Intel NUC 11 Extreme Compute Element gets Tiger Lake-H
Intel NUC 11 Extreme codenamed Driver Bay.
The predecessor to NUC 11 Extreme (NUC 9 Extreme) was equipped with up to ‘Coffee Lake’ Core i9-9980HK. It was also offered with Core i7-9750H and Core i5-9300H. The NUC 11 Extreme is likely to be divided into the same Core series as well. The slide leaked over at Chiphell seems to confirm that NUC 11 Compute Elemenet codenamed “Driver Bay” will be split into three CPU tiers: Core i9, Core i7, and Core i5, all based on yet unreleased the 11th Gen H-series.
This unique-looking computer on a graphics card-sized PCB is meant for extremely small cases. Intel has been shipping NUC 9 EX CE in a mini-ITX case, which had two main components: the Compute Element and discrete GPU, both connected to a small board connecting both components.
According to the leaked slide, the NUC 11 Extreme will feature up to DDR4-3200 memory support, a visible upgrade over DDR4-2666 in NUC 9. Another important upgrade that also comes with Tiger Lake-H CPU is the PCI Gen4 support. This for the first time Intel enables fast storage options on such a small device.
If for some reason the device would be used without a discrete GPU, then three displays can be attached to the device. The device offers HDMI 2.0b connector (an upgrade over HDMI 2.0a on NUC 9) and two Thunderbolt 4 connectors, also being an upgrade.
Intel NUC 11 Extreme “Driver Bay”, Source: Chiphell
Size-wise Driver Bay NUC 11 Extreme is not bigger than its predecessor. The device has the power connector located in the same position and the cooling solution appears to be the same size. The fan, however, has been moved and slightly increased in diameter, a quick side-by-side comparison shows.
Intel NUC 9 Extreme Compute Element vs NUC 11, Source: VideoCardz
The NUC Compute Element has not really seen adoption outside of Intel’s Ghost Canyon Mini-ITX case. However, it has been used for KFC Console. So far KFC has not released its first Intel-based gaming console so one would think that NUC 11 Extreme will be a better choice.
KFC Console with Intel NUC 9 Extreme Compute Element, Source: VideoCardz
