Beelink Mini PC,12th Gen Intel Alder Lake-N100 up to 3.4 GHz, 16GB DDR4 RAM 500GB M.2 SSD Desktop PC, S12 Pro Mini Computers, 4K@60Hz Dual HDMI, USB3.2, WiFi 6 BT5.2, RJ45 LAN, Family-NAS/HTPC

Powerful little box
I had a Lenovo mini-PC that I used for a home theater PC running Plex for several years, and it recently died (HDD failed). I was looking for a relatively cheap replacement that I could get quickly. The Beelink Mini S12 so far (one day in) is looking like it provides plenty of performance at a budget-friendly price, and is easy to set up.Out of the box, I just plugged in a BT dongle for a mouse and keyboard, ethernet, HDMI and power, and I was setting up Windows 11. In less than an hour I had all the Windows updates downloaded and installed. In short order I was able to install Plex and get it connected to my media storage NAS, and even installed Docker Desktop to run a private MineCraft server.Time will tell if this is a durable device (as I said, I’ve had it running less than 24 hours at this point). But it’s small, silent, and doesn’t seem to produce any appreciable heat (always a concern in such a compact device). It lacks a dedicated GPU but the chipset didn’t seem to have any problems with displaying anything. I didn’t run any high-intensity graphics tasks (no local games or anything), and wouldn’t expect to. But for a HTPC or an inexpensive home server device running docker containers or something, it so far seems like a home run.

Compact, performs well, and very economical
This is my second Beelink mini computer, and I wonder why I didn’t find out about them before the last few years. They are very compact, easy to set up, perform well for my moderate computing needs (including complicated Excel spreadsheets, word processing, email and heavy browser use) and are very economical. Unless a user is a gamer or someone else needing a truly powerful computer, I strongly recommend the Beelink. The one caveat I would mention is that they have limited numbers of USB and HDMI ports, so an extender may be needed, but that’s about the only drawback I’ve experienced.

BeeLink MINI S12 PRO – Good choice for around $160 – Cool, Quiet and Responsive
The confusing number of inexpensive mini PCs leaves the BeeLink MINI S12 PRO buried under the others. This is a new Intel design, the N100 Celeron, that is slightly faster and runs cooler than earlier versions. This Mini PC comes with DDR4 and a SATA M.2 SSD which is one reason why the price is very low. There are more expensive Mini’s with the N100 that use DDR5 and an nVME PCIe SSD, but the speed increase might not be noticeable on a Celeron system like this.If possible, get this with 16GB RAM because that is the maximum. It costs about $33 for a 16GB RAM module to upgrade this, so it is worth spending $10 to $20 extra and buying the 16GB version. Despite the specified limit of a 2 TB SSD and 2 TB SATA drive, I found that a 4TB M.2 SATA III SSD works fine and a 4TB 70mm SATA SSD works fine too. Mechanical hard disks above 2TB are typically too large to fit in this Mini PC. You will also find that the M.2 SATA III SSDs above 2TB are expensive. I found only one less expensive KingSpec 4TB SATA III SSD for around $200 instead of the typical $300. Getting a different Mini with M.2 nVME PCIe may be a better choice if you plan to upgrade the storage above 2TB. The 2TB M.2 modules cost around $90 to $100 whether they are SATA or nVME.You can use Windows 11 with 128GB of storage, but that doesn’t leave much room for storing files. I would consider 256GB the bare minimum, and 512GB is more reasonable. 1TB is plenty for most people. Above 1TB gets expensive compared to the price of this Mini. If you are planning to upgrade the storage, then buy the least expensive version with the least storage, though you may end up getting 8GB of RAM that you want to upgrade for another $33. If you can afford to spend more, it is probably better to spend it on a better processor, or better graphics (meaning a different Mini PC) rather than storage you may never use.This Mini PC is perky and responsive running Windows 11. It can run virtual machines because it has the Intel virtual hardware extensions. It can also use Windows 11 Core Isolation for better security, but that may interfere with virtual machine software. This Mini PC is OK for viewing videos, but it is barely adequate for any 3D gaming or rendering. This is not the PC to get if you need even moderately powerful graphics processing.I bought this model because it was inexpensive, but still quite usable. It also happened to let me use a few parts I had bought for a different Mini PC. If you are starting from scratch, this is the best really inexpensive PC, but you will get more for your money buying a somewhat more expensive Mini with DDR5 and an M.2 nVME SSD.For gaming or heavy graphics processing, video encoding and 3D, you are better off to get one of the Ryzen based minis. Intel’s UHD graphics is good, but not great compared to what AMD offers.There is a lot to love about this Mini PC, especially the price. But, you are not going be amazed by the speed, just pleased that it is responsive and didn’t cost a lot of money.If you already bought the earlier MINI S version, you can do what I did and move your upgraded RAM and storage to this Mini to get a 20% speed increase, less power use and a cooler PC. It is not possible to do that with the somewhat more expensive DDR5 and nVME Minis that use the N100.If you are wondering about the possible upgrades, this Mini PC comes with 8GB or 16GB of single-channel DDR4 RAM. The maximum RAM is 16GB single-channel and there is ONLY one SODIMM slot. You can’t add 8GB. You have to replace the 8GB SODIMM with a 16GB SODIMM. RAM is not “storage”, and it is used only for temporarily holding data and programs being used by the processor. If you are going to use multiple programs at the same time, or access large files, more RAM can improve the speed.The storage is divided into two different SATA (Serial ATA) devices that are both a completely different size and type. The Mini PC comes with an installed M.2 SATA III SSD that is a long thin board screwed down to the main board. You can replace the M.2 SATA III SSD with a larger SATA III SSD, but NOT an nVME or PCIe SSD. There is a rubbery heat conductive pad on top of the M.2 SSD board that you should move to any new M.2 SSD board that you install. Position the pad on top of the chips that get the hottest, or so that it covers the majority of the chips on the board. The SSD board still may heat up to between 50c and 60c with the pad in place.The second SATA device can be a “normal” sized SATA SSD or hard disk that goes into a slot in the bottom of the Mini PC (after you unscrew and open the bottom of the case). There is no SSD installed in that slot when you get the PC. There are definite size limitations, so check carefully to see whether a particular disk will fit. Typically SATA SSDs are about 70mm thick, and those will fit. Mechanical drives that fit are 2.5 inches and 70mm thick. Most mechanical drives above 2TB are too thick or large to fit.WARNING: If you open the bottom of the case, only open it gently, less than an inch. There is a cable attached between the bottom and the rest of the case. Look to see which side has the cable, and then fold the bottom over so that the cable is not being pulled on. There is a rubber pull tab on the bottom of the case, but I found that the mounting screw holes work better with a small screwdriver to pry the back up a little bit. After you open the bottom, you will see the SSD slot on the bottom, and the M.2 slot on the main board.The other potential problem besides yanking out the cable is the SATA connector on the bottom cover. In theory, you remove the metal plate and slide a SATA disk or SSD into the connector. However, I found that the SATA connector is often not aligned properly, and is probably not adjusted by the manufacturer. DO NOT try to force the disk drive into the SATA connector. If it isn’t lined up, remove the metal cover plate and slightly loosen the screws holding in the SATA connector board. Don’t remove the screws completely. Position the drive against the connector, and use your fingers on the back of the SATA connector board to wiggle it until it slides onto the disk’s SATA connector. Make sure the disk is fully seated into the slot in the back cover. It should be laying flat. Gently hold the disk in position and tighten the screws on the connector board. Then you can put the metal cover back on. While you may be able to slide the disk drive out of the slot without removing the metal cover, it is better to remove that. Also, you may have to readjust the connector board if you plug in a different disk drive.This Mini PC isn’t perfect, but overall it is well designed so that you can easily upgrade the RAM and storage. Its biggest limitation is the use of older SATA M.2 storage and DDR4 RAM possibly sacrificing some speed. Keep in mind that both the storage and RAM are becoming obsolete and might not be available or inexpensive later. Compare this to a similar BeeLink model EQ12 that has DDR5 RAM for a bit more money.