Small form-factor desktop computer company Simply NUC has introduces two new computers that look nearly identical on the outside, but which feature different hardware on the inside.
The Simply NUC Topaz is a mini PC with an Intel Tiger Lake processor, Intel Xe graphics, and a starting price of $559, while the Simply NUC Ruby is available with AMD Ryzen 4000U processor options for $519 and up.
Those starting prices will get you a computer with 4GB of RAM, a 128GB solid state drive, and either no operating system or Ubuntu Linux. You can pay extra for up to 64GB of memory, up to 10TB of storage, and/or Windows 10.
Both the Intel and AMD-powered models feature two USB Type-C ports, four USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, HDMI 2.0a, dual Ethernet ports (2.5 Gbps and 1 Gbps), and Intel AX200 wireless cards with support for WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0.
The Intel-powered Topaz also has a DisplayPort 1.4 port, while the AMD-powered Ruby has DisplayPort 1.2. I’m also told that while the Topaz has “Thunderbolt capable” ports, the USB-C ports aren’t certified as Thunderbolt 4. Simply NUC will be releasing a list of peripherals that have been tested in the future.
The company offers three base configurations of each model:
Simply NUC Topaz (Intel)
- Topaz i3 w/Core i3-1115G4 for $559 and up
- Topaz i5 w/Core i5-1135G7 for $659 and up
- Topaz i7 w/Core i7-1165G7 for $789 and up
Simply NUC Ruby (AMD)
- Ruby R3 w/Ryzen 3 4300U for $519 and up
- Ruby R5 w/Ryzen 5-4500U for $619 and up
- Ruby R8 w/Ryzen 7 4800U for $819 and up
The Simply NUC Ruby is available for purchase and ready to ship this month, while the Topaz is scheduled to ship in January.
The company also plans to offer barebones models without any memory and storage for customers who would prefer to bring their own. Prices will start at $370 for a barebones Ruby/AMD model and $410 for a barebones Topaz/Intel version, but as of December 9, 2020 there doesn’t seem to be an option to configure a barebones system on the Simply NUC website yet.
Interestingly Intel is also expected to introduce a new NUC with Intel Tiger Lake processor options this month, but it seems Simply NUC beat the chip maker to the punch with an announcement… even if the Topaz isn’t going to ship for another month or so.
via Fudzilla
Should’ve called them Ruby and Sapphire.
The USB-C ports don’t look to have a Thunderbolt symbol above them, so I doubt they are TBolt 4
You might be right, but it’s also possible they’re just using the same case photos for both systems right now. Most systems that have Tiger Lake chips so far also seem to have TB4.
Simply NUC tells me they’re “Thunderbolt capable, but not certified.”
My guess is that it is just going to be Thunderbolt 3 support, which is perfectly fine by me. I’m assuming that they are using a 3rd party controller chip to offer this Thunderbolt support, since the AMD chipset doesn’t natively support it. And so far I don’t think there are any 3rd party Thunderbolt 4 controllers released. I could be wrong.
The USB Promoter Group has so far only announced Tiger Lake for upcoming Thunderbolt 4 support.
USB-IF has also said that Thunderbolt 3/4 support is optional on USB 4 devices. They anticipate most PCs will probably support it, and most tablets and smartphones probably won’t.
Nevermind my previous post, I totally misread the line in the article about this. I thought it was saying that the AMD model was getting Thunderbolt too.
I guess we’ll have to wait to see what kind of Thunderbolt support the Intel model is getting.
Thanks. Of course this would come out just after I’d built a HTPC using the Asrock deskmini case!
You made a good choice with the Deskmini, far more storage options