Intel NUC to get a cheaper model in February

The Tech Report heard at CES that Intel will ship a new NUC (Next Unit of Computing) in early February. The new model will feature an Intel Celeron 847 processor and will be about $100 cheaper than the current models, which pack a Core i3-3217U. Besides the Celeron model, Intel also plans to release a new NUC with an Intel Core i5 processor, and a Haswell-based model somewhat later this year.

The chip giant told The Tech Report that the NUC "completely exceeded" expectations and that the product "is going to go big" in the future.

The existing NUC, which we reviewed in November, packs a Core i3-3217U processor and will set you back $319.99 at Newegg. A variant without Thunderbolt is also available for $289.99. Compared to the Core i3-3217U, the Celeron 847 in the upcoming model lacks Hyper-Threading support and runs at 1.1GHz instead of 1.8GHz. The slower chip also has 1MB less cache and lower-clocked integrated graphics.

In addition to the Celeron-based variant, Intel is also cooking up a Core i5-powered NUC. That model will come out in April, and it's going to have vPro capabilities, USB 3.0, and triple-display support. Intel says the machine is being added to the NUC lineup in response to user feedback.