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The good
Decent performance.
Licensed Windows 10 Home.
Comfortable keyboard and high-quality touchpad.
Solid battery life.
The bad
No fingerprint reader.
No backlight for the keyboard.
Slow SATA SSD.
The Ultrabook market is ultra-competitive, as many respected PC brands all see this as a highly lucrative sector. This market section doesn’t really seem like the ideal playground for Alldocube, a Chinese brand mainly known for their affordable Android tablets, to enter. While Alldocube isn’t a total newbie in the PC industry, as they have release many low-cost Windows convertibles and laptops in the past, but all of their PCs were powered by Atom, Celeron, or Core M CPUs, never the high-end i-series SoC.. That’s why the newly released Alldocube i7Book, which comes with an Intel i7-6660U CPU and a $479.99 price tag, could be exciting.
Main Specs of the Alldocube i7Book
OS: Licensed Windows 10 Home
CPU: Intel Core i7-6660 dual-core CPU (2.4GHz-3.4GHz)
Graphics: Iris Graphics 540
RAM: 8GB DDR4 RAM
Screen: 14.1-inch IPS (1920*1080px)
Storage: 256GB M2. SSD (SATA Standard)
Ports: 3 x USB 3.0 Type A, 1 x USB 3.0 Type-C, 1 x 3.5mm audio jack, 1 x HDMI 1.4 port, 1 x 3.5mm DC port.
Connectivity: 802.11ac dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2
Camera: 2MP front-facing webcam
Weight: 1.35kg
Size: 322*212*16.1mm (W x D x H)
Battery: 11.4V-4500mAh (51.3Wh)
Variants, price and availability
If you are constantly bothered by the many variants of a certain model, good news here: the Alldocube i7Book comes with only one configuration. The model features a 14.1-inch FHD IPS display, an Intel Core i7-6660U CPU, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB SSD.
The laptop is priced at $479.99 and you can buy it on Banggood.com.
Retail Package
The retail package of the i7Book doesn’t stray too far from that of other Ultrabooks. Inside the box you get a KBook laptop, a power adaptor, and a user manual.
The provided 57-watt (19V-3A) power adaptor looks extremely old and bulky by 2020 standards. But fortunately, this laptop supports PD fast-charging through its type-C port. That means you can use a much more portable PD charger as its power supply. Many of the mainstream smartphones now come with 50W-65W PD-compatible chargers, which can also be used as the i7Book’s power adaptor. We are currently using the Xiaomi 10’s 65W charger with the i7Book, and it works like a charm.
Design and Build
You probably won’t have too many complaints – or accolades – about the aesthetics of the i7Book. There’s nothing wrong with the look, exactly, at least in our very typical silver color scheme. The Alldocube logo on the lid is the only real adornment, and otherwise, this is a very simply designed laptop.
The chassis of the i7Book is made of aluminum, with sand-blasting process on top. The material used here is not particularly high-quality, and even felt like plastic when we first laid hands on it. In comparison, last year’s KBook looks like a more premium device. However, the chassis of the i7Book still succinctly avoids any sharp edges or flexible structures, as these things should.
Opening it up reveals a spacious keyboard which, unfortunately, isn’t back-lit. It’s a typical island keyboard with black keys and white letters.
The feel of the keys is a little shallow, but they still press with a snappy click and that makes for a precise feel. I managed to reach my top typing speed in just a few hours’ time.
The touchpad is also very good, with plenty of size, a comfortable plastic surface, and buttons that aren’t too loud. It’s also a Microsoft Precision touchpad, meaning it provides excellent support for Windows 10’s multitouch gestures. It’s easily the equal of laptops costing a hundred dollars more.
In terms of input, that’s all you get, though. There’s no touchscreen, which is par for the budget course, and there’s no Windows 10 Hello mechanism for password-less login. That’s a bummer, but again, you must give up something to bring in a laptop at this price point.
The bezels around the 14.1-inch screen are relatively small, especially on the top, left and right. The chin is a little bigger than the one on the Huawei Matebook, with Alldocube’s branding in the middle.
Above the display there’s a 2 mega-pixel webcam. In terms of image quality, the webcam is quite basic, but it is okay for video chatting in most scenarios, just make sure there’s sufficient ambient lighting.
Unfortunately, the i7Book cannot be opened up to 180 degrees like the KBook can, the maximum angle it can open up to is approximately 135°. While this may not be a deal breaker for most consumers, it is still a little disappointing.
For an Ultrabook which focuses on thinness, the Alldocube i7Book still offers a healthy combination of I/O. The left side plays host to a DC charging port, a multi-function USB-C port which support not only PD fast charging, but also DP video output and USB 3.0-standard data transmission, an HDMI 1.4 port, and a USB 3.0 port. On the right you will find a 3.5mm headphone jack, two USB 3.0 ports, and a MicroSD card slot.
The i7Book measures 322*212*16.1mm, and weighs 1.35kg, quite compact for a laptop this size. The build quality is okay, but nothing to write home about. It’s not hard to tell that the i7Book is somewhat below the quality of the HP Elitebook 745G and Huawei Matebook 13, mainly due to the material used for the chassis. Even last year’s Alldocube KBook feels a little more robust and better built, as its case feels sturdier with less flex. However, the i7Book still doesn’t feel cheap, it just lacks the premium feel of a high-end model, which it isn’t.
Average display, but competent sound
The Alldocube i7Book rocks a 14.1-inch IPS display at the resolution of 1920*1080p. Pixel density is 157PPI. This display isn’t particularly sharp, the colors are a little bit muted, as well. It’s easy for us to notice the differences when placing the i7Book next to the Huawei Matebook 13, and Alldocube’s very own KBook, which sports a vibrant 3K display.
The brightness of this panel isn’t good, either. While it is generally good enough for indoor use, but when I brought the laptop to my office desk near an open window, where direct sunlight could shine on the screen, it was a little challenging for me to see the content even at maximum brightness.
The i7Book features stereo BOX speakers. Audio from these built-in speakers is surprisingly good, with plenty of volume without any distortion when turned all the way up. Mids and highs are strong, and there is even a hint of bass. You could easily binge YouTube using these speakers, although music and movies would definitely benefit from a good pair of headphones or external speakers. Again, this is a great result for such an inexpensive machine.
A clean version of Windows 10
The laptop runs on licensed Windows 10 Home out of the box, so it is able to run all applications like any other regular Windows PC. Fortunately, there’s no bloatware of any kind, you can easily install apps from Microsoft Store or other third-party sources.
Performance that matches the hardware
The Alldocube i7Book was powered by an Intel Core i7-6660U processor, which includes a dual-core CPU clocked at 2.4GHz, but can turbo up to 3.4GHz, and an Intel Iris Graphics 540 GPU. When you see the word “Core i7”, you would probably think this is an absolute powerhouse. Well, it might be true a few years ago, as this chipset was released in 2016, but things are different now. This Skylake i7 CPU won’t really compete with its 10th generation peers, in fact it falls short even in comparison with the 8th generation low-voltage Core i5 SoC. Yet it should still offer enough horsepower for normal day-to-day tasks in 2020. When coupled with 8GB DDR4 RAM and 256GB SSD storage, we’re curious to see how the i7Book could perform.
Benchmarks
Looking at the Cinebench R20 CPU benchmark, the i7Book scored 700. Interestingly, that falls behind the HP Elitebook 745G, which features an AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 2500U, and only beats the i3-8145U powered Huawei Matebook 13 by a small margin.
In the Fritz Chess benchmark, the i7Book notched 6317, which is a huge improvement from last year’s Alldocube Kbook, but is still lower than the score of the Huawei Matebook 13.
The PCMark 8 Home and Work Accelerated tests are designed to measure the performance of a system by simulating basic everyday computing tasks. The i7Book scored 3123 in Home Accelerated, and 4098 in Work accelerated. While these weren’t impressive numbers, they were still much higher than the scores of the Microsoft Surface Go 2, which is powered by an Intel Core M3-8100Y processor.
Without discrete graphics, it’s not hard to see that this laptop isn’t built for intense 3D gaming. We did run a few tests in the 3DMark, though, to see how the i7Book would perform. As expected, it wasn’t that great. The laptop scored 5033 in Night Raid, 4273 in Sky Diver, and 1181 in Fire Strike. In the more demanding Time Spy test, the Alldocube i7Book was returned a score of 473.
Real Life performance
In the real-world use, we get more than enough power for average computer tasks like Word processing, spreadsheets and email, and it won't get bogged down if you have a dozen tabs open in Chrome with some other applications running in the background.
Streaming video and music are no problem either, since I could play all the 4K videos in my mobile drive and even stream 8K YouTube videos in Chrome smoothly.
Heavier apps such as the Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom also work nicely, and I am not talking about just casual photo and video editing, you can even add quite a few layers and filters without experiencing stutters and delays.
In our PowerDirector test that encodes a 330MB video to H.265, the i7Book took 19 minutes to finish the production, that is significantly slower when compared to the Beelink Kaby G mini PC, which rocks an Intel Core i7-8709 processor and only took 8 minutes to finish the same task.
The 256GB SSD in the i7Book is of SATA3 standard, instead of the more celebrated NVME. That’s easily predictable for such a low-cost laptop. The performance is okay, though, as any SSD is, but if you have to compare it to NVME standard SSD used in high-end laptops, you will be disappointed. In the CrystalDiskMark test, it scored 541 megabytes per second (MB/s) in the read test and 439 MB/s second in the write test.
As mentioned earlier, the i7Book is not designed to be a gaming PC. When we tried to run Fortnite, our experience was quite disappointing. The i7Book managed a paltry 8 frames per second (FPS) at 1080p and High graphics settings, and just 5 FPS at Epic settings. Other graphics-intense games such as Crysis 3, Less demanding titles such as League of Legend, CS:GO did run smoothly on the i7Book, but there could be some frameskip in certain scenarios if you set the graphics to the highest.
When it comes to games installed from Microsoft Store, the story is completely different. The i7Book had no problem running the most graphic-intense games at maximum settings. We tired Asphalt 9:Legend, Modern Combat 5: eSports FPS and World of Wsrships, all of them ran smoothly on this laptop.
Battery Life
Alldocube packed in 51.3 watt-hours of battery into the i7Book. That’s not bad for a 14.1-inch Full HD display, but there is a power-hungry 6th Gen i7 CPU under the hood. And given the fact that Alldocube’s earlier models all disappoint in this department, we were initially quite skeptical. As it turns out, we were pleasantly surprised by the i7Book’s longevity.
In our video test that loops a local 1080P movie until the battery ran out, the Alldocube i7Book lasted for 8 hours and 31 minutes. That’s a decent score that bests most of the other models you can find in the same price range, and easily blow last year’s Kbook out of the water.
Also, in our most demanding Basemark web benchmark, the Alldocube i7Book lasted for three hours and eleven minutes. That’s not a record-breaking score, but it’s solid for the battery capacity and display size. The Huawei Matebook 13, for example, only managed around two and a half hours, while the HP Elitebook 745G only lasted 20 minutes longer than the i7Book did.
The i7Book isn’t the thinnest or lightest 14.1-inch Ultrabook around, that much is clear. But for a typical productivity worker, there’s a very good chance that you’ll be able to get in a full working day without carrying around a power adapter, and that’s quite something.
Connectivity
The Alldocube i7Book offers three USB Type-A ports, a type-C port and a MicroSD card slot. That means you will have no problem mounting multiple external storage devices and a mouse.
This laptop supports 5GHz/2.4GHz dual-band WiFi, but not the latest WiFi 6, which is somewhat disappointing for a laptop released in 2020. Reception is solid, though, as we didn’t experience any issues streaming 4K videos 10 meters and a wall way from the router. There is also Bluetooth 4.2 on board for connecting with wireless input devices, Bluetooth speakers and headphones. It would have been nice to see Bluetooth 5.0 instead of 4.2, but that’s not going to add much the overall experience.
Verdict
The Alldocube i7Book is priced at $479.99, and it’s probably the cheapest Core i7 powered laptop you can buy right now. But you have to fall within its niche to consider it, and that means being someone who’s looking for a well-priced mid-sized laptop with a matte non-touch screen, the power to handle everyday activities and a big enough battery to run for 6-8 hours unplugged. On top of those, the i7Book is also a well-built device with appealing simplistic design and a decent keyboard/trackpad. On the other hand, you’ll have to live with the rather mediocre screen and, no fingerprint reader, but this aside there’s not that much to complain about here.
Link to Banggood: https://m.banggood.com/ALLDOCUBE-i7...mds=search&act_poa=SKUF90986&cur_warehouse=CN
Hello I want to ask if there is any official numbers for screen brightness? If not, can you measure it and let me know?
chevyz07 said:
Hello I want to ask if there is any official numbers for screen brightness? If not, can you measure it and let me know?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have the right equipment to measure it.
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The good:
Beautiful, neat and compact design.
Excellent build quality.
Licensed Windows 10 Home and Microsoft Office Home.
Decent performance.
Big and fast SSD storage.
Lots of connectivity options.
The bad:
A relatively old Intel Broadwell processor.
Old DDR3L RAM.
HDMI 1.4 port only supports up to 4K/30FPS.
No SD or MicroSD card slot.
Beelink has put out many budget mini PCs in the past, most of them are Atom and Celeron based systems designed for only basic computing tasks. The newly released L55 is a different device, with a much more capable Core-i3 processor and 8GB RAM inside, it is definitely more marketed as a full-fledged PC rather than an HTPC that only sits in your living room for media playback purposes.
Specifications
Brand: Beelink
Model: L55
Type: Mini PC
System: Windows 10 Home
CPU: Intel Broadwell i3 5005U (Dual Core CPU, 4 logical processors)
GPU: Intel HD 5500
RAM: 8GB DDR3L
Storage: 256GB/320GB/512GB
Internet Access: Dual Band Wi-Fi, LAN
Bluetooth: Bluetooth 4.0
Ports: 4*USB 3.0, 2*USB 2.0, 1*3.5mm audio jack, 1*HDMI 1.4, 1*DP, 2*1000M Ethernet Jack, 1* DC-in port , 1*SATA HDD port, 1*M2.SSD port
Accessories: 2*HDMI cable, 1*SATA HDD cable, 1*DC adapter, 1* bracket, some screws
Size: 128*126*47mm
Retail Package
Like always, the L55 comes with the typical simple and neat packaging by Beelink.
There are lots of things in the L55’s relatively small packaging. You can find a 12V-3A DC power adapter, two HDMI cables (different in length), a SATA HDD expansion cable, a bracket and some screws which can mount the mini PC to the back of a monitor.
Design and Build
The overall design of the L55 doesn’t stray too far from previous Beelink Mini PC models, in fact it looks almost identical to the U55, the only difference you will notice at first glance is the color. The chassis is made of high-quality plastic. The matte dark blue finish looks nice. The Beelink branding on the top side is quite stylish, there’s also the famous “Intel inside” marking on the bottom right, reminding you that it’s a device powered by Intel chips.
Being as small as it is, the L55 has almost as many ports as a desktop PC does. The front of the L55 is home to a pair of USB 3.0 ports, a 3.5mm audio jack, a red power button, and an activity LED (not lit in the photo) and an RTC hole. One of the USB 3.0 ports supports fast charging (up to 7.5W), and there is a green lightning marking above to distinguish it from the other.
There are lots of vents on the left and right side to prevent the L55 from overheating. The L55 doesn’t apply the fanless design used for many entry-level mini PCs, instead it has a high-speed fan inside the shell to cool the internals down when they are stressed.
The back side sports another pair of USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, an HDMI 1.4 port, a DP port, two RJ45 1000M Ethernet jacks, a DC-in port and some more vents.
Four small rubber feet are hosted on the bottom side, preventing the shell from scratches.
The L55 measures 128*126*47mm, even smaller than the Android-based Remix IO. The build quality is excellent, as the device looks extremely refined, with no ugly mold lines. It also feels extremely robust and sturdy, you won’t break it without some serious force. Also, the matte dark blue coating on the surface is very resistant to scratches. After 2 weeks of reviewing the device and moving it around constantly, I still haven’t found any marks on its surface of the L55.
Setting up
As small as it is, the L55 is a PC and needs to be connected with a display, a keyboard and a mouse to work, and that’s how you should set it up. There’s no conventional mouse and keyboard ports, so you need to get by with USB-mounted or Bluetooth input devices.
During first-time start-up, you will need to go through some of the Microsoft Windows initialization protocols, which is easy but will take some time. After that, you are good to go.
System & Apps
The Beelink L55 ships with a clean version of licensed Windows 10 Home OS, we found no pre-installed 3rd party applications and bloatware at all.
The local disk is a single volume (only Disk C) by default, but it is relatively easy to do disk partitioning on Windows 10.
You won’t need any 3rd party application, the “Disk Management” feature in “Computer Management” can take care of that or you, after less than a minute, we got two local disk volumes.
There are thousands of apps available in the Microsoft Store, if they are not enough, you can also install traditional PC apps. The Microsoft Office Student & Home Edition can be automatically activated once it is installed on the L55, we know a lot of people will welcome that.
We don’t feel like digging into all the main features of Windows 10. For those who is still unfamiliar and curious with this dominant PC operating system, we highly recommend you to watch some tutorial videos on YouTube.
Performance
The L55 is powered by a relatively old 5th generation Intel Broadwell Core-i3 5005 dual core CPU (2.0GHz), not the latest Coffee Lake (8th and 9th generation) chipset. This chip won’t match the latest Intel i5 and i7 chips found in mainstream laptops and desktops PCs when it comes to horsepower, but it is still very capable of handling normal everyday tasks. Like always, we ran some benchmarks on the device to see how much horsepower it was to generate.
In the Cinebench R10 test, the L55 scored in 3,023 Single core, 6,553 in multi-core, and 3999CB in OpenGL. These scores were significantly higher than the Beelink AP34 (single core: 1846, multi-core: 5470, OpenGL: 2782CB), which is powered by an Intel Celeron N3450 processor.
In the more complex Cinebench R15 test, the L55 was returned in 150cb CPU performance and 14.78fps in OpenGL.
The Fritz Chess benchmark returned a score of 3,878, which beats the scores of Atom and Celeron based PCs. But it is definitely not impressive, as the i3-8145U powered Huawei Matebook 13 scored 7190, and even the Core-M powered Xiaomi Laptop managed to score 4,691 in the same test.
In the PCMark 8 Home Accelerated test, the L55 scored 2451, handily beating those Celeron-powered mini PCs and laptops, of which the scores are normally below 2000. But it is still nowhere near the scores of mainstream PCs.
The SSD in the L55 is undoubtedly faster than the eMMc found in entry-level mini PCs and convertible Windows tablets, as the device scored 754 in AS SSD benchmark. The sequential read and write speeds are almost as fast as that of my Surface Pro 3 (539MB/s & 484MB/s), but still significantly slower than the SSD inside my Huawei Matebook 13 (2155MB/s & 1485MB/s). There are 3 variants of L55, which have different built-in storage. The one that we received has 512GB M2. SSD inside. The storage of the L55 is upgradable with SATA HDD up to 2TB. If that’s not enough, you can even replace the stock M2. SSD with a 1TB drive.
Although the L55 is capable of outputting 4K resolution (3840*2160px), we won’t recommend people to set this resolution as default. As there is no discrete graphics card under the hood, 4K will be too much for the integrated Intel HD5500 during some productivity tasks, 1080P is still a far more reliable choice on most occasions.
The L55 was capable of playing all the media files we threw at it, including various 4k video clips, the playback was smooth in Windows Media Player and Thunder Video Player all the time, but there were stutters while playing 4K videos of webm formats in Windows 10’s Movies & TV app.
We also had no problem streaming full HD and 4K YouTube videos in Chrome. But playing 8K videos in YouTube was an extremely laggy experience we won’t recommend anybody to try.
The device was also smooth with most of the productivity tasks. We didn’t notice any lags editing our image-heavy presentation in PowerPoint. Editing photos in Photoshop is also a generally smooth experience, but some of the renderings did take a noticeable longer period of time than they did on my i7-powered Surface Laptop.
The Beelink has 8GB of DDR3L RAM on board, so it is also able to handle some serious multi-tasking. We did hear the fan inside the L55 making some noise when the device was under heavy loads, but it never got unbearably loud. Fortunately, the CPU temperature never got too high to trigger a warning from Ludashi (a Chinese PC monitoring app).
The HD5500 GPU is powerful enough for all games installed from the Microsoft Store, including Forza Horizon 4 and Modern Warfare. All of them ran smooth and remained responsive even at the highest settings. We actually enjoyed playing Asphalt 9 Legend on the L55 quite a lot, it was easy to control, the visuals were stunning, too. Lightweight desktop games such as Plant vs Zombies, Chicken Shoot and Stealth Bastard also ran smoothly on the L55, older versions of big titles such as SEGA Virtua Tennis and Asphalt 5 ran without hiccups as well. However, the L55 doesn’t come with a discrete graphics card, so it is definitely not built for the most graphic-intense titles such as the Metro 2033, GTA 4 and StarCraft. The games took a long time to load, and the frame rates were sometimes unacceptable during gameplay.
To sum it up, the L55 can deliver decent computing performance while running the types of software applications that average consumers use on a daily basis, but it is not designed as a workhorse for multimedia editors or other professional designers, nor is it the right PC for gaming enthusiasts.
Connectivity
The L55 supports dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz & 5GHz). Wi-Fi connection was pretty solid as well. We put the L55 on the TV cabinet in the living room (the WiFi router was placed in another room), it was still able to download files at the same top speed.
The L55 can be connected to input devices and sound systems (headphones or speakers) wirelessly via Bluetooth, which saves you from the messy wires on your desktop, and frees the USB ports for other devices. We connected the L55 with our pair of Bang & Olufsen S3 speakers and enjoyed a lot of music and movies, the audio transmission remained uninterrupted.
There are 6 USB Type A ports (4*USB 3.0 and 2* USB 2.0) on the L55, you can mount lots of external devices at the same time. We mounted a 4TB Seagate mobile drive, a 128GB Samsung mobile SSD drive, and two 128GB flash disks, the L55 has no problem supporting them all at the same time.
The transfer speed through the USB 3.0 port is pleasantly fast. It normally takes only seconds to copy an HD movie from a flash disk.
The DP and HDMI ports will support most of the monitors, projectors and TV sets, but if you are using an old monitor with only VGA or DVI port, you will have to get by with an adapter. Unfortunately, the HDMI port on the L55 is HDMI v1.4 standard, which can only output resolution up to 2K/60fps or 4K/30fps. If you connect the L55 with a 4K TV via an HDMI cable, you won’t be able to get the highest image quality. The DP port on the device does support 4K/60fps output, but very few monitors do, and HDTVs don’t usually come with a DP port.
The Beelink L55 has two 1000M RJ45 Ethernet jacks, allowing you to connect to two network broadband services at the same time. This could be useful if you use the L55 in a workplace, as employees may need to connect both to the internet and the company intranet. Also, for higher-level users, they can combine the broadband width of two network services to achieve higher download and upload speed.
Verdict
Beelink has made a few choices which seem odd to us reviewers. Besides equipping the L55 with a relatively old 5th generation processor in a year when all new releases come with more advanced 8th and 9th generation i-series processors, they have also chosen to feature an old HDMI 1.4 port. Even more, the Micro SD card slot found on the U55 disappeared on the L55, we really wonder if it’s a choice made merely to save cost or for other reasons.
Besides a few puzzling choices, the L55 is still a solid device which has a lot going for it. With a Core-i3 5005U processor and 8GB DDR3L RAM inside, it is definitely not only designed for media consumption. Instead, it is able to get a lot of things done without a hitch. If you don’t use your PC for intensive gaming or complex designer work, the horsepower of the L55 will simply be more than enough for you.
The prices of L55 starts from $269 (256GB version), and the 512GB version costs $299. These prices are definitely higher than the prices of Atom and Celeron powered mini PCs. But we do believe the features, performance and functionalities of the L55 justify the price tag. If you want an inexpensive desktop computer which is small, stylish and compact, but is still powerful enough for everyday computing tasks, the L55 is worthy of your consideration.
Really a lovely piece of tech. I am using it now on a daily basis.
Hope more people could see this review, it took me a long time to test the device.
I don't think this processor is future-proof, it may not be smooth in 2-3 years.
Twitch007 said:
I don't think this processor is future-proof, it may not be smooth in 2-3 years.
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It really depends on what you use it for.
Lower benchmark scores than I expected.
And that monitor really looks oooooooooooold!
GadgetSino said:
And that monitor really looks oooooooooooold!
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:cyclops:
jupiter2012 said:
It really depends on what you use it for.
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Not really, the system will be slowed down by Microsoft on purpose, which is not related to how u use it.
Twitch007 said:
Not really, the system will be slowed down by Microsoft on purpose, which is not related to how u use it.
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My PC has served for 5 years without slowing down.
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If you follow the news of mini PCs, you should know Beelink recently announced a new model called the GTR5, which is powered by an AMD Ryzen9-5900HX processor, and is deemed as the most powerful mini PC to date. Because the GTR5 is so prominent and is getting everyone’s attention, another model that is also very good is kindda falling under the radar. Yes, I am talking about the Beelink GTI11, GTR5’s Intel powered brother.
The Beelink GTI11 is sort of a mix of the best mini PCs and NUCs, and will fit well into a living room or home office. It's quite compact, but has the performance needed to handle a fair amount of productivity work. The price is also quite reasonable, with the i5, 16GB/500GB model priced at ＄699. I've been using this tiny PC for a couple of weeks to see what it's all about and whether it's worth your investment.
Specifications
OS: Windows 11 Pro
Processor: Intel Core i5-1135G7
CPU: 4 cores, 8 threads @2.4-4.2GHz, 10nm process
GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
RAM: 16GB DDR4L Memory
Storage: 500GB m.2 NVMe SSD
Wireless: WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.0
Ports: USB 3.0 *4, USB 2.0*2, USB-C*1, HDMI*1, DP*1, 3.5mm Audio Jack*1, 1000M Ethernet * 2, DC-in*1
Dimensions: 160*120*39mm
Weight: 597g
What’s in the box
Beelink GTI11 Mini PC * 1
19V-3A Power Adapter * 1
User Guide * 1
Wall Mount Bracket * 1
HDMI Cable * 2 (1m and 0.2m)
The GTI11 comes with simple, but attractive retail packaging.
Inside the retail box you will find a GTI11 mini PC, a 57W power adapter, a user manual, a mounting bracket, two bags of screws and two HDMI cables.
Design and build
The Beelink GTI11 looks almost identical to last year’s GTR. The chassis is completely made of magnesium alloy, with the top panel covered by glass for a little bit of extra pop. The case feels reasonably sturdy and holds strong under direct pressure. The blue coating of the exterior gives the GTI11 a professional, yet attractive look, and the matte finish on the side panels perfectly resists fingerprints.
With a small form factor, the GTI11 measures only 160mm wide, 120mm deep, and just 39mm in height. It easily fits on desks or even under a monitor stand if you have one, without taking up too much space. If you literally have no room on your desk, the bracket included in the retail box can also help you mount the mini PC onto the back of the monitor, making it completely disappear from the surroundings.
What makes the Beelink GT series (GTR & GTI) mini PCs special is the fact that they all come with a fingerprint reader, which makes unlocking extremely easy. The fingerprint scanner on the GTI11 has decent size and very high success rate. During my two weeks testing the computer, I’ve never had any failed attempts unlocking the system with my finger.
There are a lot of ports on hand here. The front side host two full-size USB 3.0 ports, a multi-function Type-C port, as well as a 3.5mm audio jack with mic support. You can also find a CMOS reset hole and power/standby key with LED indicator built in.
The rear side comes even more packed with I/O, you will find two more USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, two RJ45 ethernet jacks, one HDMI 2.0 port, one DisplayPort, and a DC-in port. Unfortunately, the GTI11 doesn’t include an SD/MicroSD card slot, a USB card reader will be needed if you want to get access to the files on your storage card from the GTI11.
This PC is actively cooled, many vents are featured on the side panels.
The bottom of the GTI11 is pretty non-descript. There are two rubber strips to keep the mini PC in place while it’s sitting on your desk, you can also find the instructions on how to enter BIOS setup and boot menu.
The GTI11 weighs only 597g, moving it around your house, or taking it on a trip won’t mean much effort, as long as you don’t mind the relatively hefty power adaptor.
Getting inside the system is easy, all you need is a screwdriver. After removing the 4 screws from the bottom panel, you are able get to the GTI11's internals. As small as it is, the GTI11 still offers two memory slots, and supports as many as 3 hard drives. You can insert two m2.2280 SSD and one 2.5-inch hard drive.
Software: Windows 11 is already here
The LED on the top panel, and the LED built in the power button will both light up when the mini PC is booted.
The Beelink GTI11 ships with licensed Windows 10 Pro, which can be upgraded to Windows 11 Pro after you boot the computer up for the first time. The operating system here is a completely clean version, with no pre-installed 3rd party applications or bloatware.
For average consumers, the Pro Edition of Windows OS probably won’t mean any difference. Yet for power users, there are quite a few extra features that may come in handy.
Performance: powerful enough
Performance from the Core i5-1135G7 and 16GB 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 integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics will handle creativity duties or even some lightweight gaming. To help you better understand the overall performance of the GTI11, I ran quite a few benchmarks on it, and compared its scores to the results of other midrange 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 GTI11 got decent scores in both CPU single core and CPU multi-core.
I also ran the older Cinebench R20 test just to compare the GTI11 to more models I had tested before. The GTI was slightly edged out by the Intel NUC 8 in CPU multi-core, but completely dominated the chart with its CPU single-core score.
This mini PC also scored 15991 kilos per nodes in Fritz Chess Benchmark, and it’s a solid number for any system with a mobile chip.
The GTI11 also did quite well in the wPrime CPU test, finishing the 1024M calculations in less than 6 minutes.
In the cross-platform Geekbench 5 test, the GTI11 scored 1431 in CPU single core, 5074 in multi-core, and 14527 in OpenCL. In terms of the CPU single-core performance, the GTI11 leads the Lenovo IdeaCentre Mini 5i by more than 50%, and that’s incredible!
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 GTI11 scored 4580, which is a tie with what’s achieved by the Intel NUC 8.
The computer also features a Kingston m.2 NVMe drive, which is extremely fast, readings and scores of the CrystalDiskMark test told the story.
The unit I received comes with two Crucial 8GB-3200MHz memory sticks. This 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 16GB memory are decent, the 69.4ns latency is solid, too.
The performance of the integrated GPU also benefits greatly from dual-channel memory, as the GTI11 scored much higher in the AIDA64 memory and GPU benchmark than the Lenovo YOGA Duet, which comes with the same processor and integrated GPU, but a single 16GB memory stick.
The Intel Iris Xe Graphics in the GTI11 is a huge step up from older UHD graphics, and completely dominated the Radeon Vega 10 GPU of the Beelink SER and the Iris Plus 655 GPU of the Intel NUC 8. In the 3DMark Sky Diver, Fire Strike and Time Spy tests, the GTI11 scored 12862, 3683 and 1437 respectively.
In the real-world use, the GTI11 handily saw me through most common home and office tasks, from web-browsing, editing my work presentation to streaming my favorite movies and TV shows. This system could even play 8K YouTube videos in Chrome without any frame skip.
There are only a handful of models which can be used for content creation, and the GTI11 is one of them. I had no problem editing photos in Adobe Photoshop, the system wouldn’t even slow down while I was adding many layers and filters to the picture. I also did not encounter any issue editing a 4K video clip in Power Director, everything felt reasonably fast and smooth.
I didn’t really think about playing 3D games on the GTI11 before receiving it. Having tested the Lenovo YOGA Duet, which runs on the same processor, I thought I knew what the performance was going to be like on the GTI, but I was proven to be dead wrong. Titles like “League of Legends”, “War Frame” and “Resident Evil 3”played fairly smoothly under 1080P and medium to high settings. In League of Legend, the frame rate stayed above 120FPS all the time. Even “Conqueror’s Blade”, which was always a challenge for systems with integrated graphics, recorded an average frame rate of 36 frames per second at 1080P and medium settings. And during those intense battle scenes, the graphics still stayed well above 25fps, which is simply amazing for a computer this small.
These were all the games I tested on the GTI, and it's really promising to see that we are now able to have decent gaming experience on mini PCs.
As powerful as it is, the Beelink GTI11 is still a compact PC system with no discrete graphics, so it probably won’t see you through difficult workloads like super complex artistic design or gaming in 4K. Nonetheless, it ought to be greater than sufficient for most computing duties.
Noise, Stability and Power Consumption
There are two high-speed fans and two heat conduction tubes inside the shell for cooling. Beelink called these fans "silent" in their advertising, but believe me, they are not really silent. The GTI11 will make a fair amount of noise during multitasking or while running big applications. The noise is audible and may even be a little bit distracting at times if your room is quiet enough. With that said, It never really made my ears too uncomfortable to the point that I wanted to shut it down. And the system is relatively quiet during handling low-power duties such as video playback and social networking.
Fortunately, these fans are proven to work pretty efficiently. The GTI11 was amazingly stable, I could edit videos for hours on it without experiencing a hiccup. It also easily passed the 3DMark Time Spy Stress test with an impressive score of 99.6%, handily beating all the computers I have tested before.
In the AIDA64 Stress test, all 4 CPU cores were running at full load for 50 minutes, but their temperature stayed under 70℃ the entire time and didn’t trigger a warning.
Running on an Intel Core i5 processor, the GTI11 is not technically a low-power system, but it still consumes way less power than, say, a normal-size desktop PC.
I recorded its power outputs in different working scenarios and found that it was quite energy-conservative in video playback and office duties. Only when benchmarking or gaming did the power output exceed 20W.
Connectivity: WiFi 6, dual LAN, 3 displays
As mentioned above, The GTI11 offers a wealth of ports for its size. The HDMI, DP, and multi-function Type-C all support [email protected] video output, so you can connect the mini PC to as many as 3 monitors at the same time. This can be particularly useful if you have some complex office duties at hand.
The GTI11 features Bluetooth 5.0, with Bluetooth input devices and speakers, you will be able to have an almost wire-free desktop setup. And when it comes to surfing the internet, there are 2 RJ45 ports on the back of the GIT, meaning you can even use the mini PC for soft routing. WiFi 6 is also onboard to guarantee fast and stable wireless internet access.
Verdict: too good to ignore
The Beelink GTI11 is a feature-packed mini PC with a lot of horsepower under the hood. No matter what your computing tasks are, it always has the answer. Special features such as the fingerprint scanner, WiFi 6 and dual ethernet jacks just make your computing experience more convenient than ever. Yes, you may find better value with a normal-size desktop PC if space and power consumption aren’t that much of a concern, but the Beelink GTI11 is simply too fetching of a product to look past, I am sure it will have a pretty long stay on my desktop.
nice read up, thanks for sharing
blaze2051 said:
nice read up, thanks for sharing
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AMD's very powerful Ryzen 9-5900HX flagship notebook CPU is making its way to small form factor desktop PCs. The recently released Beelink GTR5 is not the first mini PC to feature this SoC., but it might just be the best one yet!
Beelink GTR5 Main Specs
OS: Windows 11 Pro
Processor: AMD Ryzen9-5900HX
CPU: 8 cores, 16 threads @3.3-4.6GHz, 7nm process
GPU: Radeon RX Vega 8 @2100MHz
RAM: up to 64GB DDR4 RAM (32GB in my review unit)
Storage: up to 2TB m.2 NVMe SSD (500GB in my review unit)
Wireless: WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
Ports: USB-A 3.0 *3, USB-A 2.0*2, USB-C*1, HDMI 2.0*1, DP 1.2*1, 3.5mm Audio Jack*1, 2.5Gbps Ethernet * 2, DC-in*1, m2. SATA slot*1, 2.5-inch HDD connector*1
Special features: Fingerprint unlock
Dimensions: 165*119*39mm
Weight: 678g
Retail packaging
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The GTR5 comes with very cool packaging, the dragon on the front side of the box perfectly illustrates the amount of power packed inside.
Besides the GTR5 mini PC, you will also find a relatively bulky 90W power adapter, a user manual, two HDMI cables (0.2m & 1m), a mounting bracket, as well as a bag of screws after unboxing.
Design: simply stunning
Until last year’s SER, I hadn’t really been that impressed with Beelink’s design, but the Chinese brand seems to have finally outdone itself! The GTR5 simply looks stunning, in fact it is one of the best-looking mini PCs in the market right now. The carved finish on the top side gives it an extremely stylish and premium look. With its sturdy metal chassis, it should also be able to take a fair amount of reasonable office abuse you throw at it.
Besides the relatively subtle branding, the top side also sports a fingerprint scanner, which has decent size and makes logging into the operating system a lot easier than any type of passwords. The recognition success rate is also quite high, I haven’t had any failed attempts in my two weeks with this device.
The AMD logo and “Let’s Start” catchphrase on the top side will light up after booting up, giving the device a more interesting look.
The chassis has ventilation holes on 4 sides (top, left, right, rear) for heat dissipation. There are dual cooling fans and dual copper pipes under the hood to make sure that the system never gets overheated.
Beelink products have always been quite generous with I/O, and the GTR5 is no exception. On the front side you will find a USB 3.0 port, a multi-function type-C port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack with mic support. There are also two buttons: a power button which has status LED built in, and a green button for clearing the CMOS.
More I/O are packed on the rear side, including two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, 2 RJ45 2.5GB/s ethernet jacks, 1 HDMI port, 1 DisplayPort and a DC-in port. Some features are missing, namely a storage card slot, but since you have as many as 6 USB ports, mounting a card reader shouldn’t be that much of an effort. As with other systems powered by AMD, there’s no thunderbolt port, either. The multi-function USB-C port does support fast USB 3.2 Gen1 data transmission and [email protected] video output, but it still pales in comparison with a Thunderbolt 3/4.
The expandability does not stop here. After removing the four screws on the underlying base, you can easily lift the bottom panel and get access to the internals. There are two SO-DIMM DDR4 memory slots, two m2. slots (1 NVMe and 1 SATA3), as well as a 1 SATA3 port on GTR5’s very compact motherboard. If dual-channel memory is somewhat a must-have to ensure solid performance, having the option to install as many as 3 hard drives in such a small computer is simply amazing. All internal hardware and components are neatly arranged, the unit in my hands comes with two 16GB-3200MHz Crucial memory sticks and a 500GB Kingston NVme drive, but Beelink offers other configurations for consumers to choose from.
The GTR5 measures 165*119*39mm, and weighs only 678g. It’s so small that it easily fits on any kind of desk, or under a monitor stand if you have one. It can also seamlessly attach to the back of a display with the included bracket, but please bear in mind that mounting the GTR5 on to the back of a monitor could make fingerprint unlock less convenient than it should be.
System & Apps
Most mini PCs and laptops run on the Home Edition of Windows OS, but the Beelink GTR5 ships with licensed Windows 11 Pro, Average consumers will probably see no difference, but for power users, Windows 11 Pro offers some 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.
Fortunately, the Windows 11 Pro here is a completely clean version, with no pre-installed 3rd party applications or bloatware. I don’t feel like digging into the main features Windows 11 offers. For those who just switch from MAC OS or Linux to Windows, I highly recommend that you watch some tutorial videos on YouTube.
Performance: incredible horsepower
At the very core of the Beelink GTR5 is an AMD Ryzen9-5900HX processor, which ranks only behind the Ryzen9-5980HS and Ryzen9-5980HX in terms of performance in the world of mobile computer SoC., and it is also the fastest chip to ever power a mini PC. My unit comes with 32GB dual-channel DDR4 memory and 512GB NVMe SSD, but you can have as much as 64GB memory and 5TB of internal storage at most.
In the Maxon Cinebench R23 and Cinebench R20 test, the GTR5 simply has no competition in the world of Windows-based mini PCs, and even gives the Apple M1 powered Mac Mini a run for its money. Until models featuring the next-gen processors come out, the GTR5 will probably stay on top of the chart.
Geekbench 5 provides further evidence of the GTR5’s strength, even though the gap here is a little bit smaller between it and the Apple Mac Mini. Still, the CPU single core and multi-core scores are impressive.
PCMark 10 is a holistic performance suite developed by the PC benchmark specialists at UL (formerly Futuremark), it simulates different real-world productivity and content-creation workflows. We often use this benchmark to assess overall system performance for office-centric tasks such as word processing, spreadsheeting, web browsing, and video conferencing. The GTR5 notched an incredible score of 6345 points in the standard PCMark 10 test, ranking above the ASUS Mini PC PN50 and the i7-1165G7 powered Intel NUC 11 Pro.
Even though there’s no discrete graphics on board, you can still expect a fair amount of performance out of the Radeon Vega 8 GPU, which is clocked at 2.1GHz. In the 3DMark Sky Diver, Fire Strike, and Time Spy tests, the GTR5 scored 15097, 4019, 1615 points respectively.
The NVMe drive inside this computer is not the fastest we’ve seen, but it is a lot faster than cheaper SATA SSDs. The GTR5 scored 2545 in the AS SSD benchmark and got decent numbers in CrystalDiskMark.
There are two memory slots on the SER’s motherboard for dual-channel setup, which guarantees high overall bandwidth and throughput speed. The performance of the GPU also benefits immensely from dual-channel memory, as the GTR5 was returned very decent scores in the AIDA64 memory&cache, and GPU benchmarks.
In the real-world use, the GTR5 is a do-it-all kind of PC. You can open 20 or extra image-heavy webpages in Microsoft Edge and run a few other big apps side by side without seeing the system slow down.
In terms of media playback, the GTR5 has no problem decoding any video formats I played on it, including a few [email protected] and [email protected] clips. Streaming 8K YouTube Videos in Chrome, this mini PC does not skip a bit, either.
This machine could take care of all my creative projects as well. Rendering complex 3D images in photoshop, or editing 4K videos in Power Director, the GTR5 has been consistently fast.
No mini PC this size is designed for intense gaming, yet still people asked me questions about gaming all the time. The Radeon RX Vega 8, with a high 2.1GHz clock speed, is one of the most powerful integrated GPUs. As a result, the GTR5 can run most AAA titles in moderate settings.
Non-resource intensive games were smooth in 1080P and high graphics settings. In “League of Legend”, the average frame rate was 162 FPS. Even after I switched to 4K, the GTR still delivered an average frame rate of 75FPS, which is quite amazing.
More graphics-intense titles such as “Spell Break” and “Genshin Impact” were also smooth in 1080P and medium settings. The former stayed at 60FPS consistently during the 30 minutes’ session, while the latter recorded an average frame rate of 46 FPS.
Some of the most demanding titles were also playable on the GTR5. Conqueror’s Blade was generally smooth with an average frame rate of 32FPS in 1080P and medium settings, even though the frame rate could drop to 28 FPS in intense battle scenes.
As powerful as the AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 might be, there is still a fairly large gap between it and top PCle GPUs. If you want to game in the highest settings possible and still get the upper hand in competition against other players on the internet, you will need a more traditional gaming setup than the GTR5.
The system is also quite stable, thanks to the efficient cooling. In the 3DMark Time Spy stress test, the GTR5 scored 99.99%, which is the best number I have ever seen.
Power Consumption and noise
With such a beefy processor inside, the GTR5 is not technically a low-power system. Still, it should be more energy-conservative than a full-sized desktop PC. In terms of power consumption, we saw some fairly solid figures.
The system stays fairly quiet under light loads, but if you run heavy CPU/ GPU workloads the fans spin up and it certainly gets louder. However, the noise is never too much of an issue, and easily gets drown out by other sound in your surroundings.
Connectivity
The GTR5 supports the latest WiFi 6E technology, also known as WiFi 6 Extended. It allows the PC to use the 6GHz band, which in return brings more bandwidth, faster speeds, and lower latency, opening up resources for future innovations like AR/VR, 8K streaming, and more. In additon, you also have two 2.5Gbps ethernet jacks, which offer all kinds of internet possibilities.
The HDMI, DP and Type-C ports all support video output up to [email protected], so you can connect the GTR5 to as many as 3 displays at the same time. This can be very helpful if you have some complex productivity tasks at hand.
Verdict
The Beelink GTR5 is a powerhouse in a tiny package. It has a beefy processor, packs a slew of I/O, and offers a broad range of features such as fingerprint unlock and superb networking. The tiny case is beautiful and rock-solid, the vast array of designs improves value and versatility.
However, it is not cheap. The 32GB/500GB model retails for $799, while the 64GB/1TB version will cost you even more. In the same price range, you can get a base model of the Apple M1 powered MAC mini, or a complete Intel NUC 11 system with memory, storage, and an OS. The GTR5 is obviously more feature-packed than the other two, but you cannot overlook Apple and Intel’s brand power.
If size doesn’t matter that much to you, a large DIY system of similar performance can save you quite a fortune yet give you more expansion room for later upgrades. But if you want the tiniest computer possible for all the computing you may need, there aren’t many SFF PCs more qualified than the Beelink GTR5 out there.
You can check the screenshots of those benchmarks here:
Hey, nice review, but what about the constant stuttering while doing nothing on the pc ?
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Small form-factor (SFF) machines have been one of the major drivers in the resurgence of the PC market. The trend was kickstarted by Intel's NUCs in the early 2010s. These PCs have usually relied on low-power processors with compelling performance per watt metrics. AMD was largely absent in this market till the introduction of its Ryzen processors. While mini-PCs based on Ryzen embedded processors are still outnumbered by those powered by Intel, more and more OEMs are beginning to utilize AMD Ryzen CPUs in their own high-performance mini-PC lineups.
The Beelink GTR5 released last year arguably represents the best of AMD powered mini PCs, but the Ryzen9-5900HX processor was way too much of an overkill for average consumers. For those who have less CPU-intensive tasks to deal with in their everyday computing, the newly released SER4, which comes with a less power-hungry Ryzen7-4800U SoC. and a slightly lower price tag, could be a better offer.
Specifications
OS: Windows 11 Pro
Processor: AMD Ryzen 7-4800U, 7nm process, 15W TDP
CPU: 8 cores, 16 threads @1.8-4.2GHz
GPU: Radeon RX Vega 8 @1750MHz
RAM: 16/32GB DDR4 3200MHz (dual-channel)
Storage: 500GB/1TB m.2 NVMe SSD
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, 1000M Ethernet*1, DC-in*1
Dimensions: 126*113*42mm
Weight: 455g
What’s in the box
Beelink SER4 Mini PC * 1
57W Power Adapter * 1
User Guide * 1
VESA Mount Bracket * 1
HDMI Cable * 2 (1m and 0.2m)
Design: she’s quite a beauty
The SER4 is a gorgeous piece of tech. It has a much more attractive design than the likes of the uninspiring ASUS PN50 and Intel NUC 11 Pro. The panel on the top is perforated, which not only allows more efficient air flow, but also gives the machine an extremely classy and premium look. There’s quite a lot of branding here, besides the AMD and Beelink logo, you will also find the Ryzen7 and Radeon Graphics stickers, but I personally don’t really hate them, cause they just make the machine look more professional.
The ventilation grilles on the two side panels are coated in red, but whether you like it or not will come down to personal preference. The chassis has a metallic build, which means it will be able to take a fair amount of reasonable office abuse. The build quality is excellent, as there are no ugly mold lines on the case, and none of the panels tend to flex, even when I impose some serious force on them.
Measuring only 5 inches wide, 4.4 inches deep, and just 1 and a half inches in height, the SER4 is less than 1/6 of the size of the new Apple MAC Studio. It easily fits on any desk or even under a monitor stand if you have one, without taking up too much space with its small footprint. If you literally have no room on your desk, the VESA mount included in the retail box can help you attach the mini PC onto the back of the monitor, making it completely disappear from the surroundings.
Despite its trim dimensions, the SER4 is very well endowed with connectors. On the front, alongside the power button, you‘ll find a 3.5mm audio jack, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port that also supports DisplayPort 1.2.
Around the back you’ll find one more USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, one USB2.0 port, two HDMI 2.0 ports, an RJ45 1000M Ethernet LAN connector and a DC-in. As the keen-eyed have noticed, that gives the SER4 the potential to drive three 4K displays at once. Running multiple screens in a retail, commercial or corporate environment is one of the SER4’s raison d’etres. Unsurprisingly, given the absence of an Intel chipset, there's no support for Thunderbolt protocols, but if you don’t need an eGPU, it won’t make much difference.
Getting inside the PC couldn't be easier. There's a panel underneath the chassis that can be removed once four screws have been extracted. This reveals the two DDR4 3200MHz memory slots, 2.5-inch mounting area, as well as access to the m.2 slot. The m2.2230 wireless card on the other side of the motherboard is also replaceable, but you wouldn’t have much reason for replacing it any time soon, since it already supports the latest WiFi6E and Bluetooth 5.2.
This computer weighs only 455g, moving it around the house or taking it on a business trip won’t be much of an effort. If you have monitors in both your office and your apartment, this thing should be far less of a carry than, say, an average notebook computer.
Software: licensed Windows 11 Pro, and it’s clean
Most mini PCs run on the Home Edition of Windows OS, but the Beelink SER4 ships with licensed Windows 11 Pro, Average consumers will probably see no difference, 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.
Performance: old processor that still rocks
The unit I have on hand features an AMD Ryzen7-4800processor, which is a 7nm Zen2-based APU that has 8 CPU cores, 16 threads, as well as integrated Radeon Graphics GPU. There’s also 32GB DDR4 3200MHz dual-channel memory and a 500GB m.2 NVMe SSD in my unit. Although the Ryzen7-4800U is a mobile chip released more than 2 years ago, it is still mighty impressive, and benchmark scores told the story.
These are the models I use for comparison, including some of the most popular machines out there.
First, I ran 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 SER4 got a solid score in CPU multi-core, beating the M1 powered Apple MAC mini and both variants of the Intel NUC 11 Pro, but it fell a little short in terms of single core performance.
In the older Cinebench R20 test, the SER4 easily outpaced the Intel NUC 11 Pros again in multi-core CPU performance.
Comparing the SER4 to the Intel NUC 11 Pros using GeekBench 5 tells a similar story. Intel has AMD beaten in single-core performance but in multi-core performance, the AMD chip simply stomps the i7 into the dirt.
PCMark 10 simulates different real-world productivity and content-creation workflows. we use it to assess overall system performance for office-centric tasks such as word processing, spreadsheeting, web browsing, and video conferencing. The SER4 notched 5177 in the standard PCMark 10 test, ranking above both variants of the Intel NUC 11 Pro.
In everyday use, the difference in single-core performance will go largely unnoticed, but if you decide to edit some high-resolution images or 4K videos, then the multi-core ability of the AMD chip will shine through.
The m.2 NVMe SSD is not the fastest we’ve seen, but at nearly 2,000MB/s for reading data off the drive, this is still more than ideal for booting Windows and all your favorite productivity apps.
The unit I received comes with two Crucial 16GB DDR4-3200MHz memory sticks. This 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 32GB memory are decent, the 95.6ns latency is not the best we’ve seen, but still solid. The performance of the integrated GPU also benefits greatly from dual-channel memory, as most of the numbers in the GPGPU test result look lovely.
The AMD are known to offer better integrated GPUs than Intel, that’s why you often see Intel powered laptops relying heavily on GeForce MX series discrete GPU for gaming, while AMD chips can take care of gaming all on their own. The integrated Radeon Graphics GPU here isn’t powerful enough to make the SER4 a proper gaming or VR machine, but it is still reasonably capable. In 3DMark, the SER4 was returned 1,420 in Time Spy, 3,573 in Fire Strike, and 13,036 in Sky Diver.
Running “Genshin Impact” at 1920 x 1080 and medium settings saw an average of 44fps, not great, but still generally smooth the whole time. “Spell Break” returned very similar results. Less graphics-intensive games such as LOL can run smoothly even at 4K and high settings.
“Conqueror’s Blade” tells a different story, though. At 1080P and medium settings, the average frame rate recorded by GamePP was only 22fps. It is still playable, but you probably will want to turn down the resolution, or settings, or both for better smoothness. Because when I switched to 720 and low graphics settings, the average frame rate was improved to 42fps.
Those results mean the SER4 should be able to deal with reasonably intense graphic workloads without grinding to a halt. With that said, please bear in mind that the SER4 will not be enough if you want to game in the highest possible settings and still get a fair chance against other players.
The SER4 can also be a solid HTPC if you want it to. It has no problem decoding any video formats I played on it, including a few [email protected] and [email protected] clips. Streaming 4K YouTube Videos in Chrome, this machine does not skip a bit, either.
However, the SER4 did struggle a lit bit with 8K online streaming, as you can see in the screenshot that the CPU usage reached 100%, and I did notice some frame skip.
The SER4’s performance hasn’t come at the expense of heat or economy. The power draw is only 5W at idle over the course of two hours. When running the AIDA64 stress test, the SER4 drew an indicated maximum of 38W. Even under stress the casing never became more than slightly warm to the touch and the fans were impressively quiet. The quoted noise levels 21.9dB at idle and 37.7dB with the fans at full chat tallied with the results from our sound monitor.
Thanks to the efficient cooling, the SER4 is also extremely stable, it passed the 3DMark Time Spy Stress test with a very high mark.
Internet Connection
The SER4 supports the latest WiFi 6E technology, also known as WiFi 6 Extended. It allows the PC to use the 6GHz band, which in return brings more bandwidth, faster speeds, and lower latency, opening up resources for future innovations like AR/VR, 8K streaming, and more.
There’s also a 1000M Ethernet jack for wired internet access. Although it’s not as fancy as the 2.5Gbps ethernet found on the Intel NUC 11 or Beelink’s very own GT series mini PCs, it won’t make much difference for average users, not for now.
Competition
Price at $699 (16GB+500GB), the Beelink SER4 is well positioned in the mini PC market. The choice of a Ryzen 7 CPU (from the 4000 series) is a good step when going against Intel powered mini PCs that often don't go beyond an Intel Core i5. While it is not as powerful as its Ryzen9-5900HX powered brother, it is slightly more affordable and power-efficient than the latter.
Probably the closest competitor to the SER4 is the i5-1135G7 powered Intel NUC 11 Pro. As you can get the latter with 8GB memory and 500GB SSD on the same budget. The NUC comes with more versatile Thunderbolt 3 ports, which is a must for some users. However, in terms of horsepower, very few Intel powered models can really match the SER4.
Verdict
Beelink has squeezed plenty of performance and features into a tiny box. The Ryzen 7-4800U chipset delivers terrific performance while the abundance of upgrade options and connectors makes it supremely versatile. That it runs cool, quiet and economically should further endear it to business and corporate users and guarantee it a home in many an office, boardroom and customer-facing environment.
My video review of the SER4 will also be available in a week, please subscribe to my YouTube channel and get notified if you are interested in more content about the SER4. Thanks for reading, hope to see you next time.
Some of the benchmark screenshots here:
Hey Folks,
This is my first post here. I hope I will get the resolution I need from you guys. As I have two pc and I want to connect ethernet adapter with them. but I am not able to connect them.
I think it is not working. looking for the new one. I tried to find out from https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/acce...dapters/cables-&-adapters_adapters/4x90s91831, https://www.walmart.com/c/kp/usb-ethernet-adapter but looking for more.
Can someone suggest one?
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When we think about PCs, we often think about them in 2 form factors. A laptop for portability and a performance rig for gaming or creativity workflows. The reality is, there’s a whole other class of computing that is available for those with different needs.
If you’re someone who has a home office and needs a computer for basic computing needs like running office apps, checking email, browsing the web, then a budget-friendly mini PC fits the bill perfectly. Given these low-end requirements, a small PC that literally fits in the palm of your hand, or straps to the back of your monitor, is a perfect solution.
For a long time, Intel has the mini PC market tightly in its control, but more and more Ryzen powered models from different brands have been coming out in the last couple of years, and many of them are in direct competition with Intel’s high-end NUC models. Yet, in the more budget-friendly segment, AMD is still very much absent, but that may change soon. Beelink, a Chinese company known for making quality mini PCs, recently released a new model powered by an AMD Ryzen 3-3200U processor. With a price tag of only $319, it has the potential to give those Celeron based SFF PCs a run for their money.
Main specs of the Beelink SER3 3200
Processor: AMD Ryzen3-3200U
CPU: 2 cores, 4 threads, 2.6-3.5GHz
GPU: Radeon RX Vega 3 @ 1200MHz
Process technique: 14nm
OS: Windows 11 Pro
RAM: 8/16GB DDR4 2400MHz (16GB in my review)
Storage: 250GB/500GB NVMe SSD (500GB in my review)
Network: WiFi5 + BT 4.0 / Ethernet Gigabit
Ports: 4x USB 3.0 / 1x USB-C / 2x HDMI 2.0 / 3.5mm audio jack
Accessories: 19V-3A DC adapter/ 2x HDMI Cable (1m & 0.2m) / User Manual
Packaging
The SER3 3200’s retail package looks nice and simple.
Inside the packaging you will find a mini PC, a VESA mount bracket, a 57-watt power adapter, two HDMI cables, a bag of screws, and a user manual.
Design and build
The SER3 3200 is one of the best-looking mini PCs out there. The exterior of the chassis features a modern matte black metal finish, that easily blends into its surroundings, complimenting the typical black monitor, keyboard and mouse. The panel on the top is perforated, which not only allows more efficient air flow, but also gives the machine an extremely classy and stylish look. There’s a ton of branding here: besides the AMD and Beelink logo, you will also find the Ryzen3 and Radeon Graphics stickers. But I don’t think you will mind them too much, because their presence only makes the mini PC look more expensive than it really is.
Measuring only 124*113*41mm, and weighing only 425g, the SER3 3200 can fit just about anywhere. I have coffee mugs that take up nearly the same amount of desktop space. The ultra-compact design means you may also mount it behind a display and hide it completely, perfect for those who love minimal workstations.
The SER3 3200 mini PC is actively cooled, and vents can be found on the top, left, right and rear.
Despite its diminutive footprint, the SER3 3200 has enough ports for a traditional desktop setup. The front panel sports two USB 3.0 ports, a USB-C port, and a 3.5mm audio jack with mic support.
The rear side plays host to two more USB 3.0 ports, a 1000M Ethernet, two HDMI 2.0, and a DC-in.
Getting access to the internals is quite easy, the only thing you need to do is to extract the four screws on the bottom panel. This mini PC can accommodate up to 32GB of RAM across its two DDR4-2400 SO-DIMM memory slots, and installing memory is easy. Just push the sticks of memory gently into the slots and press down firmly until the metal clasps lock them safely in place. To remove RAM, push the two metal clasps outward and the memory will pop up at an angle for easy removal. Besides an m.2 slot for an NVMe drive, there’s also a slot for a 2.5″ SATA drive for all of your media files. Beelink doesn’t sell the barebone version of the SER3 3200, but all retail units will come with two Crucial DDR4-3200MHz memory sticks, and an Intel NVMe SSD., which are extremely nice for such a budget-friendly setup. The Ryzen3 CPU, the WiFi module and the cooling fan are tucked away on the other side, you will need to extract more screws to get to them.
The build quality of the SER3 3200 is extremely good. The metallic chassis is sturdy, with no ugly mold lines on its exterior, and everything underneath is perfectly arranged.
System & App
The SER3 3200 ships with licensed Windows 11 Pro, which offers a more features than the typical Windows Home Edition, such as being able to join a domain, Hyper-V for virtualization, and getting updates from Windows Update for Business. The operating system here is completely clean, you won’t find yourself uninstalling any third-party apps or bloatware after booting it up for the first time.
Performance
At the very core of the SER3 3200 is an AMD Ryzen3-3200U processor, which is developed on the 14 nm technology node and architecture Dali (Zen+), has two CPU cores, 4 threads running at 2.6-3.5GHz, and integrated Radeon Vega 3 Graphics running at 1200MHz. This SoC. is released in Q1, 2018, so it won’t really match the latest mobile chips found in mainstream laptops, but it should be able to compete with those Celeron and Pentium processors in budget-friendly SFF PCs. My review unit also has 16GB dual-channel DDR4 memory and 500GB NVMe SSD under the hood.
In the cross-platform Geekbench 5 test, the SER3 3200 outpaced the Pentium N6005 powered Intel NUC 11 Essential in CPU single core performance, and was generally on par with the later in multi-core.
It's a similar story in Maxon's CPU-crunching Cinebench R20 test.
PCMark 10, which simulates different real-world productivity and content-creation workflows, may be the better benchmark for assessing overall system performance. The SER3 3200 scored 3253 in the standard PCMark 10 test, this is a fairly decent score for an entry-level machine.
The SER3 3200 ships with an m.2 2280 NVMe SSD. Numbers in the CrystalDiskMark aren’t the best we've seen, but this drive is still a whole lot faster than SATA SSDs found in other budget models. As a result, booting up Windows only takes a few seconds, and opening big applications is also quite fast.
Daily computing
I am quite impressed by just how capable the machine is with my daily computing chores, such as web surfing, writing articles, spreadsheet calculations, media playback, and similar. Much of this post, including all the image editing, was written using the SER3 3200 Mini PC.
And I can even do some basic video editing on it, even though there could be stutters when I was adding some heavier filters to the clips. For most users, this mini PC is sufficient performance-wise. But if you regularly do heavier computing duties like 4K video making or professional photo editing, you should probably consider something like the GTR5 or the GTI11, although these models aren’t full-blown workstation-class PCs neither.
Gaming
The three Vega GPU cores in the SER3 3200 have decent specs for such a budget-friendly product: 192 unified shaders, support for DirectX 12, and support for Vulkan, Pixel Shader 5.1, and Vertex Shader 5.1. It won't mtach the latest Iris Xe Graphics or Vega 8, but it should easily blow the Intel UHD graphics out of the water. In 3DMark, the SER3 3200 scored 4964 in Sky Diver, 1433 in Fire Strike, and 477 in Time Spy.
LOL was perfectly smooth in 1080P and medium settings. There were no frame drops even in intense battle scenes. GamePP recorded an average frame rate of 77 FPS, and that’s quite good for such a budget-friendly machine.
Genshin Impact was playable in 1080P and low settings, with an average of 22 FPS. Even though I did experience a few stutters in some of the scenes, but there were no real delays. After turning the resolution down to 720P, the average frame rate was improved to 46 FPS, and visuals became smooth and much more enjoyable.
As the results suggested, even though this machine isn’t designed for gaming, you can run many popular titles with lower graphics and resolution settings. Also, games installed from Microsoft store and lightweight tower defense games were always quite smooth. As the power consumption of the Ryzen3 processor is very low, you can game on the SER3 3200 for a long time without thinking about the overheating issue.
HTPC
AMD Radeon Graphics isn’t really known for its video decoding capabilities, but the SER3 3200 can still be a solid HTPC for online and local 4K content.
According to DVXA, the Radeon Vega 3 GPU can decode many video formats up to 4K. The SER3 3200 has no problem playing any 4K Blu-Ray videos I threw at it, but it struggled with all 8K content.
Streaming 4K, 60fps YouTube videos in the browser is also quite smooth, but 8K has yet again proven to be a bit too much for the SER3 3200, as the CPU usage hits 100% every time I switched the video resolution to 8K.
Power consumption, temperature, and noise
The SER3 3200 is an actively cooled system, so it’s not always silent. You may hear the fan noise when CPU was loaded with heavy tasks, but it never really got too loud for comfort.
With a TDP of 15W, the system consumes very little power. The power draw was 8.33W at idle, and only exceeded 30W while we were running games or big creativity applications, it peaked at 35.3W while the CPU usage reached 100% during the AIDA64 stress test.
The cooling is very efficient, as the machine passed the 3DMark Time Spy Stress test.
Verdict
While laptops are certainly more useful in many ways, those who have needs to power a permanent setup for basic everyday computing, either in the office or at home, should consider a budget-friendly mini PC like the Beelink SER3 3200.
The price of this model depends on the configurations that you select. The 8GB/256GB variant comes with a price tag of $319. For what’s on offer here with the beautiful design, solid performance, licensed Windows 11 Pro, along with the option to upgrade components, the SER3 3200 represents great value for money.
Benchmark test results are here:
You can check these budget friendly monitor under 300 usd.
justinturner said:
You can check these budget friendly monitor under 300 usd.
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wait, is this spaming?