ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced the ROG NUC 16, a compact gaming PC powered by up to an Intel® Core™ ARL-HX processor and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop GPU. Featuring an upgraded thermal design and patented removable stand for vertical or horizontal placement, the ROG NUC 16 is built for gaming, creative pursuits, and AI workloads.
Table of Contents
For gamers and creators
Armed with the latest Intel Core Ultra 9 processor 290HX Plus, the ROG NUC 16 delivers improved gaming performance versus the previous-generation ROG NUC. It supports up to 128GB of DDR5-6400 memory, ensuring smoother high-FPS gameplay and faster responsiveness.
Related: ROG NUC 2025 is a Small but Powerful Gaming Mini PC
Compact yet powerful, the ROG NUC 16 raises the bar with AI-enhanced performance. It features up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop GPU and supports NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 with ML-based Super Resolution and Multi-frame generation for faster, smoother gameplay. Its updated Super Resolution transformer model delivers improved lighting, finer details, and clearer motion, benefiting real-time rendering, video editing, and up to 8K creative workloads. In addition, users can unleash creativity and generate images at unprecedented speed with NVIDIA Studio.
For AAA gaming, DLSS 4.5 can reduce latency and generate up to five additional frames per rendered frame, enabling a more fluid and immersive experience. Combined with the Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus processor, ROG NUC 16 delivers up to 2.3% better 3DMark performance than its predecessor.
For AI workloads such as building a personal AI agent or running local LLM models, the ROG NUC 16 is more than capable, delivering up to 1334 AI TOPS and 16GB of dedicated GDDR7 memory for the GPU, to handle local AI computing.
Related: ASUS NUCs: Powering Philippine Organizations with Compact, High-Performance Computing
QuietFlow cooling
To handle increased CPU and GPU workloads, the ROG NUC 16 features QuietFlow Cooling — a unique thermal design that includes three fans (each measuring 102 x 102 x 17 mm) and a dual vapor chamber. This design feature enables significantly greater cooling coverage within the compact three-liter chassis. CPU thermal coverage has increased by 12%, allowing the processor to perform closer to its full potential.
To reduce thermal throttling and maintain stability during extended gaming or video editing sessions, the ROG NUC 16 also includes a dedicated SSD heatsink that lowers operating temperatures from 72°C to 59°C compared to a system without a heatsink. With its efficient thermal design, the ROG NUC 16 operates at just under 38 dBA even under full workloads — comparable to a library — keeping fan noise low during gaming and creative sessions.
Style and versatility
The ROG NUC 16 introduces the series’ first-ever Moonlight White Edition, housed in a metal chassis that brings standout style to any setup. Plus, with its patented removable stand, users can position the ROG NUC 16 vertically or horizontally — for example, in a living room for up to 8K gaming, or on a desktop to support up to five 4K displays.
Thunderbolt™ 4 enables fast external storage connectivity for large video files, making creative workflows smoother and more efficient. The ROG NUC 16 also features GlideX, a cross-device, cross-platform screen sharing and control solution that supports both wired and wireless connections, helping users create a bigger, better workspace or gaming setup.
ASUS ROG NUC 16 Availability & Pricing
ROG NUC 16 Black Edition and Moonlight White Edition will be available in the Philippines this 2026. Check ASUS and ROG’s social media sites for updates on pricing and availability
To learn more about the product, please visit: https://rog.asus.com/desktops/mini-pc/rog-nuc-16
ASUS ROG NUC 16 Specifications[1]
| Processor | Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 290HX Plus (ARL-HX Refresh) (RTX 5080, 5070Ti, 5070) Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 270HX Plus (ARL-HX Refresh) (RTX 5060) |
| Operating system | Windows 11 64-bit Windows 11 Pro 64-bit |
| Chipset | Integrated |
| Discrete graphics | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080, 5070Ti, 5070, 5060 Laptop GPU |
| Memory | Supports Dual-channel DDR5-6400-CSODIMM, 128GB max DDR5-5600-SODIMM, 128GB max 2 x 8GB DDR5-5600 SO-DIMM 2 x 16GB DDR5-5600 SO-DIMM |
| Storage | 1 x M.2 22×80 PCIe® x4 Gen4 NVMe® 1 x M.2 22×80 PCIe® x4 Gen5 NVMe® (toolless mount) 1TB M.2 2280 NVMe® PCIe® 5.0 SSD 2TB M.2 2280 NVMe® PCIe® 5.0 SSD 1TB M.2 2280 NVMe® PCIe® 4.0 SSD 2TB M.2 2280 NVMe® PCIe® 4.0 SSD |
| Wireless | Intel® Killer™ Wi-Fi 7 Bluetooth® 5.4 / BE1750x |
| LAN | 1 x Realtek RTL8125BG, 2.5G LAN, 10/100/1000/2500Mbps |
| Front I/O | 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A (20G) 1 x Audio Jack (Line out/Mic in/Headphone/ Speaker out/Headset) 1 x Power Button |
| Rear I/O | 1 x Thunderbolt™ 4 4 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A (10G) 2 x HDMI® 2.1 (FRL6/HDMI CEC) 2 x DisplayPort™ 2.1 (UHBR20) 1 x 2.5G LAN 1 x DC in 1 x Kensington lock slot 1 x 3.5mm stereo headset jack |
| Design | Toolless design for quick access to device internals |
| Size | 282.4 x 189.5 x 56.5mm (base: 146mm) |
| Weight | 3.12kg |
###
About ROG
Republic of Gamers (ROG) is an ASUS sub-brand dedicated to creating the world’s best gaming hardware and software. Formed in 2006, ROG offers a complete line of innovative products known for performance and quality, including motherboards, graphics cards, system components, laptops, desktops, monitors, smartphones, audio equipment, routers, peripherals and accessories. ROG participates in and sponsors major international gaming events. ROG gear has been used to set hundreds of overclocking records and it continues to be the preferred choice of gamers and enthusiasts around the world. To become one of those who dare, learn more about ROG at http://rog.asus.com.
[1] Specifications, content and product availability are all subject to change without notice and may differ from country to country. Actual performance may vary depending on applications, usage, environment and other factors. Full specifications are available at http://www.asus.com
