MSI Cubi N mini PC review: enjoy the silence

 

Today, desktop PCs can come in a wide variety of sizes depending on the capabilities and needs of the user: from large systems based on ATX motherboards to miniature stick computers that are only slightly larger than USB flash drives.

 

Design

 

The MSI Cubi N case volume is only 0.45 liters. The computer comes without RAM (two SO-DIMM DDR3L memory slots are available) and storage devices. It is assumed that the user will retrofit the device based on his preferences.

 

 

We used the word “drives” in the plural for a reason. The fact is that you can install not one, but two drives inside the miniature MSI Cubi N.

 

This can be an SSD drive with an mSATA interface and/or a SATA hard drive (HDD) or an SSD drive in a 2.5″ form factor. However, to use a 2.5-inch drive you will need to install another bottom cover (supplied). With it, the MSI Cubi N will become a little taller.

 

 

 

If desired, MSI Cubi N can be mounted on the back of the monitor using a standard VESA mount. A special adapter panel for this is also supplied with the device.

 

MSI Cubi, which was released a year ago, has exactly the same features . Externally, MSI Cubi N and MSI Cubi are also very similar, the only differences are in the shape of the top panel and the color of the case.

 

What is the difference between Cubi and the new Cubi N? These PCs use different platforms. MSI Cubi N does not replace MSI Cubi, but serves to expand the range and has slightly different characteristics.

 

MSI Cubi N is based on the Intel Braswell N mobile platform. This involves the use of Intel Celeron and Processor single-chip (SoC) processors with ultra-low power consumption (TDP up to 6 W). In our case, the Cubi N was equipped with a 4-core Intel Processor N3700 processor.

 

If we compare MSI Cubi N and MSI Cubi in terms of performance, then Cubi will be faster. But theMSI Cubi N is more affordable, and its more economical platform allows you to get by with passive cooling, which makes the device almost silentunless you have installed some kind of noisy hard drive.

 

 

 

As for the hardware, everything is very good here for a PC of this class. All four USB ports comply with the USB 3.1 Gen1 standard. One of the USB ports can be used to charge mobile devices even when the PC is turned off. HDMI and VGA video outputs are available. There is a wired gigabit adapter and a wireless Wi-Fi module of the 802.11AC standard.

 

 

Trying it at work

 

We equipped the MSI Cubi N with one 4 GB memory module, as well as a 128 GB Transcend MSA370 mSATA SSD drive. By the way, we used exactly the same components earlier in the MSI Cubi test .

 

Windows 8 was installed. There are no drivers for Windows 8 on the official website for MSI Cubi N (only for Windows 7 and 10), but we were able to find them for this PC without any problems.

 

It is worth noting that we only had one suitable memory module at our disposal; therefore, the RAM operated in single-channel mode. When operating in dual-channel memory mode, the system may perform slightly faster in some tasks.

 

The capabilities of the MSI Cubi N are more than enough for normal office or home use (movies, web surfing, office applications, simple photo processing, etc.).

 

The video adapter built into the Intel Processor N3700 is modern (8th generation Intel GPU). Accordingly, there is hardware support for current video codecs and good multimedia capabilities. You can connect multiple monitors to the device at the same time.

 

 

The GPU has 16 computational pipelines. For such economical single-chip systems, the level of performance provided can be called quite good, but for serious games the MSI Cubi N is not suitable. Its performance is only enough for simple modern games or games of previous generations.

 

We compared the gaming performance of MSI Cubi N (Intel Processor N3700) and MSI Cubi (Intel Core i3-5005U) in the 3dmark 11 test (Performance preset). The MSI Cubi scored approximately twice as many points.

 

 

 

When working under load, when both the processor power and the built-in video adapter were used, the maximum temperature reached about 76 °C. During normal use, operating temperatures rose to approximately 50–60°C. The numbers are quite high, but they are within acceptable limits and are not dangerous for the device. The body of the device heats up quite noticeably.

 

 

Although the platform is very economical, do not forget that it uses a passive cooling system and this is what explains the resulting thermal regime.

 

 

Conclusions

 

MSI Cubi N is a very nice looking and very compact PC based on a modern platform.

 

If the computer will be used for tasks where there are no special performance requirements, then the MSI Cubi N is a very good option. In this case, it will be a better choice compared to the MSI Cubi. The Cubi N might be a bit slower, but it is more affordable, more economical and quieter.

 

 

Main characteristics of MSI Cubi N

Processor	Intel Processor N3700
Video	Intel HD Graphics (built into the processor)
RAM volume	2xSO-DIMM DDR3L (supplied without memory modules)
Storage	1xmSATA, 1xSATA (supplied without drives)
Network interface wired, wireless (Wi-Fi)	1000 Mb/s, 802.11 AC
Bluetooth	yes
Video inputs	1xHDMI, 1xVGA
Number of USB 3.1 Gen1 connectors	4
Card reader	no
Audio connectors	Combined 3.5 mm Audio Jack microphone input/headphone output
Dimensions	116×112×44 mm
Additional features	possibility of installing a 2.5” drive
Supplier	MSI representation
Price	$190

Rating:

+ compact dimensions

+ economical platform

+ silent operation

+ a large number of USB 3.1 Gen1 connectors, taking into account the size of the device

+ good equipment

– relatively modest performance

– noticeable heating of the device during operation