The protagonist of this review is GEEKOM Mini IT11. It is a mini PC, as always, but which now has very few differences with any other PC
The world of mini PCs is becoming more and more fascinating because allow you to do more and more things, in a very small space and consuming less energy. Plus, with cloud services becoming more prevalent, why invest in a more expensive desktop PC?
We’ve already come across several GEEKOM mini PCs, all of which are great machines. But there was always something missing. Perhaps that something has arrived with the GEEKOM Mini IT11. Let’s find out why in this review!
Technical specifications
- Dimensions: 117 x 112 x 45.6 mm, 565 g
- CPU: 11th Gen i7-11390H (4 cores, 8 threads, 12M cache, up to 5.00GHz), TDP 35W
- iGPU: Intel Iris Xe
- RAM: Dual Channel DDR4 SODIMMs, 16GB/32GB; expandable up to 64GB
- Storage:
- 1 x SSD (2280 M.2 SATA/PCIe), 512GB/1TB expandable up to 2TB
- 1 x 2.5″ (7mm) SATA hard drive, expandable up to 2TB
- Operating system: Windows 11 Pro
- Connectivity: Bluetooth v5.2, Ethernet 10/100/1000 Mbps, WiFi 6
- I/O size: 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Ports, 2 x USB-C 4 Ports, 1 x SD Card Reader, 1 x 3.5mm Headphone Jack, 1 x Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 Port, 1 x HDMI 2.0 Port, 1 x Mini DisplayPort
GEEKOM Mini IT11 review: design and construction
The design remains the usual choice by GEEKOM for its products, now almost a hallmark of the brand. We have a mini PC from square shape, with rounded edges which make it very elegant. In this case we received a trial version with entirely matt gray livery. Compared to the classic glossy black, this solution appears a little more resistant to dirt and, in my opinion, perhaps even a little more elegant and minimalist.
The build quality of GEEKOM Mini IT11 follows that of GEEKOM products: solidity is perceived at the first touch. There are no crunches or pushups. The rubber feet do their job of anchoring to the support surface very well. Despite this, the case is very easy to open to replace the internal components. Which is not easy to find when it comes to such compact products.
The packaging contains several accessories:
- VESA mount, for hanging
- power supply
- HDMI cable
- User guide
- Thank you card
GEEKOM Mini IT11 review: performance analysis
What perhaps most characterizes this product is the performance because not only the processor is an i7-11390H of 11th generation, but above all we have available the Intel Xe graphics new generation. Let’s see all the details.
As usual, we left it to Cinebench the task of squeezing our CPU. In the single core test we noticed a very unstable behavior of the frequencies that fluctuated a lot for half of the test, then settling around 3.5 GHz in the last 5 minutes of the benchmark. Although the core i7-11390H can go up to 5 GHz, evidently the cooling system is a bit undersized and can’t keep temperatures under control – which in fact fluctuate above 80 °C several times in the first half of the test. The CPU tries to give it its maximum, but then it has to give up and go back to the base frequency.
Surprisingly, on the multi core the situation is calmer. With frequencies that immediately stabilize at 3.5 GHz on all cores and temperatures almost always below 80 °C. Power consumption does not go beyond 28 W. Probably the cooling system struggles to handle the frequent high boost clocks of this CPU, while on multi core it performs well. The scores are 1303 and 5530 on single and multi core, respectively.
But let’s come to the graphic part which is perhaps the most interesting on this device. Intel Xe graphics are next generation graphics that have revolutionized iGPU performance. We conducted tests with two benchmarks: Unigine Heaven and the most recent Superposition. In the first case, the GPU manages to support a resolution very well 1080p with high details, with a average frame rate of 42 fps and some sporadic dips at 22 fps. In the Superposition benchmark, which is more complex however, we only got 12 fps in 1080p rising to 20 at 720p. However we are below the sufficiency. In other words, GEEKOM Mini IT11 will be able to easily support less complex – and recent – games in FHD, but much more is needed to run modern games.
On the other hand, the memory allocation is excellent, which are very fast with sequential reading and writing respectively around 3500 MB/s e 2500 MB/s. The random performance is also good. In fact, the fluidity and responsiveness of the system can all be seen and Windows starts up really fast.
GEEKOM Mini IT11 review: user experience
This mini PC is equipped with a CPU that fears nothing. We obviously have tested the office suite without fail without any kind of problem. You can open various browser tabs and files without hesitation. In short, GEEKOM Mini IT11 manages everything related to our daily life at home or in the office without problems.
We come to something more challenging. Photo editing proceeds quickly. The processor has enough power to apply most of the filters in a few moments and easily allows you to have a real-time preview, even of very large high resolution files. If we move on to video editing, we have to make some assumptions: for small projects, with few tracks and not too high resolution, it performs very well. Even a program like DaVince Resolve runs satisfactorily.
Entertainment side: obviously no problem for movies and TV series. It can fit too as a game console if obviously you don’t have the pretensions of playing at high resolution and with recent titles, we could say that a PlayStation 3 level of complexity can be managed. For retrogaming it is certainly a bomb. And finally the compartment I / O is a fairy tale. We can all attack each other, wirelessly and wired. A really great job done by the Taiwanese company also because, despite the abundance of doors, the design remains clean and tidy.
Conclusions
At the end of this review we wonder if the GEEKOM Mini IT11 is the ultimate mini PC. The answer is no. The processor does its job very well, but the cooling system does not allow it to express itself at its best. However, we finally have a graphic part worthy of the name that manages to run games in 1080p 30fps (even if not the most recent ones).
Benchmarks aside, this mini PC performs really well in daily use with a wide range of applications. Obviously we can’t ask it to do what a multi-thousand-euro workstation would do like 4K video editing. But for what is done in 90% of our homes and offices it could be very good. Furthermore, if we consider that we often find it on offer at a price of around 550 euros, this GEEKOM Mini IT11 really becomes a best buy!
Powerful but not great
Plus points
- Design and compactness
- I/O compartment
- Very powerful integrated graphics, but…
Points against
- … not up to modern challenges
- Some problems managing the temperatures