MSI Cubi NUC AI+ 2MG gets high marks for simplicity, but its performance-per-dollar is lacking

The MSI Cubi 2MG mini PC is now widely available for just under $900. As a business-oriented system, the Cubi prioritizes reliability through simplicity and low power demands via features like a corded Power button and an Intel Lunar Lake-V CPU, respectively. Other aspects of the model, however, are arguably lacking especially for the price.

When compared to other less expensive mini PCs like the Beelink SER9 or GMK NucBox K11 or NucBox K12, the Cubi 2MG doesn't come close in terms of performance. The aforementioned alternatives run on AMD Zen hardware which, while more demanding in certain situations, are significantly faster than the Core Ultra V options found on the MSI while being roughly the same size or just slightly larger.

Outside of performance, upgradeability is also limited on the MSI as the model supports just one M.2 SSD with no removable RAM. In contrast, the Beelink or GMK above can support up to two or three SSDs while the latter integrates both SODIMM memory and OcuLink for higher memory support and more advanced features, respectively.

The Cubi 2MG is still an overall improvement over last year's Cubi 1M and, perhaps most importantly, it offers three-year warranty as standard instead of just one. Nonetheless, bang for the buck is certainly not its strong suit.

Users can check out our review on the MSI Cubi 2MG for more performance details.