Razer’s small form factor Tomahawk gaming computer is finally available – mostly. The main attraction of the computer, except for the size, is that you only have to worry about two parts: the NUC and the graphics card. Razer has a list for a version that contains only the NUC, which allows users to insert a graphics card that they already own, but it does not appear to be in stock. The version available today has an RTX 3080 Founder’s Edition that is otherwise difficult to obtain.
If you have to spend $ 3,980.99 on the version with the 3080, it seems like a real deal today – you can add it to your cart and according to Razer’s website it’s shipped the next business day. As for the only NUC version, it is still listed in stock, just like both versions when they were available in December (sort of, sort of, maybe not actually) to pre-order. We contacted Razer about the availability of the only NUC version, but we did not respond.
The computer uses Intel’s NUC, or Next Unit of Computing, as its brain, which means that the actual PC part is just a card inserted next to the GPU. There seems to be only one version of the Tomahawk so far, and it has some decent specs:
- An Intel Core i9-9980HK eight-core CPU
- A 512 GB NVME SSD and 2.5 inch 2 TB HDD
- 16 GB DDR4 SO-DIMM RAM
- RGB, of course
At the price point, however, a processor that is two generations outdated is slightly rough, but that can probably be blamed on Intel. So far, Intel has not released a NUC Extreme Compute Element like the Tomahawk uses, with its new 11th generation processors. And because of the design, you can not upgrade the CPU itself, but it is noteworthy that the RAM and memory can be swapped.
It’s important to emphasize how small this computer is and how packed it is with features – it fits Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5, two Thunderbolt 3 ports and four USB-A ports in a 10-liter case . But if you’re considering buying it, just be sure you’re happy with how it is today: the graphics card may be upgraded, but the NUC will remain the same unless Intel releases a new card. However, if you’re put off by the NUC element, Razer does sell a similar Tomahawk Mini-ITX case that matches standard PC hardware for $ 229.99 – but it’s probably hard to find a CPU and GPU to in it.