Intel Ghost Canyon NUC9i9QNX Review: NUC 9 Extreme Realizes the SFF Dream
by Ganesh T S on April 16, 2020 8:05 AM ESTHTPC Credentials - Display Outputs Capabilities
The
| NUC9i9QNB Display Outputs | ||
| HDMI | 2x Thunderbolt 3 | |
| Version | 2.0a | DisplayPort 1.2 |
| Max. Video Output | 3840x2160 @ 60Hz | 4096x2160 @ 60Hz |
| HDCP | Yes (2.2) | |
| HDR | Yes | No |
| HD Audio Bitstreaming | Yes | |
The BIOS of the NUC9i9QNX also allows for switchable graphics. The ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 2070 MINI 8GB GDDR6 in our review configuration supports a maximum of four displays using three additional display outputs (the DisplayPort output supports multi-stream transport and can drive additional displays down the chain). The end implication is the ability of the system to simultaneously drive a total of 7 independent displays. The table below lists the display outputs of the RTX 2070 card in our review sample.
| ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 2070 MINI Display Outputs | |||
| DVI-D | HDMI | DisplayPort | |
| Version | Dual-Link | 2.0b | 1.4 |
| Max. Video Output | 2560x1600 @ 60Hz | 3840x2160 @ 60Hz | 7680x4320 @ 60Hz |
| HDCP | Yes (2.2) | ||
| HDR | No | Yes | |
| HD Audio Bitstreaming | No | Yes | |
Supporting the display of high-resolution protected video content is a requirement for even a casual HTPC user. In addition, HTPC enthusiasts also want their systems to support refresh rates that either match or be an integral multiple of the frame rate of the video being displayed. Most displays / AVRs are able to transmit the supported refresh rates to the PC using the EDID metadata. In some cases, the desired refresh rate might be missing in the list of supported modes.
Display Refresh Rates - NUC9i9QNB
Our evaluation of the NUC9i9QNX
The gallery below presents screenshots from the other refresh rates that were tested. The system has no trouble maintaining a fairly accurate refresh rate throughout the duration of the video playback.
Display Refresh Rates - ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 2070 MINI
Our initial HTPC evaluation was followed up by using the
The gallery below presents screenshots from the other refresh rates that were tested. Similar to the Intel HDMI output case, the system has no trouble maintaining a fairly accurate refresh rate throughout the duration of the video playback.
UHD Blu-ray Playback Support
UHD Blu-ray playback is currently supported when using the HDMI port driven by select Intel GPUs. It also needs SGX support. The NUC9i9QNX ticks all required items, as shown by the CyberLink Ultra HD Blu-ray Advisor tool in the screenshot below.
Using CyberLink's latest PowerDVD 20, we were able to successfully play back a UHD Blu-ray, as shown above.
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Namisecond - Friday, April 17, 2020 - link
Thirded, the sandwich design the Dancase A4 popularized really revolutionized the DIY SFF world. We are living in the golden age of DIY SFF. :)Namisecond - Friday, April 17, 2020 - link
In this case, what is Intel offering for their for their roughly $500-$600 plastic chassis and proprietary unbranded PSU? Superior Intel marketing? I feel your Dan A4 analogy sarcasm is spot on, but I think the reasons it's spot on does not extend to the NUC 9.imaheadcase - Thursday, April 16, 2020 - link
Unless you got some very specific need for this, not worth getting. Lots of these are used for home media streaming setups, so needing something this powerful is overkill. You can get 4k streaming/movies or whatever on the price of a low end 5 year old NUC or more.BlazingDragon - Thursday, April 16, 2020 - link
Agreed.The seems like the result of a "hey, we could do this" thought process, rather than "we should do this"...
Massively overpriced for home use.... Enthusiasts will build their own, much cheaper and more capable system, and normal buyers will never pay this much... they could just buy a much cheaper standard PC [for GPU], or a much cheaper Intel NUC8 or NUC10 [or Zotac, etc., equivalent] if gfx performance is not important.
GamersNexus has a detailed review on Youtube which aligns with the above.
Maybe the Xeon based Quartz Canyon will find business customers who need/value the small size, but I'm not convinced...
For anyone interested, prices for all NUC9 models are available [and for pre-order] here: shopblt.com
Deicidium369 - Friday, April 17, 2020 - link
Agreed - like I said I have no clue what the use case for this is. Even the Xeon unit...erinadreno - Thursday, April 16, 2020 - link
There are plenty of sff itx case, I mean really sff case(4~6L), out there. They cost from $30 to $200, plus a $120 Enhanced 7660b, which is a 600w PSU instead of 500. Standard high end itx boards costs $300 at best. If you spend the same $1500 on those stuff, you'd left south of 1000 bucks. Heck, you can even get a Xeon 8136 28c CPU at this point (although your only option for motherboard is that ONE ASRock server board and some janky coolers).I just don't see the value of this okay-sized box in 2020. As in the past couple years the itx market just expand that much. Just give up on graphics and buy a regular nuc or build your own stuff.
pixelstuff - Thursday, April 16, 2020 - link
That seems really large for a "Next Unit of Computing" classification.Deicidium369 - Friday, April 17, 2020 - link
Agreed - for me the NUC is the 4.5"x4.5" units - even the Hades Canyon to me doesn't meet the classification.Oxford Guy - Friday, April 17, 2020 - link
My dream is for people to mature enough to demand that Intel not be idiotic enough to put skulls on things.Cullinaire - Friday, April 17, 2020 - link
How about a pelvis instead?