Beelink EQ14 review: Office-class mini PC powered by the new Intel Twin Lake N150

Beelink is back with another office-class mini PC. It is actually an update of the EQ13 that I reviewed last year in June. The main difference here is that the EQ14 is powered by a brand-new Intel Twin Lake N150, a low-powered (6W TDP) chip, and we'll find out how it stacks up.

Before we get underway, here is a disclaimer: Beelink provided a free sample without any review pre-approval.

Now, some specifications:

Beelink only sent details of the one configuration for the EQ14, which is powered by a Twin Lake N150, a CPU that debuted yesterday, 16GB of DDR4 Single Channel RAM (3200MT/s), and again (as with the EQ13) includes an oddly small 512GB AZW M.2 SATA SSD for storage. A Windows 11 Pro license is also preloaded. As of writing, it is currently listed on the Beelink website and Amazon for $189 (when you apply the $40 in-page coupon), which is $70 cheaper than the launch price of the EQ13.

The design is exactly the same as the EQ13 that I reviewed last year, so again, due to its small height, a 2.5-inch SSD cannot be added, but there are two internal M.2 slots, so you can add a second SSD, but you should be aware that the slot which is used is an M.2 SATA, limited to PCIe 3.0 x1 speeds. However, the second NVMe slot is PCIe 3.0 x 4, which can also be used.

The packaging follows the same design and experience as the EQ13. After removing the outer cardboard sleeve and pulling the top off the box, you are presented with the Mini PC sitting on a plastic "shelf," and under that, there is a "Hello" card. Below the documentation, you can find the power lead and HDMI cable.

What’s In The Box

• 1 x Beelink EQ14 Mini PC
• 1 x Power Lead
• 1 x HDMI Cable
• 1 x User Guide
• 1 x Hello Card

As you can see below, you have everything you'll need to get started. If you need a link to the digital user manual, here it is.

Design

The look of it is quite nice, the color is "Navy Blue," which can also be found printed on one side of the packaging. The top has a slightly textured feel to it, with the Beelink and EQ branding in the bottom right corner of the top.

The sides are completely smooth, and all of the edges are rounded off, so there are no sharp edges. And although the outer housing is plastic, it has a premium feel to it. The EQ14 is light as well: it's just 493 grams, so it won't weigh you down when carrying it from place to place.

The front of the EQ14 includes two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (Type-C and A). Having Type-C on the front of a Mini PC is a personal preference of mine given how external storage and most devices already come with Type-C these days. There's also an audio jack and a clear CMOS pinhole.

As far as looks go, and as previously mentioned, it's a Navy Blue color with a completely plastic outer shell, and thanks to the fact it's not glossy, it's not a fingerprint magnet. However, despite the plastic build, it doesn't feel cheap and isn't flimsy either, and even when the base is removed it remains sturdy.

To access it, you must first remove the tiny rubber feet covering the four Philips head screws located in each corner. A small Stanley knife to remove the rubber feet and hobby screwdriver is enough for the job.

You might need to carefully use the Stanley knife again, to prise the plate free, however you won't have to worry about any ribbon cables, because the backplate does not include a 2.5-inch SSD sled or WiFi antenna cables. The screws do come loose, so be sure not to lose them.

As you can see from the above images, which can be enlarged when clicked on, there's a heatsink over the two SSD slots but also ample room to manage the single SODIMM and AZW 512 GB M.2 SSD. Yes, Beelink again went with an M.2 SATA, which is a bit disappointing, considering the other slot is the PCIe 3.0 x4 option.

Usage

Bios

The EQ14 uses a full featured Aptio BIOS which is not locked down at all, meaning you can tweak CPU and power settings to your heart's content, this will afford options like being able to use DDR5 memory and configure an XMP profile, if present.

On first boot, you are prompted to complete the setup of Windows 11 Pro, meaning you do not have to fork out for a license, which is nice. After the setup was finished, I saw that it landed on 24H2 build 26100.2033, which is relatively recent (October 2024), so even though I had to install a bunch of updates, it wasn't like having to upgrade from the original Windows 11 from 2021. In addition, Beelink does not include any bloatware in their PCs, so that is always a bonus.

It's only possible to attach two screens to the EQ14 using the two HDMI. The EQ14 supports up to 4K @ 60Hz through those HDMI 2.0 ports.

Regarding connectivity, on the back from left to right, there are two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, one USB 2.0 Type-A port, two HDMI ports, two RJ45 1GbE ports, along with a power lead connection. Above the ports are grills for ventilation

Around the front, there are two more USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, with one being Type-A and the other Type-C, and a port for a 3.5mm headphone jack. Unfortunately, the Type-C port is data only, so you can't connect a screen or charge a phone with it. I was able to link my Edifier 360DB speakers over Bluetooth 5.2, and I did not experience any noticeable audio delays.

There is no Kensington lock option or SD card slot on the EQ14. Air cooling is done through the bottom, with smaller grills to expel heat on the back.

Benchmarks

Before I started running benchmarks, I ensured that Windows 11 and drivers were up to date. At the time of testing, the EQ14 was running Windows 11 Professional 24H2 build 26100.2605 with the December 2024 Patch Tuesday update installed. Initially, and when first running the benchmarks, Intel Arc & Iris Xe Graphics 32.0.101.5972, a beta driver from August 2024, was installed. Since this Twin Lake CPU is still so new, there were no newer drivers that could be installed because support for the N150 is missing in later drivers, which resulted in the installer quitting with an error.

I confirmed with my contact that there were no newer drivers available and that an updated one would be released sometime in mid-January to support the N150 CPU, so imagine my surprise when rounding off the review this weekend to see that the Intel Arc Center informed me that a newer driver was available!

After installing the v32.0.101.6449 drivers, I was pleasantly surprised to find the new interface for Intel Graphics Software which also correctly reports that the iGPU is not in Iris Xe mode, thanks to the fact the EQ14 only supports a single SODIMM, ruling out a dual channel configuration on which Iris Xe mode requires.

With that out of the way, I reran the benchmarks and compared it to two prev-gen (Alder Lake) N series powered mini PCs.

For the benchmarks, I used 3DMark, PCMark 10, Geekbench, Cinebench R23, and 7-Zip. 3DMark for the CPU Profile capability and 7-Zip for compression and decompression speeds.

PCMark tests are a mix of CPU and real-world productivity tests, such as using an office suite, web browsing, light photo/video editing, and making conference calls.

Cinebench stresses the entire CPU as it is a multi-threaded rendering test. Finally, Geekbench is a synthetic benchmark that is great for a quick look at the potential performance across a wide range of workloads.

As you can see, the N150 in the EQ14 performed better with small speed bumps than even the N200, aside from Compute, which, for some reason, was an even lower result than the N100 after four runs, and could well be related to the lack of proper driver readiness. It's clear that Twin Lake is a minor upgrade over the Alder Lake-N series. You may have noticed that I pulled the Time Spy and Steel Nomad tests because Intel explicitly states that the CPUs are not intended for gaming, so there's no point in proving this fact.

On paper, the N150—introduced yesterday—at first glance looks impressive enough with support for AV1 decode, HDMI 2.1, WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, LPDDR5, DDR5 and DDR4, but with a max TDP of 6W and only 4 E-cores; but on the flip-side, it still only supports a maximum of 16 GB of single channel memory, with a measly 24 EUs, so we're entering Chromebook-level territory here. Lack of bandwidth due to the single-channel memory is still a thing here.

It's a Celeron, even if Intel isn't calling it that anymore; therefore, any expectations should be adjusted with this fact.

I was only given specifications for the new N150 listed above in between the Alder Lake variants. This is from the Twin Lake (slightly updated Alder Lake) SKU released in Q1 2025. At the time of writing, the entire NX50 series was under embargo, but the lineup was leaked, so I included them in the above table.

Even Beelink isn't touting this as something you can use for light gaming. In fact, the product page for the EQ13 (which has been removed for some reason) only says, "light office, multimedia playback, virtual machine, NAS, meeting all your daily needs, and helping you balance work and entertainment."

In addition, @jaykihn0, who posted the specs on X, added that, like with the Alder Lake N processor, Intel will not accept any RMA for any Twin Lake N-based products that exceed their rated TDP. These chips are intended for systems with light loads, so Intel will wash its hands in case something goes wrong when pushing these products beyond their rated capabilities.

I also tested the SSD's capability using AS SSD and CrystalDiskMark.

It must be noted that the numbers here are all lower than the results for the EQ13, but I fully expect that this will improve as Intel releases better and newer optimized drivers for the new N150. The poor results here also clearly show through the choice of shipping this with an M.2 SSD, despite the fact there is an empty PCIe 3.0 x4 slot sitting right next to it. One could argue that for an additional $100 or so, you could significantly improve the performance of this Mini PC by simply buying an NVMe SSD for it, but it does automatically increase the cost.

When running the above benchmark tests, the EQ14 did get a little warm on the top and toward the back of the mini PC, but there were no annoying noises coming from the single fan that cooled the unit. The 25W PSU really leaves its mark here.

Speaking of the fan, the EQ14 also includes a laptop-inspired cooling system that Beelink claims is "near silent" and efficient at dissipating heat, and I can confirm the EQ14 never got hot to the touch and barely made any noise that I could hear.

Conclusion

One thing is clear: the EQ14 doesn't claim to be more than it is. You will not be able to enjoy even light gaming on it, but it is absolutely suited as something like a cloud PC or office workstation, or perhaps a good solution for a student or office worker without a permanent desk; this thing also isn't taking up much room in your bag, affording the ability to pack it away after every use.

As of writing, it is listed on the official website and Amazon for just $189 when you apply the in-page coupon. For this Beelink EQ14, which includes a brand new CPU launched in Q1 2025, 16 GB of DDR4 memory, and a 512 GB M.2 SATA with Windows 11 Pro installed on it, it's not going to leave a massive dent in your wallet.

The negatives here (if you can even call them that at this price point) are the tiny M.2 SATA storage option and also the fact that there is no USB Type C port on the front (or back) that supports DisplayPort. DDR4 is also a bit disappointing, considering it supports DDR5, but that's still pricey compared to DDR4, so at only $229 MSRP, perhaps we can forgive these omissions.

And let's not forget the good news here: the EQ14 launched at $30 cheaper than its predecessor; in fact, as of writing, the EQ13 still costs $10 more than the newer EQ14, which reinforces my point.

If you're happy with a relatively weak but low-power CPU and iGPU, you are still getting a capable office-class Mini PC with a vast array of connectivity options that utilize a tiny footprint. It may not be clamoring to set any records as a Mini PC, but this could be a smart decision for small businesses that utilize a cloud PC environment or maybe as an HTPC for super energy-efficient home use.

Thumbs up from me!