Asus ROG NUC 970 review: impossibly small

Asus carries the NUC brand forward. After Intel abandoned the NUC last year – which was routinely ranked among the best desktop PCs – Asus took up the mantle, and now we have the first fruits of that labor with the ROG NUC 970. As the ROG badge suggests, this is a gaming PC, packed with a discrete GPU and it will come at a much higher price compared to the regular NUCs we’ve seen Asus release since it took over the brand.

With a tiny 2.5 liter case, it’s undoubtedly one of the smallest gaming desktops money can buy. However, its form factor is a bit deceiving. The ROG NUC 970 is a great performer for the hardware inside – and that’s laptop hardware. It may look like a full-fledged desktop squished into an impossibly small size, but the performance of this device brings that assumption back down to earth.

Asus ROG NUC 970 specifications and prices

Asus offers two NUC 970 configurations that change the CPU, GPU, memory and storage. The last two points are not so relevant because Asus offers three NVMe drives so you can expand your storage, as well as two SODIMM slots to swap out the memory. Asus takes both memory slots out of the box for a dual-channel configuration, so if you want to upgrade you’ll have to swap both.

Even more interesting are the differences between CPUs and GPUs. The cheaper of the two configurations comes in at $1,629 and includes an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H CPU along with an RTX 4060. Another $2,199 configuration offers the RTX 4070 and Core Ultra 9 185H. In terms of storage and memory, the cheaper configuration comes with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, while the more expensive configuration comes with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.

My review unit came with an RTX 4070 and looking online that’s the only configuration I could find listed. It wasn’t in stock, but it seems most retailers plan to stock the RTX 4070 configuration over the RTX 4060 configuration.

The prices aren’t bad if you compare the ROG NUC 970 to full-fledged desktops. Starforge Systems Navigator, for example, comes with an RTX 4070 and Ryzen 5 7600X and costs $1,900. And the Alienware Aurora R16 with RTX 4070 and Core i9-13900F comes in at $2,050. By this standard, the ROG NUC 970 doesn’t seem too expensive for its small 2.5-liter form factor.

The main problem with the price is that Asus uses laptop components. This is basically a laptop without the screen and keyboard, plus added ports. It can work as a desktop, but in terms of price, notebooks are the better comparison points.

This benchmark paints a different picture of the ROG NUC 970. Even by Asus’ standards, you can pick up a ROG Zephyrus G16 laptop with an RTX 4070 and Core Ultra 9 185H for $2,000 — $200 less than the ROG NUC 970. The Zephyrus G16 comes with less RAM, but it also packs an OLED display and all the bits you’d expect from a laptop. Before Intel handed over the NUC brand to Asus, options like the NUC 11 Extreme could be close to $2,000, but they also offered you the option to add a discrete desktop GPU.

Still, there’s a premium on how unique the ROG NUC 970 is. There are a few alternatives like the Zotac Zbox, but they run around $2,000 and are hard to find in the US. Then there are workstation-class computers like the HP Z2 Mini G9, but those are just as expensive and only come with professional GPUs. . The NUC 970 is undoubtedly expensive, but it can do something that very few other mini PCs do.

Design and build quality

The ROG NUC 970 is definitely a Republic of Gamers product. The red ROG logo illuminates the left side, shining through the smoky transparent plastic reminiscent of previous NUC designs. The front features aggressive lines of vents, a square power button and a bold ROG badge. There’s not a lot of design space on a black box that’s only 2.5 liters, but Asus adds flair wherever it can.

It is an extremely compact device, densely packed with hardware that does not take up space. It’s a little shocking against an all-plastic case. Build quality is fine, but I’d be wary of the NUC 970. I don’t think he could handle the fall.

That shouldn’t be too much of a concern. The shell has four large rubber feet built into the right side for horizontal orientation, and Asus includes a sturdy metal stand in the box for vertical orientation. The stand weighs about as much as the NUC itself and includes a thick rubber pad to keep the device securely in place. Vertical orientation definitely adds some size. Fortunately, the NUC 970 looks better in its landscape orientation.

Opening the ROG NUC 970 is simple enough. There is a latch on the back that unlocks the side panel and allows it to be removed. From there, you need to loosen the screw on the back and slide in the metal plate that holds the sidelight design – just like previous NUCs, you can replace the ROG logo here. This reveals the RAM, storage and wireless card.

Although opening the ROG NUC 970 is easy in theory, it was surprisingly difficult in practice. In particular, sliding off the metal shield that covers the motherboard is difficult. I felt like I was going to break the device and actually loosened the plastic back panel trying to get the shield to slide in properly. If I was just a little more impatient, I have no doubt that I would have broken the plastic shell that Asus uses on the back of the device.

After opening the NUC 970 a few times, it was easy to remove the shield, but you probably don’t dig around much inside. Once you remove the cover, you get three NVMe slots and two SODIMM slots as advertised. Asus includes quick-release latches for the NVMe slots, so upgrades won’t take more than a few minutes. I replaced the included SSD in about 30 seconds.

Performance

As mentioned, the ROG NUC 970 uses notebook components, so it’s important to keep your performance expectations in check. You won’t get that level of performance from a desktop Core i9 processor or RTX 4070 graphics card. I’ve got a few desktop benchmarks here for context, but the real head-to-head battle is with the laptop components.

As Cinebench R24 shows, Asus gets the most out of these laptop components. It can outperform the Zephyrus G16, which packs an identical CPU. It also beats the M2 Pro Mac mini’s multi-core score, but the single-core performance is a bit behind. He actually managed to compare the Alienware Aurora R16 to the desktop Core i7-13700F, even though it’s an older processor.

Geekbench 6 paints a slightly different picture. The ROG NUC 970 falls short of the Lenovo Yogo Pro 9i, which has the same processor, but a more telling comparison is the Alienware Aurora R16. The Core Ultra 9 185H is beaten in both single-core and multi-core performance. Although the ROG NUC makes the most of its components, at the end of the day it’s still using laptop components – they can’t top what you get on a larger desktop.

The ROG NUC 970 can also withstand real applications. It manages to outperform the Zephyrus G16 and basically matches the desktop HP Omen 40L with Ryzen 7 7700 and desktop RTX 4060 Ti in Premiere Pro.

This is a gaming rig and its big advantage over a thin gaming laptop is the full power of the RTX 4070 graphics card. That just doesn’t always provide a performance advantage. As you can see in 3DMark, the Asus ROG NUC 970 slightly outperforms the Zephyrus G16, but the Alienware Aurora R16 absolutely crushes it. This is one of the clearest examples of the ROG NUC 970 operating closer to a laptop than a desktop.

In real games, it’s not bad with the mobile RTX 4070 at the helm. As you can see from the games I’ve tested, you’ll routinely get above 60 frames per second (fps) in demanding games at 1440p. You may even be able to go 4K with Nvidia’s DLSS 3 enabled in games like Return. My comparison with the desktop RTX 4070 again confirms that you’re getting a mobile experience here, despite what the specs say.

Given what I know about the components inside the ROG NUC 970, it worked as expected. My main concern is that buyers would believe they’re getting desktop-class components given the NUC 970’s form factor. It’s solid performance, but be sure to keep your expectations in check given the device’s small form factor.

Ports and connectivity

The ROG NUC 970 may use notebook components, but its desktop design allows Asus to pack in a lot more ports. From the front, you have access to two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, along with a full-size SD card slot and a headphone jack. On the back there is an HDMI 2.1 port, two DisplayPort 1.4a connections, one Thunderbolt 4 port, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports and two USB 2.0 ports along with 2.5 gigabit Ethernet. An extra USB-C connection would help here, as well as an upgrade on the two USB 2.0 ports to a faster standard, but it’s hard to complain.

Importantly, you also have a barrel power jack on the back of the NUC 970. Considering how small this device is, Asus opted for an external power supply. The 330W adapter is large and heavy. I appreciate moving the bulk and weight off the device, but remember you’ll need to make room for the power brick.

Wirelessly, you have access to Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, both via an embedded Intel wireless card. I had some wireless issues on my control unit which I was able to fix by reinstalling the driver. I don’t think most people will have any problems, and thankfully Asus includes a one-click installer on their website for all the drivers the NUC 970 needs. If you plan to pick up the device, I would upload a USB drive with the drivers just to be sure.

Should you buy the Asus ROG NUC 970?

The ROG NUC 970 does its own thing, taking up space in a mini PC where there aren’t many high-performance options. It’s a niche product by nature, but if you’re shopping within that niche, it’s a great option. Given the $2,200 asking price, you won’t get the best performance, but given the size, easy upgradeability, and extensive connectivity, performance is where the trade-off makes sense.

For those looking at the ROG NUC 970, I would look for other options. A laptop with the same components as the Zephyrus G16 not only gives you similar performance, but also a portable device that you can take on the go – usually for less money too. Similarly, a small desktop might be bigger, but you’ll be able to pack a lot more power.