World's First Strix Point Mini PC Has Arrived - Beelink SER9 Review

In this video we take a deep dive into the Beelink SER9 mini PC featuring AMD's horribly named Strix Point CPU, the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, with 12 cores and Radeon 890M graphics. We also mock the Minecraft movie while we're at it. Beelink's SER9 is a great performer and is a nice showcase for what the new AMD CPU can do, the only problem is the high price tag.

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💻 This unit was a free review sample

00:00 - Strix Point
00:50 - Specs & Features
01:50 - In the Box
02:01 - Ports
03:07 - Win A SER9
03:45 - Opening It Up
04:43 - Windows & Linux
04:57 - Benchmarks
06:55 - Games & Emulators
11:11 - EGPU
11:37 - Audio & Video Editing
12:06 - Speakers & Microphone
12:40 - Wireless Range
13:01 - BIOS & Memory OC
14:14 - SSD, Power Draw, Temps & Noise
15:24 - Conclusion

[Robtech]

Win one of five Beelink SER9 mini PCs:

[Terr-E]

6:55 Great review, and thanks for these side-by-side games! It really shows the GPU uplift!.
My biggest complaint about the SER9 is that Beelink didn't go for LPCAMM2 memory and instead chose for soldered. Hopefully by the next iteration (LP)CAMM2 will be an option.

[GeordiLaForgery]

Thanks Rob and Steeeve. Hard to believe it's been 5 years.

[sandorbence]

Great timing with this video, I was just thinking of buying one, you answered basically all my questions. The price is high but it's a good overall package (for a 1000 dollar entry price, for 1250 there are better options).

[edalder]

Amazing machine but-sticker shock.

I got a Beelink SER7 in early July and have no regrets. AI is just a way to pump up Exec bonuses and stock prices.

[denisabidov]

Great review, Rob! Thank you very much! All I needed to learn about the new SER model.

[enihi]

It's already expensive, so why add rubbish speakers and microphone array?

[Muskelhias]

Great test, thanks for all the power and noise tests!

[IanHobday]

$1249 and no 64GB or greater option? Hard pass. HARD pass.

[peterlarsen]

Thanks Rob, Would Love to see how the M4 Mac Minic compares to the top AMD and INtel Models.

[emlyndewar]

Really looking forward to Lunar Lake mini-PCs coming out. The SER9 seems pretty great, but I’m not sold on that price.

[geraldh.]

Love the port selection and pretty much everything about it. I hope the price comes down a little with time.

[screenplayhouse]

Isn't it amazing how far these things have come? Do you remember when THE VERY IDEA you could have near silence and power was HILARIOUS?

[aaroneldreth]

Earlier this year, based on your review I bought the Alloy 9 (from your affiliate link on Amz). I am pleased with its performance and it is a great machine for my purposes.

While I am happy to see the improved benchmarks of the new 300hx APUs, the increased price is a show stopper. For productivity improvements it is a hard sell for the large increase in price and for gaming there are simply better options to get a discrete GPU for $700-750 (hx99g).

Have you had a chance to test the Minisforum 760 Slim? It looks like it might be a cheap way to get good gaming performance in a minipc

[mikrohamster]

Got my SER9 yesterday. Dont get me wrong, the performance is great, but there is something that gives me the ick about it: secure boot is DISABLED by default, leaving the door wide open for spyware. Any thoughts on this?

[ktechnology]

lol It was only two to three months ago people were saying AMD would sell these Strix Point APUs cheap enough for mini PC manufacturers to compete with gaming consoles.

[zupzop]

Thanks a lot Rob! Great test as usual and I was really waiting for this one.
For a next review with a comparison between different iGPU generations, could you perhaps add a few more test where you add frame generation (even if it isn't required). Curious how different generations handle it and whether it improves the game play experience, even if you get decent FPS without frame generation
Regarding this unit. At this price point one could also buy a Aoostar GEM10 6800H + Occulink Dock + 4060RTX. (Of course at much higher power consumption)
(Unfortunately AMD it no better than Intel regarding their pricing strategy when they have the performance crown: In the K8-K10 era they priced the FX-60 at "performance" level, same for 3rd gen TR's and now their laptops SOC's )

[john__west]

Still the best reviewer in the game, thanks mate!

[rj]

Unfortunately no 64gb option, hopefully minisforum's upcoming Elitemini AI370 does give me that option

[philscomputerlab]

Habe you had a chance to check out M.2 to PCIe or Oculink adapters? This one has two M.2 slots, perfext for this. Any 3D prints for this one?