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Small form factor PCs are gradually taking over from conventional desktop computers, as their compact size and low power consumption are attractive to lots of consumers. The recently released Beelink SEi12, which rocks an Intel i5-1235U processor, plenty of RAM, a fast PCIe4.0x4 SSD and a licensed copy of Windows 11 Pro operating system, may be a perfect choice for consumers looking for a compact personal computer for their everyday computing chores.
The good:
Premium design and compact size
Wi-Fi 6 and plenty of connectivity options
Performance better than higher-priced competitions
Easy to add memory and storage
Works with two 4K displays
Quiet even under heavy workloads
The bad:
No built-in card reader.
The Type-C port is data-only.
Specifications
OS: Windows 11 Pro
Processor: Intel Core i5-1235U
CPU: 10 cores, 12 threads @3.3-4.4GHz, 12MB Intel Smart Cache
GPU: Iris Xe Graphics EU80
RAM: 16 DDR4 3200MHz (dual-channel)
Storage: 1*m.2 2280 PCIe4.0*4 NVMe SSD (up to 2TB)
1* SATA3 2.5-inch HDD/SSD (up to 2TB)
Wireless: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2
Ports: USB 3.0*2, USB 2.0*2, USB-C (data only)*1, HDMI 2.0*2, 3.5mm Audio Jack*1, Gigabit Ethernet*1, DC-in*1
Dimensions: 126*113*42mm
Weight: 455g
What’s in the box
Beelink SEi12 Mini PC * 1
120W Power Adapter * 1
User Guide * 1
VESA Mount Bracket * 1
HDMI Cable * 2 (1m and 0.2m)
The retail packaging of the Beelink SEi12 is more attractive than ever. Along with the mini PC, you get a 19V-6.25A power adapter, two HDMI cables, a user guide, a bunch of screws, and a VESA mount bracket for attaching the mini PC to the back of a monitor.
Design: it’s one of a kind
Beelink continues to work on improving the design of their products. The SEi12 a simply gorgeous. Its plastic chassis is vented on four of its six sides, allowing efficient airflow to keep the mini PC cool and stable. Most of the perforated top panel is covered with high-quality felt cloth, giving it an interesting and premium look.
The fabric material used here is not only waterproof, but also immune to fingerprints. There Beelink branding and the SEi model name on the bottom-right corner are very subtle, blending in extremely well with the rest of the housing.
On the front of the SEi12, you will find the following: a power button with status LED, a 3.5mm audio jack with mic support, a Clear CMOS pinhole, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port, two USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A ports.
The rear side plays host to two HMDI 2.0 ports, two USB 2.0 Type-A ports, a Gigabit Ethernet jack, and a DC-in port. As keen eyes might have noticed, the SEi12 doesn’t come with an SD card slot, you will need an external card reader if you transfer photos and video footages from your cameras frequently.
Both HDMI 2.0 ports support [email protected] video output, allowing you to connect the SEi12 to two displays simultaneously. Unlike other high-end Beelink mini PCs, the Type-C port on the front of the SEi12 only supports data transmission. It’s a letdown for those who prefer to work with more than two monitors.
The bottom cover has four rubber feet, texts showing how to enter BIOS and boot menu, and the screws that allow you to open the SEi12 and access the insides.
Compared to previous Beelink mini PC models, the SEi12 features an additional 4007 OS fan and an aluminum heat sink to keep the SSD cool. As a result of the improved cooling, the internals are more difficult to access than before. Older Beelink mini PCs only require you to remove four screws on the bottom panel to get to the motherboard, with the SEi12, you will need to unscrew 3 extra screws on the SSD cooling panel, which also serves as the bracket for a 2.5-inch HDD/SSD.
The hardware expansion in the SEi12 consists of an M.2 Type-2280 slot for PCle4.0*4 NVMe SSDs, a traditional 2.5-inch SATA3 drive bay, and two laptop-style SO-DIMM slots for the RAM. The M.2 2230 wireless card is also accessible under the pre-installed M.2 SSD.
Housing two storage drives in a system this compact is rather impressive. Beelink sells this PC as a ready-to-use system, you get either 16GB or 32GB dual-channel DDR4-3200 memory (in the form of Crucial brand memory sticks), and a super-fast 500GB Kingston PCIe4.0 NVMe SSD, onto which a licensed copy of Windows 11 Pro is preinstalled.
To access the CPU, and other components of the PC, you will have to remove even more screws, but there's really no need to do that since nothing else is replaceable or upgradable. In terms of wireless connections, the SEi12 supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2.
OS and Software
The Beelink SEi12 ships with a licensed copy of Windows 11 Pro which, compared to Windows 10, brings more aesthetically pleasing UI, improved multiple desktops, built-in XBOX gaming, and better security features. Since this is the Pro Edition of Windows OS, you also get a few extra IT and business features.
The Windows 11 Pro here is also very clean, with no pre-installed 3rd party applications or bloatware. Besides regular Windows software, you can also load the Android subsystem on the SEi12 and run Android apps on the SEi12. If you are interested in open-source operating systems, the mini PC is also compatible with Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS and many other Linux distributions.
Performance
The SEi12 comes with the Intel Alder Lake Core i5-1235U processor, which runs at a 3.30 GHz base frequency and can increase its speed to 4.40 GHz in turbo mode. It bundles as many as 10 CPU cores (2 performance cores and 8 efficient cores), 12 threads, 12MB Intel smart cache, and has a TDP of 15 Watts. The SoC handles the graphics part too, you’ll get a very capable Intel Iris Xe EU80 iGPU with a dynamic frequency of up to 1.2GHz. There’s also 16GB/32GB dual-channel memory, and a 500GB PCIe4.0x4 NVMe SSD under the hood.
Benchmarks
In terms of CPU performance, the SEi12 is a huge step up from mini PCs with Intel Tiger Lake quad-core processors. In Cinebench R23, it completely blew the Intel i7-1165G7 NUC 11 Pro out of the water, scoring 11% higher in single-core and 42% higher in multi-core. It also handily beat the Apple Mac mini and the Beelink SER5 Pro in both subtests.
Geekbench 5 measures the computer's single-core and multi-core power, for everything from checking emails to taking pictures to playing music, or all of it at once. The results reveal how close the tested system is to the cutting-edge. What makes the Geekbench special is that it allows us to compare system performance across devices, operating systems, and processor architectures. The SEi12 scored 1619 in single core, 7475 in multi-core, way above systems with the Intel Tiger Lake mobile CPUs.
PCMark 10 is a holistic performance suite developed by the PC benchmark specialists at UL (formerly Futuremark). We use it to assess overall system performance in different real-world productivity and content-creation workflows like word processing, spreadsheet jockeying, web browsing, and videoconferencing. The test generates a proprietary numeric score, and higher numbers are better. The 5284-point finish from the SEi12 is well above the 4,000 points we consider excellent, and it's a very respectable showing for a PC this small.
3DMark measures relative graphics muscle by rendering sequences of highly detailed, gaming-style 3D graphics that emphasize particles and lighting. Like always, I ran three different 3DMark subtests on the SEi12: Sky Diver, Fire Strike, and Time Spy, which are suited to different types of systems. Time Spy is a DirectX 12 benchmark which tests how well a system can handle DirectX 12 games. The other two are both DirectX 11 benchmarks, but Sky Diver is more suited to slim laptops and midrange PCs, while Fire Strike is more demanding and made for high-end PCs to strut their stuff. The SEi12 scored 1343 in Time Spy, 3686 in Fire Strike, and 12443 in Sky Diver, falling behind the Intel NUC 11 Pro and Beelink’s very own SER5 Pro.
According to CrystalDiskMark, the 500GB PCIe4.0x4 solid-state drive in the mini PC has excellent reading and writing speeds. It allows you to boot into Windows 11 Pro in only a few seconds. Launching big creativity applications and 3D games is also incredibly fast.
Content Creation
With such a beefy processor inside, the SEi12 has absolutely no problem of seeing us through common home and office duties. It is also quite capable when dealing with relatively demanding creativity tasks.
The SEi12 stayed smooth and responsive even when I was adding complex effects and renders to 4K video footages, it almost felt as fast as my desktop PC, which features an AMD Ryzen5-5600G CPU and an Nvidia GeFore GTX1660 Ti GPU. Encoding a 3-minute 1080P/30fps video in Handbrake, the SEi12 took 1 minute, 51 seconds, which was a lot shorter than the 2 minutes, 36 seconds the Intel NUC 11 Pro took to finish the same task.
Gaming
Even though the SEi12 is using an integrated GPU for graphics-intensive tasks, its gaming capability is on par with PCs with entry-level discrete graphics cards. Running League of Legend at 1080P and medium quality setting, the average frame rate was 131 fps, the visuals are extremely smooth on my 144Hz gaming monitor. Even when I switched to 4K and high settings, LOL still averaged 71 fps, good enough for an enjoyable gaming experience.
Genshin Impact was playable at 1080P and medium setting, I saw an average of 41 fps, and didn’t notice any dips even in intense fighting scenes. Switching to lowest quality setting will improve the average frame rate to 56 fps.
Most of the other games ran fine at moderate settings, but somehow, I failed to launch Conqueror’s Blade on the SEi12, as the game constantly got stuck at the animation in the very beginning.
These are the results of all the games I tested on the Beelink SEi12, quite promising for a mini desktop PC with such a small footprint. However, if you want to enjoy the most graphics-intensive titles at higher settings, you will probably be better off with the Beelink GTR6, which rocks an even more powerful AMD Ryzen9-6900HX processor and a 12-core Radeon 680M iGPU.
Video Playback
Intel iGPUs are known to have amazing video codec support. According to Bluesky DXVA checker, the Iris Xe Graphics EU80 iGPU can support most video formats of up to 4K and 8K. When I was playing an 8K video clip, the CPU utilization was only 1%-2%, while the GPU usage also stayed below 50%. Streaming YouTube videos in Chrome was also no problem for the SEi12, including 8K/60fps videos.
Networking
The SEi12 has a Wi-Fi 6 compatible network card that works well with my TP-Link Wi-Fi6 router. However, if you want even higher speeds, you can use the Gigabit Ethernet jack on the back of the mini PC and connect it through a cable to the network.
Stability, power consumption and noise
Although the 12th generation Intel processor inside is extremely fast and can reach high frequencies when necessary, the dual cooling fans, heat sinks and copper pipes under the hood are super effective in keeping the SEi12 cool and stable. In the 3DMark Time Spy stress test, the mini PC scored a solid 99.7%, ranking above most mini PCs I've tested. In the AIDA64 Stability Test, the temperature of the CPU never surpassed 90 degrees in one hour of running in full load.
The SEi12’s higher performance does result in high power consumption, though. The power draw was around 13 watts at idle, and around 73 watts at maximum. In comparison, the Intel NUC 11 Pro draws around 8 watts at idle, while the Beelink SER5 Pro draws only 3.5 watts. Fortunately, the included 120W adapter never needs to work too hard to keep the mini PC going as mighty as it could be.
As long as I did not stress the processor inside the SEi12, the mini PC was perfectly quiet. Even in demanding tasks such as benchmark testing, where the hardware was pushed to its limit, the noise made by the fans was still rather tamed. I used to be bothered by the fan noise picked up by my Creative Live! MIC when dubbing the review videos on the Intel NUC 11 Pro. After switching to the Beelink SEi12, that problem was gone.
Verdict
The Beelink SEi12 is a well-rounded mini desktop PC. Its small footprint allows it to fit almost anywhere. There are plenty of ports for all kinds of external devices. The mini PC also offers solid performance for dealing with common computing duties without lag, as well as efficient cooling to keep it running stably for all day long.
The price of this mini PC starts from $459, which includes 16GB dual-channel DDR4-3200 memory, 500GB PCIe4.0x4 SSD, and a licensed copy of Windows 11 Pro. In comparison, the Intel i7-1165G7 NUC 11 Pro with the same amount of storage will cost you $815.99, even though it is powered by a much weaker processor. The Beelink SEi12 is obviously missing premium features like dual Thunderbolt ports, a built-in SD card reader, and a 2.5Gbps Ethernet jack, but its price will probably compel most of consumers to question the necessity of these features.
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The good:
Neat and compact design.
Licensed Windows 11 Pro.
Upgradable memory and storage.
Decent performance.
Excellent power efficiency.
The bad:
The M.2 interface is only compatible with SATA3 SSDs.
Single-channel memory.
No SD card reader.
As mobile chips evolve, some form factor PCs are getting so good that they can even rival mainstream desktop PCs in terms of performance. However, only a small fraction of PC costumers are content creators or passionate gamers who need that much horsepower, most people’s daily computing only consists of a variety of simpler tasks, and that’s where budget mini PCs come in.
With an Intel Celeron N5095 quad-core processor, upgradable memory and storage, alongside the ability to drive three 4K displays, the Beelink U59 released last year is one of the best budget mini PCs I have ever tested, and now it has a younger brother: the Beelink Mini S. This new small computer packs identical specs in an even smaller chassis. It is bound to be a strong contender in the market.
Main specs of the Beelink Mini S
Processor: Intel Jasper Lake Celeron N5095
CPU: 4 cores, 4 threads, 2.0-2.9GHz
GPU: Intel UHD Graphics
Process technique: 10nm
OS: Windows 11 Pro 64bit
RAM: 8GB/16GB DDR4 2400MHz
Storage: 256GB/512GB
Network: WiFi5 + BT 4.0 / Ethernet Gigabit
Ports: 4x USB 3.0 / 2x HDMI 2.0 / 3.5mm audio jack
Accessories: 12V-3A DC adapter/ 2x HDMI Cable (1m & 0.25m) / User Manual
Size: 115 mm x 102 mm x 41 mm
Weight: 280g
Retail Package
The packaging of the Mini S is nice and simple. Inside the box you will find a mini PC, a VESA Mount bracket, a 36-watt power adapter, two HDMI cables, a bag of screws, and a user manual.
Design
The Beelink Mini S employs a well-ventilated plastic chassis measuring 115 mm x 102 mm x 41 mm to house the Intel Celeron N5095 SoC. and other internal components. The matte dark blue finish on top isn’t anything new or refreshing, but it does give the machine a fairly professional look. You can find the “Beelink” branding in the center of the top panel, and an “Intel Inside” logo on the lower-right corner.
The front panel sports a Clear CMOS pinhole, two USB 3.0 ports, a 3.5mm audio jack with mic support, a power button, and a status LED. The rear side plays host to two more USB 3.0 ports, a full-size Ethernet, two HDMI 2.0 ports, and a DC-in port. Compared to the U59, the only difference here is the absence of a multi-function Type-C port. As a result, the Mini S won’t drive three 4K displays like the U59 does. But for most people, having two 4K displays for multi-tasking is good enough.
After removing the four screws on the bottom panel, you can get access to the internals of this mini PC. The good news is that the DDR4-2400 memory stick is not soldered on the motherboard, so it is upgradable, but the bad news is that there’s only one memory slot, so you won’t have dual-channel memory to boost the performance of this mini PC. You can find an M.2 2280 interface, as well as a 2.5-inch HDD/SSD interface on the motherboard, both support drives of up to 2TB, so you can have a maximum of 4TB internal storage under the hood. Unfortunately, the M.2 2280 interface is only compatible with SATA3 standard SSDs, faster NVMe SSDs won’t work here.
The Mini S weighs only 280g, lighter than an Apple iPad mini (293g), the inlcuded power adapter won't add much weight to your carry, either. Moving it around in the house or taking it on your daily commute shouldn’t be much of an effort. The Mini PC feels robust and sturdy in the hands, and looks like it will survive a fair amount of office abuse, and maybe even some occasional falls.
System & Apps
Most SFF PCs and laptops run on the Home Edition of Windows OS, but the Beelink Mini S ships with licensed Windows 11 Pro, which offers quite a few extra features for professionals. The Windows 11 here is completely clean, with no bloatware or 3rd-party applications. Besides Windows, you can also install any X86 compatible operating systems on the Mini S, including Ubuntu, Debian, Android and CentOS. You might even find ways to run MAC OS on it, although I would not encourage anyone to do so.
Performance
The Mini S rocks an Intel Celeron N5095 chip, which is built on 10nm process, with typical Thermal Design Power of 15 W. This chipset has 4 CPU cores, 4 processing threads working at 2 GHz (Turbo 2.9 GHz), and an integrated UHD GPU working at 650MHz. The N5095 SoC. is featured in lots of mini PCs and entry-level laptops. It is definitely not a powerhouse, but should be capable enough for most people’s everyday computing duties. My review unit comes with 8GB memory, as well as a 256GB SATA3 SSD, but Beelink does offer other configurations for you to choose from.
Benchmarks
In the cross-platform Geekbench 5, the Mini S scored 645 in CPU single core, 2017 in multi core, and 2117 in OpenCL. Those are typical numbers for the N5095 processor.
In the Cinebench R20 CPU-crunching test, the Mini S got 234 in single core, and 787 in multi-core.
Running it through PCMark10, my review unit got 2,339 points. This is actually on the higher end of the performance rating, compared to other budget mini PCs I’ve tested.
Beelink doesn’t sell the Mini S in barebone, so all units will come with an SSD. The speed of the 256GB SSD in my unit is pretty standard for an M.2 SATA3 SSD, nothing exciting here. Still, it is fast enough to guarantee that booting into Windows 11 takes only a few seconds.
Daily computing
The Mini S was fairly capable for dealing with mainstream daily computing tasks. I could open a dozen content-heavy webpages in Microsoft Edge, play a 4K video, and edit my presentation in PowerPoint at the same time, without noticing any hiccups or delays.
Obviously, there are occasions where the Mini S wouldn’t make sense, like editing 4K footages from your professional DSLR, or designing complex artwork, but for lightweight creativity tasks such as editing photos in Photoshop and making a short video in for your TikTok channel, this would work great.
HTPC
This mini PC could also make a perfect HTPC or media center. According to DXVA checker, the UHD Graphics GPU is able to decode most video formats up to 4K, some even up to 8K. I’ve played many UHD Blu-Ray movies on the Mini S and enjoyed perfectly smooth playback.
Streaming videos online was a similar story. When I was playing an 4K/60FPS YouTube video in Chrome, neither the CPU nor the GPU was stressed too much. Streaming 8K/60FPS videos could be challenging for the Mini S, as I noticed frequent frameskip during the playback, since this mini PC doesn't really support 8K output, there's no point in doing that anyway.
Gaming
One of the areas where the Mini S didn’t do very well was gaming, as the integrated Intel UHD GPU isn’t really designed for graphics-intensive duties, and single-channel memory sort of made things worse. In 3DMark, the Mini S scored 2356 in Sky Diver, 606 in Fire Strike and 206 in Time Spy, falling behind the Beelink’s very own U59, which features the same processor, but has dual-channel memory.
LOL, which was quite smooth on the Beelink U59 at 1080P and medium settings, was just playable on the Mini S. The average frame rate was 44 fps, and I noticed some frameskip in intense battle scenes. Turning the resolution down to 720P could improve the average frame rate to 79 fps, but some of the fine details could become just a little too blurry on a large desktop monitor.
If you only play simpler, more casual games like Angry Birds, Plant vs Zombies, or games installed from Microsoft Store, then you obviously have nothing to worry about.
Power consumption and noise
This mini PC is very energy-efficient, as power consumption is at only 10 watts idle and 24 watts on max load. The Mini S stayed quiet most of the time, I could watch online videos for hours without hearing any noise from it. The cooling fan did spin up when the Mini S was under heavy workloads, but it was neither too loud nor too annoying.
The Mini S was also very stable. In the AIDA64 stability test, the temperature of the four CPU cores stayed below 90 degrees in 1 hour of running at full load.
Verdict
The Beelink Mini S is priced at $199 for the 8GB/256GB configuration on Beelink’s official website. Given the performance and expandability, alongside its very affordable price tag, if you’re looking for a small form factor desktop PC that is adequate for basic home or business computing tasks, you can’t go wrong here. If you want to bring better performance out of the N5095 chipset and don’t mind the slightly larger footprint, then I would still recommend that you go with the Beelink U59 instead.
Benchmark scores here:
If it is booting quick without need to connect any hardware like monitor then its a perfect and cheapest choice for HTPC/PlexMediaServer etc. Much stable and powerfull than Pi4 or any other NAS or Router for the job and cold last 10y easily.
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The good:
Compact design and great build quality.
Licensed Windows 11 Pro.
Dual-channel memory.
Decent performance.
Amazing power efficiency.
The bad:
No room for another SSD/HDD.
The latest generation of Intel Celeron and Pentium processors are becoming so good that, for most people’s daily computing, a budget mini PC can fully replace a large desktop PC nowadays. I tested quite a few low-power systems with the Jasper Lake Celeron and Pentium chips and were constantly amazed by the capability they had to offer. The recently released GEEKOM MiniAir 11 is an SFF PC powered by the Celeron N5095 quad-core processor, and it is in many ways the best budget mini PC I have ever tested.
Main specs of the GEEKOM MiniAir 11
Processor: Intel Jasper Lake Celeron N5095, TDP 15W
CPU: 4 Cores, 4 Threads, 2.0-2.9GHz
GPU: Intel UHD Graphics 605
Process Technique: 10nm
OS: Windows 11 Pro 64bit
RAM: 8GB DDR4 2400MHz
Storage: 256GB
Network: WiFi 5 / BT 4.2 / Ethernet Gigabit
Ports: 3x USB Type-A / 2x USB Type-C / 1x HDMI / 1x Mini DisplayPort / 1x 3.5mm Audio jack / 1x RJ45 Ethernet / 1x SDXC Card Reader
Accessories: 1x 19V-3.42A DC adapter / 1x HDMI Cable / 1x MiniDP to HDMI Converter / 1x User Manual / 1x VESA Mount Bracket
Size: 117 mm x 112 mm x 34.2 mm
Weight: 500 g
Retail Package
The GEEKOM MiniAir 11 comes with a very simple packaging box. You can find the branding and the model name on top, and the illustration of the product on the front.
Inside the box you will find a mini PC, a VESA Mount bracket, a 65-watt power adapter, two HDMI cables, a Mini DP to HDMI converter, a bag of screws, and a user manual. There’s also an envelope with a “Thank You” card inside. It’s GEEKOM showing its appreciation for the buyers.
Design and build
The well-ventilated ABS chassis of the GEEKOM MiniAir 11 measures 117 mm x 112 mm x 34.2mm, making it one of the smallest mini PCs to feature the Intel Celeron N5095 SoC. The matte black finish on top and muted blue finish on the other sides aren’t anything we haven’t seen yet, but it does give the machine a simple and professional look. You can find the “GEEKOM” branding in the center of the top panel, and an “Intel Inside” logo on the top-right corner.
The MiniAir 11 is packed with IO. The front panel sports one USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A port, a USB-C port, and a 3.5mm audio jack with mic support. The rear side plays host to two USB 3.2 Gen1 ports, a full-size ethernet jack, one HDMI port, a Mini DisplayPort and a DC-in port. Neither one of the two Type-C ports supports video output, but you can connect the MiniAir 11 to two displays with HDMI and Mini DisplayPort. To make things easier for you, GEEKOM has included a Mini DP to HDMI converter in the retail package.
There’s also an SDXC card reader on the left panel, and a Kensington lock on the right side.
After unscrewing the four screws on the bottom panel, you can get access to the internals of this mini PC. The MiniAir 11 comes with two memory slots, which mean we can have dual-channel memory to boost the performance the of iGPU. There’s a single M.2 2280 interface which supports SSDs of both SATA3 and NVMe protocols, but the fact you are not able to install another drive is somewhat disappointing.
You will be amazed by the build quality of GEEKOM products. Like the Mini IT8 I reviewed last month, the MiniAir 11 also employs a high-quality metal frame inside to protect the internal components from outside impacts. There's also a cooling pad on the inside of the bottom panel to keep the SSD from overheating. Everything on the motherboard is so well-placed that you forget how affordable this machine is.
Operating system
Most SFF PCs and laptops run on the Home Edition of Windows OS, but the GEEKOM Mini Air 11 ships with licensed Windows 11 Pro, which offers quite a number of extra features such as being able to join a domain, Hyper-V for virtualization, etc. If you are more into open-source operating systems, you can also choose to install Ubuntu, Debian, Android X86 or CentOS.
Performance
The MiniAir 11 is powered by an Intel Celeron N5095 chip, which is built on 10nm process, with typical Thermal Design Power of 15W. This SOC incorporates 4 CPU cores, 4 processing threads working at 2.0-2.9 GHz, and an Intel UHD 605 iGPU working at 650MHz. Celeron processors are often associated with low performance, but the N5095 chip is really anything but, and can be a game changer for the mini PC category.
Benchmarks
In the cross-platform Geekbench 5 test, the MiniAir 11 scored 656 in CPU single core, 2142 in multi core, and 2121 in OpenCL. Those were typical numbers for the N5095 processor, but the MiniAir 11 did a little better than the Beelink Mini S, which features the same SOC.
In the Cinebench R20 CPU-crunching test, the MiniAir 11 snatched 236 in single core, and 792 in multi-core. As you can see in the charts above, the MiniAir 11 handily beat the Core i3-8109U powered Beelink SEI8 in multi-core performance.
While the CPU performance of the N5095 chip may have caught up with older Intel Core and AMD Ryzen processors, the GPU performance obviously has not. In 3DMark, the GEEKOM MiniAir 11 scored in 2448 Sky Diver, 645 in Fire Strike, and 205 in Time Spy, falling far behind the Beelink SEI8, which employs a beefier Iris Plus 655 iGPU to take care of graphics-intensive tasks.
PCMark 10 simulates different real-world productivity and content-creation workflows. We often use it to assess the overall system performance of a PC. The GEEKOM MiniAir 11 scored 2287 in this test, much better than models featuring older Celeron and Pentium processors.
GEEKOM doesn’t offer a barebone version of the MiniAir 11, all units will be sold with an SSD inside. The 256GB SATA3 SSD in my review unit has decent sequential read and write speed, and you can upgrade the storage to an M.2 PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD whenever you need to. But unlike higher-end Intel Core SoCs, the Celeron N5095 processor only has a very limited number of PCIe channels, so you should not expect any significant increase in speed.
Daily computing
I had tested a handful of N5095 powered systems before the MiniAir 11, so I wasn’t really surprised by how capable this machine could be. Mainstream computing duties like web-browsing, social-networking, Microsoft Office tasks and media playback definitely put no pressure on the MiniAir 11. Thanks to the sufficient DDR4 memory inside, you can also expect the MiniAir 11 to handle a fair amount of multi-tasking. I could open a dozen image-heavy webpages in Chrome, play an 8K video clip, and edit a few documents at the same time without experiencing any hiccup or delay.
It obviously makes no sense to use the MiniAir 11, or any budget mini PC, for heavy creativity tasks such as 4K video editing or complex artwork design, but you can expect it to do well in lightweight content creation. I did not notice any lags or delays when adding filters and colorations to a couple of 1080P video footages in Power Director.
Gaming
It’s not impossible to play games on the MiniAir 11, but you should keep your expectations modest. Simpler games like Minecraft, Angry Birds 2 and Plant vs Zombies could run smoothly on this mini PC, but with heavier titles, you will need to tune down the resolution and settings to ensure a smooth run.
For example, League of Legends was playable at 1080P and medium settings. With 57 fps on average, I only experienced a few minor frameskips in those intense battle scenes. After turning the resolution down to 720P, the average frame rate of the game was improved to 77 fps.
Genshin Impact has proven to be too challenging for the MiniAir 11, even at 720P and low settings, the average frame rate was only 11 fps, and graphics generally felt sluggish and slow during the entire session, making you want to quit the game as soon as possible.
HTPC
According to DXVA checker, the Intel UHD 605 iGPU can decode most video formats to 4K and above, making the MiniAir11 an ideal HTPC or media center for your home entertainment. I played quite a number of video clips on this mini PC, and all of them were extremely smooth. Because the MiniAir 11 always utilizes hardware video decoding, the CPU usage is never too high. However, there is a drawback. Since the MiniAir 11 only supports one M.2 SSD as internal storage, you will probably need external storage devices for your local media files.
Streaming videos online was a similar story. When I was playing an 4K/60FPS YouTube video in Chrome, neither the CPU nor the GPU was stressed too much. Streaming 8K/60FPS videos could be challenging for the MiniAir 11, as I noticed frequent frameskip during the playback, since this mini PC doesn't really support 8K output, there's no point in doing that anyway.
Power consumption and noise
Power consumption of the MiniAir 11 is at only 6.8 watts idle and 22.5 watts on max load, and the machine stayed quiet most of the time. I did hear some noise from the cooling fan when running benchmark tests and games, but the sound was always so gentle that I easily ignored it.
The fan does an excellent job of keeping this mini PC cool and stable. The surface of this mini PC never gets hot, and in the 3DMark Time Spy Stress Test, the MiniAir 11 scored a decent 97.6%.
Verdict
If you’re looking for a compact system to deal with basic home or business computing tasks, this machine is an easy recommendation. The lack of another internal storage interface can be a deal-breaker for some, but with great build quality, plenty of I/O, licensed Windows 11 Pro, and a sensible price tag, the GEEKOM MiniAir 11 is still one of the best bang-for-the-buck mini PCs out there.
GEEKOM recently launches their USA summer sale. If you are interested in purchasing this mini PC, or any other products from GEEKOM, please visit their official website: www.geekompc.com
You can also find the screenshots of test results here:
Does Geekom MiniAir 11 have virtualization support in the bios?
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The good:
Compact design and great build quality
Licensed Windows 11 Pro.
Dual Ethernet jacks.
Decent performance.
Amazing power efficiency.
The bad:
The M.2 interface is only compatible with SATA3 SSDs.
WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 4.0.
The latest Intel Jasper Lake Celeron and Pentium processors are so good that, for most people’s daily computing, a budget-friendly mini PC can fully replace a bulky desktop PC nowadays. I tested quite a few low-power systems with the Jasper Lake Celeron and Pentium chips and were constantly amazed by the efficiency they could bring to the table. The recently released Beelink U59 Pro is an upgrade from last year’s U59. In many ways, it is the best budget mini PC in the market right now.
Main specs of the Beelink U59 Pro
Processor: Intel Jasper Lake Celeron N5105, TDP 15W
CPU: 4 cores, 4 threads, 2.0-2.9GHz
GPU: Intel UHD Graphics 605
Process Technique: 10nm
OS: Windows 11 Pro 64bit
RAM: 8GB/16GB DDR4 2933MHz, dual-channel
Storage: 512GB (expandable up to 4TB)
Network: WiFi 5 + BT 4.0 / dual gigabit ethernet jacks
Ports: 3x USB 3.0 Type-A / 1x USB Type-C / 2x HDMI 2.0/ 1x 3.5mm Audio jack / 2x RJ45 Ethernet / 1x DC-in
Accessories: 1x 12V-3A DC adapter/ 2x HDMI Cable (1m & 0.25m) / 1x User Manual / 1x VESA Mount Bracket
Size: 124 mm x 113 mm x 42 mm
Weight: 255 g
Retail Package
Inside the U59 Pro’s simple but nice-looking packaging, you will find a mini PC, a VESA Mount bracket, a 36-watt power adapter, two HDMI cables, a bag of screws, and a user manual.
Design and build
The well-ventilated plastic chassis of the Beelink U59 Pro measures 124 mm x 113 mm x 42, making it one of the smallest mini PCs to feature the Intel Celeron N5105 SoC. The matte navy-blue finish isn’t anything we haven’t seen yet, but it does give the machine a simple and professional look. You can find the “Beelink” branding in the center of the top panel, and an “Intel Inside” logo on the bottom-right corner.
The U59 Pro doesn't require much area on your desktop, you can even place it under a monitor stand or use the included VESA mount bracket to attach it to the back of the display.
Just like Beelink’s other mini PCs, the U59 Pro is packed with I/O. The front panel sports two USB 3.0 Type-A ports, a multi-function USB-C port, and a 3.5mm audio jack with mic support. The rear side plays host to two additional USB 3.0 Type-A ports, two Gigabyte Ethernet jacks, two HDMI 2.0 port and a DC-in port. The multi-function type-C port and the two HDMI 2.0 ports all support video output of up to [email protected], so you can connect the U59 Pro three 4K monitors at the same time. As there are to Ethernet jacks, you can also easily turn the U59 Pro into a soft router.
After removing the four screws on the bottom panel, you will get access to the internals of this mini PC. The U59 Pro comes with two memory sticks, which will handily boost the performance of the integrated GPU. The M.2 interface is only compatible with M.2 2280 SATA3 SSDs, NVMe SSDs won’t work here. There’s also a SATA3 interface for an additional 2.5-inch SSD/HDD.
The build quality of the U59 Pro is simply superb for a budget system. All the components on the motherboard are neatly arranged, and you won’t find any ugly mold lines on the surface of the chassis.
Operating system
Just like Beelink’s other mini PCs, the U59 Pro ships with licensed Windows 11 Pro. Compared to the Home Edition of Windows, the Pro variant offers quite a number of extra features such as being able to join a domain, Hyper-V for virtualization, etc. If you are more into open-source operating systems, you can also choose to install Ubuntu, Debian, Android, CentOS, or any other X86-compatible OS on the U59 Pro.
Performance
The U59 Pro is powered by an Intel Celeron N5105 chip, which is built on 10nm process, with typical Thermal Design Power of 10W. Beelink has made some alterations to the electrics of this SoC, elevating its TDP to 15W. This chipset incorporates 4 CPU cores, 4 processing threads working at 2.0-2.9 GHz, and an Intel UHD 605 iGPU. Compared to the U59’s Celeron N5095 chip, the Celeron N5105 chip offers 50% more graphics execution units, and higher GPU burst frequency. As a result, N5105 powered mini PCs will generally do better in graphics-intensive tasks. Celeron-based systems are often associated with low performance, but the U59 Pro is really anything but, and can be a game changer for the mini PC category.
In the cross-platform Geekbench 5 test, the Beelink U59 Pro scored 510 in CPU single core, 1942 in multi core, and 3203 in OpenCL. As you can see in the chart, the U59 Pro was slightly edged out by the U59, which employs a Celeron N5095 chip.
In the Cinebench R20 CPU-crunching test, the U59 Pro snatched 214 in single core, and 774 in multi-core. It handily beat the Core i3-8109U powered Beelink SEI8 in multi-core performance.
While the CPU performance of the Celeron N5105 chip may have caught up with older Intel Core and AMD Ryzen processors, the GPU performance obviously has not. In 3DMark, the U59 Pro scored in 2866 Sky Diver, 675 in Fire Strike, and 345 in Time Spy, falling far behind the Beelink SEI8, which employs a beefier Iris Plus 655 iGPU to take care of gaming and other graphics-intensive tasks. Still, the U59 Pro did better in all subtests than the U59.
PCMark 10 simulates different real-world productivity and content-creation workflows. We often use it to assess the overall system performance of a PC. The U59 Pro scored 2539 in this test, much better than models featuring older Celeron and Pentium processors.
Beelink doesn’t offer a barebone version of the U59 Pro, all units will be sold with an M.2 SATA3 SSD inside. The 512GB SSD in my review unit has decent sequential read and write speed, by the SATA3 standard. You must be wondering why Beelink hasn’t made the M.2 interface compatible with faster NVMe SSDs. Unlike Intel Core processors, Celeron processors has very limited number of PCle lanes. An NVMe SSD will need 4 lanes to reach its top speed, but the Celeron processor simply could only distribute 1 or 2 lanes to the NVMe SSD, resulting in read/write speeds similar to SATA3 SSDs.
Daily computing
I had tested a handful of N5095 powered systems before, so I had great expectations for the U59 Pro, since it comes with a more expensive CPU. Mainstream computing duties like web-browsing, social-networking, Microsoft Office tasks and media playback definitely put no pressure on this mini PC. Thanks to the 16GB dual-channel DDR4 memory inside, the U59 Pro is also capable of a fair amount of multi-tasking. I could open a dozen image-heavy webpages in Chrome, play an 8K video clip, and edit a few documents at the same time without experiencing any hiccups or delays.
It obviously makes no sense to use the U59 Pro, or any budget mini PC, for heavy creativity tasks such as 4K video editing or complex artwork design, but you can expect it to do well in lightweight content creation. I did not notice any lags or delays when cutting and merging 4K video footages in Power Director, but adding complex filters or colorations to the clips on the U59 Pro could take a lot more time than on the Beelink GTR5.
Gaming
It’s not impossible to play games on the U59 Pro, but you should keep your expectations modest. Simpler games like Minecraft, Angry Birds 2, Plant vs Zombies, and everything installed from Microsoft Store could run smoothly on this mini PC, but with heavier titles, you will need to turn down the resolution and quality settings to ensure a smooth ride.
For example, League of Legends was playable at 1080P and medium settings. With 40 fps on average, I only experienced noticeable frameskips in some of the intensive battle scenes. After turning the resolution down to 720P, the average frame rate of the game improved to 69 fps. More demanding titles such as Genshin Impact and Spell Break are simply not meant to be played on mini PCs like the U59 Pro, even at 720P and low quality settings, the average frame rate were below 20 fps.
HTPC
According to DXVA checker, the Intel UHD iGPU can decode most video formats to 4K and above, making the U59 Pro an ideal HTPC or media center for your home entertainment. I played quite a number of video clips on this mini PC, and all of them were extremely smooth. Because the U59 Pro was always utilizing hardware video decoding, the CPU usage was never too high.
Streaming videos online was a similar story. When I was playing 4K/60FPS YouTube videos in Chrome, neither the CPU nor the GPU was stressed too much. However, streaming 8K/60fps YouTube videos may result in frequent frameskips and stutters, but as the U59 Pro doesn’t really output 8K, there’s no point in trying that anyway.
Power consumption and noise
Power consumption of the U59 Pro is at only 8.5 watts idle and 22.7 watts on max load, and the machine stayed quiet most of the time. I did hear some noise from the cooling fan when running benchmark tests and games, but the sound was always so gentle that I easily ignored it.
The fan does an excellent job of keeping this mini PC cool and stable. The surface of this mini PC never gets hot, and in the 3DMark Time Spy Stress Test, the U59 Pro scored an excellent 99.3%.
Verdict
Priced at $209 for the 8GB & 500GB version, and $229 for the 16GB & 500GB version on Beelink’s official website, the U59 Pro is an affordable mini PC which checks all the right boxes. It has a compact and attractive design, decent internal hardware, plenty of I/Os, and licensed Windows 11 Pro. Besides basic office workflows and media playback, you can even use this mini PC for lightweight creativity tasks and a fair amount of gaming. For those who are looking for a decent but inexpensive mini PC, the Beelink U59 Pro may just be your best bet.
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GEEKOM may be new to the mini PC industry, but they have released quite a few high-quality but cost-effective models in a very short period of time. The Mini IT11 is the latest addition to their lineup. With an Intel Tiger Lake CPU, a licensed copy of Windows 11 Pro operating system, and a moderate price tag, it may offer better value than the Intel NUC 11 Pro.
Specifications
OS: Windows 11 Pro
Processor: Intel Core i5-1135G7 / Intel Core i7-1165G7/ Intel Core i5-1155G7 / Intel Core i7-1195G7 (Core i7-1165G7 in my review unit)
CPU: 4 cores, 8 threads @2.8-4.7GHz, 10nm process (i7-1165G7)
GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics EU96
RAM: Dual-channel DDR4-3200, expandable up to 64GB (32GB in my review unit)
Storage: 1*SSD (M.2 SATA/PCle), expandable up to 2TB (1TB in my review unit)
1*2.5’’ SATA HDD/SSD (7mm), expandable to 2TB
Wireless: WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.2
Ports: USB4*2, USB 3.2 Gen2*3, HDMI 2.0*1, Mini DP*1, 3.5mm Audio Jack*1, Gigabyte Ethernet*1, DC-in*1
Dimensions: 117*112*45.6 mm
Weight: 565 g
What’s in the box
GEEKOM Mini IT11 Mini PC * 1
Power Adapter * 1
User Guide * 1
VESA Mount Bracket * 1
HDMI Cable * 1
Carrying pouch * 1
The GEEKOM’s packaging may not be very fancy, but you will get all the accessories you need in the box.
Design and build
The GEEKOM Mini IT11 looks very similar to the Intel NUC 11 Pro, as the two are almost identical in terms of shape, size and the layout of the ports. The well-vented chassis is made of ABS & PC, which is much more robust and durable than ordinary plastic material. The matte blue finish isn’t anything we haven’t seen before, but it does give the machine a professional look.
With an extremely small footprint (117*112*45.6 mm), the GEEKOM Mini IT11 will easily fit on any computer desk or TV bench, no matter how crammed that place may be. You may even decide to use the included VESA mount bracket to install the unit behind a monitor, which completely frees up your desktop.
This mini PC packs lots of I/O for its size. On the front you will find a USB4 Type-C, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, and a 3.5mm audio jack (with mic support). The back panel plays host to another USB4 Type-C, two additional USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, an HDMI 2.0, a Mini DisplayPort 1.4, and a DC-in. There’s also an SDXC card slot on the left side, and a Kensington lock on the right side of the machine. As you may have already noticed, the Mini IT11 can be connected to four 4K displays at the same time, making complex creativity tasks easier to handle.
The USB4 ports on this mini PC are marked as the 20 Gbps version, but in my test, both of them could easily exceed that speed limit. I consulted GEEKOM for this and was told that the USB4 ports on the Mini IT11 were actually the 40Gbps full-speed version, but due to the reason that the 40Gbps marking would need extra certification, they were currently undermarked. The USB4 ports are perfectly compatible with Thunderbolt 3 devices. Not only can you transfer files between the GEEKOM Mini IT11 and portable SSDs at high speeds, but you may also use a Thunderbolt certified eGPU to enhance the graphics performance of your mini PC.
Getting access to the internals could not be easier, the only thing you need to do is to unscrew the four screws on the bottom panel. The Mini IT11’s motherboard features two DDR4-3200 memory slots, an M.2 2280 SSD interface, a 2.5” HDD/SSD interface, as well as 2 M.2 2230 interface inside. You can have as much as 64GB dual-channel memory, and 4TB internal storage under the hood. My review unit comes a single 16GB Kingston DDR4-3200 memory stick, but I added another 16GB memorty stick for dual-channel setup.
The build quality of the GEEKOM Mini IT11 is simply stunning. The chassis feels extremely smooth and robust, with no ugly mold lines on the surface. There’s also a metal frame inside to protect the internal components from impacts, a nifty feature that all GEEKOM mini PCs come with.
System & App
The Mini IT11 ships with an activated copy of Windows 11 Pro, so you don’t have to pay extra for the license. For average consumers, the Pro Edition of Windows OS probably won’t mean much. Yet for power users, there are quite a few extra features that may come in handy.
The operating system here is completely clean, with no preinstalled bloatware or third-party applications at all. Besides Windows, you can also choose to install other X86-compatible systems, such as Linux, Android X86 or UOS.
Performance
Performance from the Core i7-1165G7 and 32GB dual-channel memory is about as good as I expected, putting up respectable numbers that will accommodate anyone looking to tackle productivity work or streaming. The Intel Iris Xe graphics iGPU will handle creativity duties or even some lightweight gaming. To help you better understand the overall performance of the Mini IT11, I ran quite a few benchmarks on it, and compared its scores to the results of other top mini PCs.
First, I launched Maxon's latest CPU-crunching Cinebench R23 test, which is fully threaded to make use of all available processor cores and threads. Cinebench stresses the CPU rather than the GPU to render a complex image. The result is a proprietary score indicating a PC's suitability for processor-intensive workloads. The Mini IT11 got decent scores in both CPU single core and CPU multi-core. As you can see in the chart, there’s still a relatively huge gap between the GEEKOM Mini IT11 and the Apple MAC mini in terms of CPU performance.
The cross-platform Geekbench 5 test returned a very similar result. The Mini IT11 scored 1540 in CPU single core, 5133 in multi-core, and 16969 in OpenCL.
PCMark 10 simulates different real-world productivity and content-creation workflows. We often use it to assess overall system performance for office-centric tasks. The Mini IT11 scored 4661 in the standard PCMark 10 test, indicating that it should do well in a variety of heavy productivity tasks.
This mini PC also features a Kingston M.2 NVMe drive, which is extremely fast, readings and scores of the CrystalDiskMark test told the story. The dual-channel memory setup guarantees high overall bandwidth and throughput speed. In the AIDA64 cache & memory benchmark, the read, write and copy speeds of the memory are decent, the 71.2ns latency is solid, too.
Daily Computing
In the real-world use, This mini PC handily saw me through common home and office tasks, from web-browsing, social networking to editing 4K video footages. The Mini IT11 felt as efficient as the Beelink GTR5 when handling most duties, even though it got beaten by the latter in nearly all benchmarks.
Video Playback
One area where the Mini IT11 did better than the GTR5 was video playback. Thanks to the impeccable video codec support of the Intel Iris Xe Graphics iGPU, the Mini IT11 could hardware-decode most video formats up to 8K. I played many 4K movies and TV shows on this mini PC, and never encountered any frameskip or hiccups.
Not only was the Mini IT good at decoding local video, but it was also excellent in streaming videos online, even [email protected] YouTube videos could play smoothly in the Chrome browser.
Gaming
The Intel Iris Xe Graphics iGPU may not match top discrete graphics cards in performance, but it was a huge leap forward when compared to Intel’s older Iris Plus and UHD iGPUs, and could also outperform older discrete GPUs. In the graphics-focused 3DMark test, the GEEKOM Mini IT11 scored 1594 in Time Spy, 4332 in Fire Strike, and 13710 in Sky Diver. These results are significantly better than the numbers put up by the Intel NUC 8 and the Lenovo IdeaCentre Mini 5i. Surprisingly, the Mini IT11 also easily edged out the HP Envy 13, which features an Nvidia MX350 discrete graphics card.
League of Legends was extremely smooth at 1080P and medium quality settings, with 115 fps on average. Even when I switched to 4K and high quality, it was still free of any noticeable lags or frame drops. Spell Break, which was slightly more hardware demanding than LOL, stayed at 60 fps the entire gaming session.
Running Genshin Impact at 1920 x 1080 and medium quality settings saw an average of 44 fps, not great, but still enough for me to enjoy the gameplay. However, the Mini IT11 did struggle a little bit with more graphics-intensive titles like Conqueror’s Blade. The average frame rate of this game was only 31 fps at 1080P and medium settings, still playable, but there might be delays and frame drops in those intense battle scenes.
Those results mean the Mini IT11 should be able to deal with demanding graphic workloads without grinding to a halt. But if you want to game in high quality settings and still get a fair chance against other players, you might need an external GPU.
Noise, stability, and power consumption
Power consumption of the Mini IT11 is at 8 watts idle and 70 watts on max load, and the machine stayed fairly quiet most of the time. I did hear noise from the cooling fan when the mini PC was running big applications and games, but its volume was never really too untamed.
As quiet as it was, this mini PC was still reasonably stable. It passed the 3DMark Time Spy test with a score of 99.9%. And thanks to the efficient cooling, the chassis of the mini PC never became too hot to touch.
Verdict
Throughout my time with the GEEKOM Mini IT11, I can attest to this unit being a nifty piece of kit that will suit most home and office scenarios. As tiny as it is, it still packs plenty of ports, and enough power for not only our everyday basics, but also creativity workflows and gaming. If you are looking a versatile mini PC to serve as your daily driver, you can’t go wrong with the Mini IT11.
By the time I finished writing this article, GEEKOM informed me that the SoCs of the Mini IT11 were going to be upgraded from Intel Core i5-1135G7 and i7-1165G7 to Core i5-1155G7 and Core i7-1195G7 before the model hits the market. These new processors will surely give the mini PC more horsepower and help it get better numbers in benchmarking, but how much more efficiency it will bring to the table in real world use still remains to be tested, I will do another review once I receive the upgraded unit.
TEST SCREENSHOTS HERE:
Very nice machine and the USB4 is an extra really appreciated. Do you know when are you going to receive the upgraded version? I guess that extra horsepower will do very little, but if the price is the same very welcome.
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Beelink is one of the top manufactures of small form factor PCs, targeted at various audiences. The SER5 Pro, which comes with the AMD Ryzen5-5600H processor, is the latest addition to the company’s mini PC lineup. Though it’s a small device, it manages to offer plenty of power and a lot of ports, perfect for businesses and home offices.
The good:
Compact, VESA-mountable body.
Plenty of ports.
Impeccable performance.
Superb wireless networking.
Easy to upgrade.
Power Delivery 3.0 via USB-C.
The bad:
No SD card reader.
Specifications
OS: Windows 11 Pro
Processor: AMD Ryzen 5-5600H, 7nm process, 35W TDP
CPU: 6 cores, 12 threads @3.3-4.2GHz
GPU: Radeon RX Vega 7 @1800MHz
RAM: 16/32GB DDR4 3200MHz (dual-channel)
Storage: 1*M.2 2280 PCIe3.0*4 NVMe SSD (up to 2TB)
1* SATA3 2.5-inch HDD/SSD (up to 2TB)
Wireless: WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
Ports: USB Type-A 3.0*3, USB Type-A 2.0*1, USB-C*1, HDMI*2, 3.5mm Audio Jack*1, Gigabit Ethernet*1, DC-in*1
Dimensions: 126*113*42mm
Weight: 455g
What’s in the box
Beelink SER5 Pro Mini PC * 1
57W Power Adapter * 1
User Guide * 1
VESA Mount Bracket * 1
HDMI Cable * 2 (1m and 0.2m)
The retail packing is simple but attractive. Along with the Beelink SER5 Pro mini PC, you will find a 19V-3A power adapter, two HDMI cables, a user guide, a bunch of screws, and a VESA mount bracket that can be used to attach the mini PC to the back of a computer display.
Design and build
Like other members of the Beelink SER family, the SER5 Pro is a gorgeous piece of tech. Its aluminum chassis is well-vented and offers lots of connectivity options. This mini PC weighs only 1 pound, but it still feels surprising hefty in the hands as all the weight is concentrated in a small area.
The perforated top panel, a long with many vents on the other sides, allows efficient airflow to keep the mini PC cool and stable.
The Beelink and AMD logos, as well as a few stickers here give the SER5 Pro a very professional look.
On the front panel of the SER5, you will find the following: a power button with status LED, a 3.5mm audio jack with mic support, a Clear CMOS pinhole, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port, two USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A ports.
The rear side plays host to two HMDI 2.0 ports, a DisplayPort, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port, a USB 2.0 Type-A port, a Gigabit Ethernet jack, and a DC-in port. The only thing missing that you might need is an SD card reader.
The two HDMI 2.0 ports and the Type-C port all support [email protected] video output, so you can connect the SER5 Pro to three displays at the same time. The Type-C port also supports Power Delivery 3.0, which means you can use a 65W PD charger as power supply for this mini PC, the only problem is that the Type-C port is in the front, hooking to the power brick from here could look a little bit weird.
The bottom cover has four rubber feet, texts showing how to enter BIOS and boot menu, and the screws that allow you to open the SER5 and access the insides.
The hardware expansion in the SER5 Pro consists of an M.2 Type-2280 slot for PCle3.0*4 NVMe SSDs, a traditional 2.5-inch drive bay, and two laptop-style SO-DIMM slots for the RAM. The wireless card is also accessible under the pre-installed NVMe SSD.
Housing two storage drives in a system this compact is rather impressive. Beelink sells this PC as a ready-to-use system, you get either 16GB or 32GB dual-channel DDR4-3200 memory (in the form of Crucial brand memory sticks), and a 500GB Kingston NVMe SSD, onto which a licensed copy of Windows 11 Pro is installed.
To access the rest of the PC, you will have to remove more screws, but there's really no need for that since nothing else is replaceable or upgradable. The SER5 Pro also supports WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2, making it perfect for streaming games and VR content wirelessly.
The SER5 is extremely compact. It measures 126 x 113 x 42 mm in width, depth, and height, taking up less than 0.6L of total space. As a result, this mini PC can fit almost anywhere, even under a monitor stand if you have one. You can also choose to attach it to the back of a display with its available VESA mount, making it ideal for offices or homes where space is at a premium.
OS and Software
The Beelink SER5 Pro ships with a licensed copy of Windows 11 Pro, Average consumers will probably see no difference between this and the Windows 11 Home Edition, but for power users, Windows 11 Pro offers a few extra features, the most important of which is being able to join a domain, including Azure Active Directory for single sign-on to cloud services (and have group policy applied as part of that).
You also get Hyper-V for virtualization, BitLocker whole disk encryption, enterprise mode Internet Explorer, Remote Desktop, a version of the Windows Store for your own business, Enterprise Data Protection containers (a feature that comes later in the year) and assigned access (which locks a PC to running only one modern application, to use like a kiosk). Pro users can get updates from Windows Update for Business, which includes options for scheduling updates, so they don't reboot PCs at important business times.
The Windows 11 Pro here is also a completely clean version, with no pre-installed 3rd party applications or bloatware that you need to uninstall. If you are a fan of open-source software, you can also choose to install Linux-based operating systems on this mini PC.
Performance
The SER5 Pro comes with the AMD Ryzen5-5600H processor, which runs at a 3.30 GHz base frequency and can increase its speed to 4.20 GHz in turbo mode. It bundles six Zen3 CPU cores, twelve threads, 16MB L3 Cache, and has a TDP of 35 Watts. The SoC handles the graphics part too, you’ll get a very capable AMD Radeon Vega7 iGPU running at 1800MHz. There’s also 16GB/32GB dual-channel memory to deal with big applications and multi-tasking, and 500GB NVMe SSD to store all your files.
Benchmarks
In terms of performance, the SER5 Pro is a beast. It handily beat both varaints of the Intel NUC 11 Pro in Geekbench 5.4.1 and the Cinebench R23 CPU crunching tests.
PCMark 10 is a holistic performance suite developed by the PC benchmark specialists at UL (formerly Futuremark). We use it to assess overall system performance in different real-world productivity and content-creation workflows like word processing, spreadsheet jockeying, web browsing, and videoconferencing. The test generates a proprietary numeric score, and higher numbers are better. The 5797-point finish from the SER5 Pro is well above the 4,000 points we consider excellent, and it's a very respectable showing for a PC this small.
3DMark measures relative graphics muscle by rendering sequences of highly detailed, gaming-style 3D graphics that emphasize particles and lighting. I ran three different 3DMark subtests on the SER5 Pro: Sky Diver, Fire Strike, and Time Spy, which are suited to different types of systems. Time Spy is a DirectX 12 benchmark which tests how well a system can handle DirectX 12 games. The other two are both DirectX 11 benchmarks, but Sky Diver is more suited to slim laptops and midrange PCs, while Fire Strike is more demanding and made for high-end PCs to strut their stuff. The SER5 Pro scored 1417 in Time Spy, 3636 in Fire Strike, and 13327 in Sky Diver. The NUC 11 Pro i7, which features the Intel Iris Xe EU96 iGPU, achieved better results in all three subtests, but the Intel NUC 11 Pro i5, which comes with the Intel Iris Xe EU80, scored lower than the SER5 Pro in Fire Strike and Sky Diver.
The 500GB Kingston solid-state drive used by the mini PC proved to have good reading and writing data speeds, although I did have seen better. Still, the SSD allows us to boot into Windows in less than 10 seconds, and offers more than enough speed for everyday office duties, lightweight content creation, and moderate gaming.
Content Creation
With such a beefy processor and plenty of RAM inside, the SER5 Pro obviously has no problem of seeing us through common home and office tasks. This mini PC is also quite capable when dealing with relatively demanding creativity workflows.
Editing 4K videos in Power Director, the SER5 Pro stayed fast and responsive even when I was adding some complex effects and renders to the raw footages. Producing a 10 minute high-bitrate 4K video via software encoding, the SER5 took 28 minutes, 9 seconds, while the Intel NUC 11 Pro (i7-1165G7 variant) took 41 minutes, 44 seconds. After I switched to hardware encoding, the SER5 took 6 minutes, 1 second to finish the task, while the NUC spent 5 minutes, 30 seconds. Even though I used the exact same setting for both mini PCs, including the bitrate of the output video, the SER5 Pro finished the task with a much bigger video file than it was commanded to.
During the video production (hardware encoding), the CPU utilization of the NUC 11 Pro stayed above 70%, and even hit 100% sometimes. The CPU utilization of the Beelink SER5, on the other hand, stayed below 50%, allowing users to work with other applications efficiently at the same time.
Encoding the same video clip in Handbrake, the SER5 took 1 minute, 56 seconds, while the NUC 11 Pro i7 took 2 minutes, 37 seconds.
Gaming
For an integrated GPU, the AMD Radeon Vega 7 in the SER5 Pro is quite capable. Running League of Legend at 1080P and medium quality setting, the average frame rate was 117 fps, even when I switched to 4K and high settings, the game still averaged 67 fps.
Genshin Impact was also playable at 1080P and medium setting, I saw an average of 47 fps, and didn’t notice any stutters or hiccups even in those intense fighting scenes. Switching to low quality setting will improve the smoothness to 55 fps.
Conqueror’s Blade has proven to be a little too challenging for the SER5 Pro. At 1080P and medium quality setting, the average frame rate was only 28 fps, and there will be noticeable frameskip and delays in intensive battle scenes. Switching to 720P and low setting could bump up the average frame rate to 41 fps, but it was still only playable.
These results mean the SER5 Pro should be able to deal with reasonably intense graphic workloads without grinding to a halt. But if you want to game in the highest possible settings and still get a fair chance against other players, you will need to look elsewhere.
Video Playback
Video codec support is one of the few areas that AMD Radeon iGPUs lag behind their Intel counterparts. According to DXVA checker, the Iris Xe Graphics iGPU can support many more video formats of up to 4K and 8K than the Radeon Vega 7. With that said, the SER5 Pro managed to play all of the 4K videos I threw at it smoothly.
Streaming YouTube videos in Chrome was also a fun and smooth experience, including all [email protected] and most [email protected] videos.
Stability, power consumption and noise
Not only is the Beelink SER5 Pro is powerful for its size, it’s also very stable. Although the AMD Ryzen5-5600H processor inside is extremely fast and can reach high frequencies when necessary, the cooling system inside the mini PC is super effective. Besides the high-speed cooling fan, there’re also copper pipes inside to help keep temperatures at bay. In the 3DMark Time Spy stress test, the SER5 Pro scored an amazing 100%, the best result I’ve seen in any laptop or mini PC.
Fortunately, the SER5 Pro’s incredible performance doesn’t result in high power consumption. The power draw was only 3-4 watts at idle, and around 47 watts at maximum. Unlike many other small form-factor computers, the SER5 Pro is also very quiet. It made almost no noise when dealing with relatively lightweight tasks, and even in some benchmark tests, where the hardware was stressed to its limit, the fan noise was still quite tamed.
Verdict
The Beelink SER5 Pro is a well-rounded choice for a mini desktop. It has a small chassis that allows it to fit almost anywhere, plenty of ports for all kinds of external devices, superb networking, ample pep to complete all kinds of computing duties without lag, and efficient cooling to keep it running stably for a long period of time. The $469 starting price also seems decent for a model with 16GB dual-channel memory, 500GB NVMe SSD and a licensed copy of Windows 11 Pro. All told, the Beelink SER5 Pro could be an inspirational choice for anyone who wants a small computer for their everyday tasks.
What are your thoughts on the hades canyon nuc? I doubt the beelink can handle serious gaming.