02 Aug
Blog

Canyon Grail:ON Review: The Best Gravel E-Bike Available?

Canyon Grail on Rating 3

"The Canyon Gravel: ON is not for the faint of heart, but its premium components and crazy range are worth your attention."

  • Construction quality & design

  • Quality components

  • Powerful engine

  • Enjoyable on the go or on the go

In recent years, the gravel community has consolidated a bicycle culture that cannot be burdened with the unwritten rules of road cycling. This means hairy legs, fat tires, and the emphasis on enjoying the ride, not how fast you can finish it. Although e-bikes grow with their own community, which is somewhat less pronounced, they are accepted more generally than before, simply because they get more people on bikes. Although I know that there is a contingent of elcists dressed in lycra that could question these two statements, e-bikes and gravel bikes are here to stay. I greet the company.

So it makes sense that Canyon introduced it Grail: ON, his first entry into the US e-bike market. If you are not familiar with Canyon, you should be. It makes amazing bikes that are often the best high-end bang for your buck because the company works on a direct-to-consumer model. This means that you won't see any new canyons in your local bike shop, but don't worry. An incredible six-year warranty, 30-day return policy, and easy set up with all the tools included ensure a smooth shopping experience.

The Grail: ON: What is it and what is different?

The Grail: ON was born out of Canyon’s long-standing gravel favorite, the Grail, and makes more changes than just putting on an engine and battery and calling them good. And although the geometry of a bike with the Grail: ON is certainly not the sexiest topic, it is worth mentioning. Canyon considered what it would mean to throw a few extra weights and forces on a bike, and modified it accordingly.

This means that they thickened the side walls of this full carbon frame to cope with the additional abuse while at the same time lengthening the wheelbase and shortening the stem. These changes result in an e-bike that is far more maneuverable than others I've ridden. In fact, the smooth and responsive ride sometimes made me forget that I was riding an e-bike at all.

Outside of the frame and the engine, the Grail: ON's double-decker handlebar is the most important visual difference to other motorcycles. This multi-level drop bar looks partly from hammerhead shark and partly from medieval weapons. It may look crazy, but the result is an increase in comfort that you will soon learn to love.

For the Grail: ONThe integrated stem has been shortened, which brings the floating upper rod closer to the driver. That means a more relaxed and comfortable driving position. The top bar is doubly resilient and also dampens road vibrations when it gets bumpy. I can testify that I was quite skeptical of these claims, but spent more and more time at the top because it took the edge off uneven back streets.

Fat tires? No problem

The Grail: ONs tires also help to relieve bumpy roads. From 40 mm on the grail to 50 mm on the grail: ON, the Schwalbe G-One Bites are gigantic. When I pulled the Grail: ON out of its box, my first thought was that these things were way too big. With a tread pattern just below what I'm considering for a mountain bike, the G-One bites are large, aggressive, and can ride at just 30 psi. This means a lot of traction and additional suspension to absorb bumps, as well as more rolling resistance.

If you only drive loose gravel, this is not a problem. However, if you are like me and drive 80% paved roads with small pieces of gravel, rolling resistance becomes a bigger problem. To my great surprise, on my first outing, I pumped the front and back to 55 psi and was shocked when I was traveling at 21 mph. As the power for the Grail: ON stops at 32 km / h, the tires and the additional weight balanced quite well.

Where I noticed the grail: The weight of ON, which is just over 35 pounds for a medium, was on gravel descents. While I could still throw the Grail: ON around, I definitely drove the 160mm hydraulic disc brakes a bit harder than usual, and this is where the extra size of the tires really came into play. The same tires that I made fun of in my living room have worked well in the real world – I was thrilled to have the extra rubber I could work with.

Battery and motor

The culprit behind the weight of Grail: ON is of course the Bosch Performance Line CX motor and the replaceable 500 watt-hour battery. Canyon chose the Bosch unit because it can achieve a torque of up to 85 Nm, which is just under 63 pound-feet or roughly what an 800 cc motorcycle has.

In contrast to motorcycles, the Grail: ON has no gas – it is a pedelec or a pedal assistant. This means that the motor turns on when you pedal and supports you based on your cadence, the force exerted and the overall speed. The engine output is available in four versions. Eco mode is the least powerful, followed by touring, sports and the undisputed king of the hills, turbo.

All modes are limited to 32 km / h in the US and are selected via the simple but effective Bosch screen, which gives you information about your current speed, range, performance mode and battery life. Of course, you can step over this top speed of 32 km / h on your own and switch off the support if you want to treat yourself to a little more training.

I was not a big fan of Bosch motors in the past because I found them jerky and louder than I expected. The unity in the Grail: ON changed my mind. The smooth delivery never surprised me and at the same time impressed me with the sheer force. My only criticism of the Bosch system is the display. It shows everything that is needed in terms of the engine, but I'm definitely looking forward to the day when I don't have my special bike computer for GPS on board and have to follow my training.

When it comes to the range of the Grail: ON, Canyon estimates that a 210-pound driver will reach a range of just under 70 miles. The range of e-bikes is difficult to quantify due to all the variables in the game, but I was surprised to see that I blew their estimate out of the water and approached 110 miles in eco mode. Admittedly, I'm 170 pounds and mostly drive on paved country roads with a mixture of hilly and flat terrain. However, if you have a battery that lasts that long, the eight-hour charge will be a bit more bearable.

Have a nice trip

How well that helps also with downtimes when charging Grail: ON only sees sitting there. It shouts: "I am different!" much more than it does "I'm an e-bike!" and that will surely be appreciated. No matter whether it is the super clean internal cable routing or the Starship Enterprise frontend, the Grail: ON is an eye-catcher and offers more than just a reasonable share of second looks and inquiries. But it's really the combination of outstanding parts and parts that brings the whole package together.

I talked a lot about the tires, but the DT Swiss bikes are also worth mentioning. With hubs that are padded to absorb the extra torque from the engine, the HGRC 1400 wheelset gives your ride aerodynamics and power. The fact that aerodynamic gains are likely to be wiped out by these monster truck tires is irrelevant. You look great!

The seat post is another Canyon specialty worth mentioning. The leaf spring design smoothes the ride even more than the frame already. When you add the Fizik Argo Tempo saddle, you have a true two-wheeled throne that uses some of the most intelligent design technologies available to the cycling community today.

Speaking of technology, I used the top-class Sram eTap version of the Grail: ON. This means wireless shifting for the 12-speed 10-36 cassette, which is driven by a 44-tooth FSA chainring at the front. While the eTap drivetrain worked flawlessly, there is one strange thing: it uses batteries. The wireless derailleur uses its own battery, so it is not connected to the entire bike.

This means that theoretically I am running out of batteries in the derailleur and I cannot shift while the engine is still fully charged. The Sram batteries last two to three weeks. As long as you charge them with bike lights and headunits, you should be fine. But I wonder if this system would have been better served with a Shimano Di2 setup that still has a hardwired connection and could be integrated into the bike battery.

Warranty information

The bike has a six-year warranty on all Canyon parts and components, and a two-year warranty on all e-bike parts, including the Bosch motor and battery.

Our opinion

The Grail: ON is a first-class gravel bike with an e-bike motor. The Grail: ON offers drivers multiple performance modes while using premium components combined with a frame that has been expertly optimized to meet the highest demands. It is everything I would expect from a world-class manufacturer like Canyon. And with the Grail: After winning a Red Dot Award for bicycle design in 2020, I'm clearly not the only one who believes this.

Is there a better alternative?

The closest competitor is Specialized Turbo Creo SL Comp Carbon at $ 6,750. But with the Specialized, you'll miss out on electronic shifting, improved wheels and tires, and buy a much less dramatic aesthetic. If these things don't inspire you, you might consider them Giant uprising for $ 4,200 as a cheaper option.

How long it will take?

The durability of the Grail: ON definitely depends on your use. While carbon fiber is not known as the most durable material in the world, the built-up thickness that the Grail: ON uses should keep problems at bay. Bosch is now known for building nail-hard electric motors with batteries that are officially designed for 500 charging cycles and allow you to use them for years before you have to replace them. Firmware updates are offered annually by Bosch dealers to keep drivers up to date with the latest improvements to the Kies software.

Should you buy it

Yes. If the price of the $ 6,999 eTap model is a bit too high, you should definitely check out the standard Grail: ON CF8 model. The CF8 has a mechanical gearshift and slightly cheaper DT Swiss wheels, but otherwise has the same benefits as big tires and frame designs for $ 5,799.

Editor's recommendations




15 Apr
Blog

Intel NUC 9 Extreme Kit Ghost Canyon Review: All Potential

Intel Ghost Canyon

Intel NUC 9 Extreme Kit "Ghost Canyon" test: all possibilities

"Intel's NUC 9 Extreme Kit is a unique vision of computing, but far from perfect."

  • Extremely small

  • Modular structure with upgrade potential

  • Excellent connectivity, including Thunderbolt 3

  • Upgrades are more difficult than expected

  • Loud fan

I built a plywood computer case earlier this year. With a height of 9 inches and a depth of 5.5 inches, it is an extremely small system. I spent a good thirty hours researching, designing, and optimizing the case that now houses my main desktop PC. It was an enjoyable and rewarding project.

But I could have just waited for the Intel NUC 9 Extreme Kit.

The NUC 9 Extreme kit I received for review had an Intel Core i9-9980HK processor, 16 GB RAM, an Nvidia RTX 2070 graphics card from Asus and two solid-state hard drives: One Kingston 2 TB Drive paired with a 380 GB Intel Optane ride. Note that the NUC 9 Extreme Kit usually does not contain any memory, memory or a graphics card.

With these components, it is way ahead of my personal desktop with a Ryzen 5 3500 processor and the GTX 1650 Super from Nvidia. However, the Intel NUC 9 Extreme Kit ($ 1,700) is slightly smaller. It is a few tenths of an inch less deep and tall and almost two inches narrower.

No system I've reviewed offers more performance per square inch. The latest NUC is a fascinating, unique and ultimately faulty experiment in compact gaming PCs.

Design and ports

Oddly enough, the Intel NUC 9 Extreme Kit basically looks like a NUC. I find it strange because I expected a more drastic redesign given the performance gap. Nevertheless, it has the same square, round appearance as previous NUC devices.

NUC fans might be surprised by its mass, which is many times higher than that of any previous device in the NUC range. However, most people will think the system is tiny. Its volume is approximately 5 liters. In comparison, the XPS Special Edition desktop from Dell – our top desktop for most people – takes up almost 25 liters of space.

Intel Ghost CanyonIntel NUC 9 Extreme Kit (left) and home-made plywood desktop (right) Matthew Smith / Digital Trends

That's a big difference. Though larger than in the past, the NUC 9 is small enough to be stowed almost anywhere you want. Place it on your desktop, on a shelf, or even in a closet (if you can guarantee adequate airflow). It is important that it remains small enough to be easily used as a home theater PC.

The NUC 9 has an industrial appearance that does not communicate its unique approach. Apart from the skull logo that is used on other game-oriented NUC devices, there is nothing in this PC to indicate performance. Personally, I don't mind. I will do the job every day of the week.

The excellent selection of ports speaks for the dual approach of the NUC 9.

And it works. At the front, the NUC 9 offers two USB-A 3.1 connections, a combined headphone / microphone connection and an SDXC card reader. On the back you will find four more USB-A 3.1 ports, two Gigabit LAN ports, DisplayPort, HDMI 2.0 and DVI. There are also two Thunderbolt 3 ports, a rare thing that is still unusual on PC desktops.

It is an excellent selection of ports that speak for the dual purpose of the NUC 9. It can hold a graphics card for games, but can also serve as a small workstation for a videographer, photographer, streamer, or other creator. The wired connectivity is rounded off by the support of Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.

Internals and upgrades

The NUC 9 Extreme Kit would be fascinating if it were “just” a powerful, pint-sized PC, but there's more to it than that. It contains the Intel Compute Element, which is a working PC that is pressed onto a PCI Express card that is smaller than most graphics cards. The compute element houses the processor, memory and hard drive – although the NUC 9 Extreme Kit is only supplied with the processor. You must purchase the storage and hard drive separately.

Intel's focus for the compute element is on upgradeability and customization. In theory, this step offers NUC 9 owners an excellent upgrade path. The processor, RAM, hard drive, graphics card and power supply can be replaced.

I could even say it's better than a regular desktop because you don't have to worry about replacing the motherboard. By exchanging the computing element, you can also update your port selection, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

That is the pitch. Does it work in practice?

Intel Ghost CanyonWorking with these connections is cumbersome Matthew Smith / Digital Trends

I was disappointed to find that the modular structure of the NUC 9 was difficult. Opening the case is easy enough. Simply remove two screws and slide the top back. However, the adapted compute element is decorated with numerous connections at unfavorable angles. These must be carefully removed.

In my experience, gamers who want to upgrade a rig are afraid because they don't want to break an expensive PC. The NUC 9 does not solve this problem.

Intel Ghost CanyonComputing element (closed) Matthew Smith / Digital Trends

As soon as the connections are removed and one last screw is loosened, the Compute Element slides freely like any other PCI Express card. The element is a plastic cover on a circuit board that contains the processor, memory (in the form of two SODIMMs) and solid-state memory.

The processor cannot be removed while memory and memory can be replaced. It is a mobile chip that, like other NUC devices, is permanently connected. That is why the compute element is important. You cannot replace the processor without them. This means that at least a processor upgrade is possible.

Intel Ghost CanyonCalculate item (open) Matthew Smith / Digital Trends

What computer elements will be available and how much will they cost? Intel's roadmap is not precise. However, the company has promised that future Compute Elements will be backward compatible. Intel plans new Compute Element models for 2021 and 2022. Partner companies will also sell standalone Compute Element upgrades.

Personally, I tend to believe Intel's plan. The company has supported the NUC line for years, even though it only makes up part of its overall business.

I expect processor options to be limited compared to a standard desktop, but it might make sense to swap flexibility for simplicity and size. The subtle differences between processors are not relevant to most people, including most enthusiasts. If Intel (or partners) can simply offer a Core i5, i7 and i9 computing element for every future generation of mobile processors, I think that's appropriate. And I'm convinced that Intel will do it.

Processor power

As mentioned earlier, the Intel NUC 9 Extreme Kit I received had an Intel Core i9-9980HK processor, 16 GB of memory, and an Nusidia RTX 2070 graphics card built by Asus. The Core i9-9980HK is not the most modern processor since it was launched almost a year ago. Still, it's a top-notch option in the Intel range of mobile chips, which offers eight cores, 16 threads, and a maximum turbo boost frequency of 5 GHz.

The i9-9980HK ran as expected. Geekbench 5 achieved a single-core score of 1,232 and a multi-core score of 7,312. These numbers are in the baseball stadium of the Core i9-9980HK laptops we tested. The Apple MacBook Pro 16 was a little slower and the Acer ConceptD 9 a little faster. Remember that while the NUC 9 is a desktop, its processor is a mobile component.

While the i9-9980HK performs well in Geekbench 5, the latest AMD components express it. We recently tested the Asus Zephyrus G14 with AMD's new Ryzen 9 4900HS. It was competitive with the NUC 9 in the single core and won in the multi core. This is not good for the Intel i9-9980HK. The Asus Zephyrus G14 is a small gaming notebook. So you wouldn't expect the NUC 9 to beat it, but its victory is clear.

Other benchmarks tell a similar story. Our handbrake benchmark, which uses popular video encoding software to transcode a 4K movie trailer, was completed on the NUC 9 in 114 seconds. That is hardly in front of the Acer ConceptD 9, but behind the Asus Zephyrus G14. The Core i9-9980HK also falls behind the Intel Core i9-9900K, a processor for desktops.

I saw a Cinebench R20 of 3,348 from NUC 9. This is also slightly above most laptops with the same chip, but not at the top of the class.

I don't think this processor performance will lower it in 2020 – not at a retail price of $ 1,700.

It's worth noting that the Core i9-9980HK isn't a problem despite these mixed results. It easily defeats the currently available mobile processors of the Intel Core i7 H series. It also easily defeats previous NUC desktops. This is a fast processor capable of handling heavy workloads like 4K content creation or high resolution photo editing. It will shame the majority of laptops and keep up with some mid-tower desktops.

However, I don't think this processor performance will affect 2020 – not at a retail price of $ 1,700 excluding RAM, hard drive, and graphics card that aren't included in the kit.

Gaming performance

As already mentioned, the Intel NUC 9 Extreme Kit does not contain a graphics card. You have to get one yourself so that your mileage varies depending on the graphics card you bought. The NUC 9 can be used for dual-wide graphics cards with a length of up to 20 cm. My test device came with an Asus RTX 2070 that fits into the NUC 9, so I tried it out.

I started with 3DMark, where the NUC 9 had a fire strike score of 17,932 and a time spy score of 8,350. This is exactly what I would expect from an Nvidia RTX 2070 desktop packaging. The RTX 2070 Super is slightly faster and achieves 10,136 points in a testbed desktop packing Intel Core i9-9900K. The desktop class RTX 2070 of the NUC 9, however, easily defeats any laptop incarnation of the RTX 2070 we tested.

Fortnite was a breeze. An average of 141 frames per second with a resolution of 1080p and epic details as well as 90 frames per second with a resolution of 1440p and epic details were generated. These numbers are not surprising for a desktop that packs Nvidia's RTX 2070, but they easily outperform laptops with RTX 2070 hardware. The Razer Blade 15 with Nvidia RTX 2070 Max-Q only reaches 72 frames per second under the same conditions. The small size of the NUC 9 clearly doesn't hold it back.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey, our most demanding game benchmark, slowed down the NUC 9 – but only with a resolution of 1440p.

Civilization VI performed exceptionally well. It averaged 120 fps at 1080p and Ultra Detail with 2x MSAA turned on and still 100 fps at 1440p and the same settings. These numbers place a large gap between the NUC 9 and laptops with Nvidia RTX 2070 hardware.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey, our most demanding game benchmark, slowed down the NUC 9 – but only with a resolution of 1440p. The NUC 9 averaged a very respectable 57 fps at 1080p and ultra high details, but only reached 47 fps at 1440p and ultra high. While the NUC once again outperforms laptops with RTX 2070 hardware, it falls slightly behind our testbed desktop with an RTX 2060 Super, which averaged 51 fps at 1440p and ultra high.

Since the Intel NUC 9 Extreme Kit doesn't come with a GPU, the main question is: does the CPU hold the system in any way? I think the answer is definitely "no". The Core i9-9980HK is a powerful processor with a strong balance between single-core and multi-core performance. However, it is not the new sharpness and is currently surpassed by newer processors that have just been launched by Intel and AMD.

Heat and fan noise

The NUC 9 Extreme Kit has a lot to offer, but its performance is not without consequences. Packing a large amount of hardware in a small space can make cooling difficult, and the NUC 9 encounters this problem.

Intel Ghost CanyonMatthew Smith / Digital Trends

Fan noise is the real problem. The NUC 9 has several small fans, including those in the power supply and in the processor itself. These fans sometimes have to spin quickly, which inevitably makes a racket. Even worse, the mesh side panels of the NUC 9 do not isolate the sound.

This results in a loud little desktop. The fans of the NUC 9 often race in action and sound at maximum speed ready to drown out your robot vacuum. The fans are unpredictable and hard and bounce between high and low speed states.

Price and availability

The NUC 9 Extreme Kit is expected to retail for $ 1,700 when it arrives at Intel's channel partners next month. Intel also has retail Core i5 and i7 models for $ 1,050 and $ 1,250, respectively. These will arrive within three months.

Our opinion

The Intel NUC 9 Extreme Kit is an experiment that is promising but not quite working. The compute element is a fascinating way to give a very small desktop upgradability. Unfortunately, it's not as intuitive as I hoped.

The NUC 9 Extreme Kit is also held up by its sky-high retail price of $ 1,700 – without memory, memory, or a graphics card, all of which must be purchased separately.

Is there a better alternative?

It depends on what you're looking for.

The unique modular design of the NUC 9 Extreme Kit leaves it out without direct competitors. However, you can also combine it with other small PCs such as the Apple Mac Mini or smaller incarnations of the Lenovo ThinkCentre and the HP Z Workstations. The Intel NUC 9 could be a compelling little workstation due to its excellent port selection and promises of future upgrades, although I'm not sure if its processor performance is competitively priced. It's a great mobile chip, but in some systems you can find standard desktop components at a comparable price.

The NUC 9 is simply too expensive as a gaming desktop. A system configured like the one I tested would set you back between $ 2,400 and $ 2,800, depending on the exact components you purchase and the sales you may be able to make. That is simply too much for the service offered. With an RTX 2070 Super, you can easily grab a desktop for that price, and it doesn't have to be much bigger. The Origin Chronos and Falcon Northwest Tiki are less well known alternatives.

How long it will take?

Like most high-performance desktops, the Intel NUC 9 Extreme Kit remains useful for many years. It will easily take a decade or more, although after a few years it will obviously fade compared to new hardware.

Intel grants a 3-year standard warranty on NUC hardware. That's unusual. Most competitors only give a 1 year warranty.

Should you buy one?

No. The Intel NUC 9 Extreme Kit, as it exists today, works better as a thought experiment than an everyday desktop.

Editor's recommendations




21 Mar
Blog

Intel Frost Canyon NUC (NUC 10i7FNHAA) Review: Big Win

Intel Frost Canyon NUC

Intel Frost Canyon NUC (NUC 10i7FNHAA) review: Big win for developers

"Intel's Frost Canyon NUC is powerful, yet surprisingly easy to update."

  • Small form factor

  • Solid CPU performance

  • Easy to update RAM, hard drive

  • Energy efficient

  • Many ports (for its size)

  • Very poor game performance

  • CPU cannot be replaced

  • Loud

Small PCs are usually associated with compromises that are often lacking adjustments, future upgrades, power supply and port selection.

Then there is Intel NUC (short for Next Unit of Computing), which makes these functions his selling point. For this reason, this long line of miniature PCs, which is now seven years old, is unique.

The NUC I'm looking at today, officially called NUC10i7FNHAA, is one of the most powerful so far. It has a 10th generation Intel Core i7 processor with six cores, a 256 GB solid-state drive, a 1 TB SATA hard drive, 16 GB RAM and Windows 10 Home.

In contrast to some of the NUC systems I have tested, it is sold as a fully functional PC and not as a barebone. It contains everything you need at a price of $ 1,049. Is it the ultimate mini PC?

Design and ports

There is not much to say about the external devices of the Intel NUC10i7FNHAA. If you've ever seen a NUC, it looks similar. It offers the dark gunmetal exterior of other newer NUCs instead of the silver of previous models. It has a glossy black plastic lid.

The size of NUC has not changed significantly over the years. This model is 4.4 cm wide, 4.4 cm deep and two cm tall. It is not the thinnest NUC, but also not the thickest and many times smaller than a typical desktop PC.

Intel Frost Canyon NUCMatt Smith / Digital Trends

Nevertheless, it has many ports. The front offers a USB-A 3.1 port, a USB-C 3.1 port and a headphone jack.

On the back you will find a Thunderbolt 3 port, two additional USB-C 3.1 ports, Ethernet and HDMI output. Thunderbolt 3 is particularly nice to have. While it is common on laptops, it is still rare on PC desktops. This is a solid connectivity area that covers most options, though the lack of DisplayPort could bother some.

Internals and updateability

Due to its size, the tiny body of the Frost Canyon NUC can be expected to hide complex internals. That's not the case. Intel has been around for seven years, and it shows.

You open the NUC by unscrewing the four feet on the underside of the machine. After loosening (they cannot be completely removed, so you cannot lose them), the base plate loosens with a jerk.

Intel Frost Canyon NUCMatt Smith / Digital Trends

This provides access to the RAM-SO-DIMMS, the smaller sticks that you would normally find in a laptop instead of larger desktop DIMMS. You also have access to the M.2 drive and hard drive. This is all you can replace in the NUC10i7FNHAA since the CPU is soldered to the mainboard.

Upgrade options are limited. There is no free RAM slot, no free M.2, no free SATA. What is installed is all the desktop can handle.

However, these parts can be easily removed and replaced if necessary. The NUC10i7FNHAA supports up to 64 GB of RAM, far more than the 16 GB installed.

There are restrictions on what a NUC can handle due to its small size, but what is available is impressive.

You will find a few open headers in it, but most users won't care. This includes two empty USB 2.0 headers and a FRONT_PANEL header.

There are, of course, limitations to what a NUC can do due to its small size, but what is available is impressive. The components that you can update are easy to find and are immediately accessible after removing just a handful of screws. I would argue that the Frost Canyon NUC is easier to maintain than most desktops sold by major manufacturers.

CPU performance

The Frost Canyon NUC I tested, model number 10i7FNHAA, had an Intel Core i7-10710U processor. This is a 12-thread mobile processor with six cores and a base frequency of only 1.1 GHz, but a maximum turbo frequency of 4.7 GHz.

It is a powerful chip. Geekbench 5 delivered a single-core result of 1,099 and a multi-core result of 5,702. These numbers don't break records, but exceed most laptops and small desktops. The Dell XPS 13 7390, which we tested with the same processor, achieved a higher score of 1,250 in the single-core test, but stayed behind with a score of 5,491 in the multi-core test.

Intel Frost Canyon NUCMatt Smith / Digital Trends

For comparison: An HP Specter x360 13 with a Core i7-1056G7 achieved 1,164 points in the Geekbench 5 single-core test and 3,981 points in the multi-core test. The only mobile chips that can significantly outperform the Core i7-10710U are Core i9 silicon, like the Core i9-9880H in the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 2. It achieved 5 single-core and multi-core in Geekbench Test 1,196 and 6,529 points. respectively.

The NUC 10i7FNHAA's performance is solid at $ 1,049. Desktops and all-in-one devices from major brands usually offer a Core i5 processor like the Core i5 9400 at this price. This processor is somewhat competitive with the Core i7-10710U, but will fall behind in most cases.

In addition to Geekbench, I started Cinebench R15. My Frost Canyon NUC scored 980 points there. This is less impressive, but still acceptable for the price. I noticed that the NUC had to accelerate during this test. The first test run achieved a higher result with 1,180 points, but successful test runs always achieved a value in the range of 900. The number of points I reported of 980 is the average of 5 test runs.

Our handbrake benchmark, which encodes a 420MB 4K video file from H.264 to H.265, took just over two and a half minutes. The Dell XPS 13 7390, which had the same Core i7-10710U processor, was three minutes slower. The NUC 10i7FNHAA even beats some laptops with Core i9 processors, like the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 2.

This NUC can meet the needs of many photo and video editors, developers and engineers.

Intel introduces this Frost Canyon NUC, the 10i7FNHAA, as a small workstation that is suitable for many content creators. It works well enough for that as long as you don't work with cutting-edge content like 8K videos. There you need a more powerful computer.

However, this NUC can meet the needs of many photo and video editors, developers, engineers, etc. Call it appropriate. That may not sound like much praise, but given the price of $ 1,049 and the small footprint, it would be stupid to expect more. This is a powerful PC for its price.

Player, look somewhere else

What about games? It’s not great. The fast Core i7-10710U processor does not contain the latest graphics from Intel, but the older Intel UHD solution. It scored only 1,288 in 3D Mark Fire Strike and only 490 in Time Spy.

These values ​​are solid for Intel UHD. However, Intel's Iris Plus graphics are about twice as fast. And even a discrete entry-level graphics solution like the GTX 1650 Max-Q from Nvidia can score over 3,000 points in Time Spy. That's six times faster than Intel UHD.

In summary, you can not play most modern games.

In summary, you can not play most modern games. A title with relatively simple 3D graphics such as Fortnite or World of Warcraft may offer acceptable performance with a resolution below 1080p and low graphics settings. Everything else demands too much.

The Frost Canyon NUC has a Thunderbolt 3 port, through which an external graphics dock can be connected. However, given the price of an external graphics dock, it's not a great solution for games. You're better off with an entry-level gaming desktop.

power consumption

Size is not the only advantage of a desktop based on mobile hardware. The use of mobile hardware also significantly reduces power consumption. Intel's Frost Canyon NUC consumes power under a variety of workloads.

The system only consumes 9.8 watts when idle. This is equivalent to many 13-inch laptops and less than most 15-inch systems. Desktop consumption can be very high, but it rarely happens that a desktop consumes less than 20 watts when idle. Therefore, the power consumption of the NUC is excellent.

Intel Frost Canyon NUCMatt Smith / Digital Trends

In Cinebench, power consumption reached a maximum of 98 watts and then held at 57 watts after thermal throttling had limited the processor. This is again comparable to modern laptops. Mid-range desktops that I tested easily exceeded 100 watts in the benchmark.

Low electricity consumption means lower electricity costs and less impact on the environment. It can also mean less fan noise. Unfortunately, this is not the case here. The Frost Canyon NUC turned out to be an exuberant PC puck, the fan of which was audibly buzzing even when idling. It's good that the NUC is small, as you may need to place it out of earshot.

Our opinion

The Intel NUC 10i7FNHAA, like the NUC models before, is a unique interpretation of what a desktop should be. It is not for everyone, but it is absolutely fulfilling its mission. The NUC is simple, compact and energy-efficient. It accomplishes all three goals and is one of the best mini PCs I've tested.

Is there a better alternative?

It depends on what you want.

If you only want a desktop and are not interested in the size, there are numerous options available worldwide. Dell's XPS desktops are consistently among our best desktops and remain our first choice.

Apple's Mac Mini is the best known alternative. However, it is a bit bigger, almost 20 cm wide and deep. While you can buy a six-core Mac Core for $ 1,099, this model only has 8 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage. A Mac Mini with similar RAM and memory will bring you back $ 1,500.

If you want a small desktop, especially one that runs Windows, the NUC 10i7FNHAA – and the NUC models in general – remain a good choice. The most common brands in the U.S., such as Dell, HP, and Lenovo, offer small PCs. However, they are mainly designed for the business-to-business market, which leads to a high price for many models.

How long it will take?

You can't replace the NUC 10i7FNHAA's processor, but the Core i7-10710U is fast enough to stay relevant for at least a few years. The RAM and the hard disk can also be replaced without any problems. I think you will benefit from it for at least five years.

Intel grants a standard 3 year warranty. This is unusually good in the PC area, where a 1-year warranty is standard.

Should you buy one?

Yes, if you want a powerful desktop PC that fits almost anywhere. The Frost Canyon NUC fits into a niche like previous models. But if this niche is perfect.

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