Beelink SER5 Pro 5600H mini PC review: NUC 11 speeds with AMD Ryzen

Much like Zotac and its notoriously large selection of ZBox mini PCs, Beelink is looking to do the same by launching new models every few months equipped with faster and faster processors. The Beelink SER4 launched earlier this year with the Zen 2 Ryzen 7 4800U processor, but now the SER5 has hit the market with an even faster Zen 3 Ryzen 5 5600H all while keeping prices well below $500 USD.
Competitors in this space include other mini PCs or HTPCs with no discrete graphics such as the Ace Magician TK11, Geekom MiniAir 11, Zotac ZBox PI336, and most Intel NUC models.
More Beelink reviews:
Are you a techie who knows how to write? Then join our Team! Wanted:
- Specialist News Writer
- Magazine Writer
- Translator (DE<->EN)
Details here
Potential Competitors in Comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10/2022 | Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H R5 5600H, Vega 7 | 498 g | 42 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 NUC11TNKi5 i5-1135G7, Iris Xe G7 80EUs | 504 g | 37 mm | x | |||
02/2020 | Intel NUC10i7FNH i7-10710U, UHD Graphics 620 | 697 g | 51 mm | 0.00" | 0x0 | ||
07/2022 | Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico Celeron N6211, UHD Graphics (Elkhart Lake 16 EU) | 293 g | 20.7 mm | x |
Case
Both the SER4 and SER5 utilize the same chassis skeleton albeit with slightly different superficial markings and colors. On the SER5, the ventilation grilles on the side are black instead of red.
In terms of size, the SER5 is just slightly thicker than the Intel NUC 11TNK. It's just as heavy at about half a kilogram, however.
Top 10 Laptops
Multimedia, Budget Multimedia, Gaming, Budget Gaming, Lightweight Gaming, Business, Budget Office, Workstation, Subnotebooks, Ultrabooks, Chromebooks
under 300 USD/Euros, under 500 USD/Euros, 1,000 USD/Euros, for University Students, Best Displays
Top 10 Smartphones
Smartphones, Phablets, ≤6-inch, Camera Smartphones
Connectivity
Port options are the same as on the SER4. It's disappointing that Beelink still hasn't moved to USB-C AC adapters as the SER5 relies on a proprietary AC barrel adapter instead. The single USB-C port up front supports DisplayPort 1.4 but not PD-in.
Communication
A MediaTek RZ608 comes standard for Wi-Fi 6E support much like on the Beelink SEi11 Pro. However, performance is still lacking when compared to the common Intel AX200/210 series as shown by the graphs below.
Networking | |
iperf3 transmit AX12 | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
iperf3 receive AX12 | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz | |
Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz | |
Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro |
Maintenance
The bottom panel is secured by four Philips screws. These screws are much smaller than the hand twist screws on an Intel NUC and will require a screwdriver to remove. Keep in mind that these screws are quite soft as well and can be easily stripped if not careful.
Accessories and Warranty
The retail box includes a removable VESA mounting bracket, extras screws, user manual, two HDMI cables, and the AC adapter.
The standard one-year limited manufacturer warranty applies if purchased in the US.
Performance
Testing Conditions
We set our unit to Performance mode via Windows prior to running any benchmarks below.
Processor
Multi-thread performance is about 15 percent slower than the average PC in our database equipped with the same Ryzen 5 5600H CPU. Even so, overall performance is still much faster than the common Core i7-1165G7 as found on many Ultrabooks and Intel NUCs.
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 5.4: 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 | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico |
AIDA64 / FP32 Ray-Trace | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico |
AIDA64 / FPU Julia | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico |
AIDA64 / CPU SHA3 | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico |
AIDA64 / CPU Queen | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico |
AIDA64 / FPU SinJulia | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico |
AIDA64 / FPU Mandel | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico |
AIDA64 / CPU AES | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico |
AIDA64 / CPU ZLib | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico |
AIDA64 / FP64 Ray-Trace | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico |
AIDA64 / CPU PhotoWorxx | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico |
System Performance
CrossMark: Overall | Productivity | Creativity | Responsiveness
PCMark 10 / Score | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Average AMD Ryzen 5 5600H (5309 - 7091, n=13) | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
Intel NUC10i7FNH |
PCMark 10 / Essentials | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Average AMD Ryzen 5 5600H (9326 - 10506, n=13) | |
Intel NUC10i7FNH | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 |
PCMark 10 / Productivity | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Average AMD Ryzen 5 5600H (7975 - 9642, n=13) | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC10i7FNH | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 |
PCMark 10 / Digital Content Creation | |
Average AMD Ryzen 5 5600H (4921 - 9907, n=13) | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
Intel NUC10i7FNH |
CrossMark / Overall | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Average AMD Ryzen 5 5600H (1157 - 1353, n=6) |
CrossMark / Productivity | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Average AMD Ryzen 5 5600H (1217 - 1384, n=6) |
CrossMark / Creativity | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Average AMD Ryzen 5 5600H (1184 - 1377, n=6) | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro |
CrossMark / Responsiveness | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Average AMD Ryzen 5 5600H (926 - 1225, n=6) |
PCMark 10 Score | 5902 points | |
Help |
AIDA64 / Memory Copy | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Average AMD Ryzen 5 5600H (20549 - 42141, n=13) | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico |
AIDA64 / Memory Read | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Average AMD Ryzen 5 5600H (22917 - 47595, n=13) | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico |
AIDA64 / Memory Write | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Average AMD Ryzen 5 5600H (20226 - 44872, n=13) | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico |
AIDA64 / Memory Latency | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Average AMD Ryzen 5 5600H (75 - 89.1, n=13) | |
Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico |
* ... smaller is better
DPC Latency
DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Beelink GTR5 |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Devices
NVMe speeds are limited to PCIe3 x4 whereas most newer Intel NUC models fully support PCIe4 x4. PCIe3 is more than enough for most users, however, and so the cut corner here isn't significant. Our midrange 500 GB Kingston NV1 SSD is able to sustain its maximum ~2500 MB/s read rates without any thermal issues.
Drive Performance Rating - Percent | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H -11! | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Intel NUC10i7FNH | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico |
* ... smaller is better
Disk Throttling: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
GPU Performance
Graphics performance is much faster than most other laptops or mini PCs with the same integrated Radeon RX Vega 7 GPU by 30 to 35 percent because such products typically pair the GPU with slower Ryzen U-series CPUs or single-channel RAM only. The Ryzen 5 5600H is less of a bottleneck to the GPU and frame rates benefit as a result. It's still no gaming machine, however.
The Iris Xe 96 EUs commonly found on most 11th gen Core i7 Intel laptops or mini PCs is still about 10 to 15 percent faster.
3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance GPU | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
Lenovo Yoga 7-14ARB G7 | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Beelink SER4 | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 (3353 - 6249, n=56) | |
Intel NUC10i7FNH | |
Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico |
3DMark 11 Performance | 6372 points | |
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 20373 points | |
3DMark Fire Strike Score | 3638 points | |
3DMark Time Spy Score | 1405 points | |
Help |
Blender - v3.3 Classroom CPU | |
Average of class Mini PC (305 - 7856, n=56, last 2 years) | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H |
* ... smaller is better
The Witcher 3 | |
1024x768 Low Graphics & Postprocessing | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
Lenovo Yoga 7-14ARB G7 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Beelink SER4 | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 | |
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 (25.5 - 105.8, n=48) | |
1366x768 Medium Graphics & Postprocessing | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
Lenovo Yoga 7-14ARB G7 | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Beelink SER4 | |
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 (9.74 - 81.3, n=36) | |
1920x1080 High Graphics & Postprocessing (Nvidia HairWorks Off) | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
Lenovo Yoga 7-14ARB G7 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Beelink SER4 | |
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 (8.96 - 26.2, n=47) | |
1920x1080 Ultra Graphics & Postprocessing (HBAO+) | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
Lenovo Yoga 7-14ARB G7 | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Beelink SER4 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 (6.5 - 15.8, n=40) |
Dota 2 Reborn | |
1280x720 min (0/3) fastest | |
Honor MagicBook 14 2022 | |
Intel NUC11PHKi7C | |
Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
Beelink GTR5 | |
Beelink SEi11 Pro | |
Lenovo Yoga 7-14ARB G7 | |
Beelink SER4 | |
Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 (32.9 - 137.7, n=56) | |
Intel NUC10i7FNH | |
Intel NUC11TNKi5 |