Beelink GTI12 Ultra EX Docking Station mini PC review: More affordable than expected
A major complaint about Beelink mini PCs thus far is that they all come with integrated graphics only. While the latest GTI Ultra series doesn't directly address this, it's still Beelink's first foray into officially supporting eGPUs via the EX Docking Station to appeal to power users or gamers.
Our test unit is the GTI12 Ultra equipped with the Core i9-12900H, 1 TB SSD, and 32 GB DDR5-5600 RAM for approximately $740 USD when paired with the EX Docking Station. Newer Meteor Lake CPUs are available under the model name GTI14 Ultra which is visually identical to the GTI12 Ultra.
We've acquired a personal Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3070 GPU for testing the EX Docking Station, but the dock itself can support GPUs up to the RTX 4090 at 600 W maximum.
More Beelink reviews:
Potential Competitors in Comparison
Rating | Version | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 76.5 % | v8 | 10 / 2024 | Beelink GTI12 Ultra EX Docking Station i9-12900H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 | 1.3 kg | 55.8 mm | x | ||
| 76.7 % | v8 | 10 / 2024 | Minisforum MS-A1 Ryzen 7 8700G, Radeon 780M | 1.7 kg | 48 mm | x | ||
| 67.3 % | v8 | 09 / 2024 | GMK NucBox K9 Ultra 5 125H, Arc 7-Core | 528 g | 47 mm | x | ||
| 74.7 % | v8 | 08 / 2024 | Asus NUC 14 Pro Ultra 5 125H, Arc 7-Core | 525 g | 37 mm | x | ||
| 78.4 % | v8 | 08 / 2024 | Geekom AX8 Pro R9 8945HS, Radeon 780M | 548 g | 37 mm | x | ||
| 86 % | v8 | 08 / 2024 | Asus ROG NUC 14-90AS0051 Ultra 9 185H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU | 2.6 kg | 50 mm | x |
Case
The GTI12 Ultra is essentially an enlarged SER8 utilizing the same metal chassis materials, plastic bottom, and smooth matte finishing. Internally, however, the two models are very different as the GTI12 Ultra integrates a 145 W PSU instead of relying on an external power brick. It also integrates two speakers to be one of the very few mini PCs with both integrated audio and a PSU.
Another unique feature is the PCI x8 slot on the bottom of the unit for attaching to the EX Docking Station as shown by the image below. We appreciate that the connector is not proprietary unlike with the Asus ROG XG Mobile.
The unit is significant larger and heavier than most other mini PCs with integrated graphics due to the unique characteristics mentioned above.
| Mini PC | EX Docking Station | Mini PC + EX Docking Station |
| 1316 g | 1419 g | 2735 g |
Connectivity
Port options are greater than what the SER8 and many other NUC-sized mini PCs have to offer since the GTI12 Ultra is so large. The model integrates an SD card reader alongside additional USB-A ports and RJ-45 ports.
There is no Kensington lock.
SD Card Reader
| SD Card Reader | |
| average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
| Asus ROG NUC 14-90AS0051 (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| Beelink GTI12 Ultra EX Docking Station (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB) | |
| Asus ROG NUC 14-90AS0051 (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| Beelink GTI12 Ultra EX Docking Station (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
Communication
Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 are not supported likely to save on costs.
| Networking | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| Asus NUC 14 Pro | |
| Beelink GTI12 Ultra EX Docking Station | |
| Asus ROG NUC 14-90AS0051 | |
| Geekom AX8 Pro | |
| Minisforum MS-A1 | |
| GMK NucBox K9 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| Asus NUC 14 Pro | |
| Beelink GTI12 Ultra EX Docking Station | |
| Geekom AX8 Pro | |
| Asus ROG NUC 14-90AS0051 | |
| Minisforum MS-A1 | |
| GMK NucBox K9 | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz | |
| Geekom AX8 Pro | |
| Asus ROG NUC 14-90AS0051 | |
| Minisforum MS-A1 | |
| Asus NUC 14 Pro | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz | |
| Minisforum MS-A1 | |
| Asus ROG NUC 14-90AS0051 | |
| Asus NUC 14 Pro | |
| Geekom AX8 Pro | |
Maintenance
The GTI12 Ultra is much more difficult to service when compared to its smaller siblings due to it having more integrated parts not found on other models. The speakers, dust filter, and integrated PSU sit atop the motherboard and they each have different size screws to make servicing even more of a headache.
Sustainability
Beelink advertises no sustainability measures taken to manufacture the GTI12. The packaging consists of mostly paper with some LDPE wrapping and plastic.
Accessories And Warranty
The EX dock includes two 6+2-pin power cables and two small plates for securing the GPU and mini PC onto the dock. The M.2 Wi-Fi slot and antenna are optional for those who wish to install a WLAN module onto the docking station instead of inside of the mini PC. Virtually all mini PCs come with integrated WLAN and so this specific feature of the dock can be ignored by most users.
Performance
Testing Conditions
We set Windows to Performance mode prior to running the benchmarks below.
Processor
The Core i9-12900H is two to three generations behind the current Raptor Lake-R series and the benchmark results reflect this. The newer Core i9-14900HX, for example, provides almost 2x the multi-thread performance over our Beelink unit. Even cheaper mini PCs like the Beelink SER7 can offer nearly identical processor performance.
Newer Meteor Lake Core Ultra processor options are available for this model called the GTI14.
Cinebench R15 Multi Loop
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R20: CPU (Multi Core) | CPU (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 6.4: Multi-Core | Single-Core
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
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R20: CPU (Multi Core) | CPU (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 6.4: Multi-Core | Single-Core
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
* ... 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 | |
| Minisforum MS-A1 | |
| Geekom AX8 Pro | |
| Asus ROG NUC 14-90AS0051 | |
| Beelink GTI12 Ultra EX Docking Station | |
| Asus NUC 14 Pro | |
| Average Intel Core i9-12900H | |
| GMK NucBox K9 | |
| AIDA64 / FP32 Ray-Trace | |
| Minisforum MS-A1 | |
| Geekom AX8 Pro | |
| Asus ROG NUC 14-90AS0051 | |
| Beelink GTI12 Ultra EX Docking Station | |
| Asus NUC 14 Pro | |
| Average Intel Core i9-12900H (4074 - 18289, n=28) | |
| GMK NucBox K9 | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Julia | |
| Minisforum MS-A1 | |
| Geekom AX8 Pro | |
| Asus ROG NUC 14-90AS0051 | |
| Beelink GTI12 Ultra EX Docking Station | |
| Asus NUC 14 Pro | |
| GMK NucBox K9 | |
| Average Intel Core i9-12900H (22307 - 93236, n=28) | |
| AIDA64 / CPU SHA3 | |
| Minisforum MS-A1 | |
| Geekom AX8 Pro | |
| Asus ROG NUC 14-90AS0051 | |
| Beelink GTI12 Ultra EX Docking Station | |
| Asus NUC 14 Pro | |
| Average Intel Core i9-12900H (1378 - 4215, n=28) | |
| GMK NucBox K9 | |
| AIDA64 / CPU Queen | |
| Minisforum MS-A1 | |
| Geekom AX8 Pro | |
| Average Intel Core i9-12900H (78172 - 111241, n=28) | |
| Beelink GTI12 Ultra EX Docking Station | |
| Asus ROG NUC 14-90AS0051 | |
| Asus NUC 14 Pro | |
| GMK NucBox K9 | |
| AIDA64 / FPU SinJulia | |
| Minisforum MS-A1 | |
| Geekom AX8 Pro | |
| Asus ROG NUC 14-90AS0051 | |
| Beelink GTI12 Ultra EX Docking Station | |
| Average Intel Core i9-12900H (5709 - 10410, n=28) | |
| Asus NUC 14 Pro | |
| GMK NucBox K9 | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Mandel | |
| Minisforum MS-A1 | |
| Geekom AX8 Pro | |
| Asus ROG NUC 14-90AS0051 | |
| Beelink GTI12 Ultra EX Docking Station | |
| Asus NUC 14 Pro | |
| Average Intel Core i9-12900H (11257 - 45581, n=28) | |
| GMK NucBox K9 | |
| AIDA64 / CPU AES | |
| Minisforum MS-A1 | |
| Geekom AX8 Pro | |
| GMK NucBox K9 | |
| Asus ROG NUC 14-90AS0051 | |
| Average Intel Core i9-12900H (31935 - 151546, n=28) | |
| Beelink GTI12 Ultra EX Docking Station | |
| Asus NUC 14 Pro | |
| AIDA64 / CPU ZLib | |
| Asus ROG NUC 14-90AS0051 | |
| Minisforum MS-A1 | |
| Beelink GTI12 Ultra EX Docking Station | |
| Geekom AX8 Pro | |
| Asus NUC 14 Pro | |
| Average Intel Core i9-12900H (449 - 1193, n=28) | |
| GMK NucBox K9 | |
| AIDA64 / FP64 Ray-Trace | |
| Minisforum MS-A1 | |
| Geekom AX8 Pro | |
| Asus ROG NUC 14-90AS0051 | |
| Beelink GTI12 Ultra EX Docking Station | |
| Asus NUC 14 Pro | |
| Average Intel Core i9-12900H (2235 - 10511, n=28) | |
| GMK NucBox K9 | |
| AIDA64 / CPU PhotoWorxx | |
| Asus NUC 14 Pro | |
| GMK NucBox K9 | |
| Asus ROG NUC 14-90AS0051 | |
| Beelink GTI12 Ultra EX Docking Station | |
| Minisforum MS-A1 | |
| Geekom AX8 Pro | |
| Average Intel Core i9-12900H (20960 - 48269, n=29) | |
System Performance
PCMark results are comparable to laptops and other mini PCs running on discrete graphics including the Asus ROG NUC 14. Our Productivity score is relatively low, however, likely due to the older 12th gen Intel CPU.
CrossMark: Overall | Productivity | Creativity | Responsiveness
WebXPRT 3: Overall
WebXPRT 4: Overall
Mozilla Kraken 1.1: Total
* ... smaller is better
| PCMark 10 Score | 7689 points | |
Help | ||
| AIDA64 / Memory Copy | |
| Asus ROG NUC 14-90AS0051 | |
| Asus NUC 14 Pro | |
| Geekom AX8 Pro | |
| GMK NucBox K9 | |
| Minisforum MS-A1 | |
| Beelink GTI12 Ultra EX Docking Station | |
| Average Intel Core i9-12900H (34438 - 74264, n=28) | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Read | |
| Asus NUC 14 Pro | |
| Asus ROG NUC 14-90AS0051 | |
| GMK NucBox K9 | |
| Beelink GTI12 Ultra EX Docking Station | |
| Average Intel Core i9-12900H (36365 - 74642, n=28) | |
| Geekom AX8 Pro | |
| Minisforum MS-A1 | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Write | |
| Geekom AX8 Pro | |
| Minisforum MS-A1 | |
| Asus NUC 14 Pro | |
| GMK NucBox K9 | |
| Asus ROG NUC 14-90AS0051 | |
| Beelink GTI12 Ultra EX Docking Station | |
| Average Intel Core i9-12900H (32276 - 67858, n=28) | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Latency | |
| Asus ROG NUC 14-90AS0051 | |
| GMK NucBox K9 | |
| Asus NUC 14 Pro | |
| Geekom AX8 Pro | |
| Beelink GTI12 Ultra EX Docking Station | |
| Minisforum MS-A1 | |
| Average Intel Core i9-12900H (74.7 - 118.1, n=27) | |
* ... smaller is better
DPC Latency
4K video playback at 60 FPS is nearly perfect. There is strangely always a few skipped frames immediately after pressing the Play button which we do not normally experience on other PCs. Otherwise, there are no skipped frames throughout the rest of the test video.
LatencyMon is incompatible with the current version of the system.
Storage Devices
Our unit comes with a 1 TB Crucial P3 Plus SSD. Maximum transfer rates reach 5200 MB/s before falling to 4800 MB/s after a few minutes of stress. The faster Samsung PM9A1a in the Asus NUC 14 can sustain 6700 MB/s in comparison.
| Drive Performance Rating - Percent | |
| Beelink GTI12 Ultra EX Docking Station | |
| GMK NucBox K9 | |
| Minisforum MS-A1 | |
| Geekom AX8 Pro | |
| Asus ROG NUC 14-90AS0051 | |
| Asus NUC 14 Pro | |
* ... smaller is better
Disk Throttling: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
GPU Performance
The GeForce RTX 3070 has been heavily tested and so its performance offers no surprises. We're instead interested in any performance deficits that our docked RTX 3070 may have against a "proper" desktop PC with the RTX 3070. In this case, performance is essentially on par with our reference desktop RTX 3070 PC or even slightly faster by a few percentage points to show no tangible performance losses. Of course, results may vary if installing much faster GPUs like the RTX 4090 where the PCIe x8 interface can become a more limiting factor.
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 37012 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 57634 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 27206 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 13722 points | |
| 3DMark Steel Nomad Score | 3247 points | |
Help | ||
* ... smaller is better
Gaming Performance
Despite it being a four-year old (!) GPU, the desktop GeForce RTX 3070 is still potent especially when compared to gaming laptops where power envelopes are much smaller. Our GTI12 Ultra and eGPU of choice can handily outperform laptops with the GeForce RTX 4070 such as the Maingear ML-16 MK2 to be more in line with the mobile RTX 4080. Note that this is before accounting for any DLSS upscaling methods and so the mobile RTX 40 series can still potentially run better should the title support DLSS 3.
| Baldur's Gate 3 - 1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:T | |
| Beelink GTI12 Ultra EX Docking Station | |
| Asus ROG NUC 14-90AS0051 | |
| Minisforum G7 PT | |
| Acemagic M2A | |
| Asus TUF Gaming A14 FA401WV-WB94 | |
| Acemagic Tank03 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5 16IMH G9 RTX 4050 | |
| GTA V - 1920x1080 Highest Settings possible AA:4xMSAA + FX AF:16x | |
| Lenovo Legion 9 16IRX9, RTX 4090 | |
| Acemagic M2A | |
| Beelink GTI12 Ultra EX Docking Station | |
| Acemagic Tank03 | |
| Asus TUF Gaming A14 FA401WV-WB94 | |
| MSI GeForce RTX 3070 Ventus 3X | |
| Asus ROG NUC 14-90AS0051 | |
| Minisforum G7 PT | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5 16IMH G9 RTX 4050 | |
| Cyberpunk 2077 2.2 Phantom Liberty - 1920x1080 Ultra Preset (FSR off) | |
| Lenovo Legion 9 16IRX9, RTX 4090 | |
| Beelink GTI12 Ultra EX Docking Station | |
| Minisforum G7 PT | |
| Asus ROG NUC 14-90AS0051 | |
| Acemagic M2A | |
| Acemagic Tank03 | |
| Asus TUF Gaming A14 FA401WV-WB94 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5 16IMH G9 RTX 4050 | |
Cyberpunk 2077 ultra FPS Chart
| low | med. | high | ultra | QHD | 4K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GTA V (2015) | 184.3 | 178.9 | 176.5 | 111.3 | 108.8 | 129 |
| Dota 2 Reborn (2015) | 175.9 | 162 | 158.5 | 149.3 | 144.3 | |
| Final Fantasy XV Benchmark (2018) | 209 | 184.8 | 138.7 | 104.9 | 61.5 | |
| X-Plane 11.11 (2018) | 118.2 | 106.1 | 89.5 | 79.4 | ||
| Far Cry 5 (2018) | 170 | 154 | 148 | 142 | 130 | 75 |
| Strange Brigade (2018) | 459 | 339 | 280 | 245 | 181.1 | 104.6 |
| Tiny Tina's Wonderlands (2022) | 268.9 | 216.7 | 154.9 | 122.6 | 87.1 | 48.9 |
| F1 22 (2022) | 282 | 277 | 264 | 91.8 | 58.8 | 28.8 |
| Baldur's Gate 3 (2023) | 174.5 | 152.6 | 137.1 | 132.9 | 93.5 | 49.7 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 2.2 Phantom Liberty (2023) | 148.5 | 133.9 | 115.3 | 102.2 | 65.7 | 29.9 |
Emissions
System Noise
Fan noise is always present since the internal PSU fan in the EX dock is always active even if the fans for the mini PC and GPU are inactive. Noise levels are generally louder than on most other mini PCs given the same 15 cm recording distance, but the noise curve is broader and not as sharp as what we're used to. The lower dB frequencies are less intrusive and more tolerable than the usually sharper and louder-pitched fans of gaming laptops.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 32.7 / 32.7 / 35.3 dB(A) |
| Load |
| 36.8 / 52.9 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Earthworks M23R, Arta (15 cm distance) environment noise: 22.8 dB(A) | ||
| Beelink GTI12 Ultra EX Docking Station NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, i9-12900H, Crucial P3 Plus CT1000P3PSSD8 | Minisforum MS-A1 Radeon 780M, Ryzen 7 8700G, Kingston OM8PGP41024Q-A0 | GMK NucBox K9 Arc 7-Core, Ultra 5 125H, MasonSemi 1TB MC7000 | Asus NUC 14 Pro Arc 7-Core, Ultra 5 125H, Kingston KC3000 2048G SKC3000D2048G | Geekom AX8 Pro Radeon 780M, R9 8945HS, Acer N7000 2 TB | Asus ROG NUC 14-90AS0051 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, Ultra 9 185H, Samsung PM9A1a MZVL21T0HDLU | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noise | 1% | 2% | 9% | 5% | 15% | |
| off / environment * | 22.8 | 24.8 -9% | 23 -1% | 24 -5% | 24.9 -9% | 24.9 -9% |
| Idle Minimum * | 32.7 | 33.9 -4% | 29.8 9% | 26 20% | 24.9 24% | 24.9 24% |
| Idle Average * | 32.7 | 34 -4% | 35.7 -9% | 26.2 20% | 24.9 24% | 24.9 24% |
| Idle Maximum * | 35.3 | 34 4% | 35.7 -1% | 26.2 26% | 24.9 29% | 24.9 29% |
| Load Average * | 36.8 | 41.1 -12% | 41.9 -14% | 42.4 -15% | 50.1 -36% | 37.9 -3% |
| Cyberpunk 2077 ultra * | 50.3 | 42.2 16% | 43.8 13% | 47.7 5% | 50 1% | 38.3 24% |
| Load Maximum * | 52.9 | 46.2 13% | 44 17% | 47.8 10% | 50.2 5% | 44.2 16% |
* ... smaller is better
Temperature
The top surface of the mini PC can reach around 34 C when gaming or over 41 C when the CPU is at 100 percent utilization to be warmer than many other mini PCs. This is mostly because the unit integrates the entire PSU inside the chassis and includes no ventilation grilles along the sides.
Stress Test
The CPU would boost to 3.2 GHz and 69 W when initiating Prime95 stress. After about one to two minutes, however, it would drop to 2.9 GHz and 61 W in order to maintain a reasonable core temperature of 78 C. Maximum Turbo Boost is unfortunately not indefinite despite the large chassis size, but at least the drop in performance is relatively minor.
Core temperature would stabilize at 83 C when gaming which is warmer than expected for a mini PC.
| Average CPU Clock (GHz) | GPU Clock (MHz) | Average CPU Temperature (°C) | Average GPU Temperature (°C) | |
| System Idle | -- | -- | 40 | 43 |
| Prime95 Stress | 2.9 | -- | 78 | 43 |
| Prime95 + FurMark Stress | 2.9 | 1725 | 85 | 78 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 Stress | 1.8 | 1950 | 83 | 73 |
Speakers
The internal speakers are not very loud or impressive much like what we experienced on the recent Bosgame. They're more fit for auxiliary functions like conferencing or small rooms where audio quality matters less. Proper external speakers are still recommended for any sort of multimedia playback.
Beelink GTI12 Ultra EX Docking Station audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (79.9 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 17.1% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (14.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 8.9% higher than median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (13% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 1.7% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (6.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (24.2% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 55% of all tested devices in this class were better, 10% similar, 35% worse
» The best had a delta of 13%, average was 25%, worst was 64%
Compared to all devices tested
» 71% of all tested devices were better, 6% similar, 22% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (84.7 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(+) | good bass - only 3.8% away from median
(+) | bass is linear (5.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 1.3% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (2.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 1.9% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (2.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (4.6% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 0% of all tested devices in this class were better, 0% similar, 100% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 18%, worst was 45%
Compared to all devices tested
» 0% of all tested devices were better, 0% similar, 100% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Energy Management
Power Consumption
The GTI12 Ultra and EX Docking Station are expectedly much more demanding than other mini PCs including the Asus ROG NUC 14 and its own RTX 4070 docking solution. Idling on desktop already draws over twice the power than on most laptops while gaming can demand over 380 W compared to 336 W on the MSI Titan 18 HX which is one of the fastest gaming laptops currently available.
As mentioned above, both the GTI12 Ultra and EX dock have no external power brick unlike on most other mini PCs and laptops.
| Off / Standby | 6 / 10.6 Watt |
| Idle | 35.9 / 35.9 / 36 Watt |
| Load |
119.5 / 422.9 Watt |
   
| |
Key:
min: ,
med: ,
max: Metrahit Energy | |
| Beelink GTI12 Ultra EX Docking Station i9-12900H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, Crucial P3 Plus CT1000P3PSSD8, , x, | Minisforum MS-A1 Ryzen 7 8700G, Radeon 780M, Kingston OM8PGP41024Q-A0, , x, | GMK NucBox K9 Ultra 5 125H, Arc 7-Core, MasonSemi 1TB MC7000, , x, | Asus NUC 14 Pro Ultra 5 125H, Arc 7-Core, Kingston KC3000 2048G SKC3000D2048G, , x, | Geekom AX8 Pro R9 8945HS, Radeon 780M, Acer N7000 2 TB, , x, | Asus ROG NUC 14-90AS0051 Ultra 9 185H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, Samsung PM9A1a MZVL21T0HDLU, , x, | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | 62% | 72% | 74% | 60% | 47% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 35.9 | 8.8 75% | 10.9 70% | 5.1 86% | 14 61% | 10.6 70% |
| Idle Average * | 35.9 | 12.6 65% | 11 69% | 6.4 82% | 15.9 56% | 14.8 59% |
| Idle Maximum * | 36 | 14 61% | 11.4 68% | 14.7 59% | 19.5 46% | 27.5 24% |
| Load Average * | 119.5 | 93.2 22% | 52.8 56% | 55.5 54% | 76.4 36% | 84.6 29% |
| Cyberpunk 2077 ultra external monitor * | 384 | 102.1 73% | 57.1 85% | 59.1 85% | 54.3 86% | 171.4 55% |
| Load Maximum * | 422.9 | 105.4 75% | 72.2 83% | 103.3 76% | 99.1 77% | 244 42% |
* ... smaller is better
Power Consumption Cyberpunk / Stress Test
Power Consumption external Monitor
Pros
Cons
Verdict — Excellent Build Quality For The Price
The GTI12 Ultra lives up to its "Ultra" name with its enlarged chassis design and additional features over the regular Beelink GTI or SER series. its integrated PSU in particular is something we'd love to see become the norm as some power bricks can be almost as large as the mini PCs themselves. Chassis design and quality are also top notch much like on the SER8.
The main drawback becomes obvious whenever you need to service the unit. The speakers and PSU must first be removed to access the M.2 SSD and RAM slots and so the process is more inconvenient than on most other mini PCs. It also runs warmer than we'd like despite it being noticeably larger and heavier than others in the category. The very slow integrated SD reader is a slap to the face for content creators as well especially since the model is marketed as a higher-end mini PC.
As for the EX Docking Station, it's a sturdy albeit inelegant design with its exposed power cables and antenna attachments even if you decide to not utilize any of the WLAN features of the dock. The "open air" design of the EX is going to attract more visible dust and hair when compared to a boxed eGPU solution like the Aorus Gaming Box where pre-filters are usually built-in. The EX isn't great for showing off the graphics card either as the GPU must be installed facing towards the mini PC instead of away from it.
The GTI12 Ultra and EX Docking Station are surprisingly affordable considering the build quality and competition.
Removing the seldomly used Wi-Fi feature of the EX or swapping it out for more ports could potentially reduce the size and price of the dock even further.
Price and Availability
Beelink is currently shipping the GTI12 Ultra with 1 TB SSD, 32 GB RAM, and EX Docking Station as a bundle for just $738 USD. Newer Meteor Lake CPU options are available starting for $200 more.
Beelink GTI12 Ultra EX Docking Station
- 10/21/2024 v8
Allen Ngo
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The selection of devices to be reviewed is made by our editorial team. The test sample was provided to the author as a loan by the manufacturer or retailer for the purpose of this review. The lender had no influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review. We never accept compensation or payment in return for our reviews. As an independent media company, Notebookcheck is not subjected to the authority of manufacturers, retailers or publishers.
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Every year, Notebookcheck independently reviews hundreds of laptops and smartphones using standardized procedures to ensure that all results are comparable. We have continuously developed our test methods for around 20 years and set industry standards in the process. In our test labs, high-quality measuring equipment is utilized by experienced technicians and editors. These tests involve a multi-stage validation process. Our complex rating system is based on hundreds of well-founded measurements and benchmarks, which maintains objectivity. Further information on our test methods can be found here.
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