Head-to-head · Best AI Mini PCs for Local LLM

Beelink GTR9 Pro vs Apple Mac Studio M4 Max

Which is the better buy? Side-by-side on rating, price, strengths, and watch-outs — with the published ratings we averaged to get there.

The short answer

Apple Mac Studio M4 Max comes out ahead by a clear margin (3.6 vs 4.5). The gap is mostly about Apple users who want the fastest local-LLM inference and 100B-class model headroom — read the strengths below before deciding.

Ranked #5 in Best AI Mini PCs for Local LLM

Beelink GTR9 Pro

3.6

$3,499as of May 29

The Beelink GTR9 Pro is the same AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 / 128 GB LPDDR5X silicon as the GMKtec EVO-X2 — same 50 TOPS NPU, same 126 TOPS platform total, same memory ceiling — with two distinguishing features: dual 10GbE Intel E610 networking and an industrial-grade metal chassis. Reviewers at jasondeegan.com, starryhope, and minipcreviewer praised its workstation-class AI performance and high-bandwidth networking, while one outlier review flagged firmware-stage BSOD issues that pulled the averaged rating down to 3.6/5. Pick this over the EVO-X2 specifically if you want to cluster two boxes for distributed inference or share a 10GbE NAS at line rate. Otherwise, the EVO-X2 delivers the same LLM throughput for $300 less.

Strengths

— Dual 10GbE LAN with Intel E610 controllers — the only mini PC at this size with high-throughput networking for AI clustering and NAS
— AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 with 50 TOPS XDNA 2 NPU (126 TOPS platform total) and 128 GB LPDDR5X unified memory
— 2 TB PCIe 4.0 SSD and support for up to four 8K displays via HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 2.1, and USB4

Watch-outs

— Premium price point of ~$2,000 — $300 more than the GMKtec EVO-X2 for the same Strix Halo silicon
— 3.27 kg metal chassis makes it heavy and less portable
— Reviewer scores are dragged down by one publisher reporting BSOD/firmware issues at launch (averaged in to 3.6/5)

$3,499 · Check Price on Amazon Full review →

Higher ratedRanked #1 in Best AI Mini PCs for Local LLM

Apple Mac Studio M4 Max

4.5

$3,699

The Mac Studio M4 Max is the highest-performance local-LLM machine in this group, built around the bandwidth that actually governs token speed. At up to 546 GB/s it more than doubles the Mac mini M4 Pro's 273 GB/s and the Strix Halo boxes' 256 GB/s, and community testing puts 70B models at roughly 22-25 tokens/sec, dramatically faster than the others here. Macworld (4.5/5) and AppleInsider (4.5/5) both praised its performance and composure, with AppleInsider noting it is 'faster than the Apple Silicon Mac Pro, for half, and sometimes a quarter, of the price.' Its 128 GB unified memory ceiling fits 100B-class quants while staying cool and quiet. The catch is price: it costs roughly double the 128 GB GMKtec EVO-X2 or Beelink GTR9 Pro, and it is macOS-only, so Linux and CUDA tooling are out.

Strengths

— Highest memory bandwidth here at 546 GB/s, the single most important spec for token generation speed
— Up to 128 GB unified memory runs 70B models at roughly 22-25 tokens/sec and fits 100B-class quants
— Stays cool and near-silent even under sustained inference, with no thermal throttling reported

Watch-outs

— By far the most expensive pick here, roughly double the 128 GB Strix Halo boxes
— Unified memory is soldered and configured at purchase, with steep Apple upgrade pricing
— macOS only, so Linux/CUDA-native AI tooling is off the table

$3,699 · Buy at apple.com Full review →

How they stack up

Beelink GTR9 Pro

The Beelink GTR9 Pro shares the same AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 silicon and 128GB of unified memory at 256 GB/s as the GMKtec EVO-X2 and Framework Desktop, so the three deliver effectively identical local-LLM throughput (~6-8 tokens/sec on 70B Q4). It differentiates on networking and chassis: dual 10GbE ports for AI clustering plus an industrial metal case. If you don't need the 10GbE, the GMKtec EVO-X2 saves money for the same performance, and the Framework Desktop offers a more open platform. Versus the Mac mini M4 Pro it doubles memory headroom; versus the Mac Studio M4 Max it is far cheaper but much lower bandwidth.

Apple Mac Studio M4 Max

The Mac Studio M4 Max posts the highest memory bandwidth in this group at 546 GB/s, roughly double the Mac mini M4 Pro (273 GB/s) and the GMKtec EVO-X2 and Beelink GTR9 Pro (256 GB/s), which is why it generates tokens fastest on 70B models. Its memory ceiling of 128 GB matches the Strix Halo boxes for model size but at far higher bandwidth and price. Choose it over the Mac mini M4 Pro when you need both more than 64 GB and the fastest Apple inference; choose a GMKtec EVO-X2 or Framework Desktop instead if you want 128 GB on Linux or Windows at a fraction of the cost.

Specs side-by-side

Spec	Beelink GTR9 Pro	Apple Mac Studio M4 Max
CPU	AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395	Apple M4 Max (16-core: 12P + 4E)
GPU	Radeon 8060S iGPU (RDNA 3.5)	40-core Apple GPU
RAM	128 GB LPDDR5X 8,000 MHz	Up to 128 GB unified memory
Storage	2 TB PCIe 4.0 SSD	Up to 8 TB SSD
NPU	XDNA 2, 50 TOPS (126 TOPS platform total)	—
Connectivity	Dual 10GbE (Intel E610), Wi-Fi 7	Thunderbolt 5, 10Gb Ethernet, HDMI 2.1
Memory Bandwidth	—	546 GB/s
Neural Engine	—	16-core
Dimensions	—	7.7 x 7.7 x 3.7 in

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