Beelink N100 Mini PC: Mini S12 Pro and Mini S12

The names confuse more than the hardware does. "Mini S12" covers two chips, because Beelink also sells a Mini S12 with the N95, 8GB of memory and a 480GB SATA SSD. "Pro" once marked the N100 upgrade over that N95 model, and it still does.

• Mini S12 Pro: N100, sold in several versions, from 16GB DDR4 with 500GB to a 12GB LPDDR5 build with a 512GB SATA SSD and Windows 11 Home.
• Mini S12 (N100): N100, 16GB DDR4, 500GB SSD, a VESA bracket and an HDMI cable in the box.
• Mini S12 (N95): the older chip, rated at 15W with 16 graphics execution units against the N100's 24.
• Mini S13: the same idea on the N150, up to 3.6GHz.

Both N100 boxes wake on LAN, boot over PXE, power on by RTC timer and restart themselves after a power cut. Those four switches in the BIOS are what make a desk PC usable as a headless server.

On specs alone, the choice between the two is a coin toss. The version you pick, and its memory type, outweigh the badge.

• Upgradeable memory. The 16GB DDR4 sits in one SO-DIMM slot. Single 32GB sticks are widely reported to work, though Intel only certifies 16GB.
• Room for storage. The M.2 slot takes a larger SSD, and Beelink's spec sheet adds a 2.5-inch SATA bay for a second drive.
• Fast USB. Four 10Gbps ports cover external SSDs and docks without a hub.
• Quiet at idle. The fan has little to do at desktop loads, since the chip is rated at 6W base power.

The limits are just as concrete. Only two displays are possible, because there is no USB-C port carrying DisplayPort. There is one Ethernet port, so a router build needs a USB adapter or a different box. Wi-Fi 6 is there for convenience; a server belongs on the cable.

• Two screens maximum.
• One 2.5GbE port.
• A fan, which a fanless MeLE avoids.
• Single-channel memory, like every N100.

Beelink has since moved the EQ line to newer Intel N-series chips, and the N100 EQ12 no longer ships new. The features people wanted from it survive elsewhere, spread across a few N100 boxes rather than gathered in one.

Note the OUMAX runs its two ports at 1GbE, not 2.5GbE. For most home internet connections that is no limit; for a fast fibre line or a NAS link it is. For a desk PC, none of that matters, and the Mini S12 Pro is the simpler buy. For a two-port router with a bit of Docker on the side, the OUMAX is the nearest match in one box.

• Want 2.5GbE on two or more ports: go to the N100 firewall boxes.
• Want one clean cable to the wall: the OUMAX's internal supply.
• Want the newest Beelink: the N150 Mini S13.

Typical N100 mini PCs idle somewhere around 6–10W and draw roughly 20–30W with all four cores loaded, the short burst limit set by the maker rather than by Intel's 6W base. Beelink's own claim for the Mini S12, under 1kWh a day, is easily met: that would be an average above 40W.

• Disable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in the BIOS on a wired server; each radio adds a little.
• An NVMe SSD with good low-power states idles cooler than a 2.5-inch hard drive.
• Leave the power plan on balanced; the N100 races to idle quickly.
• Unplug the monitor from a headless box; an active display output keeps the graphics engine awake.

The full numbers, including what a year of round-the-clock uptime costs at typical tariffs, sit in the N100 power consumption breakdown. For a Beelink, the short version is that the box costs less to run than the router it sits beside.

Between the two Beelinks, price usually decides. When one costs noticeably less for 16GB DDR4 and 500GB or 512GB, buy that one; the hardware inside is the same class of part.

1. Pick a 16GB DDR4 version over the 12GB LPDDR5 one unless the saving is large.
2. Check which Windows edition is included: some versions ship with Windows 11 Home, others ask you to bring your own.
3. Confirm the chip reads N100, not N95, when the product name only says Mini S12.
4. If you need three screens, look past Beelink to a box with a third HDMI or a DisplayPort USB-C.

Current price bands for every configuration are in the N100 price guide. For the newer chip in the same shell, the N100 vs N150 comparison shows what the Mini S13's extra 200MHz buys.

A final check: both boxes ship with an external power adapter and a VESA plate, so they can hang behind a monitor. For everyone else, the Mini S12 Pro remains the default Beelink: well documented, easy to open and supported by nearly every homelab guide written for the chip.