MSI Cubi 5 12M: New mini-PC comes with 0.7L chassis & Intel Alder Lake-U processors

MSI has presented the Cubi 5 12M, a mini-PC series based on Intel Alder Lake processors. While Intel has now moved onto its Raptor Lake architecture, new Cubi 5 12M models should deliver significantly better performance than their Comet Lake-powered predecessors. According to MSI's website, the new Cubi 5 12M series ships with Alder Lake-U series processors, unsurprising considering its 0.7-litre and 124 x 124 x 53.7 mm chassis.

Specifically, the Cubi 5 12M will be available with the Core i3-1215U, Core i5-1235U or the Core i7-1255U, a comparison between which you can find on our benchmark database. In short, little separates the Core i5-1235U and Core i7-1255U, but there is approximately a 15% performance gap between the latter and the Core i3-1215U. Additionally, MSI promises that the Cubi 5 12M will be configurable with up to 64 GB of DDR4-2666 or DDR4-3200 RAM, which will populate two SO-DIMM slots. All Cubi 5 12M configurations have M.2 and 2.5-inch slots for storage, plus the following ports:

1x 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet (RTL8125BG-CG)
1x 3.5 mm jack
1x DisplayPort
1x Gigabit Ethernet (RTL8111H)
1x HDMI
1x Thunderbolt 4
3x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A

The Cubi 5 12M will be configurable with a choice of three Intel wireless modules too that will provide up to Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 6E connectivity. It is also worth noting that all configurations are actively cooled, much like the recent XPS 13 (9315) that also relies on Alder Lake-U series processors. MSI has not revealed pricing or availability yet; we suspect both will arrive later this year, with CES 2023 serving as an introduction for the new Cubi 5 12M.