Intel’s ‘Frost Canyon’ NUC Revealed: SFF PC w/ Comet Lake
by Anton Shilov on November 15, 2019 4:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Desktop
- Intel
- NUC
- UCFF
- Comet Lake
Intel Thailand this week inadvertently disclosed the company’s plans to release its next-generation NUC small form-factor PCs based on Comet Lake processors in the near future. Meanwhile, a store from the Netherlands has also inadvertently revealed the NUC's key specifications. As it turns out, Intel’s ‘Frost Canyon’ NUCs will feature processors with up to six cores and will support up to 64 GB of memory.
Intel’s NUC 10 ‘Frost Canyon’ family will include multiple models based on the company’s 10th Generation Core i3/i5/i7 processors with two, four, or six cores as well as UHD Graphics, according to MyElectronics.nl, an online retailer. The CPUs will feature a configurable TDP-up of 25 W, so they will work at higher clocks all the time, thus providing decent levels of performance that one comes to expect from a desktop PC. The systems will feature two SO-DIMM slots that will support 32 GB DDR4 modules (allowing 64 GB in total), a first for Intel’s NUCs.
The new NUCs will be available in slim and regular versions, which offer M.2-only storage and M.2 + 2.5-inch SATA storage respectively. As for connectivity, the systems will have Thunderbolt 3, USB 3.2 Gen 2, GbE, HDMI, and the usual audio connectors. One of the interesting features supported by the upcoming Frost Canyon NUCs will be integrated far-field microphones that support Amazon’s Alexa and Microsoft’s Cortana assistants.
Exact launch date of Intel’s NUC 10 systems in unknown, but expect the new SFF PCs to hit the market in time for the holiday season. As for pricing, we can only make guesses.
Related Reading:
- Intel Launches Comet Lake-U and Comet Lake-Y: Up To 6 Cores for Thin & Light Laptops
- Intel Launches Low-End Comet Lake CPUs: Pentium Gold 6405U & Celeron 5205U
- Intel's Bean Canyon (NUC8i7BEH) Coffee Lake NUC Review - Ticking the Right Boxes
- Intel NUC8i7HVK (Hades Canyon) Gaming Performance - A Second Look
- Intel’s Crimson Canyon NUCs with Cannon Lake CPU & Radeon dGPU Available for Pre-Order
- Intel’s Islay Canyon Mini NUCs Available: Whiskey Lake, Radeon 540X, 8GB LPDDR3
Sources: Intel Thailand, FanlessTech, MyElectronics.nl (via Twitter/momomo_us)
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EliteRetard - Friday, November 15, 2019 - link
Really wish they would stop making dual core i3's.At the very least they should be 4 core 4 thread.
Reserve these junk CPUs for the Pentium/Celeron line.
I also wish they had more cache on the i5 (8MB) and i3 (6MB)
I am glad to see a 6 core 12 thread option, though I really wish it had the 64 EU Iris graphics.
With an Iris GPU this should be used in laptops as a mid tier option between the U series (15w) and H series (45w). In fact I think this would be the best option for most people, I would absolutely recommend this over the U series (like the i7-1065G7, unless they needed absolute battery life/mobility) and over any of the H series laptops that all force an expensive power hungry DGPU that's only useful to gamers.
Jorgp2 - Friday, November 15, 2019 - link
A 2c4t i3 has a higher perf/watt than a 4c4t.Do you mean a Comet Lake CPU with 64EUs?
That would be great, but would most likely be a Halo SKU with an L4
EliteRetard - Friday, November 15, 2019 - link
I don't care if it's Ice Lake, Comet Lake, or whatever...I don't see why Intel can't combine all the desirable bits into one good CPU. The 64 EU Iris from Ice Lake looks good, even when stuck with a 4c/8t at 15w. I'd love to see that 64EU 4c/8t as a 25-30w i5 for laptops, with a 6c/12t as an i7. Yes, I think they need to have the 64EU option on the i5 (it should be the only option for the i5 and up).Intel would really do well to have such a middle ground option. The U series laptops are only good for bare minimum tasks, but they fill every option and price point up until you hit the big heavy expensive gaming laptops. I know tons of people who have wanted/needed more grunt than a weak U series, and literally had no other option than to get gaming laptop they didn't really want/need.
In fact the U series chips are only good for the kind of people who can be served by sub $300 Chromebooks. For everyone else, they have to get a gaming laptop (or just suffer with a U series). I've always wished there were better options for the majority, and it finally looks like there are components that could make it possible.
mode_13h - Friday, November 15, 2019 - link
> the U series chips are only good for the kind of people who can be served by sub $300 ChromebooksNo, there's still a pretty big difference, there. I have a Skylake U-series and an Apollo Lake, so I know what I'm talking about.
mode_13h - Friday, November 15, 2019 - link
> I don't see why Intel can't combine all the desirable bits into one good CPU.Hmmm... cost & power consumption?
> The 64 EU Iris from Ice Lake looks good
Ice Lake is 10 nm, while this is 14 nm. I don't think it's an accident that they reserved the bigger GPU for the smaller node.
skavi - Saturday, November 16, 2019 - link
Ice Lake i5s can have 64 EU G7 graphics. Ice Lake U can also have up to a 28 watt TDP. (Probably near a 50W PL2.skavi - Saturday, November 16, 2019 - link
)AdditionalPylons - Tuesday, November 19, 2019 - link
Thanks!That reminds me of https://xkcd.com/859/
OFelix - Friday, November 15, 2019 - link
Yes, I've been waiting for this generation NUC and I'm very sad to see it doesn't have Iris graphicsEliteRetard - Friday, November 15, 2019 - link
Hmmm...Reading back over my post I don't think I made it clear why I wish to see the Iris IGP if they aren't "gamers". I think there's a large group of people who play "casual" games, that don't need a ton of GPU but suffer with terrible graphics/performance due to Intel's previously terrible IGPs. Stuff like Rocket League, Stardew Valley, Minecraft, LOL, DOTA, etc. Previously many of these games had to be run at 720p and/or lowest settings just to play. I think it would be great if they could run these kind of things at 1080p near 60FPS on an IGP with at least a few details turned up. This kind of IGP performance does seem possible now, it just needs to be offered in casual options.
I think this kind of 25w class CPU would be the best fit for casual $450-600 laptops and provide an excellent experience for most people (especially a 6 core + 64 EU Iris). Leave the U series for ultra-thin/light and convertible/tablet like devices...the bulky gaming laptops start at $750 and would be the choice for the serious gamers (or mobile workstation).
Actually I'd love to see some slim bezel 17" 1080p laptops too, there are a lot of people who want/need a bigger screen but the only options are huge, heavy, and expensive.