Beelink may not be a well-known name to everyone, but they seem to have carved out a niche in the mini-PC market. I have to say, I am quite impressed with their offerings, especially as I’m currently in the market for a Thunderbolt 5 (TB5) dual-slot NVMe enclosure.
My main requirement is to achieve around 2800MB/s for each NVMe drive independently. While additional features are a bonus, the overall design appears thoughtful and well-executed, and the cooling strategy looks promising.
The alignment of the ports with the Mac’s design is a nice touch. However, I would prefer to wait for some user reviews before making a purchase.
One concern I have is the unspecified fan noise. If I decide to place the enclosure under or on my Mac Mini, I want to ensure it doesn’t generate excessive noise.
Another important aspect is the PCIe lane configuration, which hasn’t been clearly stated. There are two versions: Version “A” with two NVMe slots achieving read speeds of 3219 MB/s and write speeds of 2800 MB/s on macOS, and Version “B” with one NVMe slot reaching 5809 MB/s read and 3162 MB/s write.
It raises questions about the specifics of the performance claims—such as whether the 3000 MB/s advertised for Version A is for each slot individually or from a RAID configuration. Thunderbolt 5 supports four lanes of PCIe 4.0, suggesting that Version A might be utilizing two lanes for each slot.
There are other considerations as well, such as the lack of a power supply and the recommendation to use a PD 3.0 USB-C charger rated at 30W or higher for multiple peripherals. Also, a significant downside is the absence of Thunderbolt pass-through for daisy-chaining devices, which could be limiting for some users.
Finally, I appreciate the three-year warranty, which feels reassuring, though I would like clarity on whether it includes Thunderbolt compatibility with an Intel or alternate brand chip. Overall, while this enclosure offers interesting specifications, further details would be beneficial before making a commitment.
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