MSI has introduced one of the industry’s first ultra-compact desktops powered by Intel’s 10th Generation ‘Comet Lake-U’ processors, the Cubi 5 10M. With Comet Lake-U available in up to 6 core configurations and supporting up to 64 GB of memory, the Cubi 5 10M is powerful enough that it can be used for a wide variety of applications, including productivity, photo editing, design, and multimedia playback.
Measuring 124×124×53.7 mm and weighing 550 grams, MSI’s Cubi 5 10M compact PCs are quite literally palm-sized. Under the hood, they pack one of Intel’s 10th Generation Core i3/i5/i7 processors with two, four, or six cores as well as Intel’s UHD 630 Graphics. The CPU is cooled down using an active cooling system, so the processors should be able to turbo fairly often. The SoC is accompanied by two SO-DIMM memory slots supporting up to 64 GB of DDR4-2666 memory, an M.2 slot for an SSD, and a 2.5-inch bay for additional storage.
On the wireless connectivity side of matters, MSI’s Cubi 5 10M UCFF systems come with either Intel’s Wireless AC 9462 or Wireless AX201 adapters with Bluetooth 5. As for wired connectivity, the mini-PC offers GbE (Intel WGI219V), three USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A connectors, one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port, two USB 2.0 headers, two display outputs (DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI 1.4), a headphone output, a microphone in, and a power connector. The Cubi comes with a 65 W external power brick, and it can be further equipped with an external power switch to turn it on or off when it is located in a hard to reach area.
Overall, the Cubi 5 10M SFF PC is fairly typical for a small form factor PC design, incorporating Intel’s latop-focused hardware to instead build a small and low power desktop. With Comet Lake-U reaching 6 cores, the system should be able up to the task for most office-grade, non-graphics-heavy workloads, as well as making for a modest HTPC.
MSI is already listing its Cubi 5 10M ultra-compact desktop on its website, so expect it to hit the market shortly. They’ve yet to disclose the pricing, however, so we’ll have to see where that ends up.