ASUS NUC 15 Pro+ RNUC15CRSU5063AU, Core Ultra 5 225H, 16GB, 512GB SSD, silver

A brilliant mini PC for office warriors and port hoarders, but tragically overpriced and utterly useless for gaming. The Mac mini M4 does more for less, unless you absolutely need Windows and all those glorious connectors.

What surprised us is how capable the integrated Arc graphics are for everyday work and light media tasks. It's no powerhouse, but the CPU grinds through spreadsheets and video calls without flinching, and the AI engine genuinely speeds up some photo and video editing chores. Our benchmarks peg it around the middle of the pack for desktops overall, but in this tiny body, that's impressive. Just don't run a modern game on it unless you enjoy slideshows.

The obvious elephant in the room is still the Apple Mac mini M4. For half the price, it's faster, quieter, and even smaller. But the ASUS fights back with an avalanche of ports, user-upgradable internals, and Windows compatibility for legacy enterprise software. The competitive field has shifted though. The Lenovo Legion 90Y6003JUS and MSI MEG Vision X AI VisXAI2NVZ9045 now sit in the top 5, and both absolutely humiliate the NUC in gaming and raw performance. The Apple Mac Studio M4 Max is in another universe entirely for creative work. The Dell Tower ECT1250 is the budget bruiser that makes the ASUS look silly on price-to-performance. If size matters above all, the NUC holds its own, but the Mac mini M4 is still the smarter buy for most people who don't need two HDMI ports and a 2.5GbE jack.

Here's the rub: prices bounce between $1156 and $1899 depending on where you buy, with Newegg often landing on the lower end. At the low end, you're paying a premium for size and connectivity, not raw speed. A $599 Mac mini M4 will humiliate this NUC in CPU and GPU tasks, but if you need Windows and a dozen ports, the ASUS makes a weirdly compelling case. Just know that 16GB of RAM and a measly 512GB SSD feel like penny-pinching at this level.

The ASUS NUC 15 Pro Plus is one of the most charmingly over-engineered tiny PCs we've tested. It's about the size of a sandwich, yet packs enough ports to shame a full desktop tower and runs a new Intel Core Ultra chip that's actually decent at AI stuff. But let's be real: this isn't a gaming machine, not even close, and that starting price will make you blink twice.

If you're hunting for a gaming rig or even a modest video editing workstation, keep moving. This NUC will leave you frustrated. Go grab a mid-tower with a dedicated GPU, or if space is tight, the Mac mini M4 will crush the same tasks for less money and less noise.

The ASUS NUC 15 Pro Plus nails exactly what it sets out to do: deliver a boatload of ports and solid everyday performance in a chassis you can pocket. If you're in IT managing edge deployments or just crave the tiniest Windows box for a desk with three monitors, it's a gem. For everyone else, especially gamers or value shoppers, look elsewhere. The AI marketing is a bit fluffy, but there's real utility here for the right niche.