Final summer season, Intel leaned exhausting into its line of modular gaming PCs. Its launch of Beast Canyon (aka the NUCBTM) muscled up into small-form-factor PC territory, with an eight liter case able to housing full-length graphics playing cards. The one compromise was its soldered cell chip—in the event you may name it that, given the sturdy take a look at outcomes.

Half a yr later, the discharge of Dragon Canyon eliminates that weak point. This Subsequent Unit of Computing (NUC) variant doesn’t revolutionize a lot. A brand new processor is the star of the present: a socketed Alder Lake chip, plus among the platform upgrades that include Twelfth-gen Core chips. In any other case, this NUC seems to be the identical as Beast Canyon, due to sporting just about the identical chassis as its predecessor.

However we are able to’t say that it’s simply a processor improve. Transferring from a cell chip to a replaceable desktop CPU is kind of a transfer. On paper, Dragon Canyon seems to be way more geared up to face off in opposition to a DIY small kind issue (SFF) PC. And that’s precisely what we’re going to dig into.

Design and kind issue

Dragon Canyon is definitely the code identify for the $1,450 NUC12EDBi9 and $1,150 NUC12EDBi7—Intel’s official names for the Core i9 and Core i7 variants of this bare-bones gaming PC. The corporate sells it as a equipment, which implies you need to carry your individual reminiscence, storage, and graphics card. All the pieces else (the chassis, cooling, and proprietary energy provide) is included.

Since Dragon Canyon and Beast Canyon share just about the identical chassis, the idea is strictly the identical as earlier than. Inside that eight-liter case, there’s simply two parts to cope with: An Intel Compute Factor module comes with the equipment and homes the reminiscence, storage, and a pre-installed Core i9-12900 or Core i7-12700 CPU. It’s a must to acquire and set up your individual discrete graphics card, which may be as much as two slots thick and a max of 12 inches lengthy. The thought is which you can simply swap both of these components for a more recent substitute down the highway.

Alaina Yee / IDG

This newer Compute Factor is the most important improve within the system. (The chassis has the lone minor change—Intel swapped one of many USB-A ports for USB-C.) The adjustments are all about cutting-edge tech and velocity. Inside is a desktop Twelfth-gen Alder Lake processor with a very totally different structure from the earlier technology and a GPU slot that helps PCIe 5.0. And on the again, a second ethernet port able to 10Gbps has been added. That velocity might sound ludicrous to most of us within the US, however one PCWorld workers member resides the ultra-fast broadband life.

Due to that desktop Alder Lake processor, Intel promotes Dragon Canyon as upgradable to next-gen CPUs. They actually are, however Intel doesn’t often hold a socket round for greater than a few generations. Realistically, only a few folks could have purpose to improve. 

Serviceable {hardware} remains to be a plus, although. And in idea having a desktop CPU means much less of a compromise in efficiency in comparison with a cell chip. Let’s see how that performs out within the benchmarks.

How we examined

Slightly than attempt to deal with Dragon Canyon as an unbiased product, I selected to take a narrower focus. We already know the way Beast Canyon stacked up—the brief model is “fairly rattling nicely.” (You may learn the complete particulars in our NUCBTMi9 evaluation from final July.) That eliminates the necessity to choose aside Dragon Canyon in wonderful element.

As an alternative, the questions that Dragon Canyon increase are easy: How a lot does it increase efficiency in CPU-oriented duties? And the way does it stack up in opposition to an analogous DIY small-form-factor PC? 

To get a way of the solutions, we’ll have a look at a choose handful of benchmarks. Consider these numbers extra as a normal impression in regards to the {hardware}, moderately than a set of efficiency expectations.

Alaina Yee / IDG

The {hardware} lineup

Dragon Canyon

Intel shipped us Dragon Canyon as a bare-bones equipment this time, so we provided our personal reminiscence and storage for our NUCEDBi9 evaluation unit. For the graphics card, we used the identical compact Asus RTX 3060 that got here with our Beast Canyon evaluation unit final yr.

• CPU: Core i9-12900 (8 efficiency cores + 8 effectivity cores, 24 threads)
• GPU: Asus Twin O12G RTX 3060 
• Reminiscence: 16GB HyperX Affect DDR4-3200
• Storage: 500GB SK Hynix P31
• OS: Home windows 11

As you’ll see, I couldn’t acquire the very same SSD mannequin as in our Beast Canyon unit. Nonetheless, the numbers under present that utilizing a PCIe 3.0 (moderately than an identical PCIe 4.0 drive) in these specific benchmarks didn’t make a distinction.

Beast Canyon

Our Beast Canyon evaluation unit got here totally outfitted. Within the curiosity of conserving issues as whilst doable throughout the board, I used its compact Asus GeForce RTX 3060 with the opposite take a look at methods.

• CPU: Core i9-11900KB (8 cores, 16 threads)
• GPU: Asus Twin O12G RTX 3060 
• Reminiscence: 16GB HyperX Affect DDR4-3200
• Storage: 500GB Sabrent Rocket PCIe 4.0
• OS: Home windows 11 

DIY SFF PC

Whereas not an actual match for Dragon Canyon and Beast Canyon in dimension, this 11-liter system remains to be shut sufficient to get an thought of how nicely the 2 NUCs stack up in opposition to a high-performance DIY small-form-factor PC. For the GPU, I once more used Beast Canyon’s compact Asus RTX 3060 for consistency.

• CPU: Ryzen 9 5900X (12 cores, 24 threads)
• CPU cooler: Corsair H100i (240mm AIO)
• GPU: Asus Twin O12G RTX 3060 
• Reminiscence: 16GB HyperX Fury DDR4-3600
• Storage: 1TB Corsair MP600
• PSU: SilverStone SX700-G
• Case: Lian Li A4-H2O
• OS: Home windows 11

Efficiency

Rendering

First up is Cinebench R23, the newest in Maxon’s line 3D-rendering benchmarks. For analysis of Dragon Canyon, this take a look at helps present perception into efficiency throughout in CPU-heavy duties. The default setting loops the benchmark for 10 minutes, which is what we use for our assessments.

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multi-core efficiency, you may see that going from Beast Canyon’s Core i9-11900KB to Dragon Canyon’s Core i9-12900 leads to an almost 50 p.c enchancment. That bodes nicely for anybody contemplating Dragon Canyon. Nonetheless, the Core i9-12900 is a bit subdued inside Dragon Canyon’s confines—we anticipated numbers nearer to the Ryzen 9 5900X. In Cinebench R23’s single-core assessments, nonetheless, Intel maintains its single-core efficiency benefit, simply as in full desktop methods. That bodes nicely for gaming efficiency, as most video games don’t make the most of all out there CPU cores.

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Encoding

Our Handbrake take a look at entails transcoding a 4K video formatted as an MP4 to an MKV file on the identical decision. This long-lasting encoding benchmark helps spherical out the Cinebench R23 outcomes, because it offers additional context for efficiency throughout CPU-oriented duties.

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Beast Canyon’s Core i9-11900KB carried out decently in earlier Handbrake benchmarks, although it was nonetheless surpassed by different cell chips. Dragon Canyon’s Core i9-12900 decreases the period of time by a hefty 30 p.c, although as you may see, hardcore content material creators should still discover a DIY SFF PC a more sensible choice if time is cash. The Ryzen 9 5900X chews by means of the file in almost half the time of the Core i9-11900KB.

Gaming

Spoiler alert: On the subject of gaming, these three methods don’t hand over a lot floor to 1 one other on common. It’s not a shock, since video games not often lean on all of a CPU’s cores. As an alternative, single-core efficiency nonetheless typically dictates outcomes. Recreation optimizations can have an effect on outcomes, too. So in the event you’re primarily a gamer and have been debating between the convenience of constructing in Dragon Canyon or extra optimum efficiency in a SFF construct, you luckily don’t have a really powerful resolution to make in any respect.

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Simply take a look on the outcomes from the benchmarks. These AAA title nonetheless punish your graphics card greater than the rest, which implies your CPU performs much less of a task within the closing body rely.

PCWorld

Throughout the board, Dragon Canyon both matches or outperforms Beast Canyon. The true competitors right here is between Dragon Canyon and the DIY SFF PC, and there’s no clear winner within the newer video games. In Metro Exodus and Murderer’s Creed Odyssey, the 2 methods are deadlocked, and in Borderlands 3, the DIY SFF PC has a lead of six p.c. That edge may sound significant, however that lead isn’t that a lot whenever you’re already getting 80 fps.

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With some video games, you might begin to see extra of a spot open up, as you may in Shadow of the Tomb Raider. But when they’re older or much less demanding video games (which SoTR is), it once more might not matter a lot. All of it is determined by whether or not you want your framerates to be as excessive as doable, like for a excessive refresh charge monitor.

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Acoustics and thermals

Like Beast Canyon, Dragon Canyon runs pretty quiet. The truth is, the DIY SFF PC was typically noisier than it. Your alternative of graphics card will affect your final result, although.

It runs about as heat, too. Throughout CPU-intensive duties, like a 30 minute run of Cinebench R23’s multicore benchmark, Dragon Canyon’s Core i9-12900 averaged about 72 levels Celsius. It crept up increased throughout gaming benchmarks—I typically noticed it hovering round 78 levels Celsius. That’s not as optimum as some SFF fanatics might like, however given its dimension and cooling, these numbers aren’t unreasonable.

Last ideas

Earlier than Dragon Canyon, Intel’s gaming NUCs had an excessive area of interest vibe. You paid rather a lot for a cool, well-executed idea—and that was wonderful as long as you match the slender target market. In any other case, an alternate was typically a greater and cheaper alternative.

At $1,150 for the NUC12EDBi7 equipment and $1,450 for the NUC12EDBi9 equipment, you’re not essentially saving cash over a DIY SFF construct, however you’re additionally not sacrificing efficiency as with earlier NUCs that leaned on cell chips. With its socketed chip, Dragon Canyon nonetheless retains that extremely easy, time-saving system for constructing, whereas providing flexibility nearer to that of a DIY PC. That change makes Dragon Canyon seems like a strong possibility when contemplating a sub-10L construct, moderately than a novelty.