Beelink Mate SE: The Smart Docking Station

Introduction: The Beelink Mate SE docking station offers a complete solution for storage expansion and enhanced data transfer speed. Designed to work in perfect harmony with Beelink SER8, SER9, and SER9 Pro devices, this station boasts wide compatibility with any device supporting a USB Type-C port, including modern Mac devices equipped with Thunderbolt 5 technology for maximum performance. The device's design stands out with a touch of elegance and features a compact size, making it an ideal addition to any office. The internal SSD installation process is incredibly easy; it requires removing the four rubber feet, unscrewing the screws, lifting the base, then removing the heatsink and fan, after which you can insert two M.2 SSDs. After reassembling the components, the Mate SE is connected to the mini PC using the short cables provided. When the device is turned on, the new disk will appear as an additional storage unit, allowing you to add up to 16 terabytes of ultra-fast storage, a valuable addition if you have exhausted the capacity of your SER8 or SER9 device. Additionally, the docking station provides practical extra ports such as a LAN port, USB-A ports, and an SD card reader slot.

Important Notes on Performance and Speed: It is worth noting some aspects related to the Beelink Mate SE that may raise questions. Although marketing materials promote the device as a hub supporting 80 Gbps speed, actual speeds may be limited to 40 Gbps in most scenarios. To access the full potential of 80 Gbps or even 120 Gbps with Bandwidth Boost, a Thunderbolt 5 compatible device is required, which began appearing in markets in 2024 after Intel's official announcement in September 2023. However, internal transfer rates when using two M.2 SSDs installed inside the Mate SE remain excellent and provide high performance. Source: The Verge (2023) and DocksHub.com (2023).

Overview: Overall, the Beelink Mate SE is a sleek and efficient solution for storage expansion. It can increase the internal storage capacity of the entire system from 1TB (as in the SER9 Pro) to 16TB, and with the addition of the Mate SE, an additional 16TB can be provided, enabling ultra-fast storage up to 32TB. Despite marketing messages that may seem somewhat ambiguous, it is an excellent option as a docking station. While primarily designed for SER devices, it works efficiently with all computers. When purchased with a SER9 Pro device, it offers excellent value to the user.

Key Specifications of Beelink Mate SE

• Storage: Supports two M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0/4.0/5.0 SSD slots, with a total capacity of up to 16TB.
• Ports: One USB-C input at 80Gbps, one USB-C PD input for power, two USB-A 3.0 ports, an SD 4.0 card reader, and a 2.5Gbps LAN port.
• Connectivity: USB-C 80Gbps, USB-C PD, USB-A 3.0, SD 4.0, and 2.5Gbps Ethernet.
• Size: 135 × 135 × 18 mm.
• Accessories: Includes two 80Gbps USB-C cables and a user manual.

Design

Design Aesthetics: As a docking station designed for seamless integration with SER8 and SER9 mini PCs, the Mate SE perfectly matches in size, shape, and color. It is a slim, square unit made of solid aluminum, giving it an excellent feel and build quality. Its design is very simple and elegant, reflecting the simplicity and elegance of the mini PCs it was designed to be used with. Its dimensions are 135 × 135 × 18 mm, making it extremely thin and compact. Its weight is light before installing any drives, at 284 grams.

Internal Design and Installation Process: The internal electronic design is carefully thought out, including a heatsink and fan for cooling the installed M.2 SSDs. The installation process is straightforward and easy: to insert the two drives, you must remove the rubber feet from the base, unscrew the four screws, then carefully lift the base plate to avoid disturbing the single connector, revealing the heatsink. The heatsink and fan unit are also secured with four screws. Once removed, the two M.2 slots appear, where you can quickly place your chosen M.2 2280 SSDs, then reassemble everything.

Features

Device Concept and Technology: Despite the Mate SE's minimalist design, the underlying concept and technology used are impressive. It's an ideal companion if you own a Beelink SER8/9 device, although it is fully compatible with all PCs and Macs as well. In essence, it functions as a PC docking hub, elegantly designed to sit above or below one of these mini PCs. In addition to a good array of extra ports, it houses two M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD slots, supporting up to 16TB of additional storage capacity.

Rear Ports: At the rear, there are several ports, including the USB-C port used to connect the Mate SE to the main device. During testing, the 80 Gbps transfer rates were not possible due to the unavailability of a newer Mac, and even with computers equipped with Thunderbolt 5 technology, speeds seemed limited. Another potentially surprising point is the secondary USB-C port, which is dedicated to power delivery only. So, if you have other accessories connected to the docking station and start experiencing issues with power coming through the device's USB-C connector, you can boost power to the entire unit via a secondary dedicated power cable.

Additional LAN Port: One useful feature, especially if you work in a studio or office, is the additional 2.5 Gbps LAN port. For all SER8 devices, this will enhance network connectivity, and with the newer SER9 and SER9 Pro devices, you get an extra LAN port for connectivity, allowing you to bridge networks or connect directly to a NAS (Network Attached Storage unit) system.

SD Card Reader: If you work in the creative sector and use any modern camera, it's likely to use the SD card format. In this case, it's great to have an SD 4.0 card slot on the front, so you can quickly offload your photos and videos to one of the massive internal SSDs.

USB-A Ports: At the back, there are also two additional USB-A ports, although they only support USB 3.0, offering limited transfer rates. However, they are suitable for connecting older accessories and useful for extra controllers or even webcams.

Efficient Cooling System: Impressively, given the potential for two 8TB SSDs, Beelink has included an efficient cooling system. The heatsink and fan cover both SSDs and most of the system's electronic components. Even during testing, when the internal SSDs were pushed hard with video editing, there was no persistent thermal throttling, indicating sufficient cooling within the system, despite the absence of additional fans, to keep the SSDs cool under heavy load.

Performance

Ease of Setup: Getting started with the Beelink Mate SE was relatively quick and straightforward, as I removed the rubber feet, installed an SSD under the heatsink, and then reassembled everything. Once done, I just had to follow the usual OS instructions to format the new SSD before it was ready for use. One aspect of the setup I appreciated was the inclusion of two USB cables, each perfectly sized with right-angle connectors for connecting to the device when the Mate SE is placed under or on top of the SER9 Pro.

Power Options: Once connected, power is also provided by a single USB cable; however, as a safety measure, if you have an accessory that draws more power than expected, there is an option to connect a secondary USB cable to directly power the unit. However, in this test, I saw no reason for this, as the other main USB ports were only USB 3.0, and I had no accessories that seemed to draw enough power to cause any issues.

Convenience in Use: Once everything was assembled, the setup looked very neat, and one of the things I liked was the presence of an SD card reader on the side. So, you can quickly insert your card from your digital camera, and it then appears as a drive, allowing you to copy all your files to one of the two internal SSDs. This essentially expands the system's storage space and creates a mini PC with a very neat and large storage solution.

Multimedia Handling: During this test, I used several applications, including Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Pro, for photo and video editing. I started by copying video content shot with a Sony A7 Mark IV camera to the internal SSDs directly from the SD card inserted into the Mate SE. For photos, this was perfectly fine, but for video, I had used a CFexpress Type A card, so an external reader was needed.

USB-C Port Limitations: This is the first peculiarity of the system: there is only one USB-C port, and it is used to connect the Beelink SER9 Pro to the Mate SE. This leaves only the slower USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port on the device's interface, which is faster (10 Gbps) but not as fast as USB4. So it seems a bit unfortunate; you have all this storage and speed, but for faster CFexpress Type A cards (and for Type B cards as well), these transfer speeds will be limited.

Transfer Speed and User Experience: Nevertheless, transfer rates were still impressive, and with the massive amount of internal storage offered by the Mate SE, there was plenty of room for the photos and 4K S-Log3 footage I captured. Starting with Adobe Photoshop and opening some images in Adobe Bridge demonstrated how quickly the connection between the Mate SE and SER9 Pro was, with thumbnails loading quickly, and files opening, saving, and closing swiftly and smoothly, just as if you were performing the same operation using SSDs within the SER9 Pro itself. When switching to Premiere Pro, and again, while video files were stored on the Mate SE instead of the SER9 Pro's internal storage, there was absolutely no difference in the speed of timeline rendering and smooth video playback.

Advanced Network Connectivity: The Mate SE also features a 2.5 Gbps LAN connection, which, when using the SER9 Pro, initially seemed redundant. However, if you have the expertise and knowledge, of course, you can use this for network bridging or to create a dedicated line to a NAS (Network Attached Storage unit) or VM (virtual machine) system. In this test, I connected it to my Ugreen NAS system, and everything seemed to work perfectly.

Storage Expansion and Efficiency: The primary reason to desire the Beelink Mate SE is the ability to expand the SER9 Pro's storage space, especially if you work in video production, photography, or any creative industry that demands large storage capacities. The transfer rates between the Mate SE and the main device demonstrated how fast this connection is, with a CrystalDiskMark result showing read speeds of 3368.86 MB/s and write speeds of 3102.16 MB/s, which is more than sufficient for most 4K video editing and high-resolution image requirements.

Final Performance Assessment: By the end of the test, I was impressed with the aesthetics, ease of setup, and the ability to install up to 16TB of internal SSDs. When it comes to a clean and elegant storage solution for SER8, SER9, and SER9 Pro devices, the Beelink Mate SE seems like an easy and straightforward way to add more storage and a few extra ports, although the port selection might be a bit disappointing.

Conclusion

Attractive Features: There are many attractive features of the Beelink Mate SE, foremost among them being the ability to significantly expand the storage space of the Beelink SER9 Pro. For example, you can increase the system's total storage capacity to 32TB, with 16TB in the base unit and an additional 16TB in the Mate SE.

Ease of Setup and Use: Setup and use are extremely easy, requiring only one connector to link the two devices. The flexible placement (above or below the device) enhances aesthetics and ease of use. So, on the surface, if you own a Beelink SER8, 9, or 9 Pro, this seems like an excellent solution as an external storage device without pre-installed drives, with the ability to add any SSDs you need.

Confusing Aspects: However, there are some aspects that might be a bit confusing about the Beelink Mate SE. Firstly, marketing materials focus on 80 Gbps speed, yet most of the technology used is USB4 when connected to the Beelink SER9 Pro, which tops out at 40 Gbps. Only when connected to a compatible Mac with Thunderbolt 5 technology will you see the full potential of higher speeds.

Port Selection: Then there's the selection of available ports. It's good to get an additional SD card reader, and the fact that there are two relatively older USB 3.0 Type-A ports, and an additional 2.5 Gbps LAN port. There is also a USB-C port, which is occupied by the connection between the Mate SE and the SER9 Pro. However, there is an additional USB Type-C port. Initially, you might think this is great, another super-fast port to connect additional storage or other accessories. But, this port is dedicated to power delivery only and not for data transfer, so most of the time it will remain empty.

Value for Money: While it is more specialized as an external SSD enclosure, it performs very well. And if you have one of the compatible Beelink mini PCs, it makes perfect sense as an add-on. However, for everyone else, there are cheaper solutions available on the market. Or, if you are looking for a dedicated docking station, there are options that might offer you the latest ultra-fast connections with greater port flexibility.

Buy This Product If...

• You work with video or large files: You transfer large files, edit high-resolution video, or manage massive game libraries, and you need ultra-fast storage and transfer.
• You own a SER8 or SER9 device: You have a SER8 or SER9 mini PC and want to expand storage, upgrade networking, and add a card reader in one integrated hub.

Don't Buy This Product If...

• You don't own a Beelink mini PC: The Mate SE is primarily designed for use with compatible Beelink mini PCs. For all other mini PCs, you might find much cheaper options that meet your needs.
• You expect 80 Gbps speed as standard: The marketing for 80 Gbps speed can be a bit misleading; even with a fully compatible mini PC (not a Mac with Thunderbolt 5), you might not consistently achieve 80 Gbps transfer rates.