The Simply NUC Topaz line of computers are basically the company’s custom versions of Intel’s NUC lineup. But the company also has a habit of beating Intel to market. For example last year’s Topaz 2 offered customers a chance to pick up a 4.5″ x 4.5″ x 1.9″ mini-PC with a 12th-gen Intel Core processor several months before Intel launched its NUC 12 Pro.
Now Simply NUC is doing it again. The new Topaz 3 is a compact desktop that comes with a choice of 28-watt Intel Core i5-1340P or Core i7-1360P processors at launch.
Prices start at $669 and $819 respectively, and the laptops are expected to ship in April. Simply NUC also plans to offer a lower-cost model with a Core i3-1315U chip in the coming months.
While the company’s press release calls the Topaz 3 the “first widely available 13th gen 4×4 NUC, the similarly-sized ASRock NUCS BOX-1300 has been available since February. But it’s always nice to see a bit more competition in this space.
Simply NUC positions the Topaz 3 as a solution for “home theater to office to digital signage kiosks,” and offers configuration options ranging from 4GB of DDR4 memory and 256GB of PCIe SSD storage to 64GB of dual-channel memory and up to 10TB storage (thanks to two M.2 slots, one with support for PCIe Gen 4 SSDs and the other with support for SATA SSDs only).
Customers can also opt for a custom NUC lid that lets you add USB, Ethernet, audio, video, or serial ports to the computer. Built-in ports include:
- 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (w/DisplayPort 1.4 Alt Mode)
- 4 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A
- 1 x HDMI 2.0b
- 1 x DisplayPort 1.4
- 2 x 2.5 GbE Ethernet (Intel i225-LM)
- 1 x 3.5mm audio
The computer comes with an Intel AX210 wireless card with support for WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 and a 90W power adapter.
Simply NUC offers a 3-year warranty and the company offers pre-install Ubuntu, Windows 10, or Windows 11 for customers… although you’ll have to pay extra for a Windows license if you opt for one of the latter options.
