So Cubi 2 Plus vPro barebones costs under $300 with Intel Core i5-6500T? It looks like it's blowing any barebones NUC out of the water. Am I missing something? NUC5i5RYKis ~$350 on Amazon.
It sounds like 'barebones' in this case means it doesn't come with the CPU. The final page of the review says "In the North American market, MSI plans to offer only the barebones version (no CPU / hard drive / memory)."
So, unlike a NUC, it sounds like you have to supply the CPU.
"In the North American market, MSI plans to offer only the barebones version (no CPU / hard drive / memory). The Cubi 2 Plus will be sold to the channels and have an approximate MSRP of $210 with a 2-year warranty. The vPro model will be a build-to-order one, priced at (from) $270 with a 2-year warranty. "
Typically a 'barebones' system means chassis, motherboard, integrated WiFi and power supply only. If the 6500T is $247 alone, the whole unit plus CPU won't be $270 for sure. The unit as tested was $683, so $270 for the barebones, $247 for CPU, some for 2x8GB SO-DIMM and some for 250GB SSD, comes to $683 total.
For volume sales, the vPro model is most likely going to be sold through system integrators who will kit the units out as per the customer specifications and provide a support package on top.
The 90W rating is on the DC side; the draw from the wall will always be higher than the system consumption due to heat losses in the power supply. The 102W reading on the AC side means the system is probably consuming around 80-85W DC.
Thanks both of you. I'd neglected to take into account inefficiencies in the PSU. Still, that is cutting things a bit close. An inexpensive PSU running at 80-90% of its max rated output might not last very long under adverse conditions like say, sitting under a desk in a hot room on top of a shaggy carpet.
Well, I suspect no one is going to run Prime 95 + Furmark 24x7 on their PC :) It is just a check for how much the max. power consumption of the unit is going to be.
All of these devices are a let down to me, I want one yet it fails to meet my expectation every time. So many different Intel configurations exist that the market is flooded by products that barely differ outside of the case. Why do none of these manufacturers team up and offer a better alternative to the Intel GPU even in the larger more accommodating products?
I guess what I have to ask is if I want something like this with the ability to game, is AMD really ahead of the competition or will they be with an improved CPU/GPU combo?
I guess the biggest issue is about what you consider "game ready". To you it may mean the equivalent of a GTX 980 ti or even a dual AMD Fury or about 300 Watts of TDP.
Others are happy enough with the on-board GPU or would love to see an AMD Nano (175 Watts) matched to this form factor.
This large range of TDP cannot be solved with a single physical design in this form factor and the result is loss of economy of scale, which is what these systems are mostly about: Selling large volumes.
And that unfortunately means that the TDP is pretty much set in stone and either excludes an external GPU or uses one so weak, it doesn't do any better than what an APU or Intel HD graphics can deliver by themselves.
AMD is ahead only in terms of the openness of their platform, of where they could go theoretically as proven out by the PS4 and Xbox 2 designs.
In that theory someone could go and have AMD design a custom SoC a couple of notches above the likes of a PS4, using either 16 GB GDDR5 for OS and graphics or even 16GB of HBM2, 8 juicy CPU cores (4GHz class) and Fury class graphics with a combined TDP of 200 Watts and cooled by something really massive and slow moving.
At the space and weight equivalent of a gallon of milk you could have a gaming PC, that's even portable (thanks to the handle on that milk bottle) from room to room or party to party.
Better yet, I'd like to be able to stack two, four (or eight?) of these together, to build an even larger NUMA/SLI rig.
PCs are still designed far too CPU centric, even if GPUs have long since taken over a much larger part of the silicon real-estate and the value creation.
Let's move what's left of the PC onto the GPU board (or SoC) and turn the motherboard into a passive backplane with slot form factor sockets for additional (2-4/8) APUs.
And make the memory system GPU centric with the CPU being allowed to use some of that to bootstrap the games (or even run Excel/SAP during business hours).
AMD could execute that vision, if somebody were to provide the required cash up front. The result would be an open PC, which unfortunately means that recovering the invest could be much more difficult than it already is on locked-in systems like the PS4 or the Xbox.
I have pinged MSI, but they have neither confirmed nor denied plans for a Skylake Cubi-mini. We will probably know more at Computex. If it is not shown at Computex, I think it will not be coming.
Sorry, only thing missing imho in the article photos is where is the hdd if you want to put one ?
I would guess on the bottom as there seems to be room for it.
Asus competition the vc65 / VC65R has at least 2 2.5 hdd slots , 4 in some VC65R versions, and an optical drive (but have no M2)
MSI cubi broadwell small factors had the option to have msata plus 2.5 drive, and it seems to me that the bottom would be removable in the 2 plus version also, in order to choose between a smaller form factor and more ports, but now it only seems that is a differentator between normal and pro version.
Otherwise, still waiting to see how MSI will sell them in europe : for now only ref is MSI Cubi 2 Plus-B3610T4GXXDXX Intel Core i3-6100T 2x 3.20 GHz, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD, no OS and I do not know whether the ssd is in M2 factor or 2.5. Street price is around 500 euros vat included (400 USD equivalent).
The nice thing with selling them barebones is the flexibility, the less nice one is that T processors are less easy to find than standard cpus (55-65W).
It is is one of the teardown gallery photos, where the removable bottom part is shown separately, and there is a rectangular 'hole' corresponding to where the 2.5" drive is mounted. The 'proprietary' cable to connect the drive to the main board on the bigger segment is supplied along with the unit (you can see it in the package photo on the right side)
PC Configurations looking very attractive and modern and at the same time Price is so affordable. Although they are offering the best price for this kind of product but users will also pointing out towards it. I think that is not fair.
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close - Wednesday, April 27, 2016 - link
So Cubi 2 Plus vPro barebones costs under $300 with Intel Core i5-6500T? It looks like it's blowing any barebones NUC out of the water. Am I missing something?NUC5i5RYKis ~$350 on Amazon.
cfenton - Wednesday, April 27, 2016 - link
It sounds like 'barebones' in this case means it doesn't come with the CPU. The final page of the review says "In the North American market, MSI plans to offer only the barebones version (no CPU / hard drive / memory)."So, unlike a NUC, it sounds like you have to supply the CPU.
Ratman6161 - Wednesday, April 27, 2016 - link
On their previous models the CPU was included and I assume the same will be true with these (as is typical in this form factor). See: https://us.msi.com/product/barebone/Cubi-Mini-PC-K...ganeshts - Wednesday, April 27, 2016 - link
No, CPU is not included in the $210 / $270 cost.The difference is that this is a socketed system, while the Cubi-Mini uses BGA processors (Broadwell-U) that are soldered.
Think of the Cubi 2 Plus vPro as a motherboard + chassis + power supply combo.
close - Thursday, April 28, 2016 - link
Ok, I get it now. So add $250 for the CPU (if you want the vPro).Ethos Evoss - Friday, April 29, 2016 - link
that's bullsht mini pc's always must come with cpu ..Ian Cutress - Wednesday, April 27, 2016 - link
From the final page:Final Page:
"In the North American market, MSI plans to offer only the barebones version (no CPU / hard drive / memory). The Cubi 2 Plus will be sold to the channels and have an approximate MSRP of $210 with a 2-year warranty. The vPro model will be a build-to-order one, priced at (from) $270 with a 2-year warranty. "
Typically a 'barebones' system means chassis, motherboard, integrated WiFi and power supply only. If the 6500T is $247 alone, the whole unit plus CPU won't be $270 for sure. The unit as tested was $683, so $270 for the barebones, $247 for CPU, some for 2x8GB SO-DIMM and some for 250GB SSD, comes to $683 total.
For volume sales, the vPro model is most likely going to be sold through system integrators who will kit the units out as per the customer specifications and provide a support package on top.
close - Thursday, April 28, 2016 - link
I missed the "No CPU" part. It sounded like a killer deal with basically a $250 CPU that comes bundled with free MoBo , case and PSU :D.Ethos Evoss - Friday, April 29, 2016 - link
I have Msi Cubi celeron 128gb 8gb and am happy.. just for 250$BrokenCrayons - Wednesday, April 27, 2016 - link
The load power consumption is rather high. Isn't the PSU only rated at 90W?ganeshts - Wednesday, April 27, 2016 - link
Yes, but I have seen that type of behavior (load power higher than PSU rating) in some of the other mini-PCs that we have evaluated before.KateH - Wednesday, April 27, 2016 - link
The 90W rating is on the DC side; the draw from the wall will always be higher than the system consumption due to heat losses in the power supply. The 102W reading on the AC side means the system is probably consuming around 80-85W DC.BrokenCrayons - Thursday, April 28, 2016 - link
Thanks both of you. I'd neglected to take into account inefficiencies in the PSU. Still, that is cutting things a bit close. An inexpensive PSU running at 80-90% of its max rated output might not last very long under adverse conditions like say, sitting under a desk in a hot room on top of a shaggy carpet.ganeshts - Thursday, April 28, 2016 - link
Well, I suspect no one is going to run Prime 95 + Furmark 24x7 on their PC :) It is just a check for how much the max. power consumption of the unit is going to be.HomeworldFound - Wednesday, April 27, 2016 - link
All of these devices are a let down to me, I want one yet it fails to meet my expectation every time. So many different Intel configurations exist that the market is flooded by products that barely differ outside of the case. Why do none of these manufacturers team up and offer a better alternative to the Intel GPU even in the larger more accommodating products?I guess what I have to ask is if I want something like this with the ability to game, is AMD really ahead of the competition or will they be with an improved CPU/GPU combo?
abufrejoval - Saturday, April 30, 2016 - link
I guess the biggest issue is about what you consider "game ready". To you it may mean the equivalent of a GTX 980 ti or even a dual AMD Fury or about 300 Watts of TDP.Others are happy enough with the on-board GPU or would love to see an AMD Nano (175 Watts) matched to this form factor.
This large range of TDP cannot be solved with a single physical design in this form factor and the result is loss of economy of scale, which is what these systems are mostly about: Selling large volumes.
And that unfortunately means that the TDP is pretty much set in stone and either excludes an external GPU or uses one so weak, it doesn't do any better than what an APU or Intel HD graphics can deliver by themselves.
AMD is ahead only in terms of the openness of their platform, of where they could go theoretically as proven out by the PS4 and Xbox 2 designs.
In that theory someone could go and have AMD design a custom SoC a couple of notches above the likes of a PS4, using either 16 GB GDDR5 for OS and graphics or even 16GB of HBM2, 8 juicy CPU cores (4GHz class) and Fury class graphics with a combined TDP of 200 Watts and cooled by something really massive and slow moving.
At the space and weight equivalent of a gallon of milk you could have a gaming PC, that's even portable (thanks to the handle on that milk bottle) from room to room or party to party.
Better yet, I'd like to be able to stack two, four (or eight?) of these together, to build an even larger NUMA/SLI rig.
PCs are still designed far too CPU centric, even if GPUs have long since taken over a much larger part of the silicon real-estate and the value creation.
Let's move what's left of the PC onto the GPU board (or SoC) and turn the motherboard into a passive backplane with slot form factor sockets for additional (2-4/8) APUs.
And make the memory system GPU centric with the CPU being allowed to use some of that to bootstrap the games (or even run Excel/SAP during business hours).
AMD could execute that vision, if somebody were to provide the required cash up front. The result would be an open PC, which unfortunately means that recovering the invest could be much more difficult than it already is on locked-in systems like the PS4 or the Xbox.
RayRoy - Thursday, April 28, 2016 - link
Will there be a Skylake U model in the original Cubi size?ganeshts - Thursday, April 28, 2016 - link
I have pinged MSI, but they have neither confirmed nor denied plans for a Skylake Cubi-mini. We will probably know more at Computex. If it is not shown at Computex, I think it will not be coming.potf - Thursday, April 28, 2016 - link
Sorry, only thing missing imho in the article photos is where is the hdd if you want to put one ?I would guess on the bottom as there seems to be room for it.
Asus competition the vc65 / VC65R has at least 2 2.5 hdd slots , 4 in some VC65R versions, and an optical drive (but have no M2)
MSI cubi broadwell small factors had the option to have msata plus 2.5 drive, and it seems to me that the bottom would be removable in the 2 plus version also, in order to choose between a smaller form factor and more ports, but now it only seems that is a differentator between normal and pro version.
Otherwise, still waiting to see how MSI will sell them in europe : for now only ref is MSI Cubi 2 Plus-B3610T4GXXDXX Intel Core i3-6100T 2x 3.20 GHz, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD, no OS and I do not know whether the ssd is in M2 factor or 2.5. Street price is around 500 euros vat included (400 USD equivalent).
The nice thing with selling them barebones is the flexibility, the less nice one is that T processors are less easy to find than standard cpus (55-65W).
ganeshts - Thursday, April 28, 2016 - link
It is is one of the teardown gallery photos, where the removable bottom part is shown separately, and there is a rectangular 'hole' corresponding to where the 2.5" drive is mounted. The 'proprietary' cable to connect the drive to the main board on the bigger segment is supplied along with the unit (you can see it in the package photo on the right side)cara smith - Friday, May 6, 2016 - link
PC Configurations looking very attractive and modern and at the same time Price is so affordable. Although they are offering the best price for this kind of product but users will also pointing out towards it. I think that is not fair.torp - Wednesday, May 11, 2016 - link
Hmm is there ANY mini pc like this that has the power supply built in?I hate managing power bricks on the floor...
jwinter - Tuesday, May 24, 2016 - link
sdfsafRealvn - Friday, May 27, 2016 - link
Sorry but i dont think ecs liva one is m-stx, it must be thin itx at it's sizehttp://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/7566/ecs-liva-one...