Cube Mix Plus review (in progress)

[Xiaoh123]

Hi everyone, after some tweaking and modding, I have been able to test a fully set up Cube Mix Plus, here’s my review.

Externals :

Nice build quality, sturdy, no fabrication defects, assembly is good. Front side is classic but elegant, with a white glossy bezel, some say it’s huge but if you happen to have big hands and/or like to put thumbs there, they are preventing from touching the screen and triggering some Windows moves, so it seems adequate in size. Screen, however not laminated, has a very little gap, unfortunately there are a few spots of blacklighting bleed around the screen but not that bad, and screen quality is very nice, it feels as good as my previous x98 Pro screen (despite being only 1080p) in terms of colors. Unfortunately my sample has a very little defect on the screen, I’d say it’s something between screen and window like glue… It’s however not really perceptible and I noticed it only when cleaning the screen before applying a tempered glass protection. Since I don’t have a Wacom stylus I couldn’t test the writing function but there’s a Wacom device in Device Manager (though displaying a powerup error, probably does when no stylus is connected). I didn’t test the front facing camera but it’s not a feature I plan on using, and it seems to have a driver issue (can be updated but Windows states that it can’t be started, so..), and the Windows home button works just fine.

Back also feels like quality, with a single piece of plastic on the top for the antennas, and the integration is good. The back camera is decent, but it was also not a priority for me since I have other devices for photos/videoconference/films. Finally the sides are really nice, buttons are metal and respond well, and the reset pinhole is a nice touch. Both speakers are on the right side, that’s probably the biggest downside for the externals of this tablet, so listening will be better on headphones..

To end this external overview, a word on the ports, which are well integrated. I had no problems sticking jack, microSD, USB-C, micro USB 3 and power input. So far I tested successfully a combo-jack headset and sound as-well as mic quality are very good, transfer speeds on microSD seemed correct but my cards are not the fastest so I won’t state any speed capacity. The micro USB 3 port worked fine with many devices (mouse, kb, usb external drive, some usb thumbdrives) but it didn’t work with one of my USB 3 thumbdrive, I don’t know why. USB-C port is working very well, I could get it to charge from my Nexus 5X charger and from a computer with an A to C cable. It’s also capable of handling a hub (mine’s 3 USB-A 3.0 + RJ45 to USB-C) with good transfer speeds and Ethernet over USB support. Of note, I saw (and enabled) options for USB-C support in the BIOS, and also a Thunderbolt support alongside with a huge list of options, but this I didn’t activate since I don’t own any TB device.

I won’t say anything about the Pogo port and the docking function since I don’t have any keyboard, maybe I’ll come to it later but I wanted a tablet over a small PC. This concludes the external review.

Internals :

Opening the tablet is very easy, start from the plastic part on the top side as recommended on our host reviews of i7 devices. It’s almost the same as i7 Book on the inside, major difference being the SSD capacity. Main components are still covered by an EM shield with 4 screws and the SoC still has a crappy piece of thermal pad on it, but it makes contact between cores and the shield. The results are (on my sample) temps going over 100°C just on heavy use (no gaming), but no throttling detected. Regarding this point, I saw in BIOS a thermal control setting put in manual and set at 110°C or so, so I guess this is the throttling point (note that this setting can be put to Auto to trigger throttling at lower temps, probably Intel’s recommendations). I personally chose to make a thermal mod on this tablet (see how there : https://techtablets.com/forum/topic/will-it-need-a-thermal-mod/, it’s very similar to Chris’ usual mods since I learned from him). Since, I got my temps down 25°C but now on heavy load the back and side-band become nearly burning, I guess it can have a very good impact on gaming and overclocking, but those I didn’t test. For normal use, the tablet is just a bit warm on the left side, nothing bad. Last point is RAM, it’s supposed to be running at 1866MHz but Intel XTU was displaying a 1600MHz speed and I couldn’t get it to go up, I tried to read speeds from CPU-Z and it said 931MHz (max, cause FSB:DRAM is dynamic on this) so I guess it’s OK and really sporting the 1866 speed. Concerning the RAM capacity, 4Gb are OK, maybe 8 would serve for demanding software/gaming, but I never felt any lack of memory during my personal use.

Windows and performance :

Setting a fresh install over the chinese release was easy peasy, going to BIOS is really simple from Windows (never tried with a kb from boot) and BIOS is well made, offering many options to tweak your device. What I will say regarding Windows install is in the “Boot” section : you have a boot override available there to boot from your installation device without messing with the boot order, and also a fast boot option (default disabled) that can speed up things. After installation, I was baffled by this tablet’s power compared to my last Atom tablet (being one of the most powerful, Z8500 on the x98 Pro) : I was able to install several things at the same time (Office, Acrobat, ESET Smart Security) and browse Explorer and Firefox without big lags or freezes, the whole thing was really smooth and it’s really a pleasure to go from Atom to Core M (I’d say it’s worth the price point). Once setup, everything is running very fast, I geekbenched at scores similar to many reviewers (3240, 5920). Later I’ll come back to this review to elaborate on day to day use but this tablet seems able to handle low and moderate load software perfectly.

For gaming, I just played Hearthstone for now (I’ll expand later with other tests), and it was running full-screen in High without a flinch, but it got the tablet really hot on the outside (temps maxed at 76°C).

I noted the possibility to enable Intel Ready Mode Technology and install the software component (and did it), and I set the power settings in Windows and in BIOS so now the tablet goes in “sleep mode” when idle or power button is pressed and only goes deep sleep/off when idle for long or shutdown from Windows. I find it nice to be able to wake the tablet at any moment in a few seconds.

 

There you go, I think this covered many (not all) aspects of both hardware and software for this amazing tablet. I know that it lacks performance review regarding software use (working and gaming) and also battery life (for now I’d say it is decent and can hold 4-5hrs of permanent use, more if tweaked correctly).

I give this tablet 9,5/10 :

• + : build quality, performance, display quality, USB-C port
• – : speakers on the same side, micro USB 3 port (a full-sized A port or a second C port would be better), some hardware bugs (front camera)

Don’t hesitate to ask for other points I skipped/missed and I’ll try to answer it. I also performed 2 Doubledriver backups, one on the chinese release and one on my fresh install after updating all drivers from Windows/manufacturers, so I can share. Sorry for my English.

Edit : I just saw that I could have posted this as a review in the Cube Mix Plus section of the website, feel free to paste this in the appropriate section, I stand with my review and note (9,5/10).

[Adrian]

Hi xioh,

I’m considering getting a chuwi /teclast/Cube tablet and your review has been really helpful so far. Thanks for the awesome review and the time you spent.

One of my main concerns is charging via external power bank as I travel extensively and need the portability. Been looking through many forums and reviews but havn’t seen anything specifically addressing this. I’m sure that many others would have the same question.

You mentioned that you got it working with your Google nexus 5x charger, that’s 5v/3a right?

On another thread, Chris also said that the hi13 would only charge with 12v/2a or greater than 2a.

Right now, is there any powerbank that you’ve been or would be able to test with the tablet that would work and what outputs does it support?

Specifically, I’m looking to be using a Xiaomi 1st gen 20000mah powerbank. With output 5v/2.1a. Which doesn’t seem to fit the specs.

https://www.amazon.com/Anker-PowerCore-Ultra-High-Capacity-Portable/dp/B014ZO46LK

Would this with a 5v/3a output work?

I’m afraid this question mainly stems from my lack of understanding of the usb PD standard.

I’m sorry if this question seems a little ridiculous but I’d really appreciate your input.

And maybe Chris though if you happen to come across this =)

[FUCKTECHTABLET]

Main reason to buy this tablet is the Wacom stylus. So with this price, it is the only choice and it is usable

Backlight bleed is the common issue.

Shutdown is unreliable, battery drain overnight from 100% to 20%  while the tablet is warming until the morning

 

FUCK FUCKTECHTABLET

[rafita82]

FUCKTECHTABLET wrote:

Main reason to buy this tablet is the Wacom stylus. So with this price, it is the only choice and it is usable

Backlight bleed is the common issue.

Shutdown is unreliable, battery drain overnight from 100% to 20% while the tablet is warming until the morning

I think you shouldn’t call it “common issue”. I have not any of the issues you mentioned. The blacklight bleed is a common issue in almost every device with the same type of screen in specific situations (in the darkness, with a lot of brightness you can see the backlight bleed). As I have read in other post, it seems to be a real issue “only” in your device, because nobody else has wrote to tell that he has also that issue.

I have read about the shutdown battery drain issue, but I have never experienced it. When I shutdown my Cube Mix Plus, it has the same battery level the day after.

In my opinion the Cube Mix Plus is more than only a Wacom tablet. Indeed I have no Stylus at all and I am very very happy with the tablet. I can do everything what I do with my laptop. For me the most important thing is that I can play my Steam-games when I am in the train to go to my work and to comeback home.

[rafita82]

Adrian wrote:

Hi xioh,

I’m considering getting a chuwi /teclast/Cube tablet and your review has been really helpful so far. Thanks for the awesome review and the time you spent.

One of my main concerns is charging via external power bank as I travel extensively and need the portability. Been looking through many forums and reviews but havn’t seen anything specifically addressing this. I’m sure that many others would have the same question.

You mentioned that you got it working with your Google nexus 5x charger, that’s 5v/3a right?

On another thread, Chris also said that the hi13 would only charge with 12v/2a or greater than 2a.

Right now, is there any powerbank that you’ve been or would be able to test with the tablet that would work and what outputs does it support?

Specifically, I’m looking to be using a Xiaomi 1st gen 20000mah powerbank. With output 5v/2.1a. Which doesn’t seem to fit the specs.

https://www.amazon.com/Anker-PowerCore-Ultra-High-Capacity-Portable/dp/B014ZO46LK

Would this with a 5v/3a output work?

I’m afraid this question mainly stems from my lack of understanding of the usb PD standard.

I’m sorry if this question seems a little ridiculous but I’d really appreciate your input.

And maybe Chris though if you happen to come across this =)

I am owner of a Cube Mix Plus (as you can read in the message before this) and I also own a powerbank which works really well with the tablet. Read the following thread and there I explain which one I own and the most important things about it. I hope it helps:

Accessories for cube i7 book (powerbanks, chargers, hdmi etc)

[stajerc]

hey xiaoh thanks for the nice writeup,

if your interested, ive put several pics of my thermal mod and the bios in the thread here https://techtablets.com/forum/topic/overclocking-after-thermal-mod/#post-65834

perhaps you h ave some more ideas suggestions what could b e improved more.

[FUCKTECHTABLET]

rafita82 wrote:

virgo wrote:

Main reason to buy this tablet is the Wacom stylus. So with this price, it is the only choice and it is usable Backlight bleed is the common issue. Shutdown is unreliable, battery drain overnight from 100% to 20% while the tablet is warming until the morning

I think you shouldn’t call it “common issue”. I have not any of the issues you mentioned. The blacklight bleed is a common issue in almost every device with the same type of screen in specific situations (in the darkness, with a lot of brightness you can see the backlight bleed). As I have read in other post, it seems to be a real issue “only” in your device, because nobody else has wrote to tell that he has also that issue.

Nice. So expecting a excellent replacement  screen from Cube to arrive

Thank you

FUCK FUCKTECHTABLET

[Nero]

I just unboxed it today.

i did a parallel importation alongside the cdk09 keyboard for cube i7.

well the keyboard is a bit disappointing since the mouse has a funny behavior.

anyone using the keyboard can share the experience

[rafita82]

Nero wrote:

I just unboxed it today.

i did a parallel importation alongside the cdk09 keyboard for cube i7.

well the keyboard is a bit disappointing since the mouse has a funny behavior.

anyone using the keyboard can share the experience

The trackpad of that keyboard is not the best… but the “funny behavior” can be “fixed”. The problem is that there are some windows gestures which are to easy to perform with that trackpad by mistake or without the intention to do that. But fortunately there are some solutions to avoid that behavior. You can find some of that solutions on that forum. I am using a script which disables the windows gestures at startup.

Actually I am very happy with the keyboard, even if the trackpad is not the best. Probably it should be even better for the price it has, but IMHO it was a good choice.

[Nero]

Thanks @rafita

rafita82 wrote:

Nero wrote:

I just unboxed it today. i did a parallel importation alongside the cdk09 keyboard for cube i7. well the keyboard is a bit disappointing since the mouse has a funny behavior. anyone using the keyboard can share the experience

The trackpad of that keyboard is not the best… but the “funny behavior” can be “fixed”. The problem is that there are some windows gestures which are to easy to perform with that trackpad by mistake or without the intention to do that. But fortunately there are some solutions to avoid that behavior. You can find some of that solutions on that forum. I am using a script which disables the windows gestures at startup. Actually I am very happy with the keyboard, even if the trackpad is not the best. Probably it should be even better for the price it has, but IMHO it was a good choice.

 

Hi, thanks for the reply. how can i disable the windows gesture. I just hate that behavior, where youll find yourself minimizing all apps..

[Stuart]

Xiaoh123 wrote:

Of note, I saw (and enabled) options for USB-C support in the BIOS, and also a Thunderbolt support alongside with a huge list of options, but this I didn’t activate since I don’t own any TB device.

Sorry for posting on a older article but what does the option do for supporting Thunderbolt devices do?  Ive been wanting to try this on my own Cube Mix Plus but can’t seem to find a clear answer if it will work on USB – C  or not so was wonderign about this thunderbolt support  :/  https://www.gigabyte.com/Graphics-Card/GV-N1070IXEB-8GD#kf

[Algorithm]

It could just be because the bios used has the generic option included?  Examples are for example fan control parameters in the bios when the device does not have a fan

[Author]

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