Beelink Mini S

Starry Hope Rating
3.0

Updated on

Photo of Beelink Mini S

The Beelink Mini S is a compact, budget-friendly Mini PC that runs Windows 11 Pro. It is powered by an Intel Celeron Processor N5095, which offers four cores with speeds up to 2.9GHz. The device is equipped with 8GB of DDR4 SO-DIMM RAM, which can be upgraded to 16GB, and comes with a 256GB M.2 SATA SSD, with the option to add a 2.5-inch drive for additional storage. The Mini S features integrated Intel UHD Graphics and supports dual 4K display outputs via HDMI ports. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 4.0, and Gigabit Ethernet, though it lacks a USB Type-C port. The Mini S is actively cooled with a fan, ensuring stable performance during operation.

ProsCons
Affordable price pointSingle-channel RAM limits performance
Compact and lightweight designNo USB Type-C port
Upgradeable RAM and storage optionsNot suitable for demanding tasks like AAA gaming
Dual HDMI ports support 4K displaysWi-Fi is not the latest standard (Wi-Fi 5)
Runs Windows 11 Pro out of the boxPlastic build may not appeal to all users
Actively cooled to prevent overheatingStruggles with 4K 60fps video playback

Related Videos

Beelink Mini S Comparison Chart

Beelink Mini S

Beelink Mini S

Beelink Mini S

Beelink Mini S

Price

List Price: $169.00

Amazon Prices:

Check Price on Amazon

List Price: $159.00

Amazon Prices:

Check Price on Amazon

Version8GB/256GB/Intel N50958GB/128GB/Intel N5095
Performance Rating4.14.1
Operating SystemWindows 11 ProWindows 11 Pro
ProcessorQuad-core 2.00 Ghz (max 2.90 Ghz)
Intel Celeron Processor N5095
Quad-core 2.00 Ghz (max 2.90 Ghz)
Intel Celeron Processor N5095
GPUIntegrated Intel UHD GraphicsIntegrated Intel UHD Graphics
RAM8 GB8 GB
Internal Storage256 GB128 GB
Dimensions
width x length x thickness
4.5 x 4 x 1.6 inches
(114.3 x 101.6 x 40.64 mm)
4.5 x 4 x 1.6 inches
(114.3 x 101.6 x 40.64 mm)
Weight0.6 lbs (0.27 kg)0.6 lbs (0.27 kg)
WiFiWi-Fi 5 (802.11ac)Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac)
BluetoothBluetooth 4.0Bluetooth 4.0
Ethernet1 Ethernet port at 1 Gbps1 Ethernet port at 1 Gbps
HDMI2 Full-Size HDMI Ports2 Full-Size HDMI Ports
DisplayPortNo DisplayPortNo DisplayPort
VGANo VGA PortsNo VGA Ports
USB Ports4 USB 34 USB 3
Thunderbolt PortsNoNo
OCuLinkNoNo
Internal SATA Ports1 SATA port, includes 2.5" drive bay (Supports a 2.5 inch internal drive)1 SATA port, includes 2.5" drive bay (Supports a 2.5 inch internal drive)
Card ReaderNo Card ReaderNo Card Reader
Headphone Jackcombocombo
FanlessNoNo
VESA MountYesYes
In the BoxBeelink MINI S Mini PC, 2 HDMI Cables (25cm & 100cm), Power adapter (12V/3A), Mounting bracket, User Manual, 6 foot HDMI cable, 12 volt 24 watt power supply, mounting hardwareBeelink MINI S Mini PC, 2 HDMI Cables (25cm & 100cm), Power adapter (12V/3A), Mounting bracket, User Manual, 6 foot HDMI cable, 12 volt 24 watt power supply, mounting hardware
ExpandabilitySupports addition of a 2.5 inch drive, RAM upgradable to 16GB. SSD can be swapped out, and you can add a 2.5 inch driveSupports addition of a 2.5 inch drive, RAM upgradable to 16GB. SSD can be swapped out, and you can add a 2.5 inch drive

Related Mini PCs

At 4.5 x 4 x 1.6 inches and about 0.6 pounds, the Mini S is genuinely small and VESA-mounts behind a monitor or TV. The Celeron N5095 covers everyday tasks such as web browsing, document editing, and media playback, and the Intel UHD graphics handle casual or older games at low settings rather than anything demanding. It ships with Windows 11 Pro.

For ports it has four USB 3.0, two HDMI (for a dual 4K setup), a Gigabit Ethernet jack, and a combo audio jack, plus Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 4.0; there is no USB-C. Storage is a 256GB M.2 SATA SSD with a 2.5-inch bay for a second drive, and the single RAM slot takes up to 16GB of DDR4. It is a practical pick when small size and low cost matter more than speed.

A quick disambiguation first, because Beelink reused this name. The unit reviewed here is the original Mini S built on the Intel Celeron N5095 (Jasper Lake, four cores, four threads, launched in early 2021). It is a different machine from the later MINI S12 (Intel N95) and MINI S12 Pro (Intel N100), which have their own pages. Every figure below comes from a hands-on review of the N5095 model specifically. For 2026 context, that chip carries a PassMark multi-thread score of roughly 4,106. The N100 and N150 powering most current sub-$200 mini PCs land near 5,643 and 5,478 respectively, so this is an older, slower part by today’s budget baseline, which is worth keeping in mind when you read the numbers below.

ETA PRIME’s Perspective

ETA PRIME’s review frames the Mini S as an “affordable yet versatile tiny Windows 11 PC” and treats it largely as a Raspberry Pi alternative for light gaming and emulation. He confirmed the N5095 with Intel UHD Graphics running 16 execution units, and noted that Beelink set a relatively generous power limit: a CPU-Z run pushed the package to “15 to 16 watts,” and he measured the whole unit pulling “no more than 18 watts from the wall.” His synthetic numbers were modest: Geekbench 5 returned 595 single-core and 1825 multi-core, the 3DMark Wild Life Vulkan test scored 1414, and Night Raid landed at 2642. Gaming told the same story. Skyrim at 720p low settings averaged 42fps, which he attributed to the single-channel memory, estimating dual-channel could add “up to 40 percent” in these integrated-graphics systems; Dirt 3 at 720p medium held a smooth 60fps with V-Sync. Emulation was where he was most impressed for the price: PSP titles ran at 4x to 5x internal resolution drawing only around 12 watts, GameCube and Wii games ran at full speed in Dolphin, but PS2 was a step too far for the GPU. “Web browsing is actually pretty snappy on this,” he remarked, and 1080p and 4K video playback held up. His verdict was that the Mini S is not a powerhouse and “wasn’t meant to be,” but it is a capable budget option.

TechTablets’ Analysis

TechTablets’ review describes the N5095 Mini S as “a Jasper Lake mini PC that’s aimed at just basic computing,” and the testing backs that framing. The reviewer read the chip as a 15-watt part with a 30-watt PL2 ceiling, powered by a 36-watt adapter, and flagged that the single SO-DIMM runs in single channel at 2667MHz, which chiefly hurts the integrated graphics. On thermals, the unit peaked at 87 degrees Celsius under load without thermal throttling, and the fan stayed “quite hard to hear most of the time.” He confirmed the wireless is an Intel 3165 AC card rather than the faster AX standard, and that the SATA SSD ran close to its interface ceiling near 550MB/s reads with about 206GB free out of the box. For workloads, Chrome handled roughly 10 to 15 tabs before the quad-core hit 100 percent, Counter-Strike at 720p lowest hovered around 30fps and dipped below it during action, and 4K 30fps video played acceptably while 4K 60fps “was choppy.” He ran Geekbench 5 on camera but did not read out the scores, summarizing only that they confirmed a “very low end” chip; he stressed plainly that this is “not for AAA titles” or 4K video editing “because you will be extremely disappointed.” His bottom line: good value for genuinely basic computing, helped by the 2.5-inch storage bay. “It does have a good price point, of course, for those that don’t want to spend a lot of money.”

Lon.TV’s Evaluation

Lon Seidman’s review positions the Mini S as an entry-level Windows 11 Pro machine that is also Linux friendly, and his testing leans on power and benchmark measurements. With a 4K display attached he measured idle draw at “about 10 or 11 watts” and full load at “about 22 to 23 watts,” calling it efficient. On benchmarks, the Browserbench Speedometer test returned 85.4, “pretty much in line with other chips from the Jasper Lake generation,” and 3DMark Cloud Gate scored 4578, slightly behind an N5105 machine he had tested because the N5105 has marginally stronger graphics. The 3DMark stress test came back at 95.6 percent against a 97 percent passing threshold, so he warned of “a little thermal throttling” under sustained load, though he repeatedly praised the fan as “barely audible.” Gaming results matched the other reviewers: Rocket League at 720p low ran in the “high 30s” and occasionally up to 50fps, while older titles like Half-Life 2 held “a mostly solid 60 frames per second” at 1080p. He singled out the single-channel RAM as the main limiter and the AC (not Wi-Fi 6) wireless as a step behind pricier rivals, and for anyone focused on gaming or emulation he recommended stepping up to an AMD Ryzen-based mini PC instead. For basic office work, web, and word processing, he found it a nicely performing, well-built machine for the price.

Taken together, the three reviews agree closely on the measured picture: a roughly 15-to-16-watt processor that idles near 10 watts and tops out in the low 20s under load, fan noise that stays quiet to near-silent, sustained gaming in the 30 to 60fps range only on older or lighter titles at 720p to 1080p, and a single-channel memory layout that holds back the integrated GPU. The N5095 handles light desktop work, streaming, and retro and PSP-class emulation comfortably, but it stumbles on 4K 60fps video and anything demanding. Read in 2026, those benchmarks place it a clear tier below the N100 and N150 minis that now sell for similar money, so the Mini S makes the most sense as a cheap secondary desktop, a signage or kiosk box, or a used-market find rather than a current first choice.

Across 373 ratings on Amazon, the Beelink Mini S averages 4 stars, and the spread is real: 61 percent leave five stars while 14 percent leave one. The positive reviews lean heavily on value for light-duty roles. Mike J, a verified buyer who repurposed it as a home domain controller running ProxMox, wrote “It took no time at all to get this thing up and running, and I was really pleasantly surprised with performance.” Mac, another verified buyer, set the right expectation for the N5095 chip, calling it “A moderately priced computer to do moderately simple tasks” and noting it struggled with high-quality game-console streaming. Others used it successfully for general office use, remote telescope control, and basic virtualization.

The one-star reviews point at a consistent hardware-reliability concern rather than disappointment over speed. Steven M., a verified buyer who titled his review “Dead after 6 months,” described the unit cycling its power endlessly and said as a retired computing engineer he had tried resetting CMOS and swapping power supplies before tracing the fault to the rubber power-button cover. Jonathan, a verified buyer who gave it four stars as a hobbyist test box, reported repeated black-screen crashes and CMOS-battery trouble and cautioned that “Definitely not a PC you want to Leave on for Super long periods of Time.” If you are buying this for an always-on server, weigh those failure reports against the otherwise strong value story.

Read more owner reviews on Amazon.

Conclusion

The Beelink Mini S is a cheap, compact Windows 11 Pro box for light computing: web browsing, document work, media, and the storage/RAM headroom (a 2.5-inch bay and a 16GB-capable slot) to stretch it a little. It also makes a tidy digital-signage, kiosk, or secondary machine.

The N5095 is the catch. It is an older, slower chip than the N100 and N150 minis selling for similar money now, so AAA gaming, heavy multitasking, and 4K video editing are out, and the single-channel RAM, Wi-Fi 5, and lack of USB-C are real limits. If you want more speed for the money, a newer N100/N150 box (or, for gaming, an AMD Ryzen mini PC) is the better buy.

Anyone cross-shopping a Raspberry Pi for a low-power desktop may find our list of mini PCs that replace the delayed Pi 6 useful, and Beelink owners curious about the brand’s AI direction can read about the first OpenClaw mini PCs it ships pre-installed. To compare the Mini S with other models, use Starry Hope’s Mini PC Comparison Chart.

Yes, the Beelink Mini S comes pre-installed with Windows 11 Pro, allowing you to dive into your tasks right after unboxing.

The Beelink Mini S has an Intel Celeron Processor N5095 with four cores and a base speed of 2.00 GHz that can boost up to 2.90 GHz. More about the processor here.

Yes. The Mini S has a single SO-DIMM slot that supports up to 16GB of DDR4, so you can replace the stock module with a larger one.

Yes, it does. You can add a 2.5-inch drive for extra storage on top of the 256GB M.2 SATA SSD.

The Mini S features integrated Intel UHD Graphics, which is suitable for basic tasks and some light gaming.

The Mini S is actively cooled with a fan, ensuring optimal performance by preventing overheating.

Yes, the Beelink Mini S has a VESA mount, so you can easily attach it to the back of a monitor for a clean and space-saving setup.

The Mini S offers a variety of connectivity options, including Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 4.0, four USB 3.0 ports, gigabit ethernet, and dual HDMI ports. However, it does not have a USB Type-C port.

While the Beelink Mini S can handle lighter indie games and older titles, it’s designed for something other than demanding AAA games. Consider a Mini PC with a more powerful GPU and dual-channel RAM for more intense gaming.

Yes, the Beelink Mini S is compatible with Linux, providing flexibility for users who prefer or require an alternative operating system.