ASUS NUC 14 Pro Internal Hardware Overview
Pulling the bottom cover away, we get features on that bottom cover. There is a 2.5″ SATA hard drive/ SSD slot since we have the tall chassis. That is the reason for the ribbon cable. We then get a little heatsink assembly for the NVMe SSDs.
Here is the system with the top off.
Here it is flipped into our normal orientation.
The system takes two DDR5-5600 SODIMMs. We can see on the second SODIMM slot the motherboard name NUC14RVB.
We also had a Samsung PM9A1a 512GB NVMe SSD installed. The primary storage here is a M.2 2280 (80mm) SSD.
Here is the motherboard without components installed.
Something quite different here is that we have a soldered Intel AX211 (AX211D2W) on the motherboard. Many mini PCs opt for cards so this is a bit different.
There is a second slot for a M.2 2242 drive. We tried this Fikwot 1TB FX608 SSD. This is a strange little SSD that we have a few of. Sometimes they work in systems, sometimes they do not. Sometimes, different drives of the same model work or do not work in the same system. We purchased these because they were the cheapest we could find.
Still, the blue label means it sticks out in the system, so here is a dual SSD setup. There is still room for a SATA 2.5″ drive as well.
Next, let us get to the performance.
As a owner of sever NUC13, the Intel i226v sucks. I personally went 10Gbps with a TB4 adapter. NUCs deserve two NICs but of higher quality than the infimous Intel Foxville generation.
I understand the appeal of a second NIC, but at least one can easily add a second (and third) 2.5/5/10G port using Thunderbolt.
Oddly you can still buy these from Intel as the “AI PC Development Kit”
Is there a reason that you don’t discuss the expected MSRP of this NUC? It would be really nice to see perf/watt and then perf/watt/$ comparisons for these small devices to get a feel for overall value.
Congrats on the new baby and good luck!
I have a handful of tiny/mini/micro machines in my home lab. The NUCs have always been enticing to me but I am always astounded by the cost compared to similar sized and spec’d systems.
PS – love your reviews and videos.