ASUS NUC 15 Pro RNUC15CRKV50000U 2025, Core Ultra 5 235H, 32GB, 1TB SSD, Black

The ASUS NUC 15 Pro Slim is a compact barebone mini PC with excellent port selection, Wi-Fi 7, and Thunderbolt 4, but average CPU performance and weak gaming chops. It's a good fit for office work and coding if you don't mind adding your own RAM, storage, and OS. At $788 to $838 plus the cost of parts, it's a premium price for a niche form factor.

The Core Ultra 5 235H is a 14-core chip with a 2.4GHz base clock, and in our database it lands around the 65th percentile for CPU performance among mini PCs and desktops. That's solidly middle of the pack, which sounds underwhelming until you remember this thing is the size of a sandwich. For office work, web browsing, coding, and light multitasking, it's plenty snappy. The integrated Arc 140T graphics sit at the 58th percentile, so you can forget about modern AAA gaming, but older titles and esports games at low settings are technically possible. The 32GB of DDR5 RAM in the config we're looking at is a standout, ranking in the 91st percentile, and that's the kind of headroom developers and heavy multitaskers will appreciate.

Storage comes in at 1024GB via an M.2 2280 PCIe 5.0 slot, which is about average for this class. The real story here is connectivity. With Thunderbolt 4, DisplayPort, three USB-C ports, four USB-A ports, dual HDMI, 2.5G Ethernet, and Wi-Fi 7, this little box has more I/O than some full-size desktops. Port selection ranks in the 87th percentile, and that's where the NUC 15 Pro Slim earns its keep. If you're running multiple monitors, external drives, and a wired network connection, this thing handles it without a dongle in sight.

Stacked against the Lenovo Legion 90YA003GUS and HP OMEN GT16-0364, the NUC 15 Pro Slim loses on raw performance but wins on footprint and connectivity. Those are gaming-oriented desktops with discrete GPUs, and they'll run circles around the Arc 140T in any graphics workload. But they're also big, loud, and power-hungry. The NUC sips power and disappears behind a monitor with the included VESA bracket. The Dell Desktop ECT1250 is a more direct competitor in the small form factor space, and it often undercuts the NUC on price while offering similar everyday performance. The MSI Aegis Z2 C7NVP-1449US is another gaming-focused option that trades blows with the Legion and OMEN, but again, it's a full tower.

Where the NUC 15 Pro Slim really stands out is in the I/O department. Thunderbolt 4 and Wi-Fi 7 are not common at this price point, and the sheer number of USB ports is impressive. If you're building a compact workstation with multiple monitors and external storage, this is one of the best-connected mini PCs we've seen. But if you're comparing it to a gaming desktop at the same price, you'll be disappointed. The NUC is a productivity tool, not a gaming rig, and the 15.6 out of 100 gaming score in our database makes that clear.

At $788 to $838 in the US, the NUC 15 Pro Slim is priced like a premium mini PC, but you're getting a barebone kit. Add a decent 1TB SSD and 32GB of DDR5, and you're looking at another $150 to $250 on top. That pushes the real cost closer to $1,000, which is a lot for a machine with integrated graphics and mid-tier CPU performance. For comparison, the Lenovo Legion 90YA003GUS and HP OMEN GT16-0364 are full desktops with discrete GPUs that often land in a similar price range, though they're much larger. The Apple Mac Studio M3 Ultra is in a completely different performance and price class, but it shows what's possible if you're willing to spend more. If you need the small form factor and the port selection, the NUC makes sense. If you just want the most performance per dollar, it doesn't.

The ASUS NUC 15 Pro Slim is a barebone mini PC aimed at compact workspaces and developers who want a small, quiet machine without a lot of fuss. It sits in the roughly $788 to $838 range in the US, and around CAD 1,110 in Canada, which puts it in that mid-tier mini PC bracket where you're paying for the form factor and modern connectivity more than raw horsepower. This kit ships without RAM, storage, or an OS, so you'll need to bring your own parts or budget for them separately. The toolless chassis is a nice touch, and the spec sheet is built around Intel's Core Ultra 5 235H with integrated Arc 140T graphics.

People searching for a compact desktop for office work or a small dev box will find a lot to like here. It's not a gaming machine, and it's not trying to be. The NUC 15 Pro Slim is best understood as a productivity-focused mini PC with excellent port selection and Wi-Fi 7, aimed at folks who value desk space and low noise over upgradeability and gaming performance. If you're wondering whether this is good for everyday office tasks, coding, or running a home server, the short answer is yes, with some caveats around reliability and social proof we'll get into below.

One thing to know up front: this is a barebone kit. That means no SSD, no memory, and no Windows license in the box. The manufacturer lists it as Windows 11 ready, but you'll be installing your own OS. For some buyers that's a feature, not a bug. For others, it's an extra step and extra cost. We'll break down what that means in practice throughout this review.

Skip the NUC 15 Pro Slim if you're a gamer, a video editor working with 4K footage, or anyone who needs serious GPU performance. The integrated Arc 140T graphics are fine for spreadsheets and code, but they'll choke on anything demanding. Also skip it if you want a plug-and-play experience, since you'll need to buy and install RAM, storage, and an OS. If you're on a tight budget, the Dell Desktop ECT1250 often delivers similar everyday performance for less money. And if you want a small machine with more power, the Apple Mac Studio M3 Ultra is the obvious step up, though it costs significantly more.

Should you buy the ASUS NUC 15 Pro Slim? If you need a compact, quiet, well-connected mini PC for office work, coding, or light content creation, and you don't mind sourcing your own RAM, storage, and OS, then yes, this is a solid choice. The port selection is genuinely impressive, the toolless chassis is a nice quality-of-life feature, and the 32GB of DDR5 in this config gives you real headroom. The Core Ultra 5 235H is fine for everyday tasks, and the integrated Arc 140T graphics are adequate for anything that isn't gaming or heavy GPU work.

But if you're looking for a gaming machine, or you want the best performance per dollar, look elsewhere. The gaming score of 15.6 out of 100 tells the story. And the reliability percentile of 36 is a yellow flag, especially combined with almost no customer reviews to lean on. The single 2.5-star rating we have in our database isn't much to go on, but it's not exactly a ringing endorsement either. For the money, you could get a more powerful desktop if you're willing to give up the small form factor. If the size is non-negotiable, the NUC 15 Pro Slim is a reasonable, if unexciting, pick.