I do solar imaging and recently decided on an i5 (NUC8i5BEK)  which is the shorter version of Linwood's model.  At the moment, I am having self inflicted port issues.  I inadvertently converted ports 3 and 4 into virtual ports and seemingly cannot undo it.  I run Windows 10 Pro with APCC, NINA, Stellarium, FocusLynx Commander, Spike-a Flat USB Dimmer, FireCapture and Sun Scintillation Monitor.  Prior to my port issue, this system was performing plate solving a slight bit faster than the same setup on a Dell i7 XPS-15 laptop.  At idle, it is using around 5W.  I have also read that most 8th generation and above hardware will likely be OK for Windows 11.