Beelink GTR6 Ryzen 9 6900HX mini PC review: Faster than most Intel NUCs
Unlike the smaller Beelink SEi or SER series powered by U-series processors, the GTR series consists of models powered by faster H-series processors. The GTR6 directly succeeds the older GTR5 with both an upgraded CPU (Zen 3 Ryzen 9 5900HX to Zen 3+ Ryzen 9 6900HX) and a slight chassis redesign. Our benchmarks below will show it to be one of the fastest mini PCs in Beelink's extensive lineup.
Our unit in review is a fully configured GTR6 complete with 32 GB of RAM and 512 GB NVMe SSD for approximately $750 USD. All options come with the same Ryzen 9 6900HX CPU and integrated Radeon 680M GPU. The GTR6 competes directly with Intel NUCs powered by integrated graphics.
More Beelink reviews:
Potential Competitors in Comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
11/2022 | Beelink GTR6 R9 6900HX, Radeon 680M | 815 g | 43 mm | x | |||
09/2022 | Beelink SEi11 Pro i5-11320H, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 440 g | 40 mm | x | |||
01/2022 | Beelink GTR5 R9 5900HX, Vega 8 | 686 g | 39 mm | x | |||
04/2021 | Intel NUC11PHKi7C i7-1165G7, GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile | 1.4 kg | 42 mm | x | |||
04/2021 | Intel NUC11TNKi5 i5-1135G7, Iris Xe G7 80EUs | 504 g | 37 mm | x | |||
03/2021 | GMK NucBox 2 i5-8259U, Iris Plus Graphics 655 | 430 g | 50 mm | x |
Case — New Soft Mesh Top
The case feels strong with its metal sides and breathable soft mesh on top for airflow. The latter in particular is a first for Beelink as previous mini PCs from the company would feature plastic or metal tops instead. The removable mesh adds an element of quality or luxuriousness to the overall design.
The GTR6 is thicker and heavier than the GTR5 and most Intel NUC models. The larger size is partly due to the more demanding AMD HX processor when compared to the Intel Core U series.
Connectivity — No Thunderbolt
Port options are excellent with four individual HDMI 2.1 ports supporting up to 8K monitors at 60 Hz. There is only one USB-C port, however, and the LAN port is only 1 Gbps whereas many NUC models now support 10 Gbps.
Thunderbolt is not supported because of the AMD CPU.
Communication — Wi-Fi 6E Standard
A MediaTek RZ608 comes standard for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity. Transfer rates are steady albeit slower than most Intel AX201/210 solutions.
The RZ608 on our test unit was slow to detect our 6 GHz AXE11000 network even after updating to the latest drivers at the time of writing. You may have to wait several minutes before the system can detect and connect to your 6 GHz network.
Networking | |
iperf3 transmit AX12 | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 | |
iperf3 receive AX12 | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 | |
iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro |
Maintenance
The bottom panel is secured by just four Philips screws for easy servicing. However, another plate sits underneath which requires removing another four screws as shown by the pictures below.
Accessories and Warranty
The retail box includes two HDMI cables, a removable VESA mount with extra screws, user's manual, and two additional soft-touch mesh covers for the top of the unit. One of these covers is red to complement the AMD-based hardware and trim color.
Performance — Zen 3+ Upgrade
Testing Conditions
We set our unit to Performance mode via Windows prior to running any benchmarks below. Beelink includes no pre-installed applications for a clean Windows 11 Pro experience. Nonetheless, we still recommend installing the AMD Radeon software for additional settings as shown by the screenshots below.
Processor
CPU performance is unfortunately just a minor step up from the Ryzen 9 5900HX at best. Benchmarks show identical multi-thread performance to the Ryzen 9 5900HX in the Beelink GTR5 and just slightly faster single-thread performance by up to 10 percent. Average multi-thread performance is roughly 15 percent slower than on laptops sporting the same Ryzen 9 6900HX CPU such as on the Lenovo Legion S7 16. Even so, the GTR6 is still one of the fastest mini PCs for the size despite the slight performance setbacks.
Cinebench R15 Multi Loop
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 / 4k Preset | |
MSI GE67 HX 12UGS | |
Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX (12.6 - 18.7, n=20) | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
SCHENKER Vision 14 2022 RTX 3050 Ti | |
Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
Lenovo Legion C7 15IMH05 82EH0030GE | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 |
* ... smaller is better
AIDA64: FP32 Ray-Trace | FPU Julia | CPU SHA3 | CPU Queen | FPU SinJulia | FPU Mandel | CPU AES | CPU ZLib | FP64 Ray-Trace | CPU PhotoWorxx
Performance Rating | |
Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 |
AIDA64 / FP32 Ray-Trace | |
Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX (10950 - 17963, n=20) | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 |
AIDA64 / FPU Julia | |
Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX (71414 - 110797, n=20) | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 |
AIDA64 / CPU SHA3 | |
Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX (2471 - 3804, n=20) | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 |
AIDA64 / CPU Queen | |
Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX (84185 - 107544, n=20) | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 |
AIDA64 / FPU SinJulia | |
Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX (10970 - 13205, n=20) | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 |
AIDA64 / FPU Mandel | |
Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX (39164 - 61370, n=20) | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 |
AIDA64 / CPU AES | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX (54613 - 142360, n=20) | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 |
AIDA64 / CPU ZLib | |
Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX (578 - 911, n=20) | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
GMK NucBox 2 |
AIDA64 / FP64 Ray-Trace | |
Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX (5798 - 9540, n=20) | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 |
AIDA64 / CPU PhotoWorxx | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX (26873 - 30604, n=20) | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 |
System Performance
PCMark 10 results are consistently higher than on last year's GTR5 especially in the Digital Content Creation subtest where graphics performance matters most.
CrossMark: Overall | Productivity | Creativity | Responsiveness
PCMark 10 / Score | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX, AMD Radeon 680M (6251 - 7109, n=7) | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 |
PCMark 10 / Essentials | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX, AMD Radeon 680M (10029 - 11323, n=7) | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 |
PCMark 10 / Productivity | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX, AMD Radeon 680M (9550 - 10210, n=7) | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
GMK NucBox 2 | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 |
PCMark 10 / Digital Content Creation | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX, AMD Radeon 680M (6920 - 8703, n=7) | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 |
CrossMark / Overall | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX, AMD Radeon 680M (1476 - 1731, n=7) | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro |
CrossMark / Productivity | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX, AMD Radeon 680M (1451 - 1738, n=7) | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro |
CrossMark / Creativity | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX, AMD Radeon 680M (1632 - 1745, n=7) | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro |
CrossMark / Responsiveness | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX, AMD Radeon 680M (1060 - 1671, n=7) | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Beelink GTR5 |
PCMark 10 Score | 7109 points | |
Help |
AIDA64 / Memory Copy | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX (47938 - 53345, n=20) | |
GMK NucBox 2 | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 |
AIDA64 / Memory Read | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX (43892 - 53321, n=20) | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
GMK NucBox 2 | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 |
AIDA64 / Memory Write | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX (51085 - 57202, n=20) | |
GMK NucBox 2 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 |
AIDA64 / Memory Latency | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Average AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX (80.7 - 120.6, n=20) | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 |
* ... smaller is better
DPC Latency
There are minor DPC issues when opening multiple browser tabs on our homepage. 4K video playback at 60 FPS is otherwise excellent with just 2 dropped frames during our minute-long test video. Processor utilization is very low relative to PCs powered by slower U-series CPUs.
DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
GMK NucBox 2 | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Beelink GTR5 |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Devices — SSD Cooling Included
Our unit ships with a 512 GB Kingston KC3000 PCIe4 x4 NVMe SSD offering sequential read and write rates of up to 7000 MB/s and 4000 MB/s, respectively. The drive exhibits no issues sustaining maximum transfer rates for extended periods since a dedicated SSD heat sink and thermal pad come preinstalled.
Drive Performance Rating - Percent | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 |
* ... smaller is better
Disk Throttling: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
GPU Performance — Fastest Integrated Graphics
The Radeon 680M continues to impress with results that are roughly 60 percent faster than the outgoing Radeon RX Vega 8 in the the last generation Ryzen 9 5900HX. This puts the new integrated AMD GPU well ahead of any Intel Iris Xe 96 EUs solution by 50 percent or more. Dedicated low-end GPUs like the GeForce GTX 1060 or GTX 1650 are still much faster, but the 680M is impressive nonetheless for an integrated GPU. Most titles are playable on low to low-medium settings at 1080p resolution including even Cyberpunk 2077.
3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance GPU | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Desktop PC Intel Xeon E5 2680v4 KFA2 GTX 1060 6GB | |
KFA2 GeForce GTX 1650 EX One Click Plus | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (6858 - 11605, n=32) | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 |
3DMark 11 Performance | 10640 points | |
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 32988 points | |
3DMark Fire Strike Score | 6424 points | |
3DMark Time Spy Score | 2735 points | |
Help |
Blender | |
v3.3 Classroom HIP/AMD | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (270 - 555, n=29) | |
v3.3 Classroom CPU | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (389 - 572, n=29) | |
Beelink GTR6 |
* ... smaller is better
Performance Rating - Percent | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro -1! | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 -3! | |
GMK NucBox 2 -3! |
The Witcher 3 - 1920x1080 Ultra Graphics & Postprocessing (HBAO+) | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro |
GTA V - 1920x1080 Highest Settings possible AA:4xMSAA + FX AF:16x | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Beelink GTR5 |
Final Fantasy XV Benchmark - 1920x1080 High Quality | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 |
Strange Brigade - 1920x1080 ultra AA:ultra AF:16 | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro |
Dota 2 Reborn - 1920x1080 ultra (3/3) best looking | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 |
X-Plane 11.11 - 1920x1080 high (fps_test=3) | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 |
Final Fantasy XV Benchmark | |
1280x720 Lite Quality | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (34.4 - 74.7, n=31) | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 | |
1920x1080 Standard Quality | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (18.3 - 36.9, n=32) | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 | |
1920x1080 High Quality | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (12.9 - 25.9, n=32) | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 |
The Witcher 3 | |
1024x768 Low Graphics & Postprocessing | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (67.4 - 150, n=29) | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
1366x768 Medium Graphics & Postprocessing | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (44.5 - 85.1, n=22) | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
1920x1080 High Graphics & Postprocessing (Nvidia HairWorks Off) | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (22.3 - 48, n=31) | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
1920x1080 Ultra Graphics & Postprocessing (HBAO+) | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (14.3 - 27.1, n=31) | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro |
GTA V | |
1024x768 Lowest Settings possible | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (67.7 - 155.4, n=28) | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
1920x1080 Lowest Settings possible | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (56.9 - 115.8, n=20) | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
1366x768 Normal/Off AF:4x | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (60.7 - 143.9, n=25) | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
1920x1080 Normal/Off AF:4x | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (54.9 - 117.3, n=20) | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
1920x1080 High/On (Advanced Graphics Off) AA:2xMSAA + FX AF:8x | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (25.9 - 99.1, n=28) | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
1920x1080 Highest Settings possible AA:4xMSAA + FX AF:16x | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (11.3 - 24.8, n=28) | |
Beelink GTR5 |
Dota 2 Reborn | |
1280x720 min (0/3) fastest | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (34.4 - 143.3, n=33) | |
GMK NucBox 2 | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
1366x768 med (1/3) | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (33.3 - 121.4, n=33) | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
GMK NucBox 2 | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
1920x1080 high (2/3) | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (33.2 - 89.1, n=33) | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 | |
1920x1080 ultra (3/3) best looking | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (33.2 - 84.9, n=33) | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 |
Cyberpunk 2077 1.6 | |
1280x720 Low Preset | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (46.1 - 77.6, n=14) | |
1920x1080 Low Preset | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (26 - 50.6, n=15) | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
1920x1080 Medium Preset | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (20.1 - 41.8, n=15) | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
1920x1080 High Preset | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (16.3 - 33.6, n=15) | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
1920x1080 Ultra Preset | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (14 - 23.8, n=15) | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro |
X-Plane 11.11 | |
1280x720 low (fps_test=1) | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (26.8 - 66.7, n=33) | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 | |
1920x1080 med (fps_test=2) | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (21.1 - 53.1, n=33) | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 | |
1920x1080 high (fps_test=3) | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (16.6 - 43.1, n=33) | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
GMK NucBox 2 |
Strange Brigade | |
1280x720 lowest AF:1 | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (72.9 - 167.5, n=31) | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
1920x1080 medium AA:medium AF:4 | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (30 - 63, n=31) | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
1920x1080 high AA:high AF:8 | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (25.3 - 53.1, n=31) | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
1920x1080 ultra AA:ultra AF:16 | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink GTR6 | |
Average AMD Radeon 680M (22 - 44.2, n=31) | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro |
Witcher 3 FPS Chart
low | med. | high | ultra | |
GTA V (2015) | 152.6 | 138 | 51.8 | 23.7 |
The Witcher 3 (2015) | 139.2 | 84 | 46 | 27.1 |
Dota 2 Reborn (2015) | 141.9 | 112.7 | 80.9 | 71.4 |
Final Fantasy XV Benchmark (2018) | 68.5 | 34.9 | 24.5 | |
X-Plane 11.11 (2018) | 64.8 | 52.6 | 41.8 | |
Strange Brigade (2018) | 142.4 | 57.4 | 48.5 | 41.6 |
Cyberpunk 2077 1.6 (2022) | 43 | 33 | 22.3 | 17.5 |
Emissions
System Noise
Fan noise is perhaps in need of most attention from the manufacturer. The GTR6 is constantly pulsing between 23 dB(A) to as high as 36 dB(A) even when there is no onscreen activity. The changes in fan noise is noticeable and distracting if simply web browsing or video streaming. Most other mini PCs have superior fan controls and RPM behavior than the GTR6.
Fan noise would stabilize in the low 40 dB(A) range when gaming which is at least comparable to many Ultrabooks and the older GTR5 under similar testing conditions. It's just too bad the fan pulses so frequently during low to low-medium loads.
Noise Level
Idle |
| 23.6 / 23.8 / 36.2 dB(A) |
Load |
| 39.7 / 43 dB(A) |
| ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min: , med: , max: Earthworks M23R, Arta (15 cm distance) environment noise: 23.2 dB(A) |
Beelink GTR6 Radeon 680M, R9 6900HX, Kingston KC3000 512G SKC3000S512G | Beelink SEi11 Pro Iris Xe G7 96EUs, i5-11320H, Kingston NV1 SNVS/500GCN | Beelink GTR5 Vega 8, R9 5900HX, Kingston NV1 SNVS/500GCN | Intel NUC11PHKi7C GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile, i7-1165G7, Samsung SSD 980 Pro 500GB MZ-V8P500BW | Intel NUC11TNKi5 Iris Xe G7 80EUs, i5-1135G7, Transcend M.2 SSD 430S TS512GMTS430S | GMK NucBox 2 Iris Plus Graphics 655, i5-8259U, Netac S930E8/256GPN | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Noise | 10% | -14% | 2% | -14% | 5% | |
off / environment * | 23.2 | 22.8 2% | 23.1 -0% | 24.5 -6% | 24.8 -7% | 25.6 -10% |
Idle Minimum * | 23.6 | 24.7 -5% | 34.2 -45% | 25.3 -7% | 35.6 -51% | 25.7 -9% |
Idle Average * | 23.8 | 24.7 -4% | 34.2 -44% | 25.3 -6% | 35.6 -50% | 25.7 -8% |
Idle Maximum * | 36.2 | 25.3 30% | 34.2 6% | 25.3 30% | 35.6 2% | 25.7 29% |
Load Average * | 39.7 | 33.2 16% | 44.6 -12% | 36.4 8% | 36.2 9% | 35.3 11% |
Witcher 3 ultra * | 41 | 34.5 16% | 41.4 -1% | 39.7 3% | 38 7% | |
Load Maximum * | 43 | 37.8 12% | 45.1 -5% | 47.9 -11% | 47.6 -11% | 35.1 18% |
* ... smaller is better
Temperature
Surface temperature is not an issue as it is never uncomfortably warm. However, keep in mind that cool air enters from the top and so it's not recommended to place any books or items on top of the unit. Be sure to leave ample room behind the unit as well where waste heat exits.
Stress Test
When stressed with Prime95, the CPU would boost to 3.4 GHz and 45 W for just a few seconds before stabilizing at 3.1 GHz, 38 W, and 66 C. There is definitely room for end-user overclocking as the manufacturer has seemingly set a conservative temperature ceiling when on the default settings.
GPU clock rate and temperature would stabilize at 1977 MHz and a reasonably cool 56 C, respectively, when running Witcher 3 to represent typical gaming loads.
CPU Clock (GHz) | GPU Clock (MHz) | Average CPU Temperature (°C) | |
System Idle | -- | -- | 28 |
Prime95 Stress | 3.2 | -- | 66 |
Prime95 + FurMark Stress | 2.7 | 1042 | 60 |
Witcher 3 Stress | ~0.8 | 1977 | 56 |
Energy Management
Power Consumption
Overall consumption is nearly identical to what we recorded on the GTR5 despite the 60 percent increase in graphics performance. In other words, the GTR6 is able to provide significantly faster graphics performance than its predecessor under the same power envelope for much higher performance-per-watt. Power consumption is still much higher than most laptops and mini PCs powered by Intel Core U CPUs and the Iris Xe 96 EUs, however, which explains the larger physical size of the GTR6 relative to many Intel NUCs.
We're able to record a temporary maximum draw of 81 W from the medium-sized (~14.4 x 6.3 x 3 cm) 120 W AC adapter when the CPU is at 100 percent utilization.
Off / Standby | 0.86 / 1.5 Watt |
Idle | 7.6 / 9.9 / 10.6 Watt |
Load |
64 / 80.4 Watt |
Beelink GTR6 R9 6900HX, Radeon 680M, Kingston KC3000 512G SKC3000S512G, , x, | Beelink SEi11 Pro i5-11320H, Iris Xe G7 96EUs, Kingston NV1 SNVS/500GCN, , x, | Beelink GTR5 R9 5900HX, Vega 8, Kingston NV1 SNVS/500GCN, , x, | Intel NUC11PHKi7C i7-1165G7, GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile, Samsung SSD 980 Pro 500GB MZ-V8P500BW, , x, | Intel NUC11TNKi5 i5-1135G7, Iris Xe G7 80EUs, Transcend M.2 SSD 430S TS512GMTS430S, , x, | GMK NucBox 2 i5-8259U, Iris Plus Graphics 655, Netac S930E8/256GPN, , x, | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Power Consumption | 6% | 8% | -73% | -3% | 29% | |
Idle Minimum * | 7.6 | 9.8 -29% | 6.2 18% | 5.8 24% | 11.5 -51% | 6.1 20% |
Idle Average * | 9.9 | 10.3 -4% | 8.9 10% | 5.9 40% | 12.4 -25% | 6.8 31% |
Idle Maximum * | 10.6 | 10.5 1% | 9 15% | 20.7 -95% | 12.9 -22% | 7.3 31% |
Load Average * | 64 | 54.2 15% | 66.8 -4% | 130.8 -104% | 40.7 36% | 46.3 28% |
Witcher 3 ultra * | 69 | 53.1 23% | 62.6 9% | 154.4 -124% | 43.9 36% | |
Load Maximum * | 80.4 | 59 27% | 81.6 -1% | 225.2 -180% | 73.5 9% | 50.7 37% |
* ... smaller is better
Power Consumption Witcher 3 / Stresstest
Power Consumption external Monitor
Pros
Cons
Verdict — All About That GPU
The main advantage of choosing the Beelink GTR6 over the GTR5 is for its significantly improved integrated graphics. Otherwise, the Zen 3+ Ryzen 9 6900HX offers just marginally faster processor performance than the Zen 3 Ryzen 9 5900HX. If you plan on mostly streaming content to your mini PC with the occasional moderate multitasking, then the GTR5 has more than enough power for your purposes. If you plan on running games locally or other GPU-intensive tasks, then the GTR6 may be worth the investment.
Price is another major factor to consider. For $750 USD, the GTR6 comes complete with RAM, SSD, licensed Windows 11 Pro, and a faster CPU and integrated GPU than most Intel NUC options including even the latest 12th gen NUC Pro models. Beelink even offers a barebone SKU with no RAM or storage for just $540.
The AMD Radeon 680M GPU is the highlight of the Beelink GTR6. Performance-per-dollar is high relative to competing Intel NUCs in the same $750 price range.
Fan noise is perhaps our biggest complaint about the GTR6 as it pulses for seemingly no reason when the system is idling or running undemanding loads. Otherwise, the performance-per-dollar and feature set of the GTR6 are both very competitive.
Price and Availability
The Beelink GTR6 is now shipping in our exact configuration on Amazon for $999 USD or just $749 USD if purchased directly from the manufacturer.