ENTERTAINMENT EXCELLENCE?

ALL YOU NEED FOR A CAPABLE HOME THEATER

AS MUCH as we all enjoy the journey, the end product is where we can start to get properly excited and dig deep into the build. Granted, this was a slightly different approach to our typical builds as we were taking a look at Intel’s new NUC 12 Extreme kit, codenamed the ‘Dragon Canyon’.

Usually, when working on smaller builds this means an abundance of head-scratching, tight spaces, and not a lot of clearance. Although the latter point is valid in this build, and we did have a bit of head-scratching when it came to opening up the case, the rest of the build went pretty smoothly.

The Intel NUC’s interior space has been designed incredibly efficiently to house a range of high-performance components in such a small form factor, making it ideal for our intended outcome. It can be hidden behind your TV, in a cabinet, or on a shelf paired with a mini-projector, such as the XGIMI’s Halo+ (see panel).

This system goes against the grain by being able to compete against other systems double, and in some cases, almost triple its size.

Visually it’s not the most striking device and its LED skull logo on the front of the case may not be to everyone’s taste, although this can be disabled in Intel’s software. The case also features an underglow, favored by car enthusiasts of years gone by. If you’re familiar with the Fast and Furious franchise, you may mistake this for a Toyota Supra at first glance. This LED light gives a nice even glow, however, we turned it off in our system as we wanted our room to be as dark as possible when using the projector.

So physical aspects ticked, how does this perform? On paper, it should certainly be more than good enough for a media center, while also doubling up as a casual gaming system through the projector. Of course, if you hook this up to a decent monitor with a high refresh rate, you’ll be able to game at a more competitive level. As impressive as the XGIMI Halo+ is, we don’t necessarily recommend going into a paid CSGO tournament on your sofa.

Anyway, it turns out that this machine performs just as well as we hoped. For its size, we were impressed with the PC’s thermals and the lack of noise from the case. The i9-12900 worked in harmony with the RTX 3050 OC from Gigabyte and playing titles such as GTAV, TheWitcher3, Forza Horizon5, and even the occasional game of Cyberpunk2077 was a great experience on the big screen.

The setup breezed through our benchmarking results, meaning it’s not just a capable PC for everyday use, but also a solid gaming device. We were easily achieving over 60fps on 1080p with the settings cranked to the right. Although it’s being played through a 60Hz display, it still felt smooth, and the overall aesthetic of

a projector provided a new way to experience these familiar titles.

For media consumption, it was a dream, as we paired the NUC 12 Extreme to a wireless mini keyboard with a trackpad, meaning that we didn’t even have to get up and leave the couch. Of course, the endless amount of on-demand services available online means that you’re likely to have a huge catalog at your fingertips. With 2TB of fast storage, it’s also an ideal PC to store all your favorite films. Again, the home-theater aesthetic ticks all the right boxes, and what better way to experience this than with a powerful and discrete mini-PC?

It’s also a portable system, as is the projector, so as long as you have power, you can take this on the road with you and have some entertainment ready wherever you are. On the flip side, if you fancy having a lazy day on the sofa doing nothing, this setup will also be your best companion.