Mini-PC with faster eGPU connection

When OCuLink is not fast enough.

While we await updates on Thunderbolt 5 adoption and reports on new Mini-PCs switching to OCuLink connections, which enable higher bandwidth than Thunderbolt 3/4, there is a third option that is not very common among Mini-PC makers: a fully exposed PCIe slot.

Beelink is set to launch a new Mini-PC with a full PCIe slot for external graphics. There’s no need for USB4 or OCuLink connections here, as users have direct access to the PCIe slot.

According to a post on X, the GTi Ultra Series is a system equipped with Intel CPUs. The company confirms it will be offered with 12th, 13th, and 14th Gen Core series processors, with no mention of an AMD variant. The Mini-PC is just one piece of the puzzle, as users will still need to buy a GPU docking station and a power supply.

The PCIe slot is just 8 lanes, but that’s already wider than OCuLink (4 lanes). The reason it is 8 lanes and not the full 16 lanes is probably because the Mini-PC uses a mobile H-series variant instead of the HX, which is essentially a desktop-class CPU.

This is not the first attempt at adding high-end desktop GPUs to Mini-PCs. The B550 system from Minisforum, based on the desktop AM4 socket, had an exposed PCIe port that attached to a special PCIe docking station. At this point, it’s hard to call it a Mini-PC—it’s more like a compact desktop PC. However, the idea is that you can always detach the Mini-PC and use integrated graphics if required.

Source: Minisforum

Beelink has not confirmed the release date of the new Mini-PC or provided the full specs of the system in question. One should expect those details to be released later, possibly around Computex.

Source: Beelink