Azeyou N100 Mini PC

That matters for anyone who plugs in more than a keyboard and mouse. A 10Gbps port lets a good external NVMe enclosure run at roughly 900MB/s or more, depending on the bridge chip, against about 400–450MB/s on a 5Gbps USB 3.0 port. Photo libraries, video projects and full-disk backups move at twice the pace.

• USB 3.2 Gen2 × 3: external SSDs, capture devices, a USB hub for a busy desk.
• Type-C × 2: modern peripherals and USB-C drives without dongles.
• HDMI 2.0 × 2: two 4K@60Hz screens or a monitor plus a TV.
• RJ45 1000M: wired Gigabit networking.
• 3.5mm audio: a headset or powered speakers.

The display count is the limit to note. Azeyou wires two HDMI 2.0 outputs, so this is a two-screen machine. Desks that want three screens from one small box should look at the PELADN N100, which adds a third 4K output over Type-C.

The VESA mount changes how the port count plays out. Hung behind a monitor, the box keeps its five USB ports within arm's reach at the screen's edge, and a single short HDMI cable replaces a desk-length run. The DC adapter is the only cable that has to travel to the floor.

SATA3 caps sequential transfers at about 550MB/s. In daily Windows use that is hard to tell apart from NVMe: boot, app launches and browser caches are dominated by small reads where both interfaces feel instant. The gap shows only in very large file copies.

A sensible storage plan for this box:

1. Keep the 512GB M.2 drive for Windows 11 Pro and applications.
2. Add a 2.5-inch drive for bulk media. A 2TB laptop HDD holds a large film library; a SATA SSD suits photo catalogues and project folders.
3. Back up to USB over the 10Gbps ports, which are faster than the Gigabit network anyway.

Memory is 16GB of DDR4 at up to 3200MHz. The N100 runs one memory channel, and 16GB is the size that keeps Windows 11 with Teams, a browser full of tabs and an office suite in RAM without paging. Azeyou does not publish a memory ceiling or slot type, so treat the 16GB as the configuration to live with.

When replacing the system drive, buy an M.2 2280 SATA SSD rather than NVMe, since the slot is specified for SATA3. The keying on the two drive types looks similar, so read the part label, not the photo.

A fan, heatsink and drive cooling cover handle heat. The drive cover matters when a 2.5-inch HDD shares the case with the SSD, since both add heat to a small enclosure.

With auto power on set in the BIOS, a storm or a tripped breaker is a reboot, not a site visit. Pair it with a few low-duty services and the box becomes a quiet home utility:

• Home Assistant in a VM or container, with Bluetooth 5.2 for nearby sensors.
• Plex or Jellyfin using Quick Sync, which decodes AV1, HEVC and H.264 and encodes HEVC and H.264 in hardware.
• Pi-hole or AdGuard Home for network-wide DNS filtering.
• A backup target on the second drive, for laptops on the same network.

The ceiling is the single Gigabit port. File transfers over the network top out around 110–118MB/s, depending on protocol overhead. That is fine for streaming and backups, and slow for a primary NAS; boxes with 2.5GbE and more drive bays line up in the N100 home server guide.

Power draw suits 24/7 duty. The N100's base power is 6W, and a box like this typically idles somewhere in single-digit to low-teens watts, depending on the drives fitted, attached USB devices and Windows power settings. A spinning 2.5-inch HDD adds a watt or two while active.

Wi-Fi 6 covers rooms without a cable run, with Azeyou quoting up to 600Mbps. For a server, wire it anyway: Ethernet gives steady latency, and Wake-on-LAN usually needs the wired port.

Pick the Azeyou for Type-C peripherals and a second internal drive. Pick the Beelink for its 2.5G network port and its three-year warranty. More makers are compared on the N100 mini PC brands page.

The plain Beelink Mini S12 is the other near-twin. It carries 16GB of DDR4, four 10Gbps USB-A ports, a 2.5G port, Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2, and it ships with a VESA bracket and an HDMI cable in the box. It gives up the Type-C ports and the second-drive room that define the Azeyou.

The Azeyou fits if all three hold:

• Two screens are enough for the desk; if not, move to a triple-output box.
• The network plan tops out at Gigabit, or the box stays a desktop rather than a file server.
• Windows 11 Pro is the OS you want; it is preinstalled, and Linux is a reinstall away.