Intel recently showed off an uber-mini PC board dubbed NUC, or Next Unit of Computing.
The slim NUC platform measures just 10cm by 10cm, or about 4 inches by 4 inches – compared with 6.7″ x 6.7″ for a mini-ITX system.
As Brad Linder of Lilliputing notes, Intel is currently in the process of positioning NUC for digital signage and other simple applications.
Nevertheless, the uber-skinny board can be used to build a capable computer, especially for app development purposes.
NUC specs include:
* Intel Core family processor socket
* 2 RAM SO-DIMM slots
* 2 mini PCIe slots
* HDMI
* USB 3.0
* Thunderbolt
* WiFi
* Bluetooth
Now the good news is that NUC will work with an Intel Core i3 mobile processor and may even be capable of running a higher power chip if power consumption and heat generation stay within reasonable limits. So yes, this board is (fortunately) not Atom limited.
Although there is no official word as to how much Intel’s NUC will sell for, Extreme Tech believes the price tag will far exceed the entry-level $35 Raspberry Pi.
Then again, the higher price point makes perfect sense, as Intel’s NUC supports current-gen x86 processors and can run Windows 7, as well as offer superior performance for Linux-based operating systems like Debian or Fedora.
