Beelink EQi 304 Debuts Intel's Wildcat Lake in a Tiny 10GbE Mini PC
Beelink's EQi 304, launched July 5, 2026, is the first mini PC on Intel's new Core 3 304 Wildcat Lake chip — with 10GbE, Thunderbolt 4, and a 24 TOPS NPU from $509.
A New Intel Silicon Generation Arrives in a Palm-Sized Box
I love it when a brand-new processor debuts not in a giant tower but in something you could tuck behind a monitor. On July 5, 2026, Beelink launched the EQi 304, one of the first mini PCs built on Intel's freshly minted Core 3 304 "Wildcat Lake" chip. It is a compact machine that quietly stuffs premium connectivity into an entry-level package, and the spec sheet is a delight.
Wildcat Lake, Built on Intel's 18A Process
The heart of the EQi 304 is the Core 3 304, a 5-core, 5-thread part manufactured on Intel's advanced 18A process and boosting up to 4.3 GHz. It pairs Intel's newer Xe3-LPG integrated graphics with a dedicated 24 TOPS NPU for on-device AI acceleration — enough to run local vision models, background-blur, and other edge AI workloads without leaning on the cloud. For a chip in this class, having a capable neural processing unit on board is exactly the kind of forward-looking design I like to see.
Memory and storage are generous and, importantly, expandable. The EQi 304 ships with 16, 24, or 32GB of DDR5, a fast 512GB UFS 3.1 boot drive, and two M.2 2280 slots so you can add plenty of NVMe storage later. That upgrade headroom is what separates a mini PC you keep from one you outgrow.
The Standout Feature: 10GbE at This Price
Here is the detail that made me sit up. In a chassis measuring just 126 x 126 x 44mm, Beelink fit 10 Gigabit Ethernet alongside a second 2.5GbE port. Ten-gig networking in an affordable mini PC is still a rarity, and it turns this little box into a legitimately fast node for a homelab, a NAS front-end, or a small-office server. Round that out with two Thunderbolt 4 ports (40 Gbps each) and HDMI, and you have a device that connects to almost anything at speed.
Why a $509 Mini PC Like This Matters
Starting at $509, the EQi 304 is a compelling proposition for the single-board computer and mini-PC crowd who want current-generation silicon without a premium price. You are getting a debut Intel node, a real NPU, dual high-speed Ethernet, and Thunderbolt 4 in a footprint smaller than a paperback.
What I find most encouraging is the trend it represents. Cutting-edge process technology and local AI acceleration are no longer confined to expensive flagships — they are showing up in small, quiet, affordable machines that anyone can put on a desk or bolt behind a display. The mini PC keeps closing the gap with full-size desktops, and releases like the EQi 304 are why compact computing has never looked healthier.
Sources: Gizmochina — "Beelink EQi 304 Mini PC Launched: Specs, Price" — July 5, 2026; CNX Software — Beelink EQi 304 hands-on — July 6, 2026; Liliputing — "Beelink introduces three mini PCs with Intel Wildcat Lake chips" — July 2026.