REVIEW: Beelink GT-R a powerful mini PC with AMD Ryzen 5 3550H APU

Beelink GT-R is a new and powerful mini PC from the brand Beelink of which we present today in his review.

A computer with a very careful design that integrates a high performance AMD Ryzen 5 3550H APU. Inside this small box we also have multiple connectivity options, we can install a disk M.2 NVMe, another M.2 SATA and for storage another SATA 2.5″ disk. It also has Wi-Fi 6 with a new chip from Intel and allows four video outputs at the same time. Without a doubt a very interesting product, let’s see how this device behaves in our usual review.

PRODUCT DETAILS

Unboxing

The Beelink GT-R comes in a black cardboard box with the image of the device, inside we found the Mini PC, 2x HDMI cables, Manual, DC 19V 3A (57W) adapter, VESA support and USB with OS restore option.

Description

The Beelink GT-R Mini-PC has a very compact design and has ventilation grids on the sides and bottom. On the front side there is a status LED on the power button, audio jack, BIOS reset button (do not touch), two USB 3.0 ports and one USB 3.1 Type-C port with data and video output. In the rear area we have the rest of the connectors where we highlight its two HDMI 2.0 outputs and another DP 1.4, we can connect up to four screens at once in total.

On the motherboard of this mini PC we find the latest generation Wifi 6 + BT 5.1 adapter (Intel AX200D2WL) with two internal antennas. When we open it we can see a board that supports a 2.5″ SATA disk, if we unmount it we can see that it is used as a heatsink for the installed M.2 2280 NVMe disk, next to it we have another free M.2 2280 SATA slot. This mini PC has VESA support.

• Networking: Wifi 6 + BT 5.1 (Intel AX200D2WL) with two internal antennas / 2x Gigabit Ethernet
• Expansions: We can change NVMe 2280 disk, mount M.2 SATA 2280 disk and have a SATA 2.5″ disk
• Extras: VESA support included / 2x HDMI cables

To cool the set we have two blower fans with heat pipes in contact with the processor at the bottom. The hot air outlet is made at the back so it is recommended not to block that air outlet, at the sides the system takes cold air so it is not recommended boxing the PC either.

SYSTEM AND PERFORMANCE

Environment and user experience

We start the Beelink GT-R by pressing the front button of the box, as the specifications indicate we have Windows 10 Home 64bit correctly activated and the device list has all its drivers installed by default. The environment moves very smoothly thanks to its powerful CPU in combination with the 16 GB of RAM, this allows us to load numerous navigation tabs or editing projects. A valid computer for office suits, multimedia and editing programs at a good level.

As a novelty in this mini PC we have a fingerprint reader that allows us to enter Windows without a password, we can even activate data encryption if we want extra security for our drive.

• OS Version installed: Windows 10 Home 64bit v2003.
• Software pre-installed: None.
• Tutorials mini PC: Control the mini PC with your Smartphone / Install Windows 10 / Migrate Windows to SSD

Networks, Storage, RAM and Ports

As for the network adapters in the Beelink GT-R Mini-PC, we have an integrated wireless Wifi 6 + BT 5.1 chip (Intel AX200D2WL) and two Gigabit Ethernet ports. We also tested the 16 GB of DDR4 2667 MHz RAM that comes by default in a Dual Channel configuration. We tested the speed of the NVMe storage installed by default and observed that it behaves normally at its maximum speed. The Wifi 6 adapter gives us very good results, and we have high performance.

• USB ports: We have six USB 3.0 ports / USB 3.1 Type-C with video
• Network performance: Good speed with two internal Wifi antennas. / Range 38 dBm, OK. / Bluetooth OK.
• Tutorials mini PC:  Install Windows 10 / Migrate Windows to a SSD / Tutorial SAMBA on Android networks

Processor, performance and thermal

In the Beelink GT-R Mini-PC we have installed an AMD Ryzen 5 3550H processor that has four Zen+ cores at 14nm and has eight threads, the process speed is between 2.1 and 3.7 GHz and the consumption is 20 W TDP.  In the graphic section we have a Radeon RX Vega 8 GPU with a maximum speed of 1.4 GHz. The general performance is excellent, without a doubt a rival for the processors destined to Intel laptops.

• If you want to know some models in this comparative you can read their detailed reviews on this link.

As we see the performance in the tests leaves it close to the AMD Ryzen of the same generation, the consumption of 20W TPD is what makes the difference with the other ranges. In the graphics aspect the performance is much higher than Intel GPUs.

As for overclocking, the most important aspect of Ryzen APUs is the speed of the RAM. It is essential to have two RAM modules working in Dual Channel and it has the maximum speed. The GPU uses the system RAM as memory and it is critical to get the maximum performance from it, for that we can do OC to the memory as we indicate below.

• OC RAM: BIOS > Advance > AMD CBS > UMC > DDR4 > DRAM timing > Scroll down and Accept >  Manual > 1333MHz (check your RAM)
• Power Consumption: Off 1.3W / Idle 12W / Basic use 37W / Max. 68W.
• Thermals: Idle 35ºC / Basic use 45ºC / Max. 70ºC / Maintains performance up to 100%
• Game performance: PUBG 65ºC / CPU 2.6 GHz average.
• Noise: 43db in the cooling fan / Not annoying but audible in games.

Games

We performed our gaming tests on the Beelink GT-R which thanks to its Radeon RX Vega 8 GPU offers us quite good performance on many titles that are totally impossible to play on Intel processors with integrated HD Graphics GPUs. As we can see in the results we can play quite a few demanding titles with 1080p resolution, emulators are also feasible but at most we stay in some simple Wii titles.

• GTA V / Overwatch / Fortnite / PUBG Lite: low settings, 720p* resolution and No VSync./ PUBG Lite configuration tutorial.
• LOL / CS:GO: low settings, 1080p resolution and No VSync.
  *On models with powerful discrete GPU settings in medium and 1080p resolution

Performance test in Fortnite, medium quality settings and 100% rendering at 1080p resolution. Quite playable with these settings if we settle for stable 30fps, results in the line of the same APU mounted on laptops.

VIDEO AND AUDIO TESTS

Playback test

If we check the video playback aspect the Beelink GT-R makes is exclusive use of its Radeon RX Vega 8 GPU that has a VPU that has hardware support for HVEC and VP9 codecs, in this processor we have support for 10bit color video, we also have HDR support although in our screen we have had to try several settings until reaching the right display mode to enable this feature in Windows. The performance with advanced video formats can vary between KODI and the Windows serial player, usually KODI is better.

• Video output: Quadruple HDMI 2.0b + DP 1.4 + USB Type-C / Max 4K@60fps / Adjust image quality in our TV.
• Audio output: HDMI with Intel HD audio up to 7.1 / Audio jack stereo / 2x integrated microphone.
• Tutorials: Playback 4K videos with HEVC and VP9 seamlessly / Install KODI with add-ons / Judder effect (auto refresh rate)
• Configuration tutorial: Basic concepts and configuration for multichannel audio on Windows and Android

Video test

• * The maximum bit rate depends on the internal storage, usb port, Ethernet adapter or the limitations with our SAMBA Network.
• SW = does not have hardware acceleration and may have some frameskip in very heavy files.

Audio test

• PCM – Stereo only doing downmix from DD or DTS
• Core – Only the core of the format is played back with what we passed to the Dolby / DTS base system
  * Our AV receiver does not support these native formats, but we verify that it is played back to 7.1

Streaming services

In the streaming aspect the Beelink GT-R mini PC with the most popular streaming services we pass some test for Youtube, Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime Video and others with their native apps or using the most compatible browser. You can consult our guides where we explain in detail all the best known streaming services, how to configure them and what requirements are necessary to see content in HD or 4K quality.

• Performance: Has hardware acceleration for VP9 4K codec on Youtube.
• Tutorial: Install Addons in KODI in a simple way / LibreELEC for PC

CONCLUSIONS AND BUY LINKS

Score

Opinion

Once we have analyzed the Beelink GT-R we can say that we are in front of one of the most interesting mini PCs ever made by the Beelink brand. The AMD Ryzen 5 3550H processor in combination with its Radeon RX Vega 8 GPU gives us excellent performance in the desktop environment and even with demanding games up to a certain level. The design of the case, the multiple internal storage options, the integrated fingerprint reader and the four simultaneous video outputs are also noteworthy.

This Beelink GT-R Mini-PC keeps the temperatures low at all times thanks to its fans. Of course, we have some noise especially when playing games but it is bearable. The Wifi 6 + BT 5.1 adapter behaves excellently when used in a network, and we also have a double Gigabit Ethernet port. The system BIOS is quite complete and it is also compatible with other OSes if we are interested.

The new Beelink GT-R as we see a compact computer ideal for work and gaming at 720/1080p, a good model of mini PC for desktop use, video / image editing and AAA games adjusting them to the appropriate level.

Where to buy

• As an alternative you can compare this product with our recommended models.