After revealing images of the new Intel NUC 12 Enthusiast codenamed “Dragon Canyon” last week, we finally got a look at its full specs this week. 12700H standard-voltage mobile processor + Arc A770M (16GB GDDR6) solo graphics. The mid-range is the i7-12700H + Arc A730M with 12GB of discrete graphics, while the entry model is the i5-12500H + Arc A550M with 8GB of discrete graphics.
While Intel also offers the NUC 12 Extreme based on Alder Lake desktop processors + full-length discrete graphics, the “Dragon Canyon” is a much smaller form factor.
The i7-12700H mobile CPU features a hybrid 6P+8E (14C / 20T) architecture with 24MB of cache, up to 4.7 GHz, and a base TDP of 45W, but MTP power consumption of 115W.
The i5-12500H is a 4P+8E (12C/16T) design with 18MB of cache, up to 4.5 GHz, and a base TDP of 45W / MTP of 95W.
Both processors are primarily aimed at the notebook market, but are also a good choice for compact NUC hosts.
The GPU, the Arc A770M, features an ACM-G10 core with 4096 ALUs / 32 Xe cores / 32 optical chasing units, paired with 16GB of GDDR6 memory. the GPU is clocked at 1650 MHz and has a TDP between 120-150W.
Intel hopes to replace the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 graphics used in previous SFF NUC designs with the Arc A770M, so it will be positioned on par with the mainstream desktop lineup, as well as the A730M 12GB / A550M 8GB single-monitor SKU.
For storage, the NUC 12 Enthusiast Flying Dragon Canyon model offers dual SO-DIMM memory slots, support for up to 64GB @ DDR4-3200 memory, as well as dual M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4 and one PCIe 3.0 M.2 SSD slot.
For networking, it features an AX1690 Ethernet controller with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, and for I/O ports, you’ll find an SDXC (UHS-II) card reader, dual Thunderbolt 4 (5V/9V charging support), and a 3.5 mm audio jack.
