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Beelink ME Professional: 30-second overview
The Beelink ME Professional is a hybrid Mini PC and NAS in a single, powered by the light-weight Intel 95 CPU with built-in Intel UHD graphics. Like all mini PC, it encompasses a full model of Home windows 11, on this case, the Residence version, so if you wish to entry it immediately and also you’re aware of Home windows, it is extraordinarily simple to make use of. Should you simply need it as a NAS, you’ll be able to set up TrueNAS or comparable.
You can even utilise it as your media server, and whereas it comes pre-installed with Home windows 11 Residence, the machine can also be absolutely appropriate with a spread of NAS OS choices, akin to FNOS, UNRAID, and TrueNAS. You can even run Linux or a digital machine akin to Proxmox (PVE) or ESXi.
Throughout this overview, I utilised the pre-installed Home windows 11 Residence OS and configured community entry for my Apple computer systems, enabling me to make use of my wired community as a central useful resource for storing recordsdata.
From the outset, it struck me simply how versatile the small machine is. With these 3.5-inch bays, you’ll be able to set up large-capacity HDDs, for instance, two 4 TB Western Digital Crimson drives. Then there’s house for 3 M.2 SSDs, with the machine pre-installed with a 120GB possibility that features Home windows 11 Residence.
Throughout the check, I additionally put in a few clean SSDs, which allowed me to put in TrueNAS and check how the machine carried out when used as a real streaming server all through the Residence.
One facet that struck me from the outset was the construct high quality, simply how effectively thought out this small machine is. Out of the field, it’s fast to get began, however over time, you’ll be able to broaden the storage to an enormous 72 TB, which is actually spectacular for a tool of this measurement.
Used to serve my storage wants within the workplace, primarily pictures and video, I used to be impressed by the velocity over the wired community, and after organising the 2 WD Reds as shared entry for all machines on the community, I used to be additionally capable of utilise the Plex media server.
Nonetheless, whereas the ME Professional works effectively as a storage gadget, when used as a day-to-day PC, the facility of the N95 CPU is slightly restricted, as mirrored within the benchmarking scores. Even Microsoft Workplace purposes, if pushed, struggled with something too advanced. Then there’s the built-in UHD graphics, which is ideal for video playback however not far more.
As a praise to certainly one of Beelink’s mini PCs this can be a nice possibility, however if you happen to’re eager about shopping for this as a result of it is a mini PC and NAS in a single, then I might recommend you put money into one of many greatest mini PCs in our information. Then pair it with the ME Professional as a part of the ecosystem in your community slightly than a day-to-day mini PC and NAS in a single.
Beelink ME Professional: Worth and availability
- How a lot does it value? $369
- When is it out? Now
- The place are you able to get it? Broadly accessible
Relying on the configuration and the storage you plan to put inside, the worth of the ME Professional can range tremendously. Our overview pattern is the N95 possibility with 12 GB of RAM and a 120 GB SSD, which can value round $369 or £320.
For the dearer possibility that includes the Intel N150, 16 GB of LP DDR4 RAM, and a 1 TB SSD, you’d probably spend US$529.
At current, the Beelink ME Professional hybrid NAS and mini PC is on the market immediately from the Beelink web site, in addition to Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.
Beelink ME Professional: Specs
CPU: Intel N95 / Intel N150
Graphics: Built-in Intel UHD Graphics
RAM: 12GB LPDDR5 / 16GB LPDDR5
Storage: As much as 1TB SSD
Ports: USB-A, USB-C (10Gbps), USB 2.0 ports, HDMI
Connectivity: 5GbE, 2.5GbE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Dimension: 166 x 121 x 112 mm
OS Put in: Home windows 11 Residence
Equipment: Energy adapter, mounting {hardware}, documentation
Beelink ME Professional: Design
The Beelink ME Professional hybrid NAS mini PC is an revolutionary design for what is actually a two-in-one machine. Alongside entry to a really succesful NAS with each 2.5 and 5 GbE connections, two 3.5-inch bays and three PCIe 3.0 SSD slots, it’s additionally a Home windows Mini PC.
Contemplating it’s a NAS and Mini PC, it’s extraordinarily small at 166 x 121 x 112 mm and weighs 2.1kg, although that’s with out the facility adapter, any HDDs, or the SSDs put in. This nonetheless makes it one of many smallest NAS gadgets in the marketplace, even for a two-bay mannequin, and the truth that it’s additionally a completely practical Home windows machine makes it much more spectacular.
However there’s one thing extra concerning the Beelink ME Professional that I actually like, and that’s the truth that they’ve made it modular, so while at current the one choices accessible are the Intel N95 or the Intel N150 motherboard, the motherboard can truly be withdrawn from the system and changed with an AMD or ARM possibility, though at current these aren’t accessible, however are highlighted as future choices on the web site.
Putting in the drives is straightforward, with the 2 bays pulling out, your 3.5-inch HDD sitting inside, after which screwing tightly into the bay, holding it regular. Beelink is eager to focus on that this holder design helps cut back vibration, avoiding any injury which may happen in contrast with NAS drive bays that maintain drives loosely in by small plastic grommets.
The three SSDs are bolted and slotted into the underside, and the machine truly ships with one small 128GB drive pre-installed. I used the opposite two slots to carry further storage and an alternate working system.
One other function of the gadget is the quantity of cooling that has been included, so by way of the entrance and base of the machine, air is drawn in, serving to to make sure that the drives , motherboard, CPU and RAM keep as cool as potential, optimising efficiency.
One other good design function is that on the again, there’s a magnetic mud cowl that’s simply eliminated with the intention to take away mud and make sure the airflow stays constant. Once more, it’s simply an additional degree of thought within the design.
On the subject of ports, these are effectively laid out, with two LAN ports on the again, certainly one of which is 2.5GbE, the opposite 5GbE, and HDMI so you’ll be able to plug it immediately right into a monitor, two USB-A ports, after which across the entrance, there’s one other USB Sort-A.
By means of the check, I discovered this extraordinarily helpful, as I had a keyboard and mouse plugged into the 2 Sort-A ports on the again once I was putting in the TrueNAS working system onto a secondary SSD, and I used to be ready to try this utilizing the USB key by way of the entrance USB Sort-A port with out having to reconfigure the rear ports. Clearly, after this, the port, together with the USB-C on the again, can be utilized to immediately switch recordsdata to the ME Professional.
As soon as every part was put in into the system and plugged in, there was simply the standard strategy of ending the set up for Home windows 11 Residence, then configuring the 2 HDDs right into a RAID configuration or Home windows equal and the SSDs. For the reason that machine is so small, I used to be capable of place it fortunately on the shelf behind my monitor and plugged it immediately into the router so it could possibly be accessed by different machines on the community as effectively.
Beelink ME Professional: Options
The ME Professional is an fascinating hybrid gadget, being each a NAS and a mini PC in a single, and it balances that job fairly effectively with two HDD bays for mass storage and three SSDs for quicker storage choices. Within the case of my overview unit, I’ve two HDDs configured in Home windows Easy (RAID 0) equal and the three SSDs, one put in with Home windows 11 Residence that ships with the machine, one with TrueNAS, and the opposite simply as a mass storage gadget, all of which could possibly be accessed simply from different machines on the community.
The machine can also be accessible in different configurations, with the choice that I’ve checked out on this overview coming with the Intel N95, 12GB of LPDDR5 4800MHz and a 128GB SSD; this chipset can also be accessible in a 512GB SSD possibility, then you’ll be able to take the improve to the Intel N150 which has 16GB of LPDDR5 4800MHz and a 512GB SSD, and that once more is on the market in a 1TB possibility.
Whichever possibility you select, the HDD bays are as much as you when it comes to capability, and every bay can maintain as much as 30TB. Alongside the SATA 3.5-inch HDDs there are additionally three M.2 NVMe drive slots, and these take M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0, and every is able to taking 4TB, so you’ll be able to rise up to 60TB by way of HDD and an extra 12TB by way of the SSDs, bringing you to a grand whole of 72TB, which is without doubt one of the highest capacities that I’ve seen on this measurement of machine.
Beelink’s small NAS and mini PC in a single is spectacular, and the engineers have clearly regarded very fastidiously on the cooling. By means of the literature, the corporate is eager to level out simply how a lot innovation has gone into the cooling system. Air is drawn by way of the entrance and base of the machine, pushed by way of the system and out of the again above the motherboard.
One of many issues I didn’t realise in the course of the check was simply how cool the system ran. It wasn’t too laborious to push the system laborious due to that N95 processor, copying terabytes of knowledge to the 2 HDDs and utilising Plex to look at again video. The machine was greater than able to maintaining with the calls for, so long as you didn’t count on an excessive amount of from it on the processing aspect.
As a result of design of the machine and its hybrid use, you’ve gotten the choice to put in many frequent OSs; as I’ve beforehand talked about, it comes with Home windows 11 Residence put in, however it’s also possible to set up Linux if you happen to so want. Alongside both of these working methods, you can additionally use it to run a devoted NAS OS akin to FNOS or TrueNAS, and on this overview, I ran TrueNAS as a result of it’s an open-source possibility and free. You can even run a digital machine, akin to Proxmox (PVE) or ESXi, so doubtlessly you can have your OS put in on one of many SSDs and one other digital machine on the ultimate SSD, tailoring it to whichever use case you need.
While the N95 is a comparatively low-powered CPU, the built-in UHD graphics are nice for working Home windows. What that does imply is that it runs on extraordinarily low energy, so having this NAS sit within the background working will value you numerous lower than lots of the bigger, extra highly effective choices in the marketplace.
Beelink ME Professional: Efficiency
Benchmarks
CrystalDiskMark Learn: 212.58
CrystalDiskMark Write: 204.26
Geekbench CPU Multi: 2034
Geekbench CPU Single: 1056
Geekbench GPU: 3190
PCMark Total: 2786
Cinebench CPU Multi (Threads): 2601
Cinebench CPU Single (Threads): 900
Fireplace Strike Total: 1064
Fireplace Strike Graphics: 1136
Fireplace Strike Physics: 5822
Fireplace Strike Mixed: 394
Time Spy Total: 362
Time Spy Graphics: 316
Time Spy CPU: 2261
Wild Life Total: 2258
Metal Nomad Total: 0
Home windows Expertise Total: 8
Beginning out with the Beelink ME Professional is easy. Simply consider it in the identical means that you’d any commonplace mini PC; primarily, you run by way of the Home windows 11 Residence set-up course of, end off the previous couple of steps connecting to your community, and primarily you’re set and able to go. It’s a mini PC, albeit not an particularly highly effective one, as was confirmed with the efficiency checks.
Nonetheless, if you happen to do need to use it for primary phrase processing, workplace work, searching the web, and watching movies on YouTube, then it’s greater than sufficient for that. You may all the time join a webcam and use it as an workplace assembly machine. While the N95 isn’t particularly highly effective in comparison with the newest mini PCs in the marketplace, it’s nonetheless a well-balanced possibility, particularly for work-focused machines the place high-end graphics and processing energy aren’t often required.
Nonetheless, that is additionally a NAS, providing network-connected storage, and it comes with Home windows 11 Residence pre-installed. It simply makes the entire course of simpler, so if you happen to work in a small dwelling workplace and don’t have a lot IT expertise, this could possibly be a great resolution for you.
To get began, I merely plugged the Beelink ME Professional into the again of my community hub, then connected the monitor, keyboard, and mouse so I might full the Home windows set-up and set up two 4TB HDDs. I used Western Digital Crimson drives and configured these because the Home windows equal of RAID 0, primarily a easy space for storing. And, in fact, you’ve gotten the choice to go for mirror or parity, the RAID 1 or RAID 5 equivalents.
The method is comparatively simple: set up the drives, then go to System > Storage within the Superior Storage Settings. Choose your space for storing, create a brand new pool, choose each HDDs, select Easy, and also you’re primarily performed. You then have these 4TB drives as one usable 8TB drive. There’s no redundancy with the Easy configuration, but it surely does provide the velocity. Should you do need backup, set the drives as a mirror, which is the RAID 1 equal; once more, it’s the identical course of, you simply choose Mirror slightly than Easy.
Used on this means, these 8TB had been quick to entry, so I used them to again up my picture and video recordsdata on to the shared house I created on these drives.
When it got here to the remainder of the storage choices utilizing the SSDs, certainly one of them was clearly taken by Home windows 11 Residence, and the opposite two slots I put in two Lexar 512GB SSDs; I put in TrueNAS on one and left the opposite as straight storage for TrueNas, and once more, it was all very simple to do.
The SSD storage was ready by way of TrueNas and as soon as formatted it could possibly be accessed immediately or by way of the community. It’s price stating that TrueNAS, wanted to be put in from a separate USB key, and right here I used to be actually happy to see that there was a USB Sort-A slot on the entrance of the machine; the 2 on the rear had been already taken up with the keyboard and mouse, and I didn’t need to unplug these or use an adapter.
The TrueNAS set-up was comparatively simple, taking barely longer than anticipated to run by way of the settings and join the machine to the wired community, however as soon as it was up and working, I used to be capable of stream from Plex and use it once more as a mass storage gadget. One of many points right here is that Easy (RAID 0) storage capability that I had setup within the Home windows set up wasn’t accessible from the TrueNAS set up. What actually stood out right here was simply how effectively suited the N95 CPU was, and while it’s restricted for normal day-to-day use as an workplace machine, it makes good sense when used inside a NAS.
The opposite level is that while the built-in UHD graphics won’t be that spectacular for the newest video games, on the subject of streaming 4K footage it does surprisingly effectively and implies that right here we’ve got a reasonable resolution that’s simple to know in contrast with many commonplace NAS choices.
One other level is that it may be left on 24/7; after the check, as soon as it was put in, I actually simply left it working within the background. After giving the TrueNAS set up a check, I switched again to Home windows 11 Residence and left it working as a large-capacity storage resolution within the workplace. While there have been restricted further choices in contrast with TrueNAS, it was simply simple to hook up with and use.
One of many principal causes I put in the Plex Media Server for Home windows was to level it to the 8TB inside storage set-up and have Plex working as a background service on a regular basis, immediately accessible from all of the machines in the home after which workplace.
By the top of the check, the ME Professional proved to be one of many best NAS options I’ve come throughout, providing simple integration, particularly for Home windows-based set-ups, and it’ll go well with many dwelling workplaces with out IT backup or help.
Beelink ME Professional: Remaining verdict
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The idea of the Beelink ME Professional is a good one. It affords a simple, easy-to-understand network-attached storage resolution, and the truth that it comes pre-installed with Home windows 11 Residence implies that nearly anybody can set it up and use it similar to one other PC in your own home or workplace, it simply has extra storage potential and the flexibility for use as an efficient shared community drive.
What I like about it’s you could simply set up two large-capacity HDDs, and once more, they’re arrange utilizing the Home windows 11 storage resolution which is acquainted. The Home windows 11 storage resolution is simply simple, and whether or not you select to create a single giant drive or mirror the drive, the method within the Home windows interface is easy.
Then, as soon as it has been created, right-click and choose the share choices in order that anybody else in your community can entry it. It actually couldn’t be less complicated.
The actual fact is, that for many dwelling workplace employees this technique is straightforward, primarily it’s one other small machine with quick community connectivity with the flexibility to share its contents. While it’s a Mini PC, it ought to actually be seen as a NAS or Media Server, the truth that it runs Home windows 11 Residence simply makes it acquainted and straightforward to make use of.
Should you do need to take issues just a little bit additional and switch it into a house media server, then with the set up of Plex you’ll be able to immediately stream video from that grasp storage to any machine or good gadget that you really want, and while this does take just a little bit extra know-how and set-up, it’s nonetheless comparatively simple and there are many person guides on the market on how you can do it.
However what actually makes this fascinating is the truth that you’ve gotten these three SSDs on the bottom, so if you happen to do need to set up one other working system or NAS OS, akin to I did with TrueNAS, then this once more is feasible, and you should use it within the dwelling or workplace as a small dwelling lab for experimentation, or if you happen to flip it utterly over to TrueNAS you’ve gotten a really compact, large-capacity NAS that may give you all the regular options.
While my overview pattern waseasy to make use of, simple, and labored exceptionally effectively for every part I needed, many will really feel that Home windows 11 Residence affords fewer options than a few of the extra concerned NAS set-ups, however you’ll be able to nonetheless set up these over the Home windows 11 set up. And what I actually like is the half modular design.
The truth that you’ll be able to insert a lot storage, but additionally in future updates set up an AMD or ARM motherboard all additional add to its flexibility. If you’re working a house lab and have to experiment with completely different CPUs and set-ups; this one small machine and the flexibility to slip the motherboard out and in once more makes it extraordinarily fascinating.
On the finish of this check I’ll positively say the Beelink ME Professional is an ideal associate to Beelink’s different mini PCs, however extra so to anybody with a mini PC on the lookout for a simple technique to increase its community storage with out delving into one thing as advanced as commonplace NAS field, and if you happen to do run a house lab, once more this can be a nice possibility with loads of flexibility.
If, nonetheless, you’re simply on the lookout for a straight NAS with all of the options and apps, then possibly one thing just a little extra superior with a bit extra processing energy can be a greater possibility.
Ought to I purchase a Beelink ME Professional?
Worth | Reasonably priced hybrid mass-storage mini PC possibility you could broaden as your finances permits | 4 |
Design | Extraordinarily premium, compact all-metal construct that may match nearly any house | 4.5 |
Options | An amazing set of options and adaptability, which means it may be as easy or advanced as you want 4/5 | 4 |
Efficiency | Low-power CPU makes it okay for normal workplace work and getting used as a NAS, however nothing too superior | 4 |
Overalls | Straightforward-to-use and very versatile dwelling workplace NAS system | 4 |
Purchase it if…
Do not buy it if…
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