ASUS introduced a special‑edition ROG NUC 16 Phantom Blade Zero Edition in China featuring an Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus, up to an RTX 5080 Laptop GPU, a three‑liter chassis and a 24,499 CNY starting price.
ASUS on Monday introduced a limited Phantom Blade Zero Edition of its ROG NUC 16 mini PC in China that pairs high‑end laptop components with a compact, three‑liter chassis and a game‑themed design.
what ASUS announced
The Phantom Blade Zero Edition is offered in two configurations built around Intel’s Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus processor and available with either an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop GPU or an RTX 5080 Laptop GPU. ASUS lists the starting price at 24,499 CNY for the Chinese market. International pricing and availability have not been announced.
- Processor: Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus (24 cores, advertised boost clocks to 5.5 GHz)
- GPU options: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop GPU (12GB GDDR7) or RTX 5080 Laptop GPU (16GB GDDR7)
- Memory: 32GB DDR5‑6400 standard, expandable to 128GB
- Storage: 1TB or 2TB SSD configurations with multiple M.2 expansion slots
- Chassis size: roughly 282.5 x 189.5 x 56.5 mm (approximately a three‑liter form factor)
design and positioning
The system’s exterior emphasizes a black‑and‑red “blade” motif and includes a semi‑transparent panel that displays artwork of a game character identified as Soul. ASUS says the unit was developed in collaboration with S‑GAME and calls the finish the Phantom Blade Zero Edition (promotional renders also labeled it Shadow Blade Zero Edition).
Despite the small footprint, ASUS kept desktop‑style expandability in mind: the mini PC ships with multiple M.2 slots for storage upgrades and user‑expandable memory up to 128GB of DDR5‑6400. Both configurations include the same memory and expansion layout, with SSD capacity and GPU choice distinguishing the two models.
spec highlights
ASUS positioned the special edition as a compact but powerful gaming mini PC and timed the announcement close to the October release window for a game referenced in promotional materials. Previous ROG NUC 16 models have been offered with similar high‑end laptop GPUs in tight enclosures, and ASUS has previously sold other limited editions at premium price points.
ASUS did not publish global pricing or a release date outside China in the announcement. Readers interested in the ROG NUC 16 Phantom Blade Zero Edition should look for follow‑up details from ASUS on availability and regional pricing.
