ASUS has unveiled its latest compact gaming PC, the ROG NUC 16, packing high-end gaming and AI performance into a three-litre chassis. Australian gamers could face a hefty price tag when it lands locally.

Announced at Computex in Taipei, the ROG NUC 16 is powered by Intel’s new Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus processor and up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop GPU, with support for NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 and up to 128GB of DDR5 memory.

ASUS claims the mini PC delivers up to 2.3% better 3DMark performance than the previous generation while also targeting creators and AI developers with support for local large language models and up to 1334 AI TOPS of performance.

The company has also overhauled cooling with its new ‘QuietFlow’ thermal system, featuring triple fans and a dual vapour chamber. ASUS says the unit runs below 38 dBA under load – roughly equivalent to library noise levels.

The ROG NUC 16 can be positioned vertically or horizontally thanks to a removable stand, and a new Moonlight White edition has been added to the range. Connectivity includes Thunderbolt 4 and support for up to five 4K displays or 8K gaming setups.

However, price may become the biggest talking point.

Chinese pricing starts at CNY 29,999 (around A$6,400), with the white version climbing to roughly A$6,800. That represents a steep increase over the previous generation and places the compact gaming PC well above many traditional desktop gaming rigs.