Every so often, there are products that are better than we expect. This is one of those, and for anyone considering a Framework Desktop to run Windows 11 Pro, this should make you pause for consideration. In our review of the Beelink GTR9 Pro, you will see both why this is an awesome system and why there are a few software/ firmware items that need to be cleaned up for it to reach its full potential. It is time to get into a neat AMD Strix Halo system.
Pricing is a big deal. These often sell for $1999 or less for the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 with 128GB of LPDDR5X memory. It is a bit more on Amazon (Affiliate link.) The GMKtec EVO-X2 we reviewed previously is roughly the same price. A similarly configured Framework Desktop, like what we purchased, was closer to $2500 with less functionality. We would also suggest pairing this with a switch like the MikroTik CRS304-4XG-IN (Amazon Affiliate) or the QNAP QSW-M3216R-8S8T (Amazon Affiliate), since a major value proposition here is the 10Gbase-T networking. Also, if you do a lot of big models, you probably will want more than 2TB of storage, we used the 8TB WD drive (Amazon affiliate) which is cheap and big for the second M.2.
Beelink GTR9 Pro External Overview
From the initial unboxing, it is very clear that Beelink has targeted the Apple Mac Studio for the design. The unboxing is not quite Apple, but it is a far cry from a plain brown box.
The front has an array of microphones on top that are supposed to help isolate away background noise.
On the left, something the Mac Studio does not have, a built-in fingerprint reader on its power buttion.
On the other side, we get an audio jack, a SD card reader, and a USB Type-C port (10Gbps.)
On the rear, a huge amount of space is dedicated to the cooling. Also, we should mention that on the left side we have an AC power input as Beelink has moved to an internal power supply.
There is another audio jack, then two USB4 ports (40Gbps.) There are then HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 2.1 ports which can each apparently do 8K 60Hz output.
On the right rear, there are two USB 3.2 Type-A ports which gives a decent mix of Type-C and Type-A on the system. Beyond that though, is one of the big features, the dual 10Gbase-T networking. The 10GbE ports are powered by the new Intel E610 controller, which we will get to in a bit. At the same time, the Mac Studio has a single Marvell 10Gbase-T port. The GMKtec EVO-X2 has a single 2.5GbE port. The Framework Desktop is only a single 5GbE port. The Minisforum S1-MAX also has dual 10GbE, but those are Realtek NICs, making this a high-end solution. As you might tell by that list, we have already tested several other options. This is the top-end networking of the bunch.
On the bottom, we have a lot of venting, and the circular center section that we also find on a Mac Mini and Mac Studio.
The top has a Beelink Logo.
The unit is a bit smaller than the Apple Mac Studio. At the same time, if you did not take a second to pause and look, you would casually think you are looking at a Mac Studio.
Beelink has more going on, but it is not hard to see where they got inspiration from.
On the rear, Apple has more USB Type-C / Thunderbolt ports, but it is at least somewhat similar. This is the Apple Mac Studio M3 Ultra 512GB, so it is a $1999 Beelink next to the $10,000 Apple, but $1999 only gets you a base-level configruation in Apple Mac Studio these days with a quarter of the storage and just over a quarter of the memory.
Next, let us get inside because Beelink’s designs are also becoming more premium and complex along with its external design.
I’d love a bit more on how these run Linux, do all the drivers play nice etc
On paper specifications look good. In in practice we bought HP Z1 / Z2 months ago for much less
I returned mine because the fan noise was unbearable, at 52dBA, one full bel above the rate 32.
Comparing the gtr9 pro vs other Halo 395 systems on noise would be nice. I’d pick this over the framework desktop if it was quieter.
i like the GTR9 Pro but i would like it even better with working Intel E610. The NICs keep crashing under load, i have got Windows and Arch Linux. Right now i have got a USB-C NIC as a workaround.
Mark – Where did you get a HP Z2 Mini G1a Max+ 395 with 128GB for less than $1999? I cannot find it. I will buy one at that price to review.
Fazal – That is strange. We have 4 of these Strix Halo systems, and this is the quietest.
Bill – To me, the features are also better, and it is a lower cost. We filmed the Framework very soon after this one, but we put this ahead of the Framework in publishing order.
Todd – Yes. That is why we went into that issue here. I was told it is getting fixed with a new Intel driver, but it is not here yet, so we have that in the review. I feel a bit mixed on that since we can update this review when a fix arrives, but the video will mention that issue even after a fix arrives.
I have the EVO, the Framework Desktop, and the HP Z2 Mini G1a (~2600 usd on sale)
The HP is the loudest under load by a huge margin, and the EVO throttles. The Framework is very quiet but it’s larger and the fan is way bigger.
I’d like to see testing with different hypervisors and the ability to pass through the iGPU, as well as memory split between the different systems.
Obviously, 32GB isn’t a lot to run guest VMs, so other systems that allow more granularity would be great.
Thoughts?
@ThepHuck: do you know if there are any platform-specific considerations that would make Max 395 memory allocation and GPU behavior differ between systems; or is that a more general question about different hypervisors let you chop it up; but not specific to the Beelink take?
Since it’s a part whose main thing is memory allocation it certainly seems worth knowing; but if there are potentially subtle firmware quirks per-vendor that would make me a lot more nervous than if it’s the oddest of the APUs but AMD dictates all the low level behavior.
I cant wait for a noise comparison between this and the geekom a9 mega. This is 18x18x9.1 that is 17x17x7.1, quite a bit more compact
I had one of these. It’s not silent, especially if you enable the full 160W performance. I ended up returning it and getting a framework desktop mobo which performs much better on the noise front. I put the mobo in a custom case with a dual 10gbe card for cheaper than this unit. Neat concept but it fails in the sound and cooling dept.
Thank you for the review, seems like a neatly designed system. Beelink seems to take a lot of pride in the motherboard reinforcement components so that the PCB doesn’t warp under the weight of the cooler, that is completely not mentioned here I don’t take any issue, it is just hilarious to me.
That SSD seems…. janky? Sparsely mounted caps and exposed pads under what looks like the nand package. Do you have any idea what model it is? I think I will swap it out if I end up getting one.
Would be nice to have a comparison between E610 and RTL8127 in terms of driver availability, offload functionalities and OS/Distro/Hypervisor compatibility.
Also, since you have a couple Strix Halo systems, there are the upcoming GB10 systems, and apple probably is releasing M5 based minis and studios soon, any chance you’d make a more comprehensive AI capability piece for these APU boxes? A validation compatibility of these systems w/ popular AI engines and models would be nince for us to decide which one we should buy.
Serious question. Would this machine be absolutely great for Photoshop?
Does the ram work the same as 128gb ddr5?
Or am I missing something here?!
For those interested in this machine, be aware of a current issue with their dual Ethernet 10gbps driver.
https://bbs.bee-link.com/d/7762-gtr-9-pro-ethernet-malfunction-under-load/16
Other than that, it seems like a great machine.
A bit misleading to conclude with best for under 2k when it costs $2099
A number of years ago reviews of the Topton 8x 2.5GbE Router Firewall showed it could not finish a Geekbench 6 run without crashing nor could the Topton 4x 2.5GbE 2x 10GbE Router Firewall.
From the messages on the vendor support forum for the GTR9, the 10GB Ethernet crashes when placing the GPU under high load. Just like with the Toptop units, this does not sound like a driver problem to me but a hardware problem.
What I can’t understand is why anyone would consider hardware that is not stable anything but a not-fit-for-purpose frustration.
Don’t sound so skeptical: “The front has an array of microphones on top that are supposed to help isolate away background noise.’.
See Tait’s video, where they use multiple microphones and signal processing to remove noise and leave only the desired sound:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkuAeRfvbwU&list=PLWa6uO3ZUweCJdkCXWhENecSpwQyN7Jge&index=1