MSI Cubi 5 Business 2025, Core i5-1235U, 16GB, 1TB SSD, Black

The MSI Cubi 5 is a tiny business desktop with a 1TB SSD, 16GB RAM, and dual Ethernet. It's great for office work but scores a 10.1 out of 100 for gaming, so don't even think about it. At $979 USD, it's a niche buy for people who need the small size and business features.

The Core i5-1235U is a 10-core chip that handles spreadsheets, video calls, and a dozen browser tabs without breaking a sweat. Our database puts the CPU at the 31st percentile, which sounds rough until you remember this thing sips power and fits in a lunchbox. The 16GB of DDR4 RAM sits at the 32nd percentile, fine for office multitasking but nothing to write home about. Storage is a 1TB NVMe SSD at the 57th percentile, so boot times and file transfers feel snappy. The weak link is the integrated Intel UHD graphics, landing at the 37th percentile. It'll push a 4K display for productivity, but gaming is a 10.1 out of 100 in our scoring. That's not a typo. This thing runs Solitaire and not much else.

Stacked against the Apple Mac Studio M3 Ultra, this thing looks like a calculator. But that's an unfair fight, the Mac Studio costs several times more and targets creative pros. The Lenovo Legion Tower 5a and HP OMEN GT16 are gaming desktops that crush the Cubi 5 in GPU performance but take up ten times the space. The ASUS ROG GM700 and CLX SET are also gaming-focused towers. The Cubi 5's real competition is other mini PCs, and against those, it holds its own with solid port selection and business-friendly features like dual Ethernet. Just know that every competitor listed here beats it on raw speed.

Here's the thing. $979 USD for a mini PC with these specs is a tough sell when you can get a traditional desktop with more power for less money. But you're not buying this for raw performance. You're buying it because it's small, quiet, and has dual LAN ports for niche business setups. The 1TB SSD and 16GB of RAM are decent, but the CPU and GPU scores drag the overall value down. If you need the form factor, it's fine. If you don't, keep looking.

The MSI Cubi 5 is a tiny desktop aimed at offices and cubicles, not gaming rigs. It packs a 12th gen Core i5, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD into a box you can hide behind a monitor. The seller here has cracked it open, upgraded the parts, and resealed it, which is why it's labeled as a professional upgrade.

At $979 USD, this is a business machine through and through. It's got Windows 11 Pro, dual Ethernet ports, Thunderbolt 4, and enough USB ports to make a docking station jealous. Just don't expect it to do anything graphically demanding.

Gamers, video editors, 3D modelers, and anyone who needs a dedicated GPU should skip this entirely. The integrated Intel UHD graphics score a 10.1 out of 100 for gaming in our database, which is one of the worst results we've seen. If you need to run CAD software, edit 4K video, or play anything beyond browser games, buy a tower with a real graphics card instead.

Buy this if you need a compact Windows 11 Pro machine for office work, point-of-sale, or a home lab. The dual Ethernet ports are genuinely useful for networking nerds, and the Thunderbolt 4 port adds flexibility. It's quiet, small, and gets the job done for everyday tasks. If you're a gamer, a video editor, or anyone who needs real GPU power, this is not your machine.