Beelink really hit a home run with the SER5 Pro 5600H. The performance on offer is excellent from both a value and technical standpoint. For $509, you get a 6-core, 12-thread CPU with 32 GB of DDR4 3200 MHz memory and a decent 500 GB NVMe SSD. It manages to trade blows with the older AMD 8-core 16-thread 4800U used in the ASRock 4X4 BOX-4800U and provides better value compared to ASRock's NUC BOX-1260P. Both trade blows with each other, but the Beelink offering has substantially better value considering the ASRock unit's price tag as configured was $797.

Also of note was the Radeon Vega 7 IGP's performance. With the processor's higher TDP of 35-watts vs. the Ryzen 7 4800U, the integrated graphics on the Ryzen 5600H is able to further stretch its legs. It delivered playable performance in Grand Theft Auto 5 at 720p; while some of the extra details were disabled, such as extended shadows, anti-aliasing, etc., the rest of the details were set to max. Under those conditions, the SER5 Pro 5600H was able to deliver 60 FPS avg, which is pretty damn good, all things considered. Even Fallout 4 at 720p and medium settings performed above expectations at 65 FPS avg, meaning the Beelink Mini-PC dominated the competition in our real-world gaming tests. This doesn't mean it is a great gaming system vs. a traditional desktop or laptop, but the fact is you can game on it to some degree. It also worked exceptionally well for PS2 emulation.

Build quality was good, with the chassis using a greater amount of metal vs. plastic, giving a more premium feel. The entire design is well thought out, and the system is easy to service and clean. It even has a decent amount of upgrade potential. Buyers can eventually upgrade to 64 GB of memory, add a secondary storage drive via the 2.5-inch drive bay, or opt for a faster NVMe SSD should they need to. Beelink also offers some nice extras in that the NVMe SSD has a thermal pad to transfer some heat to the metal HDD tray along with 2x HDMI cables which I typically never see included in systems such as these. In general, it's a well-made and well-thought-out product.

As for heat and noise, the heatsink design kept the test system under 80°C in all tests, peaking at 77°C with the average load temperature being 55°C. While it can be a bit noisy especially depending on your custom fan profile, by default out of the box, it peaked around 46 dBA (6 inches away), and in most workloads, it stays nearly silent. Part of this is due to the system's power draw. At idle, it sips power using an avg of 9 watts at the wall. Under more typical loads, it draws 30 to 40 watts with peaks of 50 watts in extreme stress tests. The SER5 Pro 5600H is, on the whole, a well-balanced system.

The system is configured with a high enough TDP for the processor and IGP to deliver great performance while still remaining efficient. My only concern is the power plug, with a max of 57 watts via its 19 volt 3.0 amp output means Beelink is pushing it quite hard. I would have preferred to see a 65-watt or 90-watt unit to improve efficiency and leave a bit of extra headroom for those adding a 2.5-inch drive, or using USB-powered accessories.

The only limiting factor for the system is the 1-year warranty and the generic BIOS. I will clarify the BIOS is far more in-depth than most systems of this nature. For example, the BIOS lists options for Precision Boost Overdrive in a buried sub-menu which is pretty sweet, but you can't really utilize it due to the limited TDP. Essentially leaving you with a taste of what could be, before slamming the door in your face.

While I expected that to begin with, it still leaves me a bit sad, as the 5600H has a configurable TDP. It can be set to 45 watts by the OEM if they so choose. In the case of the SER5 Pro, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600H has been set to 35 watts. When I tinkered with the PBO option, I was able to gain about 2% more performance, but that isn't enough to be considered anything more than a lucky run. Suffice it to say the limited TDP is the culprit here. With the fan capable of hitting much higher RPMs when manually configured, it is possible that this system could run up to 45 watts if Beelink allowed it. However, the power brick's limited output means the CPU's limited TDP is necessary. It also means that even though there is some extra room temperature wise to see higher clocks and performance, you won't be able to utilize it. While this might all sound negative, the fact is the system was never meant to be used this way. But the fact it potentially could is still rather exciting to me, at least.

Overall the Beelink SER5 Pro 5600H is an exceptional Mini-PC for the average user. With its attractive price, stellar performance, and low overall power usage, it is a system I would actually purchase myself for day-to-day use, be it playing emulated games, browsing the web, or as a home theater system.