A compact mini PC powered by an energy-efficient Intel N150 processor with good performance, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and Windows 11 Pro pre-installed.
One of Intel's latest generations of energy-efficient processors is the Twin Lake-N family of processors, announced in January 2025. It includes both quad-core Intel N150 and N250 models with 6W TDP, as well as 8-core Intel N350 (7W TDP) and Intel N355 (9-15W TDP). This makes them ideal for use in cost-effective laptops, tablets, and mini PCs.
One of the first models to use the Intel N150 processor from the new family is the Ninkear MBOX 11 mini PC. It is also noteworthy that the mini PC is equipped almost "to the maximum": 16 GB of memory is installed, a 512 GB SSD is used, and the Microsoft Windows 11 Pro operating system is pre-installed.
Specifications
Packaging & Picking
The box with the Ninkear MBOX 11 mini PC has a simple design and it lacks a description of the configuration of the device (it is only in the form of a sticker on the film in which the box is packed).
The internal protection of the mini PC is implemented in the form of an additional sheet of cardboard in which the device is located.
The set of accessories is typical for this kind of devices: a power supply, a VESA frame for fixing the mini PC on the monitor, a set of screws, an HDMI cable, a paper user manual and warranty information.
Going back to the power supply, we note that it produces an operating voltage of 12 V, a maximum current of 2.5 A, and a total power of 30 watts.
Appearance
The design of the Ninkear MBOX 11 mini PC is quite interesting - a silver square case with rounded corners and the presence of perforated areas that contribute to better cooling of internal components. The dimensions of the case are small: 100 x 100 mm. The declared weight is 243 grams.
The upper part is made of plastic and you might think that there is a perforation on top, but in fact this design solution is the letter "N", made in the form of dots.
Perforation in the form of a circle is implemented at the bottom of the black plastic case. There are a pair of mounting holes for fixing the VESA frame. There are also labeling stickers indicating a specific model and equipment - this is MBOX 11 with an Intel N150 processor, 16 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD.
The thickness of the mini PC case is small - 30 mm. At the end of the front panel there is a pair of USB 3.0 ports and a combined 3.5 mm mini-jack jack for connecting a headset (headphones + microphone). The power button has the original orange color and this is striking. And there is also a hole for discharge.
The main set of ports is located on the back side:
- An RJ-45 connector that provides a gigabit connection;
- HDMI 2.0 (4K, 60Hz) and DisplayPort 1.4 (4K, 60Hz) video ports;
- Two USB 2.0 ports;
- Power connector (12V, 2.5A).
Separately, we note the presence of a Kensington Lock lock hole and the absence of a USB Type C port, which is now increasingly common in compact devices, is also striking.
On the other two sides there is an area with ventilation holes.
Construction
The case of the Ninkear MBOX 11 Mini PC consists of two plastic halves connected by four screws hidden under the glued legs at the bottom. As a result, it is very easy to access the insides. The upper part of the case has an aluminum plate on the inside, which contributes to additional heat dissipation and the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth module antenna wire is also led to it. On the lower part, the motherboard with the entire set of components is fixed with one screw. You can clearly see that the motherboard has one slot for DDR4 SO-DIMM RAM and an M.2 2280 slot for SSD drives.
These slots already have DDR4-2666 RAM of the maximum possible capacity of 16 GB Sharetronic SS42J04NAR-16 (the marking is clearly readable and you can see that SK Hynix memory chips are used) and a 512 GB Longwins drive (marking SS2280MAP512HYV8) operating in SATA mode, which means that you should not expect high speeds typical of NVMe M.2 drives.
On the back side of the PCB, almost its entire size is a cooling system, which is a heatsink with a fan installed in the center. And it should be said right away that diagnostic utilities do not display its turnover.
Below it is a quad-core Intel N150 processor and a set of network controllers: a wired Realtek gigabit and a wireless Wi-Fi/Bluetooth module based on the Realtek RTL8821CE controller (Wi-Fi 802.11ac, up to 433 Mbps and Bluetooth 5.0).
BIOS
The BIOS of Ninkear MBOX 11 mini PC is based on AMI Aptio BIOS (v5.27) with standard partitions, and the available set of settings is pleasantly pleasing.
The "Main" section, which contains information about the system (Intel N150 processor, 16 GB of RAM running at 2667 MHz). Here you can also customize the date/time. The only choice of language is English.
The "Advanced" section. Allows you to make additional settings.
And if in the "CPU Configuration" only the ability to enable virtualization is available, then the "Power & Performance" section is more interesting, where you can configure consumption limits, and here you can see that the manufacturer has set limits for the Intel N150 processor (TDP 6 W) at the level of 15 W and you can separately adjust the frequency of the cores at different loads.
There is a subsection "Thusted Computing" related to the operation of the TPM security module.
Under the "NVMe Configuration" subsection, it becomes clear that the mini PC does not have an SSD drive that supports the corresponding mode.
The remaining subsection displays information about the wired Gigabit Network Controller.
The "Chipset" section contains the system agent settings, where you can select only the RAM frequency. By default, the Sharetronic SS42J04NAR-16 memory module is set to 2667 MHz.
The "Security" section allows you to set passwords of different levels and define "Secutity Boot" parameters.
The "Boot" section contains typical settings.
As in the "Save & Exit" section. The options are standard.
System Information and Performance
Our modification of the Ninkear MBOX 11 mini PC comes with Windows 11 Pro pre-installed and in fact it is already ready to go. The only thing is that when you turn it on for the first time, the initial setup will be made and the available updates will be installed.
Processor and motherboard
Using the CPU-Z utility, information about the Intel N150 processor was obtained. Recall that this is a quad-core processor with energy-efficient cores, which, compared to the previous Alder Lake-N (Intel N100) family, has a maximum frequency of up to 3.6 GHz while maintaining a TDP of 6 watts.
Integrated Intel UHD Graphics
Since the Intel N150 processor is the youngest member of the Twin Lake family, it has only 24 execution units with a maximum frequency of 1 GHz. Graphics core information obtained using the GPU-Z utility.
Given the single-channel memory mode, the built-in video core is not designed for gaming use.
Ram
As already noted, and the CPU-Z utility confirms this - the memory frequency is 2666 MHz with standard timings of 19-19-19-43. It is based on SK Hynix memory chips. Taking into account the features of the Intel N150 processor, the work takes place in a single-channel mode.
The AIDA64 benchmark shows modest "capabilities" of RAM, but for office tasks, this shouldn't be a problem.
SSD Drive
The AIDA64 utility displays the following information about the SSD installed. 512GB is a decent amount for most mini PC uses, but the SATA interface should hold back performance somewhat.
CrystalDiskMark 8.0.5. Shows the read/write speeds typical of SATA SSDs.
Wireless Network
The use of the Realtek RTL8821CE wireless controller (Wi-Fi 5, 802.11ac) affected the connection and maximum data transfer speed. The 433 Mbps limit was obtained when the mini PC was a couple of meters away from the TP-Link Archer AX73 router (Wi-Fi 6, 802.11ax, 4804 Mbps).
When copying a 1.1 GB file to another computer on a wired network with an SSD NVME drive, the write speed (on the mini PC) was 27-28.5 MB/s, and the read speed was 30-31.5 MB/s (from the mini PC). A strong drawdown in performance was not noticed.
Heat, noise and power consumption
Warming
Despite the use of an Intel N150 processor with a TDP of 6W, the Ninkear MBOX 11 mini PC uses an active cooling system and this has a positive effect on the thermal regime.
Without an active load, the temperature of the processor cores ranges from 41-44 degrees Celsius. This difference is due to the operation of Windows OS services, which is related to work.
In typical office work, working in a browser, the CPU cores heat up to 50-55 degrees Celsius. At the same time, the upper part of the case is barely warm (pyrometer readings are not higher than 35.5 degrees Celsius).
The limiting temperature that was recorded on the CPU cores was observed during the Cinebench R23 test - 80 degrees Celsius (the heating of the case is not higher than 40 degrees Celsius).
Taking into account the set limits, the core frequency does not drop during a multi-threaded load - the limit is 2800-2900 MHz.
Power consumption
Considering the power-efficient platform, the power consumption of the Ninkear MBOX 11 mini PC is low.
With a typical load, it reaches 16 watts. The peak load recorded during the operation of the mini PC was obtained in the 3Dmark Night Raid test and amounted to 27.5 watts, so the power supply power (30 watts) is quite enough to work.
Noise
The presence of an active cooling system, in the end, affects the noise level generated by the "box". Due to the low energy consumption, the manufacturer did not use a high-speed fan and its operation is not so noisy even at maximum load. From a short distance (about 20 cm), during the idle operation of the cooling system, it is almost inaudible, and at maximum load, there is a slight rustle from it and it does not cause irritation.
Testing
Cinebench R23
Note some good values that reflect the performance of a single core and the overall processor.
Corona 1.3 Benchmark
Geekbench 6
7Zip 24.09 x64
WinRAR 7.01 x64
x265 Benchmark HD 0.1.4 x64
3DMark. SkyDiver v1.0 and Night Raid v1.1 Benchmarks
Taking into account the single-channel memory mode, the use of integrated Intel UHD Graphics, equipped with only 24 execution units, you should not count on a comfortable fps in games on this mini PC.
Conclusion
Powered by the energy-efficient Intel N150 processor, Ninkear MBOX 11 mini PC is an example of the performance of compact devices that use the latest generation processors and are well suited for everyday use.
As for the size: the Ninkear MBOX 11 mini PC is made compact and at the same time has an active cooling system, which is able to provide quiet/moderately quiet operation at good temperature conditions when used in typical tasks.
The strengths include equipping the device with 16 GB of RAM, a 512 GB SSD, albeit running in SATA mode (although it can be replaced with an NVMe drive) and a pre-installed Windows 11 Pro operating system.
As a disadvantage, we can note the use of a Wi-Fi/Bluetooth module based on Realtek RTL8821CE, which limits the speed of the wireless network to 433 Mbps and the lack of modern ports, for example, USB type C.
At the moment, the Ninkear MBOX 11 mini PC with 16GB of RAM, 512GB SSD and Windows 11 Pro pre-installed operating system can be found in some chain stores at a price of 13900 rubles, which makes it quite attractive to buy...
Dignity:
- Stylish appearance;
- Compact size;
- 16 GB RAM (DDR4 SO-DIMM slot);
- 512 GB SSD (M.2 2280 slot, can be replaced with an NVMe drive);
- A gigabit network controller is used;
- Decent performance;
- Low power consumption;
- Use of an active cooling system;
- Low noise level during operation;
- Pre-installed Windows 11 Pro;
- A good set of accessories (there is a VESA mount);
- Affordable price.
Disadvantages:
- SSD with SATA interface;
- No USB type C;
- Not the "fastest" wireless network standard 802.11ac (up to 433 Mbps) has been implemented.