What is it? I believe the Beelink EQi 12 ($249 at Amazon) is the best value for money PC you can buy right now on Amazon Big Spring Sale. It is a mini PC but that’s beyond the point.
What makes it special? It is the cheapest Core i3 PC I know of (and it’s a 12-generation one as well) plus it comes with 24GB of LPDDR5 RAM. Not only is it faster than the usual DDR4 memory you find in this price range, there’s also 50% more RAM than your average PC around that price and it is branded as well (Micron).
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What else should we know? Though there are faster CPUs for multi-tasking in this price bracket, the Core i3-1220P CPU that powers it has the highest single-thread performance. There’s a 500GB PCIe 4.0 SSD with a spare slot to add another one. An Intel AX101 Wi-Fi 6 /Bluetooth 5.2 card provides wireless connectivity, and two Gigabit Ethernet ports at the back. With 10 ports, it has fewer ports than an average mini PC, although it can still power three 4K monitors. I also like that the 85W power supply is integrated and only requires a figure-8 power cable.
Any cons? The memory is soldered on the motherboard so you can’t upgrade it. There’s also a super slow USB 2.0 port, a head-scratching decision made worse because it is not properly labelled (there are also three other faster USB 3.0 ports). There are no card reader.
What have others said about it? Number 13 (with a different CPU): “The Beelink EQi12 is particularly impressive in office applications and in the multimedia sector, such as game and video streaming. The low noise level and consistent performance in all application areas are particularly noteworthy.”
What about aftersales? It comes with Amazon’s standard return policy and a standard one-year warranty from Beelink. You can also add a protection plan for $24.99 for two years and $33.99 for three years. Provided by Assurion to Amazon, it covers parts, labor, shipping and power surges from day one.
Anything else? It doesn’t say whether it comes with Windows or not. I reached out to Beelink to find out (I asked them to send one for review).
Also consider
- The AceMagician K1 ($239 at Amazon) has a CPU that’s faster on multi-tasking applications. It is also more affordable, has far more ports and a slightly bigger SSD. On the other hand, it uses slower DDR4 memory, has a DisplayPort (rather than a HDMI one) and one LAN port, rather than two.
- The Peladn W04 ($229 at Amazon) is less speedy than the EQi 12 but also cheaper and equipped with a 512GB SSD. It has the same number of connectors but swapped a HDMI port for a DisplayPort one, not an option I like. On the other hand, you can upgrade the DDR4 memory modules.
- If your budget can extend by around $30, then check out the Minisforum Venus UN1250 ($280 at Amazon) which uses a far more powerful Core i5-1250P CPU but offers less RAM (16GB). I praise the inclusion of a 2.5G LAN port (and the labelling of said ports) but loathe the fact that you can only add an additional SATA SSD.
- Don't forget to check out our best mini PC page and our best PC listicle
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