Prime: Beelink Mini PC SER5 Pro: 5825U, 16GB DDR4, 500GB PCle 3.0 SSD $265

glanwin

Jul 8, 2025 4:42 PM

282 Comments

Joined Nov 2017

glanwinJul 8, 2025 4:42 PM

282 Comments

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank

This one, https://a.co/d/cGlG6su, is with 32GB ram and only $4 more.

1

2

ClovisJ

Jul 9, 2025 4:39 AM

319 Comments

Joined Nov 2012

ClovisJJul 9, 2025 4:39 AM

319 Comments

Quote from glanwin

:

This one, https://a.co/d/cGlG6su, is with 32GB ram and only $4 more.

Shows $299 for me.

IM4Dean

Jul 9, 2025 5:48 AM

37 Comments

Joined Dec 2003

IM4DeanJul 9, 2025 5:48 AM

37 Comments

Searching for a small form pc primarily for my 9 year old son to safely search the web and play basic games. How does this compare to the $100-$200 options I've regularly seen posted on SD?

Colonel_Sanders

Jul 9, 2025 1:41 PM

173 Comments

Joined Sep 2015

Colonel_SandersJul 9, 2025 1:41 PM

173 Comments

Quote from IM4Dean

:

Searching for a small form pc primarily for my 9 year old son to safely search the web and play basic games. How does this compare to the $100-$200 options I've regularly seen posted on SD?

kinda depends on what you mean by basic games. The deals for $100-200 are typically a n150 CPU, which is geared more for power efficiency than gaming performance. However, those rigs are fine for simple games and older emulators. I expect the PC in this posting will perform better, but if you are looking for better gaming performance, this variant isn't much more and comes with a 680M GPU: https://www.amazon.com/Beelink-De...B0F62NFK51. If it was me, I'd hold out for a PC with a 780M GPU, but that will likely cost north of $400.

1

shadowfyr62

Jul 9, 2025 4:14 PM

25 Comments

Joined Dec 2011

shadowfyr62Jul 9, 2025 4:14 PM

25 Comments

Quote from glanwin

:

This one, https://a.co/d/cGlG6su, is with 32GB ram and only $4 more.

However, you lose the 2.5gb lan ports to 1gb ports and also lose the display port to another HDMI. You can always add ram but cannot change this configuration.

1

zyberwoof

Jul 9, 2025 5:44 PM

1.1K Comments

Joined Jun 2006

zyberwoofJul 9, 2025 5:44 PM

1.1K Comments

Quote from shadowfyr62

:

However, you lose the 2.5gb lan ports to 1gb ports and also lose the display port to another HDMI. You can always add ram but cannot change this configuration.

2.5G Ethernet can be added via USB. That's less preferable, but it is an inexpensive option.

Some home lab scenarios would prefer dual NICs. On the other hand, most users have no use for multiple NICs, but could possibly use the extra bandwidth from 2.5G one day. I personally have a few machines setup as hypervisors (Proxmox) and opted for single 2.5G NICs with VLAN tagging instead of separate NICs for each VLAN.

Also, the original model from this post, the SER5, includes an internal slot to use a 2.5" drive as well. This is a pretty big feature for those who like to tinker, IMO. It makes it easy to expand the storage with a drive you might have lying around. Or it could let you separate the OS from the data or VMs if used as a NAS or hypervisor.

Lastly, they don't make the RAM configuration clear on this SER5. Does it come with 1x16 GiB stick or 2x8 GiB?

1x16 GiB - Less optimal since it's not dual channel. But much better if you plan on purchasing another 16 GiB stick to make 32 GiB total.
2x8 GiB - Better performance since dual channel. But more wasteful and expensive if you want to upgrade to 32 GiB.

None of this is meant to be arguing. Just a some thoughts to help people pick which model works best for them.

1

ChildishGambino

Jul 10, 2025 8:17 AM

255 Comments

Joined Nov 2018

ChildishGambinoJul 10, 2025 8:17 AM

255 Comments

Get EQR6 for $20 more

6800U(8C/16T, Up to 4.7GHz), 24G LPDDR5 RAM 500GB

https://a.co/d/dzlGXFx

Prime: Beelink Mini PC SER5 Pro: 5825U, 16GB DDR4, 500GB PCle 3.0 SSD $265

$265

$349

Community Voting

Join The Conversation

7 Comments

Join The Conversation

Related Searches