Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Last year's ASUS ROG NUC (2025) was undoubtedly one of the most powerful (if not THE most powerful) mini gaming PC on the market for its time, where the combination of Intel's then-flagship "Arrow Lake" Core Ultra 9 275HX mobile processor and NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5080 mobile GPU meant that the ROG NUC (2025) was able to chew through gaming titles and productivity tasks with aplomb. Close to a year has passed since the ROG NUC (2025)'s launch, and today, we've got the new ASUS ROG NUC 16, which is the ROG NUC (2025)'s successor.
Powered by the new flagship "Arrow Lake Refresh" Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus mobile processor (basically a 275HX with higher clock speeds), the flagship variant of the ROG NUC 16 packs the same RTX 5080 mobile GPU as its predecessor, and a very similar aesthetic to boot - you'd be forgiven for mistaking the ROG NUC 16 for the ROG NUC (2025)!
For this review in particular, we'll be looking at the NUC16JNK model that's equipped with Intel's flagship Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus mobile processor, 32GB of DDR5 6400 CSODIMM memory, NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile GPU and a 2TB NVMe SSD. Watch on to see how ASUS's latest flagship gaming mini PC offering performs in a series of synthetic and gaming benchmark tests!
0:00 Introduction
0:29 Packaging & Specifications
1:53 Unboxing & Accessories
3:09 The PEEL
3:26 Aesthetics & Physical Features
5:29 External Connectivity
6:22 Service Access & Internal Walkthrough
9:59 ROG NUC 16 & ROG NUC (2025) Differences
11:03 Test Setup & Benchmarks
12:33 7-Zip Compression & Decompression
12:40 Cinebench 2024
12:49 Cinebench R23
12:57 CrystalDiskMark 9.0.1
13:05 Black Myth Wukong Benchmark Tool (4K, 1440p, DLSS & non-DLSS)
13:36 Cyberpunk 2077 v2.3 In-game Benchmark (4K, 1440P, DLSS & non-DLSS)
14:07 F1 23 In-game Benchmark (4K & 1440p, non-DLSS)
14:23 Shadow of the Tomb Raider Benchmark (4K & 1440p, non-DLSS)
14:36 Thermals, Power & Acoustics
16:410 Conclusion
Affiliate Links:
► Get this mini PC from Amazon: amzn.to/4p2wIRv
Official ASUS product page: rog.asus.com/desktops/mini-pc/rog-nuc-16
Follow ALKtech at the following social media platforms and keep up-to-date with the latest happenings in the PC hardware world:
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Website: alktech.co
ALKtech may earn commissions from qualifying purchases made using affiliate links, at no extra cost to you as a customer. These commissions go a long way in supporting the channel!
The mini PC featured in this video was a review unit provided on loan from ASUS Singapore.
Last year's ASUS ROG NUC (2025) was undoubtedly one of the most powerful (if not THE most powerful) mini gaming PC on the market for its time, where the combination of Intel's then-flagship "Arrow Lake" Core Ultra 9 275HX mobile processor and NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5080 mobile GPU meant that the ROG NUC (2025) was able to chew through gaming titles and productivity tasks with aplomb. Close to a year has passed since the ROG NUC (2025)'s launch, and today, we've got the new ASUS ROG NUC 16, which is the ROG NUC (2025)'s successor.
Powered by the new flagship "Arrow Lake Refresh" Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus mobile processor (basically a 275HX with higher clock speeds), the flagship variant of the ROG NUC 16 packs the same RTX 5080 mobile GPU as its predecessor, and a very similar aesthetic to boot - you'd be forgiven for mistaking the ROG NUC 16 for the ROG NUC (2025)!
For this review in particular, we'll be looking at the NUC16JNK model that's equipped with Intel's flagship Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus mobile processor, 32GB of DDR5 6400 CSODIMM memory, NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile GPU and a 2TB NVMe SSD. Watch on to see how ASUS's latest flagship gaming mini PC offering performs in a series of synthetic and gaming benchmark tests!
0:00 Introduction
0:29 Packaging & Specifications
1:53 Unboxing & Accessories
3:09 The PEEL
3:26 Aesthetics & Physical Features
5:29 External Connectivity
6:22 Service Access & Internal Walkthrough
9:59 ROG NUC 16 & ROG NUC (2025) Differences
11:03 Test Setup & Benchmarks
12:33 7-Zip Compression & Decompression
12:40 Cinebench 2024
12:49 Cinebench R23
12:57 CrystalDiskMark 9.0.1
13:05 Black Myth Wukong Benchmark Tool (4K, 1440p, DLSS & non-DLSS)
13:36 Cyberpunk 2077 v2.3 In-game Benchmark (4K, 1440P, DLSS & non-DLSS)
14:07 F1 23 In-game Benchmark (4K & 1440p, non-DLSS)
14:23 Shadow of the Tomb Raider Benchmark (4K & 1440p, non-DLSS)
14:36 Thermals, Power & Acoustics
16:410 Conclusion
Affiliate Links:
► Get this mini PC from Amazon: amzn.to/4p2wIRv
Official ASUS product page: rog.asus.com/desktops/mini-pc/rog-nuc-16
Follow ALKtech at the following social media platforms and keep up-to-date with the latest happenings in the PC hardware world:
Facebook: facebook.com/alktechsg
Instagram: instagram.com/alktechsg
TikTok: tiktok.com/@alktechsg
Website: alktech.co
ALKtech may earn commissions from qualifying purchases made using affiliate links, at no extra cost to you as a customer. These commissions go a long way in supporting the channel!
The mini PC featured in this video was a review unit provided on loan from ASUS Singapore.
