ASUS NUC 15 2025, Core Ultra 9 275HX, 96GB, RTX 5070, Black

The ASUS NUC 15 Performance packs a 24-core Core Ultra 9 275HX and RTX 5070 into a 3.12kg mini PC, with top-tier CPU and RAM potential. It's a barebone kit, so you'll need to add RAM, storage, and an OS, pushing the real cost well past the $2,334 starting price. Reliability scores are below average and the lone customer review is a 0.5 star. Buy it for the compact form factor and DIY flexibility, not for out-of-the-box value.

The Core Ultra 9 275HX is a 24-core monster with a dedicated NPU for AI workloads. In our rankings, it lands in the 92nd percentile for CPUs in this category, which means it's one of the best on the market right now. For gaming, the RTX 5070 with 12GB of VRAM sits at the 84th percentile, a strong showing that should handle 1440p gaming and most creative GPU tasks without breaking a sweat. DLSS helps smooth things out when you push resolution or ray tracing.

Real-world, that means you can run local AI models, compile code, edit 4K video, and still have headroom for a game in the evening. The dual M.2 PCIe 5.0 slots are a nice touch for fast storage, though you'll need to buy those drives yourself. The triple fan and dual vapor chamber cooling setup is doing a lot of work in a chassis this small, and that 330W PSU suggests ASUS isn't leaving much power on the table. Just don't expect it to be silent under full load.

The HP OMEN GT22-3080 and Lenovo Legion 90Y6003JUS are the most direct rivals. Both are traditional towers with similar GPU tiers, and they typically ship as complete systems. You lose the mini PC footprint, but you gain out-of-the-box usability and often better cooling headroom. The Legion line in particular has a strong reputation for build quality and thermal management, which matters when you're pushing an RTX 5070 for hours.

The Apple Mac Studio M4 Max is the wildcard. It's not a gaming machine in the traditional sense, but for creative pros and developers who live in macOS, it's a compelling alternative. Apple's unified memory and M4 Max chip deliver excellent performance per watt, and the Studio is whisper quiet. The NUC 15 wins on raw gaming GPU flexibility and Windows compatibility, but the Mac Studio is a more polished, complete product. The Dell Tower ECT1250 and CLX SET TGMSETRTU5204BM round out the field, with Dell offering enterprise-grade support and CLX targeting custom gaming builds.

Pricing is all over the place depending on where you look. US listings run from $2,334 to $2,522, while the single Canadian listing sits at CAD 3,330. Remember, those currencies aren't directly comparable, but the US range gives you a sense of the entry point. For a barebone kit, that's a real investment, especially once you add 96GB of DDR5 and a couple of fast NVMe drives. You could easily push the total cost past $3,000.

Against the competition, that's a tough sell on paper. The HP OMEN GT22-3080 and Lenovo Legion 90Y6003JUS are full desktops that often include RAM, storage, and Windows for similar or less money. The Apple Mac Studio M4 Max is a different beast entirely, but it's a complete system with Apple's silicon and a proven reliability record. The NUC's value hinges on how much you prize the small form factor and the ability to spec your own parts.

ASUS is back with another NUC, and this one is a bit of a flex. The NUC 15 Performance crams a 24-core Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and an RTX 5070 into a 3.12kg box that you can still tuck under a monitor. That's a lot of silicon for a mini PC, and it's aimed squarely at people who want a compact workstation for gaming, AI tinkering, or heavy creative work without a full tower taking over their desk.

This is a barebone kit, so you'll need to bring your own RAM, storage, and OS. The spec sheet here lists 96GB of DDR5, but that's a config option, not what ships in the box. You get two SO-DIMM slots and two M.2 2280 PCIe 5.0 slots to fill. If you're comfortable with a screwdriver and a Windows USB stick, this is a fun afternoon project. If you want something that boots out of the box, keep walking.

The pitch is simple: desktop-class performance in a small footprint, with Wi-Fi 7, Thunderbolt 4, and a 330W power brick to feed it all. Our database puts the RAM ceiling and CPU near the top of the charts for this category, but storage flexibility and reliability scores are a different story. We'll get into that.

If you want a computer that works out of the box, skip this. The barebone nature means you're buying a project, and the total cost after adding RAM, storage, and a Windows license will likely exceed a comparable prebuilt desktop. The HP OMEN GT22-3080 or Lenovo Legion 90Y6003JUS are better choices for plug-and-play gaming.

Also skip this if you rely heavily on USB-A peripherals. The reported limitation on rear USB-A data transfer is a real problem for anyone with external drives, audio interfaces, or other USB devices. A traditional tower or a different mini PC with fully functional ports would serve you better. And if you're in the Apple ecosystem, the Mac Studio M4 Max is a more polished, reliable, and quieter option for creative work.

If you're a tinkerer who wants a compact Windows box with serious CPU and GPU muscle, the NUC 15 Performance is a solid foundation. The Core Ultra 9 275HX and RTX 5070 combo is genuinely impressive for a machine this size, and the dual PCIe 5.0 M.2 slots give you room to build a very fast storage setup. Just know that you're signing up for a project, not a product.

For everyone else, the value proposition gets murky. The barebone nature means you're paying a premium for the privilege of assembling your own system, and the reliability score in our database is below average. The single 0.5-star review is a red flag, though it's a small sample size. If you want a gaming PC that just works, the HP OMEN or Lenovo Legion are safer bets. If you want a quiet creative workstation, the Mac Studio M4 Max is hard to ignore.