Intel's latest foray into the world of miniature PCs has finally arrived. The new NUC 11 Extreme, also known as "Beast Canyon," is now listed for pre-order with SimplyNUC.com, starting at $1,399 for an 8-core Core i7-11700B. And more surprisingly, Intel is offering last year's NUC 9 Extreme customers the option to upgrade to the new Core i7 and Core i9 CPUs.

This 5-liter machine packs a lot of power in its small frame, offering support for graphics cards up to 12 inches long due to a more powerful 650W power supply - This allows it to handle even NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 GPUs with ease. It also comes with 8GB of RAM as standard, but can be upgraded up to 64GB and provides 4 M.2 slots for NVMe storage. Additionally, you get 6 USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports on the back and 2 on the front, alongside Thunderbolt 4 ports and an Ethernet connection for network access.

Intel confirmed that front-panel audio will still be supported through an old CPU in a new chassis for those worried about performance limitations due to size constraints. Assuming necessary design decisions haven't been made and that PCIe Gen 4 will also likely be fully accessible. However, Intel announced after launch that it wouldn't be releasing any models with their six-core Core i5-11400H CPUs due to higher demand for its two other options. Both 8-cores from potential customers wanting to utilize its stunning graphic capabilities combined with reliable speed power.

Ultimately this sleek yet efficient device offers a professional level of computing performance within a compact design ideal for gamers or creators needing top-of-the-line gaming or streaming abilities while saving space simultaneously. All at incredible value if one considers the included software-optimized entries such as Microsoft Office 365/Microsoft Windows 10 Professional pre-installed, as well as possible future upgrades that are expected. Although both Core i7 and i9 variants can already be purchased in September - providing users with different levels of creative liberation depending on their individual needs regarding extreme performance PCs.