78 PCWorld JUNE 2022FEATURE DEEP INSIDE INTEL’S NUC
T
here’s a neat symmetry to the 10th
anniversary of Intel’s NUC, which
was first revealed to the world in- In ten years the NUC group
(which stands for Next Unit of Computing)
has sold over 10 million of its unique
miniature PCs.
If that surprises you, brace yourself: Those
devices are split across a jaw-dropping 600
configurations. The scope and selection of
NUC flies under the radar of even PC
enthusiasts, who know NUC best for its
eye-catching but relatively modest line of
pint-size powerhouses.
“That’s just the tip of the iceberg,” said
Brian McCarson, vice president and general
manager of Intel’s NUC group. “We’re just
getting warmed up.”
The classic 4×4 is still Intel’s most iconic NUC design.FROM CONCEPT TO
REVOLUTION
The NUC began with a simple concept. What
if a desktop computer was just...smaller? Like,
really small? Small enough to fit in your hand?
The fact this idea no longer seems strange is
testament to the NUC’s success—but in 2012,
it was a bold concept.
PC makers had dabbled in ultra-compact
design with netbooks and other, more
unusual portable machines, like Sony’s Vaio
P-Series subnotebooks (fave.co/3wrxDRD).
Yet it wasn’t clear how this could apply to
the desktop.
The limitation wasn’t processors, which
packed ever-more power into decreasing
thermal envelopes, but design. The desktop
segment remained focused on boxes built