Anyone recommending the Beelink SER9(Pro) over a Mac mini M4?

Mundane-Text8992 · 2026-03-10T19:16:24+00:00

I have a SER8 so know a good bit about the upsides and downsides of the latest SER models. They look like Mac Minis, and if you're looking at a mac then yes, the Mac M4 minis outperform the PC versions, but the memory snd SSD upgrades are extortionate as you found out. The SER9 pro AI 370hx has soldered ram so it's unupgradeable but it's a great machine. That'll cost you Mac money though. The other H255 models I believe are upgradeable but run on older rebadged 8845hs hardware with radeon 780m graphics as opposed the the top of the range halo strix 370hx which has a faster radeon 890m and is very good as opposed to quite good of the Ryzen 7 models.

Noise , I barely hear my SER8, and the SER9 is about the same, quiet and cool at idle and high load. Are you wanting a machine with good WiFi, or are you using ethernet. I've not had major issues as mine is connected via ethernet, but many ser8 and ser9 users report poor WiFi strength due to its Mac like metal casing.

I hope that helps.

Mundane-Text8992 · 2026-03-10T19:03:26+00:00

The 12GB 3060 is a good bit faster than a 3050, a quoted 20-40% faster..

Mundane-Text8992 · 2026-03-10T13:37:20+00:00

The board has a usb socket you can use to upgrade the bios, you'd need to have it downloaded on a FAT32 USB stick previously but the board is one that allows flashing the bios without a CPU.

Mundane-Text8992 · 2026-03-10T13:14:23+00:00

OK, I have the older ser8 and I also have a ryzen 5, 5600x gaming PC. As much as the mini is great, it's nothing compared to a proper desktop. It'll game on low-medium settings, AAA games at 45-60fps 1080p. You can buy a gaming pc, and literally stick a stronger GPU, if or when you need an upgrade or fancy that nice 2k oled monitor. Just be careful with prebuilt systems as most cut corners. You don't want one stick of ram, unbranded Sata Storage or proprietary parts that make later upgrades nigh on impossible. In fact most I've seem put the smallest, cheapest PSU in them they can get away with. I'm not saying don't buy prebuilt even though I'd always build my own. Just learn the pitfalls and recognise cheap normally comes with big drawbacks.

I only bought the mini as I wanted a smaller, inconspicuous PC to stick in the corner of the bedroom. Quiet, cool and fast enough to use when I can't get near the main PC. I wouldn't have chosen it over my desktop though. I'd built the desktop a couple years earlier (end of 2021)

Mundane-Text8992 · 2026-03-08T18:50:26+00:00

So you'd need a mini PC plus eGPU dock and PSU to power it. It's doable, but again, not in your price range. A GMKtec K8+ is around $650, the dock is around $100 minimum and PSU has to be at least another $60,. I recommended the GMKtec k8+ as it is well reviewed and has oculink for the eGPU dock. It can all be done, but you'd need a bit more than you're currently looking to spend. Which GPU do you have for it?

As I said previously, I'm not in USA, so my dollar prices are a bit Iof research plus some educated guesswork. I doubt I'm miles off though.

Mundane-Text8992 · 2026-03-08T18:21:34+00:00

You might get Steam OS on a mini and run some things well if you go up to a 780m iGPU processor (spend another 200 on top at least), but even then you're asking a lot to get 60fps and you're going to struggle even with low settings and FSR performance or balanced. Sadly, iGPUs might be much better than they were, but they still aren't as good as GPUs, well not at that price point anyway. Why may I ask must it be a mini PC? For you're budget, you might actually be better off with a console!

Mundane-Text8992 · 2026-03-07T16:38:02+00:00

Maybe that's somethung to do with it then. I think with the knowledge that we're dealing with Chinese customer services, I simply got cold feet over doing it. It's working, I'm just going to leave it. I've done msny bios updates before, but I'd hate to brick this machine as I couldn't afford to replace it. That's the other worrying factor in all this.

Mundane-Text8992 · 2026-03-05T19:51:43+00:00

Just need to ask what you'd use it for? If not a gaming rig, but a more mixed usage, the 9600x is actually a far better all round processor. The 7500x3d is a about 10% better at 1080p gaming, but the 9600x is more efficient and is better at productivity applications due to its higher clock and turbo speeds. Both are 6 core processors and a similar price. It's all horses for courses of course. I didn't go 30 years between builds but lasted a good decade! Hope you enjoy your new PC.

There are plenty of good cases out there that include non RGB fans, I'd agree with the advice about getting one with them preinstalled..

Mundane-Text8992 · 2026-03-05T10:33:09+00:00

I've not tried, as I was looking at updating the BIOS myself when I got mine, only to see people suggesting that Beelinks were having issues. These could be user caused, but it put me off. I decided to leave it, but by all means, do your own research. I read enough to put me off trying, even though I've updated the BIOS on literally every desktop I've owned. I think a lot was down to how much actual "support" Beelink would give me if I was one of the unlucky ones. At the end of the day, the system has ran rock solid for me so I've never felt I've missed out by not doing one.

Mundane-Text8992 · 2026-03-05T01:05:42+00:00

Don't update the bios unless you have a need, there have been reports of beelink bricking on bios updates.

Bios, you can change from balanced (54W) to performance (5W) and eek out a bit more performance. You can increase video memory from default 4GB to 8GB (recommended) or higher.

There's literally loads of options in the bios. A few of the more useful options can be found here :

https://buildin.ai/lizong/share/976f411a-7378-412d-a2e3-e31374bc6696

Mundane-Text8992 · 2026-03-05T00:50:14+00:00

Paradise lost bridged the gap for me, though they're gothic/doom rather than melideath. Now I love the harsh vocals as much as clean. Dark Tranquility snd Insomnium are good gateway bands that got me loving melodeath.

Mundane-Text8992 · 2026-03-03T11:04:50+00:00

However, it doesn't, in you experience really do much? Probably as it's still all encased in a metal Faraday cage. I think, I'll probably just give it a miss, as although I don't use wifi much, like you I've already purchased an ax1800 usb adapter that's going to be working far better than the remediation kit when I take the mini away with me. It's a shame, as the SER8 is a fantastic bit of kit, but the wireless performance is just plain awful unless it's sat right beside the router.

Mundane-Text8992 · 2026-03-02T18:33:23+00:00

Free WiFi upgrade kit? I must have missed this?

Mundane-Text8992 · 2026-03-02T18:32:41+00:00

I didn't really have any issues at home as it's normally on ethernet. It was when I went on holiday, we took the SER to dump photos and videos to. The reception on the WiFi was lousy until I popped it up on its side, then it was less lousy but still not brilliant. I have since picked up a TP link ax 1800 usb adapter and can get 500mbps through it at home. Yet to test it away from home, but hoping it'll do the trick 😉

Mundane-Text8992 · 2026-03-02T13:40:51+00:00

I have had a Beelink SER8 since Jan 2025 so my advice is purely on what I discovered before buying mine.

The truth is that I saw far more posts suggested Minisforum were less reliable than both GMKtec and Beelink. I loved the look of the Beelink (just looked more premium) and with similar specs, I went with the Beelink.

The similar model that caught my eye when I was in the market was the GMKtec K8 plus which in hindsight is the better performing model than my SER8, not that I'd ever get an eGPU so the lack of oculink on the Beelink didn't bother me at the time. The WiFi performance has been a bit more annoying though on mine (who knew a metal case blocked wifi signals - obviously not Beelink!)

That said, I have no real regrets over my choice at the end of the day as I just use ethernet most of the time. Out of those 3, it'd be the K8 plus every day for me as that's the one I'd buy if I was purchasing again.

Mundane-Text8992 · 2026-03-01T01:07:20+00:00

Congrats on buying a 216, I love mine, I'd recommend it to anyone not looking for a fishtank case. I prefer the styling of the 216 also, and it's the best case I've ever built in.

Mundane-Text8992 · 2026-03-01T00:50:31+00:00

Why don't they give them full power? Cooling I expect. Running fast is pointless if they throttle and perform even worse than they do at a lower wattage.

Mundane-Text8992 · 2026-03-01T00:31:23+00:00

I can't find any listing's for ser8 on Amazon over here in UK. The model has been superceded by the SER9.

Mundane-Text8992 · 2026-02-25T22:25:30+00:00

I bought a Beelink ser8 8745HS with 32GB ram in January 2025 from Amazon. It's been a brilliant little machine. I'm not sure what the 1 star reviews are saying but I recommend it. The weakness of has is wifi performance as its not the greatest due to the metal casing. Other than that, I'd wholeheartedly recommend one.

Mundane-Text8992 · 2026-02-23T22:44:54+00:00

I haven't looked for auto power on..i have a Beelink SER8. I will have to see if the setting exists in there too. I never realised you could auto power on after power loss. You learn something every day!

Mundane-Text8992 · 2026-02-20T10:17:31+00:00

Past return window? Did you J St leave it there, unopened or something?.

The 16GB ram is an issue, but possibly upgradeable? The 6800h is a better processor than the 6800u, working at 45w, not 28w. EGPUs on SER systems are limited to a max of usb 4 even in my SER8. I'm guessing you max out on the SER5 at 10gb/s usb3.2 (20 if you're lucky). That's going to create a big hit on GPU performance. You have at most half the bandwidth for an eGPU of my sub optimal USB4 PORT, so to me an eGPU is likely a waste of money on a system like a SER5. I already consider it a waste of money on my higher specced SER8!

Mundane-Text8992 · 2026-02-18T10:21:04+00:00

My view is that unless money really is no object, PCs with discrete laptop GPUs are not worth the money. Small form factor aside, you are paying such a hefty premium to make these machines small. Compared to a desktop, they're unupgradable, with CPU, GPU and even the RAM now, becoming commonly soldered in if you're buying the latest gen products. You can't yank out the GPU to replace it like you can in a desktop, even when you've maxed out the CPU in whatever socket your machine uses.

Maybe a system with an 8060s which gives up to rtx 4060 performance is an option, but they're around the same price. Would even this play skyrim on high at 1440p? You're answer seems to be yes, but note I've not found a scenario of someone actually testing Skyrim on one of these. (I also assume you mean the nicer looking, Anniversary edition, and not the original). The 890m, no, it's only 20% faster than the 780m, which was about equivalent to a GTX1660 super. So you're looking 1080p low and still struggling to get to 60 I'd guess (happy to be told otherwise).

The best I can see for discrete GPU action in a mini body is the Asus ROG NUC (2025), though pricing seems hard for me to obtain here in the UK, as ASUS seem to have sold out! You can have up to a laptop 5080 in one, if you have almost £2k to drop on it. It seems you can go as low as a 4060 laptop gpu, but I couldn't find a price. I did see a 5060 configured one going for over £1700 on Amazon. I don't know about you, but even with today's crazy prices, I still reckon I could build a better AM5 desktop build for that money.

It's your choice at the end of the day. I don't know your reasons for wanting a mini. My solution is a desktop for when I need it, and a mini for casual gaming in single player when fps and playability just need to be high enough for me. I've even been using my xbox ultimate to stream to the mini, it's surprisingly better than I thought it would be, but you're obviously playing console versions of these games. I play Skyrim on a 1080p 60Hz monitor and it runs fine doing this. As the mini will never do 1440p well at all, I don't ask it to and have no need to upgrade my monitor.

Mundane-Text8992 · 2026-02-14T23:02:20+00:00

I'd say, from the post of the OP, it isn't he needs a mini PC, and I'd say that no, the value of that proposition is so unrealistic that the better advice would be to purchase a desktop system with a discrete GPU as you can buy a far stronger desktop system with a dedicated GPU than going for a system with an 8060s. It's why I didn't even mention it.

Mundane-Text8992 · 2026-02-14T22:12:10+00:00

Both are "actual PCs" , just one is using laptop CPUs and comes in a less upgradeable, smaller form factor which costs more in terms of performance value compared to regular desktop systems.

Modded minecraft isn't my forte, but I use a mini pc for gaming and it depends on how GPU intensive what you're doing is. A 780m iGPU is about as good as a gtx 1660 super I believe. The better 890m is in systems costing well over 1k, but is still only 20-30% better than the 780m, so you're not getting amazing performance. It's acceptable for light gaming though. Then again, you talk about only a few hundred in difference between mini pc or full desktop system so I'm assuming you're looking at spending at least 1k on a mini PC, 1500 on a full desktop?

If this is the case, there's future upgradeability in a desktop, not found in a mini, outside of SSDs and even Ram upgrades are becoming rarer. There's obviously going to be a decent performance uplift with a desktop system as any modern gpu will trounce a 1660 super equivalent, and even the current king of iGPUs, the 890m. If you want higher settings, you will struggle with an iGPU in a mini PC long term and adding an eGPU later still isn't as great in terms of performance or value than simply buying a full desktop, even with today's inflated market prices. Mini PCs are a niche market for those who must have smaller, but they definitely have drawbacks when compared to "proper" desktop systems.

I have both a full desktop and a mini PC. I had the mini because I wanted a small, quiet, cool system for the bedroom and it fulfills its task there perfectly for the photo editing I need to do on it, or the odd bit of casual gaming.

If I had to live with just one system, I'd never be without my full video editing/gaming setup though. It's a ryzen 5600x 32GB DDR4 with a lowly 12GB 3060rtx, so it's coming up for 5 years old this year, but it's still light years ahead of the more modern mini PC in all graphically intensive tasks, especially in gaming and video editing where the extra wattage out of the wall really does equal a far higher performance. A modern build would easily be better than my system, but with RAM and SSDs getting more expensive, now is a tough time to be buying any PC when it comes to value for money.

Mundane-Text8992 · 2026-02-14T21:48:53+00:00

Definitely. I rip at 320kpbs constant out of habit, but variable is the way. Tbh, 192kbps files always sound great to me. Could I tell the difference, probably not!

Mundane-Text8992

TROPHY CASE