Beelink EQi12 with Intel Core i5-12450H and Dual LAN as office mini PC review

Packaging contents

Beelink supplies a power cable and an HDMI cable with the EQi12 mini PC.

Technical data

The mini PC that Beelink provided us with for testing has the following technical data:

• Processor : Intel® Core™ i5-12450H, 8 cores and 12 threads. 4.4 GHz max., 12MB L3 cache
• RAM : 24GB 5200MHz (Micron LPDDR5)
• NVME SSD: Crucial CT500P3PSSD8 500GB
• Power supply : 19V 4.47A (integrated)
• Network: 2 x RealTek Semiconductor RTL8168/8111
• Wi-Fi adapter: Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX101 Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
• USB: 3 x USB 3 (10Gbps), 1 x USB Type-C (10Gbps), 1 x USB 2.0
• GPU: Intel® UHD Graphics (48 EU - 1.20 GHz)
• Monitor connections : 2 x HDMI up to 4K
• Audio connectors : 3.5 mm jack
• Expansion : 2 x M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 x4 (one occupied), M.2 WiF 2230 (occupied)

First impression

We already know the unibody casing of the Beelink EQi12 from the EQ13, only this time it is a bit more voluminous. The casing looks chic and simple at the same time, the patterned surface makes fingerprints less noticeable. The casing is made of plastic, but feels very high-quality and stable.

The Intel® Core™ i5-12450H processor is a bit older and was introduced in the first quarter of 2022. In addition to two network ports, the mini PC has extensive connection options via USB and space for a second M.2 NVMe SSD. The second NVMe SSD can also be connected with PCIe 4.0 x4.

The fact that Beelink, as with the EQ13, relies on an integrated power supply and integrates all of this into a very compact housing is absolutely exemplary.

The cooling system has become even larger and should therefore work almost silently even with an i5-12450H.

The Beelink EQi12 comes with Windows 11 Pro, which is unusual and very commendable in this price range.

What is particularly noteworthy is that the EQi12 is equipped with ultra-fast 24 GB LPDDR5 memory from Micron at 5200 MHz and a 500 GB NVMe SSD from Crucial.

Case and Build Quality

Beautiful and high-quality cases can also be made from plastic, as Beelink shows once again with the EQi12.

The EQi12 looks pretty and is very well made at the same time, and the slightly more subtle color tone is a positive feature compared to the EQ13.

There are very large rubber pads on the underside of the case, which effectively dampen mechanical vibrations, e.g. from the fan.

The most important connections for daily use are located on the front of the case. Other connections, such as the air outlet, are discreetly located on the back.

Internal structure and integrated power supply

The power supply of the mini PC is housed in a separate plastic housing, which ensures that the AC side of the power supply is effectively separated from the other components. Internally, the power supply is equipped with thermal pads to transport the waste heat out through the plastic housing of the power supply.

The structure of the mini PC is more complex due to an additional circuit board for the front USB ports and the integrated power supply, which makes disassembly of the mini PC more difficult and thus also makes maintenance work more complex.

Under the heatsink, which is visible when you open the case, are the slots for two M.2 SSDs. In general, components such as SSDs and WiFi modules are easily accessible and replaceable by loosening a few screws.

Pre-installed software

The Beelink EQi12 Mini PC comes with Windows 11 Pro 64-bit pre-installed as a clean and fresh installation without any third-party software.

Driver and BIOS updates are available on the Beelink website. Beelink also maintains these regularly, which is a big advantage compared to other mini PC manufacturers in order to keep the system permanently secure and error-free.

Cooling system and noise

Under load, the Beelink EQi12 is only audible from a distance of less than 30 cm; when idling, it cannot be heard at all.

The cooling system uses a radial fan that draws fresh air through the case and blows it out to the rear through the even larger air outlets.

As described by Beelink, the cooling system does its job almost silently in every scenario and always keeps the CPU below 85 °C.

To cool the M.2 SSDs, Beelink has installed a very solid heat sink in the mini PC, which cools almost any M.2 SSD more than sufficiently.

Maintenance

The lower air inlet and the rear air outlet should be vacuumed regularly to ensure consistently high performance of the mini PC.

Disassembling the mini PC further for cleaning is not recommended due to its more complex structure.

To change the NVMe SSD, the rubber plugs on the bottom must be removed and four screws loosened.

Office performance

Beelink recommends the EQi12 primarily for office applications such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint or Notes.

Thanks to the generous and fast 24 GB RAM, all Office applications run smoothly and without restrictions both natively and in the web browser.

Even a multi-monitor setup with several applications open at the same time can be operated easily and smoothly.

Thanks to its high number of cores, the Core i5-12450H can even handle computationally intensive processes without restricting the user's ability to do other work (one example is downloading and installing Windows updates).

Video streaming, YouTube, Netflix and Co.

Since Intel's iGPU supports all common video formats, playing multiple videos with a resolution of up to 8K is easy and smooth.

Geekbench

SSD benchmark

Creative performance

In the further parts of the test, programs such as Photoshop, Lightroom, Premiere Pro, Blender, Handbrake and DaVinci Resolve were tested.

Editing videos or images works well, but depending on the effect applied, you have to expect slight delays until the processor has calculated it.

Exporting images is done via the CPU and therefore requires some patience.

Depending on the program, videos can also be exported using the acceleration of the integrated graphics card. This is much faster and more efficient than using the CPU.

The mini PC can continue to operate easily while rendering videos and images in the background thanks to 24 GB RAM and high multi-core performance.

Gaming performance

Beelink doesn't directly advertise gaming on the EQi12, but we still want to briefly discuss its capabilities in this area.

The Beelink EQi12 is more suitable for less complex 2D and 3D games such as RimWorld, Minecraft, Factorio, Stardew Valley, Terraria or even Fortnite in performance mode.

A good use for the Beelink Mini PC is streaming or cloud gaming, as even streams in 4K are easily supported.

It is therefore recommended to use it as a device for Steam in-home streaming or cloud gaming services such as GeForce Now if you want to play graphically demanding games.

To compare the graphics performance, here are the values from the GFXBench benchmark.

Networking capabilities

The mini PC is equipped as standard with two Realtek Gigabit LAN adapters and an Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX101 802.11ax adapter.

The performance of the Wi-Fi adapter was tested with a Wi-Fi 6 access point. At a distance of 5 meters, the mini PC achieved a maximum data transfer rate of 500 Mbit/s in the speed test.

When using a network share, a stable transfer rate of up to 50 MB/s could be achieved.

Expandability and connection options

With two M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 x4 slots, the Beelink EQi12 can be easily expanded with very fast NVMe SSDs.

In addition to the SSD, the Wi-Fi adapter can also be replaced.

The range of USB ports is plentiful: With a total of four USB 3 ports that support 10 Gbps, there are enough connection options for fast external hardware.

Power consumption

We tested the energy consumption of the Beelink EQi12 mini PC under Windows.

The energy consumption of the Beelink EQi12 is too high, as is typical for Intel. Compared to other current mini PCs, especially those with AMD CPUs, the consumption in idle and browser mode is about 5 watts too high.

Selection of components

The SSD is from Crucial, the RAM is from Micron and is permanently installed.

The 24 GB LPDDR5 memory from Micron is clocked at 5200 MHz. This is a very high clock speed and thus gets the maximum CPU and graphics performance out of the Intel® Core™ i5-12450H.

The Crucial P3 Plus NVMe SSD with QLC storage is ideal for most office applications. It has consistently very high read speeds, allowing applications to load quickly. Limitations in write speed only become apparent when the SSD is full and during extensive copying processes involving several gigabytes.

In such cases, the write speed can drop to an average of around 100 MB/s. This effect is not yet noticeable for smaller copy operations in the range of 1–5 GB or in benchmarks.

The Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX101 Wi-Fi 6 performs at the limit of its specifications, with a maximum peak performance of 600 Mbps.

Evaluation of the individual areas

Pros and cons

This category highlights areas that stand out in the mini PC for its price, both positively and negatively, or that deviate from what is expected of a mini PC. Only those features that are relevant in the context of the intended use are rated as negative. For example, poor gaming performance on a mini PC/SOC that is not designed for gaming is not considered a negative point of criticism.

Pros

• Quiet operation : Inaudible at low and high loads.
• Good expandability : Allows you to swap the NVMe SSD and install two NVMe SSDs.
• Versatile : Well suited for content creation, office applications, streaming and multimedia.
• Cooling: M.2 hard drives with large heat sink.
• Design: Chic and unobtrusive
• Integrated power supply: Ensures better organization on the desk
• Drivers and BIOS updates: Drivers and BIOS updates are provided directly and regularly by Beelink.
• Windows: Ships with Windows 11 Pro
• RAM: Unusually fast and generously dimensioned in the price range
• SSD: Very good everyday performance

Cons

• Energy consumption: The idle energy consumption is a few watts too high, and the energy efficiency under load is not particularly high either.
• SSD: High drop in write speed when disk is full

Conclusion

The Mini-PC in Use

The Beelink EQi12 is particularly impressive in office applications and in the multimedia sector, such as game and video streaming.

The low noise level and consistent performance in all application areas are particularly noteworthy.

Creative tasks in Photoshop, Lightroom or similar programs can be carried out without any problems and with hardly any noticeable delays.

The mini PC also impresses with its stylish design and the integrated power supply, which makes the desk environment appear tidier.

Beelink uses branded components from Micron, Crucial and Intel throughout the mini PC, which offer high performance in everyday use.

Accessories and expandability

The expandability of the Beelink EQi12 is good. The two M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 x4 slots can be expanded with almost any M.2 NVMe SSD.

Additional hard drives can be connected via the existing fast USB 3 ports.

Thanks to these expansion options, the Beelink EQi12 allows storage capacities of over 10 TB.

Price and purchase recommendation

The Beelink EQi12 is available on the Beelink website for around 350 euros.

For a fair price of 350 euros, you not only get high-performance and future-proof hardware, but also a stylish case and a very quiet mini PC.

If you are looking for features such as dual LAN, integrated power supply or a permanently quiet fan, the offer becomes increasingly attractive and there are hardly any alternatives.

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