Beelink SER5 vs Lenovo ThinkCentre M90q Gen 2
Lenovo ThinkCentre M90q Gen 2 is the more capable pick; Beelink SER5 is the cheaper one - which wins comes down to the job below.
The verdict
- CPU
- Lenovo ThinkCentre M90q Gen 2 has 1.1x the CPU throughput (15,230 vs 13,500 PassMark).
- Plex
- Lenovo ThinkCentre M90q Gen 2 transcodes more 4K HDR streams (~4 vs ~3).
- Idle power
- Beelink SER5 idles lower (7W vs 12W) - cheaper to run 24/7.
- Local AI
- Lenovo ThinkCentre M90q Gen 2 has a PCIe slot for a low-profile GPU - the other needs a DIY build for local LLMs.
Which wins for each job
| Job | Beelink SER5 | Lenovo ThinkCentre M90q Gen 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Plex / Jellyfin | ~3 streams | ~4 streams win |
| Frigate NVR | add a detector | ~4 cameras win |
| Proxmox / VMs | 13,500 PassMark | 15,230 PassMark win |
| Firewall / router | 1 NICs | 1 NICs |
| Local AI / LLM | no slot | PCIe GPU slot win |
Approximate - capacity estimates from curated specs, the same logic as the recommender. Verify against your exact setup. Prices move; check the retailer.
Full specs
| Spec | Beelink SER5 | Lenovo ThinkCentre M90q Gen 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price (list) | $259 | $260 |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 5560U | Intel Core i7-11700T |
| Cores / threads | 6 | 8 |
| PassMark | 13,500 | 15,230 |
| iGPU | Vega 7 | Intel UHD 750 |
| NICs | 1 | 1 |
| NIC model | Realtek RTL8125 | Intel I219-LM |
| RAM max (GB) | 64 | 64 |
| M.2 free | 1 | 1 |
| PCIe slot | none | x8-lp |
| Idle (W) | 7 | 12 |
| TDP (W) | 25 | 35 |