Beelink Mini PC: Complete Brand Guide & Best Models (2026)
Brand Guides

Beelink Mini PC: Complete Brand Guide & Best Models (2026)

Every current Beelink mini PC family, from GT and SER performance models to EQ servers and the ME NAS line, plus which one fits Plex, Proxmox or a firewall.

Updated September 15, 2026
33 min read

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Beelink sells more than one kind of mini PC, and the span between the cheapest and the most expensive machine under its badge is wider than most buyers expect. The same brand covers an entry-level Intel N150 box that idles in the single-digit watts, a six-slot all-flash NAS chassis the size of a coffee cup, and a Ryzen AI Max+ workstation with 128 GB of soldered unified memory and dual 10GbE. Choosing a Beelink mini PC without knowing which family you are looking at is the most common way to end up with the wrong machine.

The catalogue has also moved. Beelink's earlier segmentation labelled EQ as light-office, SE as professional-office and GT as enthusiast-class, and that shorthand still explains a lot of the range. The current catalogue is organised around GT, SE, EQ and the newer ME storage family, with the GTR9 Pro as the AMD flagship and Intel performance hardware living under GTi and SEi. MINI S stays commercially alive and now receives dedicated accessory support, but it is no longer a headline family.

Two things make a brand guide worth reading rather than a spec dump. The first is configuration-level verification: "SER9 Pro" refers to at least two materially different machines with different CPUs and different memory arrangements, and "EQ14" covers both a dual Realtek 1GbE box and a dual Intel I226-V 2.5GbE box. The second is provenance: several widely recommended Beelink models — SER5, SER6, SER7, GTR7, EQ12, EQ13, SEi8 and SEi12 — are legacy products still traded second-hand, and they should never be presented as the current range.

This comparison maps every current and commercially relevant Beelink family, separates current hardware from legacy, and matches machines to the workloads buyers actually run: Plex and Jellyfin transcoding, Proxmox and container hosts, Home Assistant, a pfSense or OPNsense firewall, a multi-drive NAS, and local AI.

Beelink's Philosophy — Naming Logic, Ownership and What Changed

Beelink is owned by Shenzhen AZW Technology, a company that runs its own hardware and software R&D, manufacturing, branding and ODM/OEM work for other customers. That matters in a segment where plenty of brands are marketing operations layered on top of a contract factory: Beelink's product cadence and BIOS archive are its own, and the archive is public enough to settle questions other vendors leave open. Beelink's own BIOS log confirms that multiple different processors — Ryzen 5 5500U and Ryzen 5 5825U among them — shipped under the single name "SER5".

The naming logic is the most useful thing to learn before shopping. Historically EQ meant light office, SE meant professional office, and GT meant enthusiast-class. The practical rule in the current catalogue is simpler: model names containing an "R" are normally AMD Ryzen systems (SER, GTR, EQR), while names containing an "i" are normally Intel systems (SEi, GTi, EQi). That is an observed catalogue pattern rather than an officially expanded acronym, but it holds across the current range and it is faster than memorising model lists.

Family Status Tier Current / relevant models Positioning
GT / GTR Active Premium → flagship GTR9 Pro (Ryzen AI Max+ 395); GTi15 Ultra (Core Ultra 9 285H); GTi14 Ultra (185H); GTi13 Ultra (i9-13900HK) Enthusiast workstation, local AI, heavy compute, eGPU, very fast networking
SE / SER / SEi Active Mid → premium SER10 MAX (HX 470); SER9 MAX; SER9 Pro (HX 370 / H255); SER8 (8845HS / 8745HS); SEi14 AI; SEi13 AI; SEi13 Pro on some regional pages General high-performance mini PCs
EQ / EQR / EQi Active Entry → mid EQ14 (N150); EQ mini 304; EQi 304; EQR5; EQR6; EQR7; EQi12; EQi13; EQi13 Pro Efficient office, light server, homelab and networking
MINI S Current-retail ecosystem Entry MINI S12 / S12 Pro; MINI S13 Low-cost desktop, Plex, Home Assistant, retro emulation
ME Active Storage / NAS ME mini (N95 / N150); ME Pro 2-Bay (N95 / N150); ME Pro 2-Bay (Core 3 304) NAS, Jellyfin/Plex storage server, home data server
Older SER / GTR Legacy Budget → premium SER5 / 5 Pro; SER6 / 6 Pro; SER7; GTR7 / GTR7 Pro Still widely bought used or discounted
Older SEi / EQ Legacy Entry → mid SEi8; SEi12; SEi12 Pro; EQ12; EQ12 Pro; EQ13 Attractive used or clearance homelab nodes

The headline change since the previous generation is the ME family. Historically, a Beelink buyer who wanted a NAS attached a USB DAS enclosure to an EQ or SER machine and accepted the consequences of a USB bridge — weaker SMART passthrough, unstable serial mapping, and reconnect behaviour that is a poor foundation for a ZFS pool. ME mini and ME Pro are storage-first chassis built around native drive positions, and they remove that compromise without asking for a workstation budget.

One structural caveat applies to the whole brand. Beelink's current direct-store policy advertises a three-year warranty, a 30-day trial and return window, and global support. That policy covers purchases made directly from Beelink, and it does not automatically extend to a second-hand unit bought years after its original sale.

GT and GTR — Beelink's Flagship and Enthusiast Tier

This is where Beelink puts its most expensive hardware: high-core-count CPUs, fast networking, external GPU paths and, in the GTR9 Pro, the largest memory pool in the range.

GTR9 Pro — Ryzen AI Max+ 395

  • CPU: AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395, Zen 5, 16 cores / 32 threads, up to 5.1 GHz
  • GPU: Radeon 8060S, 40 compute units
  • NPU: XDNA 2, advertised at 126 total AI TOPS
  • Memory: 128 GB LPDDR5X-8000, soldered — no upgrade path
  • Storage: 2× M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4, manufacturer-stated up to 8 TB per slot (16 TB total)
  • Networking: dual 10GbE; Wi-Fi 7 / Bluetooth 5.4 via MediaTek MT7925
  • Ports: 2× USB4 40 Gbps, DisplayPort 2.1, HDMI 2.1
  • Power: integrated 230 W PSU
  • Chassis: 180 × 180 × 90.8 mm, ~2.34 kg, vapour chamber with dual turbines
  • OS: Windows 11 Pro
  • VESA mounting: not identified in the official specification

The reason the GTR9 Pro exists as a category of one is the memory. 128 GB of soldered LPDDR5X-8000 on a 256-bit bus gives the Radeon 8060S a unified pool that a 32 GB or 64 GB mini PC cannot address at all, which is what makes local LLM inference viable on the machine in the first place. The trade-offs are equally specific: the memory can never be replaced or expanded, the cooling system is rated for 140 W, and Linux owners on Strix Halo-class silicon have reported extra setup work around NIC, kernel and firmware combinations. A buyer whose only workload is media transcoding is paying for capability they will never touch.

As a homelab node it is excellent for dense Proxmox virtualisation, local inference, compilation, container farms and very fast storage or network labs. Dual 10GbE is unusually capable for a mini PC. A standalone "GTR9" without the Pro suffix does not appear in Beelink's current catalogue — treat casual references to it as shorthand.

Check the GTR9 Pro on Amazon

GTi15 Ultra — Core Ultra 9 285H

  • CPU: Intel Core Ultra 9 285H, 16 cores, up to 5.4 GHz
  • GPU: Intel Arc 140T
  • Memory: dual SO-DIMM DDR5-5600/6400, user-replaceable
  • Storage: 2× M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4, up to 8 TB total per specification
  • Networking: dual 10GbE; Intel BE200 Wi-Fi 7 / Bluetooth 5.4
  • Ports: HDMI, DisplayPort, 40 Gbps USB-C display output
  • Expansion: PCIe 5.0 x8 external GPU path through Beelink's EX dock ecosystem
  • Power: integrated 145 W PSU
  • Extras: built-in speakers, microphones and a fingerprint reader

The GTi15 Ultra is the machine to look at when Intel's media engine and Beelink's eGPU dock are both requirements rather than niceties. Arc 140T handles modern codecs in hardware, the external PCIe 5.0 x8 path is a direct PCIe link rather than a Thunderbolt tunnel, and the dual 10GbE ports match the GTR9 Pro's networking class on a platform whose 16 cores are easier to cool. Service access is more involved than on the smaller SER chassis, and the price sits well above the mainstream tier — this is a workstation purchase, not an office one.

Browse GTi15 Ultra listings on Amazon

GTi14 Ultra — Core Ultra 9 185H

  • CPU: Core Ultra 9 185H, 16 cores / 22 threads
  • GPU: Intel Arc, up to 2.35 GHz
  • Memory: dual-channel DDR5-5600, up to 96 GB
  • Storage: 2× M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0, up to 8 TB
  • Expansion: external discrete-GPU support
  • Extras: AI voice and microphone features, integrated speaker

The GTi14 Ultra is the previous Intel flagship, and it remains the cheapest route into the GT family's Arc graphics and Arc media engine combined with replaceable DDR5 memory. Where media generation is the deciding factor, it is the better pick of the two Ultra generations on value.

Browse GTi14 Ultra listings on Amazon

GTi13 Ultra — Core i9-13900HK

  • CPU: Core i9-13900HK, 14 cores / 20 threads, boost up to 5.4 GHz
  • GPU: Iris Xe, up to 1.5 GHz
  • Memory: 2× SO-DIMM DDR5-5200, max 96 GB
  • Storage: 2× M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4, max 8 TB
  • Networking: Intel AX200 Wi-Fi 6 / Bluetooth 5.2
  • Ports: Thunderbolt 4, DisplayPort 1.4a, HDMI
  • Chassis: 158 × 158 × 55.8 mm, ~1.29 kg
  • Power: integrated PSU

The GTi13 Ultra keeps 14 cores, Thunderbolt 4 and user-replaceable DDR5, but Iris Xe is a graphics and media generation behind Arc. It is the value pick in the GT tier when AV1 encoding and Arc-specific media features are not on the requirement list. Some regional catalogues also retain a GTi12 Ultra; it does not appear in the current global headline list.

Browse GTi13 Ultra listings on Amazon

SER and SEi — The Mainstream Performance Tier

This is the tier most buyers end up in, and the one where the difference between a good and a bad purchase is measured in memory topology rather than CPU model number.

SER10 MAX — Ryzen AI 9 HX 470

  • CPU: Ryzen AI 9 HX 470, Zen 5 / Zen 5c, 12 cores / 24 threads, up to 5.2 GHz
  • GPU: Radeon 890M, 16 compute units, up to 3.1 GHz
  • NPU: XDNA 2, 55 NPU TOPS / 86 total TOPS advertised
  • Memory: socketed dual-channel DDR5-5600
  • Storage: 2× M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4, max 8 TB total
  • Networking: single 10GbE port; Intel AX200 Wi-Fi 6 / Bluetooth 5.2
  • Ports: HDMI, DisplayPort, USB4 40 Gbps, triple 4K output
  • Cooling: MSC 2.0 vapour chamber
  • Power: 19 V / 5.26 A external adapter
  • OS: Windows 11 Pro, with Ubuntu on some editions
  • Chassis: roughly 135 mm class; rear VESA mounting not identified

The SER10 MAX tops the conventional SER form factor and is the most sensible Beelink for a Proxmox host that needs high CPU density and user-upgradeable memory without flagship money. Where it differs from the GTR9 Pro is memory bandwidth: DDR5 SO-DIMMs, even at 5600 MT/s, feed the Radeon 890M far less than the GTR9 Pro's unified LPDDR5X pool, so local-AI performance lands well below the flagship despite a comparable core count. The structural limit is the single physical Ethernet port — 10GbE is fast, but one port does not make a firewall, and it is not interchangeable with the dual-NIC EQ models.

Browse SER10 MAX listings on Amazon

The SER9 family — SER9, SER9 Pro and SER9 MAX

SER9 is the most hazardous name in Beelink's catalogue, because the same badge has covered several processors, two different memory architectures and two different network speeds.

Listing CPU GPU Memory LAN Key point
SER9 / SER9 Pro AI Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 Radeon 890M LPDDR5X, soldered 2.5GbE Early reviews used "SER9"; current branding is SER9 Pro
SER9 Pro (H255) Ryzen 7 H255 Radeon 780M, 12 CU 24/32 GB LPDDR5X-6400, soldered 2.5GbE Lower-cost current Pro variant
SER9 MAX Ryzen 7 H255 / H260 Radeon 780M or SKU-dependent socketed DDR5-5600 10GbE on the H255-era MAX The expandable branch
Newer SER9 MAX variants Ryzen AI 7 350 Radeon 860M configuration dependent high-speed LAN Confirms the MAX name spans CPU generations

The practical distinction is memory. Both SER9 Pro branches — HX 370 and H255 — use soldered LPDDR5X and cannot be expanded after purchase. SER9 MAX is the branch that keeps SO-DIMM slots, which is exactly what a virtualisation host needs if it is expected to grow. The H255 SER9 Pro runs dual M.2 PCIe 4.0 x4 storage, USB4, HDMI and DisplayPort inside a 135 × 135 × 44.7 mm chassis with AX200 Wi-Fi 6.

Pick the HX 370 SER9 Pro for compute-heavy VMs and Radeon 890M emulation or gaming; pick the H255 when the NPU is irrelevant and value is the priority. One recent Beelink forum report documented a SER9 Pro HX 370 temporarily losing Wi-Fi and Bluetooth at both BIOS and Linux level until the machine was fully power-cycled, with the owner later getting Fedora working on a newer kernel. That is a useful troubleshooting note and a single report, not evidence of a pattern.

Check the SER9 Pro HX 370 on Amazon

Browse SER9 MAX and H255 listings on Amazon

SER8 — Ryzen 7 8845HS / 8745HS

  • CPU: Ryzen 7 8745HS (8 cores / 16 threads, up to 4.9 GHz) or 8845HS (same CPU and GPU class, plus Ryzen AI NPU functions)
  • GPU: Radeon 780M, 12 compute units
  • Memory: dual SO-DIMM DDR5-5600, user-replaceable
  • Storage: 2× M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0, up to 8 TB total
  • Networking: single 2.5GbE; Intel AX200 Wi-Fi 6 / Bluetooth 5.2
  • Ports: USB4, HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4
  • Cooling: MSC 2.0 vapour chamber
  • Chassis: ~0.814 L, ~0.75 kg
  • Power: 19 V / 5.26 A external supply

The SER8 is arguably Beelink's sweet spot: eight Zen 4 cores, two NVMe slots, a Radeon 780M that handles 1080p gaming and emulation, and memory you can replace. One caveat belongs in the buying decision. Beelink published a chipset-driver compatibility notice after owners reported freezes, stutters and reboots following Windows and AMD updates, and advised affected users to install its compatible factory chipset package while compatibility work continued. Linux hosts are unaffected by that issue. The single 2.5GbE port keeps it out of the dedicated-firewall conversation.

Browse SER8 listings on Amazon

SER7 — Ryzen 7 7840HS (legacy)

  • CPU: Ryzen 7 7840HS, 8 cores / 16 threads
  • GPU: Radeon 780M
  • Memory: dual DDR5-5600 SO-DIMM
  • Storage: 2× M.2 slots
  • Networking: Intel I225-V 2.5GbE in tested units; Intel AX200 Wi-Fi 6 / Bluetooth 5.2
  • Ports: 2× USB4, HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4
  • Chassis: 49 × 126 × 113 mm, VESA mount supplied
  • Measured power: ~11.7 W idle, up to ~95 W at the wall under sustained load

Still a sensible second-hand Proxmox or Linux workstation when the price sits well below a current SER8. The two USB4 ports are more generous than most current mid-range machines offer, and the 7840HS / Radeon 780M combination has not become slow. It can turn audible under sustained gaming loads. Legacy status means it should be judged on price and I/O rather than generation.

Browse SER7 listings on Amazon

SER6 and SER6 Pro (legacy)

  • SER6: Ryzen 9 6900HX in the common high-end revision, Radeon 680M, DDR5-4800, 2× M.2 2280, 2.5GbE, USB4, HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4, Wi-Fi 6 / Bluetooth 5.2, ~126 × 126 × 44.6 mm. Reviews found the tuned CPU running around the mid-50 W range under sustained load.
  • SER6 Pro: Ryzen 7 7735HS, Radeon 680M, 32 GB DDR5 in common retail configurations (expandable), PCIe 4.0 SSD, Intel I226-V 2.5GbE in the reviewed sample, USB4 plus HDMI, ~126 × 113 × 42 mm.

The SER6 generation is where Beelink's mainstream AMD machines gained genuinely usable Radeon 680M graphics and USB4. Both remain credible inexpensive Proxmox nodes, and the SER6 Pro's Intel I226-V controller makes it the more homelab-relevant of the pair.

Browse SER6 and SER6 Pro listings on Amazon

SER5 and SER5 Pro (legacy)

SER5 is where configuration drift is worst. Verified variants include the Ryzen 5 5500U and the Ryzen 5 5560U — the latter a 6-core / 12-thread Zen 3 part with 6-CU Radeon graphics — and Beelink's BIOS archive lists both 5500U and 5825U revisions carrying a 2.5GbE-related BIOS. "SER5" does not identify a platform by itself. The widely sold SER5 Pro pairs a Ryzen 7 5800H (8 cores / 16 threads, Vega 8) with dual DDR4 SO-DIMM slots and user-upgradeable storage.

For a cheap Docker, Home Assistant or Proxmox node, a discounted 5560U or 5800H delivers far more CPU than any N100 or N150 box. For Plex, AMD's media engine works, but an Intel Quick Sync machine remains the easier recommendation when transcoding is the entire job.

Check the SER5 5560U on Amazon

Browse SER5 Pro listings on Amazon

SEi14 AI — Core Ultra 9 185H

  • CPU: Core Ultra 9 185H, 16 cores / 22 threads
  • GPU: Intel Arc, 8 Xe cores, up to ~2.35 GHz
  • Memory: 2× SO-DIMM DDR5-5600, up to 96 GB
  • Storage: M.2 PCIe 4.0
  • Ports: Thunderbolt 4, HDMI, DisplayPort
  • Chassis: ~135 × 135 × 44.7 mm

This is the Intel answer to "I want Arc media support, a high-core-count CPU and memory I can replace". Arc handles AV1 encoding as well as decoding, which the N-series media engine does not, and 96 GB of DDR5 is enough for serious VM consolidation. Its direct-store positioning puts it against business-class mini PCs with stronger out-of-band management, so the case rests on Arc plus Thunderbolt 4 rather than on price.

Browse SEi14 AI listings on Amazon

SEi13 AI — Core i7-13620H

  • CPU: Core i7-13620H, 10 cores / 16 threads
  • GPU: Intel UHD
  • Memory: LPDDR5, soldered on the AI configuration
  • Storage: M.2 PCIe 4.0
  • Ports: Thunderbolt 4, HDMI, DisplayPort
  • Networking: Intel AX200 Wi-Fi 6 / Bluetooth 5.2

Soldered LPDDR5 is the decisive limit here: the CPU and Thunderbolt 4 are strong, but the memory ceiling is fixed at purchase. Where the workload is a fixed-size container host rather than a growing hypervisor, that is an acceptable trade. Regional catalogues also list SEi13 Pro variants with i9-13900HK and i7-13620H parts; it is not a headline model in the current global list.

Browse SEi13 AI listings on Amazon

SEi12 — Core i5-1235U (legacy)

  • CPU: Core i5-1235U, 10 cores / 12 threads
  • GPU: Iris Xe, 80-EU class
  • Memory: dual SO-DIMM DDR4, commonly 16 or 32 GB, up to 64 GB
  • Storage: M.2 NVMe plus a 2.5-inch SATA bay
  • Networking: Realtek 1GbE; AX201-class Wi-Fi 6 / Bluetooth 5.2
  • Ports: 2× HDMI; the USB-C port is data-oriented, not Thunderbolt
  • Measured power: ~10 W idle, up to ~83 W under tested maximum load

One of the more sensible used Plex servers, because Alder Lake Quick Sync is several generations newer than the SEi8's media engine, the CPU has real headroom, and the 2.5-inch bay gives local storage options most current ultra-compact boxes lack.

Check the SEi12 on Amazon

SEi12 Pro — i5-1240P / i7-1260P (legacy)

  • CPU: Core i5-1240P or Core i7-1260P, 12 cores / 16 threads Alder Lake-P
  • GPU: Iris Xe class
  • Memory: 2× SO-DIMM DDR5-4800, up to 64 GB
  • Storage: M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 plus a 2.5-inch SATA bay
  • Networking: 2.5GbE
  • Ports: Thunderbolt 4, dual HDMI
  • Chassis: 126 × 113 × 42 mm; 19 V / 6.32 A adapter
  • Firmware: WOL, PXE, RTC wake and auto power-on

The original SEi12 Pro platform is significantly more interesting than the ordinary SEi12 for Thunderbolt, 2.5GbE and DDR5. It also carries the messiest nomenclature of any Beelink model: later retail pages reused the SEi12 Pro name for an i7-12650H configuration, and at least one regional reseller labels the model discontinued. Always identify the exact CPU before buying one.

Browse SEi12 Pro listings on Amazon

SEi8 — Core i5-8279U (legacy)

  • CPU: Core i5-8279U, 4 cores / 8 threads (earlier i3-8109U variants also shipped)
  • GPU: Intel Iris Plus 655
  • Memory: DDR4
  • Storage: M.2 NVMe
  • Networking: 1GbE; Wi-Fi 5 / Bluetooth 5.0
  • Ports: dual HDMI, 4× USB 3-class, VESA mounting

Still usable for Home Assistant, Docker or a basic Quick Sync media server, but its 8th-generation media engine is the reason not to pay current N100/N150 money for one. On the used market the case for it is cheap DDR4 upgrades and Intel hardware video support.

Check the SEi8 on Amazon

EQ and MINI S — The Entry-Level and Homelab Tier

This is the tier most homelab buyers should start in, and the one where a single word in a product title decides whether the machine is useful.

EQ14 — Intel N150

  • CPU: Intel N150 (Twin Lake), 4 cores / 4 threads, up to 3.6 GHz
  • GPU: Intel UHD, 24 execution units, Quick Sync support
  • Memory: DDR4 SO-DIMM, official maximum 16 GB
  • Storage: 2× M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0-class, up to 8 TB total per specification
  • Ports: dual HDMI 4K60; Wi-Fi 6 / Bluetooth 5.2
  • Chassis: 126 × 126 × 39 mm, ~490 g
  • Power: 12 V / 4 A supply

The EQ14 is the clearest example of why a model name is not enough. Beelink's own documentation covers two networking configurations: dual 1GbE using the Realtek RTL8111H, and dual 2.5GbE using Intel's I226-V. The configuration most widely sold under the EQ14 name is the dual-1GbE Realtek version, which is a fine low-power home server but a poor choice as a multi-gigabit router or firewall. The Intel I226-V configuration is the one pfSense and OPNsense buyers want, and it has to be confirmed on the specific listing before purchase.

On the hardware itself, the EQ14 is an excellent Home Assistant, Pi-hole, light Docker or low-density Proxmox node, and the Intel iGPU's Quick Sync engine makes it a capable budget Plex or Jellyfin server. DDR4 memory tops out at 16 GB by Intel's official N150 specification, and that ceiling decides how much virtualisation is realistic.

Check the dual-1GbE Realtek EQ14 configuration on Amazon

EQ12, EQ12 Pro and EQ13 (legacy Intel budget line)

Model CPU Memory Networking Notes
EQ12 Intel N100 configuration-dependent DDR4/DDR5 commonly dual 2.5GbE, but SKU fragmentation exists compact low-power platform
EQ12 Pro Intel Core i3-N305, 8 E-cores 16 GB DDR5 in the tested unit 2× Intel I225-V 2.5GbE M.2 NVMe + 2.5-inch bay; NVMe electrically bandwidth-limited
EQ13 Intel N200 single DDR4 SO-DIMM, official-class max 16 GB dual 1GbE two M.2 slots, integrated PSU

The EQ12 is one of Beelink's most frequently recommended low-power homelab boxes, and tuned Linux users have reported wall idle figures around 7 W — a community data point that depends heavily on BIOS, SSD, RAM and ASPM settings rather than a universal specification. The EQ12 Pro was measured at roughly 9–10 W idle in power-saving mode, ~11–12 W under higher-performance Windows settings and ~34–36 W maximum, which shows how much the same machine's power story changes with configuration.

The EQ13 is the cautionary entry: it moved backwards from the EQ12's commonly available 2.5GbE to dual gigabit in reviewed configurations despite being the newer product. Its compensations are an integrated PSU and two M.2 slots. For multi-gig routing, the right EQ12 or EQ14 configuration is the better buy than the EQ13.

Check the EQ12 on Amazon

Browse EQ12 Pro N305 listings on Amazon

Check the EQ13 N200 on Amazon

The current EQ, EQR and EQi family

Model CPU / GPU Memory & storage Networking Best fit
EQ mini (Wildcat Lake 304) Intel Core 3 304, Xe3-LPG-class iGPU config-dependent LPDDR5/DDR5 + UFS, dual M.2 current low-power office/server platform office / light server
EQi (Wildcat Lake 304) Intel Core 3 304 compact integrated-PSU design modern EQi platform efficient desktop / server
EQR7 Ryzen 7 7735HS / 7735U, Radeon 680M 24 GB LPDDR5, dual M.2 PCIe 4.0 Realtek RTL8111H 1GbE value AMD compute
EQR6 Ryzen 5 6600H, Radeon 660M LPDDR5, dual M.2 Realtek RTL8111H 1GbE budget AMD
EQR5 Ryzen 5 5500U / 7330U DDR4 on 5500U-class units, dual M.2 configuration dependent office / Docker
EQi13 Pro i5-13500H / i7-13620H 32 GB DDR4 variants, dual M.2 dual GbE VM / server use
EQi13 i5-13420H LPDDR5 or DDR4 by SKU, dual M.2 GbE-class workstation
EQi12 i5-1235U / Core 5 1220P variants DDR4, dual M.2 Realtek RTL8111H 1GbE Intel office / Plex

These models are easy to overlook because Beelink markets SER and GTR far harder, but they can make more sense in a homelab: integrated power supplies, lower-power CPUs and inexpensive dual-M.2 layouts matter more in a machine running 24/7 than peak benchmark scores. The limitation to check first is networking — most EQR and EQi models remain 1GbE, so they should not be positioned against multi-2.5GbE competitors without that caveat.

Browse EQR7 listings on Amazon

Browse EQi12 listings on Amazon

MINI S12 and S12 Pro — Intel N100

  • CPU: Intel N100, 4 cores / 4 threads, up to 3.4 GHz
  • GPU: Intel UHD, 24 execution units, Quick Sync support
  • Memory: DDR4-3200, commonly 16 GB, official-generation maximum 16 GB
  • Storage: M.2 2280 NVMe/SATA-compatible
  • Networking: gigabit LAN on the baseline specification; S12 Pro variants have shipped with Intel I225-V 2.5GbE
  • Wireless: Intel AX101 Wi-Fi 6 / Bluetooth 5.2
  • Ports: dual HDMI; 3× USB 3 plus USB 2 on tested S12 Pro samples
  • Chassis: compact, VESA-mountable

The N100 S12 is a popular tiny Plex box for a reason: hardware transcoding works well when Plex Pass and iGPU access are configured correctly, and several simultaneous 4K transcodes are achievable in favourable conditions. The failure mode is equally well documented — subtitle burn-in, unsupported codecs and other services sharing the box shift the load from the media engine to the four efficiency cores, and the machine stalls. S12 Pro configurations vary enough that the network controller should be confirmed rather than assumed from the model name.

Browse MINI S12 and S12 Pro listings on Amazon

MINI S13 — Intel N150

  • CPU: Intel N150, 4 cores / 4 threads, up to 3.6 GHz
  • GPU: Intel integrated graphics, Quick Sync support
  • Memory: commonly 16 GB DDR4 SO-DIMM; some marketplace variants use 12 GB LPDDR5 instead
  • Storage: 500/512 GB with additional expansion
  • Networking: baseline 1GbE; some variants advertise 2.5GbE
  • Ports: dual HDMI; no USB4
  • Wireless: Wi-Fi 6 / Bluetooth 5.2
  • Mounting: VESA and wall-mount bracket included in common retail packages

N150 is a modest evolution of N100 — the same four cores, a slightly higher turbo and a higher graphics clock — so a MINI S13 should be chosen on configuration and price rather than because the newer silicon makes it a fundamentally faster homelab machine. It remains an excellent Home Assistant, office and retro-emulation box, and a low-cost Intel media server.

Check the MINI S13 on Amazon

ME — Beelink's NAS and Storage Tier

ME mini

  • CPU: Intel N95 or N150, 4 cores / 4 threads
  • Memory: 12 or 16 GB LPDDR5-4800, soldered
  • Storage: six M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 positions — one system slot plus five storage slots; up to 4 TB per slot per specification
  • Networking: 2× Intel I226-V 2.5GbE
  • Wireless: Intel AX101 Wi-Fi 6 / Bluetooth 5.2
  • Ports: USB 3.2, USB 2, USB-C data and HDMI
  • Chassis: 99 × 99 × 99 mm cube
  • OS: Windows 11 Home from the factory

ME mini ends the USB-DAS compromise for Beelink buyers. Six native M.2 positions and dual Intel 2.5GbE inside a sub-litre cube is a genuine all-flash NAS platform rather than a general-purpose PC with drives bolted on, and Beelink publishes an explicit SSD compatibility list for it. It fits Jellyfin or Plex library storage, lightweight NAS services, backups and container consolidation. The N150 sets the ceiling: this is a quiet always-on storage appliance, not a virtualisation host.

Browse ME mini listings on Amazon

ME Pro — N95/N150 and Core 3 304

  • ME Pro N95/N150: Intel N95 or N150, a hybrid NAS mini PC with two 2.5-inch drive bays plus M.2 storage, built explicitly around home NAS and storage workloads.
  • ME Pro Core 3 304: Intel Core 3 304, 5 cores / 5 threads, up to 4.3 GHz, DDR5-5600, 512 GB UFS 3.1 in listed configurations, one M.2 slot plus two drive bays, up to 64 TB of storage marketed, and 24 combined AI TOPS claimed.

ME Pro trades M.2 density for traditional drive bays, which is the right trade for buyers who want spinning capacity per terabyte rather than an all-flash array. The Core 3 304 version is the more interesting of the two when the same box will also run services or virtual machines, because five cores and DDR5 handle a mixed storage-and-compute role that an N150 does not.

Browse ME Pro N150 listings on Amazon

Browse ME Pro Core 3 304 listings on Amazon

Beelink Accessories — Docks and Expansion

Beelink's accessory line is unusually consequential, because two of its docks change what a low-cost mini PC can do.

Mate SE

  • Compatibility: SER8, SER9 Pro/MAX and SER10 MAX
  • Host link: 80 Gbps USB-C
  • Storage: 2× M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x2, up to 8 TB per slot and 16 TB combined
  • Card reader: SD 4.0
  • Ports: 2× USB-A, 2.5GbE via Realtek RTL8156BG
  • Power: optional PD power input
  • Cooling: active
  • Chassis: 135 × 135 × 18 mm

For a SER machine, the Mate SE adds bulk NVMe capacity and a second network interface in one enclosure. One caveat matters for firewall and hypervisor use: the 2.5GbE port is USB-attached, which is not the same as a native PCIe Ethernet controller for driver stability, interrupt behaviour and recovery after a fault.

Browse Mate SE listings on Amazon

Mate MINI S

  • Compatibility: MINI S12, S12 Pro and MINI S13
  • Networking: 4× 2.5GbE ports
  • Host link: 10 Gbps USB-C via an included USB-A-to-C cable
  • Cooling: passive heatsink
  • Chassis: 115.2 × 102.2 × 14.8 mm
  • Marketing focus: soft routing, link aggregation, network isolation and virtualisation

This accessory turns a cheaper MINI S box into a four-port networking node, which is a legitimate way to build a small firewall or a segmented lab. The limitation is structural rather than incidental: all four ports share one 10 Gbps USB host link, so aggregate throughput and interrupt behaviour are not equivalent to four native PCIe NICs.

Browse Mate MINI S listings on Amazon

Other accessories and upgrade guidance

The catalogue also lists an EX Pro docking station — the direct PCIe external-GPU dock used by the GTi family, with a 600 W power supply — plus Mate Pro, Mate mini, Mate Studio, and a pre-installed SSD upgrade kit, alongside replacement plugs, fans, SATA cables and boards.

There is no universal Beelink RAM or SSD kit, because the memory architecture changes completely between families. The GTR9 Pro and both SER9 Pro branches use soldered LPDDR5X that cannot be upgraded; SER10 MAX, SER8, the GTi models, SEi14 AI and older GTR and SER performance machines use SO-DIMMs and can be expanded. Modern machines generally accept standard M.2 2280 NVMe drives. For a Proxmox host expected to grow, memory topology is a more decisive specification than the CPU model on the box.

Beelink vs Minisforum, GMKtec and GEEKOM — The Honest Comparison

Beelink competes with a small group of brands that all source from Shenzhen and all sell broadly similar hardware. The differences that matter to a homelab buyer are narrower than the marketing suggests: who owns the design, how transparent the configuration is, how long firmware is supported, and whether the networking and memory topology suit the job.

Minisforum, operated under Micro Computer (HK) Tech Limited within the Meigao group, competes most directly at the top of the range. Its MS workstation line — three NVMe positions, dual 10GbE SFP+ plus dual 2.5GbE, and a physical PCIe slot on the MS-01 and MS-A2 — plus the N5 NAS family target buyers who want SFP+ switching and PCIe expansion. Beelink's answer is the GTR9 Pro's unified-memory flagship and the ME storage line; Minisforum's answer is expansion and networking.

GMKtec (Shenzhen GMK Technology) attacks the same value tier from below with NucBox K-series machines that typically pair a Ryzen 7 8845HS with dual 2.5GbE and OCuLink. Beelink's SER8 and SER10 MAX sit in the same performance band, and the deciding differences are usually the Ethernet controller, the number of physical ports, and whether OCuLink matters for the planned workload.

GEEKOM (Shenzhen Geekom Electronic Technology) leans on turnkey configurations and dual-LAN mid-range systems such as the A8 Max and A9 Max. Beelink's EQ14 and EQ12 Pro answer at the firewall end of the market, where a known Intel NIC — I226-V or I225-V — counts for more than CPU benchmark scores.

The odd comparison is ASUS NUC, which occupies the premium end of the market for support and lifecycle. Intel created the NUC platform and ASUS took over manufacturing, sales and support, and ASUS publishes product-specific software-support and security-support end dates alongside vPro/AMT on selected configurations. Beelink's three-year direct-store warranty is competitive with the mainstream, but lifecycle transparency is not the same thing, and a buyer who needs out-of-band management and published end-of-support dates is shopping in a different category.

One general caution applies to all four. A shared chassis or a visually identical board is evidence of a possible shared design, not proof of identical PCBs, firmware, quality control or warranty. Configuration-level verification — the exact CPU, the exact Ethernet controller, the exact memory type — is what separates a good buy from a bad one on every one of these brands.

Which Beelink Should You Buy?

The right first question is not "which Beelink is best" but "which workload am I buying for", because the range now spans ultra-low-power N-series boxes, Ryzen workstation systems, local-AI platforms and native NAS hardware. Work backwards from the workload, then check the four specifications that decide whether a given model actually fits: CPU generation, memory topology (soldered versus SO-DIMM), Ethernet controller and port count, and storage positions.

Workload Best fit Why
Plex / Jellyfin transcoding MINI S12/S13, EQ14 (N150), EQ12 Pro (N305), EQi12, SEi12, SEi14 AI Intel Quick Sync is the mature, low-friction acceleration path
Proxmox / VM consolidation SER10 MAX, SER9 MAX, SER8, GTi15 Ultra, GTR9 Pro socketed memory or a very high fixed ceiling, plus multiple NVMe positions
Home Assistant / always-on light server EQ14, MINI S13, EQ12, EQ mini 304 low measured idle draw and enough CPU for containers
pfSense / OPNsense EQ14 with Intel I226-V, EQ12 Pro with dual I225-V Intel NICs with mature BSD driver support and two physical ports
NAS / storage-first server ME mini, ME Pro native M.2 or drive bays instead of a USB DAS
Local AI inference GTR9 Pro 128 GB of unified LPDDR5X is the only pool in the range that fits large models
Gaming and emulation SER10 MAX, SER9 Pro HX 370, SER8 Radeon 890M / 780M integrated graphics with dual-channel memory
Budget desktop and office MINI S13, EQ14, EQR5, EQi12 enough CPU for everyday work at low power

Three purchase patterns regularly go wrong. Buying the highest-core-count machine for a media server pays for compute that Quick Sync would handle for free. Buying a single-NIC performance machine as a firewall ignores a topology problem no CPU can fix. And buying a soldered-memory machine for a hypervisor that is expected to grow caps the host permanently at the moment of purchase.

One recommendation per band: the N150 class (MINI S13, EQ14) is the correct entry point for Plex and Home Assistant; the SER8 is the best current balance of CPU, memory expandability and cost for a Proxmox node; the SER10 MAX is the step up for 10GbE and higher core density; and the GTR9 Pro is the only machine in the range built around unified memory for local AI. The ME family is the correct answer whenever storage is the primary requirement rather than an afterthought.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is a Beelink mini PC good for Plex and Jellyfin?

Yes, and the Intel models are the easy recommendation. N100 and N150 machines such as the MINI S12, MINI S13 and EQ14 use Intel Quick Sync to decode and encode H.264 and HEVC in hardware and to decode AV1, and several simultaneous 4K transcodes are achievable when Plex Pass and iGPU access are configured correctly. The N-series media engine does not include AV1 hardware encoding — for that you need a Core Ultra or Arc machine from the GTi or SEi families. Real stream counts depend on the source codec, HDR tone mapping, subtitle burn-in and what else the box is running, so any single "number of streams" figure is workload-specific rather than a specification.

Q: Do Beelink mini PCs run Proxmox, and which models are best for it?

They run Proxmox well when the memory and storage topology is right. Intel VT-x or AMD-V is supported across the range, and device passthrough depends on VT-d or AMD-Vi plus usable IOMMU groups, so the exact BIOS, kernel and device combination always needs validating. Prioritise models with socketed SO-DIMM memory and two NVMe slots: SER8, SER9 MAX, SER10 MAX, GTi15 Ultra, GTi14 Ultra and GTR9 Pro. Do not plan a growing hypervisor around a soldered-memory machine unless the fixed capacity already covers the end state.

Q: Which Beelink models have upgradeable memory?

It depends on the family, not the tier. The GTR9 Pro and both SER9 Pro variants use soldered LPDDR5X and cannot be upgraded. SER10 MAX, SER8, GTi15/GTi14/GTi13, SEi14 AI, the 16 GB DDR4 configurations of the MINI S13, EQ14, EQ12, EQi13 Pro and the legacy GTR7 and SER5 through SER8 machines use replaceable SO-DIMMs. Several current compact models — SEi13 AI, EQR6, EQR7 and the whole ME line — use soldered LPDDR5 or LPDDR5X, so their capacity is fixed at purchase.

Q: What is the difference between the SER9, SER9 Pro and SER9 MAX?

They are not three trim levels of one machine. The SER9 Pro with Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 and the SER9 Pro with Ryzen 7 H255 are different CPUs, and both use soldered LPDDR5X memory with 2.5GbE networking. SER9 MAX is the expandable branch, with socketed DDR5-5600 and 10GbE on the H255-era configuration. The MAX name has also covered a Ryzen AI 7 350 variant with Radeon 860M graphics. Always identify the installed CPU and whether memory is soldered before comparing two listings.

Q: Can a Beelink mini PC be used as a router or firewall?

Yes, but only the models with the right NICs. A dedicated firewall needs at least two physical Ethernet ports, and for pfSense or OPNsense the controllers matter more than CPU benchmarks — Intel I226-V and I225-V are the parts with mature driver support. The EQ14 must be confirmed as the Intel I226-V dual-2.5GbE configuration rather than the dual Realtek 1GbE version sold under the same name, and the EQ12 Pro ships with dual Intel I225-V ports. High-performance single-NIC machines like the SER10 MAX are unsuitable regardless of CPU speed. The Mate MINI S dock adds four 2.5GbE ports to a MINI S system, but all four share one 10 Gbps USB host link.

Q: Which Beelink mini PCs are current, and which are legacy?

Current families are GT and GTR (GTR9 Pro, GTi15 Ultra, GTi14 Ultra, GTi13 Ultra), SE and SEi (SER10 MAX, SER9 MAX, SER9 Pro, SER8, SEi14 AI, SEi13 AI), EQ (EQ14, EQ mini 304, EQi 304, EQR5, EQR6, EQR7, EQi12, EQi13, EQi13 Pro) and ME (ME mini, ME Pro). MINI S12, S12 Pro and S13 remain current-retail and are supported by a dedicated accessory. SER5, SER6, SER7, GTR7, EQ12, EQ12 Pro, EQ13, SEi8 and SEi12 are legacy products: still worth buying second-hand or on clearance, but not the current range, and they should not carry current-range pricing.

Q: Are Beelink mini PCs reliable?

There is no credible large-sample failure-rate data for Beelink or any of its direct competitors, and self-selected forum polls cannot substitute for one. What is concrete is that Beelink publishes BIOS and support material, which is a positive sign that also exposes platform-specific issues: the SER8 chipset-driver compatibility notice is the clearest recent example, and GTR7-era machines received a later bottom-cover revision to improve underside storage cooling. The sensible approach is to stress-test memory, storage, networking, suspend and resume, and thermals inside the retailer's return window rather than relying on brand reputation.

Q: Does Beelink make a NAS?

Yes — the ME family. ME mini provides six M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 storage positions and dual Intel I226-V 2.5GbE in a 99 mm cube, which makes it a genuine all-flash NAS rather than a general-purpose PC with external drives attached. ME Pro adds traditional drive bays: the N95/N150 versions have two 2.5-inch bays plus M.2 storage, and the Core 3 304 version combines one M.2 slot with two drive bays and DDR5 memory. For buyers whose first requirement is storage, these are a better starting point than an EQ or SER machine plus a USB enclosure.

Conclusion

Beelink's range rewards buyers who read the configuration rather than the chassis name. The naming pattern — R for Ryzen, i for Intel — and the family map (GT for enthusiast, SE for mainstream performance, EQ for efficient office and homelab, ME for storage, MINI S for entry level) tell you most of what you need before opening a single listing.

The rest lives in the details that decide whether a machine actually fits: whether memory is soldered or replaceable, which Ethernet controller is fitted and how many physical ports there are, whether the media engine supports AV1 encode as well as decode, and whether storage is native or attached over USB. Those four questions resolve nearly every Beelink buying decision, from a cheap Plex box in the corner to a 128 GB local-AI workstation on the desk.

If you are starting today, the N150 class covers Plex, Home Assistant and light Docker; the SER8 is the balanced step up for virtualisation; the SER10 MAX adds 10GbE and core density; and the GTR9 Pro is the only machine in the range built around unified memory for local AI. The ME family is where to look whenever storage is the point of the build rather than an afterthought.

→ Check current Beelink mini PC pricing on Amazon

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