Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus VS Minisforum AI X1 Pro

The Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus and the Minisforum AI X1 Pro both use a Mini-ITX form factor, meaning they are compact and designed for smaller spaces. However, there are notable differences in their size and storage capabilities. The Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus is more compact with a thickness of 112 mm, height of 42 mm, and width of 144 mm, resulting in a volume of 677.376 cm³. In contrast, the Minisforum AI X1 Pro is thicker at 167 mm, taller at 86 mm, and wider at 200 mm, with a much larger volume of 2872.4 cm³.

When it comes to storage, the Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus has an SSD storage capacity of 2000GB, while the Minisforum AI X1 Pro doubles that with 4000GB of SSD storage. Both products feature NVMe SSDs, ensuring fast data transfer speeds.

Overall, while both models share the same form factor and NVMe SSD type, the Minisforum AI X1 Pro stands out with its larger storage capacity and larger physical dimensions, whereas the Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus is more compact and lighter in size.

The Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus and the Minisforum AI X1 Pro feature different CPU configurations. The Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus has a Thermal Design Power (TDP) of 28W, while the Minisforum AI X1 Pro has a lower TDP of 15W. The NUC 15 Pro Plus has a CPU speed of 6 x 2.2 GHz and 8 x 1.7 GHz, with a turbo clock speed of 5.3 GHz. In comparison, the Minisforum AI X1 Pro offers a CPU speed of 12 x 2 GHz, with a turbo clock speed of 5.1 GHz. The NUC 15 Pro Plus has 16 CPU threads, while the Minisforum AI X1 Pro supports 24 threads, providing a higher degree of parallel processing capability.

Both systems come with integrated graphics and support 64-bit processing. The Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus does not use multithreading, while the Minisforum AI X1 Pro does. The clock multiplier for the NUC 15 Pro Plus is 22, while the Minisforum AI X1 Pro is set to 20. Neither product has an unlocked multiplier.

In terms of CPU temperature, the Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus operates at 110°C, whereas the Minisforum AI X1 Pro runs at a slightly lower temperature of 100°C.

The Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus and the Minisforum AI X1 Pro both feature integrated graphics, but with some differences in their specifications. The GPU clock speed of the NUC 15 Pro Plus is 300 MHz, while the Minisforum AI X1 Pro has a slightly higher GPU clock speed of 400 MHz. For GPU turbo speeds, the NUC 15 Pro Plus offers 2300 MHz, compared to the 2900 MHz of the Minisforum AI X1 Pro.

Both systems share the same number of texture mapping units (TMUs), shading units, and render output units (ROPs), each featuring 64 TMUs, 1024 shading units, and 32 ROPs. In terms of DirectX support, both products are compatible with DirectX 12 Ultimate. Additionally, both systems support OpenGL 4.6, though the Minisforum AI X1 Pro has a slightly older OpenCL version of 2.1, while the NUC 15 Pro Plus supports OpenCL 3.

The semiconductor size differs slightly between the two products, with the Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus using a 3 nm semiconductor, while the Minisforum AI X1 Pro uses a 4 nm semiconductor. Both systems support up to four displays, offering similar display capabilities.

Both the Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus and the Minisforum AI X1 Pro are equipped with 96GB of RAM, providing substantial memory for demanding tasks. However, there is a difference in memory speed. The NUC 15 Pro Plus features faster RAM, running at 6400 MHz, while the Minisforum AI X1 Pro’s RAM operates at a slightly slower 5600 MHz. Both systems use DDR5 memory, ensuring modern memory performance.

In summary, while both products offer the same amount of RAM, the Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus has the advantage in terms of faster RAM speed.

Both the Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus and the Minisforum AI X1 Pro support Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.4, ensuring modern wireless connectivity. However, they differ in their USB and display options. The Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus offers a wider range of USB ports, including 2 USB 2.0 ports, 6 USB 3.2 Gen 2 USB-A ports, 1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 USB-C port, 2 USB 4 40Gbps ports, and 2 USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 ports. In contrast, the Minisforum AI X1 Pro has 4 USB 3.2 Gen 2 USB-A ports and 2 USB 4 40Gbps ports, but lacks the additional USB-C and USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 ports found on the NUC 15 Pro Plus.

Both products support HDMI 2.1 with 2 HDMI ports on the Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus and 1 HDMI port on the Minisforum AI X1 Pro. The NUC 15 Pro Plus also offers 2 DisplayPort outputs, while the Minisforum AI X1 Pro has 1 DisplayPort output. Both systems include 1 RJ45 port for wired Ethernet connectivity and a 3.5 mm audio jack socket, though neither has a VGA connector or S/PDIF Out port.

In summary, the Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus offers a greater variety of connectivity options, especially in terms of USB ports and DisplayPort outputs, while the Minisforum AI X1 Pro provides fewer options in these areas but still delivers essential connectivity features like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and HDMI support.

The Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus and the Minisforum AI X1 Pro have similar performance results based on the PassMark benchmark. The NUC 15 Pro Plus achieves a total PassMark result of 34067, while the Minisforum AI X1 Pro has a slightly higher result of 35142.

In terms of single-threaded performance, the NUC 15 Pro Plus scores 4432, which is higher than the Minisforum AI X1 Pro's single-threaded score of 3872.

Overall, the Minisforum AI X1 Pro leads in total benchmark performance, while the Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus performs better in single-threaded tasks.

Both the Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus and the Minisforum AI X1 Pro support a maximum memory amount of 96GB and use two memory channels. They also both feature flash storage. However, there are several differences in other specs. The Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus is equipped with an Intel Arc 40T GPU, which has 128 execution units, whereas the Minisforum AI X1 Pro uses an AMD Radeon 890M GPU with only 16 execution units.

Regarding instruction sets, both systems support the same set: MMX, F16C, FMA3, AES, AVX, AVX2, SSE 4.1, and SSE 4.2. Both products also have the NX bit enabled, but neither supports ECC memory.

The Asus NUC 15 Pro Plus uses big.LITTLE technology, which is absent in the Minisforum AI X1 Pro. Additionally, the NUC 15 Pro Plus has a higher maximum RAM speed of 8400 MHz, while the Minisforum AI X1 Pro supports a maximum of 7500 MHz RAM speed. The NUC 15 Pro Plus is categorized as a laptop type, while the Minisforum AI X1 Pro is both a laptop and desktop type.