The Beelink GTi12 Ultra is a mini PC with an ulterior motive. It is a mini PC that also intends for you to buy a dock and add an external GPU. There is also a lot of technology inside the system that feels like Beelink is going to add to future models, making this a neat review to browse, even if this is not one you end up wanting to buy. There are also some quirks to the system.
We included this in a video here where we also covered the Beelink SER9:
We always suggest opening this in its own tab, browser, or app for the best viewing experience. Beelink sent us this unit to review.
If you just want to do a price check, you can find the unit on Amazon here: Affiliate link.
Beelink GTi12 Ultra Mini PC Review External Overview
The Beelink GTi12 Ultra has one of the more usable front I/O selections we have seen recently. Along the top are four holes for a microphone array. There are USB 3.2 Gen2 USB ports in both Type-A and Type-C variants. We also get an audio jack on the front. Something we do not get is labels on the ports which needs to happen.
Something we find super useful is a built-in SD card reader.
The power button also has a fingerprint reader for biometric authentication.
The sides are featureless metal expanses.
The top of the rear is dominated by cooling. Below the cooling we have a nice port selection. Four USB Type-A ports are all USB 3.2 Gen2 10Gbps ports. There is another Type-C port that is a Thunderbolt 4 port for adding even more like the Anker 778 Thunderbolt 4 Dock Mini-Review, QNAP TBS-h574TX, or even a 10GbE adapter. Below that is an audio jack.
Soemthing very different here is that we get an AC input into the system. A big feature here is the internal power supply.
We also get a HDMI and a DisplayPort when paired with the Thunderbolt port gives us three display outputs.
For networking, we get dual 2.5GbE which is always nice.
On the bottom, we get a vent, nice large rubber feet, and a Beelink pull tab.
The new feature is the slot that allows us to connect to the Beelink EX GPU Dock.
Next, let us get inside the system.
Something that is often overlooked is aesthetics. If the GPU is covered on both sides, or if you paid extra to get the “white version” then the GPU doesn’t look too bad. This crazy assembly can sort of be left on the table to look at. If one lives in a NYC apartment, a minitower might be out of the question based on size. For those that live in the real world, mini PCs may only be a curiosity instead of a necessity.
I found an Easter egg on page 3! It says “We have seen thsi chip”.
Not a fan of Intel WiFi any more. With the 6 GHz chips (WiFi 6E and later) they changed the firmware so they won’t transmit on 6 GHz until they first receive a signal on that frequency, as a hack to meet regulatory requirements. But this means if you buy an Intel WiFi card with the intention of setting up a software AP, you can’t run the AP on any 6 GHz channels unless you first connect it to some other 6 GHz network then switch it to AP mode, which is impractical.
The MediaTek chipsets don’t have this limitation so they are more capable if you’re wanting to build your own WiFi AP.
Malvineous, that’s very useful information, thank you.
This is an extremely odd system that leaves me scratching my head the longer I look at it. But I really want to know just how that dock would handle the full burden of a full sized RTX 4090? Just looking at the dock im not convinced that GPUs wont be properly secured in place.
I personally would just opt for a AMD Ryzen mini system if I really needed one. But honestly if I wanted the GPU dock and a full GPU I would just opt for a Mini ITX build of some sort, theres plenty of chassis options for different sized GPUs.