MSI Cubi 2 Plus vPro Skylake mini-STX PC Review

Miscellaneous Aspects and Final Words

The MSI Cubi 2 Plus vPro gave us an opportunity to look at yet another implementation of the mini-STX form factor after reviewing the ECS LIVA One. It is interesting to see the approach taken by the two companies, particularly in terms of hardware components and available features. MSI must be lauded for integrating Intel NICs in both versions of the Cubi 2 Plus. ECS uses a Realtek NIC in the LIVA One. The integration of DDR4 SODIMM slots by MSI also enables the Cubi 2 Plus (Core i3-6100T model) to score better in the benchmarks against the LIVA One with the same processor. However, ECS integrated a USB 3.1 Gen 2 bridge (ASMedia ASM1142) to provide consumers with a 10 Gbps Type-C port in the LIVA One. The Type-C port in the Cubi 2 Plus is only Gen 1 (5 Gbps).

We have looked at two different systems in the review today. The MSI Cubi 2 Plus is meant for the average consumer, while the Cubi 2 Plus vPro is meant for business users / enterprises planning to purchase multiple PCs together. Accordingly, MSI's marketing approach is also going to be different for the two systems.

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 $270 with a 2-year warranty.

Built-to-order systems can incorporate additional thermal protection for the storage and WLAN components similar to what we got in our first Cubi 2 Plus sample

Coming to the business end of the review, we would like MSI to integrate more USB 3.0 ports on the chassis instead of USB 2.0 ports. As mentioned before in this section, the Type-C port could have used a USB 3.1 Gen 2 bridge chip behind it. The SD card reader could have been behind a USB 2.0 bridge instead of occupying a PCIe lane, particularly considering the fact that it doesn't support UHS-II cards at full speed. The power inlet positioning and adapter output design are a bit tricky to insert fully in the first attempt. However, once installed, this is not much of an issue.

The sizing of the chassis means that only T-series processors can be used. Unfortunately, these processors carry a premium compared to the corresponding full-wattage CPUs. The mini-STX form factor has advantages (small size) and disadvantages (no cutomization possible beyond choice of CPU). We won't go into the details here, but, suffice to say that it is a bit more open to customization compared to the NUCs.

On the positive side, the Cubi 2 Plus has a good industrial design that is aesthetic. The look and feel are solid despite the usage of a plastic chassis. The USB 2.0 port on the top panel is very welcome, though, if we were to nit-pick, having two USB 3.0 ports instead of a single 2.0 port (similar to contemporary computer cases for DIY builds) could offer more benefits. The choice of I/Os in the two models is dictated by the target market. In either case, the design is compact and relatively silent - perfect for office environments and use-cases where a little fan noise is not a big deal. The vPro capability of the Q170 chipset is ideal for small businesses and the H110 chipset enables low cost PCs with socketed CPUs. MSI has put these two chipsets to use in the mini-STX form factor to deliver an effective solution targeting multiple market segments.