ASUS NUC 13 Pro vs iKOOLCORE R2
ASUS NUC 13 Pro is the more capable pick; iKOOLCORE R2 is the cheaper one - which wins comes down to the job below.
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The verdict
- CPU
- ASUS NUC 13 Pro has 1.8x the CPU throughput (19,689 vs 10,800 PassMark).
- Plex
- ASUS NUC 13 Pro transcodes more 4K HDR streams (~8 vs ~5).
- Idle power
- ASUS NUC 13 Pro idles lower (7W vs 9W) - cheaper to run 24/7.
- Networking
- iKOOLCORE R2 has more NICs (4 vs 1) - better for a firewall or VLAN trunk.
- RAM ceiling
- ASUS NUC 13 Pro takes more RAM (64GB vs 16GB).
Which wins for each job
| Job | ASUS NUC 13 Pro | iKOOLCORE R2 |
|---|---|---|
| Plex / Jellyfin | ~8 streams win | ~5 streams |
| Frigate NVR | ~6 cameras win | ~4 cameras |
| Proxmox / VMs | 19,689 PassMark win | 10,800 PassMark |
| Firewall / router | 1 NICs | 4 NICs win |
| Local AI / LLM | no slot | no slot |
Approximate - capacity estimates from curated specs, the same logic as the recommender. Verify against your exact setup. Prices move; check the retailer.
Full specs
| Spec | ASUS NUC 13 Pro | iKOOLCORE R2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price (list) | $400 | $389 |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-1340P | Intel Core i3-N305 |
| Cores / threads | 12 | 8 |
| PassMark | 19,689 | 10,800 |
| iGPU | Intel Iris Xe | Intel UHD (32 EU) |
| NICs | 1 | 4 |
| NIC model | Intel I226-LM | Intel I226-V + Realtek 2.5GbE |
| RAM max (GB) | 64 | 16 |
| M.2 free | 1 | 1 |
| PCIe slot | none | none |
| Idle (W) | 7 | 9 |
| TDP (W) | 28 | 15 |