Review on Beelink Mini PC - 8th Gen Intel Core i5 8279U (up to 4.1GHz) - 16GB DDR4 RAM - 512GB NVMe M.2 SSD - Windows 10 Pro - 4K Dual HDMI, WiFi, BT5.0, 4USB3.0, Auto Power On by Richard Ahmar

I bought this mini PC to use as a Linux workstation. With limited space and an existing gaming PC on my desk, I was looking for a small form factor PC with a previous generation processor (to run Linux). This mini PC fulfills many criteria for me. I was not disappointed. The product arrived in beautiful premium packaging. Inside the box is a mini PC, 3ft HDMI cable, very short HDMI cable, VESA mounting bracket, screws (for 2.5" drive and VESA), power adapter and user manual . Before I installed Zorin OS 16 Pro, I first tested this on Windows. This device comes with Windows 10 Pro (20H2). Everything works fine on Windows, all ports work, WiFi 6 works. This unit can easily drive my 34" Ultra-Wide QHD Monitor. I tested the games on Windows, CSGO and Asphalt 9, both worked fine on this system. A few hours later when I was sure everything was fine , i checked the inside of this mini pc, i bought a system with 16gb ram and 512gb m.2 ssd, i was surprised to see that it only has 1 stick with 16gb memory, which means it has one there is a free slot and i can increase it to 32gb of storage for better performance.be careful when removing the bottom cover as it has a ribbon cable attached to it (see pics) for use with the 2.5 drive Installation of Linux (Zorin OS 16 Pro) took less than 10 minutes. In Linux, all hardware was detected normally. This system runs lightning fast on a Linux system, even with fancy desktop animations enabled. Although I don't like this at all ach for productivity purposes, I installed Steam from the Linux Application Repository. I was able to play CSGO and some other casual games from Steam on Linux with no problems. It's been a week since I received it and this system works 24/7 with no issues. This system is very quiet, perfect if you want to use it in the bedroom. I have 2 browser windows open daily, each with at least 10 tabs, Document, Spreadsheet, and Evolution (email and calendar) are open all the time. During my break I play CSGO without closing other applications and everything works fine. If I ever have multiple video conferences, I just plug the Pluggable Dock into a USB-C port, have my webcam and studio mic already connected, and be ready for a meeting in seconds. The Bluetooth 5.0 on this system is also impressive, I've connected a keyboard, mouse and speaker via Bluetooth and I've had no issues, no noticeable lag when using all devices at the same time. As I said before, I have limited desk space so I decided to place it on the back of my 34 inch monitor. This mini pc is so light that I was able to attach it to the back of the monitor with velcro (see pictures). If I have just one note, the USB-C port isn't lightning so you can't natively drive an external display through the USB-C port, but as it has 2 HDMI out ports this should be more for everyday use than be sufficient. Perfomance. Overall, I'm very impressed with this mini PC. Its performance is more than enough for daily work with some casual games. The small form factor is amazing, I can instantly take it with me wherever I need it. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one if needed. Beelink did a good job here. Highly recommended.