Geekom Mini IT11: Specifications
price: Starting at $619
CPU: Intel i5-1135G7, i5-1155G7, i7-1165G7, i7-1195G7
GPU: Iris Xe
RAM: 16 GB, expandable up to 64 GB SODIMM
storage: 512GB, expandable up to 2TB NVMe, up to 2TB SATA 2.5″
Ports: 3 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, 2 x USB-C Gen 4, 1 x HDMI, 1 x mini DisplayPort, 1 x GbE, 1 x 3.5mm audio jack, 1 x SD
Delivery: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2
Size: 4.6 x 4.4 x 1.8 inches (117 x 112 x 45.6 mm)
Weight: 20 ounces (565 grams)
Geekom makes solid mini PCs and the Mini IT11 has been the latest hit. This little workhorse is ideal for most desktop tasks, and is well suited for both office and home use cases. It has a lot of flexibility with its user-upgradable RAM and storage. You can even install Linux on it, but it comes with Windows 11 Pro.
Not only is it a great looking machine in its simplicity, but it has plenty of high-spec ports. With USB 3.2 Gen 2, USB 4, Gigabit Ethernet, and two display outputs, you have plenty of options given this computer’s small size. You can also add a 2.5 inch SATA drive to your computer. The 11th-gen processor as tested has great performance as well.
As you’ll see in our Mini IT11 review, this is the mini PC I’d recommend to most people. It has four different configurations at an affordable starting price. You can get a lot of money with the Mini IT11 and it’s now one of my favorite mini PCs I’ve tested.
Geekom Mini IT11 Review: Price and Availability
Geekom has four configurations available for the Mini IT11. The base model starts at $619 MSRP with a quad-core Intel i5-1135G7 CPU (2.4GHz, boost up to 4.2GHz), 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. Hop up to $649 and upgrade to an i5-1155G7 processor (2.5GHz base, 4.5GHz boost).
You can get to the Intel i7-1165G7 (2.8 GHz base, 4.7 GHz) for $719 with the Mini IT11 that comes with the i7-1195G7 (2.9 GHz base, 5 GHz) for $769. At the time of writing, all four variants are for sale jacom (Opens in a new tab)Web site for .
Geekom currently has the i5-1135G7 for $549, the i5-1155G7 for $549, the i7-1165G7 for $629, and the i7-1195G7 for $649. You can pick up the latter for $699 Amazon (Opens in a new tab) (With a $50 coupon at the time of writing) if you prefer.
Another competitor to consider is Beelink GTR 5 Small computer using the Ryzen 9 5900HX processor. It’s an octa-core, 16-thread beast with at least 32GB of RAM. It starts at $779, which is $179 more than the Mini IT11. There’s also $699 Mac mini M1 To think ($899 for the 16GB model), though, because of the update.
Geekom Mini IT11 Review: Design
The Mini IT11 is very similar to the other two mini PCs from Geekom that I have reviewed, which are Mini IT8 and the Mini Air 11. It’s a modest little black cube with a massive amount of ports, a matte cover – an improvement over the Mini IT8, which was glossy – and a slim footprint. You can also mount it to VESA standards, which saves more space on the desk.
I can best describe the overall look of the Mini IT11 as being functional. It gets the job done. There is no taste, no personality, no brilliance. It’s a simple machine that focuses on functionality, allowing it to fit into many office spaces. I love its simple design.
Geekom Mini IT11 review: Ports and upgradeability
Like other Geekom devices, the Mini IT11 features several ports for expandability. In total, it has three USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, two USB-C Gen 4 ports, an SD card slot, a Mini DisplayPort, HDMI, and a Gigabit Ethernet jack. If I had to make one nitpick, I wish the Mini IT11 had a 2.5Gb port, but most home networks aren’t set up for these speeds (not to mention most people don’t have internet plans beyond gigabit).
As for upgradability, the Mini IT11 is in line with Geekom’s penchant for providing flexibility to its users. All four models come with 16GB of dual-channel SODIMM RAM. However, you can upgrade to 64GB of RAM on your own if you so choose. When combined with 11th generation processors, you will have one fast device.
Likewise, every variant of the Mini IT11 comes with 512GB of NVMe storage. You can use a 2TB NVMe SSD to provide additional space. And if you need more, you can also install an up to 2TB 2.5″ SATA drive, which could provide up to 4TB of storage space on the Mini IT11. (The SATA drive can be a solid state drive (SSD) or a hard drive (HDD) with the latter being more cost-effective.)
Everything else about the Mini IT11 is fixed in place, but I’d love to see more and more mini PCs offering users the opportunity to upgrade RAM and storage. As for the ports, Geekom is one of the best when it comes to choosing. I highly doubt you’ll need all of these, but having the option available is definitely something I would appreciate.
Geekom Mini IT11 Review: Performance
The Mini IT11 I received for review came with an i7-11995G7 CPU. This is a quad-core, 8-thread processor with a base clock of 2.9GHz with a boost clock of 5GHz. For a mobile CPU, this is a great spec. As for RAM, the Mini IT11 comes with 16GB of dual-channel DDR4 memory clocked at 3200MHz.
I decided it would be interesting to see how the Mini IT11 compares to its smaller cousin, Geekom’s Mini IT8. I also took out a Mac Mini M1 to show how an Apple chip, despite its age, compares to an Intel chip.
Mini IT11 | Mini IT8 | Mac mini M1 | |
CPU | Intel i7-1195G7 | Intel i5-8259U | Apple Silicon M1 |
Geekbench 5 (single core / multi core) | 1624/4764 | 929/3428 | 1314/6005 |
Handbrake (min:sec) | 12:59 | 17:32 | 8:11 |
3DMark Firestrike | 4335 | 1753 | Unavailable |
3DMark Time Spy | 1662 | 659 | Unavailable |
3DMark Night Raid | 14973 | Unavailable | Unavailable |
Civilization VI (FPS) | 21 (1080p) / 12 (4K) | 12 (1080p) / 5 (4K) | 32 (1080p) / 17 (4K) |
The Mini IT11 shows noticeable improvements over the Mini IT8, although it’s not really a fair comparison. The Mini IT8 uses an i5 processor, which is a mid-range chip from Intel. But I found the delta between 8th and 11th generation processors to be interesting.
But even at two years old, the M1 chip still beats Intel in every benchmark we’ve done. Whether it’s a 1,000-plus points difference in the multicore Geekbench, a playable frame rate in the Civilization VI benchmark at 1080p, or the faster Handbrake transcoding test, the Mac Mini has proven to be a better performing machine. And with the possibility of an M2 Mac Mini on the horizon, with rumors suggesting it will cost the same as the Mini IT11, I have to wonder what will prove to be the better option.
The big caveat with the Mac Mini is that not everyone uses macOS, which I understand. Mini IT11 is more open since you can run Windows or Linux at your discretion.
However, even though the Mini IT11 isn’t quite as powerful as the Mac Mini M1, it’s still a great device for most desktop needs. For intense gaming or video editing, the Mini IT11 struggles, so if those tasks are part of your workflow, this might not be the best mini PC for you. Given that none of these use cases are what most people are looking for in a mini PC, I think the Mini IT11 is more than powerful enough for a lot of people.
Geekom Mini IT11 Review: Software
Windows 11 Pro comes standard with the Mini IT11, which I’d love to see. I also like to see that there is very little bloatware installed out of the box. It’s mostly just Microsoft stuff rather than rubbish like TikTok, Prime Video, etc. This is a very clean Windows installation.
As such, there isn’t much to say here. Geekom does not include any special software. You get an Intel graphics controller, which you don’t write about much at home. There is an Office suite if you want to activate that as well.
I appreciate the simplification here, which is better than what I can say for the factory ISO images I got directly from Microsoft. Of course, Geekom says you can install Linux on Mini IT11 as well. Mini PCs also make great little servers with things like Proxmox for hosting virtual machines. All you have to do is choose your flavor of Linux and install it on Mini IT11 and you are good to go. I love the freedom of software that Mini IT11 offers.
Geekom Mini IT11 review: Verdict
I can say with confidence that the Mini IT11 will meet the needs of most people who seek a minimal desktop computer. It has more horsepower than both the Mini IT8 and MiniAir 11 for the tasks that may require it. For example, the Mini IT11 handled a great deal of image adjustments in GIMP and RawTherapee very well without a hitch, which is more than I can say for some other devices.
With a plethora of ports and user upgradeability, I think the Mini IT11 should be at the top of your list if you’re not interested in a Mac Mini (the rumored M1 or M2). Stick to Windows 11 Pro or install your favorite Linux distro – or turn it into a mini server – and you’ll have a good little PC. And for the price, the Mini IT11 offers a good deal.
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