Solved: NUC 9 Extreme Kits: Any differences besides Compute Modules?

ChristophS · ‎03-07-2023

Are all three NUC 9 Extreme (Ghost Canyon) kits identical except for their compute modules? Or are there variations like different baseboards or PSUs?

For example, could I upgrade the i5 kit (NUC9i5QNX) to a full i9 kit (NUC9i9QNX) simply by swapping out the compute module? Would I maybe run into problems with firmware incompatibilities or do all three kits use the same BIOS?

Thank you and best regards,
Christoph

n_scott_pearson · ‎03-07-2023

While the chassis can come with different finishes, they are essentially the same inside. The baseboard is passive, so no differences are necessary. The processors used in the various Compute Modules are all 45W, so requirements are essentially the same (Aside: PSU size is mostly driven by the power requirements of the graphics cards that might be used). Bottom line, yes, you can upgrade from the NUC9i5QNB Compute Module to any of the NUC9i7QNB, NUC9V7QNB (i7 vPro), NUC9i9QNB or NUC9VXQNB (Xeon E-2286M vPro) Compute modules.

Hope this helps,

...S

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n_scott_pearson · ‎03-07-2023

While the chassis can come with different finishes, they are essentially the same inside. The baseboard is passive, so no differences are necessary. The processors used in the various Compute Modules are all 45W, so requirements are essentially the same (Aside: PSU size is mostly driven by the power requirements of the graphics cards that might be used). Bottom line, yes, you can upgrade from the NUC9i5QNB Compute Module to any of the NUC9i7QNB, NUC9V7QNB (i7 vPro), NUC9i9QNB or NUC9VXQNB (Xeon E-2286M vPro) Compute modules.

Hope this helps,

...S

ChristophS · ‎03-07-2023

Hi Scott, thank you so much. That helped me a lot!