Being a PC gamer on the cutting edge has never been a particularly cheap hobby, and it doesn't look like it's getting better any time soon. Almost everything is overpriced or understocked, or more likely some wonderful combination of the two. When new GPUs fly off shelves within 5 minutes of being stocked, and Trump tariff's wreaking havoc on the price of tech for new users, it's a tough time out there for the wallets of PC gamers.
It's why the new ROG NUC mini gaming PC from Asus has me disappointed, but by no means surprised by its hefty price tag. VideoCardz spotted the Chinese announcement for the new tiny rig, which gives a base price of 24,399 RMB. A direct conversion to United States Dollars puts that at around $3300, and that's without any additional Trump tariffs added. I also did the conversion to Australian dollars for my own curiosity but, if you'll excuse me, I will now be crying in the corner.
The new and compact ROG NUC 2025 does boast some pretty cool specs to inch towards justifying those prices. We first got a look at these early this year, and it doesn't look like much has changed. Inside the 28 x 19 x 6 cm, three liter case is an Intel Core Ultra 9 CPU, paired with Nvidia's RTX 5080 laptop GPU. This makes it compatible with Nvidia's AI scaling tool, DLSS4, which can have huge gains for gaming.
Memory starts at 16 GB of DDR4, 6400 MHz but can be upgraded to 96 GB, though surely a middleground can be found there. Then you also get the choice between a 1 or 2 TB SSD all packed in a box that weighs just a little over 3.12 kg.
There's also a fair few ports on this beastie, including a Thunderbolt 4 Type-C, two DP2.1, two HDMI 2.1, one USB Type-C, and six total USB Type-A ports across the front and back. There's some RGB control and even a little stand to sit it on. I guess, when you've got a PC this thin, it's not quite as stable as the regular sized fellas.
These specs make the ROG NUC a really nice gaming laptop. Only it's not, it's a mini PC. At those price points it's a hard sell, because the main thing you're paying for is the tiny size. Most of our top gaming laptops sit somewhat cheaper than what you're likely to see this go for, and have the potential to be a fair bit more versatile with little extra bulk. After all, they include a screen and keyboard, too. Similarly, the same money could be allocated to a very capable full-sized gaming rig... as long as you can find the parts you want.
We're slated to see ASUS release the ROG NUC 2025 series sometime this month. We're already at the halfway mark so I'd expect to see more on these mini PCs soon. Hopefully there'll be some miracle and these won't come in at the $3,500 price point we've been expecting, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
