Asus is coming back with what’s likely its most appealing, most excessive gaming-ready mini PC yet, the ROG NUC 16. It will likely come with an accompanying price that’s likely to make your wallet cry out in anguish.
Intel’s NUCs, short for “Next Unit of Computing” PC, were supposed to offer pint-sized PCs with desktop-level customizability inside of a premium chassis. But a combination of limited customization options and expensive pricing pretty much doomed NUCs like the Intel NUC 9 Extreme (“Ghost Canyon”). So Intel handed off the NUC design to Asus in 2023. Since then, the ROG NUCs have proved especially appealing to mostly gamers with limited desk space.
The ROG NUC 16 is the most powerful and most console-like of the NUCs Asus has produced so far. It maintains the same basic shell as the previous NUC 15, but it now includes Intel’s refreshed Arrow Lake CPU, the Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX. It’s packing up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 laptop GPU (so not the larger desktop version that eats up an enormous 360W of power just by itself), and it can be configured with up to 128GB of RAM.
And if you were wondering how and where you can get one, Asus hasn’t indicated U.S. pricing details. The mini PC will start at 29,999 Chinese yuan, which roughly comes out to $4,420. The new “Moonlight” white version costs even more, closer to $4,490 in U.S. dollars. Asus promised that the Black version will be out this month, while the white won’t arrive until June. Neither version has a precise launch date. The previous ROG NUC 15 currently starts at $3,400 with a lower-end Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX CPU, an RTX 5060 GPU, and 16GB of RAM. It costs close to $5,300 for a version with a higher-end Arrow Lake CPU, the RTX 5080, and just 16GB of on-device RAM.
With the Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX, the ROG NUC 16 promises better performance than the ROG NUC 15 with the same RTX 5080 GPU. However, Asus’ own site shows that benchmarks like 3DMark’s “Time Spy” equaled only a 3% uplift compared to the last generation. How much better performance you get will depend on the game.
The ongoing RAM apocalypse has driven up prices on all consumer electronics. Gaming devices, which rely on more memory and storage than your average lightweight device, are taking the brunt of the harm. On paper, the ROG NUC 16 sounds appealing, but there are a few missing puzzle pieces Asus has yet to put in place. On its store page, the different configurations of the ROG NUC 16 don’t even list its flavors of GPU available.
The ROG NUC 16 includes an updated stand to prop up the PC either vertically or horizontally, with the latter acting as a cradle that keeps the computer just off the desk. Asus promises you’ll get even better performance with the PC hovering than standing up.
Asus is also bringing back their ROG Strix Scar 18 gaming laptop for 2026. Like the ROG NUC 16, it’s also been upgraded with the Intel Core Ultra 290HX CPU, and it’s now packing a full 4K, 240Hz mini LED display. I especially appreciated the 2025 model’s toolless access panel that made it easier than ever to swap out the RAM and SSD. Over email, an Asus spokesperson told Gizmodo the ROG Strix Scar 18 won’t be available until Q2 or Q3 this year, and it will have prices to share around release. Just like all gaming hardware in 2026, don’t expect it to be any cheaper than the 2025 model.
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