The Mini PC No One is Talking About... Intel NUC 12 Pro i3 Review

The Intel NUC 12 Pro features the 10 Core i3-1220P and CPU performance is a lot better than the previous generation. But a price increase and some other downgrades make this one an unimpressive Intel NUC. You could just buy an i5 NUC 11 (non pro) and get overall better performance likely for less dollars since it released in 2021. Or the i5 option is only $100 more in Aus...

► This review unit was bought with my own money

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00:00 - Intro
00:28 - Features/Specs
01:30 - In the box
01:15 - Ports
02:38 - A look inside
03:28 - Linux
03:55 - BIOS
04:05 - Benchmarks
05:27 - Game & Emulator Tests
07:46 - Power, Temps & Noise
08:25 - Conclusion

[MiguelCamba]

I however think that this i3 might be great for a low power home server because how many efficiency cores it has. The most common situation for a home server is to be running a bunch of containers at relatively low CPU loads. Home Assistant virtualized in proxmox, some NAS software, 4 or 6 security cameras recording, pfsense, an MQTT broker and several other containers... All of them working at once, none of them requiring a massive amount of processing power. This is the kind of scenario where having many lower-power/high-efficiency cores can result in the computer cruising along at 30% CPU usage drawing ~15w from the wall.
For a server that will spend 95% of it's lifetime 24/365 like that, it's key.

[ilhambuono]

The price is ridiculous at $599
You can get minisforum UM690 at $499 which has double performance of cpu and igpu

[DerekDavis]

NUC 12 Pro i3 is just $358 + tax in America, and Intel 1220p offers very good single-core performance. A pretty attractive computer, for light office use or video streaming, Netflix, Youtube, etc.

[dave_r]

Great, fun to watch review. I think your consistent focus on cooling issues is having an effect, and who else is holding the mini-makers feet to the fire about only cooling the CPU. I find it hard to think that there's no reason to go to a NUC if you're not going to pay for the i5, given how much you lose by saving what's probably $65'ish USD. Thanks!

[abowlofsoda]

I'm going all mini acnd replacing all my desktops. So I appreciate all your honest review videos. Really speeds up my decision process! Thank you Rob.

[howardrolston]

As always, thanks for the excellent review. It has me rethinking whether to just skip the 12th gen NUCs. Two thoughts.

Although I appreciate the build quality of NUCs, if it took you this long to realize that the outside case was plastic, maybe the quality of the plastic and the interior metal case are sufficient for an enjoyable experience.

Pricing must be different in Australia from the U.S. Here the difference between the lowest priced i3 and i5 is $155 USD. If, like me, the extra capacity of the i5 doesn't turn into much real world experience, my choice seems to be another 1th gen i3, the 12th gen i3, or just sticking with my totally adequate 8th gen for my music box.

[CricketBatInfo]

Good video. Like the new background shelving.

No power cord Joke. Pricing on that is bs looking at the pro/cons vs the I5.

How was the noise and thermals? Not of the unit. You -on that drive to get the power cord 😂

[javiej]

Thanks for the honest review. The NUC i3 11th was innovative, providing gen4 nvme and 2 x TB3 in a small package with low power requirements. But this "new" thing is basically the same (who asked for adding 8 e-cores to the i3 rather than 2 more p-cores?, seriously what is the use case for this aberration?). In any case, too little too late!.
I have the 11th and I have cash reserved for an upgrade, but given the poor value I plan to skip current generation. At least until they release a minipc with Thunderbolt 80Gb/120Gb. That will rise my wake up call.

[marianoruiz]

There is a new gray nuc 12 that has ddr5 support, I saw a review a few days ago.

[fahlideso]

Can 3 of these storage units be used simultaneously? Why don't you use the NVME 2280 slot in the video?

[Bajicoy]

Awesome review! These reviews that compare mini pc are exactly what the community needs to grow!

What a shame intel wasted so much potential with the nuc 12 i3. This really could have been a great opportunity to prove the e cores as something very useful but they really look like an awkward crutch with the low multi thread performance. I do really like pointing out the low noise, temperatures, ease to open the case, and dual thunderbolt. Just not enough to outweight the cons

[vishwsant]

Is it true that the i3 is limited to UHD graphics and only the i5 and i7 have Iris Xe? What's the difference between Xe and UHD apart from less EUs? Thanks for testing these btw. Really helpful.

[HuntaKiller]

Tb4 must be the norm
Paired with dgpu this can be a beast for $299

[ndf]

Nuc 12 pro i7. There is a setting in the bios for hdd activity light, but there is no external light???? Am I missing something?

[wocket]

Thanks for answering my question if I should wait for an Alder Lake N NUC Essential :'l

[xx-nufx]

To which TDP's can the i3 version be configured in the BIOS compared to the i5 version?
(I suspect the i3 would perform WAY better if we could get rid of the stock 20w TDP setting)

A comparison of them both (i3 & i5) with same TDP settings would be awesome!

[franzpleurmann]

Can you test the vPro features? I want to use a 12th gen NUC Pro as a mini server and the Pro Lineup comes with integrated remote management.

[budgetking]

They already selling mini pc's with the new 12th gen chips on aliexpress, i saw mini pc's with the 12th gen n100 cpu's for arround 200 euro for barebones.

[marianoruiz]

Like a chump xD
Thanks for the review Rob 💪

[MisterPikol]

i'm thinking about that one as a plex server, what do you think ?