Beelink EQi13 Pro mini PC review - Part 1: specifications, unboxing, teardown, and first boot

The Beelink EQi13 Pro is a Windows 11 Pro mini PC available with a choice of two Raptor Lake processors: Intel Core i5-13500H or Intel Core i7-13620H. It supports up to 32 GB of RAM, ships with an up to 1TB M.2 SSD, and offers various ports, including two HDMI 2.0 ports, a 10 Gbps USB-C port, a USB 2.0 port, and three USB 3.0 ports. It also features two gigabit Ethernet ports, dual-band WiFi 6, and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity.

Beelink provided a review sample of the EQi13 Pro mini PC powered by an Intel Core i5-13500H processor and equipped with 32GB of RAM and a 1TB M.2 SSD. In this article, we will list Beelink EQi13 Pro’s specifications, perform an unboxing and teardown to check out the internal design, before booting it to Windows 11 Pro. We’ll then test the mini computer with Windows 11 and Ubuntu 24.04 in more detail in the next two parts of the review.

Beelink EQi13 Pro specifications

SoC (one or the other)
- Intel Core i5-13500H 12-core/16-thread processor up to 4.7GHz with 18MB Cache, 80 EUs Intel Iris Xe Graphics @ 1.45GHz, PBP: 45W
- Intel Core i7-13620H 10-core/16-thread processor up to 4.9GHz with 24MB Cache, 64 EUs Intel UHD Graphics @ 1.5GHz, PBP: 45W
System Memory – 32GB (16GB x2) dual-channel DDR4-3200 SODIMM
Storage – 2x M.2 2280 sockets for PCIe Gen 4 x4 SSDs, one fitted with a 500GB or 1TB SSD, expandable up to 4TB
Video Output – 2x HDMI 2.0 ports, up to 4K @ 60Hz
Audio
- 3.5mm audio jack
- Digital audio output via HDMI
Networking
- 2x Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 ports
- Dual-band WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 via Intel AX200 module
USB
- USB 3.0 Type-C port (10Gbps)
- 3x USB 3.0 Type-A ports (10Gbps)
- USB 2.0 Type-A port (480Mbps)
Misc
- Power button
- Power status LED (white when powered on)
- Clear CMOS button
- MSC 2.0 cooling system (Heat Pipe + Heat Dissipation Fins + Silent Fan + SSD Heatsink)
Power Supply – Integrated 85W PSU with 100-240V AC, 50/60Hz, 1.9A input
Dimensions – 128 x 128 x 46 mm (measured from the actual unit)
Weight – About 650 grams (from scale)

With those specs, it should be considered a lower mid-range model lacking features such as 2.5GbE, USB4/Thunderbolt port, and a USB-C port with DisplayPort Alt mode, only relying on HDMI ports for video output.

Unboxing

We received the mini PC in a retail package marked Beelink EQ.

The bottom side lists the model number (EQi Pro), plug type (US), and basic specifications, namely the CPU (Intel Core i5-13500H), memory capacity (32GB), storage capacity (1TB), and power input (100-240V AC 50/60Hz, 1.9A).

The mini PC is wrapped in a film with text on top reading:

Thank you for your choice

During the system boot process, if you cannot log in to your personal account, please turn off WiFi and LAN, select the skip option, and then log in to your personal account in the systems

That’s a bit odd, as we’ve never had this type of issue on Windows 11 mini PCs, including the EQi13 Pro tested here.

The package includes the Beelink EQi13 Pro mini PC itself, a US power cord, an HDMI cable, a user manual, and a white card marked “Hello”, whose purpose is unclear…

The front panel features a USB 3.0 port, a 3.5mm audio jack, a clear CMOS pinhole, a USB-C port (10Gbps, data only), a power button, and a power status LED (white light indicates the device is powered on).

The rear panel has cooling vents at the top, and a range of ports from left to right: two USB 3.0 ports, two HDMI ports, one USB 2.0 port, two Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 ports, and a power connector.

Beelink EQi13 Pro teardown

Time for a teardown of the EQi13 Pro mini PC. Opening the device is easy, simply remove the four sticky rubber on the bottom cover and loosen the four screws before pulling the rubber on the bottom right to lift the bottom cover.

From left to right, we’ll find the two DDR4 memory modules each covered by two thermal pads, heatsinks for M.2 SSDs, and the 100-240V AC power supply. We are clearly told NOT to open that part, and we’ll comply even though we haven’t connected the power yet, so it should be safe.

While the mini PC can be serviced by the user to replace the RAM, install a new SSD, or change the wireless module, it’s not quite as easy as we would have expected. We had to loosen about six screws and a hexagonal standoff to remove the heatsinks. The photo below shows the location of the free M.2 socket for an additional NVMe SSD or an AI accelerator.

The pre-installed “NVMe M.2 PCIe 4.0” SSD features a PHISON PS5021-E21-48 controller.

The M.2 2230 WiFi module is indeed an Intel AX200NGW WiFi 6 module as indicated in the specifications.

First boot

We connected the RF dongle of a keyboard/mouse combo and an HDMI monitor before connecting the power cord and boot the device. We then went through the Windows 11 Pro setup wizard without any issue, and shortly reached the Windows desktop with a working Internet/WiFi 6 connection.

Going to System->About, we have an “EQ” computer powered by a 1.90 GHz (base frequency), 13th Gen Intel Core i5-13500H processor with 32GB RAM and running Windows 11 Pro 24H2.

That will be all for today. In the next part of the review, we’ll test the Beelink EQi13 Pro in more detail on Windows 11, before switching to Ubuntu 24.04 to test how well (or not) Linux is supported.

We’d like to thank Beelink for sending the EQi13 Pro mini PC with an Intel Core i5-13500H processor, 32GB RAM, and 1TB M.2 SSD for review. Beelink sells the model reviewed here for $429, and you can also find it on Amazon at the same price. The Core i7 variant adds $20, but based on the specs, we’re not sure it would be much faster for most workloads, and may even be slower for 3D graphics than the Core i5 model.

Continue reading:

CNXSoft: This article is a translation – with some additional insights – of the review on CNX Software Thailand by Suthinee Kerdkaew.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.