Intel NUC11PAQi7 Panther Canyon Review

The particular model being reviewed here features Intel's 11th Generation (Tiger Lake) Core i7-1165G7 with a boost clock of 4.7GHz, Intel's Iris XE Integrated Graphics, 16GB of DDR4 RAM (Single Channel), Samsung's 980 Pro 500GB SSD and Windows 10 Home. 

Design

The design of the NUC is simplistic, with a homogenised boxy look that is common in this segment. It's not going to blow your socks off but, it doesn't need to. For a unit that will be hidden away or mounted to a wall, it gets the job done.

The rounded edges are a nice touch, so are the rubber grip pads at the bottom. There is a wireless charging mat on top of the chassis that becomes pointless if you are, going to mount this but, it's still nice to have some options. 

The NUC has you well covered on ports. There is a USB Type C with Thunderbolt 3 at the front of the case alongside a USB 3.1 and a 3.5mm audio port. 

A Kensington Lock rests to the right side of the machine, and an SDXC card reader lies on the left. Around the back is a Mini DisplayPort, Ethernet Port, 2 USB 3.1 ports, HDMI port and another USB Type C Thunderbolt port. 

As for connectivity, The NUC 11 ships with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 out of the box. 

Intel has included the charger and four mounting screws in the box. The mounting bracket isn't included. 

Performance

The Toshiba SDXC card reader was able to achieve speeds that averaged between 179.1 MB/s to 190 MB/s. The test that we used contained files of various sizes being transferred to and fro between drives. 

CPU performance was tested on CineBench R23 and, the Intel Core i7-1165G7 was able to score 1502 on a single-core test and 6065 on a multi-core test. 

Comparing the scores online, this puts it just below the AMD Ryzen 5 1600 Pro and the Core i7-1185G7. 

PCMark 10 gave us a score of 5150. As for real-world use, the NUC is really snappy and honestly feels like overkill for basic tasks like browsing, video streaming and word processing tasks. 

4K videos played smoothly without any frame drops or noticeable artifacting. There also weren't any stutters or pauses during playback. 

If you keep your expectations in check, the NUC is a decent gaming machine as well. The Witcher 3 managed an average of 57 fps on everything set to low and the resolution set at 1280x720.

GTA V gave us an average between 45 and 52 fps with everything set to low and the resolution at 1280x720. A dual-channel RAM configuration will likely boost these framerates further.  

These are admittedly tough tradeoff's to make for some decent framerates, but where the NUC really shines is as an emulation machine. PCSX2, Dolphin and PPSSPP, all ran well on the box with the ROMS we tested. 

Thermals were a mixed bag with the processor temperatures on HWMonitor routinely touching the high 80s. The Core i7-1165G7 has a temperature threshold of 100 degrees Celcius. Under load, the NUC came close to that mark quite a few times. This also makes the unit very noisy since the fans constantly spin up to keep the temperatures down. 

Thankfully, the surface temperature on the chassis doesn't seem to be much of a problem. The unit remains comfortable to touch even when under load. 

Conclusion

This tiny PC has all the power you need to be a monstrous HTPC (Home Theater PC) or, if game emulation is more your thing, the NUC can handle PS2, N64 and Gamecube classics just fine. 

As for the pricing, the Core-i7 models are not what you are looking for if you are after something to use as a media server for your home theatre systems, in which case a Core-i3 would serve you just as well. On Amazon, an 11th Generation Core-i3 NUC can be had for Rs 30,000. If you find one in stock. 

In what has become a norm off late for the tech industry, the availability of these systems seems spotty. Intel's official website is no help either.

If you can get your hands on one, the NUC is a great little machine and packed to the brim with excellent features that make it suitable for a place in your living room.