Intel is expected to launch its “Panther Canyon” NUC mini PCs with Intel Tiger Lake chips any day now. But while we’re waiting for an official announcement, detailed specs have been leaked by @9550pro. In a nutshell, expect a computer that measures as little as 4.6″ x 4.4″ x 1.5″, but which supports up to a 28 watt Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor, 64GB of RAM, PCIe NVMe storage, and has plenty of ports for peripherals.
The system supports up to four displays
and has enough horsepower to handle 8K content, features WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5
wireless connectivity, and has an IR port on the front for folks that want to
use an infrared remote control. There are also four microphones with support
for beam-forming and far-field voice detection, allowing you to use Cortana,
Alexa, or other voice assistant software.
As usual, Intel will offer “slim” and
“tall” versions of the NUC. The slim version measures 1.5 inches high and has
an M.2 2280 slot for storage, while the tall version is 2 inches high and
supports both an M.2 2280 SSD and a 2.5 inch, 7mm SATA 3 hard drive or SSD.
Intel will also offer an optional wireless
charging top cover that adds an extra 0.2 inches to the height of the computer,
but allows you to charge a phone or other gadgets by placing them atop the
case. The wireless charging lid supports 15 watt fast charging. The official
name for the Panther Canyon NUC is “Intel NUC 11 Performance,” and it will be
available with three different processor options:
- Intel Core i3-1115G4 (2-cores, 4-threads, Intel UHD graphics)
- Intel Core i5-1135G7 (4-cores, 8-threads, Intel Iris Xe graphics)
- Intel Core i7-1165G7 (4-cores, 8-threads, Intel Iris Xe graphics)
While these are the same chips that power
many current-gen laptops, most notebook computer makers configure the chips
with a 15 watt TDP in order to balance power consumption and performance.
Battery life isn’t an issue for these mini-desktop computers, so the 11th-gen
Intel Core “Tiger Lake” processors will have a 28 watt TDP in the Panther
Canyon NUC.
