We’ve already checked out the hardware of the Beelink EQi13 Pro in the first part of the review, and followed up with a detailed review of the Intel Core i5-13500H mini PC running Windows 11 Pro. We’ve now taken the time to test the Beelink EQi13 Pro with Ubuntu 24.04 to find out how well (or not) it performs on Linux.
Ubuntu 24.04 installation
Since the plan is to install Ubuntu 24.04 LTS alongside Windows 11 in a dual-boot configuration, we shrank the Windows 11 partition to about half its size before inserting a USB drive prepared with the Ubuntu 24.04 ISO to start the installation.
The installation went smoothly, and we didn’t have any issues installing Ubuntu 24.04.
Ubuntu 24.04 system information
Going to System->About confirms we have an “AZW EQ” mini PC powered by a 16-thread 13th Gen Intel Core i5-13500H SoC with Intel Iris Xe Graphics (RPL-P), with 32GB RAM, a 1TB SSD, and running Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS 64-bit with Linux 6.14.0.
We can get a few more details on the command line:
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aey@Beellink-EQi13-CNX:~$ cat /etc/lsb-release DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu DISTRIB_RELEASE=24.04 DISTRIB_CODENAME=noble DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS" aey@Beellink-EQi13-CNX:~$ uname -a Linux Beellink-EQi13-CNX 6.14.0-29-generic #29~24.04.1-Ubuntu SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Thu Aug 14 16:52:50 UTC 2 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux aey@Beellink-EQi13-CNX:~$ free -mh total used free shared buff/cache available Mem: 31Gi 4.6Gi 22Gi 1.0Gi 5.7Gi 26Gi Swap: 8.0Gi 0B 8.0Gi aey@Beellink-EQi13-CNX:~$ df -mh Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on tmpfs 3.2G 2.8M 3.2G 1% /run /dev/nvme0n1p5 456G 16G 417G 4% / tmpfs 16G 73M 16G 1% /dev/shm tmpfs 5.0M 8.0K 5.0M 1% /run/lock efivarfs 192K 98K 90K 53% /sys/firmware/efi/efivars /dev/nvme0n1p1 96M 68M 29M 71% /boot/efi tmpfs 3.2G 184K 3.2G 1% /run/user/1000 |
and even more with the inxi utility:
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aey@Beellink-EQi13-CNX:~$ inxi -Fc0 System: Host: Beellink-EQi13-CNX Kernel: 6.14.0-29-generic arch: x86_64 bits: 64 Desktop: GNOME v: 46.0 Distro: Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS (Noble Numbat) Machine: Type: Desktop Mobo: AZW model: EQ serial: <superuser required> UEFI: American Megatrends LLC. v: EQI12D402 date: 03/19/2025 CPU: Info: 12-core (4-mt/8-st) model: 13th Gen Intel Core i5-13500H bits: 64 type: MST AMCP cache: L2: 9 MiB Speed (MHz): avg: 430 min/max: 400/4700:3500 cores: 1: 400 2: 400 3: 400 4: 400 5: 891 6: 400 7: 400 8: 400 9: 400 10: 400 11: 400 12: 400 13: 400 14: 400 15: 400 16: 400 Graphics: Device-1: Intel Raptor Lake-P [Iris Xe Graphics] driver: i915 v: kernel Display: wayland server: X.Org v: 23.2.6 with: Xwayland v: 23.2.6 compositor: gnome-shell driver: dri: iris gpu: i915 resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz API: EGL v: 1.5 drivers: iris,swrast platforms: gbm,wayland,x11,surfaceless,device API: OpenGL v: 4.6 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: intel mesa v: 25.0.7-0ubuntu0.24.04.2 renderer: Mesa Intel Iris Xe Graphics (RPL-P) Audio: Device-1: Intel Raptor Lake-P/U/H cAVS driver: snd_hda_intel API: ALSA v: k6.14.0-29-generic status: kernel-api Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.0.5 status: active Network: Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8211/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet driver: r8169 IF: enp170s0 state: down mac: 78:55:36:01:54:d0 Device-2: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8211/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet driver: r8169 IF: enp171s0 state: down mac: 78:55:36:01:54:cf Device-3: Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 driver: iwlwifi IF: wlp172s0 state: up mac: ec:4c:8c:50:6f:d1 Bluetooth: Device-1: Intel AX200 Bluetooth driver: btusb type: USB Report: hciconfig ID: hci0 state: up address: EC:4C:8C:50:6F:D5 bt-v: 5.2 Drives: Local Storage: total: 931.51 GiB used: 15.82 GiB (1.7%) ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Crucial model: CT1000P3PSSD8 size: 931.51 GiB Partition: ID-1: / size: 455.51 GiB used: 15.75 GiB (3.5%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p5 ID-2: /boot/efi size: 96 MiB used: 67.2 MiB (70.0%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1 Swap: ID-1: swap-1 type: file size: 8 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) file: /swap.img Sensors: System Temperatures: cpu: 44.0 C mobo: N/A Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A Info: Memory: total: 32 GiB note: est. available: 31.11 GiB used: 4.6 GiB (14.8%) Processes: 393 Uptime: 43m Shell: Bash inxi: 3.3.34 |
The project reports we have an Intel Core i5-13500H 12-core (4-mt/8-st)/16-thread processor clocked up to 4700 MHz, Intel Raptor Lake-P (Iris Xe Graphics), two Realtek Gigabit Ethernet interfaces, Wi–Fi 6 and Bluetooth via Intel AX200, so everything looks properly detected. The idle CPU temperature is reported to be 44°C.
Ubuntu 24.04 benchmarks on Beelink EQi13 Pro mini PC
Let’s start the benchmarks with Thomas Kaiser’s sbc-bench.sh:
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aey@Beellink-EQi13-CNX:~/Downloads/sbc-bench-master$ sudo ./sbc-bench.sh -r Starting to examine hardware/software for review purposes... Average load and/or CPU utilization too high (too much background activity). Waiting... Too busy for benchmarking: 12:15:05 up 1:10, 1 user, load average: 0.09, 0.07, 0.12, cpu: 0% sbc-bench v0.9.72 Installing needed tools: apt-get -f -qq -y install gcc make build-essential powercap-utils curl git links mmc-utils smartmontools stress-ng, p7zip 16.02, tinymembench, ramlat, mhz, cpufetch, cpuminer. Done. Checking cpufreq OPP. Done. Executing tinymembench. Done. Executing RAM latency tester. Done. Executing OpenSSL benchmark. Done. Executing 7-zip benchmark. Done. Throttling test: heating up the device, 5 more minutes to wait. Done. Checking cpufreq OPP again. Done (13 minutes elapsed). Results validation: * Measured clockspeed not lower than advertised max CPU clockspeed * No swapping * Background activity (%system) OK * Powercap detected. Details: "sudo powercap-info -p intel-rapl" -> https://tinyurl.com/4jh9nevj Full results uploaded to https://0x0.st/KXwX.bin # AZW EQ / i5-13500H Tested with sbc-bench v0.9.72 on Fri, 05 Sep 2025 12:33:44 +0700. Full info: [https://0x0.st/KXwX.bin](http://0x0.st/KXwX.bin) ### General information: Information courtesy of cpufetch: Name: 13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-13500H Microarchitecture: Raptor Lake Technology: 10nm P-cores: Max Frequency: 4.700 GHz Cores: 4 cores (8 threads) AVX: AVX,AVX2 FMA: FMA3 L1i Size: 32KB (128KB Total) L1d Size: 48KB (192KB Total) L2 Size: 1.25MB (5MB Total) E-cores: Max Frequency: 3.500 GHz Cores: 8 cores AVX: AVX,AVX2 FMA: FMA3 L1i Size: 64KB (512KB Total) L1d Size: 32KB (256KB Total) L2 Size: 2MB (4MB Total) L3 Size: 18MB The CPU features 2 clusters of different core types: i5-13500H, Kernel: x86_64, Userland: amd64 CPU sysfs topology (clusters, cpufreq members, clockspeeds) cpufreq min max CPU cluster policy speed speed core type 0 0 0 400 4700 Raptor Cove 1 0 1 400 4700 Raptor Cove 2 0 2 400 4700 Raptor Cove 3 0 3 400 4700 Raptor Cove 4 0 4 400 4700 Raptor Cove 5 0 5 400 4700 Raptor Cove 6 0 6 400 4700 Raptor Cove 7 0 7 400 4700 Raptor Cove 8 0 8 400 3500 Gracemont 9 0 9 400 3500 Gracemont 10 0 10 400 3500 Gracemont 11 0 11 400 3500 Gracemont 12 0 12 400 3500 Gracemont 13 0 13 400 3500 Gracemont 14 0 14 400 3500 Gracemont 15 0 15 400 3500 Gracemont 31857 KB available RAM ### Policies (performance vs. idle consumption): Status of performance related policies found below /sys: /sys/module/pcie_aspm/parameters/policy: [default] performance powersave powersupersave ### Clockspeeds (idle vs. heated up): Before at 50.0°C: cpu0-cpu7 (Raptor Cove): OPP: 4700, Measured: 4684 cpu8-cpu15 (Gracemont): OPP: 3500, Measured: 3485 After at 81.0°C: cpu0-cpu7 (Raptor Cove): OPP: 4700, Measured: 4685 cpu8-cpu15 (Gracemont): OPP: 3500, Measured: 3486 ### Performance baseline * cpu0 (Raptor Cove): memcpy: 19332.7 MB/s, memchr: 29288.4 MB/s, memset: 21189.4 MB/s * cpu8 (Gracemont): memcpy: 11328.2 MB/s, memchr: 15322.8 MB/s, memset: 11456.0 MB/s * cpu0 (Raptor Cove) 16M latency: 28.29 21.93 26.91 22.57 27.02 22.93 23.56 31.06 * cpu8 (Gracemont) 16M latency: 47.32 36.53 46.80 36.97 49.03 34.65 33.23 34.79 * cpu0 (Raptor Cove) 128M latency: 98.61 92.00 96.68 91.23 96.10 89.74 90.51 85.59 * cpu8 (Gracemont) 128M latency: 121.7 121.7 121.8 122.5 121.8 119.6 118.1 122.4 * 7-zip MIPS (3 consecutive runs): 49079, 49237, 49137 (49150 avg), single-threaded: 5692 * `aes-256-cbc 1423253.17k 1628644.91k 1655661.91k 1662419.97k 1664578.90k 1663926.27k (Raptor Cove)` * `aes-256-cbc 929485.67k 1212514.30k 1253411.75k 1263958.36k 1267089.41k 1266947.41k (Gracemont)` ### PCIe and storage devices: * Intel Raptor Lake-P [Iris Xe Graphics] (Onboard - Video): driver in use: i915 * Intel Raptor Lake-P Thunderbolt 4 USB (Onboard - Other): driver in use: xhci_hcd * Intel Raptor Lake-P Thunderbolt 4 NHI #0 (Onboard - Other): driver in use: thunderbolt * Intel Raptor Lake-P Thunderbolt 4 NHI #1 (Onboard - Other): driver in use: thunderbolt * Intel Alder Lake PCH USB 3.2 xHCI Host (Onboard - Other): driver in use: xhci_hcd * Intel Alder Lake-P SATA AHCI (Onboard - SATA): driver in use: ahci * Realtek RTL8111/8168/8211/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet: Speed 2.5GT/s, Width x1, driver in use: r8169, ASPM Disabled * Realtek RTL8111/8168/8211/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet: Speed 2.5GT/s, Width x1, driver in use: r8169, ASPM Disabled * Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200: Speed 5GT/s, Width x1, driver in use: iwlwifi, ASPM Disabled * 931.5GB "Crucial CT1000P3PSSD8" SSD as /dev/nvme0: Speed 16GT/s, Width x4, 0% worn out, drive temp: 49°C, ASPM Disabled * Winbond W25Q128 16MB SPI NOR flash, drivers in use: spi-nor/intel-spi ### Challenging filesystems: The following partitions are NTFS: nvme0n1p3,nvme0n1p4 -> https://tinyurl.com/mv7wvzct ### Swap configuration: * /swap.img on /dev/nvme0n1p5: 8.0G (0K used) ### Software versions: * Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS (noble) * Compiler: /usr/bin/gcc (Ubuntu 13.3.0-6ubuntu2~24.04) 13.3.0 / x86_64-linux-gnu * OpenSSL 3.0.13, built on 30 Jan 2024 (Library: OpenSSL 3.0.13 30 Jan 2024) ### Kernel info: * `/proc/cmdline: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-6.14.0-29-generic root=UUID=7540a4f9-44a2-44aa-b720-8b92e478af6c ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7` * Vulnerability Reg file data sampling: Mitigation; Clear Register File * Vulnerability Spec store bypass: Mitigation; Speculative Store Bypass disabled via prctl * Vulnerability Spectre v1: Mitigation; usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization * Vulnerability Spectre v2: Mitigation; Enhanced / Automatic IBRS; IBPB conditional; PBRSB-eIBRS SW sequence; BHI BHI_DIS_S * Kernel 6.14.0-29-generic / CONFIG_HZ=1000 Waiting for the device to cool down...................................... 49.0°C |
No throttling is detected, and this is confirmed with three runs of the 7-zip benchmark with a fairly stable score: 49079 MIPS, 49237 MIPS, 49137 MIPS, and 49150 MIPS on average.
We’re asked to check the power limits:
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aey@Beellink-EQi13-CNX:~$ sudo powercap-info -p intel-rapl enabled: 1 Zone 0 name: package-0 enabled: 1 max_energy_range_uj: 262143328850 energy_uj: 26032789801 Constraint 0 name: long_term power_limit_uw: 35000000 time_window_us: 55967744 max_power_uw: 45000000 Constraint 1 name: short_term power_limit_uw: 35000000 time_window_us: 2440 max_power_uw: 0 Constraint 2 name: peak_power power_limit_uw: 65000000 max_power_uw: 0 Zone 0:0 name: core enabled: 0 max_energy_range_uj: 262143328850 energy_uj: 23735893093 Constraint 0 name: long_term power_limit_uw: 0 time_window_us: 976 Zone 0:1 name: uncore enabled: 0 max_energy_range_uj: 262143328850 energy_uj: 181227441 Constraint 0 name: long_term power_limit_uw: 0 time_window_us: 976 Zone 1 name: psys enabled: 0 max_energy_range_uj: 262143328850 energy_uj: 1308772284 Constraint 0 name: long_term power_limit_uw: 0 time_window_us: 27983872 Constraint 1 name: short_term power_limit_uw: 0 time_window_us: 976 |
Like in Windows 11, both PL1 and PL2 power limits are set to 35W, and PL4 to 65W, which is rather conservative for a system based on an Intel Core i5-13500H CPU, but may be warranted in a compact system like the EQi13 Pro mini PC.
Geekbench 6.4.0 can help us further evaluate the single-core and multi-core performance on the Intel Core i5-13500H CPU.
The single-core score is 2,545 points, and the multi-core score is 9,625 points.
Let’s now test the GPU/3D graphics performance with Unigine Heaven Benchmark 4.0. The mini PC could render the scene at an average of 36.5 FPS and yield a score of 920 points at the standard 1920×1080 resolution.
Time to test video playback capabilities with YouTube 4K and 8K streaming in Firefox with the EQi13 Pro mini PC connected to a KTC A32Q8 4K Smart Monitor configured at 3840×2160 resolution.
No problem at 4K 30FPS, with the video playing smoothly during our 5-minute test, and only two frames dropped at the beginning.
4K 60FPS video streaming went fine too, although there were a few more dropped frames: 101 out of 22,143 frames.
8K 30FPS video playback was great too, with only 10 frames dropped out of 9,164 after watching the video for over 5 minutes.
Our experience with 8K 60 FPS with Firefox on Ubuntu was much better than with Firefox on Windows 11 Pro, as the video played smoothly, albeit with 197 frames dropped out of 19,057 when watching the video for a little over 5 minutes.
Speedometer 2.0 can be used to evaluate web browsing performance. We ran it on Firefox, and the Beelink EQi13 Pro achieved 329 runs per minute.
Speedometer 2.0 is deprecated, and we mostly use it for comparison against the score from older reviews. So we also ran Speedometer 3.0, where the Intel Core i5-13500H mini PC got 21.7 points.
Ubuntu 24.04 benchmarks comparison – Beelink EQi13 Pro vs GEEKOM Mini IT12 vs GEEKOM A6
Now that we have gathered some benchmark results on Ubuntu 24.04 with the Beelink EQi13 Pro, it’s a good time to compare those results against two other mid-range mini PCs, namely the GEEKOM Mini IT12 (2025 Edition) with an Intel Core i7-1280P SoC and the GEEKOM A6 with an AMD Ryzen 7 6800H CPU.
But first, here’s a quick comparison with the specifications of the three systems.
| Beelink EQi13 Pro | GEEKOM IT12 (2025 Edition) | GEEKOM A6 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| SoC | Intel Core i5-13500H | Intel Core i7-1280P | AMD Ryzen 7 6800H |
| CPU | 12 cores, 16 threads, up to 4.70 GHz | 14 cores, 20 threads, up to 4.80 GHz | 8 cores, 16 threads, up to 4.7 GHz |
| GPU | 80 EU Intel Iris Xe Graphics | 96 EU Intel Iris Xe Graphics | AMD Radeon 680M Graphic |
| Memory | 32GB DDR4-3200 | 32GB DDR4-3200 | 32GB DDR5-5600 |
| Storage | 1TB NVMe SSD | 1TB NVMe SSD | 1TB NVMe SSD |
| Default OS | Windows 11 Pro | Windows 11 Pro | Windows 11 Pro |
| Price (Amazon) | $429 | $499 | $459 |
And now the benchmark results on Ubuntu 24.04:
| Beelink EQi13 Pro (Intel Core i5-13500H) | GEEKOM Mini IT12 (Intel Core i7-1280P) | GEEKOM A6 (AMD Ryzen 7 6800H) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| sbc-bench.sh | |||
| - memcpy | 19,332.7 MB/s | 22,332.8 MB/s | 19,761.4 MB/s |
| - memset | 21,189.4 MB/s | 28,914.8 MB/s | 18,944.4 MB/s |
| - 7-zip (average) | 49,150 | 37,120 | 58,990 |
| - 7-zip (top result) | 49,237 | 42,121 | 59,599 |
| - OpenSSL AES-256 16K | 1,663,926.27k | 1,661,004.46k | 1,271,949.99k |
| Geekbench 6 Single | 2,545 | 2532 | 2,111 |
| Geekbench 6 Multi | 9,625 | 9,926 | 10,573 |
| Unigine Heaven score | 920 | 1,180 | 1,698 |
| Speedometer 2.0 (Firefox) | 329 | 313 | 262 |
| Speedometer 3.0 (Firefox) | 21.7 | 20.6 | 17.8 |
The first obvious takeaway here is that the AMD mini PC delivers much better multi-core and 3D graphics performance than the two Intel computers, although it does not perform as well for web browsing or other single-threaded workloads. When it comes to comparing the GEEKOM MINI IT12 (2025 Edition) with the Beelink EQi13 Pro, the GEEKOM model offers higher memory bandwidth and slightly better graphics performance, but the Beelink performs better for multi-core workloads (e.g., 7-zip), likely due to a better cooling solution. Web browsing performance is also slightly better on the EQi13 Pro, but this could be due to the natural improvements of web browsers over time, as software gets optimized.
SSD and USB performance
Let’s now test the 1TB SSD that ships with the mini PC using iozone3:
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aey@Beellink-EQi13-CNX:~$ sudo iozone -e -I -a -s 1000M -r 4k -r 16k -r 512k -r 1024k -r 16384k -i 0 -i 1 -i 2 random random bkwd record stride kB reclen write rewrite read reread read write read rewrite read fwrite frewrite fread freread 1024000 4 436863 548576 247279 242783 92354 526440 1024000 16 1261063 1439132 381055 404574 284886 1450967 1024000 512 4482497 4619561 2289700 2296123 2279780 4510635 1024000 1024 4492071 4605661 3084550 3104778 3089716 4497301 1024000 16384 4505590 4537509 4613409 4662537 4656295 4616113 iozone test complete. |
That would be 4,613 MB/s sequential reads and 4,505 MB/s sequential writes, which compares to 5,207 MB/s and 4,765 MB/s using CrystalDiskMark on Windows 11.
We also tested the USB ports to double-check the advertised speed for each port using lsusb and iozone3 to measure the speed using an ORICO M234C3-U4 M.2 NVMe SSD enclosure for USB 3.2 ports, and a USB 3.0 hard drive for the USB 2.0 port.
For reference, here’s the output for the USB 3.0 port for the front panel:
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aey@Beellink-EQi13-CNX:~$ lsusb -t | grep uas |__ Port 001: Dev 002, If 0, Class=Mass Storage, Driver=uas, 10000M ey@Beellink-EQi13-CNX:/media/aey/TB3-EXT4$ sudo iozone -e -I -a -s 1000M -r 16384k -i 0 -i 1 random random bkwd record stride kB reclen write rewrite read reread read write read rewrite read fwrite frewrite fread freread 1024000 16384 999552 1000022 1014129 1018119 iozone test complete. |
and for the USB 2.0 port:
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aey@Beellink-EQi13-CNX:~$ lsusb -t | grep uas |__ Port 005: Dev 004, If 0, Class=Mass Storage, Driver=uas, 480M aey@Beellink-EQi13-CNX:/media/aey/USB3_EXT4$ sudo iozone -e -I -a -s 100M -r 16384k -i 0 -i 1 random random bkwd record stride kB reclen write rewrite read reread read write read rewrite read fwrite frewrite fread freread 102400 16384 24920 19044 40089 23517 iozone test complete. |
Summary of results from left to right:
- Front panel
- USB-A #1 – USB 3.0 – 10 Gbps – Read: 1,014 MB/s; write: 999 MB/s
- USB-C #1 – USB 3.0 – 10 Gbps – Read: 1,008 MB/s; write: 995 MB/s
- Rear panel
- USB-A #1 – USB 3.0 – 10 Gbps – Read: 1,008 MB/s; write: 999 MB/s
- USB-A #2 – USB 3.0 – 10 Gbps – Read: 1,008 MB/s; write: 1,003 MB/s
- USB-A #3 – USB 2.0 – 480 Mbps – Read: 40 MB/s; write: 24 MB/s
All working as advertised, although that write speed on the USB HDD is on the low side…
Network (Gigabit Ethernet and WiFi 6) testing
As usual, we tested network performance using iperf3 and AAEON’s UP Xtreme i11 Edge mini PC on the other end. We started with the two Gigabit Ethernet ports. Here are the results for the left port.
- Download
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aey@Beellink-EQi13-CNX:~$ iperf3 -t 60 -c 192.168.31.12 -i 10 -R Connecting to host 192.168.31.12, port 5201 Reverse mode, remote host 192.168.31.12 is sending [ 5] local 192.168.31.133 port 44200 connected to 192.168.31.12 port 5201 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate [ 5] 0.00-10.01 sec 1.10 GBytes 941 Mbits/sec [ 5] 10.01-20.01 sec 1.10 GBytes 942 Mbits/sec [ 5] 20.01-30.01 sec 1.10 GBytes 942 Mbits/sec [ 5] 30.01-40.01 sec 1.10 GBytes 942 Mbits/sec [ 5] 40.01-50.01 sec 1.10 GBytes 942 Mbits/sec [ 5] 50.01-60.01 sec 1.10 GBytes 942 Mbits/sec - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate Retr [ 5] 0.00-60.01 sec 6.58 GBytes 942 Mbits/sec 0 sender [ 5] 0.00-60.01 sec 6.58 GBytes 942 Mbits/sec receiver iperf Done. |
- Upload
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aey@Beellink-EQi13-CNX:~$ iperf3 -t 60 -c 192.168.31.12 -i 10 Connecting to host 192.168.31.12, port 5201 [ 5] local 192.168.31.133 port 51680 connected to 192.168.31.12 port 5201 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate Retr Cwnd [ 5] 0.00-10.01 sec 1.10 GBytes 943 Mbits/sec 0 516 KBytes [ 5] 10.01-20.01 sec 1.10 GBytes 942 Mbits/sec 0 516 KBytes [ 5] 20.01-30.01 sec 1.10 GBytes 942 Mbits/sec 0 516 KBytes [ 5] 30.01-40.01 sec 1.10 GBytes 942 Mbits/sec 0 793 KBytes [ 5] 40.01-50.01 sec 1.09 GBytes 941 Mbits/sec 0 793 KBytes [ 5] 50.01-60.01 sec 1.10 GBytes 942 Mbits/sec 0 793 KBytes - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate Retr [ 5] 0.00-60.01 sec 6.58 GBytes 942 Mbits/sec 0 sender [ 5] 0.00-60.01 sec 6.58 GBytes 941 Mbits/sec receiver iperf Done. |
- Bidirectional
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aey@Beellink-EQi13-CNX:~$ iperf3 -t 60 -c 192.168.31.12 -i 10 --bidir Connecting to host 192.168.31.12, port 5201 [ 5] local 192.168.31.133 port 37306 connected to 192.168.31.12 port 5201 [ 7] local 192.168.31.133 port 37316 connected to 192.168.31.12 port 5201 [ ID][Role] Interval Transfer Bitrate Retr Cwnd [ 5][TX-C] 0.00-10.01 sec 1.09 GBytes 937 Mbits/sec 0 550 KBytes [ 7][RX-C] 0.00-10.01 sec 1.09 GBytes 938 Mbits/sec [ 5][TX-C] 10.01-20.01 sec 1.09 GBytes 934 Mbits/sec 0 826 KBytes [ 7][RX-C] 10.01-20.01 sec 1.09 GBytes 938 Mbits/sec [ 5][TX-C] 20.01-30.01 sec 1.09 GBytes 933 Mbits/sec 0 826 KBytes [ 7][RX-C] 20.01-30.01 sec 1.09 GBytes 938 Mbits/sec [ 5][TX-C] 30.01-40.01 sec 1.09 GBytes 932 Mbits/sec 0 826 KBytes [ 7][RX-C] 30.01-40.01 sec 1.09 GBytes 938 Mbits/sec [ 5][TX-C] 40.01-50.01 sec 1.09 GBytes 933 Mbits/sec 0 826 KBytes [ 7][RX-C] 40.01-50.01 sec 1.09 GBytes 938 Mbits/sec [ 5][TX-C] 50.01-60.01 sec 1.09 GBytes 933 Mbits/sec 0 826 KBytes [ 7][RX-C] 50.01-60.01 sec 1.09 GBytes 938 Mbits/sec - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [ ID][Role] Interval Transfer Bitrate Retr [ 5][TX-C] 0.00-60.01 sec 6.52 GBytes 934 Mbits/sec 0 sender [ 5][TX-C] 0.00-60.01 sec 6.52 GBytes 933 Mbits/sec receiver [ 7][RX-C] 0.00-60.01 sec 6.55 GBytes 938 Mbits/sec 0 sender [ 7][RX-C] 0.00-60.01 sec 6.55 GBytes 938 Mbits/sec receiver iperf Done. |
And now for the right Ethernet port:
- Download
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aey@Beellink-EQi13-CNX:~$ iperf3 -t 60 -c 192.168.31.12 -i 10 -R Connecting to host 192.168.31.12, port 5201 Reverse mode, remote host 192.168.31.12 is sending [ 5] local 192.168.31.134 port 33428 connected to 192.168.31.12 port 5201 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate [ 5] 0.00-10.01 sec 1.10 GBytes 942 Mbits/sec [ 5] 10.01-20.01 sec 1.10 GBytes 941 Mbits/sec [ 5] 20.01-30.01 sec 1.10 GBytes 942 Mbits/sec [ 5] 30.01-40.01 sec 1.10 GBytes 942 Mbits/sec [ 5] 40.01-50.01 sec 1.10 GBytes 942 Mbits/sec [ 5] 50.01-60.01 sec 1.10 GBytes 942 Mbits/sec - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate Retr [ 5] 0.00-60.01 sec 6.58 GBytes 942 Mbits/sec 0 sender [ 5] 0.00-60.01 sec 6.58 GBytes 942 Mbits/sec receiver iperf Done. |
- Upload
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 |
aey@Beellink-EQi13-CNX:~$ iperf3 -t 60 -c 192.168.31.12 -i 10 Connecting to host 192.168.31.12, port 5201 [ 5] local 192.168.31.134 port 46750 connected to 192.168.31.12 port 5201 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate Retr Cwnd [ 5] 0.00-10.01 sec 1.10 GBytes 943 Mbits/sec 0 382 KBytes [ 5] 10.01-20.00 sec 1.10 GBytes 942 Mbits/sec 0 559 KBytes [ 5] 20.00-30.01 sec 1.10 GBytes 941 Mbits/sec 0 559 KBytes [ 5] 30.01-40.01 sec 1.10 GBytes 942 Mbits/sec 0 836 KBytes [ 5] 40.01-50.01 sec 1.10 GBytes 942 Mbits/sec 0 836 KBytes [ 5] 50.01-60.01 sec 1.10 GBytes 941 Mbits/sec 0 836 KBytes - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate Retr [ 5] 0.00-60.01 sec 6.58 GBytes 942 Mbits/sec 0 sender [ 5] 0.00-60.01 sec 6.58 GBytes 941 Mbits/sec receiver iperf Done. |
- Bidirectional
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aey@Beellink-EQi13-CNX:~$ iperf3 -t 60 -c 192.168.31.12 -i 10 --bidir Connecting to host 192.168.31.12, port 5201 [ 5] local 192.168.31.134 port 55602 connected to 192.168.31.12 port 5201 [ 7] local 192.168.31.134 port 55604 connected to 192.168.31.12 port 5201 [ ID][Role] Interval Transfer Bitrate Retr Cwnd [ 5][TX-C] 0.00-10.01 sec 1.09 GBytes 937 Mbits/sec 0 526 KBytes [ 7][RX-C] 0.00-10.01 sec 1.09 GBytes 938 Mbits/sec [ 5][TX-C] 10.01-20.01 sec 1.09 GBytes 939 Mbits/sec 0 1.26 MBytes [ 7][RX-C] 10.01-20.01 sec 1.09 GBytes 938 Mbits/sec [ 5][TX-C] 20.01-30.01 sec 1.09 GBytes 940 Mbits/sec 0 1.26 MBytes [ 7][RX-C] 20.01-30.01 sec 1.09 GBytes 938 Mbits/sec [ 5][TX-C] 30.01-40.01 sec 1.09 GBytes 940 Mbits/sec 0 1.26 MBytes [ 7][RX-C] 30.01-40.01 sec 1.09 GBytes 938 Mbits/sec [ 5][TX-C] 40.01-50.01 sec 1.09 GBytes 939 Mbits/sec 0 1.26 MBytes [ 7][RX-C] 40.01-50.01 sec 1.09 GBytes 938 Mbits/sec [ 5][TX-C] 50.01-60.01 sec 1.09 GBytes 939 Mbits/sec 0 1.26 MBytes [ 7][RX-C] 50.01-60.01 sec 1.09 GBytes 938 Mbits/sec - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [ ID][Role] Interval Transfer Bitrate Retr [ 5][TX-C] 0.00-60.01 sec 6.56 GBytes 939 Mbits/sec 0 sender [ 5][TX-C] 0.00-60.01 sec 6.56 GBytes 939 Mbits/sec receiver [ 7][RX-C] 0.00-60.01 sec 6.55 GBytes 938 Mbits/sec 0 sender [ 7][RX-C] 0.00-60.01 sec 6.55 GBytes 938 Mbits/sec receiver iperf Done. |
Both Gigabit Ethernet ports work normally.
Tim to test 5GHz WiFi 6, adding a Xiaomi Mi AX6000 router to our test bed:
- Download
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 |
aey@Beellink-EQi13-CNX:~$ iperf3 -t 60 -c 192.168.31.12 -i 10 -R Connecting to host 192.168.31.12, port 5201 Reverse mode, remote host 192.168.31.12 is sending [ 5] local 192.168.31.158 port 51704 connected to 192.168.31.12 port 5201 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate [ 5] 0.00-10.01 sec 1.79 GBytes 1.54 Gbits/sec [ 5] 10.01-20.01 sec 1.78 GBytes 1.53 Gbits/sec [ 5] 20.01-30.01 sec 1.82 GBytes 1.56 Gbits/sec [ 5] 30.01-40.01 sec 1.79 GBytes 1.54 Gbits/sec [ 5] 40.01-50.01 sec 1.83 GBytes 1.57 Gbits/sec [ 5] 50.01-60.01 sec 1.82 GBytes 1.56 Gbits/sec - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate Retr [ 5] 0.00-60.01 sec 10.8 GBytes 1.55 Gbits/sec 0 sender [ 5] 0.00-60.01 sec 10.8 GBytes 1.55 Gbits/sec receiver iperf Done. |
- Upload
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 |
aey@Beellink-EQi13-CNX:~$ iperf3 -t 60 -c 192.168.31.12 -i 10 Connecting to host 192.168.31.12, port 5201 [ 5] local 192.168.31.158 port 45202 connected to 192.168.31.12 port 5201 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate Retr Cwnd [ 5] 0.00-10.01 sec 1.76 GBytes 1.51 Gbits/sec 0 3.57 MBytes [ 5] 10.01-20.01 sec 1.83 GBytes 1.57 Gbits/sec 0 3.57 MBytes [ 5] 20.01-30.01 sec 1.84 GBytes 1.58 Gbits/sec 0 3.57 MBytes [ 5] 30.01-40.01 sec 1.85 GBytes 1.59 Gbits/sec 0 3.57 MBytes [ 5] 40.01-50.01 sec 1.85 GBytes 1.59 Gbits/sec 0 3.57 MBytes [ 5] 50.01-60.01 sec 1.85 GBytes 1.59 Gbits/sec 0 3.57 MBytes - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [ ID] Interval Transfer Bitrate Retr [ 5] 0.00-60.01 sec 11.0 GBytes 1.57 Gbits/sec 0 sender [ 5] 0.00-60.01 sec 11.0 GBytes 1.57 Gbits/sec receiver iperf Done. |
Like in Windows, WiFi is faster than Ethernet in Linux, with 1.55 Gbps downloads and 1.57 Gbps uploads, at least when the mini PC is close to the router.
Stress test and thermal performance on Ubuntu
We ran a stress test on the 16-thread Intel Core i5-13500H CPU while monitoring the CPU temperature and frequency using tools such as Psensor and the sbc-bench.sh script.
The CPU temperature quickly rises from 53°C to over 80°C at the beginning of the core, and the CPU runs at 3,400 MHz (P-Cores) and 2,700 MHz (E-Cores).
As we run the test longer, the CPU temperature stabilizes at about 85-86°C, and the frequency drops to 3300 MHz (P-cores)/2600 MHz (E-cores) or even lower during short times, indicating some CPU throttling, like in Windows, but nothing major.
Fan noise
Since the Beelink EQi13 Pro mini PC is actively cooled, we measured the fan noise with a sound level meter placed around 5 centimeters from the top of the device:
- Idle – 40.1 – 41.0 dBA
- Stress test on all 16 threads – 46.8 – 47.8 dBA
For reference, the meter measures around 37.0 dBA in a quiet room. The Beelink EQi13 Pro is quieter than most other mini PCs we’ve reviewed. However, it’s a bit noisier with this stress test than 3DMark’s Fire Strike benchmark on Windows 11.
Beelink EQi13 Pro’s power consumption on Ubuntu 24.04
We finally measured the power consumption with a wall power meter:
- Power off – 2.0 Watts
- Idle
- Server mode – 9.3 – 10.4 Watts
- Desktop mode – 11.2 – 12.2 Watts
- Video playback – 31.7 – 33.6 Watts (YouTube 8K 60FPS in Firefox)
- CPU stress test (stress -c 16) – 55.3 – 59.2 Watts
Most measurements were made in “desktop mode” with the mini PC connected to WiFi 6, an HDMI monitor (GAOMON PD2200 Pen Display) with its own power adapter, and a USB RF dongle for a wireless keyboard and mouse combo. The exception is the “Idle – server mode” test, where we removed the HDMI cable and USB dongle for people who may decide to use the mini PC without a monitor or keyboard/mouse, and switched from WiFi to Ethernet (one cable only).
Conclusion
The Beelink EQi13 Pro works well with Ubuntu 24.04, and it offers good performance for a mid-range mini PC, implements a decent cooling solution, delivers smooth YouTube 8K 60 FPS video playback, high-performance WiFi 6, etc. Another positive is that the fan is significantly quieter than most other models we’ve tested.
The only real issue we had was when connecting a specific ORICO NVMe SSD enclosure that would/cloud interfere with the WiFi signals, and we lost WiFi more than once when inserting it into one of the two USB 3.0 ports on the rear panel. The issue does not happen with the USB 3.0 ports on the front panel or with various other USB devices we’ve tested. Most users won’t suffer from this issue, but it’s something to keep in mind, and if this happens to you, we recommend using one of the front panel USB 3.0 ports. Another small downside is that the power consumption is also higher than expected.
As noted in our Windows review, some tradeoffs have to be made for a mid-range mini PC, and in the case of the Beelink EQi13 Pro, that means no 2.5GbE networking (but dual GbE), no 40 Gbps USB-C port (USB4/Thunderbolt), no DisplayPlay Alt mode, and only support for two displays via the HDMI ports. The company also opted for DDR4 instead of DDR5 memory.
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.
CNXSoft: This article is a translation – with some additional insights – of the review on CNX Software Thailand by Suthinee Kerdkaew.
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.
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