Asus ROG NUC (2025) Mini Gaming PC review

The first time you lift the Asus ROG NUC(2025), you’ll experience a moment of genuine shock. This thing is absurdly compact—about the size of a standard hardcover book—yet it contains RTX 5080 laptop GPU and enough processing power to run modern games at 4K ultra settings and beat even a PlayStation 5 Pro. The contradiction is almost hard to believe. But here’s the catch: despite all that performance packed into such a tiny footprint, it’s nearly impossible to justify the $6,999 price tag for most people.

Design & build

To appreciate what ASUS has done here, you need to understand the form factor. The NUC measures just 282.4 × 187.7 × 56.5 mm and weighs 3.12 kg—small enough to fit in a backpack. It’s not a traditional small form factor (SFF) PC; think of it more as a gaming laptop that’s had its display, keyboard, and unnecessary bulk stripped away, leaving behind pure computing power in a tidier chassis. The ROG Strix Scar 18 is the spiritual equivalent, but the NUC trades the screen for better cooling and superior ports.

Inside, you’ll find an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop GPU, 32GB of expandable DDR5-5600 SODIMM, and a 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD. The standout feature? Upgradeability. Despite being a sealed device, the RAM and storage are user-replaceable, so you can add capacity as your workload demands. You won’t be pulling out the GPU—that’s the price of the form factor—but the essentials are flexible enough that you don’t feel locked into day-one configurations.

ASUS has been generous with connectivity. On the front, you get two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports and one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C. The rear is where the real bounty lives: Thunderbolt 4 with DisplayPort 2.1, four USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, dual HDMI 2.1 with FRL support, dual DisplayPort 2.1, 2.5GbE LAN, DC power, and a Kensington lock slot. Wi-Fi 7 (BE200) and Bluetooth 5.4 complete the picture. This isn’t the typical “choose your sacrifice” situation you get with most laptops—everything plugs in and stays in.

RGB is refreshingly understated for a product carrying the ROG branding. Just a single RGB logo on the side. Some might argue for more accent light or underglow, but honestly, ASUS made the right call here. The restrained, professional aesthetic means the NUC looks at home next to a clean white desk or tucked into a media console. It respects shared spaces while still looking distinctly premium. That’s rare in gaming hardware.

Lifestyle flexibility is the secret sauce. On a desk, the NUC feels like a small form‑factor tower: plug in keyboard, mouse, audio interface, and a high‑refresh or 4K monitor via DP 2.1, then enjoy desktop‑grade workflows without the full‑tower footprint or cable sprawl. In the TV lounge, it disappears into a shelf and becomes a console‑killer: fast boots, Steam Big Picture, emulators, cloud gaming, Plex duties—everything you expect from a full PC without the mess. If you only have one machine for work and play, the size and I/O make context‑switching painless.

Performs like you’d expect

Performance tracks with the silicon, and in games it leaves “console‑equivalent” in the dust. At 1440p, the RTX 5080 Laptop GPU chews through modern titles at high‑to‑ultra settings while holding triple‑digit frame rates, making 165–240Hz monitors feel properly alive. With DLSS or FSR, 4K60 is routine and 4K120 is attainable in lighter or well‑optimized games. Throw in Frame Generation and you’ll easily see CyberPunk 2077 flying well into the 200fps.

Compared to a PS5 Pro , the NUC is simply more performant: higher resolutions with better ray‑tracing fidelity, faster loading from PCIe NVMe, and dramatically higher frame‑rate ceilings when you want low latency plus visual bells and whistles. Even in cinematic single‑player games, you get a cleaner, sharper image with fewer compromises—and the option to chase high refresh when you’re feeling competitive. To be fair, the ROG NUC is several magnitudes more expensive than the PS5 Pro.

Creative work benefits in similar ways. Davinci Resolve 4K timelines, Lightroom batches, and multi‑track audio all leverage the Core Ultra’s threads and the GPU’s CUDA acceleration. I’ve edited a number of videos for both short and longform and never had any issues with timeline stutters or framerate drops. Storage isn’t a bottleneck: run a PCIe 4.0 system drive, add a PCIe 5.0 scratch/project drive later, and keep everything responsive. Fast USB ports mean using external SSD’s is easy as.

Thermals and acoustics are the usual mini‑PC boogeymen, and ASUS seems to have understood the assignment. Under load, the NUC sounds very much like a gaming laptop—fans spool up, you hear the whooshy-whine but it’s not nearly as obnoxious. The tone is lower, the ramp‑up smoother, and that piercing whine is largely absent. At idle, it blends into the background. The mobile‑first platform helps: laptop‑style efficiency when you’re browsing or streaming, and sustained, well‑managed performance when you’re rendering or gaming.

In terms of real measured temps, while gaming I saw temps settle around 70-75C after half and hour of CoD BO7 at 1440p and running in the Turbo preset. I didn’t have a 4K monitor on hand to test what the load would be but I suspect that it wouldn’t be too big a difference in temps. You can also manage fan curves in Armoury Crate too so no issues there.

So, does it make sense versus a gaming laptop or a full tower? Laptops bring portability and a built‑in display; full towers bring raw thermal headroom and wide‑open upgrades. The NUC counters with cleaner living, richer I/O than most laptops, and far less visual clutter than a tower. It’s the Goldilocks option if you don’t need to carry it daily and you don’t have room—or patience—for a giant case.

But wait…

Here’s where the ROG NUC stumbles: price. At $6,999, it’s hard to justify for most users. A well-configured PC with a proper RTX 5080 GPU—like an Alienware Aurora or custom SFF build—would outperform it by a significant margin and still cost substantially less. For gaming and creative work, you’d have better upgradeability, more thermal headroom, and a better return on investment. I’ve puzzled over who the target audience really is. If the appeal of this device is ditching the “laptop bits” (display, keyboard, thin chassis), then it should cost less than a gaming laptop. But it doesn’t.

Despite its price, the NUC does succeed at what it promises: delivering genuine desktop performance in an incredibly compact footprint. ASUS has done something impressive here, mixing laptop and desktop sensibilities intelligently. You get a wealth of ports, excellent cooling, and the freedom to customize storage and RAM. For users who value compactness and don’t want a gaming laptop or full tower, it’s a compelling option. As a media hub, portable workstation, or gaming rig for travel, it’s genuinely excellent. You can toss it in a backpack and have a fully-capable gaming PC wherever you go.

At $6,999, the ROG NUC is a luxury device, not a value proposition. It’s aimed at a niche audience: those who prioritize portability and form factor above all else. If you need gaming horsepower and nothing else, a custom SFF PC or Alienware would give you better performance for less money. But if you’re willing to pay the premium for something uniquely compact and versatile, the ROG NUC 2025 delivers on its promise. It’s a tiny delight and an genuinely impressive machine—just don’t expect it to be a bargain.

Asus Australia kindly loaned the ROG NUC to PowerUp for the purpose of this review.

Asus ROG NUC 2025

LIKE

Impressively small form factor

Desktop like performance

So many ports

Easy access upgrades

DISLIKE

So damn expensive

Not that much quieter than laptops

Only one CPU/ GPU config available

4