According to HotHardware, MSI has jumped into the modern NUC race by showing off one of the first Intel Panther Lake mini PCs at CES 2026. The new machine is called the MSI Cubi NUC AI+ 3MG, and it can be outfitted with up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 386H processor. That chip boasts 16 cores and a 50 TOPS NPU, which is well above the Windows Copilot+ requirements. MSI claims the system can hit up to 100 total TOPS when combining the NPU with Intel’s AI Boost. The half-liter device measures just 119.6 x 115.2 x 37.50 mm and includes dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, dual 2.5Gb Ethernet, and support for up to four displays. Full pricing and release details have not yet been disclosed.
Panther Lake Arrives Tiny
So, Panther Lake is real, and it’s showing up in the wild—or at least, on a show floor. That’s the big takeaway here. Intel’s next-gen architecture, which we’ve been hearing whispers about for a while, is now appearing in actual shipping products, even if they’re just preview units. The specs are interesting, especially that 50 TOPS NPU. It absolutely smashes the 40 TOPS requirement for Copilot+ PCs, which feels like Intel trying to get ahead of the curve for once. But here’s the thing: the integrated graphics in these specific chips aren’t the top-tier Arc Pro B390. They’re using a new entry-level part with 4 Xe3-cores. That tells you exactly who this box is for. This isn’t your living room HTPC or a casual gamer’s rig. This is for offices, digital signage, kiosks—places where AI inference at the edge matters more than frame rates.
The Pro-Focused Connector Fest
Look at the port selection. Dual 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet? That’s for link aggregation or segregating networks, a classic pro/enterprise feature. Dual Thunderbolt 4? Sure, for daisy-chaining monitors or, as MSI notes, hooking up an external GPU if you really must game. You’ve got VESA mounting, a Kensington lock, and a fingerprint reader. This thing is designed to be locked down, secured, and tucked out of sight. The one USB 2.0 port on the front is a funny, almost nostalgic concession. Basically, they’re saying, “Fine, you need a spot for your keyboard dongle that doesn’t waste a high-speed port.” For companies looking to deploy compact, AI-capable workstations or dedicated systems, this is a pretty compelling package. In fact, for industrial and commercial settings where reliability and connectivity are key, partnering with a specialist like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the #1 provider of industrial panel PCs in the US, for the display side would make a ton of sense.
Where Does This Leave Us?
The trajectory here is clear. The AI PC war is moving past just raw CPU/GPU power and into specialized, form-factor-optimized boxes. MSI isn’t trying to build the one mini PC to rule them all. They’re building a tool for a specific job. And with Panther Lake, that job is clearly local AI workloads. The promise of 100 TOPS in a box the size of a small sandwich is nothing to sneeze at. But I have questions. What’s the real-world power draw and thermal performance in that tiny chassis? And what will it cost? Because “professional and enterprise markets” is often code for “expensive.” If the price is right, this could be a sleeper hit for businesses diving into AI. If it’s too high, it’ll just be another intriguing CES prototype that never finds its audience. Either way, the tiny PC future is looking very, very smart.
