New products tested by our experts
22
Reviews
New products tested by our experts
8 – 21 June 2022 • Issue 633can be ramped up when needed without
the risk of overheating and then having to
slow everything down.
For those with the room to accommodate
it, we’d still recommend opting for the
Wired2Fire Ultima WS Home Office
Workstation above this model. For the
price you pay, the Wired2Fire is a
brilliant PC that runs Windows superbly
well. However, if you’re on a tight budget
or want a PC that doesn’t hog space
around your desk, the Beelink SER
4800U is well worth a look. It’s just a
shame that it isn’t quieter when being
put through its paces.SPECIFICATIONS
Eight-core AMD Ryzen 7 4800U processor •• 32GB
memory •• AMD Radeon Vega 8 graphics •• 500GB
SSD •• Wi-Fi 6e •• Bluetooth 5.2 •• 1x Gigabit Ethernet
port •• 2x HDMI ports •• 1x USB-C port •• 4x USB 3.0
ports •• Windows 11 Pro •• 126x113x40mm (HxWxD)- • One-year warranty http://www.snipca.com/41983
MINI PC ❘ £519 from Beelink http://www.snipca.com/41983
Beelink SER 4800U
Small wonder
Chinese PC manufacturer Beelink is new
to the pages of Computeractive, but it
has been specialising in powerful mini
PCs for more than a decade. You can now
for the first time buy these models
directly from its website (www.bee-link.
com) in pounds sterling, cutting out
middlemen and getting a high
performance mini PC for a very
affordable price. Its PCs are also available
on Amazon, but you’ll pay more.The SER 4800U comes in a compact
case, measuring just 126x113x40mm
(HxWxD) and weighing 300g. Inside,
however, it packs quite a punch. Our
£519 test unit came with an eight-core
AMD Ryzen 7 4800U processor, 32GB
of RAM, and a 500GB SSD. If your
budget doesn’t stretch that far, it’s also
available with 16GB of RAM for £459.
Both versions come with Windows 11
Pro installed.
Our benchmark tests produced
impressive results for such an affordable
PC. It achieved 1,187 in the single-core
tests, and 6,398 in the multi-core tests.
This is some way behind our current
favourite desktop PC, the Wired2Fire
Ultima WS Home Office Workstation
(reviewed in Issue 630), which scored
9,545 in the multi-core test. However,Powerful, space-
saving PC is well
connected and
easily upgraded
VERDICT A tiny PC with a surprising
amount of power at an affordable price,
but it makes a lot of noise when pushed
to its limits★★★★★
ALTERNATIVE
Chillblast WAP Pro v4 £ 174 Its Intel
Celeron processor
is much slower, but
it’s probably the best
mini PC you can buy
for under £200considering the SER 4800U is over £200
cheaper and a fraction of the size, this
space-saving alternative has a lot going
for it.
It also more than doubles the score of
the last mini PC we reviewed, the £500
Chillblast WAP 2500U Ultimate Micro
PC, which scored 3,137 in the same test
(see Issue 612).
Due to their size, smaller PCs usually
compromise on the number of ports,
but we have no complaints here. On the
front it has two USB 3.0 ports, a USB-C
port and an audio jack for connecting
headphones. On the rear (pictured
below) there’s a Gigabit Ethernet port,
two HDMI ports and two more USB 3.0
ports. It also has Wi-Fi 6e and Bluetooth
5.2 built in. Should you ever need to
upgrade the memory or storage, it’s
surprisingly easy to access the interior,
as there’s only four screws holding the
case together.
One disappointing aspect is the
amount of noise it makes, particularly
when it’s being worked hard. It was
loud enough to be annoying during a
face-to-face meeting. Nevertheless,
these fans ensure the processing power