Intel NUC13 Extreme Raptor Canyon Review: Sizzling SFF Performance Powerhouse
by Ganesh T S on December 14, 2022 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Systems
- Intel
- NUC
- Raptor Lake
- Raptor Canyon
- NUC13
- NUC Extreme
GPU Performance: Synthetic Benchmarks
Discrete GPUs in desktops are typically evaluated for gaming workloads. In certain systems, they are used exclusively for GPU compute or workstation duties. We have already look at the SPECviewperf 2020 v3 results for a look at the Raptor Canyon NUC from a CAD / CAM perspective. Before looking at gaming workloads, we take a look at the performance of the systems in different synthetic / standardized workloads. Prior to that, a look at the capabilities of the RTX 3080 Ti in the Raptor Canyon NUC is warranted.
The RTX 3080 Ti is a 8nm Ampere GPU from NVIDIA released in June 2021. It is equipped with 12GB of GDDR6X VRAM, and supports all the latest features including hardware ray-tracing. It interfaces with the host processor using a PCIe 4.0 x16 link.
GFXBench
The DirectX 12-based GFXBench tests from Kishonti are cross-platform, and available all the way down to smartphones. As such, they are not very taxing for discrete GPUs and modern integrated GPUs. We processed the offscreen versions of the 'Aztec Ruins' benchmark.
The Raptor Canyon NUC configuration shows twice the graphics performance of the previous-generation Extreme NUCs in the Aztec Ruins workload.
UL 3DMark
Five different workload sets were processed in 3DMark - Fire Strike, Time Spy, Night Raid, Wild Life, and Port Royal.
3DMark Fire Strike
The Fire Strike benchmark has three workloads. The base version is meant for high-performance gaming PCs. It uses DirectX 11 (feature level 11) to render frames at 1920 x 1080. The Extreme version targets 1440p gaming requirements, while the Ultra version targets 4K gaming system, and renders at 3840 x 2160. The graph below presents the overall score for the Fire Strike Extreme and Fire Strike Ultra benchmark across all the systems that are being compared.
| UL 3DMark - Fire Strike Workloads | |||
The doubled graphics performance numbers are backed up by 3DMark Fire Strike also.
3DMark Time Spy
The Time Spy workload has two levels with different complexities. Both use DirectX 12 (feature level 11). However, the plain version targets high-performance gaming PCs with a 2560 x 1440 render resolution, while the Extreme version renders at 3840 x 2160 resolution. The graphs below present both numbers for all the systems that are being compared in this review. We see the 2x advantage of the Raptor Canyon NUC in both Time Spy workloads.
| UL 3DMark - Time Spy Workloads | |||
3DMark Wild Life
The Wild Life workload was initially introduced as a cross-platform GPU benchmark in 2020. It renders at a 2560 x 1440 resolution using Vulkan 1.1 APIs on Windows. It is a relatively short-running test, reflective of mobile GPU usage. In mid-2021, UL released the Wild Life Extreme workload that was a more demanding version that renders at 3840 x 2160 and runs for a much longer duration reflective of typical desktop gaming usage.
| UL 3DMark - Wild Life Workloads | |||
3DMark Night Raid
The Night Raid workload is a DirectX 12 benchmark test. It is less demanding than Time Spy, and is optimized for integrated graphics. The graph below presents the overall score in this workload for different system configurations.
3DMark Port Royal
UL introduced the Port Royal ray-tracing benchmark as a DLC for 3DMark in early 2019. The scores serve as an indicator of how the system handles ray-tracing effects in real-time.
Across all the 3DMark benchmarks, we observe that the Raptor Canyon NUC has a 2x performance advantage. Does that translate to actual gaming performance? The next section addresses that question.
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meacupla - Wednesday, December 14, 2022 - link
I think this is one of the most disappointing NUC extremes released to date.It's too large, and it's too boring looking. It's dimensions, and external looks makes it too similar to cheapo mATX business PCs from the likes of Dell, HP, and Lenovo.
Fractal Design's Ridge is a full 1L smaller, at 12.6L, it looks nice, and it can also fit a similarly large triple slot 335mm length GPU. And it's not like the Ridge does anything special, or use custom parts. It's just a bog standard mITX+SFX using a riser card.
Intel, please do better next time... Why even use a custom mobo, if you end up using a compact mATX case?
rob89353 - Wednesday, December 14, 2022 - link
Oh no, 8% larger than the Ridge, what a disappointment. ??The fact that it's the same size as a boring business PC but has a 13900 and 3080TI is what makes it impressive. It's like you packed a Corvette's V8 into a Chevy Spark.
lunchb0x91 - Wednesday, December 14, 2022 - link
Except it's not even impressive. The Dan case C4-SFX is slightly smaller than this, supports standardized components, and can fit a 3090 in it.PEJUman - Monday, January 2, 2023 - link
I do like the intel MOBO with dual TB4 with full bandwidth, 10 GBe, 2.5 GBe and 3x M.2 PCI-E 4x.Additionally, the OTS option for CPU cooler that fits inside DAN case would struggle at the 150W sustained.
I'd like INTEL approach here on the motherboard form factor rethinking, but they need some industry support for the case & power supplies
meacupla - Wednesday, December 14, 2022 - link
Yeah, it's massively disappointing, when you can pack a 13900 and 3080Ti into a smaller case.Do you know how much 1L is in mini PC terms? You can get a mini PC equipped with a Ryzen 5700G or 6800H in that size.
Samus - Thursday, December 15, 2022 - link
The FT03-Mini can pack a 13900 and 3080Ti into a case of nearly identical volume and it's a 10 year old design that uses a standard SFX PSU, has an optical drive slot, multiple 2.5" and 3.5" drive bays, and provisions for liquid cooling radiator mounting (which is basically required since there isn't room to fit a fist inside the case)Unfortunately due to its design, a GPU with a blower is required and those are virtually non-existent anymore.
TheinsanegamerN - Wednesday, December 14, 2022 - link
But there are smaller cases that can do the same thing without the proprietary slots and boards.If you're gonna go proprietary not being able to beat the standard cases in size is a pretty big disappointment.
powerarmour - Wednesday, December 14, 2022 - link
So, 'Next Unit of Computing' has now become 'Thin Tower Desktop', if you lay this thing on it's side you can put a CRT on top just like old times...That's enough Intel, just stop with the NUC branding now, it's just dumb.
GoogleQuizz1 - Friday, December 30, 2022 - link
The information given in your blog is very useful, thank you sirMike Lee - Wednesday, December 14, 2022 - link
The one difference between this NUC and the Fractal Design Ridge (and the new Silverstone MILO 12) is the size of the CPU cooler. The largest CPU air cooler that you can fit in the Ridge is the Noctua NH-L12S, which is a single fan 120 mm cooler. It's obvious to me that the NUC engineering team was playing Tetris when they designed the cooling solution for this NUC. I think they were benchmarking the Noctua cooler to try and come up with something more performant and to also keep the size as small as possible.What I hope to see is that intel further supports this design so that in the future we can reuse the power supply and case when we upgrade the compute elements to the latest generation of intel processors.