Intel devices to drive Africa Masters CS:GO at rAge

Players competing in the inaugural Intel Africa Masters CS:GO tournament at the rAge Expo 2022 next month will be using Intel Next Unit of Compute (NUC) devices at the Grand Finals.

The Intel NUC 12 Enthusiast Mini PC and Kit, code-named Serpent Canyon, is a compact mini-PC, built to include Intel Arc graphics in the smallest form factor, and designed for gamers and content creators. The NUC 12 Enthusiast features 12th Gen Intel Core processors and is the first Intel NUC to include Arc A-series graphics in the form of the A770M graphics processing unit (GPU). with 16GB GDDR6 VRAM.

“We are delighted to provide the best gamers in Africa with the powerful Intel NUC so they may compete at their very best for the title of Intel Africa Masters and show the rest of the world just how good they are at gaming,” says Intel South Africa country manager Nitesh Doolabh.

While it is already a global phenomenon, the Intel Africa Masters CS:GO tournament is a first for Africa, and will allow African players to compete on an equal footing on a global stage. 

Brian McCarson, Intel vice president and general manager of the NUC Group, says the NUC machine has become a centre of discussion in gaming circles.

“The Intel NUC 12 Enthusiast Kit is one of the most exciting NUCs to launch because it’s the first to pair an Intel processor with discrete Intel graphics,” he says. “The system provides a strong combination of high performance in content creation and gaming usages, and wide array of I/O – typically found in larger systems – all in a small form-factor design. More importantly, this NUC features helpful technologies like Intel Thread Director and Intel® Deep Link that make it perfect for anyone trying to create and game in the convenience of a truly compact design.”

Intel Arc graphics elevate gaming performance with a new microarchitecture optimised for gaming and the latest visual technologies, including AI-enhanced upscaling, real-time ray tracing and full support for DirectX 12 Ultimate.

By combining Intel Arc graphics with up to a 12th Gen Intel Core i7-12700H mobile processor, the NUC 12 Enthusiast Kit delivers performance and innovative capabilities in an ultra-compact, 2.5L form factor.

The NUC 12 Enthusiast also brings Intel Deep Link to the desktop for the first time, enabling both the CPU and GPU to seamlessly work together to boost performance across a variety of workloads.

This powerful little machine also offers support for up to 64GB dual-channel DDR4 memory, three M.2 PCIe slots, including two Gen4 NVMe slots, two Thunderbolt 4 ports and six USB 3.2 Gen2 ports (Type-A), fast connection with Intel i225-LM 2.5Gbps Ethernet, Intel Killer Wi-Fi 6E AX1690i and Bluetooth 5.2, HDMI 2.1 TMDS-compatible port (up to 4K60) and two DisplayPort 2.0 (1.4-certified) ports.

Currently available at select South African retailers, the kits will allow users to customise memory, storage and operating system. Fully equipped desktop systems will also be available through retailers and system integrators at a later date.

The rAge Expo takes place at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand from 9 to 11 December 2022.