will top out with an Intel Core i7 processor, but it’s unclear how many cores will be on that CPU. The top listed model is the NUC9i7FNH Frost Canyon with an Intel Core i7 processor. Other configurations in the Frost Canyon lineup include a quad-core Intel Core i5 processor and a dual-core Intel Core i3 processor.
While these NUCs may ship with Intel’s integrated graphics, Intel is also said to be prepping desktop variants of its 9th-Generation processor family without graphics support. “These include the Core i9-9900KF, Core i7-9700KF, Core i5-9600KF, and Core i5-9400F,” Wccftech reported. “These models have the GPU specified as GT0, which means that the graphics chip is either disabled or not featured on the die.”
If you’re interested in Intel’s compact NUC PCs, be sure to also check out our review of the line.
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