Compact Powerhouse: Unpacking the Performance of the MSI Cube 5 12M Mini PC

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Key Takeaways

The MSI Cube 5 12M is a compact PC that offers space savings and can be mounted on the back of a monitor, cutting down on cables.
The compact form factor of the MSI Cube 5 12M allows for easy mounting and includes a variety of ports, including dual LAN ports.
While the MSI Cube 5 12M performs well for everyday computing tasks, it lacks a discrete graphics card for more complex tasks like graphic design and video editing. Upgrading the RAM and SSD is possible.

There are many good reasons for wanting to own a compact PC. The most obvious, of course, is the space savings. In fact, compact PCs are often mountable to the back of a monitor for zero desktop footprint. Combined with robust wireless capabilities, you can not only gain serious desktop space but also cut down on cables.

Performance-wise, many of these compact PCs can more than hold their own for everyday computing tasks. The MSI Cube 5 12M mini PC is a mid-tier compact computer offering solid specifications and a well-thought-out form factor.

Does the MSI Cube 5 12M’s combination of size and performance make for a worthy purchase? Let’s find out.

MSI Cube 5 12M mini PC

7/ 10

The MSI Cube 5 12M mini PC can handle everyday computing tasks and takes up minimal desk space.

Brand

MSI

Storage

512GB SSD (M.2 SSD (NVMe PCIe Gen4 x4 / SATA auto switch)

CPU

Intel Core i7-1255U 1.7GHz

Memory

16GB (8GB x2) RAM (DDR4 2666 / 3200MHz SO-DIMMs)

Operating System

Windows 11 Professional

Ports

USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A (x4), ThunderBolt 4 USB Type-C, HDMI 2.0b, DisplayPort 1.4, RJ45 (x2), 3.5mm

Graphics

Intel Iris XE Graphics

Dimensions

4.88 x 4.88 x 2.11 inches

Weight

1.2 pounds

Wireless

802.11 AX (WiFi 6E) and BlueTooth 5.3

Pros

Good everyday desktop performance
Latest wireless and dual-LAN ports
Compact and mountable
Easy to open and upgrade

Cons

Slow SSD
Only one USB-C port
Can’t be powered over USB
No dedicated GPU

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Form Factor

Joe Robinson / How-To Geek

The MSI Cube 5 12M measures just 4.88 x 4.88 x 2.11 inches and weighs roughly 1.2 pounds. The included 65W AC adapter is about a quarter of the size of the PC. The computer is so compact that it comes with a VESA mounting plate and screws to attach it to the back of a compatible monitor or other display. Of course, when mounting, you’ll want to make sure the power button is accessible, but it’s a neat concept that’s really only possible with a computing device this small and light.

The computer is all black save for a white MSI letter logo on the top of the case. On the front of the unit is the combination 3.5mm mic-in and headphone-out jack, two USB 2.3 Gen 2 Type-A ports, one ThunderBolt 4 USB Type-C port, a blue SSD activity indicator light, and a power button. By default, the power button performs the shutdown function from Windows and also flashes when the computer is in a sleep state.

The rear of the unit has one HDMI 2.0b port, one DisplayPort 1.4 port, one RJ45 2.5G LAN port, one RJ45 1G LAN port, two more USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, and one DC power jack. In short, there are plenty of ports, including the surprising bonus of dual LAN ports, which make this an easy platform to connect multiple devices to without the need for additional adapters.

Air vents are located on all sides of the device, save for the front. On the right side of the unit is a Kensington Lock slot for a standard security cable lock.

While there are four USB-A ports, it would have been nice to have more than one USB-C port. I would have also liked the ability to power the computer from USB-C, for instance with a monitor like the INNOCN Ultrawide 40-Inch 40C1R , which provides 90W of output along with video and audio. The included 65W AC adapter is reasonably compact, but it’s still an extra plug, particularly when mounting the computer on the back of a display.

Hardware and Software

Joe Robinson / How-To Geek

The key technical specifications for the MSI Cube 5 12M are an Intel Core i7-1255U 1.7GHz CPU, which was first available in early 2022, 16GB of DDR 4 2666 / 23200MHz RAM from two 8GB memory chips, a 512GB M.2 SSD, and 802.11AX and Bluetooth 5.3 wireless. Along with the use of Windows 11 Professional as the operating system and its plethora of ports, this is a surprisingly capable, compact workstation.

The 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage are good minimums for a compact PC workstation, but the MSI Cube 5 12M is designed to be upgraded when needed. Removing four screws from the rubber feet on the bottom of the unit gives you easy access to the internals.

The main performance bottleneck with a PC like this is its lack of a discrete graphics card, or GPU. No dedicated GPU means you’re limited in the complexity of graphic design and video editing tasks you can complete and in the types of games you can play. On the other hand, a system with this type of processor and RAM can easily handle web browsing, basic graphic design and video editing, simpler or older 3D games, and general productivity tasks like document or spreadsheet creation and editing.

Although a 4K display has a lot of pixels to push and is overkill for most users, this computer should still perform well for the typical applications you’d use, even at a higher resolution or across multiple displays. As such, I decided to use this compact PC’s sole front-mounted ThunderBolt 4 USB-C port to connect to an AVA WirelessHD portable monitor ‘s ThunderBolt 3 USB-C port for video and audio. The display was set to a 3840 x 2160 resolution, 8-bit RGB color depth, and 59.98Hz refresh rate. Windows scale was set to 150% so that text would be more readable on the 15.6-inch display. Touchscreen features were also automatically enabled.

Fan noise was minimal, even under heavy load, with the case feeling only slightly warm to the touch. Overall, noise and heat were regulated much better than you’d find in a typical laptop or performance desktop.

Besides MSI Center and Norton 360 , no other apps were included—beyond what comes stock with Windows 11 Pro. MSI Center provides backup functionality, hardware monitoring, and the ability to optimize for various use cases, like with Smart Priority for creative applications. Norton 360 is the usual 60-day trial and includes device security, cloud backup, and secure VPN.

Performance Tests

Joe Robinson / How-To Geek

As expected with a computer with these specifications, I had no issue browsing the web, watching full-screen YouTube videos in 4K, using Microsoft 365 apps like Word and Excel, and using Adobe Creative Cloud apps like Photoshop. Gaming-wise, this system is really only good for 2D, or older, less 3D-intensive games. For instance, I had no trouble smoothly running a wildly popular game from late 2016 that’s still receiving regular updates, “Sid Meier’s Civilization VI “, using DirectX 12 at a 4K resolution of 3840 x 2160. This form factor is also popular for those who like to emulate older consoles and computers, as those tend to rely more on CPU power than graphics processing power.

Subjectively, the MSI Cube 5 12M did a great job with common computing tasks. However, running four objective benchmarks does show some of the more practical limitations of this system’s overall performance. These performance tests were performed with default, out-of-the-box settings and the latest drivers installed. As usual, additional settings tweaks can affect performance one way or the other, although these are typically more modest effects for a non-gaming computer like this one.

PC Mark 10 Extended is a roughly 30-minute benchmark that provides a more complete assessment of system performance based on typical office tasks like web browsing, video conferencing, app start-up, writing, spreadsheet work, photo and video editing, and more. Although the graphics card was marked as not recognized and labeled as “generic VGA(1x),” the benchmark produced a final score of 3,961, which was better than 20% of all results. That’s only slightly better than an office laptop from 2020, which averaged 3,916, and well below a gaming laptop from 2020, which averaged 5,773.

Geekbench 6.1.0 for Windows AVX2 measures CPU performance for everyday tasks using tests that model real-world applications. It does the same for GPU performance. The CPU benchmark gave a single-core score of 2,073, equivalent to an AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz (6 cores), a desktop CPU from late 2020, and a multi-core score of 5,865, similar to the performance of an AMD Ryzen 7 1800X 3.6 GHz (6 cores), a workstation CPU from early 2017. The GPU benchmark using the OpenCL API gave a score of 9,759, which ranked just slightly above the ATI Radeon Pro 450 Computer Engine, a mobile graphics chip from late 2016.

PC UserBenchmark tests across a variety of performance results, determining actual performance versus expectations. Overall, PC performance ranked in the 56th percentile. The processor ranked in the 51st percentile, graphics performance in the 65th percentile, and memory in the 88th percentile. Where the MSI Cube 5 12M fared the worst was with its SSD, performing way below expectations in just the 19th percentile, a result that can explain some of the poorer numbers in the other benchmarks.

For gaming performance, which measures average in-game FPS and is primarily influenced by the GPU, PC UserBenchmark rates the MSI Cube 5 12M as a “Surfboard” (15%), the second-poorest designation, just above “Tree trunk” (0%). For workstation performance, which focuses on audio/video encoding, number crunching, virtual machines, and databases, and requires strong multi-core CPU and GPU performance, the MSI Cube 5 12M also rated as a “Surfboard.” In desktop performance, which measures web browsing, office apps, and media playback, and is dependent upon single/quad-core CPU performance, the MSI Cube 5 12M was rated positively as a “Battleship” (70%), which is the fourth-best designation after third-ranked “Aircraft Carrier” (80%).

Cinebench R23 , which uses a 3D engine to evaluate CPU rendering performance capabilities, gave the MSI Cube 5 12M a CPU (multi-core) score of 5,756 points, placing it above the 2.81 GHz, 11th Gen Intel Core i7-1165G7 at 28W, which had a score of 4,904, and below the 4.2 GHz Intel Core i7-7700K, which had a score of 6,302. In CPU (single-core), the score was 1,529, which was a close second to the first place 2.81 GHz, 11 Gen Intel Core i7-1165G7 at 28W, which scored 1,532.

Should You Buy the MSI Cube 5 12M mini PC?

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Joe Robinson / How-To Geek

Even though this is not a budget product, If you want a PC that saves space and is transportable rather than portable, the MSI Cube 5 12M is less than the price of a laptop with equivalent specifications. You’ll also take up less desk space and generally do better with fan noise over a similarly-spec laptop.

Overall performance of the MSI Cube 5 12M is solid, but there are some bottlenecks. Although the computer can easily drive a 4K display for everyday tasks, graphics-intensive video editing and 3D-centric gaming are not something a system like this is designed for. The processor and RAM are performance-oriented, but the SSD is on the slower side. Fortunately, if the time comes to add more memory or a larger and faster SSD, it’s an easy system to upgrade.

If you’re in a position where you need a compact PC and primarily want a solid system for web browsing, office apps, and media playback, the MSI Cube 5 12M makes a strong case. If you already have a display, keyboard, and mouse, you can save even more money over an equivalent laptop. Just keep in mind the potential limitations and if a lower priced desktop PC with equivalent performance, but one that happens to take up more desk space, can serve the same function.

MSI Cube 5 12M

7/ 10

The MSI Cube 5 12M mini PC can handle everyday computing tasks and takes up minimal desk space.

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Compact Powerhouse: Unpacking the Performance of the MSI Cube 5 12M Mini PC