Intel Beast Canyon NUC 11 Extreme Preorders Open, Up To GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Supported

Now, SimplyNUC is taking preorders for NUC 11 Extreme with two different CPU options. The base configuration comes with a Core i7-11700KB processor for $1,399, while an upgraded config gets you the above-mentioned Core i9-11900KB for $1,599. Both systems come standard with 8GB of DDR4-3200 memory and a 256GB PCIe NVMe SSD.

While those RAM/storage specs are probably not enough to satisfy enthusiasts' needs, the two SO-DIMM slots support up to 64GB of memory. And there are a total of three M.2 slots (one of which is CPU-attached). In addition, SimplyNUC allows you to install up to three 8TB PCIe NVMe SSDs in the system.

While the performance improvement compared to the NUC 9 Extreme are readily apparent, the NUC 11 Extreme also has another ace up its sleeve. The NUC 11 Extreme has since its chassis volume balloon from 5 liters to a more accommodate 8 liters. This added volume -- coming primarily from an increase in length -- means that the NUC 11 Extreme can now fit full-size PCIe 4.0 graphics cards like the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti and the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (GPUs with up to a 350-watt TDP are supported).

While the increase in size might not be welcome for some, we think that it's a small price to pay for the performance potential that comes with being able to throw in a current-generation flagship GPU for 4K gaming domination (that is, if you can actually get your hands on a GeForce RTX 3080/3080 Ti or Radeon RX 6800/6800 XT/6900 XT).

According to SimplyNUC, both its Core i7 and Core i9 systems are available for preorder right now and will begin shipping in September.