Asus has come a long way since the 2nd of April 1989. By that count, it’s only been two decades for ROG’s existence. Arguably the most inspiring, though. Now into its 20th anniversary celebration, the Republic of Games (ROG) as we know it is innovating further with the gaming frontier it has dominated all this while.
To commemorate the monumental 20th anniversary, ROG is giving gamers and AI generation requiring demanding infrastructure a high-performance computing device: the ROG NUC 16 Edition 20. Ever since ASUS took over the Intel NUC, ROG has worked its magic with it, and now it’s elevating that to the next level with the most powerful gaming-focused NUC it has ever manufactured.
Designer: Asus
The commemorative ROG NUC 16 Edition 20 is created to celebrate 20 years of ASUS’s Republic of Gamers. Of course, like everything else ROG has delivered, this one gains first attention with the enticing aesthetics, but the company says it’s the powerful innards and the use of colors that make this a “testament to an enduring legacy.”
The mini PC has a compact form factor, which comes with a removable stand to use the device in vertical or horizontal orientations. Created to be an ultimate system for gamers and creators, the NUC 16 Edition 20 runs on an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU, which can provide the desired performance. It is laid out in a 3-liter chassis for a compact look and feel, and it features a semi-transparent exterior with really plus detailing with gold accents.
The design is sublime and exudes brilliance in black, red, and gold accents. But the looks are only part of this anniversary edition system. For hardcore gamers, who will want to put looks second, ROG has tailored the desktop to dissipate up to 175W for sustained performance. This will allow it to run at high speed for a long time without slowing down or overheating. To keep the system cool, it features three fans and a dual vapor chamber, which ROG confirms is capable of 21% better thermal performance.
The ROG NUC 16 Edition 20 is powered by an Intel Core Ultra 9 processor 290HX Plus, which is paired with up to 128GB of dual-channel DDR5-6400 memory and a PCIe 5.0 SSD for ultra-fast load times. The powerful storage can handle almost all types of heavy gameplay and AI graphics rendering. Early reviewers suggest the system is powerful in handling “high-FPS gaming, AI tasks, and demanding creator workflows.”
Streaming and gaming can be lag-free only with the best possible connectivity options. ROG says its system supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 for fast and stable connectivity and also features a Thunderbolt 4 port along with the other usual connectivity options like HDMI and LAN ports. Expectedly, all this power and performance doesn’t come cheap. ROG NUC 16 Edition 20 will set you back $6,999.
