MSI Cubi 1MG-011US 2025, Core 3 100U, 16GB, 500GB SSD

The MSI Cubi 1MG-011US is a tiny Windows 11 Pro desktop with excellent connectivity, including dual Thunderbolt and dual Ethernet. The Core 3 100U and 16GB of DDR5 handle everyday tasks fine, but gaming is a non-starter at 12.4/100. At $600 USD, it's a reasonable deal for the form factor, though the 500GB SSD is tight. Buy it for office work or a home server, not for gaming or heavy creative work.

Let's be real about what the Core 3 100U can and can't do. In our database, this CPU lands in the 31st percentile for desktop processors, which puts it firmly in the 'fine for office work, not for heavy lifting' category. The six cores and 4.7GHz boost will chew through web browsing, document editing, and video calls without breaking a sweat. But if you're thinking about rendering video or compiling large codebases, you'll feel the ceiling pretty quickly.

The integrated Intel Graphics sit right around the middle of the pack at the 52nd percentile, which sounds better than it is. That's compared to all GPUs in our database, including other integrated solutions. For actual gaming, the Cubi scores a 12.4 out of 100, which is about as close to 'don't bother' as it gets. You can play older titles or indie games at low settings, but anything modern will be a slideshow. The 16GB of DDR5 helps with multitasking, though the 500GB SSD is on the smaller side at the 24th percentile for storage. You'll want an external drive if you keep a lot of media around.

The Cubi's biggest competition comes from the HP OmniDesk M03-0064 and the Dell Tower Plus EBT2250. Both are traditional desktops that will give you more raw performance for similar money, but they're towers. If you have the desk space, the HP or Dell are probably the smarter buy for pure horsepower. The Cubi wins on footprint and port selection, especially with that dual Thunderbolt setup.

On the other end, the Apple iMac M4 is in a completely different league performance-wise, but it's also a completely different price bracket and ecosystem. If you're already in the Apple world and have the budget, the iMac makes the Cubi look like a toy. But if you need Windows, want something tiny, and don't want to spend iMac money, the Cubi carves out a reasonable niche. The Lenovo Legion and iBUYPOWER Slate are gaming machines, so they're not really competing for the same buyer, but they do highlight what you're giving up by going this small.

At $600 USD, the Cubi is in a weird spot. It's not cheap enough to be an impulse buy, but it's not expensive enough to feel premium either. For that money, you're really paying for the form factor and the connectivity. A traditional tower at this price would give you a faster CPU and more storage, but it would also take up ten times the space and probably skimp on ports.

Compared to other mini PCs, the value proposition is decent but not spectacular. The dual Thunderbolt ports are genuinely rare at this price point, and Windows 11 Pro is a nice bonus that usually costs extra. But the 500GB SSD feels stingy, and the Core 3 100U isn't going to age particularly well. If you can find this on sale for $500 or less, it becomes a much easier recommendation.

The MSI Cubi 1MG-011US is one of those little boxes that makes you do a double take. It's a NUC-style mini PC that packs a full Windows 11 Pro desktop into something you could probably lose behind a monitor without noticing. MSI isn't exactly known for their tiny desktops, but they've been quietly building out the Cubi line for a while now, and this particular config is aimed squarely at people who need a real computer without the real estate.

Inside, you're getting an Intel Core 3 100U, which is one of those newer Raptor Lake refresh chips that nobody talks about but honestly does fine for everyday work. Six cores, 1.2GHz base, boost up to 4.7GHz. Paired with 16GB of DDR5 and a 500GB SSD, this thing is built for spreadsheets, browser tabs, and maybe some light photo editing. Not gaming. Definitely not gaming.

The interesting part here is the connectivity. Two Thunderbolt ports, two HDMI, dual Ethernet, four USB-A, Wi-Fi 6. That's a lot of I/O for a box this size. If you're the kind of person who runs a home lab, a media server, or just wants a clean desk setup with multiple monitors, the Cubi is making a pretty compelling argument for itself.

If you're a gamer, just move along. The integrated graphics here score a 12.4 out of 100 for gaming, which means even budget gaming laptops will run circles around this thing. You'd be much better off with something like the iBUYPOWER Slate or Lenovo Legion if you want to play anything made in the last five years.

Also skip this if you need serious storage or processing power. The 500GB SSD is going to feel cramped if you have a large photo library, video collection, or lots of games. And the Core 3 100U, while fine for basics, will struggle with heavy multitasking, virtual machines, or any kind of rendering work. For those use cases, a traditional tower like the Dell Tower Plus or HP OmniDesk will serve you much better for similar money.

If you're looking for a compact Windows machine for office work, web browsing, or as a home server, the Cubi 1MG-011US is a solid choice. The port selection is genuinely impressive, the 16GB of RAM keeps things smooth, and Windows 11 Pro means you're not dealing with Home edition limitations. It's quiet, it's small, and it gets the job done.

But if you need any kind of graphical horsepower, or you're planning to store a lot of files locally, look elsewhere. The 500GB SSD and integrated graphics are real limitations that will frustrate you down the line. For a general-purpose family computer or a secondary work machine, the Cubi makes sense. For anything more demanding, you'll want a tower or a more expensive mini PC with a better CPU.