Beelink GTR5 GR9 Power Consumption
In terms of power, the supplied power brick is a 19V unit. At idle, we could see power consumption in the 6-7W range, but this jumped quite a bit. Our normal desktop web browsing was closer to 30-40W.
At the top end, we were getting over 80W with performance settings. This is small, but the CPU means that we have a decently power-hungry system.
For noise, this is one that we demonstrated in the video. If you just want to hear how loud the system is and hear the pitch, it is probably best to just go to that portion of the accompanying video.
Key Lessons Learned
This is perhaps the most unique system we have seen in a long time. The number of oddities when it comes to things like branding, between the emphasis on AMD branding and the inconsistent model name branding, is astounding.
Still, there are tons of features that really take a different approach. Between the fingerprint reader, front microphones, and dual 2.5GbE LAN ports, there is a lot here that is just different and that is refreshing.
Inside, we like that the unit is fairly easy to service, and Beelink opted to use Crucial and Kingston components instead of lower-cost generic alternatives. We also get WiFi 6E, although MediaTek.
All told, perhaps the key lesson learned was that this is a funky little system that may at first seem similar to many others, but it branched out to provide a meaningfully different approach.
Final Words
This is a system that I was reserved about when initially arrived. Then I opened the box and realized that it was so small it could fit in my camera bag. This little system has been to four countries and from Texas to California and New York (twice.) Portability is something Beelink nailed with this system.
This system is not perfect. In its default performance mode, it is slightly louder than I would have liked due to the dual small fans. On-site warranties are not part of the package. Pricing at $775 and lower makes this a great value, but closer to $850-900 it is more challenging. Unfortunately, pricing varies a lot as you can see in this thread.
What I was excited to find out was just how good this little package ended up being. For STH readers that need a high-end AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX APU with good amounts of memory and dual NICs in a compact spot for things like suitcase demo clusters, this is incredibly appealing.
I must admit, the Minisforum HX90 we reviewed is a bit quieter, but the features and compactness probably make this Beelink GTR5, GR9, GTR5-A, or GTR my favorite mini PC that we have tested as part of the new STH Mini PC series (for desktop-class systems, excluding the network focused-systems.)
Reviews on Amazon complain about needing to set up an account with a biometrics company and nothing working till that was done. Another complained about spyware.
Was there any similar monkey business with this unit?
Can it run Linux? I guess so given the kernel compile benchmark was run. Does it require secure boot?
Mark – I just used Windows Hello and it worked out of the box so I guess I was using Microsoft.
We ran Ubuntu on it. There is someone in the YT comments saying they have been running Proxomx on it for 6 months and it has worked great for them.
At my old MSP we deployed these to our clients as desktops when we couldn’t get Lenovo M series. They’ve been a hit since, primarily because of the connectivity and just solid performance. We re-image by default, but in our labs we didn’t notice any spyware or biometric requirement….older model (blue ryzen 3750 ones) but really very similar product. I asked my buddy who still works there…never had to RMA one yet (~20 in the field).
How loud this thing gets ?
These things are more often than not heavilly overpriced crap.
They charge an arm&leg for an SoC on very limited MoBo, cheap enclosure and custom, usually very constrained cooler.
Ofcourse, without a chipset – whole board is essentially Ryzen with VRM and connectors.
I also don’t understand why is it so painful for them to route out what’s already available on SoC.
Why is it so rare to see, for example, 4 Displayport outupts when chips do offer them ?
You benchmark Ryzen processors over several generations but there’s no newer generation Intel up there in the benchmark. For a review from june 22, I would awaited a comparison between the latest tech. Could you guys add 12gen intel and hit the article with an “update”?
Not everyone needs massive levels of versatility in their computing experience and these mini-PC’s fill a niche. They don’t require large levels of expertise to operate, are simple to just plug in and don’t require large levels of desk space and air space for heat removal. Many can game reasonably well and don’t suck up the power bill while doing so.
It’s not surprising to see the MediaTek wireless solution on AMD boxes, since MediaTek and AMD have co-branded (and offer package deals on) these in an effort to compete with Intel. I bet the module says “Part Number: RZ608” (the AMD product name) on it?
MediaTek wifi is actually quite well supported on Linux, but the driver fixes for MT7921K aka RZ608 modules only got implemented very recently – you’ll need to use a 5.17 kernel or later.
I have one of these. I’m using it to learn Proxmox before I deploy Proxmox onto a large, much more complex (in terms of hardware) server.
I’m loving it so far. I do have a couple of questions I’m hoping someone else here might already have found the answer to.
1) With Proxmox/a non-Windows OS installed, will the fans still work correctly? If the BIOS is controlling them, I don’t need to worry about it, but if the OS is supposed to control them, PVE won’t know how to do that, and I need to do … something. (Install fancontrol and configure that?)
2) How do I update the BIOS/Firmware? The site is a bit confusing and I’m not sure what to download. There’s a “Flash Firmware” tool from August 2022 on their website, but it’s not clear from the download page that it applies to my machine.
See: https://www.bee-link.com/cms/support/driverhardware?product_id=&keyword=&categoryId=78
Hi i agree the branding is very confusing but my main issue is that i cant get the system to run at above 30 htz refresh rate.
any help would be appreciated
I had the same one but my motherboard gave out only had it 9 month’s not even a year and I took it to a PC repair shop and I waited 1-3 days and he called me and said he couldn’t fix it and couldn’t find another motherboard for it is their motherboards I can find to replace it.