The ASUS ROG NUC (2025) is the successor to last year's ROG NUC 970, and packs some serious punch in its flagship guise with Intel's Core Ultra 9 275HX processor and NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile GPU, albeit at a steep price tag.

Intel passed the baton on its Next Unit of Computing (NUC) line-up of mini PCs to ASUS back in October 2023, where since then, ASUS has launched a whole line-up of NUCs to cater to both the business, mainstream and gaming crowd. For the gaming crowd in particular, ASUS introduced the ROG NUC 970 back in August 2024, which was the brand's first gaming-oriented NUC offering.

More than a year has passed, and ASUS recently launched the successor to the ROG NUC 970: the new ROG NUC (2025). Also known as the ROG NUC 15 in certain quarters, the ROG NUC (2025) is powered by Intel's "Arrow Lake HX" processors as well as NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5000 series of mobile GPUs. For this review in particular, we'll be looking at the flagship NUC15JNK model that is powered by Intel’s high-end Core Ultra 9 275HX mobile processor, comes equipped with 32GB of DDR5 6400 memory, NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile GPU and a 2TB NVMe SSD. Read on to see how ASUS's latest gaming mini PC offering performs in a series of synthetic and gaming benchmark tests!

Summary of Specifications: ASUS ROG NUC (2025) - RNUC15JNK9X28AA2

• Processor: Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX
• Memory: 32GB (16GBx2) SK Hynix DDR5 6400 CSODIMM
• Storage: 2TB Micron 3500 NVMe SSD
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile GPU (16GB GDDR7 VRAM)
• Audio: Realtek ALC3251
• Ethernet: Intel Killer E3100G 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet
• Wireless: Intel Killer BE1750x WIFI 7 with Bluetooth 5.4
• Power Supply: 330W power adapter
• OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Home
• Official ASUS product page: https://rog.asus.com/desktops/mini-pc/rog-nuc-2025/

Packaging & Accessories

Kicking things off with the packaging of the ROG NUC (2025), we see that ASUS has gone for the usual black-and-red colourway that has come to be associated with the ROG brand.

In terms of accessories, ASUS has included the following with the ROG NUC (2025):

• Safety information leaflet
• Regulatory information leaflet
• Warranty information leaflet
• Chicony A22-330P1B 330W AC adapter
• Power cord

Aesthetics & Physical Features

Taking a closer look at the ROG NUC (2025), it has a case size of just 3 litres and is constructed mostly of matte black plastic. In terms of dimensions, it measures in at 282.4mm x 187.7mm x 56.5mm.

It'd be remiss of ASUS if RGB lighting effects were left out on a ROG product - in this regard, we get an illuminated RGB LED strip right below the ROG logo located on the front fascia of the mini PC, as well as a large illuminated ROG logo with RGB lighting effects on the right side of the PC. The RGB LEDs can be customised to your heart's content via ASUS's Armoury Crate application from within Windows. While we're still on the right side of the ROG NUC (2025), a single ventilation opening that exposes a blower-style cooling fan is clearly visible as well, where this said cooling fan is used to cool the processor of the ROG NUC (2025).

On the other side of the mini PC, we get ventilation cut-outs in the shape of the ROG wordmark, where if you look closely enough, you can see two blower-style cooling fans too.

Moving on, we also get ventilation openings on the rear of the ROG NUC 2025, and on the short edge of the PC.

Unlike the previous-gen ROG NUC 970 that has removable feet and can hence be placed in both the horizontal and vertical positions, the ROG NUC (2025) has feet that are fixed in place, where as a result, the mini PC can only be deployed in the horizontal position.

In terms of front I/O connectivity, ASUS has included a 3.5mm audio combo jack, a USB 20Gbps Type-C port that supports Power Delivery of up to 15W, as well as two USB 10Gbps Type-A ports.

As for the rear I/O, the ROG NUC (2025) comes with four USB 10Gbps Type-A ports, a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port, as well as a Thunderbolt 4 port that supports the DisplayPort 2.1 standard with power delivery of up to 18W of juice. Moving on, we get two DisplayPort 2.1 ports as well as two HDMI 2.1 ports – according to the spec sheet for this mini PC, ASUS claims support for up to five displays at 4K simultaneously. To round things off, we get a port for the power adapter, as well as a Kensington lock slot.

Service Access

The ROG NUC 2025 features a chassis with a tool-less design, and gaining access to the insides involves undoing a single thumbscrew as pictured above, and sliding the lid out towards yourself.

After sliding the lid off its rails, you’ll then have to carefully flip the lid away from the chassis, reason being that the RGB LED of the illuminated ROG logo on the lid is connected to the motherboard by a single cable - you definitely don’t want to be ripping the said cable off from the motherboard by accident! Disconnecting the cable is a simple process of unplugging it from the motherboard.

The ROG NUC (2025)'s Core Ultra 9 275HX processor sits beneath the blower-style CPU cooler pictured above, and user-replaceable parts include the mini PC's DDR5 memory, SSD, WIFI module as well as CMOS battery.

As can be seen above, we get two M.2 slots with the ROG NUC (2025) - the slot that is prepopulated by the Micron 3500 2TB NVMe SSD is a PCIe 5.0 x4 slot, while the empty slot right next to the CPU cooler is a PCIe 4.0 x4 slot.

Do note that the preinstalled Micron 3500 drive is a PCIe 4.0 x4 part, meaning that you can replace it with a Gen 5 drive if you so wish.

Given that PCIe 5.0 drives tend to run pretty hot, it's great to see that ASUS has included a bracket-cum=heatsink assembly for the primary PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 slot – this should come in useful in keeping SSD temperatures at bay should you choose to upgrade to a PCIe 5.0 M.2 drive further down the road. Removing and replacing the preinstalled drive’s pretty straightforward, all you’ve got to do is to undo the blue M.2 Q-Latch, which releases the M.2 drive from the slot. Removing the heatsink’s pretty easy too, simply undo the wires that secure the heatsink to the bracket and lift the heatsink away from said bracket. Thereafter. the preinstalled M.2 drive can then be pried off from the bracket for replacement.

While we’re still on the topic of M.2 devices, the Intel Killer BE1750x WIFI 7 module can be found underneath the metal shroud pictured above, which is held in place by two screws. The BE1750x module utilises the M.2 Key E form factor, which means that in future, you can easily swap out the module for something newer, say a WIFI 8 M.2 Key E module when they become available to purchase.

The ROG NUC (2025) comes with two DDR5 SODIMM slots that are prepopulated with two SK Hynix 16GB DDR5 6400 CSODIMM modules for a total of 32GBs of RAM. In case you’re unaware, DDR5 CSODIMMs are unlike your bog standard DDR5 SODIMMS, in that they come with an onboard clock driver to improve signal integrity, As of the time of publishing this review, the ROG NUC (2025) supports a maximum of 96GBs of RAM, that is, two 48GB sticks of RAM.

Rounding things off in this section, it's great to see that the CMOS battery is easily accessible, where it’s located next to the mini PC's second M.2 slot.

CPU-Z Screenshots

GPU-Z Screenshot

Benchmarks & Test Setup

The above is a recap on the specs of the ROG NUC (2025), where it’s pretty much a PC that’s ready to go out-of-the-box with Windows 11 Home pre-installed.

It’s worth noting that ASUS has included several user-configurable power profiles within the BIOS of the ROG NUC (2025) – "Max Performance", "Balance" (the default power profile) and "Low Power".

Exploring a little further, we get the option of tweaking the mini PC’s fan profiles as well, where "Performance" is the default setting.

Within Windows via the preinstalled ASUS Armoury Crate software, we also get a section for tweaking Operating Modes, where "Performance" is the default setting. For the purposes of testing the ROG NUC (2025), I’ll be running all tests on the default "Performance" operating mode in Armoury Crate, and in terms of BIOS settings, I’ve left the power mode on the default "Balance Enabled" setting and the fan profile on the default "Performance" mode.

To put the ROG NUC (2025) through its paces, the following benchmarks were run:

Synthetic Benchmarks

• 7-Zip Compression & Decompression
• Cinebench 2024
• Cinebench R23
• CrystalDiskMark 9.0.1

Gaming Benchmarks (4k & 1440p)

• Black Myth Wukong Benchmark Tool
• Cyberpunk 2077 v2.3 In-game Benchmark
• F1 23 In-Game Benchmark
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider In-game Benchmark

The PC was tested on the 0027 BIOS release, with no tweaks made to the stock BIOS settings. All the latest Windows updates were installed at the point of testing, and benchmark runs were conducted in a non-airconditioned room with an ambient temperature of 30°C.

7-Zip Compression & Decompression

Kicking things off in the benchmarks section is 7-Zip's Compression & Decompression test, where the Core Ultra 9 275HX processor achieves a compression score of 154.316 GIPS and a decompression score of 172.791 GIPS.

Cinebench 2024

Moving on to CInebench 2024, the ROG NUC (2025) achieves a multi core score of 1930 and a single core score of 133.

Cinebench R23

With the older CInebench R23 benchmark, the ROG NUC (2025) achieves a multi core score of 34191 and a single core score of 2191.

CrystalDiskMark 9.0.1

We've got CrystalDiskMark 9.0.1 to test the prowess of the preinstalled Micron 3500 2TB NVMe SSD - do note that Micron advertises the 3500 SSD to have a sequential read speed of up to 7000MB/s and a sequential write speed of up to 6900MB/s, where the drive's performance is not too far off from the mark based on the results shown above.

Black Myth Wukong Benchmark Tool

With the Black Myth Wukong Benchmark Tool on the 4K resolution, the ROG NUC (2025) achieves an average FPS of 37, a minimum FPS of 30 and a maximum FPS of 43. On the 1440p resolution, the average FPS increases to 67, with a minimum FPS of 55 and a maximum FPS of 80. These results were obtained on the "High" preset with ray tracing switched off, and Super Resolution set to "100" with TSR as the sampling mode (i.e. DLSS was disabled). Frame Generation was also disabled for the duration of the benchmark.

Cyberpunk 2077 v2.3 In-game Benchmark

Next up is Cyberpunk 2077 v2.3's in-game benchmark test, where the mini PC achieves an average FPS of 40.81, a minimum FPS of 34.07 and a maximum FPS of 51.44 on the 4K resolution. Notching the resolution down to 1440p, the ROG NUC (2025) achieves an average FPS of 88.50, a minimum FPS of 74.92 and a maximum FPS of 109.02. These results were obtained on the "Ray Tracing Low" preset with DLSS and Frame Generation disabled.

F1 23 In-game Benchmark

F1 23's in-game benchmark sees the ROG NUC (2025) put out an average FPS of 38, a minimum FPS of 33 and a maximum FPS of 47 on the 4K resolution, as well as an average FPS of 73, a minimum FPS of 64 and a maximum FPS of 90 when on the 1440p resolution. These results were obtained on the "Ultra High" detail preset with all forms of upscaling technologies (e.g. DLSS) disabled. Anisotropic Filtering was set to the "16x" setting.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider In-game Benchmark

Rounding things off in the benchmarks section is Shadow of the Tomb Raider's in-game benchmark tool, where the ROG NUC (2025) achieves an average FPS of 47 on the 4K resolution and an average FPS of 94 on the 1440p resolution. These results were achieved on maxed-out graphics settings with "Ultra" ray tracing and all forms of upscaling disabled.

Power Consumption, Thermals & Acoustics

Under Load [F1 23 In-game Benchmark, 4K, Ultra High Detail Preset, TAA, 16x AF, DLSS Off, Singapore Circuit, Five Laps (~9 minutes)]

• Avg. CPU Package Temperature: 76.3°C
• Max. CPU Package Temperature: 103.0°C
• Avg. CPU Package Power: 33.8W
• Max. CPU Package Power: 53.9W
• Avg. GPU Temperature: 77.0°C
• Max. GPU Temperature: 79.7°C
• Avg. GPU Memory Junction Temperature: 77.1°C
• Max. GPU Memory Junction Temperature: 80.0°C
• Avg. GPU Power: 173.0W
• Max. GPU Power: 174.0W

Idle

• Avg. CPU Package Temperature: 56.1°C
• Max. CPU Package Temperature: 79.0°C
• Avg. CPU Package Power: 11.5W
• Max. CPU Package Power: 20.5W
• Avg. GPU Temperature: 49.4°C
• Max. GPU Temperature: 53.5°C
• Avg. GPU Memory Junction Temperature: 56.4°C
• Max. GPU Memory Junction Temperature: 60.0°C
• Avg. GPU Power: 10.96W
• Max. GPU Power: 21.8W

The temperature and power figures above were obtained from HWiNFO64 sensor readouts in a non-airconditioned room with an ambient temperature of around 30°C.

A brief note on acoustics, the ROG NUC (2025) was definitely audible under gaming workloads – in a room with around 47.5db of ambient noise levels, my decibel meter recorded 48db of noise when the ROG NUC 2025 was idle, and 51db of noise when under a typical gaming workload.

The results above were obtained on the "Balance Enabled" BIOS power mode, "Performance" BIOS fan control mode and "Performance" Armoury Crate operating mode.

Conclusion & Pricing

To sum up, the ASUS ROG NUC 2025 is a premium mini PC offering that is well-suited for gaming at decent framerates on the 1080p and 1440p resolution – given its performance, 4K gaming is possible, but be prepared to enable NVIDIA's AI-powered wizardry such as DLSS and/or Frame Generation in order to squeeze out more frames, and perhaps turn down the graphics settings a bit too in order to get decent FPS performance. From a compute power perspective, the Core Ultra 9 275HX puts out a good amount of performance, making this PC suitable for end-users who might be intending to use the ROG NUC (2025) for heavy productivity workloads. The mini PC also feels well built and comes with a good assortment of connectivity and I/O options.

On the other hand, I do wish the thermal performance of the ROG NUC (2025) could have been better, but its thermal performance is already an improvement over the previous-gen ROG NUC 970. What could likely be the most off-putting for some would be its price: as of the time of publishing this article, the ROG NUC (2025) is available to purchase from the official ASUS webstore for an eye-watering price of $4449 Singapore dollars – do bear in mind that the variant sold on the ASUS Singapore webstore comes shipped with a 1TB SSD instead of the 2TB SSD that came preinstalled on the media review unit that I tested. The alternative here could be to build your own PC in the ITX form factor, and you’d probably be able to put together something with much better specs for the same price. In any case, if money is no object, and you’d like the convenience of a mini gaming PC that’s can handle productivity tasks with aplomb, is decently built, looks nice and is ready to use from the get-go, the ROG NUC (2025) could be something worth considering.

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The mini PC featured in this article was a review unit provided on loan from ASUS Singapore.