MSI Cubi NUC AI+ 3MG Pack Panther Lake Power In A Half-Liter Mini PC

MSI is joining the modern NUC race and showing off one of the first Intel Panther Lake mini PCs of its kind at CES 2026. Meet the MSI Cubi NUC AI+ 3MG, the latest in MSI's Cubi NUC AI+ series, which you can outfit with up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 386H. That's is one of the highest-end Core Ultra Series 3 offerings, flaunting 16 cores and a 50 TOPS NPU that's well above the Windows Copilot+ requirements.

Given the lack of an "X" in the product names of the SoCs available, that means they're not using the full-fat Intel Arc/Arc Pro B390 iGPU, but the new entry-level Intel Graphics still utilize 4 Xe3-cores and hit 40 TOPS. MSI insists this allows for a total of up to 100 total TOPS with Intel's AI Boost, which is actually a bit above Intel's own spec.


As the naming of the MSI Cubi NUC AI+ implies, this isn't a gaming-centric mini PC like others we've seen; this system is instead aimed squarely at the professional and enterprise markets—though you could certainly finagle some gaming performance out of it via the Dual Thunderbolt 4 ports and an appropriate external GPU. Dual HDMI and dual Thunderbolt should make connecting up to 4 displays feasible. The other USB-C port is limited to USB 3.2 Gen 2, as is one of two front panel USB Type-A ports. Sadly, one of the front panel USB-A ports is limited to USB 2.0 speeds, but you've got to hook up a keyboard somewhere. The ample high-speed connectivity elsewhere does help make up for it.


Besides USB and Thunderbolt ports, there's also Dual 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet ports, support for VESA mounting, a fingerprint scanner, a Kensington lock, and full onboard Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 support. The wireless technologies can be downgraded to Wi-Fi 6E or Bluetooth 5.3 if you opt for the cheapest-possible model, but those are still quite reasonable for modern use cases.

Given the form factor, it's actually impressive that the machine has two DDR5 SO-DIMM slots, as well as an M.2-2280 slot for SSDs. The RAM slots support up to 32 GB of DDR5 RAM, but the final RAM/storage speed specifications are currently unconfirmed. Based on Intel's Panther Lake specifications, we might see speeds of up to DDR5-7200 MT/s, though. The full dimensions of the device come in at 119.6 x 115.2 x 37.50 millimeters (or 4.71 x 4.54 x 1.48 inches) for a volume of 0.51 liters; MSI hasn't disclosed full pricing/release information.

Image Credit: MSI