ASRock NUC BOX-1260P; Alder Lake Writ Small
Just Add Memory And Storage
ASRock have a new Alder Lake powered NUC BOX-1260P for sale, which TechPowerUp decided to take a look at. To call it small form factor doesn’t quite capture it’s size, measuring 110.0 x 117.5 x 47.85mm (4.3 x 4.6 x 1.9″). You can choose from several Alder Lake processors, TPU tested one with a Core i7-1260P which sports four P-cores with Hyperyreading and eight E-cores for a total of 16 threads.
It doesn’t ship with memory and storage, so the benchmarks were run after adding two 8GB DDR4-3200 DIMMs and a Kingston KC3000 512 GB M.2 SSD. Peripheral support is impressive, with two USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C, DisplayPort 1.4, USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A port and an audio port on the front. The rear offers two USB 3.2 Type-A ports, another DisplayPort 1.4, an HDMI 2.0b, and a pair of 2.5 GbE LAN ports, not to mention the power of course.
The performance is impressive, taking top spot more often than not, in part thanks to the active cooling that ensures you won’t encounter thermal throttling. On the other hand it is comparatively expensive and a one year warranty is a little short. Regardless, take a look for yourself before you decide if you like the ASRock NUC BOX-1260P or want to give it a pass.
ASRock continues to innovate in the mini-PC space with its latest release, the NUC BOX-1260P. Not for the faint of heart, it may have a hefty price tag, but in return, its Alder Lake processor delivers massive performance with 4 P-cores with HT and 8 E-cores for a total of 16 threads. Add in dual 2.5 GbE LAN, along with plenty of display outputs, and you get a system that offers exceptional performance per watt, versatility, and for some, a bit of untapped potential.
I’ve always wondered what people use multiple Ethernet ports for?
I really can’t think of a reason.
This’d make a lovely hardware firewall, for one.