1. Introduction: Better Build Quality, Lower Price Xiaomi Mini PC
With the development of the times, the needs of PC users are constantly increasing. Smaller, neater, and more integrated personal computer products will lead the direction of PC development.
In the ultra-mini computer segment, Intel NUC has always been the industry benchmark. Now Xiaomi has finally entered this market, bringing its first desktop host – the Xiaomi Mini PC at the recent Xiaomi 13 & MIUI 14 product launch.
The Xiaomi Mini PC and Intel’s Wall Street Canyon NUC 12 can be said to share the same source, with no differences in configuration and performance. The difference is that Xiaomi uses better CNC integrated precision machining technology, and the sturdiness and external texture of the machine are significantly better than that of Wall Street Canyon.
In terms of price, the Xiaomi Mini PC with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD is priced at only 3699 yuan, while the same configuration of the Wall Street Canyon NUC 12 is priced at 3999 yuan. This is what Xiaomi can offer us, providing better products at a lower price.
The Xiaomi Mini PC is equipped with an Intel 12th generation Core i5-1240P processor, based on the new generation Intel 7 process technology, with 4 P-Cores + 8 E-Cores totaling 12 cores and 16 threads. With a performance release of 33W, its multi-core performance is equivalent to 180% of the previous generation i7-1185G7.
In terms of storage, the Xiaomi Mini PC comes with dual-channel DDR4 3200MHz 16GB RAM and a Yangtze Memory 512GB PCIe 4.0 SSD, and can also expand a second M.2 SSD.
The configuration parameters of the Xiaomi Mini PC are as follows:
2. Photo Gallery: Only 0.44L, Dual SO-DIMM and Dual M.2 Expansion
The back of the packaging box is very interesting, with a few lines of code printed on it, including “Hello Xiaomi Mini PC”!
The main body of the machine uses CNC integrated precision machining technology, with aluminum alloy as the main material and bright metal chamfers, giving it a high-quality feel, delicate and warm touch, and a certain gloss.
The dimensions of the host are 112 x 112 x 39mm, with a volume of only 0.444L, equivalent to 1/100 of an ATX chassis, and a net weight of 0.437kg, about the weight of two 6-inch phones.
The actual measured net weight is 434g.
There are four foot pads at the bottom, and removing the foot pads and unscrewing the four screws inside will allow you to open the host.
The front has two USB 2.0 ports and a 3.5mm headphone/microphone combo jack, next to which is a power button.
The back has a 2.5G network port, 1 USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0, 2 HDMI 2.0, and 2 Thunderbolt 4 ports.
The leftmost is a round power socket.
Next to it is a SAMA QZ ITX case.
Opening the host reveals two SO-DIMM slots, one M.2 2280, and one M.2 2242. Overall, it can meet the needs of most office users.
The Xiaomi Mini PC comes standard with a Yangtze Memory PC300 512GB SSD, which uses Yangtze Memory’s third-generation NAND particles based on Xtacking 2.0 technology.
The controller is SMI SM2267XT, which uses a DRAM-Less design, utilizing HMB caching technology to directly use system memory as dynamic cache, eliminating the need for a separate DRAM cache.
The Intel AX211 Wi-Fi 6E wireless card has a maximum connection speed of up to 2400Mbps and also includes a Bluetooth 5.3 module.
There are two SO-DIMM slots, with two Samsung DDR4 3200MHz memory sticks installed.
Removing the motherboard is not very difficult.
The cooling system consists of a large fan and two pure copper heat pipes.
The cooling fins have an area of 44,753 square millimeters, nearly four times that of mainstream lightweight laptops, as laptops cannot have such thick fins.
3. Regular Performance Testing: Multi-core Performance is 79% Stronger than i7-1165G7
1. CPU-Z
The single-thread score of the i5-1240P is 626, and the multi-thread score is 5280.
2. CINEBENCH R15
In the CineBench R15 test, the single-thread score of the i5-1240P is 238cb, and the multi-thread score is 1897cb.
3. CINEBENCH R20
In the CineBench R20 test, the single-thread score of the i5-1240P is 546, and the multi-thread score is 3910.
4. CINEBENCH R23
In the CineBench R23 test, the single-thread score of the i5-1240P is 1634cb, and the multi-thread score is 9436cb.
5. Hardware Dog
The total score of Hardware Dog is 220392, surpassing 52% of users nationwide. The i5-1240P scored 115182, GPU score is 34270, memory score is 45240, and disk score is 25700.
Among them, the Iris Xe GPU scored 34270, which is on par with the full version of the MX250 or GTX 750.
6. AS SSD Benchmark
The Xiaomi Mini PC uses the Yangtze Memory PC300 512GB SSD, which is an entry-level PCIe 4.0 SSD product developed specifically for the commercial market (OEM).
In the AS SSD Benchmark, this 512GB PCIe SSD scored 4007, with sequential read and write speeds exceeding 3220MB/s and 1700MB/s, 4K random read speed of 51MB/s, and random write speed of 214MB/s.
In the CrystalDiskMark test, the sequential read and write speeds reached 3864MB/s and 2867MB/s, respectively, with 4K random read and write speeds of 52MB/s and 13MB/s, showing very balanced overall performance, better than high-end PCIe 3.0 SSDs.
7. AIDA64 Memory Cache Test
The Xiaomi Mini PC uses two Samsung DDR4 3200MHz 8GB RAM sticks, with memory timings of 22-22-22-52 CR1.
The measured memory read speed is 46072MB/s, write speed is 45541MB/s, and 42443MB/s, with a latency of 93.7ns.
The test data summary is as follows:
Since Xiaomi previously had no similar products, we compared the performance of this host with Intel’s previous generation Cheetah Canyon NUC11, which uses the Intel i7-1165G7 processor with a performance release of 45W.
Compared to the previous i7-1165G7, the i5-1240P has an 8.2% performance advantage in single-core performance and a whopping 79% lead in multi-core performance.
4. Gaming Performance Testing: LOL Maintains Over 100 FPS
1. 3DMark
The i5-1240P integrates the Iris Xe GPU, with 96 EUs and a frequency of 1250MHz.
In the 3DMark Fire Strike Extreme test, the Iris Xe GPU scored 1851, equivalent to a full version MX 250 discrete graphics card.
The score in 3DMark Time Spy is 1285, with the Iris Xe GPU reaching a maximum frequency of 1297MHz, a maximum temperature of 74 degrees, and a maximum power of 14.8W.
2. World of Tanks
At medium quality, the Xiaomi Mini PC scored 10361, translating to a frame rate of 65 FPS.
3. CS:GO
At 1080P resolution and maximum quality, CS:GO achieved 58 FPS, which can run smoothly. To achieve a higher frame rate, reducing the quality is necessary.
4. League of Legends
We played a game of LOL at 1080P maximum quality, and during the final large-scale battle, the Xiaomi Mini PC maintained over 95 FPS, with the i5-1240P consistently releasing over 25W of performance, and the processor temperature around 75 degrees.
5. Stress and Power Consumption Testing: Almost Silent During Stress Tests, Only 8W Standby Power
1. Default Stress Test
For mini PCs and laptops, no matter how powerful the CPU is, if the cooling is not good, it is difficult to unleash the true potential of the processor.
The Xiaomi Mini PC uses a dual heat pipe + large diameter fan cooling design, with a fan speed of 4600 RPM under full load, and a cooling fin area of 44,753 square millimeters, nearly four times that of mainstream lightweight laptops.
Using AIDA64 FPU stress test for 12 minutes, the temperature of the i5-1240P remained below 81 degrees, with initial power reaching 51W, later dropping to the BIOS preset of 33W, with P-Core stress test frequency at 2.6GHz and E-Core frequency at 2.2GHz.
During the stress test, almost no sound was heard.
3. Unlocked 45W TDP Stress Test
After unlocking the processor’s power from 33W to 45W in the BIOS, we conducted another stress test.
After 4 minutes of stress testing, the i5-1240P’s power stabilized at 45W, with temperatures below 90 degrees, and the P-Core stress test frequency significantly increased to 3.1GHz.
However, a serious problem is that the fan noise became very noticeable, causing interference with work.
2. Power Consumption Test
Power consumption is a strong point of mini PCs/laptops, as the efficiency of DC power supply conversion is far superior to traditional ATX power supplies.
In standby mode, the power consumption of the Xiaomi Mini PC is only 8.6W, equivalent to 1/10 of a typical desktop host.
When watching 1080P videos on Bilibili, the total power consumption is about 23W, which is less than 1/5 of a typical host.
During a 10-minute AIDA64 FPU stress test, when the CPU power is 33W, the total power consumption of the Xiaomi Mini PC is only 52W.
6. Conclusion: Ultra-mini Office Hosts Will Be the Trend
If your needs are just for office work and internet entertainment, do you really need an ATX desktop host? Not necessarily!
The advantages of the Xiaomi Mini PC over conventional ATX hosts are obvious.
Here is a summary of this test:
1. Power Consumption
Most ATX hosts have standby power consumption between 60-80W, while the Xiaomi Mini PC’s standby power consumption is only 8W, only 1/10 of the former.
For normal office entertainment, the total power consumption of the Xiaomi Mini PC is just over 20W, and the stress test power is only 53W, lower than the standby power consumption of most desktop hosts.
For enterprises, a large number of office hosts will raise indoor temperatures and increase the cooling burden of air conditioning, which is neither low-carbon nor environmentally friendly.
Therefore, in terms of energy consumption, compared to traditional desktop computers, the Xiaomi Mini PC not only has extremely low power consumption but also reduces the power consumption required for air conditioning, potentially saving enterprises a considerable amount of electricity costs over a year.
2. Size
Traditional ATX hosts are about 40L in volume, taking up a lot of already limited office desktop space. In contrast, the Xiaomi Mini PC’s volume is only 0.44L, equivalent to 1/100 of a traditional desktop, and can be placed anywhere suitable. Even carrying it while going out is not a burden at all.
3. Performance and Noise
In terms of performance release, due to its natural advantage in thickness, the cooling fin area of the Xiaomi Mini PC is four times that of traditional lightweight laptops. Combined with the dual heat pipe + large fan cooling system, it allows the i5-1240P to easily release 33W of performance while being almost silent.
We also tried unlocking the processor’s power to 45W in the BIOS, and while performance improved, the noise became unbearable.
This indicates that the Xiaomi Mini PC’s BIOS is optimized at the factory, and there is no need for personal adjustments.
If you want a machine that can play AAA games, a mini computer is obviously not suitable. However, if you only need a host for office entertainment, from all aspects, the desktop computer is already outdated. An ultra-mini host can save a lot of trouble, and although the initial procurement cost is slightly higher, the savings in space and electricity costs are worth the investment.