Khadas Mind 2 review: Portable mini PC now with Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, Thunderbolt 4 and USB4

The first generation of the Khadas Mind is already impressed with its appearance and excellent workmanship. The new edition of the Mind 2 picks up on the same points, and on top of that, the manufacturer has worked on many small details and further improved the device. In addition to new Intel Meteor Lake processors, the device itself has much better connectivity. Thanks to the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, there is a significant performance boost and a modern iGPU, which is noticeably superior to the older Intel Iris Xe.

With Thunderbolt 4 and USB4, the user has two interfaces at their disposal, that were absent on the predecessor. The manufacturer has thus cleared the way for alternative solutions to be used. Nevertheless, there is a lot to be said for the manufacturer's original accessory, as the specially developed connection on the underside of the device offers significantly more bandwidth with PCIe 5.0 speed. The impact this has on the use of an external graphics card could be seen in the test, as USB4 quickly reaches its technical limits. In principle, the Khadas pursuing a good approach here. In order to use the basic advantages of the Khadas Mind 2, there is no getting around the optional Mind Dock.

The Khadas Mind 2 is available directly from the manufacturer. The cheapest device with Intel Core Ultra 5 125H, 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD starts at $799. Our test configuration with Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, 32 GB RAM and 1 TB SSD costs 1,099 US dollars, although the top model Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, 64 GB RAM and 2 TB SSD costs 1,399 US dollars. Amazon also offers some SKUs of the mini PC with prices starting at $900.

The Khadas Mind we already took a close look at it last year. Almost a year later, Khadas has updated the SoC in the Mind 2, which now uses Intel's Meteor Lake processors. But this is not the only area where the manufacturer from the Far East has made changes, as the Mind 2 also clearly stands out from its predecessor with its revised connectivity. The Khadas Mind 2 is available in three different versions. The cheapest model starts at 799 US dollars. It is then equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 5 125H with 16 GB RAM and a 512 GB SSD. You have to pay 1,099 US dollars for the device with Intel Core Ultra 7 155H with 32 GB RAM and a 1 TB SSD, although the top model is equipped with the same SoC, but 64 GB RAM and a 2 TB SSD. However, the top-of-the-range configuration comes at a hefty price of 1,399 US dollars.

Khadas sent us the Mind 2 in the mid-range configuration. We will now take a closer look at how well the mini PC performs against its competitors. We have summarized a list of the comparison devices that accompany us in this review in the following table.

The Khadas Mind 2 has the same housing that we already know from the Khadas Mind. The manufacturer continues to rely on a sturdy uni-body housing made entirely of aluminum. Only a small amount of plastic is used in the area of the IO ports on the back. If you place both devices next to each other, there is a slight color difference. The manufacturer seems to have changed a few things in the manufacturing process. The dock, which we already looked at in last year's test, no longer fits perfectly with the Mind 2. Technically, the Mind 2 is compatible with all accessories that Khadas offers for the Mind mini PC. In terms of space requirements, Khadas is still way ahead with the Mind 2. The mini PC clearly stands out from the competition, especially with its height of just 20 millimeters. Due to its small dimensions, the small PC is very light. The device weighs just 437 grams. The 65-watt power supply unit weighs 83 grams and is therefore also one of the lighter models.

The scope of delivery itself is very spartan. Only the mini PC itself and the 65-watt power supply unit including USB-C cable are included in the box. Other accessories, such as the Mind Dock, the Mind Lether Case or the Mind Graphics Dock, can be purchased separately.

Maintenance work is possible, but is limited to cleaning the fan. If you want to open the device, you have to remove four small screws located under the glued-on rubber feet. The already installed SSD can then also be replaced. The RAM and WLAN module, on the other hand, are permanently installed and cannot be replaced or upgraded. However, there is a flap on the underside that can be used to install another M.2 data carrier. Here, however, you are limited to the M.2-2230 standard.

The Khadas Mind 2 is a very compact mini PC, which makes repair work almost impossible. With the exception of the SSD, all important components are permanently installed. The manufacturer is praised for its compact packaging, which certainly makes transportation easier. However, the manufacturer does not provide any more detailed information on the use of recycled materials for production. The warranty period of the Khadas Mind 2 is specified as 24 months.

We carried out all performance tests with the maximum performance energy profile. We did not change the performance of the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H and left it in auto mode according to the BIOS settings. Other energy-saving plans were only used for power consumption and the noise measurements according to our test criteria.

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H belongs to the Meteor Lake H series and combines 16 cores and 22 threads. A separate NPU is also included, which is intended for special AI calculations. The performance compared to the Mind of the first generation could only be increased in a few tests. Only in the AIDA64 tests do we see a clear advantage for the new model. In figures, this means a performance increase of 28 percent in the average performance comparison. At the same time, we also see that the Khadas Mind 2 does not manage to stay ahead of the Minisforum UH125 Pro. However, the reason is quickly found here, as the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H cannot be operated with 64 watts permanently due to its design. The performance that the SoC can deliver with a more powerful cooling unit is illustrated by the comparison with the Acemagic F2A.

For further comparisons and benchmarks, please refer to our CPU comparison table.