New information regarding Intel’s upcoming NUC X15 barebones laptops for PC makers has been made public. The new devices will, as predicted, feature Intel’s discrete Arc Alchemist GPUs and Core Alder Lake processors from the 12th generation.
However, it is noteworthy that the NUC X15 will not use any high-end or entry-level components. The devices, nicknamed “Alder County,” were initially mentioned back in January.
According to an excerpt from an Intel document shared on Twitter by leaker @momomo us, the company will provide two basic NUC X15 barebones models based on the same Intel Core i7-12700H processor (six p-cores, eight e-cores, up to 4.70GHz, 24MB cache, 45W TDP), but equipped with either the Arc Alchemist A550M GPU with 16 Xe cores and 8GB of GDDR6 (the LAPAC71G) or the Arc Alchemist A730M with 32 Xe cores and 16GB of GDDR6 (the LAPAC71H) discrete graphics.
Intel NUC X15 barebones machines also feature two M.2 slots for SSDs with a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface, an Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 adapter, a 2.5 GbE port, Thunderbolt 4 connectivity, and an SDXC slot.
The selection of the Core i7-level CPU, together with the mainstream Arc A550M and performance mainstream Arc A730M GPU, is appropriate given that Intel’s NUC laptops are often targeted at various system integrators. Intel probably doesn’t want prices to be excessive because system integrators frequently add faster memory and SSD drives, extra software, and other bells and whistles.
It makes sense to build barebones PCs with the Arc A770M for demanding gamers, as this would enable Intel’s partners to market to enthusiasts. Intel’s tests show that the A770M can compete with the mobile RTX 3060 from Nvidia.
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