Intel’s NUC 11 mini PCs with Tiger Lake chips leaked (standard and gaming models)

Intel’s NUC 10 series mini computers with 10th-gen Intel “Comet Lake” processors are just starting to hit the streets. But Fanless Tech has the scoop on what’s next — the upcoming NUC 11 will be a compact computer with a 28 watt Intel Tiger Lake-U series processor and Intel Xe integrated graphics, while the NUC 11 Extreme will be a larger model with discrete graphics for gaming and other GPU-intensive tasks.

Both should be available later this year sometime after Intel’s Tiger Lake chips launch.

Like every other Intel NUC computer to date, the new models also have code names — the current-gen Comet Lake models are code named “Frost Canyon.” The upcoming modular version with a removable Intel NUC Compute Element are known as “Ghost Canyon.” And the new mainstream and gaming models will be called:

• Panther Canyon (NUC 11)
• Phantom Canyon (NUC 11 Extreme)

The Phantom Canyon model is a follow-up to Intel’s Hades Canyon and Skull Canyon mini gaming PCs. In addition to some sort of discrete graphics solution, this model has:

• 1 x Mini DisplayPort 1.4
• 1 x HDMI 2.0b
• 2 x DDR4-3200 SODIMM (up to 64GB max)
• PCIe x4 Gen 3 NVMe an, Intel Optane memory M10 and H10 ready
• 2 x Thunderbolt 3
• 6 x USB Type-A
• 2.5 Gbps Ethernet
• SD card reader
• WiFi 6
• Bluetooth 5

Interestingly, while Intel’s Hades Canyon NUC featured a 45 watt Intel Core H-series processor, the new Phantom Canyon model is said to have a 28 watt U-series processor. But it will be available in Core i5 or Core i7 variants, and the use of discrete graphics and next-gen processors should make the new system competitive, at the very least.

The Panther Canyon NUC 11, meanwhile, will have Intel’s new Xe integrated graphics, which are expected to offer twice the performance of the Iris Plus graphics used in Intel’s 10th-gen Ice Lake processors, which, in turn, are up to twice as fast as the company’s previous-gen integrated graphics. Among other things, FanlessTech says that means this system should support 8K video output without the need for a discrete GPU.

For the most part, the specs are similar to those for Phantom Canyon, except that this model has a smaller chassis, lacks the discrete graphics, and has fewer USB ports.

The Panther Canyon NUC will be available with Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 processor options, support for up to 64GB of DDR4-3200 dual-channel memory, and it supports NVMe and Intel Optane Memory M10.