The same Core Ultra 9 386H CPU in the MSI Cubi 3MG can run up to 25 percent faster on certain laptops
Its Panther Lake-H CPU is impressive for the size and a huge upgrade over the CPU in the Cubi AI+ 2MG, but the super-small form factor has compromised performance somewhat.
The latest 2026 Cubi NUC from MSI ships with an H-series Panther Lake CPU to replace the Lunar Lake CPU on last year's model. Panther Lake can run substantially faster than last generation Lunar Lake options as the same CPU in the 2026 Cubi NUC can also be found on gaming laptops like the Razer Blade 16. On the MSI mini PC, however, some compromises have been made for the smaller form factor.
As shown by the comparison graphs below, the Core Ultra 9 386H CPU in the Cubi NUC AI+ 3MG is over 60 percent faster than the Core Ultra 7 258V in the Cubi NUC AI+ 2MG in terms of raw multi-thread performance. Power consumption would be just a few watts more as well and so the significant performance advantage requires just a small 8 percent uptick in power requirements for superior performance-per-watt.
The issue arises when comparing the new MSI mini PC to laptops sporting the same Core Ultra 9 386H CPU. The Razer Blade 16, for example, runs 20 to 25 percent faster than the MSI due to its much larger form factor and more capable cooling solution. Meanwhile, the same CPU in the MSI can only sustain Turbo Boost clock rates for about 20 seconds before needing to throttle as exemplified below by the initial spikes in CineBench R15 xT scores and power consumption when running Prime95.
The 2026 Cubi NUC AI+ 3MG is indubitably a huge improvement over its predecessor, but it could have been even faster given what the Core Ultra 9 386H is capable of on other machines.
Allen Ngo - Lead Editor U.S. - 5546 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2011
After graduating with a B.S. in environmental hydrodynamics from the University of California, I studied reactor physics to become licensed by the U.S. NRC to operate nuclear reactors. There's a striking level of appreciation you gain for everyday consumer electronics after working with modern nuclear reactivity systems astonishingly powered by computers from the 80s. When I'm not managing day-to-day activities and US review articles on Notebookcheck, you can catch me following the eSports scene and the latest gaming news.
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