Geekom Mini IT11 SFF desktop PC hands-on: Solid compact Tiger Lake PC
Geekom's Mini IT11 is the latest in the company's line of mini PCs. Thanks to an Intel 11th Gen Tiger Lake Core i5 or i7 CPU and Intel Iris Xe graphics, the Mini IT11 is well-equipped for home use, moderate media work, and some light gaming. There are some hiccups and inconsistencies, primarily in graphics performance.
This hands-on review will focus on the performance, build quality, and overall usefulness of the Mini IT11. As this review is merely a quick look, we will not assign a final rating. The review unit was provided by Geekom for this review.
The mini desktop market has exploded over the past few years, so the Mini IT11 has plenty of competitors. We will compare Geekom's mini PC to the Minisforum EliteMini B550, Minisforum EliteMini TH50, Minisforum NUCX i7, Beelink U59, and Beelink SEi8.
Potential competitors in comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
v (old) | 11 / 2022 | Geekom Mini IT11-GM11i7T i7-1195G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 565 g | 45.6 mm | x | ||
v (old) | 09 / 2022 | Beelink U59 N5105 Celeron N5105, UHD Graphics (Jasper Lake 24 EU) | 320 g | 42 mm | x | ||
v (old) | 05 / 2022 | Minisforum EliteMini B550 R7 5700G, Vega 8 | 1.1 kg | 67 mm | x | ||
v (old) | 04 / 2022 | Beelink SEi8 i3-8109U, Iris Plus Graphics 655 | 346 g | 41 mm | x | ||
v7 (old) | 09 / 2022 | Minisforum NUCX i7 i7-11800H, GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU | 2.4 kg | 393 mm | x | ||
v (old) | 02 / 2022 | Minisforum EliteMini TH50 i5-11320H, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 763 g | 55.5 mm | x |
Case and Connectivity
The Mini IT11 is made from aluminum and thick plastic. Like Geekom's other mini PCs, the IT11's build quality is excellent. There is no flex anywhere on the body. The unit has some heft to it, owing to its compact yet dense design. Its chassis is essentially the same as that of the Mini IT8, which speaks to the old adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
The Mini IT11 features the same VESA mounting system as Geekom's other desktops, so it should fit snugly behind a monitor. It has a relatively small footprint and doesn't take up much desk space (roughly 140 cm², or 21.7 in²). The Mini IT11 is a hair smaller than Beelink's mini desktops and significantly tinier than the Minisforum EliteMini B550 and TH50.
Despite its small size, the Geekom Mini IT11 has a good amount of connectivity. There are five total USB ports (3x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, 2x USB4 Type-C), a Mini DisplayPort, and an HDMI 2.0 port. The USB-A ports all support up to 10 Gbps, while the USB-C ports can hit 20 Gbps, which isn't something commonly seen on small-form-factor desktops. Since the USB-C ports support DisplayPort, it is possible to connect up to four displays to the Mini IT11. Gigabit Ethernet, a headset jack, and a half-sized SD card reader round out the port selection.
Connectivity
Maintenance
Upgrades are easy. Four self-retained screws hold the aluminum bottom panel on. Once these are loosened, the bottom panel can be pulled off, but with caution: there is a ribbon cable attached to the underside. Once inside, users will have access to a 2.5-inch drive bay, the M.2280 NVMe SSD, and two DDR4 RAM slots. Further disassembly is needed to reach the CPU for cleaning or repasting.
Performance
The Mini IT11 is a competent machine. It chews through office work and media streaming. It can even handle some lighter video or audio projects and simple gaming. However, it is limited with regard to heavier graphical work and AAA gaming.
Processor
The Intel Core i7-1195G7 is a potent yet fairly efficient chip. The quad-core Hyperthreaded CPU is based on Intel's Tiger Lake platform. While Intel's 11th Gen chips are starting to show their age, the 1195G7 is still more than adequate for most consumer needs. The 1195G7 is a single-core beast, besting all of its competitors in Cinebench R20's single-core test. However, it falls behind AMD's silicon in multi-core tests, largely because AMD's Ryzen 5000 series chips have up to twice as many cores. As such, the 1195G7 feels a bit lackluster in multithreaded workloads, but it should be more than adequate for general use.
In our Cinebench R15 loop test, the Mini IT11 shows stable CPU performance over a long period. However, this test shows that the 11th Gen chip is getting long in the tooth; AMD's core-packed chips offer significantly higher performance.
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) | |
| Average of class Desktop (451 - 902, n=12, last 2 years) | |
| Geekom Mini IT11-GM11i7T | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1195G7 (498 - 620, n=9) | |
| Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
| Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
| Beelink SEi8 | |
| Beelink U59 N5105 | |
| Cinebench R20 / CPU (Multi Core) | |
| Average of class Desktop (4085 - 16722, n=12, last 2 years) | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
| Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
| Geekom Mini IT11-GM11i7T | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1195G7 (1212 - 2590, n=9) | |
| Beelink U59 N5105 | |
| Beelink SEi8 | |
| Cinebench R15 / CPU Single 64Bit | |
| Average of class Desktop (233 - 356, n=16, last 2 years) | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Geekom Mini IT11-GM11i7T | |
| Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1195G7 (198 - 238, n=8) | |
| Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
| Beelink SEi8 | |
| Beelink U59 N5105 | |
| Cinebench R15 / CPU Multi 64Bit | |
| Average of class Desktop (2094 - 6588, n=16, last 2 years) | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
| Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1195G7 (574 - 999, n=9) | |
| Geekom Mini IT11-GM11i7T | |
| Beelink U59 N5105 | |
| Beelink SEi8 | |
| Blender / v2.79 BMW27 CPU | |
| Beelink U59 N5105 | |
| Beelink SEi8 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1195G7 (473 - 1211, n=10) | |
| Geekom Mini IT11-GM11i7T | |
| Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
| Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Average of class Desktop (75 - 333, n=13, last 2 years) | |
| 7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 -mmt1 | |
| Average of class Desktop (5092 - 8020, n=11, last 2 years) | |
| Geekom Mini IT11-GM11i7T | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1195G7 (5059 - 5890, n=9) | |
| Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
| Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
| Beelink SEi8 | |
| Beelink U59 N5105 | |
| 7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 | |
| Average of class Desktop (64627 - 163125, n=11, last 2 years) | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
| Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
| Geekom Mini IT11-GM11i7T | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1195G7 (17053 - 26183, n=9) | |
| Beelink U59 N5105 | |
| Beelink SEi8 | |
| Geekbench 5.5 / Single-Core | |
| Average of class Desktop (1755 - 2559, n=16, last 2 years) | |
| Geekom Mini IT11-GM11i7T | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1195G7 (1519 - 1649, n=7) | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
| Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
| Beelink SEi8 | |
| Beelink U59 N5105 | |
| Geekbench 5.5 / Multi-Core | |
| Average of class Desktop (12626 - 26186, n=16, last 2 years) | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
| Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1195G7 (4241 - 6349, n=7) | |
| Geekom Mini IT11-GM11i7T | |
| Beelink U59 N5105 | |
| Beelink SEi8 | |
| HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 / 4k Preset | |
| Average of class Desktop (18.6 - 48.5, n=11, last 2 years) | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
| Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
| Geekom Mini IT11-GM11i7T | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1195G7 (4.23 - 8.8, n=9) | |
| Beelink SEi8 | |
| Beelink U59 N5105 | |
| LibreOffice / 20 Documents To PDF | |
| Beelink U59 N5105 | |
| Geekom Mini IT11-GM11i7T | |
| Beelink SEi8 | |
| Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1195G7 (39.2 - 83.9, n=9) | |
| Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
| Average of class Desktop (35.5 - 79.2, n=11, last 2 years) | |
| R Benchmark 2.5 / Overall mean | |
| Beelink U59 N5105 | |
| Beelink SEi8 | |
| Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1195G7 (0.53 - 0.611, n=9) | |
| Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
| Geekom Mini IT11-GM11i7T | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Average of class Desktop (0.3307 - 0.4909, n=11, last 2 years) | |
* ... smaller is better
System Performance
Overall system performance is quick and responsive. The Mini IT11 falls behind competitors in PCMark 10's Digital Content Creation benchmark; AMD's integrated Vega GPUs are better options for graphics work. However, the Mini IT11 is nothing to sneeze at; it offers great performance considering its small size and modest price.
| PCMark 10 / Score | |
| Average of class Desktop (6558 - 10843, n=16, last 2 years) | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1195G7, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (5067 - 5406, n=6) | |
| Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
| Geekom Mini IT11-GM11i7T | |
| Beelink SEi8 | |
| Beelink U59 N5105 | |
| PCMark 10 / Essentials | |
| Average of class Desktop (9463 - 12591, n=16, last 2 years) | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1195G7, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (10156 - 10614, n=6) | |
| Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
| Geekom Mini IT11-GM11i7T | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
| Beelink SEi8 | |
| Beelink U59 N5105 | |
| PCMark 10 / Productivity | |
| Average of class Desktop (9088 - 12944, n=16, last 2 years) | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
| Geekom Mini IT11-GM11i7T | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1195G7, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (6637 - 7390, n=6) | |
| Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
| Beelink SEi8 | |
| Beelink U59 N5105 | |
| PCMark 10 / Digital Content Creation | |
| Average of class Desktop (6269 - 22653, n=16, last 2 years) | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
| Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1195G7, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (4737 - 5941, n=6) | |
| Geekom Mini IT11-GM11i7T | |
| Beelink SEi8 | |
| Beelink U59 N5105 | |
| PCMark 10 Score | 5067 points | |
Help | ||
DPC Latency
One area where the Mini IT11 shines is its low DPC latency. This makes the mini PC well-suited for real-time audio work, which is something that can't be said for competitors.
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| Beelink SEi8 | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Beelink U59 N5105 | |
| Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H | |
| Geekom Mini IT11-GM11i7T | |
| Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Devices
The included Intel 660p NVMe SSD is fairly quick. Most apps open instantly, and load times in games are reasonably fast. Read and write speeds are in line with similarly-priced competitors. Users can easily install another NVMe SSD if they would like.
| Geekom Mini IT11-GM11i7T Intel SSD 660p SSDPEKNW512G8 | Beelink U59 N5105 Silicon Motion AZW 512G NV428 | Minisforum EliteMini B550 Kingston OM8PDP3512B-AI1 | Beelink SEi8 Intel SSD 660p SSDPEKNW512G8 | Minisforum EliteMini TH50 Kingston OM8PDP3512B-AI1 | Beelink SER Pro Ryzen 5 5600H Kingston NV1 SNVS/500GCN | Average Intel SSD 660p SSDPEKNW512G8 | Average of class Desktop | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6 | -63% | 33% | -25% | 48% | 2% | -10% | 234% | |
| Write 4K | 216.5 | 86.45 -60% | 161.5 -25% | 146 -33% | 293.1 35% | 117.8 -46% | 136 ? -37% | 343 ? 58% |
| Read 4K | 65.73 | 25.9 -61% | 51.29 -22% | 58.49 -11% | 62.1 -6% | 50.6 -23% | 55.2 ? -16% | 280 ? 326% |
| Write 4K Q32T1 | 573.6 | 165.1 -71% | 437 -24% | 376.3 -34% | 499.4 -13% | 270.8 -53% | 381 ? -34% | 492 ? -14% |
| Read 4K Q32T1 | 338.9 | 146.6 -57% | 602.1 78% | 339.5 0% | 719 112% | 353.6 4% | 334 ? -1% | 643 ? 90% |
| Write Seq Q32T1 | 958.2 | 359.5 -62% | 1210 26% | 777.7 -19% | 1216 27% | 1764 84% | 987 ? 3% | 4884 ? 410% |
| Read Seq Q32T1 | 1653.5 | 528.3 -68% | 2554.3 54% | 805.9 -51% | 2554 54% | 2440 48% | 1744 ? 5% | 5473 ? 231% |
| Write 4K Q8T8 | 832.5 | 1045.2 26% | 1092 31% | 810 ? -3% | 2128 ? 156% | |||
| Read 4K Q8T8 | 340.2 | 857.4 152% | 841 147% | 344 ? 1% | 2419 ? 611% | |||
| AS SSD | -78% | 47% | -34% | -5% | 324% | |||
| Seq Read | 1356.17 | 503.32 -63% | 2303.9 70% | 700.68 -48% | 1423 ? 5% | 5891 ? 334% | ||
| Seq Write | 854.29 | 443.45 -48% | 1145 34% | 640.31 -25% | 828 ? -3% | 5181 ? 506% | ||
| 4K Read | 61.08 | 18.93 -69% | 57.87 -5% | 55.28 -9% | 51.3 ? -16% | 85.4 ? 40% | ||
| 4K Write | 191.79 | 72.63 -62% | 152.35 -21% | 128.45 -33% | 128.9 ? -33% | 220 ? 15% | ||
| 4K-64 Read | 325.14 | 146.3 -55% | 711.88 119% | 323.95 0% | 326 ? 0% | 2430 ? 647% | ||
| 4K-64 Write | 532.6 | 181.26 -66% | 984.11 85% | 494.85 -7% | 721 ? 35% | 3513 ? 560% | ||
| Access Time Read * | 0.091 | 0.085 7% | 0.105 -15% | 0.102 -12% | 0.09003 ? 1% | 0.05 ? 45% | ||
| Access Time Write * | 0.045 | 0.188 -318% | 0.029 36% | 0.136 -202% | 0.07378 ? -64% | 0.028 ? 38% | ||
| Score Read | 522 | 216 -59% | 1000 92% | 449 -14% | 519 ? -1% | 3105 ? 495% | ||
| Score Write | 810 | 298 -63% | 1251 54% | 687 -15% | 932 ? 15% | 4251 ? 425% | ||
| Score Total | 1598 | 628 -61% | 2722 70% | 1386 -13% | 1708 ? 7% | 8915 ? 458% | ||
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -71% /
-73% | 40% /
41% | -30% /
-31% | 48% /
48% | 2% /
2% | -8% /
-7% | 279% /
286% |
* ... smaller is better
GPU Performance
The Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 features 96 Execution Units (EUs) and is a big boost over the older Intel HD Graphics iGPUs. The Xe Graphics iGPU trades blows with AMD's integrated Vega 7 and Vega 8 graphics cards in 3DMark. At higher resolutions, however, AMD's GPUs pull slightly ahead. The Mini IT11 competes well against Nvidia's MX350 and MX450 dedicated GPUs, though the dedicated VRAM of the MX-series cards helps with higher resolutions and more demanding tests. Still, the Mini IT11 should be suitable for light modeling work and video projects.
| 3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score | 97098 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 18295 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 4052 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Extreme Score | 1967 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 1230 points | |
Help | ||
Gaming Performance
While the Intel Iris Xe iGPU is fairly good for media consumption, it is quite lackluster in games. It can hit 30 FPS or more in some older titles at low resolutions (e.g., 1366x768) and low settings. Full HD is largely out of reach in newer titles. Some games still have issues during gameplay, and some will flat-out refuse to run. This is due to a mix of reasons, one of which is Intel's lacking driver support. Still, the Mini IT11 is a good option for a home theater PC and can handle older games and lighter Indie titles. It falls short of its Ryzen 5000-based competitors, however.
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | |
| 1280x720 Lowest Preset | |
| Average of class Desktop (35.7 - 407, n=8, last 2 years) | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Geekom Mini IT11-GM11i7T | |
| Average Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (29 - 68.7, n=26) | |
| 1920x1080 Medium Preset | |
| Average of class Desktop (12.5 - 386, n=10, last 2 years) | |
| Geekom Mini IT11-GM11i7T | |
| Average Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (11 - 35.6, n=26) | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| low | med. | high | ultra | 4K | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dota 2 Reborn (2015) | 87.1 | 99.4 | 57.1 | 51.1 | 18.5 |
| Final Fantasy XV Benchmark (2018) | 30.2 | 19.5 | |||
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018) | 50 | 31 | 17 |
System Noise
The Mini IT11 has a single fan to cool the CPU. The fan is evenly tuned and is virtually quiet during most tasks. When stressed, it will ramp up but remains at a low whisper that is drowned out by normal ambient noise. There is no noticeable coil whine.
Temperature and stress
The quiet fan has one main drawback: heat management. Under CPU stress (via Prime95), the Mini IT11 handles heat reasonably well: the CPU caps out at 86º C with an average of 81º C. It can maintain a boost clock of 3.1 GHz with short spikes up to 4.3 GHz. Graphical stress proves to be a bit of an Achilles heel. During our hour-long FurMark stress test, the Intel Iris Xe Graphics iGPU boosts briefly 1500 MHz before ramping down to ~1100 MHz after a few minutes. This is because the CPU package hits 99º C and must throttle back. The Mini IT11 throttles rather aggressively, though. The GPU bounces between 1000-1100 MHz through the remainder of the test, with CPU temperatures remaining around 80º C. CPU clocks stay around 3.0 GHz.
Pros
Cons
Verdict
The Mini IT11 is a solid upgrade to the Mini IT8. The jump from the obsolete Coffee Lake architecture to the newer (yet still somewhat old) Tiger Lake platform is a welcome change. The biggest improvement is in graphical prowess; the Intel Iris Xe Graphics are noticeably better than the Intel Iris 655 Graphics of the Mini IT8's i5-8259U. However, the performance increase is more of a hop than a jump; the Intel iGPU still comes up short in gaming, despite Intel's best efforts to market Xe Graphics as "gaming capable."
As a gaming PC, then, the Mini IT11 falls flat. As a home desktop computer, though, it excels in many areas. Its rich connectivity, solid performance, and easy upgradeability are clear winners. That all these features are packed into a tiny footprint is icing on the cake.
There are some downsides. For one, the Mini IT11 cannot manage heat well under graphical stress. This may be because of a less aggressive fan profile, but it results in aggressive throttling. Still, the Mini IT11 is well-suited for Indie games or lighter titles like Minecraft. It can also chew through office tasks and some lighter graphical or audio work without much issue.
At US$769, the Mini IT11 is a bit of a hard sell. For roughly $150 cheaper, the Beelink SER5 offers more cores and slightly better graphics performance thanks to its AMD Ryzen 5 5600U. However, Geekom routinely has sales that make the Mini IT11 much more competitive.
Disclaimer: The author of this review received the Mini 11T from Geekom free of charge for the purpose of testing.
Price and availability
From now through the end of the year, Geekom is offering 5% off plus an on-page Amazon coupon for both the Core i7-1195G7 model ($50 coupon), which is our review unit, and the Core i5-1155G7 model ($40 coupon). That brings the prices to $567.49 for the i7-1195G7 version and $434.99 for the i5-1155G7 version. Use coupon code SLMUGHNK for 5% off the Core i7-1195G7 model and coupon code AZQ4PEJM for 5% off the Core i5-1155G7 version. Don't forget to select the on-page coupon as well. You can snag these savings at Amazon.
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