MSI Cubi NUC AI+ 2MG review: Straightforward mini PC for business

As a mini PC for businesses, the Cubi NUC 2MG is a plain and reliable option with no flashy aesthetics. Its integrated speaker, microphones, Co-Pilot+ support, and Power Link feature can come in handy in certain conditions or usage scenarios while the Lunar Lake-V CPU is generally cooler and more efficient than the current crop of AMD alternatives. We particularly appreciate the fast integrated MicroSD reader as many other mini PCs lack card readers.

Our main gripe about the Cubi 2MG is its relatively high price of $900 USD when faster AMD mini PCs like the Beelink SER9 Pro or GMK NucBox K12 are readily available for hundreds of dollars less. Such alternatives also come with useful features like removable RAM and support for more internal SSDs. MSI says it offers improved reliaibility, better customer support, and a longer three-year warranty as standard to justify the asking price, but performance-per-dollar is nonetheless relatively weak.

Fan behavior could also use some improvement. Unless if you're on Silent mode, the fan tends to pulse and be more noticeable even when running undemanding loads. The cycling GPU clock rates, while not an issue for most professional settings, is still odd to see when most other mini PCs don't exhibit the same problem.

The MSI Cubi NUC AI+ 2MG is now shipping on Amazon for $900.

The Cubi NUC 2MG succeeds last year's Cubi NUC 1M. It replaces the older Raptor Lake-U Core Ultra 7 150U CPU with newer Lunar Lake-V options while making other minor auxiliary changes. The Cubi series is optimized for businesses and retail environments as opposed to home offices or HTPC applications.

Our test unit is a midrange configuration with the Core Ultra 7 258V CPU, 32 GB of soldered RAM, and 1 TB SSD for approximately $900 USD. Lesser SKUs start with the Core Ultra 5 226V while the highest-end option ships with the Core Ultra 9 288V. A white version is available in some regions.

The model competes directly against the Asus NUC series which also targets environments where 24/7 operation and reliability take priority over raw performance.

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Chassis and dimensions remain mostly unchanged from the Cubi 1M. New to the Cubi 2MG, however, is the dedicated CoPilot button on the front of the unit. The problem with this feature is that the physical button can be difficult to access depending on how you position the system on your desk.

Power Link is supported for powering on the device via certain MSI monitors for convenience. The list of compatible monitors can be found here. Unfortunately, Power Link still requires an AC adapter for the mini PC and so it is not a true "one cable" solution.

Port options have changed slightly from the Cubi 1M. There is now just one HDMI port instead of two alongside fewer USB 3.0 ports.

Note that while where are two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, only one of the ports supports Power Delivery-in of up to 100 W should the main AC adapter be unavailable.

The chassis consists of 37.25 percent post-consumer recycled plastic while the inside packaging consists of FSC-certified cartons made from sustainably sourced wood pulp.

The retail box includes a removable VESA mounting bracket and a handy 19-inch corded power button for turning on the PC if it is situated in a hard-to-reach area.

A three-year limited manufacturer warranty comes standard compared to one one-year for most other mini PCs in the US.

We set MSI Center to Performance mode prior to running the benchmarks below.

The Core Ultra 7 258V is almost 50 percent faster than the older Core 7 150U in last year's Cubi NUC 1M when it comes to raw multi-thread performance. It also comes with an integrated NPU whereas the Nuc 1M did not for Co-Pilot+ support.

Upgrading to the Core Ultra 9 288V SKU is not expected to increase performance by any significant margin while downgrading to the Core Ultra 5 226V will only reduce performance by just a few percentage points.