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MagyarGEEKOM MiniAir 11 Hands-on Review
GEEKOM is known for its compact mini PCs, including the recently launched MiniAir 11 and Mini IT11. Today, we will take a look at the former. The MiniAir 11 is a tiny desktop powered by an Intel Celeron N5095. Let's see if the power-efficient chip has what it takes to tackle the demands of the typical home user.
Since this is a shorter hands-on review, we will take a quick look at the MiniAir 11's performance, build quality, and our overall impression. We will not attribute a final rating to the MiniAir 11. The review unit was provided by GEEKOM.
potential competitors in comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
08/2022 | Geekom MiniAir 11 Celeron N5095, UHD Graphics (Jasper Lake 16 EU) | 524 g | 34.2 mm | x | |||
06/2022 | Beelink U59 Mini-S Celeron N5095, UHD Graphics (Jasper Lake 16 EU) | 279 g | 41 mm | x | |||
07/2022 | Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico Celeron N6211, UHD Graphics (Elkhart Lake 16 EU) | 293 g | 20.7 mm | x | |||
02/2022 | GMK NucBox 3 Celeron J4125, UHD Graphics 600 | 410 g | 32.5 mm | x | |||
02/2022 | Newsmay AC8 N6005 Pentium N6005, UHD Graphics (Jasper Lake 32 EU) | 534 g | 48 mm | x | |||
06/2022 | Nofflink M500-5405U Pentium 5405U, UHD Graphics 610 | 657 g | 39 mm | x |
Case and Connectivity
Like GEEKOM's other mini PCs, the MiniAir 11 is well-built. The case is made from a thick plastic that doesn't bend when depressed. The sides and bottom have a slightly textured matte finish that hides smudges, but the glossy top readily shoes fingerprints. Its black and gray coloration helps the MiniAir 11 blend into an office aesthetic. GEEKOM includes a VESA mounting plate, so the MiniAir 11 can be attached to the back of compatible monitors.
Port selection is quite good considering the desktop's compact footprint. The inclusion of two USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) ports is a nice touch not often seen at this price point, as are the SD card slot and two display hookups (one HDMI 2.0, one mini DisplayPort 1.4). The front USB ports are well-spaced, allowing bulky USB accessories to fit. However, the two USB-A ports on the back don't have much room for clearance, so thicker drives or connectors may not fit next to each other.
Connectivity
There is a good array of ports. The inclusion of two USB-C ports and three USB-A ports allows for a lot of peripheral connections. The labels on the USB ports are a nice touch; users can tell at a glance whether a USB port is USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) or USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps). The inclusion of both HDMI 2.0 and Mini DisplayPort 1.4 supports up to two 4K monitors at 60 Hz. A Gigabit LAN port and SD card slot are welcome additions. SD cards stick out about halfway from the slot.
Maintenance
Maintenance is a snap. Four retained Phillips Head screws hold the bottom plate on. Once these are unscrewed, the bottom plate can be pulled out. Users will have access to two DDR4 RAM slots (1.2 V) and the M.2 drive.
Performance
The GEEKOM MiniAir 11 offers good everyday performance without breaking the bank. Thanks to its 11th Gen Celeron CPU, 8 GB of DDR4 RAM, and solid SATA M.2 drive, the MiniAir can tackle web browsing and office work without much fuss.
Processor
The Intel Celeron N5095 is one of the latest low-powered CPUs from Intel. The 10 nm chip focuses on reducing the cost while balancing performance against heat output and power consumption. To that end, the quad-core chip carves out a good position in the budget segment. The 15 Watt Jasper Lake silicon scores above other Celeron CPUs in Cinebench and competes well against the Pentium Silver N6005 in single-core tests. However, the N5095 bests the Pentium Silver N6005 in multi-core benchmarks by about 15%.
As expected, the Celeron N5095 falls far short of mid-range chips like the Ryzen 5 3550H and the Core i5-11400T.
The MiniAir 11 offers stable long-term multi-core CPU performance, as evidenced in our Cinebench R15 loop test.
Cinebench R15 Multi Loop
Cinebench R15: CPU Single 64Bit | CPU Multi 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 -mmt1 | 7z b 4
Geekbench 5.5: Single-Core | Multi-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
| Cinebench R20 / CPU (Single Core) | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Average of class Desktop (174 - 853, n=27, last 2 years) | |
| Beelink SER4 | |
| Newsmay Neosmay S2-B560TPM | |
| Beelink SEi8 | |
| Beelink GTR35 II-G-16512D00W64PRO-1T | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| Geekom MiniAir 11 | |
| Average Intel Celeron N5095 (228 - 239, n=5) | |
| Beelink U59 Mini-S | |
| Nofflink M500-5405U | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
| GMK NucBox 3 | |
| Chuwi LarkBox 4K Mini PC | |
| Cinebench R20 / CPU (Multi Core) | |
| Average of class Desktop (285 - 14891, n=27, last 2 years) | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Beelink SER4 | |
| Beelink GTR35 II-G-16512D00W64PRO-1T | |
| Newsmay Neosmay S2-B560TPM | |
| Geekom MiniAir 11 | |
| Average Intel Celeron N5095 (804 - 844, n=5) | |
| Beelink U59 Mini-S | |
| Beelink SEi8 | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| Chuwi LarkBox 4K Mini PC | |
| Nofflink M500-5405U | |
| GMK NucBox 3 | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
| Cinebench R15 / CPU Single 64Bit | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Average of class Desktop (76 - 319, n=31, last 2 years) | |
| Beelink SER4 | |
| Newsmay Neosmay S2-B560TPM | |
| Beelink GTR35 II-G-16512D00W64PRO-1T | |
| Beelink SEi8 | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| Geekom MiniAir 11 | |
| Average Intel Celeron N5095 (95.4 - 109, n=5) | |
| Beelink U59 Mini-S | |
| Nofflink M500-5405U | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
| Chuwi LarkBox 4K Mini PC | |
| GMK NucBox 3 | |
| Cinebench R15 / CPU Multi 64Bit | |
| Average of class Desktop (128 - 6236, n=31, last 2 years) | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Beelink SER4 | |
| Beelink GTR35 II-G-16512D00W64PRO-1T | |
| Newsmay Neosmay S2-B560TPM | |
| Geekom MiniAir 11 | |
| Beelink U59 Mini-S | |
| Average Intel Celeron N5095 (221 - 379, n=6) | |
| Beelink SEi8 | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| Chuwi LarkBox 4K Mini PC | |
| Nofflink M500-5405U | |
| GMK NucBox 3 | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
| Blender / v2.79 BMW27 CPU | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
| GMK NucBox 3 | |
| Chuwi LarkBox 4K Mini PC | |
| Nofflink M500-5405U | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| Beelink U59 Mini-S | |
| Average Intel Celeron N5095 (1502 - 1624, n=5) | |
| Geekom MiniAir 11 | |
| Beelink SEi8 | |
| Newsmay Neosmay S2-B560TPM | |
| Beelink GTR35 II-G-16512D00W64PRO-1T | |
| Average of class Desktop (82 - 3767, n=29, last 2 years) | |
| Beelink SER4 | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| 7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 -mmt1 | |
| Average of class Desktop (2563 - 8211, n=25, last 2 years) | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Beelink SER4 | |
| Newsmay Neosmay S2-B560TPM | |
| Beelink SEi8 | |
| Beelink GTR35 II-G-16512D00W64PRO-1T | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| Beelink U59 Mini-S | |
| Geekom MiniAir 11 | |
| Average Intel Celeron N5095 (2935 - 3124, n=5) | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
| Nofflink M500-5405U | |
| GMK NucBox 3 | |
| Chuwi LarkBox 4K Mini PC | |
| 7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 | |
| Average of class Desktop (3974 - 158242, n=25, last 2 years) | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Beelink SER4 | |
| Newsmay Neosmay S2-B560TPM | |
| Beelink GTR35 II-G-16512D00W64PRO-1T | |
| Average Intel Celeron N5095 (10924 - 11168, n=5) | |
| Geekom MiniAir 11 | |
| Beelink U59 Mini-S | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| Beelink SEi8 | |
| Chuwi LarkBox 4K Mini PC | |
| Nofflink M500-5405U | |
| GMK NucBox 3 | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
| Geekbench 5.5 / Single-Core | |
| Average of class Desktop (556 - 2241, n=26, last 2 years) | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Beelink SER4 | |
| Newsmay Neosmay S2-B560TPM | |
| Beelink GTR35 II-G-16512D00W64PRO-1T | |
| Beelink SEi8 | |
| Geekom MiniAir 11 | |
| Average Intel Celeron N5095 (637 - 659, n=4) | |
| Beelink U59 Mini-S | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| Nofflink M500-5405U | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
| GMK NucBox 3 | |
| Chuwi LarkBox 4K Mini PC | |
| Geekbench 5.5 / Multi-Core | |
| Average of class Desktop (844 - 24033, n=26, last 2 years) | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Beelink SER4 | |
| Newsmay Neosmay S2-B560TPM | |
| Beelink GTR35 II-G-16512D00W64PRO-1T | |
| Geekom MiniAir 11 | |
| Average Intel Celeron N5095 (1933 - 2052, n=4) | |
| Beelink U59 Mini-S | |
| Beelink SEi8 | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| Chuwi LarkBox 4K Mini PC | |
| Nofflink M500-5405U | |
| GMK NucBox 3 | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
| HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 / 4k Preset | |
| Average of class Desktop (0.88 - 44, n=25, last 2 years) | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Beelink SER4 | |
| Newsmay Neosmay S2-B560TPM | |
| Beelink GTR35 II-G-16512D00W64PRO-1T | |
| Beelink SEi8 | |
| Beelink U59 Mini-S | |
| Average Intel Celeron N5095 (1.9 - 2.05, n=5) | |
| Geekom MiniAir 11 | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| Chuwi LarkBox 4K Mini PC | |
| GMK NucBox 3 | |
| Nofflink M500-5405U | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
| LibreOffice / 20 Documents To PDF | |
| GMK NucBox 3 | |
| Chuwi LarkBox 4K Mini PC | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
| Nofflink M500-5405U | |
| Geekom MiniAir 11 | |
| Beelink U59 Mini-S | |
| Average Intel Celeron N5095 (97 - 107.9, n=5) | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| Beelink SEi8 | |
| Beelink GTR35 II-G-16512D00W64PRO-1T | |
| Beelink SER4 | |
| Newsmay Neosmay S2-B560TPM | |
| Average of class Desktop (33.6 - 144.7, n=25, last 2 years) | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| R Benchmark 2.5 / Overall mean | |
| GMK NucBox 3 | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
| Nofflink M500-5405U | |
| Beelink U59 Mini-S | |
| Average Intel Celeron N5095 (1.16 - 1.2, n=5) | |
| Geekom MiniAir 11 | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| Beelink SEi8 | |
| Newsmay Neosmay S2-B560TPM | |
| Beelink GTR35 II-G-16512D00W64PRO-1T | |
| Average of class Desktop (0.356 - 1.371, n=25, last 2 years) | |
| Beelink SER4 | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
Cinebench R15: CPU Single 64Bit | CPU Multi 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 -mmt1 | 7z b 4
Geekbench 5.5: Single-Core | Multi-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
* ... smaller is better
System Performance
Overall system performance is good and is adequate for general home use. There are a few hiccups across the UI, such as pulling up the Start menu from a cold boot. Loading some programs takes a little bit of time. General web browsing is quick enough that most won't complain. Compared to other budget-class mini desktops, the MiniAir 11 offers competitive performance but lags a bit behind competitors in PCMark 10.
| PCMark 10 / Score | |
| Average of class Desktop (2317 - 10153, n=21, last 2 years) | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| Beelink U59 Mini-S | |
| Average Intel Celeron N5095, Intel UHD Graphics (Jasper Lake 16 EU) (2317 - 2417, n=5) | |
| Nofflink M500-5405U | |
| Geekom MiniAir 11 | |
| GMK NucBox 3 | |
| PCMark 10 / Essentials | |
| Average of class Desktop (5425 - 12421, n=20, last 2 years) | |
| Beelink U59 Mini-S | |
| Average Intel Celeron N5095, Intel UHD Graphics (Jasper Lake 16 EU) (5516 - 5874, n=5) | |
| Geekom MiniAir 11 | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| Nofflink M500-5405U | |
| GMK NucBox 3 | |
| PCMark 10 / Productivity | |
| Average of class Desktop (3454 - 12564, n=20, last 2 years) | |
| Nofflink M500-5405U | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| Beelink U59 Mini-S | |
| Average Intel Celeron N5095, Intel UHD Graphics (Jasper Lake 16 EU) (3454 - 3666, n=5) | |
| Geekom MiniAir 11 | |
| GMK NucBox 3 | |
| PCMark 10 / Digital Content Creation | |
| Average of class Desktop (1633 - 20009, n=20, last 2 years) | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| Beelink U59 Mini-S | |
| Average Intel Celeron N5095, Intel UHD Graphics (Jasper Lake 16 EU) (1752 - 1787, n=5) | |
| Geekom MiniAir 11 | |
| Nofflink M500-5405U | |
| GMK NucBox 3 | |
| PCMark 10 Score | 2317 points | |
Help | ||
DPC Latency
The MiniAir 11 is not well-suited for real-time audio editing based on how it performs during our LatencyMon test.
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
| Geekom MiniAir 11 | |
| GMK NucBox 3 | |
| Beelink U59 Mini-S | |
| Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
| Nofflink M500-5405U | |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Devices
The included M.2 SATA SSD offers reasonably quick load times but is nothing special. It can easily be swapped, and the MiniAir 11's single M.2 2280 drive slot supports either SATA III or NVMe drives.
| Geekom MiniAir 11 NF830 256GB M.2 2280 | Beelink U59 Mini-S Silicon Motion AZW 256G M.228 220426 C SATA 3 | Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico SanDisk DF4128 | GMK NucBox 3 Netac S535N8/256GYN | Nofflink M500-5405U Qunion P20A NGFF 512GB | Newsmay AC8 N6005 Lexar 128GB SSD | Average NF830 256GB M.2 2280 | Average of class Desktop | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6 | 13% | -62% | 3% | 30% | -20% | 9% | 399% | |
| Write 4K | 25.58 | 48.42 89% | 15.35 -40% | 62.3 144% | 72.7 184% | 71 178% | 30.7 ? 20% | 171.7 ? 571% |
| Read 4K | 12.78 | 15.02 18% | 15.03 18% | 16.91 32% | 22.98 80% | 18.35 44% | 17.7 ? 38% | 102 ? 698% |
| Write Seq | 389.5 | 417.6 7% | 107.5 -72% | 284.9 -27% | 414.9 7% | 64.6 -83% | 373 ? -4% | 1882 ? 383% |
| Read Seq | 478.4 | 445.2 -7% | 265.6 -44% | 344.1 -28% | 472.1 -1% | 416.3 -13% | 459 ? -4% | 1915 ? 300% |
| Write 4K Q32T1 | 174 | 166.1 -5% | 15.29 -91% | 111.2 -36% | 168.2 -3% | 71.6 -59% | 175.7 ? 1% | 374 ? 115% |
| Read 4K Q32T1 | 149.9 | 140 -7% | 28 -81% | 102.8 -31% | 163.9 9% | 55.3 -63% | 177.7 ? 19% | 450 ? 200% |
| Write Seq Q32T1 | 400.6 | 423.4 6% | 90 -78% | 289.5 -28% | 446.1 11% | 133 -67% | 395 ? -1% | 2210 ? 452% |
| Read Seq Q32T1 | 491.6 | 495.3 1% | 223.7 -54% | 497.6 1% | 510.4 4% | 483.3 -2% | 475 ? -3% | 2631 ? 435% |
| Write 4K Q8T8 | 258.5 | 14.93 -94% | 272.3 5% | 87.2 -66% | 263 ? 2% | 968 ? 274% | ||
| Read 4K Q8T8 | 154.9 | 26.27 -83% | 164.9 6% | 55.5 -64% | 181 ? 17% | 1019 ? 558% | ||
| AS SSD | 23% | -76% | -5% | 45% | 43% | 7% | 367% | |
| Seq Read | 421.78 | 455.57 8% | 264.86 -37% | 391 -7% | 494.9 17% | 512 21% | 427 ? 1% | 2332 ? 453% |
| Seq Write | 365.24 | 438.23 20% | 117 -68% | 423.2 16% | 431.8 18% | 411.6 13% | 375 ? 3% | 1630 ? 346% |
| 4K Read | 13.57 | 13.9 2% | 13.21 -3% | 11.78 -13% | 25.8 90% | 23.29 72% | 14.9 ? 10% | 48.2 ? 255% |
| 4K Write | 21.25 | 49.68 134% | 13.46 -37% | 49.71 134% | 59.78 181% | 83 291% | 28.9 ? 36% | 141.9 ? 568% |
| 4K-64 Read | 144.84 | 106.99 -26% | 25.74 -82% | 100.4 -31% | 154.49 7% | 59.4 -59% | 151 ? 4% | 830 ? 473% |
| 4K-64 Write | 219.83 | 230.65 5% | 13.71 -94% | 163.7 -26% | 231.08 5% | 272.3 24% | 229 ? 4% | 1277 ? 481% |
| Access Time Read * | 0.284 | 0.193 32% | 0.311 -10% | 0.256 10% | 0.15 47% | 0.139 51% | 0.2445 ? 14% | 0.123 ? 57% |
| Access Time Write * | 0.218 | 0.18 17% | 0.942 -332% | 0.374 -72% | 0.267 -22% | 0.145 33% | 0.2105 ? 3% | 0.1468 ? 33% |
| Score Read | 201 | 166 -17% | 65 -68% | 151 -25% | 230 14% | 134 -33% | 209 ? 4% | 1112 ? 453% |
| Score Write | 278 | 324 17% | 39 -86% | 256 -8% | 334 20% | 396 42% | 295 ? 6% | 1582 ? 469% |
| Score Total | 582 | 580 0% | 136 -77% | 490 -16% | 688 18% | 604 4% | 367 ? -37% | 3122 ? 436% |
| Copy ISO MB/s | 375.9 | 446.75 19% | 123.83 -67% | 424.1 13% | 752.39 100% | 484.1 29% | 373 ? -1% | 1623 ? 332% |
| Copy Program MB/s | 79.75 | 144.22 81% | 54.83 -31% | 89.4 12% | 142.48 79% | 166.9 109% | 115.5 ? 45% | 484 ? 507% |
| Copy Game MB/s | 307.5 | 390.85 27% | 91.02 -70% | 118 -62% | 459.72 50% | 332.3 8% | 319 ? 4% | 1141 ? 271% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 18% /
19% | -69% /
-70% | -1% /
-2% | 38% /
39% | 12% /
17% | 8% /
8% | 383% /
380% |
* ... smaller is better
GPU Performance
While the MiniAir 11 is certainly not a graphical powerhouse, the integrated Jasper Lake UHD Graphics GPU (16 EU) can handle media streaming and simple image editing. However, video editing and mid-range graphical work will push the iGPU to its limits. The MiniAir 11 can handle simple and casual games, but 3D titles are out of reach. Even older titles like Bioshock Infinite are unplayable on the MiniAir 11.
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 965 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 4654 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 607 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 205 points | |
Help | ||
System Noise & Stress Test
Due to its low-powered chip, the MiniAir 11 handles heat reasonably well. Running Prime95 for an hour sees the silicon hit 72° C while maintaining a boost clock of 2.8 GHz. The desktop handles stressful graphical loads well also; after running FurMark for an hour, temperatures across the CPU package average 68° C. Running both Prime95 and FurMark keeps the chip at 67° C. The CPU maintains a clock speed of roughly 2.5 GHz.
During our stress test, the fan spins up but ramps down to an almost imperceptible level. It can be heard in a quiet environment, but it should be unobtrusive in a standard office setting, even under load.
Pros
Cons
Verdict
The GEEKOM MiniAir 11 is a solid option for a family PC or a simple office machine. It offers enough power for web browsing and office work and has the chops to handle media streaming and some simple gaming as well. Its compact size allows it to fit into almost any space, and it can be mounted to the back of a monitor for a clean desk.
The MiniAir 11's strengths lie in its small size, solid port selection, and near-silent operation. However, its compact case limits storage options; space for a cheap 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch drive would be a nice addition to handle bulk storage, especially given its target for simple office work. This coupled with limited CPU performance may leave some wanting more.
All said, the GEEKOM MiniAir 11 is a great option for a family PC or offices on a budget in search of a desktop that won't crowd a desk. At just US$279 (US$239 at the time of publication), it's a solid choice.
Price and availability
The GEEKOM MiniAir 11 is available from GEEKOM for US$279 (US$239 at publication time) and from Amazon for US$279.99. Use coupon code 05EG9QNQ and the on-page coupon at Amazon to buy the MiniAir 11 for US$230.99 through August 22, 2022.
Our review unit was provided by GEEKOM.
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