MSI Cubi Review
Category : PCs
Published by Luca Rocchi on 19.05.15
With the Cubi, MSI has a small form factor PC in its portfolio, which comes with pre-installed Microsoft Windows 8.1 and it is based on Intel's latest Broadwell platform. Apart from that the system features a very attractive price and even the performance could be on a very reasonable level, since there is an Intel i3-U-series CPU inside.
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The Cubi from MSI is a very small PC, which is perfectly suitable for office environments for example. Despite its compact size, the small system relies on cutting-edge components such as a brand new Intel Broadwell CPU. On the following pages we will analyze all the components inside the Cubi as well as its performance in different scenarios.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Office PC |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - HTPC PC |
| Page 3 - Specifications | Page 7 - SSD |
| Page 4 - Closer look | Page 8 - Conclusion |
Preview
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Office PC |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - HTPC PC |
| Page 3 - Specifications | Page 7 - SSD |
| Page 4 - Closer look | Page 8 - Conclusion |
Specifications / Chassis
| CPU | Intel Core i3-5005U, 2.00GHz |
| Memory | 4GB DDR3, up to 16GB |
| SSD | Transcend 128 GB mSATA (TS128GMSA370) 2.5" HDD (optional) |
| Power supply | 65W Passive |
| Connectors |
|
| Dimensions | 115 x 111 x 35 mm |
| Weight | 295 g |
| OS | Windows 8.1 |
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Office PC |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - HTPC PC |
| Page 3 - Specifications | Page 7 - SSD |
| Page 4 - Closer look | Page 8 - Conclusion |
Closer look
With 11.5 x 11.2 x 3.5 cm dimensions and weighing only 295 grams, the MSI Cubi has the dimensions of a standard 120x38 mm case fan. This small system is compact enough to be placed on your desk or at the back of your monitor thanks to the VESA support included in the package.
Despite rather small dimensions, the MSI Cubi features a variety of connectors on its front and rear. Checking the front we find a 3.5mm audio jack and two USB 3.0 ports while the rear features two additional USB 3.0 ports, HDMI and mini DisplayPort output, Gigabit Ethernet and the AC power jack. The remaining two sides of the cubes are smooth and there are no openings at all, while on one side we find a Kensington Lock.
When both display outputs are combined, the MSI Cubi is able to support 4K monitor and manage up to a maximum of three monitors. If you are not a fan of wires or simply do not have a cable available, the Cubi also offers a WiFi 802.11ac as well as Bluetooth 4.0.
The MSI Cubi is based on an Intel Core i3-5005U Broadwell CPU, but there are also other configurations avialable. Next to the CPU there are two SO-DIMM slots, which support up to 16GB of DDR3 memory. As far as the storage is concerned, we got a SKU with a 128GB Transcend mSATA SSD, and it also comes with support for an additional 2.5" HDD/SSD which can be used with a different cover for the MSI Cubi. The processor, as you can see from the pictures, uses active cooling with a radial fan manufactured by Power Logic.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Office PC |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - HTPC PC |
| Page 3 - Specifications | Page 7 - SSD |
| Page 4 - Closer look | Page 8 - Conclusion |
Office PC
Primarily this little machine has been designed to be used in office environments and that is why we decided to start our test suite with applications for daily use, such as Microsoft Office and Adobe. We used the MSI Cubi to write this review and modified all our pictures taken during the week with pre-configured actions. Even with Photoshop and Dreamweaver, the little Intel Core i3-5005U CPU was able to satisfy our need without any freezes occurring or the system becoming very low while processing batch operations.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Office PC |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - HTPC PC |
| Page 3 - Specifications | Page 7 - SSD |
| Page 4 - Closer look | Page 8 - Conclusion |
HTPC PC
In order to test the multimedia abilities of the small Cubi we have put the device through various video streams while using applications such as Plex Home Theater and VLC. Even while playing heavy .MKV files or Blu-ray videos we did not detect any problems, mostly thanks to the amount of memory available. Thanks the two display output ports, we managed to simultaneously play two big movies on two different FullHD monitors without any issues. While carefully listening to every word in the movies we realized that the sound was perfectly synchronized.
Using the Plex Server you can set up a server infrastructure for multimedia content such as music or just movies; while through the client you can choose to play movies with native resolution (using the client CPU) or converting the movie, server-side, thereby taking advantage of the Cubi CPU. In this scenario, the small computer from MSI demonstrated a perfectly smooth experience.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Office PC |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - HTPC PC |
| Page 3 - Specifications | Page 7 - SSD |
| Page 4 - Closer look | Page 8 - Conclusion |
SSD
Inside the small Cubi we found Transcend's 128GB mSATA SSD which can provide a good performance boost to small form factor PC from MSI. The performance measured in testing is good and only the temperature reached a threshold higher than with a normal desktop system. This aspect is naturally linked to a huge size difference, however, the maximum temperature bearable by the unit is much higher.
At the rear of the Cubi is a small housing for further 2.5" HDD; we also tested this port using a Crucial M500 240 Gigabyte and performance measured are very close to those offered by a desktop system.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Office PC |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - HTPC PC |
| Page 3 - Specifications | Page 7 - SSD |
| Page 4 - Closer look | Page 8 - Conclusion |
Conclusion
Overall, we can say that the MSI Cubi is an excellent small form factor PC based on the Windows 8.1 OS. Unlike other models, this little device allows you to add an extra 2.5" HDD/SSD without using too much space or aftermarket accessories, infact, inside the bundle you get an additional cover when secondary HDD is used. The performance is respectable and during our tests we did not have any problems with both standard office applications or video playback. Even the performance of the Transcend SSD is good thus ensuring a rapid and fast boot.
During our test, we have also measured temperatures and despite its small and very compact shape, the Cubi from MSI doesn't run too hot and even the noise, despite a small fan, is on a very good level. The shape and the weight of the Cubi is quite interesting since it also makes quite portable, and you also get a VESA bracket included inside the bundle which is always useful in the office enviroment. The MSI Cubi reviewed today is available at Geizhals with a price of about 450 euro. In our opinion, the price is more than justified with the performance of the device and for this reason we give the MSI Cubi 4 out of 5 stars.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Office PC |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - HTPC PC |
| Page 3 - Specifications | Page 7 - SSD |
| Page 4 - Closer look | Page 8 - Conclusion |