ASUS NUC 16 For Windows 365
ASUS has developed a third and final variant of the NUC 16 family, which they are calling the NUC 16 for Windows 365, and is aimed particularly at cloud computing. This is a NUC configuration they are aiming to be used as a thin client/dumb terminal, which means it offers a bare minimum of local compute.
Specifically, this is a variant of the base NUC 16, but with Intel’s slowest Core Series 3 processor. The Core Series 3 304. The 304 chip is a binned Wildcat Lake part with just 5 CPU cores instead of 6: 1 P core and 4 LPE cores. It also gets half the GPU performance because it only offers a single Xe core in its iGPU. Otherwise, it offers the same I/O connectivity as the rest of the Wildcat Lake chips, keeping it rather heavy on I/O while light on compute. The runt of the NUC 16 family, the thin client version also gets a downgraded networking offering, with just one 2.5Gb Ethernet jack and Wi-Fi 6 + Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity courtesy of Intel’s AX211 adapter.
The system comes with a single 8GB DDR5 DIMM pre-installed, as well as a 128GB SSD, giving it enough to run Windows CPC and a remote desktop client, but little else.
Final Words
With how well Intel’s Panther Lake platform has been received this year, the future bodes well for ASUS’s NUC 16 family. The mobile-only chip family has seemingly struck a very good balance between performance, features, and power consumption, all of which will get carried over to the mobile-based NUC hardware family. Even under the ownership of ASUS, the NUC brand is still synonymous with Intel, so a strong showing from the chipmaker is a major boon for the NUC lineup.
ASUS is already selling the NUC 16 Pro, with the NUC 16 to soon follow. The barebones Core Ultra 7 356H model sells for $699, while complete systems start at $1269.
