ASUS NUC 14 Pro+ RNUC14RVSU7089AUI 2024, Core Ultra 7, 32GB, 1TB SSD, Silver

The ASUS NUC 14 Pro+ is a tiny 5 x 4 inch mini PC with a Core Ultra 7 155H, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 1TB SSD. It's great for developers and home office users who want a quiet, space-saving Windows machine. Gaming is basically a no-go with integrated graphics scoring 12.1 out of 100. At $1,242 USD, you're paying for the form factor, not raw performance.

The Core Ultra 7 155H is a 16-core chip with a 1.4GHz base clock, and it lands right around the middle of the pack for CPUs in our database. That's not a knock, it's just reality. This is a laptop processor doing desktop duty, so you're getting solid multi-threaded performance for compiling code, running VMs, or juggling a few dozen browser tabs. But it's not going to hang with a full-fat desktop chip in sustained heavy loads.

The integrated Intel UHD Graphics 710 is where things get rough. It sits in the 37th percentile for GPUs, which means it's fine for driving displays and basic productivity, but gaming is basically off the table. Our gaming score for this thing is 12.1 out of 100. That's not a typo. If you want to play anything more demanding than Minesweeper, you're looking at the wrong box. The 32GB of DDR5 RAM is a genuine bright spot though, landing in the 73rd percentile. That's enough headroom for Docker containers, multiple IDEs, and whatever else you throw at it.

Stacked against the Apple Mac Studio M3 Ultra, this thing looks like a toy. The Mac Studio absolutely demolishes it in GPU performance and raw compute, but it also costs way more and runs a completely different OS. If you're in the Apple ecosystem and need serious graphics muscle, the Mac Studio is the obvious choice. The NUC 14 Pro+ is for Windows users who want something small and quiet.

Against the Lenovo Legion Tower 5a and HP OMEN GT16, the comparison gets embarrassing for gaming. Those towers have dedicated GPUs that will run circles around the Intel UHD 710. But they're also huge, loud, and power-hungry. The NUC 14 Pro+ wins on footprint and efficiency, but loses on every performance metric that matters for gaming or heavy graphics work. The Dell Aurora Gaming sits in a similar spot, a big tower with real GPU power that makes this mini PC look underpowered.

At $1,242 USD, this is a tricky value proposition. You're paying a premium for the small form factor and the AI-ready branding, but the raw performance doesn't quite justify the price when you compare it to what a traditional desktop tower gets you for the same money. The 32GB of RAM and 1TB SSD are nice, but those are cheap upgrades on a standard desktop.

That said, if you specifically need a tiny, quiet, power-efficient machine that can handle development work and light AI tasks, the price starts to make more sense. You're paying for the engineering that goes into cramming this much hardware into a 5 x 4 inch box. Just know that you're leaving performance on the table compared to a similarly priced tower.

The ASUS NUC 14 Pro+ is a tiny silver box that wants to be your daily driver. We're talking 5 x 4 inches of anodized aluminum, which is small enough to hide behind a monitor or tuck under a desk without anyone noticing. But inside, it's packing an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 1TB NVMe SSD. That's a serious amount of compute for something you can hold in one hand.

This thing is aimed squarely at developers, workstation users, and home office folks who need real CPU power without a tower taking up half their desk. The Core Ultra 7 155H is a 16-core chip with Intel's new Arc graphics baked in, and ASUS is leaning hard into the AI angle. Local generative AI workloads, Wi-Fi sensing, all that jazz. Whether you actually need that stuff is another question, but it's there.

What makes this interesting is the form factor. You're getting laptop-class internals in a desktop-style mini PC, which means you get the efficiency and quiet operation of a laptop without the built-in screen and keyboard. And at 1.36kg, you could genuinely throw this in a bag and take it between home and office. Just bring your own peripherals.

Gamers should absolutely skip this. The integrated graphics are a hard stop for any serious gaming, and there's no external GPU connector to upgrade later. If you want to play games, get a tower with a dedicated GPU like the Lenovo Legion Tower 5a or HP OMEN GT16. You'll get dramatically better performance for similar money.

Also skip this if you need lots of ports or expansion options. The port selection sits at the 25th percentile, which is pretty sparse. If you're running multiple monitors, external drives, and other peripherals, you'll be fighting for connections. A traditional desktop tower or a larger mini PC with more I/O would serve you better.

If you're a developer or home office user who wants a clean, quiet, space-efficient Windows machine, the NUC 14 Pro+ is a solid pick. The 32GB of RAM and 1TB SSD mean you won't be hurting for memory or storage, and the Core Ultra 7 handles everyday productivity and coding tasks without breaking a sweat. The AI capabilities are a nice bonus if you're experimenting with local models.

But if you have any gaming ambitions, or you need serious graphics performance for video editing or 3D work, look elsewhere. The integrated graphics are a hard stop for those use cases. And if you're on a tight budget, a traditional desktop tower will give you more raw performance per dollar. This is a niche product for a specific kind of user, and it nails that niche, but it's not for everyone.