4 ms·

Beelink mini-PC docking station supports desktop GPU

daft_pink 2y ago
Proprietary instead of thunderbolt? :(
- undersuit 2y ago
  Looks like they just route 17 PCI-E lanes out of the chassis by shoving a 16x and a 1x slot next to each other. Not the best, but hackable.
  - daft_pink 2y ago
    Just would rather pay for an expensive device that I can use with other devices like a laptop or future mini pc. Not super interested in hacking.
- gorkish 2y ago
  It's a proprietary edge connector that connects the dock and the mini PC, but it carries standard PCIe, so it's at least twice as fast as Thunderbolt. To me all of these Mini PCs are essentially uselessly uninteresting without fast network connectivity. When is an actual vendor that is not Quotom or whatever ship one with 10GBaseT or SFP+/SFP28 ports already?
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - projektfu 2y ago
    https://store.minisforum.com/products/minisforum-ms-01 https://store.minisforum.com/products/minisforum-ms-01
polishdude20 2y ago
Idk, with the money you use for a docking station, graphics card and the mini PC itself I feel like a regular desktop or mini atx build is more suitable.
- grahamj 2y ago
  yeah I'm not seeing the benefit over a SFF build. The overall size has to be bigger than the GPU anyway so why not just enclose it all? I'd also rather stick with Thunderbolt so at least the dock could be used with a different brand of miniPC. I do like Beelink products in general though; great for homelab servers.
grahamj 2y ago
Imagine putting the power button where you can actually reach it. Ridiculous!
open-paren 2y ago
Previously discussed: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41997703 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41997703
kristianp 2y ago
Link to the product without the skimresources.com/fave.co tracking: https://www.bee-link.com/products/beelink-ex-docking-station https://www.bee-link.com/products/beelink-ex-docking-station
layer8 2y ago
I’d rather have the whole thing in a single case of the same size. Unless you want to be able to unplug the mini PC for standalone use, or you happen to already own the mini PC and want to upgrade to a dGPU without migrating to a new PC, I’m not sure what the benefit of this setup is.
phendrenad2 2y ago
Anyone remember the Powerbook Duo?

Proprietary instead of thunderbolt? :(

undersuit 2y ago
Looks like they just route 17 PCI-E lanes out of the chassis by shoving a 16x and a 1x slot next to each other. Not the best, but hackable.
- daft_pink 2y ago
  Just would rather pay for an expensive device that I can use with other devices like a laptop or future mini pc. Not super interested in hacking.
gorkish 2y ago
It's a proprietary edge connector that connects the dock and the mini PC, but it carries standard PCIe, so it's at least twice as fast as Thunderbolt. To me all of these Mini PCs are essentially uselessly uninteresting without fast network connectivity. When is an actual vendor that is not Quotom or whatever ship one with 10GBaseT or SFP+/SFP28 ports already?
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- projektfu 2y ago
  https://store.minisforum.com/products/minisforum-ms-01 https://store.minisforum.com/products/minisforum-ms-01

Idk, with the money you use for a docking station, graphics card and the mini PC itself I feel like a regular desktop or mini atx build is more suitable.

grahamj 2y ago
yeah I'm not seeing the benefit over a SFF build. The overall size has to be bigger than the GPU anyway so why not just enclose it all? I'd also rather stick with Thunderbolt so at least the dock could be used with a different brand of miniPC. I do like Beelink products in general though; great for homelab servers.

grahamj 2y ago

Imagine putting the power button where you can actually reach it. Ridiculous!

open-paren 2y ago

Previously discussed: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41997703 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41997703

kristianp 2y ago

Link to the product without the skimresources.com/fave.co tracking: https://www.bee-link.com/products/beelink-ex-docking-station https://www.bee-link.com/products/beelink-ex-docking-station

layer8 2y ago

I’d rather have the whole thing in a single case of the same size. Unless you want to be able to unplug the mini PC for standalone use, or you happen to already own the mini PC and want to upgrade to a dGPU without migrating to a new PC, I’m not sure what the benefit of this setup is.

phendrenad2 2y ago

Anyone remember the Powerbook Duo?