Introduction

Have you ever wondered what the purpose of a mini PC is for those looking to purchase one? Is it a substitute for a bulky desktop, a replacement for a poorly performing laptop, or, like us, transforming a mini PC into a router, home server, or HTPC?

Thanks to significant performance upgrades in mobile processors from Intel and AMD, the actual experience is now nearly indistinguishable from desktop processors. The dawn of mini PCs has arrived; they are compact, portable, and do not occupy much desktop space, yet offer impressive performance. For non-gaming users, mini PCs outperform assembled desktop machines in terms of cost-effectiveness and stability.

We have chosen the ZOTAC SEI12, which can be deployed on almost all mini PCs.

Appearance Overview

The packaging design is impressive, prominently displaying ’10 cores’, indicating that the CPU has 10 cores, with the SEI series mini PC labeled below. The ’12’ in the upper right corner signifies that this is a 12th generation Core processor.

Upon opening the package, the accessories are standard for ZOTAC, including a DC power supply, two HDMI cables (one long and one short), a monitor mount, and accompanying screws.

The power adapter is a 19V 5.26A, with a total specification of 100W, manufactured by HEC Power, a reputable power supply manufacturer.

The ZOTAC SEI12 is very compact, measuring 126x113x42mm, roughly the size of a palm. The color of my unit is deep blue, and the design remains consistent with previous generations of ZOTAC SEI, featuring a minimalist and stable appearance.

The top cover features a waterproof fabric design that has been used consistently across the series, allowing for airflow while providing water resistance.

This model has the Beelink logo; the domestic version features the ZOTAC branding.

The ZOTAC SEI12’s casing is made of ABS plastic, which feels quite nice, and the surface has a skin-like texture that resembles aluminum alloy at first glance.

The bottom shell is made of metal, with large plastic feet on both sides, and features a small plastic handle for easy disassembly. However, the bottom shell lacks ventilation design, which is a bit disappointing; it would be great if ZOTAC could design airflow for the memory and SSD at the bottom.

The front panel features standard 2A+1C configuration, a CMOS reset hole, a 3.5mm audio jack, with the A port being USB 3.2 Gen2 10G speed interface. The C port only supports data transfer, not Thunderbolt, and does not support connecting to a display.

The rear panel includes two USB 2.0 ports, primarily for connecting a mouse and keyboard, as 2.0 ports are less prone to interference compared to 3.0 ports. The network card interface is a gigabit port, and ZOTAC supports dual display, with DP 1.4 and HDMI 2.0, enhancing work efficiency.

The interface setup is quite standard and sufficient for typical office scenarios, with dual screens, dual 2.0, dual 3.2, and a single C port, making it suitable for both office and HTPC use.

System Testing

Theoretical Performance Testing

The version we received has 32G RAM and 500G storage, with an i7-12650H processor featuring 6 P-cores and 4 E-cores, totaling 16 threads, with a maximum turbo frequency of 4.7 GHz for P-cores and 3.5 GHz for E-cores, and a 24MB L3 cache. The base power consumption of the processor is 45W, with a maximum turbo power of 115W and a minimum guaranteed power of 35W.

CPUZ processor test results show a single-core score of 695.7 and a multi-core score of 4411.9, indicating a very high single-core performance.

The comprehensive score from Lu Da Niang is 859835, with a processor score of 443946, which is quite conservative, showing little difference from the same generation i5 12450H. In terms of GPU performance, the i7 12650H has 64 execution units (EUs), while the i5 12450H has 48 EUs, indicating a performance gap overall.

As expected from an integrated graphics mobile platform, running 3DMARK TIME SPY is a bit challenging for it; the graphics score was only 1118, indicating that this SEI12 is not suitable for playing DX12 games, but it can still handle less demanding online games like LOL.

Thanks to the powerful CPU performance and 32G of RAM, the PCMARK 10 test score was decent, with a score of 4857, indicating no performance bottlenecks for typical office scenarios. The Intel integrated graphics’ impressive encoding and decoding capabilities also enhance our experience in video editing.

CPU Performance Testing

Cinebench 2024 testing shows a CPU score of 97 in single-core and 542 in multi-core, for your reference.

Cinebench R23 testing reveals a CPU score of 1711 in single-core and 9345 in multi-core.

Video Decoding

We selected four video segments: 4K 30fps AV1, 4K 60fps HDR AV1, 8K 30fps AV1, and 8K 60fps HDR AV1 supporting Dolby Vision.

When playing all four videos with hardware decoding enabled, the integrated graphics decoding usage was 8%, 23%, 23%, and 55%, respectively. Even under the most demanding 8K 60fps HDR AV1 Dolby Vision, the decoder usage was only 55%, showcasing Intel’s strong decoding performance.

The 12th generation UHD integrated graphics supports DX12.1, OpenGL 4.6, OpenCL 3.0, VP9 encoding/decoding, JPEG encoding/decoding, H264, H265 encoding/decoding, and AV1 decoding. It also supports Intel Quick Sync Video (QSV), making it quite suitable for video editing and rendering software.

Power Consumption and Heat Generation

Under single-threaded FPU stress testing, the CPU power consumption remained at 30W, with core temperatures stabilizing around 73 degrees Celsius, and noise levels were negligible.

ZOTAC has tuned the performance of the i7 12650H conservatively, likely to ensure long-term stability and control noise levels. This ZOTAC SEI12 is primarily aimed at office users or corporate procurement, where stability and user comfort are paramount.

Media Server Deployment Guide

In the past, we typically deployed Jellyfin on NAS using Docker, but deploying it on Windows is much simpler and more convenient.

After downloading and installing, a Jellyfin server icon will appear in the lower right corner; double-clicking it will open the Jellyfin service.

Since the ZOTAC SEI12 has limited storage at only 500G and is an SSD, using it to store movies is too small and extravagant. Instead, we opted for a NAS + local Jellyfin solution, with the media library mounted on the NAS. Using a gigabit network port allows for smooth playback of 4K movies, with sufficient transfer speeds.

The ZOTAC SEI12 also has low standby power consumption; for daily office use, simply turn on the display. When not in use, you can leave it on and just turn off the monitor, effectively turning it into a media server.

You can connect the SEI12 directly to a TV to turn it into an HTPC. Since KODI is more convenient for remote control, you can layer it with KODI. Install the Windows version of KODI, configure the Jellyfin service, and you can access the local Jellyfin service.

You can also enable remote access on Jellyfin, allowing computers on the same local network to access media services through the SEI12.

Conclusion

Since the release of the 12th generation Core processors, the improvements in mobile processors are evident. In high-performance PCs, the big.LITTLE architecture does not offer much benefit for gamers, but for office users, it represents a significant enhancement in experience. Previously, mobile low-power processors struggled with multi-core performance, such as the i7-1065G7, which, despite being an i7, only had four cores and eight threads. This limitation affected performance in multi-threaded tasks. Now, with the addition of small cores, even a 45W TDP can support 10 cores and 16 threads, allowing professional software that was previously hard to run to perform adequately.

I personally believe that mini PCs are trending towards replacing traditional office desktops, especially in corporate environments. Thanks to the performance improvements in mobile processors and the significantly enhanced stability of mobile platforms, combined with the price advantage of mini PCs, their small footprint, low power consumption, sufficient expandability, and easy maintenance make them an excellent choice, backed by brand after-sales support.

That’s all for this article~

I hope this helps you understand this mini PC better.

See you in the next article!