Cube i7 Book CDK09 Convertible Review

Both the tablet and keyboard unit are made of metal, and their good stability and feel are compelling. Our review sample's gaps and build are impeccable. The keyboard dock's limited opening angle (maximum approx. 120 degrees) is a big drawback since the device cannot be placed comfortably on the lap for typing. Overall, the Cube i7 makes a good impression for the price range.

Cube installs the latest, low-cost Intel 3165 AC dual-band chip. As a 1x1 solution, it naturally cannot compete with the fast high-end competition. However, other low-cost n-Wi-Fi solutions (like in the Cube i9) are outperformed clearly.

The keyboard's well-set pressure point allows typing quickly when familiar with the English keyboard or touch-typing. However, the touchpad is a drawback here. On the one hand, it is oversensitive making a smooth workflow, for example, in a jerky train virtually impossible; on the other hand, it either did not respond at all or just randomly responded during diverse gaming attempts. The cursor perpetually jumped or the screen often changed unintentionally in unstable environments. Thus, connecting a mouse is absolutely recommended. In tablet mode, the multitouch-screen functioned very fast and reliably.

Cube installs a glossy touchscreen by Samsung. It has a resolution of 1920x1080. Thanks to the IPS technology, it offers good viewing angles. Both contrast and maximum brightness are good. However, the dynamic brightness was enabled out-of-the-box, and thus we only measured 200 cd/m² and could hardly see anything outdoors. Unfortunately, the screen is not anti-glare and thus quickly becomes a mirror outdoors.

The Core m3-6Y30 is based on two cores that can clock at up to 2.2 GHz. The single-core test started at 2 - 2.2 GHz in Cinebench R15, and the multi-core test started at 2 GHz. Thus, Turbo functions impeccably. The Cinebench R15 scores are within a good midfield for the tested 6Y30 SoCs. Here, there is no reason for complaint.

The little 10-inch tablet does an excellent job in PCMark 8. All other Core m3-6Y30-based devices were slower in the test. The competition's performance ranged from 95% (Asus Zenbook X305CA) down to 71% (HP Spectre x2 12). The Surface Pro 4 with Core-m3 achieved 82% and Cube's i9 88%.

Compared with all convertibles tested over the past 12 months, Cube's i7 can surpass the average by 9%. The fastest device based on the Core m SoC is Toshiba's Portege Z20t, which is only 3% faster. The fastest convertible in PCMark 8 is Dell's Inspiron 13 5368 based on a Core i7-6500U with a 24% higher PCMark 8 score.

Cube installs a 64 GB SSD in the M.2 format by Forsee into the i7. It is sooner weak in the category comparison. The average of all AS SSD scores of the convertibles that we tested is 221% faster with 838 points in the total score. Interestingly, the 128 GB Forsee in Cube's i9 is easily outperformed.

Cube's i7 places itself between the Switch 12S (90%) and Cube's i9 (122%), which are both also based on the 6Y30 SoC and consequently have an HD Graphics 515 graphics card, in the 3DMark Sky Driver test. We previously tested the gaming performance in Cube's i9. Here, actually only World of Warships could be played smoothly using minimum settings.

System Noise

The fanless build prevents noise emissions even during high load.

The tablet remains pleasantly cool without load. The passively cooled processor can heat up the tablet considerably during load. However, our measured 46 °C during extreme load (which can be expected in demanding games or CPU full load) is not critical.

The keyboard dock that we also tested always remained agreeably cool.

Both stereo speakers are situated on the tablet's right and their sound is quite modest. They are not particularly loud at a measured 72 dB but are sufficient for quiet surroundings. The sound characteristic is very modest and lacks bass and trebles. The speakers in the Switch 12 are linear but also marginally quieter. The Surface Pro 4 clearly offers more basses, and the MacBook 12 remains to be the reference with louder and much better audio output. Thus, headphones (the AKG K701 transmitted sufficiently loud and noise-free) or speakers are recommended for listening to music. The Bluetooth connection functioned quickly and reliably.

Frequency diagram in comparison (check boxes above can be turned on/off!)

The power consumption using the included power supply is a bit higher than those of other devices based on a Core m3-6Y30 CPU without load. The top devices achieve a minimum consumption of around 3 watts. The tablet also places itself in the upper range during load. Some devices only consume 12 watts in the 3DMark06 test. 3DMark06 starts at 22 watts and gradually drops to 20 watts in the course of the first test. We record 23 watts for a moment during extreme load, which then slowly drops (22 watts in the first minutes, then down to 18 watts).

We managed a battery life of 4 to 5 hours in practice. This is owed to the relatively small battery (32 Wh).