MSI Cubi 5 Cu510M668 2023, Core i3-10110U, 8GB, 256GB SSD, Black

The MSI Cubi 5 Cu510M668 is a compact mini PC for basic office and browsing tasks. It's small, quiet, and has Wi-Fi 6, but the Core i3-10110U CPU and 8GB of RAM make it one of the slowest desktops in our database. At CAD 766, you're paying for the form factor, not the performance.

The Core i3-10110U is a 2-core, 4-thread processor with a 2.1GHz base clock. In our database, it lands in the 7th percentile for CPU performance among desktops, which means it's slower than 93% of the machines we track. That's not a typo. This chip was designed for ultrabooks, and even there it was a budget option. For basic tasks like opening a browser with a dozen tabs, running Office apps, or streaming video, it'll get by. But throw anything heavier at it and you'll feel the wait.

The 8GB of DDR4 RAM is split across two 4GB sticks, which at least gives you dual-channel memory bandwidth. But 8GB is the bare minimum for Windows 11 in 2025, and our data puts it in the 3rd percentile for RAM capacity. The 256GB NVMe SSD is also on the small side, ranking in the 19th percentile for storage. It's fast enough for boot times and app launches, but you'll fill it up quickly if you store photos, videos, or more than a handful of games. The integrated Intel UHD Graphics handles display output fine, including dual monitors via HDMI 1.4 and DisplayPort 1.2, but it's not built for anything beyond desktop compositing and video playback.

Stacked against the Apple Mac Studio M3 Ultra, the Cubi 5 looks like a toy. The Mac Studio has a massively faster CPU and GPU, more RAM, and more storage, but it costs thousands more and targets creative professionals. That's not a fair fight, and nobody cross-shops these two. The Lenovo Legion 90YA003GUS is a gaming desktop with a dedicated GPU, so it destroys the Cubi 5 in any graphics workload, but again, it's a full-size tower with a much higher price tag.

A more realistic comparison is against other mini PCs in the same price range. The Dell Desktop ECT1250 and HP OMEN GT16-0364 are both traditional desktops that offer better performance per dollar, but they're larger and louder. The iBUYPOWER Element EBI7N5701 is another budget desktop that beats the Cubi 5 on specs while costing around the same. If you don't need the tiny form factor, any of those will serve you better. The Cubi 5's only real advantage is its size and silence.

At CAD 766, the Cubi 5 is in a weird spot. You're paying a premium for the small form factor, not for the components inside. For the same money, you could get a traditional desktop with a much faster CPU, double the RAM, and a bigger SSD. But those machines won't fit behind a monitor or under a TV stand. If compact size is your top priority and your workload is light, the Cubi 5 makes a case for itself. If you need any real performance, this price feels steep for what you're getting. The Apple Mac Studio M3 Ultra and Lenovo Legion 90YA003GUS are in a completely different league, but they also cost several times more. The real question is whether you value the form factor enough to accept the performance trade-off.

The MSI Cubi 5 Cu510M668 is a mini PC that sits in the budget end of the compact desktop market. It's built around an Intel Core i3-10110U, a dual-core chip from 2019 that was originally designed for thin laptops, paired with 8GB of DDR4 RAM and a 256GB NVMe SSD. The whole thing weighs just 0.55kg and runs Windows 11 Home out of the box. If you're searching for a small desktop for basic office work, web browsing, or light media streaming, this is the kind of machine that shows up in that conversation.

At around CAD 766 on the Canadian market, it's not dirt cheap, but it's also not pretending to be a powerhouse. The Cubi 5 is aimed at people who need a quiet, unobtrusive PC that can handle everyday tasks without taking over the desk. MSI's pitch is simple: dual display support, Wi-Fi 6, and a fanless-friendly design that stays quiet under light loads.

But let's be real about what this is. The CPU ranks in the 7th percentile among desktops in our database, and the RAM situation is even rougher at the 3rd percentile. This is a machine for spreadsheets, email, and video calls, not for anything that needs real compute muscle. If you're wondering whether the MSI Cubi 5 is good for gaming, the short answer is no. The integrated Intel UHD Graphics scores a 6.6 out of 100 for gaming, which is about as low as it gets.

Skip the Cubi 5 if you need any real processing power. Gamers, video editors, programmers, and anyone who runs demanding software should look at traditional desktops like the iBUYPOWER Element EBI7N5701 or HP OMEN GT16-0364, which offer far better specs for similar money. Also skip it if you need lots of storage or RAM, since 256GB and 8GB will feel cramped within a year or two. If you're on a tight budget and don't care about size, a standard desktop tower will give you much more performance per dollar. And if you're already invested in the Apple ecosystem, the Mac Studio M3 Ultra is in another universe entirely, though it costs accordingly.

Should you buy the MSI Cubi 5 Cu510M668? Only if you specifically need a very small, quiet Windows PC for basic tasks and you're willing to pay a premium for the form factor. It'll handle web browsing, document editing, video calls, and media streaming without complaint. The Wi-Fi 6 support is a nice touch for a machine this size, and dual monitor output is genuinely useful for office setups.

But if you have any ambitions beyond that, look elsewhere. The CPU is one of the slowest we've tracked in a desktop, the RAM is minimal, and the storage is tight. For the same money, a traditional desktop will give you dramatically better performance. The Cubi 5 is a niche product for a niche buyer. If you're that buyer, it's fine. If you're not, you'll regret it.