Sure thing. Let’s scramble this up a bit.
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So, MSI, right? They’ve been in the gaming hardware game for ages. I personally can’t even count how many times I’ve relied on their stuff—graphics cards, motherboards, you name it. But, turns out, they’ve been up to more than I thought.
I mean, sure, everyone’s talking about their budget gaming laptops. They’re like the belle of the ball on Black Friday—grabbing them at a discount is almost a ritual. But, oh boy, I totally missed their dip into the mini PC pond until I caught wind of these “Cubi” gadgets at CES 2025. Yeah, I know—late to the party.
So once I got the invite from MSI to peep their London digs, I was all in. They’ve got these slick AI-focused mini PCs rocking Windows 11. Names are something like Cubi NUC A1 1UM and AI+ 2MG—but, honestly, who remembers this stuff? I barely do.
Now, get this. These mini PCs have Intel’s “Lunar Lake” processors. I think ASUS snagged a deal or something for Intel’s NUC designs way back—not really sure on the specifics. But MSI’s staying true to names like “Cubi.”
I checked one out up close. It’s this cute little box—blocky, you know? But then, bam—Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports! Running on Windows 11 too, and it kinda packs the same punch as a regular laptop or desktop. Wild, right? And there’s this marketing guy, Gökhan Bodur, in London who was all smiles about their sustainability kick. Everything’s made from recycled materials, apparently. Yay for planet Earth and all that jazz.
Now, let’s talk size—Cubi NUC AI 1UMG is super tiny at 0.51 L, and the AI+ 2MG is… what?… 0.826 L? I can’t even picture it. But they’ve got this detachable power button, which sounds great for mounting them behind a monitor. I’d probably lose it, though. They’ve got HDMI link stuff for MSI monitors too, plus Wake on LAN—’cause who needs to walk over and press a button anymore?
Anyway, oh right, they even can connect four monitors—so you can basically create a mission control setup with one of these. Imagine a restaurant displaying all their menus or a four-screen ordering system. I guess that’s the idea. But ya know, just regular folks like us? We can grab one too if we’ve got our eyes on a Copilot+ mini PC. It’s not gonna be cheap, though—around 950 bucks for one variant. Oof.
I saw some testing stuff too. MSI puts these mini PCs through some kind of torture tests. Made me feel better about their durability, at least. But look, I love mini PCs. They sit there—quiet, taking up no space, doing what you need. Better than a laptop that’s constantly hooked to a docking station, if you ask me.
So, yeah. These machines—especially the Cubi NUC AI+ 2MG—might just be the stars we didn’t know we needed. No idea if they’ll hit it big, but rooting for them to not vanish like a mirage in the market, you know? MSI’s definitely on to something.
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There it is! Just a little patchwork of thoughts and impressions.
