MSI's GeForce RTX 4090 Aero S 24G (which is not even listed at MSI.com) is now apparently available from 3DStor.com, an online store specializing on datacenter and workstation hardware. From a specifications point of view, the board follows Nvidia's recommendations when it comes to boost clocks (2520 MHz), so this graphics card is certainly not a factory-overclocked product. In fact, keeping in mind that the device is aimed not only at gamers with compact rigs, but mostly at professionals seeking to install two or more of such cards in one system, it is better to run at stock to avoid overheating. 

The board uses a 16-pin 12VHPWR connector, but for some reason 3DStor.com lists its TGP at 350W, which is 100W lower when compared to regular RTX 4090 AIBs. We must assume that this is a typo and that its TGP is the same as other RTX 4090 graphics cards, which are currently the best graphics cards for gaming. Meanwhile, when the board peaks at 450W, its blower-based cooling system likely gets extremely loud. 

Speaking of blower-style coolers in general, we must note that while not the most silent or efficient, these cooling systems are ideal for cooling high-heat graphics cards in compact PCs, especially when multiple cards are installed. They work well even with limited internal airflow and the only viable alternative in such cases is obviously liquid cooling. 

While 3DStor lists MSI's GeForce RTX 4090 Aero S 24G, it never reveals its price. In fact, it is likely that interested parties need to contact the company and tell the number of boards they want before getting exact quote. Meanwhile, the device can be purchased at Ebay for a whopping price of $3,065, which is comparable to the price of mid-range professional offerings.

One of the appealing aspects of choosing an 'all-AMD' system is that it will enable AMD Smart Access Memory Technology. According to AMD's own tests, this enhanced CPU-GPU communication feature can improve gaming performance by up to 15%. However, in the real world, its effect varies. We wrote about this technology in some depth back in Fall 2020. Since then, the competition, namely Nvidia and Intel, has figured out how to implement the analogous Resizable BAR technology support, so AMD SAM isn't an exclusive attraction.

While on the subject of performance enhancement technologies, MSI's press release about the MAG Meta 5 SE gaming desktop includes a segment about AMD Fidelity FX Super Resolution (FSR). Using an AMD-supplied slide espousing the benefits of FSR, MSI points out that modern AAA games with raytracing can run approx 20% faster in 4K, with hardly any perceptible difference in quality (FSR Ultra Quality). However, this isn't that much of an AMD attraction, as FSR is GPU-agnostic, and it just needs support in the game engine.

Above are the full tech specs according to MSI, but they seem to miss out on any standard storage configuration choices and don't mention specific cooling options either. At the time of writing, the MAG Meta 5 SE AMD 5000 Series product pages aren't published, so we can't look up that detail. No other tech specs seem out of the ordinary or worthy of special comment.

A View From the Outside

The inner tech specs are undoubtedly capable and agreeable if the price is right, and as a sizable desktop tower with standard motherboard and supporting components, it should be as easy to upgrade as a DIY PC. However, some will find the design a little old fashioned or ugly.

MSI describes the MAG Meta 5 SE as offering "minimalist style," but the red badge on the front, alongside dual RGB LED Mystic Light backed glowing fissures, and the chrome-head bolted windows to the left are all quite fussy design features. Moreover, the top-down view isn't minimalist by any stretch of the imagination, with its multiple angular undulations and venting patterns behind the front/top I/O section.

As mentioned above, MSI doesn't have the product pages ready at this time, and we don't have the pricing to hand to judge whether the "budget-friendly choice," claim is valid.

ASRock

ASRock unveiled two RX 6600 XT models, clearly catering to different market segments with each. For larger desktops, it has a triple-fan cooling solution in the ASRock Phantom Gaming model, which features RGB lighting galore and an over-engineered cooling solution compared to other brands. That should help with reducing operational temperatures and noise levels, though it appears the card still uses the minimal 1x8-pin power connector. With a baseline 160W TDP, however, even heavily overclocked cards might not need more than that.

The other ASRock solution is a Mini-ITX design, equipped with a single fan and a significantly smaller PCB and cooler. The Mini-ITX model is tiny compared to the Phantom Gaming, yet ASRock managed to make both designs out of the Navi 23 silicon. So far, ASRock is the only company providing a single fan mini-ITX model that we're aware of, but that could change.

Asus

Asus showcased two different RX 6600 XT designs. The ROG Strix features a dual-fan, dual-slot cooling solution, with a two-tone design and RGB accents denoting its more premium origins. The other model announced is the Asus RX 6660 XT Dual, which features a cooling solution that looks similar to the Strix model, in that it's still a dual-fan, dual-slot affair, but it loses RGB lighting and has a more subdued black and gray design.

In looking at the images and product announcements from Asus, both cards feature a single 8-pin connector. Again, that's enough for up to 225W of power, counting the 75W from the x16 slot, so even with overclocking that should be sufficient.

Gigabyte

Gigabyte chose to go the triple-slot, triple-fan way with its two RX 6600 XT graphics cards, the Gaming OC and Eagle. Gigabyte's Gaming OC stands higher in the company's ladder, with RGB elements and silver coloring added plus its triple-slot (2.5-slot), triple-fan cooling solution. The Eagle still has triple fans, but features a standard 2-slot width. Both the Gaming OC and Eagle graphics cards use a single 8-pin connector, meaning they're limited to 225W maximum power (at least if you stay within spec). Both cards feature the company's Ultra Durable components and Windforce 3X cooling design that's been imported from higher-tier Gigabyte cards.

MSI

MSI chose to go for quantity, launching not two but four different designs for the RX 6600 XT. Sort of, as MSI actually launched two different designs but further segmented them by differentiating their higher-clocked models with the X suffix.

MSI's top-tier offering is the RX 6600 XT Gaming X, with its RGB MSI branding and silver-black color scheme. The card features a dual-fan, 2.2-slot Twin Frozr 8 cooling solution and a single 8-pin connector. It also sports MSI's Torx 4.0 fans, their latest technology iteration. Another version of this graphics card will be available as the RX 6600 XT Gaming, forgoing the X suffix, and lowering maximum clocks compared to the X's more aggressive factory overlock.

The other two models are an OC and non-OC version of the RX 6600 XT Mech 2X, which slots lower in MSI's product ladder. Both skip the RGB and more meticulous PCB design elements from the Gaming lineup in favor of simpler looks. The cooling solution suffers a downgrade to Torx 3.0 fans, and it also forgoes the Twin Frozr 8 branding — meaning you should expect lower cooling performance alongside the simplified looks.

PowerColor 

PowerColor has Red Devil and Hellhound RX 6600 XT graphics cards. Both feature a dual-fan cooling solution, with red accents on black for the Red Devil, and blue accents on black for the Hellhound. Both graphics cards feature a triple-slot clearance.

The Red Devil potentially delivers more performance than other solutions. It's one of the few AIB cards announced so far that ships with an 8-pin power connector and a 6-pin power connector. That means that the card can potentially draw up to 300W of power, nearly double the reference TDP, and this should allow for higher factory clocks. That makes sense, considering its more premium marketing position compared to the Hellhound.

Sapphire

Sapphire has also introduced two graphics cards to its RX 6600 XT lineup, in the well-known Nitro+ and Pulse families. The Nitro+ is positioned higher in Sapphire's product stack, offering increased clocks compared to the Pulse graphics card, with more RGB and a rather subdued black-grey-white color scheme. The Pulse presents itself in the "gaming" segment's usual black and red color scheme. Both graphics cards feature a dual-fan cooling solution and a single 8-pin connector, and require 2.2 slots of clearance.

XFX

XFX keeps its weird naming scheme alive with the RX 6600 XT series, though with a single graphics card. The company announced the triple-fan cooled Speedster MERC308 Black graphics card, which features a black color scheme, although there are some light gray and red accents as well. Despite being a triple-fan cooling solution and claiming three slots of clearance, the MERC308 Black again sticks with the baseline single 8-pin connector for power delivery.

We expect additional RX 6600 XT models to be announced as time passes, particularly if supply of the Navi 23 GPU ends up better than the other AMD RX 6000-series GPUs. There are over 14 graphics card designs announced, and other manufacturers that rank lower in the GPU distribution list will undoubtedly send theirs to market as well.

The Radeon RX 6600 XT officially launches on August 11. Check back then for our full review of the card, as we see whether it can consistently surpass Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3060, despite having less memory and a narrower memory interface.

Based on our testing, MSI’s Optix series of gaming monitors generally deliver a high price-to-performance ratio, offering a great way for gamers to explore fast refresh rates, Adaptive-Sync, HDR and extended color without spending a lot of money on a premium display.

With only a single digit changed in the name, the MAG272CQR keeps its VA panel but ups the performance quotient to 165 Hz and adds a larger color gamut with HDR. The curve is gentler at 1500mm versus its predecessor’s 1800mm. But everything else that makes MSI Optix screens a high-performance bargain has been either retained or enhanced.

MSI Optix MAG272CQR Specs

The 27-inch QHD gaming monitor category is dominated by IPS screens these days, but we still prefer to play on VA panels for their higher contrast. While dynamic contrast and zone dimming can improve depth and dimension, there is no substitute for a high native contrast ratio. IPS will deliver 1000:1, 1,200:1 at best. But in most cases, VA offers triple that. Trade-offs? VA is typically not as bright as a similarly priced IPS panel. But that difference is often a non-issue unless you use it in a very brightly lit room.

The MAG272CQR also increases the size of its color gamut over its predecessor, enough so that we can call it a DCI-P3 monitor. The preceding MAG271CQR was more accurately dubbed “sRGB+.”

HDR is also a new feature of the 272. The panel, manufactured by Samsung, has 10-bit color, courtesy of an 8-bit engine with Frame Rate Control. This means you shouldn’t see any banding with 10-bit HDR signals, and we didn’t observe any during the review.

Of course, the MAG272CQR offers Adaptive-Sync to fight screen tearing, as expected of any modern monitor targeted at gaming. It claims AMD FreeSync but hasn’t been certified by Nvidia for G-Sync (see FreeSync vs G-Sync). Still, we got the screen to run G-Sync unofficially by using our instructions for how to run G-Sync on a FreeSync monitor.

The MAG272CQR offers a complete high-performance gaming package for under $400, but is it worth the upgrade from its predecessor?

Assembly and Accessories of MSI Optix MAG272CQR

You’ll need to have a Phillips head screwdriver handy to secure the panel to its solid and substantial upright. You get two bolts in the box for that purpose. Alternatively, you can use the enclosed hardware and the 100mm VESA mount with an aftermarket arm or bracket. The base is solid aluminum and attaches with a captive bolt.

Included cables are USB and DisplayPort with an IEC cord for the internal power supply.

Product 360: MSI Optix MAG272CQR

The MAG272CQR may sell for a bargain price but its quality and feel are in the premium category and on par with that of the best computer monitors. MSI sticks to its simple design philosophy of function first, though you’ll see the MAG272CQR’s gaming intent when you look in the back. A bright red shield with a dragon graphic graces the upper left, while the right features a small row of RGB LEDs and a molded pattern. There is a selection of RGB effects available both in the on-screen display (OSD) menu and in MSI’s Gaming OSD app. The lights have a myriad of possible effects which can be used individually or cycled at random. It’s not quite as dramatic as others we’ve seen, but at this price point, most other gaming monitors don’t offer any lighting.

The area surrounding the RGB has a brushed finish giving the appearance of metal. This texture, also found on the upright, has the added benefit of absorbing light. Meanwhile, the base is protected by a thick paint and looks ready for long-term use.

Adjustments are limited to 5 inches of height and -5/20 degrees tilt. There is no swivel, but the package is light enough that you can simply slide the rubber-footed base into the desired position. The panel can sit quite high, making it easy to set in a perfectly vertical position. This is our preference for any curved screen. Keeping the top and bottom equidistant from the eye creates the best wraparound effect and the least image distortion. Since the MAG272CQR has a gentle curvature (1500R), you’ll never see distortion anyway.

You control the monitor’s OSD menu with a small joystick, and the power toggle is a key under the bezel. That bezel is very thin at just 8mm (0.3 inch) and flush with the screen’s anti-glare layer. The trim strip across the bottom is just over 27mm (1 inch) wide.

The input panel features another upgrade over the MAG271CQR: a USB-C port. Though it doesn’t output enough power to charge more than a phone, it can be a one-cable solution for carrying video up to 165 Hz with USB peripheral functions. Two USB 3.2 ports are available for your best gaming keyboard and best gaming mouse. The traditional video inputs are a DisplayPort 1.2 (works at up to 165 Hz) and two HDMI 2.0 (up to 144 Hz). A 3.5mm jack provides headphone support, and you can hang your cans on a slick little pop-out hook on the left side of the panel.

OSD Features of MSI Optix MAG272CQR

The MAG272CQR’s OSD puts gaming features first with five picture modes and plenty of image enhancements to make players more competitive. You can navigate with the handy joystick or set up the monitor using MSI’s Gaming OSD app from the Windows desktop.

In addition to the five game specific modes, the Professional sub-menu adds presets for reading and other tasks. User is the best mode because it’s reasonably accurate out of the box and calibrates to a high standard. HDR signals lock out most image controls. You can also choose an HDR simulation mode from the Professional menu. It might be to some people’s liking but isn’t a substitute for actual HDR content.

The Gaming menu also includes Night Vision, which raises black levels for better shadow detail visibility. A three-level overdrive cuts motion blur effectively. The middle (Fast) setting is best. If you would rather have a backlight strobe to reduce blur, there is an Anti-Motion Blur toggle, but it’ll cancel out Adaptive-Sync and the overdrive feature.

On-screen tools include a selection of aiming points in red or white, a frame rate counter and an alarm clock.

Calibration controls are limited to RGB sliders, plus three color temp presets. There are no gamma options, but the MAG272CQR measured very close to the 2.2 standard both before and after calibration, as you’ll see in our testing.

There is also no sRGB option to be found. The gamut is tweaked to look just a little oversaturated with SDR material while delivering more punch in HDR mode. Overall color volume is around 85% of the wider DCI-P3 color space.

Calibration Settings for MSI Optix MAG272CQR

The MAG272CQR’s default picture mode, User, offers decent color accuracy out of the box with the potential for a very high degree of image precision. Grayscale is a bit cool, but gamma and color saturation are nearly on-point. Choosing the user color temp, the RGB sliders start at center range (50 of 100 steps), but there’s a catch. Leaving them around their middle settings limits brightness to around 275 nits. The trick is to slide them all up to 100, and then, calibrate from there. After, you’ll have the full light output range available.

You can use the HDCR feature to increase contrast, but this has the downside of clipping shadow detail. And it completely shuts off the backlight when there is no signal. The HDR simulation also increases perceived contrast but it too clips some highlight and shadow detail in SDR images.

HDR signals automatically put the MAG272CQR in its HDR picture mode where all image controls are locked out. The picture modes are still available, but all they seem to do is add different levels of edge enhancement. Stick with User for both HDR and SDR.

Here are our recommended calibration settings for the MSI Optix MAG272CQR.

Gaming and Hands-on with MSI Optix MAG272CQR

In use, the MAG272CQR’s 1500R curve felt gentle enough to use for any task, whether that was working or gaming, thanks to there being no image distortion. Still, gaming felt a bit more immersive when setting 2 or 3 feet feet away from the screen. This curvature on an ultrawide or a larger 16:9 monitor would provide a greater impact, but a curved 27-inch panel is still pretty cool. The stand lets you place the MAG272CQR fairly high too, so it’s easy to achieve a perfectly vertical position if desired.

Color in Windows apps, like Photoshop or Google Chrome, was very pleasing. Photos and video displayed with natural shades and a nice saturation level. The MAG272CQR is colorful without going overboard. Since it has no sRGB mode, we viewed all content in the DCI-P3 extended color space, but MSI tweaked the mid-tones, preventing a cartoonish look.

Gaming was also a pleasure with the same well-saturated color that never looks unnatural. Contrast is superb with deep blacks and bright highlights that pop. The MAG272CQR demonstrates why VA is our favorite panel technology. High native contrast always provides the best possible image with a 3D look and rich color.

Video processing was also without issue. Adaptive-Sync worked equally well when paired with an AMD graphics card or an Nvidia one to use unofficial G-Sync support and with no hit to frame rates. We maxed the counter at 165 with detail set to maximum using a Radeon RX 5700 XT and GeForce RTX 3090 and in our usual test sequences from Tomb Raider. We found that overdrive is best left on the middle (Fast) setting. The higher option created obvious ghosting trails behind moving objects and reduced motion resolution.

The blur reducing backlight strobe showed no visible effect other than reducing brightness slightly and turning off Adaptive-Sync. At 165 frames per second (fps), frame tearing isn’t an issue, even with Adaptive-Sync disabled, but the backlight strobe didn’t provide any noticeable benefit. Frame rates didn’t change, and blur was already non-existent to start. We decided that it’s best to opt for Adaptive-Sync, and you can adjust the brightness slider to your preferred level.

Some will HDR mode too bright in a dark room. Brightness is locked at maximum, so it’s not possible to reduce output. If you’re watching an HDR video, it’s certainly appropriate but we recommend sticking with the SDR User mode for regular content. You could use the HDR simulation mode, which provides a little more punch and keeps the brightness slider available, but some highlight and shadow details will be hard to make out. The MAG272CQR’s VA panel has plenty of native contrast and doesn’t need help from simulated HDR or dynamic contrast.

Call of Duty: WWII played in HDR mode showed a lot of pop and saturation on the MAG272CQR. Bright areas were especially vibrant without becoming harsh. It’s too harsh if you prefer to turn off the lights, but in our moderately-lit office, it looked fine. Frame rates dropped about 20 fps with HDR engaged but that didn’t impact the gaming experience too much. The MAG272CQR is an HDR bargain for sure. There are better HDR screens out there (see our article on finding the best HDR monitor) but none that cost as little as this MSI.

To read about our monitor tests in-depth, please check out Display Testing Explained: How We Test PC Monitors. We cover brightness and contrast testing on page two.

Uncalibrated – Maximum Backlight Level

To compare our review focus’ performance, we brought in a comparison group that’s all 165 and 170 Hz 27-inch QHD monitors. All are IPS, while the MAG272CQR is VA. Included are Gigabyte’s M27Q, Dell’s S2721DGF, Asus’ ROG Strix XG27AQ, MSI’s MAG274QRF and Acer’s XV272U-KV.

The MAG272CQR’s VA panel doesn’t give up too much output to its IPS competitors. If you really need 400 nits for SDR, the top three monitors can manage it, but the MSI comes up a little short of that mark. The Acer is limited in SDR mode but can deliver a lot more light for HDR content.

The black luminance test shows why we like VA monitors. The MAG272CQR’s 0.1188 nit black level is significantly lower than the others. This is a difference that is plainly visible to the naked eye. The resulting contrast ratio is 3,093:1, almost triple that of the next best screen in our comparison group.

It should be noted that we tweaked the monitor a bit to achieve these measurements. We had to select the user color temp and max the RGB sliders to measure the panel’s full light output. At factory settings, the max level is 309 nits with 2,550.5:1 contrast.

After Calibration to 200 nits

Our calibration to 200 nits brightness (see our recommended settings on page 1) increased the MAG272CQR’s lead in the black level contest with a very low measurement of 0.0678 nit. Thanks to accurate gamma, shadow detail is still perfectly visible, but blacks are true. Contrast is only a tad lower (2962.2:1 versus 3,093:1 at max brightness and default settings).

Due to some slight measured inconsistencies in the black parts of our ANSI checkerboard pattern, the MAG272CQR stumbled a bit in the intra-image contrast test. But 2,252.3:1 is still more than double any IPS screen we’ve tested and excellent performance.

In the MAG272CQR’s User picture mode, image accuracy is good but could be better. A set of precise RGB sliders can get you to greatness, but you’ll have to apply our special tweak to match our results.

Grayscale & Gamma Tracking

Our grayscale and gamma tests use Calman calibration software from Portrait Displays. We describe those our grayscale and gamma tests in detail here.

At the monitor’s default settings, measured grayscale errors create a blue tint that is visible through most of the brightness range. The error is small but flattens the image a little. To maximize quality, select the user color temp, max the RGB sliders, then calibrate as we did. That will take the MAG272CQR to a very high standard, as seen in the second chart above, where there are no visible grayscale errors as the Delta E (dE) is under 3.

In either case, gamma tracks 2.2 well. There are tiny dips at 10% and 90% brightness, but they  are of no visible consequence.

Comparisons

A 4.92dE out of the box is large enough grayscale error to call for calibration. It isn’t a huge issue, but excellence is possible with a few adjustments (see our recommended calibration settings on page 1). In the second chart above, you can see that all the monitors benefit from some calibration love, except the MSI MAG274QRF, which looks exceptional out of the box.

Gamma tracking is very good for all the screens, so the MAG272CQR’s fifth place finish in the last two tests above isn’t a big deal. This is an impressively tight group of gaming monitors.

Color Gamut Accuracy

Our color gamut and volume testing use Portrait Displays’ Calman software. For details on our color gamut testing and volume calculations, click here.

We’ve compared the MAG272CQR’s color gamut measurements to the DCI-P3 standard. Like most extended color screens, green is a little under-saturated. MSI has taken the further step of reducing the inner red targets to keep SDR color from looking overblown. This is an effective way to use a wide gamut for all content. You’ll see on page four that the HDR gamut targets are still right on point. This is also a great way to eliminate the need for an sRGB mode, which we didn’t miss.

Though we find the default gamut measurements satisfactory, calibration (second chart) makes them even better. Every color is right on its hue targets and very close to ideal saturation.

Comparisons

The MAG272CQR’s 1.60dE average color error post-calibration is only eclipsed by the Dell’s 1.01dE result. All the monitors come in under 3dE, which is the point where issues become visible to the naked eye. The MSI costing less than $400 is further testament to its high price-to-performance ratio.

Gamut volume falls a tad short of the other screens with the MAG272CQR covering 85.67% of DCI-P3. That is an average number among all the extended color monitors we’ve tested, but the other panels in the comparison group have a little more saturation. The top-finishing MSI and the Gigabyte are the only two gaming monitors in our database that exceed 100% of DCI-P3.

Our HDR benchmarking uses Portrait Displays’ Calman software. To learn about our HDR testing, see our breakdown of how we test PC monitors.

HDR Brightness & Contrast

If you want super bright HDR, VA isn’t quite there yet. But the MAG272CQR isn’t the dimmest HDR monitor in our comparison group, and 376 nits is enough to get the job done. With black levels that are similar to what we measured in SDR mode, contrast isn’t any higher. There is no dynamic contrast feature available here. 

The top three screens are IPS but feature variable backlight control, where effectiveness depends on content, so in some cases they will look better than the VA-based MSI. But since there is no modulation of the backlight going on, you’ll never see any artifacts either.

Grayscale, EOTF & Color

The MAG272CQR’s HDR grayscale tracking exhibits similar behavior to SDR with a slight blue tint visible through most of the brightness range. There are no adjustments available to tweak it, so the HDR image is a tad less dimensional than it could be. The EOTF luminance curve is right on the money though with tight tracking below and above the tone mapping transition point at 65% brightness.

HDR color is very good with all measurements on or near their targets. MSI has bumped up the inner saturation points to provide more punch and that tweak can be seen when playing games or watching HDR video.

Viewing Angles

Any VA panel gives up some quality in off-axis viewing, and the MAG272CQR is no exception. At 45 degrees to the sides, the color shifts to green and brightness falls by about 50%. Detail is well rendered but with no apparent change in gamma. The top view is very washed out with little difference between light and dark zones and an overall drop in brightness. This monitor is best enjoyed by one person sitting front and center.

Screen Uniformity

To learn how we measure screen uniformity, click here.

We’ve encountered a few VA screens that had below average uniformity but the MAG272CQR is not one of them. Its 8.52% deviation is very good. We couldn’t see any glow or bleed when viewing in a darkened space. Our meter detected a little more light in the upper left corner but it was invisible to the naked eye.

Pixel Response & Input Lag

Click here to read up on our pixel response and input lag testing procedures.

Panel response is the best indicator of a monitor’s motion resolution potential. With identical 6ms scores from all screens, the MAG272CQR is typical in that regard. Any 165 or 170 Hz monitor should deliver the same look, as long as its overdrive is properly implemented, like it is with the MAG272CQR.

Though the MAG272CQR comes in last in the lag contest, the extra 4ms it takes over the top two screens is something only the most skilled gamer will perceive. Most players will have no problem racking up their frag count in a first-person shooter when using the MAG272CQR.

It’s getting harder to find a gaming monitor that doesn’t include HDR these days. But many of the screens we’ve reviewed merely include the support without making much improvement to the picture. After looking at a lot of different monitors, we’ve settled on three HDR categories: edge-lit IPS screens with no dynamic contrast, edge-lit IPS with dynamic contrast or VA screens and full-array local dimming (FALD) panels. Obviously, the latter represents the most expensive category. The middle tier is where the best price/performance ratio is, and that’s where you’ll find the MSI Optix MAG272CQR.

As an HDR monitor, the MSI Optix MAG272CQR offers better-than-average performance with nicely saturated color and good contrast. Though it doesn’t have a dynamic feature, its VA panel delivers a true 3,000:1 ratio for both SDR and HDR content. That puts it ahead of many IPS monitors, some of which cost more. The MAG272CQR’s DCI-P3 gamut coverage is average at around 85% but strikes a good compromise between saturation and accuracy that makes it work for all types of content.

Ultimately, a gaming monitor needs to maintain high refresh rates and deliver Adaptive-Sync. The MSI Optix MAG272CQR does this perfectly, and QHD resolution means you can peg the counter at 165 fps without difficulty.

Its only flaw, a minor one at that, is the need for some tweaking at the outset. To get the best picture, refer to our settings back on page 1. That way, you’ll see the maximum brightness and contrast that the MAG272CQR is capable of.

With adjustments in place, the MSI Optix MAG272CQR is one of those displays that delivers 98% of the performance of a premium screen at 30% of the cost. It’s one of the best values we’ve seen of late and definitely stands out in the red-hot 27-inch QHD category. If you’re looking to add HDR and extended color to your gaming rig, this is one to check out.

The site is called: afterburner-msi.space. (please do not visit this site), so it's immediately apparent this is not MSI's URL.

"This webpage is hosting software which may contain virus, trojan, keylogger, or other type of malicious program that have been disguised to look like MSI Afterburner. DO NOT DOWNLOAD ANY SOFTWARE FROM THIS WEBSITE," MSI's blog says. 

MSI noted that Afterburner is still available for legitimate download from its own website. Here is the real link to download MSI's Afterburner utility: https://www.msi.com/Landing/afterburner/graphics-cards.

This is a good reminder for us all to watch out for sketchy links we might come across. Generally, companies will have a primary domain site, like MSI.com, and all its content will be available through that name. Seeing a site called afterburner.com (for example) should immediately raise some red flags, since the site isn't under the MSI.com domain.

Luckily, all modern web browsers provide information on a website's security. There's an icon that appears right behind the address bar that will showcase a site's certifications and if the site is secure. If you're on the Tom's Hardware site right now, right next to the Tom's Hardware URL in your address bar is likely a lock. That lock tells you that the Tom's Hardware domain is secure. Clicking on the lock will give you more details.

Most importantly, you should be using an anti-virus with Internet security if you want to maximize your safety from bogus and fraudulent websites. Even the best of us can get bamboozled into believing a dangerous download or a website is legit.

MSI Russia shared the news on the company's warranty webpage but didn't share its exact reasoning. The list includes AMD Polaris and Navi cards, as well as Nvidia's Turing and latest Ampere products representing some of the best graphics cards for gaming. 

*Data from Minerstat

MSI Russia didn't point to cryptocurrency mining, but it still comes to mind as a potential driver for the drop in warranty, especially considering the first six models are obviously tailored towards cryptocurrency miners, such as the famed Radeon RX 580 Miner. 

It's a bit surprising to see Ampere cards on MSI's list, since the Ampere SKUs are GeForce gaming graphics cards. But cryptocurrency miners have repurposed Ampere, such as the GeForce RTX 3060 for mining activities. 

Mining cryptocurrency takes a heavy toll on graphics cards, since mining farms operate 24/7. Graphics cards used for mining are more likely to suffer a premature death, which is particularly problematic given today's graphics card shortage. Graphics card vendors aren't eager to replace these cards, and, in fact, many vendors explicitly state that cryptocurrency mining isn't covered under their warranty.

Nvidia's answer to crytocurrency mining was to introduce the Cryptocurrency Mining Processor (CMP) product line. However, CMP options aren't very appealing to casual miners, considering their price tag and warranty. Although Nvidia never acknowledged it, many CMP devices are using rewarmed Turing silicon. For example, the CMP 30HX performs similarly to the GeForce GTX 1660 Super in mining Ethereum. We've seen the CMP 30HX on the market with a price tag as high as $723 with warranty periods up to three months. It's easy to see why miners would avoid the CMP lineup since the GeForce counterparts are often cheaper and feature longer warranties.

If the rumor about Nvidia giving its Ampere silicon an overhaul is accurate, graphics card vendors won't have to resort to shortening warranty periods to protect their GeForce products from mining. The chipmaker is reportedly reinforcing its anti-mining algorithm on the new Ampere dies, so that mining performance is gimped straight out of the box.

This shouldn't affect shoppers outside of Russia,  but we've reached out to MSI to see if the company can shed any more light and if we could see similar action in other countries.

Pretty much everything about this needs to be seen to be believed. Take the most recent post on the product's Facebook page. We're sure it reads perfectly fine in the original Chinese, but the social network's automatic translation is just breathtaking:

So what is this "unprecedented electrical pedal" exactly? Well, it looks like the kind of pedal racing enthusiasts have used for years, but with far more RGB lighting. It also offers numerous inputs, activated by pressing different parts of its surface.

An earlier Facebook post from the MSI Gaming account said Liberator features an Omron shaft, and the product's Typeform page revealed that it can be used to input keyboard shortcuts. (A GIF showing Liberator in action is also worth checking out.)

Other details about the product are sparse. It appears to rely on a braided detachable cable, which is a plus for pretty much any peripheral, and it can also be adjusted to accommodate people who know that foot size truly does matter.

Jokes aside for a moment: Liberator could obviously prove useful to people with accessibility concerns, for example, or anyone who wants a discreet way to control their PC. We aren't mocking the product itself; we're delighting in the fact that it exists.

XFastest reported that crowdfunders receive an "early bird" discount that brings Liberator's cost down to approximately $430 (2,790 yuan) and that it will cost about $600 (3,900 yuan) after the official debut on March 16. A ship date was not revealed.

MSI has jumped on the 1000R train with its MPG Artymis 343CQR. In addition to that tight curve, it sports a high-contrast VA panel running at 3440x1440 resolution with USB-C, HDR support, Adaptive-Sync and an impressive 165 Hz refresh rate worthy of competing with the best gaming monitors. Selling for a premium price ($900 as of writing), the 343CQR is a sharply focused display that is at its best when gaming -- going even as far as to include an aim magnifier for shooters.

MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR Specs

The 343CQR is all about gaming with support for AMD FreeSync from 48-165 Hz. It’s not G-Sync Compatible-certified, but we still got Nvidia G-Sync to work (see our How to Run G-Sync on a FreeSync Monitor article for instructions).

MSI’s specs sheet includes nearly 85% coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut. You’ll be using that gamut for all content, SDR and HDR alike, because there is no sRGB mode available.

MSI designed the 343CQR with consoles in mind too. It will accept 4K resolution signals and down-convert them to 3440 x 1440 resolution. The 343CQR is also the first monitor we’ve seen with HDMI CEC (Consumer Electronics Control). Originally developed to support universal remotes, the CEC implementation in this monitor is designed to sense whether the incoming signal is coming from a PC or a console and adjust its picture mode based on designated profiles. The feature supports both PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.

Assembly and Accessories of MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR

To assemble the MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR, the panel and upright are mated with four fasteners, so you’ll need to have a Phillip’s head screwdriver handy. Next, you attach the base with a captive bolt. The resulting package is rock-solid and shows impressive build quality. It certainly meets the standard one expects for the price.

Bundled cables include IEC for the internal power supply, DisplayPort, HDMI and USB. A small snap-on cover hides the panel’s mounting hardware. And if you’d rather use a monitor arm, the bolt holes are in a 100mm VESA pattern with large-head bolts included. In a nice touch, a small hook snaps onto the bottom of the panel to help manage your best gaming mouse’s cable.

MSI MPG Artymis Product 360

From the front, the MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR is all business with a thin flush bezel around the top and sides and a molded strip across the bottom adorned only with a small MSI logo. A tiny LED appears red in standby mode and white when the power’s on. Around the back right is a joystick and two buttons. One activates the Gaming OSD (on-screen display) app, and the other toggles power.

The upright is very solid with a stiff-moving 4-inch height adjustment. You also get 30 degrees swivel to both sides and 5/20 degrees tilt. There isn’t even a hint of slop or wobble. A small hole helps tidy up cables. The base is solid metal with thin legs that go more than 1 foot deep. That, combined with the fact that the panel’s 6.5-inch thick means you’ll need a bit of extra desktop space to accommodate the 343CQR.

From the top, you can see the 1000R curvature clearly. That radius means that if you made a circle from 343CQRs, it would be just two meters in diameter. If you have the room for three of them, they’ll wrap around almost 180 degrees. They would make a great flight simulator or, perhaps, a solid solution for a Zwift (cycling virtual training app) setup.

The back of the MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR is styled nicely with a variety of different textures and an RGB effect that shows as a strip and MSI shield graphic with a dragon. The color breaths gently through different shades. You can turn it on and off in the OSD and control it ever further with the Gaming OSD app. You can also sync up the lighting effect with that of other MSI products that support the vendor’s Mystic Light-branded RGB. That way, you can create a custom light show with everything working in concert.

The input panel includes two HDMI 2.0 ports that support refresh rates up to 100 Hz with Adaptive-Sync and HDR. Meanwhile, the DisplayPort 1.4 and USB-C inputs accept 165 Hz signals, also with HDR and Adaptive-Sync. There are no built-in speakers, but you get a 3.5mm audio port for headphones.

OSD Features of MSI MPG Artymis

Pressing the joystick brings up the MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR’s OSD,which is divided into seven sub-menus. There are plenty of gaming features as well as most of what you’ll need for calibration.

The Gaming menu offers five picture modes. Four are game genre-specific, and there’s also the default mode, User. User’s the mode to pick because it delivers solid accuracy with no need for calibration. There are a few minor flaws, but the 343CQR definitely makes our Calibration Not Required list.

The Night Vision option is a shadow detail enhancer. We didn’t need it because the monitor’s black levels are both deep and richly detailed. Response Time is a three-level overdrive. Fast, the middle setting, is best. Next, MPRT is a backlight strobe that reduces motion blur and cancels out Adaptive-Sync. 

It also pegs the brightness at over 860 nits, which is unusual. You can reduce this with the contrast control, but that removes much of the picture’s depth and quality. We recommend sticking with Adaptive-Sync and leaving MPRT off. Finally, Zero Latency should always be turned on for the lowest possible input lag.

Additional features include a frame rate indicator, alarm clock, aiming points and an Optix Scope feature. This is geared at fans of first-person shooters and lets you magnify the area underneath your crosshair in multiple levels using hot keys. As this will take some finessing to execute smoothly and without slowing down your gameplay, it won’t be for everyone.

The OSD will always show you the MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR’s signal status at the top with resolution, refresh rate, HDR status, FreeSync status and the active video input.

The Image menu offers three color temperature  presets, plus a User mode. Normal is the default and best choice. We were unable to make a visual improvement to the color temp with calibration. The test numbers show a tiny gain but not one that can be seen with the naked eye. The only thing we wished for was a gamma control. The default luminance curve is a tad light, though that’s somewhat mitigated by the 343CQR’s extremely high contrast.

Calibration Settings of MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR

You can simply unpack the MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR, plug it in and enjoy. The image is very accurate by default -- even the brightness is already set close to 200 nits in the User picture mode. We attempted a calibration and made no visible improvement. 

Our settings are below if you want to try them. Note that in the User color temp, the RGB sliders start at 50%, which reduces brightness by roughly that amount. We turned them all up to 100%, then adjusted from there to achieve maximum dynamic range.

HDR signals lock out all picture controls. You can still access the modes, but changing them does not affect the image. HDR grayscale runs a tad red, but the EOTF is spot-on, as is the color tracking. The 343CQR also uses dynamic contrast to achieve tremendous contrast for HDR content.

Gaming and Hands-on with MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR

At 1000R, the MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR is as curvy as a gaming monitor gets today. At first, we noticed a little image distortion when working in productivity apps, like word processors and spreadsheets. However, we got used to the look after a short time. 

When browsing the web, that distortion became unnoticeable. The monitor’s image is sharp and contrast-y enough to overshadow any horizontal line curvature. It’s best to set the panel exactly vertical with no back or forward tilt. By adjusting the height so our eyes were centered, it made all parts of the screen equidistant from the body. The 343CQR is perfectly usable for workday tasks.

Color was nicely balanced with slightly more than sRGB saturation but not so much that it looked unnatural. MSI has tuned the gamut so it renders SDR content more accurately without the need to switch color spaces, a capability the MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR lacks. When HDR was on, color looked  far more vibrant, as it should. This is one of the few monitors that you could leave in HDR mode all the time for Windows apps. Brightness is reasonable with the highest levels reserved only for small highlights.

The monitor also supports 10-bit color, though the panel uses Frame Rate Conversion to achieve this. Despite the internal upconversion, we didn’t see any banding artifacts.

Gaming tests started with our usual trip through Tomb Raider, which clipped along at a sprightly 165 fps on a Radeon RX 5700 XT and GeForce RTX 3090. Both FreeSync and G-Sync worked without a hitch. The MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR’s middle overdrive setting, Fast, struck the best balance between ghosting and blur reduction. The MPRT backlight strobe feature also worked well at reducing blur without artifacts but at the cost of a very bright and overly harsh image. Playing games at over 800 nits peak grew tiring after a short time.

Engaging HDR for a few hours of Call of Duty: WWII proved to be a singular experience. The MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR nears equalling a FALD display when it comes to HDR contrast and color. Every hue, down to the murkiest greens and browns, leapt from the screen. Black levels seemed almost OLED-like in their depth and detail, offset by perfectly balanced highlight areas. Color accuracy was also top-notch. Though we noted a slight red tint during the grayscale tests, it did not affect games or movies we played. This is one of the best HDR monitors we’ve seen in a while.

If you download MSI’s Dragon Center software, you can also use the 343CQR's Sound Tune feature which uses “AI calculations” to block out background noise coming through a plugged in headset. Since it requires software and many of the best gaming headsets include similar tech on their own, its usefulness will vary depending on the gamer.

Another unique feature comes in what MSI calls Mobile Projector. It lets you display your phone’s screen in a 5:9 column on the side of the monitor. Although having your phone on your computer screen could generally be distracting, if you have a specific task that requires using both your smartphone and PC, this could come in handy.

To read about our monitor tests in-depth, please check out Display Testing Explained: How We Test PC Monitors. We cover brightness and contrast testing on page two.

Uncalibrated – Maximum Backlight Level

We went back in time a bit in our testing database to find a group of 34-inch ultrawides with HDR to compare the 343CQR’s performance. In the group is the Cooler Master GM34-CW, Gigabyte G34WQC, Viotek GNV34DBE and AOC CU34G2X. We also included the Samsung Odyssey G7 32-inch (C32G75T). Though it’s a 16:9 screen, it shares the same 1000R curvature as the MSI. All the panels are VA, 144 Hz or faster and WQHD or QHD resolution.

The 343CQR doesn’t crank the brightness in SDR mode. It tops out at a reasonable 355.2 nits, which is plenty of light for such a large panel. Black levels are class-leading with just 0.09 nit at maximum brightness for an impressive contrast ratio of 3,888.7:1. That’s better contrast than almost every monitor we’ve tested to date.

After Calibration to 200 nits

Our calibration (see our recommended settings on page 1) actually improved measured contrast slightly (3,938.2:1 versus 3,888.7:1), but we couldn’t actually see the difference in a side-by-side comparison. Regardless of the brightness level, the 343CQR is a standout monitor with some of the best black levels and contrast we’ve seen.

The 343CQR also leads the ANSI comparison with 3,768.9:1. Only a handful of monitors we’ve tested can beat this score, and one of them is Alienware’s AW5520QF OLED gaming monitor. The MSI’s image depth and realism are superb.

We’ve already determined that the 343CQR doesn’t need calibration and, in fact, does not benefit from adjustment. We ran our usual tests anyway to show how the monitor responds.

Grayscale and Gamma Tracking

Our grayscale and gamma tests use Calman calibration software from Portrait Displays. We describe those tests in detail here.

In the User picture mode with the Normal color temp (first graph above), the 343CQR has nearly perfect grayscale tracking. All errors are less than 2 Delta E (dE), meaning they should be invisible to the naked eye, with most below 1dE. This is professional-grade performance. Gamma tracking is the only flaw here and it is a minor one. It runs consistently light from bottom to top. It doesn’t affect picture depth too greatly, but we’d love to see what a few additional gamma presets could do. VA panels can take darker gamma settings thanks to their broad dynamic range, but MSI has chosen not to include any.

As you can see in the second chart above, our calibration made no visually noticeable difference. The grayscale error is a tiny bit lower, and gamma is ever so slightly lighter. But we couldn’t see a difference with the naked eye. There is clearly no benefit to making any picture adjustments.

Comparisons

There is no reason to calibrate the 343CQR if it only lowers the grayscale error from 0.80dE to 0.78dE. Gamma -- our only real complaint as it runs a light and 5.45% off the ideal 2.2 mark -- is nearly unchanged after calibration too. But the range of gamma values is just 0.06 from low to high. That’s a good thing.

Color Gamut Accuracy

Our color gamut and volume testing uses Portrait Displays’ Calman software. For details on our color gamut testing and volume calculations, click here.

We measured the 343CQR against the DCI-P3 standard and were a bit conflicted after running the tests. In the default chart, you can see some slight hue errors in cyan and all the colors are a bit under-saturated until they reach the gamut triangle perimeter. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though. It makes the 343CQR a little more accurate when showing sRGB content -- in other words, anything SDR. By keeping the inner targets undersaturated, there’s no chance of blowing out detail in the midtones, which make up the majority of image content.

Our calibration (second chart above) lowered the average gamut error a little by increasing inner saturations and fixing the cyan hue error. But we couldn’t see the difference when comparing the before and after images. So, we stand by our assessment that the 343CQR is best left at its default settings.

Comparisons

For comparison, we’re showing the pre-calibration color error of 3.49dE. Even though adjustment will bring that value down to 2.43dE, there is no visual benefit, and we think the picture settings are best left at their defaults. It puts the 343CQR at the back of the pack of the comparison group by a small margin, And, as you can see, the calibrated number would not elevate its standing. Ultimately, the 343CQR is up against some capable competition.

The 343CQR covers almost 85% of the DCI-P3 gamut, which is respectable performance that’s on the high side of average for currently available gaming monitors. Only a few examples have significantly more color, like the GM34-CW or MSI’s own Optix MAG274QRF which covers over 112%. With 125.71% coverage of sRGB, and no way to reduce that in the OSD, you’ll need a profile for color-critical work on the 343CQR.

Our HDR benchmarking uses Portrait Displays’ Calman software. To learn about our HDR testing, see our breakdown of how we test PC monitors.

The 343CQR supports HDR10 signals through HDMI and DisplayPort, with or without Adaptive-Sync, at up to 165 Hz. When detected the monitor switches automatically, and all picture controls are locked out. Image modes are still available, but changing them has no effect.

HDR Brightness and Contrast

The 343CQR is certified for DisplayHDR 400 but handily exceeds that with over 582 nits of peak output. That makes it one of the brightest monitors we’ve tested. The better news is its super-low black level of just 0.03 nit. Yes, there is dynamic contrast in play, and it results in a stupendous contrast ratio of 19,595.7:1. Only the FALD and OLED monitors we’ve tested can do better. This dynamic range shows in the real world with fantastically deep images that are vibrant with both color and realism.

Grayscale, EOTF & Color

It’s unfortunate that color temp controls aren’t available with HDR because the 343CQR looks a tad red in HDR mode. The errors are minor though, and the EOTF is absolutely spot-on with a high transition to tone-mapping at 70%. This monitor will look its best with HDR10 material mastered to 1,000 nits, which is the most commonly used output level for HDR.

Also impressive is the 343CQR’s HDR color tracking. Most targets are right on the money, except for magenta, which has hue errors that weren’t visible in the content we viewed. What we did notice was how much more vivid HDR color was. SDR color looks great, but HDR looks even better. Between the accurate color tracking and excellent contrast, the 343CQR is one of the best HDR monitors we’ve reviewed lately.

Viewing Angles

Though VA monitors are typically a little weak in their viewing angles, the 343CQR acquits itself well. Color goes a bit green with a 50% reduction in brightness at 45 degrees to the sides. Detail remains visible in highlight and shadow areas, but the image is definitely duller when viewed off-center. Performance is much the same from the top with a reduction in detail as gamma becomes lighter.

Screen Uniformity

To learn how we measure screen uniformity, click here.

The 343CQR looked better than its 12.07% screen uniformity test result indicates. There are measurable hotspots in the center and upper right zones of the screen, but we could only see a slight glow in the upper right. This artifact disappears at any brightness level above 0. There were no visible color uniformity issues at any brightness level. And the image looked consistent regardless of the screen’s curvature or our head position.

Pixel Response & Input Lag

Click here to read up on our pixel response and input lag testing procedures.

The 343CQR compares well in the response test with a 7ms draw time. That’s equal to most 144 Hz screens and many other 165 Hz monitors too. We were a little surprised at its input lag result though. It was beat by all the 144 Hz panels, except the AOC. Of course, the Samsung is on another level running at 240 Hz; it’s only here because it shares the same curve radius as the MSI. If you’re shopping for the fastest possible gaming monitor, other comparable displays can buy you a few milliseconds over the 343CQR. But a total lag of 30 ms is plenty fast enough for anyone but the most competitive and skilled players.

Curved monitors have been around long enough to establish themselves as a legitimate and desirable gaming tool. Even a slight curve can increase the sense of immersion in the on-screen world, and along with 21:9 and 32:9 aspect ratios, they make a compelling alternative to VR headsets. It follows, then, that if you curve the screen more, it draws the player more into the environment. 1000R is the tightest radius currently available, and though it represents a small portion of the genre, it looks like it might catch on.

We were highly impressed with the 1000R Samsung G7 Odyssey, and MSI’s MPG Artymis 343CQR curve managed to deliver the same immersive experience for us. That it is a 21:9 ultrawide screen just adds to its merit.

The 343CQR certainly has enough pixel density -- 109 pixels per inch, the same as a 27-inch, 16:9, 1440p flat panel --to let you sit close. It delivers superb and accurate color with no need for calibration. You won’t even need to adjust the brightness slider if your preference is 200 nits. Just set up and enjoy.

Gaming performance is on par with other monitors in its price class. Though the 343CQR has slightly higher input lag than some 144 Hz monitors, it delivers responsiveness and quick gaming reflexes. However, its blur reduction feature is free of artifacts but much too bright for long-term play.

The 343CQR’s best attribute is its contrast. In SDR mode, it delivered nearly 4,000:1, which is higher than any IPS screen and most VA panels too. HDR looked amazing, thanks to a dynamic feature that bumps the range up to almost 20,000:1. That’s approaching FALD territory. If you’re shopping for a good HDR monitor but a premium zone-dimming display is out of reach, MSI might just have what you’re looking for.

With killer HDR, a tight 1000R curve, solid gaming performance, high contrast and accurate out-of-box color, the MSI MPG Artymis 343CQR comes highly recommended.

The bold Godlike name infers this is one of the best out there, and to be frank it isn’t very far off, if price isn’t much of an issue. The $699.99 Godlike includes robust power delivery, a premium audio solution, five M.2 sockets and a cool-looking monochrome OLED screen, all of which are fitting for a flagship-class part.

At the time of publishing, MSI’s X570 lineup consists of nine boards, starting with the X570-A Pro ($159.99) and including multiple parts from the MAG line (Tomahawk WiFi), the MPG line (Gaming Plus, Gaming Edge WiFi, and Gaming Pro Carbon WiFi), and the premium MEG lineup (Unify, Ace, and Godlike). From E-ATX flagships like the Godlike to entry-level boards, there is something for everyone in MSI’s X570 range.

Focusing on performance, the Godlike did well in our benchmarking suite, running most tests on the faster side of average. Even in the PCMark 10 MS Office/Application testing, where we often see anomalies, we saw consistent results across the full gamut of testing. The board allowed the 5950X to reach its full 5 GHz boost, so we’re getting all we paid for at default settings. As expected, overclocking on this motherboard went without a hiccup, easily handling our 16-core/32-thread CPU. VRM temperatures at load were some of the lowest we’ve seen as well. 

Performance isn’t everything, however. The features list is long and the Godlike includes a 10 GbE add-in-card (AIC) in addition to the existing 1 and 2.5 GbE ports, dual Realtek ALC1220 codecs and two additional PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 sockets via add-in-card. Features and specifications aren’t everything either, though. The appearance of the X570 Godlike is also solid. The Infinity RGB display around the VRMs, coupled with the customizable OLED screen and the overall clean look set this board apart from other less expensive models. Read on for additional details about the X570 Godlike, because there’s a lot here to cover.

Specifications - MSI X570 Godlike 

Inside the box along with the motherboard is a whole lot of accessories. Outside of the usual selection of SATA cables, driver disks, and guides, the Godlike includes multiple add-in-cards (10 GbE, M.2 Expander), thermistors, and more. This accessory stack is the biggest we’ve seen in a while. Below is a complete list of the included extras. 

• (6) SATA cables
• 1 to 2 RGB LED extension Y cable (80cm)
• Corsair RGB LED extension cable (50cm)
• Rainbow RGB LED extension cable (10cm)
• (2) Thermistor cables
• Wi-Fi Antenna
• M.2 Expander-Z Gen4 AIC
• 10G Super LAN AIC
• 6.3mm audio adapter
• Case badge
• SATA Cable labels
• Driver DVD
• Manual, Quick Guide, Quick Installation Guide

When you first take the Godlike out of the box, you’re greeted by an attractive board that will fit in with most build themes. The PCB is matte-black, as are all heatsinks and shrouds. The large brushed-aluminum finish VRM heatsinks connect via heatpipe to each other and the chipset heatsink, sharing the thermal load between them. The DRAM and PCIe slots are all reinforced using MSI’s PCIe Steel Armor, protecting against bending/shearing and EMI. 

On the RGB front, the Mystic Light Infinity II feature above the VRM area steals the show. Through the magic of light and mirrors, the RGB lighting looks like it goes down to infinity, offering a truly unique look. The chipset heatsink also sports RGB lighting, with the familiar MSI Dragon illuminated just above the chipset fan. Additionally, the customizable OLED panel located to the DRAM slots’ right brings another unique aesthetic to a motherboard. MSI’s Mystic Light software controls all of the LEDs and the OLED screen. In short, the X570 Godlike looks the part of a high-end motherboard and includes some cool features to set it apart from other high-end alternatives.

Starting with the board’s top half, we get a closer look at the Infinity RGB display above the heatsink on the left-hand side. The mirror reflection system does a great job of showing off the RGBs differently from most motherboards. Above this and the large VRM heatsink are two 8-pin EPS connectors (one required) that send power to the CPU. The socket area is clear of most hazards and begs to have a pot on top for some sub-ambient fun.

To the right of the socket are four reinforced DRAM slots. Capacity is listed up to 128GB, while the supported speeds are close to the fastest we’ve seen listed, at DDR4 5000+(OC). As always, your mileage may vary on reaching sky-high speeds such as that. AMD’s sweet spot, even with the 5000 series processors, still sits at DDR4 3600/3733 with the Infinity Fabric tied to it (1:1). Reserved for benchmarking, these speeds benefit those shooting for world records more than it does for real-world performance gains.

Above the DRAM slots are the first three (of nine) 4-pin fan headers. Each fan header supports both PWM and DC controlled devices. The board will automatically detect what is connected and adjust the mode accordingly. MSI doesn’t list how much power these will output in the manual, but we reached out to the company and have answers. All 4-pin headers are 1A/12W, except for the pump header at 3A/36W. If only by the sheer count of fan headers, there should be plenty of power available to connect your pump and fans to the motherboard. Each header even has a LED next to it that tells you what mode the board is using. You’ll see red for PWM fans and white in DC mode. I don’t recall seeing this before, but this nifty little add-on can be helpful for troubleshooting and gives users information on how the fans connect at a glance, without going into the BIOS.

To the right of the socket is MSI’s OLED-based Dynamic Dashboard. Used for a slew of things, the Dynamic Dashboard displays CPU temperature/speed, BIOS flash status and error messages. The monochrome dashboard is customizable, even allowing you to upload a .GIF animation file to display. If there is an error during POST, the dashboard displays the part causing the issue listing the location and error on the screen. Couple that with the two-character debug LED and the four ‘dummy’ LEDs onboard and you should know what’s going on with this motherboard at all times. While it’s arguably overkill for the average user, for those benchmarking and pushing overclocking limits, this can be very helpful to troubleshoot issues efficiently.

In between these headers on the top of the board is the first (of four + Corsair RGB) RGB headers. In this case, it’s a 4-pin RGB. You’ll find the other three headers on the bottom edge of the board. The Mystic Light RGB application controls the RGB lighting. We’ve had no issues with this software providing proper control in our testing.

To the right of the DRAM slots and Dynamic Dashboard are a few more headers and connectors. From the top-down is the first of two temperature sensors, SYS_FAN2 header, the Corsair header, 24-pin ATX power connector, SYS_FAN3 header and a USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C front panel connector.

The MSI X570 Godlike runs a total of 14 phases for Vcore and a 4-phase configuration on the SoC. Managing power is a premium International Rectifier IR35201 (x+y=8) buck controller that sends power to seven IR3599 doublers, then on to 14 70A Infineon TDA21472 MOSFETs. The 980A available for the CPU/Vcore only is one of the highest we’ve come across so far. We had no issues whatsoever overclocking our flagship Ryzen 9 5950X CPU. The VRMs remained cool throughout all of our testing. If sub-ambient cooling and benchmarking are your thing, the VRMs will serve you well. Of course, ambient overclocking won’t be an issue either.

Moving to the bottom half of the board, we’ll start on the left side with the audio section. Hidden underneath the shroud are two (yes, two) Realtek ALC1220 codecs. The first is for the rear panel audio connectors, with the second dedicated for front-panel audio. An ESS E9018 Sabre DAC drives the 6.3mm stereo headphone output on the back panel. If you don’t have a 6.3mm headset, a 3.5mm-to-6.3 adapter is included if you’d like to use this port. Rounding out the audio section are 12 yellow Nippon audio caps and four WIMA audio caps (red). Overall, the audio solution is well above average, using premium codecs and a quality integrated DAC. The 6.3mm jack on the back is truly something unique on a motherboard.

In the middle of the board are four reinforced PCIe slots. Intended for GPUs, the top three slots support PCIe 4.0 x16 and break down to x16/x0/x0 or x8/x0/x8, or x8/x4/x4 when all three slots are populated. The fourth/bottom slot is sourced from the chipset and provides PCIe 4.0 x4 lanes. If you plan on using the M.2 Xpander and 10 GbE AICs, that leaves you with two full-size PCIe slots for video cards.

Between the PCIe slots are three M.2 sockets, each with their own heatsinks. The top two (M2_1 and M2_2) support both PCIe 4.0 x4 and SATA-based modules. M2_1 supports up to 110mm modules while M2_2 supports up to 80mm devices. The bottom slot, M2_3, supports PCIe only and drives up to 110mm long. If these three aren't enough, the M.2 expander card adds two more M.2 sockets. To get the full bandwidth from the AIC, install it in a slot that offers PCIe 4.0 x8 bandwidth (third slot down with nothing installed in the second slot). If you need a whole lot of wicked fast NVMe based storage, this motherboard supports it!

To the right of the M.2 and PCIe area are the chipset heatsink and fan. The large fan was inaudible during our testing, though we weren’t using any chipset-connected PCIe 4.0 devices so the stress level is lower. On the right edge are two USB 3.2 Gen 1 front-panel ports along with six SATA ports. SATA ports 1-4 are fed from the chipset, while ports 5/6 source their lanes from the ASMedia ASM1061 chip. The AMD chipset connected ports support RAID0, 1 and 10 modes, which is typical.

Across the bottom are several buttons and headers ranging from front panel audio to power and reset buttons. A lot is going on down there, especially for hardcore overclockers, where you’ll find BCLK buttons and other extreme overclocking functions. Also worth noting in this section are the temperature sensors and water flow headers. With these on board, you’re able to monitor and then control attached devices through the MSI software and the BIOS. Here’s the full list, from left to right:

• Front panel audio
• TPM header
• 3-pin RGB header
• LN2 mode header
• Fan header
• Temperature sensor header
• Fan header
• BIOS switch
• Fan header
• BCLK “-” button
• USB 2.0 header
• BCLK “+” button
• Reset and Power buttons
• OC knob
• USB 2.0 header
• Front panel header
• Water flow header
• Clear CMOS header
• Slow mode jumper

MSI’s rear IO includes an integrated plate with a black and red theme. On the left are two buttons, one that clears the CMOS and the other used for the board’s BIOS flashback capabilities. Moving right, we spy the two WiFi antenna mounts, two USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports and above that, a legacy PS/2 mouse/keyboard port. Next are the two Killer-based Ethernet ports that reside above the four USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (one Type-C). To the right of that is one of the most unique features on this motherboard, a 6.3mm audio jack that uses the integrated DAC. Finally, the rest of the audio stack consists of a 5-plug analog and SPDIF stack.

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Software

MSI doesn’t offer an excessive amount of software, but it covers all the bases. In the utility section of MSI’s support section for this board is an MSI-skinned version of CPUz, Nahimic Audio control and Dragon Center. Dragon Center (DC) is a one-stop-shop to monitor the system, control RGB lighting (Mystic Light), LAN, and gaming highlights. DC is relatively comprehensive, though it is missing software-based overclocking and fan control.

Dragon Center

Nahimic Audio

Firmware

To give you a taste of the Firmware, we’ve gathered screenshots showing most BIOS screens. MSI’s layout is informative and straightforward to use in EZ Mode or Advanced, with the latter separated into the more familiar sections on the main page. When overclocking, the most frequently used options are located on the opening BIOS screen in the OC section, so you don’t have to dig down for the most common functions. Overall, the MSI BIOS is easy to navigate and read with plenty of options to tweak your system.

Test System

We’ve updated our test system to Windows 10 64-bit OS (20H2) with all threat mitigations applied. We also upgraded our video card driver to 457.30 and reran all the game tests moving to the new 5000 series CPU. We use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public unless otherwise noted. The hardware used is as follows:

Benchmark Settings

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Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including stock Thermal Velocity Boost), with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and set the memory set using the XMP profiles. For this baseline testing, Windows is set to High Performance before we switch over to Balanced during power testing, so the PC idles appropriately.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics are a great tool to figure out if a board runs out of spec, as identical settings should produce similar performance results. Advanced memory timings are the one place where motherboard makers can still optimize for either stability or performance, though, and those settings can impact some testing.

In our synthetic benchmarks, the X570 Godlike was one of the better performing boards overall. Even in PCMark 10, where the results can vary, it performed consistently well throughout. The results from 7Zip and Cinebench were also some of the highest we’ve seen so far with the Ryzen 9 5950X.

Timed Applications

Results from our LAME testing shows the Godlike in the middle of the pack, while the Corona testing has it in the faster half. The x264 portion of Handbrake testing produced the quickest time, while in x265 it was among the fastest. This is a good showing in the multi-threaded timed applications as well.

3D Games and 3DMark

We’ve updated our game tests to The Division 2 and Forza Horizon 4. The games are run at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset. As the resolution goes up, the CPU tends to have less of an impact. The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used resolution with settings most people use or at least strive for.

During our gaming tests, we saw appreciable gains when moving from the 3900X to the newer 5950X. Between the clock speeds, IPC and large cache differences, performance increased using this CPU at our 1080p test resolution. If you game at a higher resolution, chances are you won’t see those gains unless you’re using one of the new, ultra-fast Nvidia or AMD GPUs. Disclaimer aside, our X570 Godlike had no problems here, easily mixing in with the rest of the newly tested boards in both 3DMark and actual games.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

For power testing, we used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU and Cache enabled, using the peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter to capture the entire ecosystem. The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts are the same.

The X570 Godlike used 78 Watts from the wall at idle, which is on the higher end of boards tested so far. Load wattage peaked 228W, a result that falls around the middle of others we’ve tested. If we average this out, the 153W value is just about in the center as well—nothing out of the ordinary here.

The 19-phase 70A VRMs handled our CPU testing without issue. At stock speeds, the hottest probe on our Exetech peaked a bit over 50 degrees Celsius with the internal sensor peaked at 56 degrees Celsius. After overclocking our Ryzen 9 5950X CPU to 4.4 GHz and ~1.3V, VRM temperatures peaked around 56 and 62 degrees Celsius for the Extech and internal sensors, respectively. Compared to the other boards tested, the temperature lands in the middle of the others tested so far. This VRM is plenty capable of handling the flagship CPU at stock, overclocked, and even sub-ambient/extreme overclocking.

Overclocking

There are several ways to overclock on AMD platforms, depending on your goals. If your focus is single-threaded performance, you may want to focus on using Precision Boost Overdrive (PBO) and adjusting its parameters. If you can use all cores and threads, setting a manual CPU multiplier and voltage is likely the better route. While the latter clips peak single-threaded performance a bit, it increases all core/thread performance over the all-core boost. To that end, we settled on 4.4 GHz at ~1.3V for an all core/thread overclock.

As you’ve probably figured out by now, the robust power delivery on the motherboard isn’t holding anything back. Cooling on the CPU is the limiting factor. The Godlike efficiently handled our 16-core/32-thread Ryzen 9 5950X as expected. Vdroop was insignificant when LLC left on auto for this board. For ambient and extreme overclocking, you have nothing to worry about.

On the memory side, we know AMD is limited to around 3600/3733 MHz when keeping FCLK at a 1:1 ratio with the memory. With this in mind, we add two more sticks and run 4x8GB at DDR4 3600, which is AMD’s current sweet spot. We didn’t run into any issues on this board as expected. All we did was enable the XMP profile and we had a stable system.

Final Thoughts

Although the X570 Godlike has been out for a while now, it was still a treat to test it with the formidable Ryzen 9 5950X. As we saw from the testing, it was one of the better performing boards with the new CPU. Overclocking was a breeze, literally a set-it-and-forget situation for our 4.4 GHz and 4x8GB 3600 settings. It feels like she’s begging for more.

Outside of its good performance, the features list is long as well. The M.2 Expander card is novel, allowing the board to support up to five M.2 storage modules. This is a good configuration for those who want a lot of ultra-fast storage. On the networking side, some competitors use 10 GbE, so it was nice to see the 10 GbE add-in-card to supplement the internal Killer based GbE and 2.5 GbE LAN ports. If I had to nitpick, I would like to see the 10 GbE integrated, perhaps a 2.5 and 10 GbE setup instead. Another unique feature of the Godlike is the audio section. Not only are there two Realtek ALC1220 chips onboard feeding the front and rear audio, but it also uses a premium ESS Sabre audio DAC that outputs to a 6.3mm jack on the integrated IO panel. You don’t see that on motherboards, period.

Competition in the flagship space is fierce as each company puts its best foot forward and says, ‘look what we can do.’ Ignoring the water-cooled boards such as the $1000 X570 Aqua, ASRock has the X570 Creator ($499.99), Asus the ROG Crosshair VIII Formula ($599.99) and finally Gigabyte’s X570 Aorus Xtreme ($699.99). Of all the boards, the Asus and Gigabyte are the group’s beauties, with MSI riding their coattails. ASRock’s Creator board is the least expensive of the bunch, but still packs flagship-level features, though it may not be the best looking or fit into your build theme. So long as you don’t need 10 GbE, the Asus motherboard makes a strong case here as the Goldilocks board between price, features and appearance.

MSI’s X570 Godlike proved itself to be a worthwhile flagship-class motherboard in the X570 space. Whether you plan on gaming, overclocking or using it for productivity, the Godlike handles it all. Do you need loads of ultra-fast M.2 storage? Check. A VRM capable of extreme overclocking? It has that too. Temperature and water flow headers? Premium audio section? 10 GbE? Check and mate. If you’re looking to build an X570 based system with flagship-type money to spend, the MSI X570 Godlike makes for a great option in that space.

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MSI Prestige 14 Evo Specs

Design of the MSI Prestige 14 Evo 

The Evo-certified update to the MSI Prestige 14 keeps the same basic look as previous releases, but unfortunately lacks the bright pink option from the Ice Lake model we reviewed earlier this year. Instead, you’ll have a choice between white and black here, though each comes with snazzy metallic lining on the edges of the lid and the touchpad.

There’s some extra styling on the MSI Prestige 14 Evo that gives it a premium look. On our gray model, a metallic blue strip accentuated the edges of the laptop’s lid and its touchpad, and in the right light, almost looked like it was an LED strip.

The rest of the laptop is more plain aesthetically, with the majority of the case being taken up by a uniform, somewhat glittery gray surface that’s unfortunately prone to collecting fingerprints. If you flip the laptop over, you’ll notice that the laptop’s vent hole placement resembles a city skyline, though this isn’t something you’ll see during typical use.

The keyboard is also home to a nice visual touch, as its keycaps are decorated with a slightly lighter version of the case’s color scheme.

Opening the laptop lid also lifts the keyboard off the desk at a five degree angle, to make for easier typing and better cooling.

There’s a wide variety of ports for such a small laptop. The laptop has two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and the right side has a single USB Type-A port, a 3.5mm combination headphone/microphone jack and a microSD card reader. That last inclusion is a rare but helpful addition, although it’s unfortunate that the Type-A port is just USB 2.0 as opposed to belonging to a more recent connection standard like USB 3.2.

This is the first non-convertible 14 inch Tiger Lake ultrabook we’ve reviewed, so it’s a touch larger than the closest competitors we have on record. At 12.6 x 8.6 x 0.6 inches, it’s certainly not large, but it is a touch longer than rivals. The Dell XPS 13 and Razer Book 13, for instance, are 11.6 x 7.8 x 0.6 inches, while the Asus ZenBook 13 is a slightly chunkier 11.9 x 8 x 0.5 inches.

The Prestige 14 Evo is surprisingly lightweight, though, matching the Dell XPS 13’s 2.8 pounds. That does make it slightly heavier than the ZenBook 13’s 2.4 pounds, but it’s still not as weighty as the Razer Book 13’s 3.1 pounds.
 

Productivity Performance on the MSI Prestige 14 Evo 

This is our first time looking at a shipping laptop with the Core i7-1185G7 CPU. Every other Tiger Lake i7 laptop we’ve reviewed has an  i7-1165G7, besides a whitebox system featuring the chip. What’s the difference? Not much. The 1185G7 has a slightly higher max turbo speed (4.3 vs 4.1 GHz), but both can run between 12W and 28W of power. Still, the Prestige’s chip is just a touch more, well, prestigious.

You can see this in action on the Prestige 14 Evo’s Geekbench 5.0 results. This synthetic benchmark tracks general performance across a number of arenas, and the Prestige 14 Evo scored higher than any computers we tested it to. At 5,718 points, it’s closest match was the Razer Book 13 (5,460), coincidentally also made by a manufacturer known for gaming. The Dell XPS 13 was next (5,254), while the Asus ZenBook 13 came in last (5,084).

This trend continued in our Handbrake video editing test, where we track how long it takes a machine to transcode a video down from 4K to FHD. The Prestige 14 Evo completed the task in 12:27, while the Razer Book 13 took slightly longer at 14:46. The Zenbook 13 trailed behind with a 17:51 time, while the XPS 13 took the longest at 18:22.

The Prestige and the Razer Book once again lead scores in graphics testing, with all machines using Intel Iris Xe internal graphics which we benchmarked using 3DMark Fire Strike. Here, the Prestige scored 5,240 points and the Razer Book 13 scored 5,216 points. The Zenbook 13 dipped significantly with 4,407 points, and the XPS 13 rounded out the rankings with an even lower 3,598 points.

The one category where the Prestige isn’t on top is on file transfer speeds. Here, it copied 4.97GB of files at a respectable 805 MBps, which was about on par with the XPS 13’s 806.2 MBps and was much higher than the Razer Book 13’s 479.2 MBps. Still, the ZenBook 13 was the leader here, with a transfer speed of 966.8 MBps.

We also ran the MSI Prestige through Cinebench R20 20 times in a row to test how it holds up to extended strain. Our average score was 2206.2, which was impressive given that our first test earned 2268 points and that we tend to see a significant drop as the stress test continues.

During the stress test, the Prestige 14’s CPU ran at an average clock speed of 3434.1 GHz and an average temperature of 85.3 degrees Celsius (185.54 degrees Fahrenheit).

Display on the MSI Prestige 14 Evo 

At 14 inch screen on  the MSI Prestige 14 Evo is IPS-level, but my viewing experience found that it was almost uncomfortably dim.

I tested the display on the MSI Prestige 14 Evo by watching the Wonder Woman 1984 trailer on it. To the screen’s credit, I found that the viewing angles on this screen were almost complete, with the image never washing out regardless of how far away I got from the display, whether horizontally or vertically. The panel also wasn’t reflective, and I was able to clearly see the image in both normal and low light.

The difficulty was in the actual image on screen. While I could follow the action well, the Prestige 14 Evo is more than just dim. It borders on dark. Colors also weren’t vivid or striking, though blacks were impressively deep.

Our testing backed up my impressions. Our luminance testing found that the average brightness across the Prestige 14 Evo’s screen was 284 nits, which is much lower than even its closest competitors. That would be the ZenBook 13, which had a 370 nit average brightness. The Razer Book 13 and Dell XPS 13, meanwhile, far exceeded these two laptops at 436 and 469 nits, respectively.

The Prestige 14 Evo did fare better on color, registering a 78.9% DCI-P3 rating on our colorimeter. That’s more than we saw on the XPS 13 (69.4%) and the ZenBook 13 (76.1%), though it’s not quite as high as the Razer Book 13’s score (80.7%).  Still despite scoring high on official benchmarks, the dim screen held the colors back in practice, since I had to strain more to see them.

Keyboard and Touchpad on the MSI Prestige Evo 14 

The keyboard on the MSI Prestige 14 Evo makes a strong first impression thanks to some snazzy decoration and the laptop’s hinge lifting it five degrees off the desk, but it starts to show some minor weaknesses with further use.

Keypresses are cushiony but still feel tactile, and there’s enough key travel for you to get an idea of when your press is registered. The issue comes with the construction of the keycaps themselves. They’re sturdy enough, but the top of each keycap can start to feel slippery during quick typing, which can get disorienting when touch-typing and is likely to cause the occasional typo.

Still, I was able to maintain a high words per minute count on 10fastfingers.com, where I scored 76 wpm on most tests. That’s just a few points below my 80 wpm standard.

The Prestige’s precision touchpad is generous, and multitouch gestures register well. My only complaint is that the laptop’s fingerprint reader sits in the touchpad’s upper-left corner, and running your finger over it doesn’t register as moving the cursor. So, essentially, it acts as a dead zone that you could accidentally run into during use. However, the touchpad’s larger overall size means this isn’t much of an issue in practice.

Audio on the MSI Prestige Evo 14

The MSI Prestige 14 Evo features a bottom-firing speaker on either side. I tested their audio by listening to Mood by 24kgoldn, and I had a subpar listening experience.

The most immediate issue with the Prestige 14 Evo’s audio is its volume — or lack thereof. Even at 100%, the Prestige 14 Evo was quiet, just barely able to fill my small office with music. Even for personal use, you’ll probably want to keep it at close to 80% of its max volume.

Volume wasn’t the Prestige 14 Evo’s only problem, though. Its audio also tends to come across as tinny and weak. For example, Mood opens up with thunderclaps meant to evoke a raging storm, but they sound more like rustling leaves here. The song’s frequent drum beats also bear a remarkable similarity to clapping hands.

Essentially, the Prestige 14 Evo’s speakers are so poor that my first impression of them was “Are these mono?”

Upgradeability of the MSI Prestige 14 Evo

We opened the MSI Prestige 14 Evo by removing the 7 Phillips Head screws along its bottom with a J0 screwdriver. Note that there is a screw underneath a “factory seal” sticker in the center of the case’s lid that you’ll have to remove alongside the screws on the laptop’s side.

Inside the Prestige 14 Evo, you’ll find the M.2 SSD and the networking chip, but since the RAM is soldered in and there’s no slots for expanded storage, the only change you’ll be able to make is swapping out the SSD for one with a larger capacity. 

Battery Life on the MSI Prestige 14 Evo 

The Evo branding suggests the MSI Prestige 14 should last long. But we have our own battery test, which continually browses the web, streams video and runs OpenGL tests over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness. It confirmed that the Prestige 14 Evo does indeed last for a while before turning off.

Specifically, we found that it had 12:25 hours of battery life on our test. That puts it a little over an hour behind the Asus ZenBook 13 (13:47), but it’s still ahead of the XPS 13 (11:07) and the Razer Book 13 (11:44).

Heat on the MSI Prestige 14 Evo

The MSI Prestige 14 Evo doesn’t get that hot under strain, but it does heat up more frequently than we’d like, even during casual tests.

After 15 minutes of streaming YouTube, the touchpad was the Prestige 14 Evo’s coolest location. It registered 77.7 degrees Fahrenheit (25.4 degrees Celsius). The next hottest location was the keyboard at 87.3 degrees Fahrenheit (30.7 degrees Celsius), while the laptop’s bottom measured 92.3 degrees Fahrenheit (33.5 degrees Celsius).

Its hottest location was slightly above its F4 key, where it hit 93.4 degrees Fahrenheit (34.1 degrees Celsius).

All of this is within what we’ve seen from similar 14 inch Tiger Lake laptops like the Lenovo Yoga 7i, but what makes the Prestige 14 Evo stand out is just how frequently it heats up. Even just sitting idle off to my side as I wrote this review, its fans were on full blast most of the time. This got noisy fast, and I quickly took to turning the MSI off when it wasn’t in use.

Webcam on the MSI Prestige 14 Evo 

The MSI Prestige 14 Evo’s excellent webcam reflects how important video conferencing has become during the pandemic. The picture is so clear that I thought it might have been 1080p when I first turned it on. Turns out this is a 720p camera, but my mistake indicates how highly I think of it.

In both normal and low light, the Prestige 14 Evo’s camera displayed virtually no grain and was true-to-life in capturing the color and texture of my face. More impressive, however, is that I was able to easily capture a photo in front of my office window without it being washed out by background light. Instead, I was surrounded by the cityscape surrounding my apartment, a rare treat even on the best webcams.

The Prestige 14 Evo’s webcam also acknowledges privacy concerns, and the laptop’s Fn bar has an option to turn it off on the hardware level so that you don’t have to worry about being recorded without your knowledge. It also has an IR sensor for use with Windows Hello.

While not quite up to the level of the Logitech c920 or Razer Kiyo, this camera rivals some of the best webcams out there.

Software and Warranty on the MSI Prestige 14 Evo 

The MSI Prestige 14 Evo comes mostly free of bloat, but because this is a productivity laptop coming from a brand known mostly for gaming, MSI’s snuck in some utility software to prove that it’s not limited to helping players up their K/D ratios. So, on top of standard Windows pack-ins like Microsoft Solitaire Collection and Spotify, you’ll also find apps like the MSI Center for Business & Productivity.

The MSI Center for Business & Productivity is essentially a fancy name for a program that lets you change your CPU’s power consumption based on which apps are open, plus direct more CPU resources to certain productivity programs like Photoshop. It also has noise cancellation functions, and can help you clear SSD space. It also has a unique feature to link iOS devices to your computer as a second display.

ColorDirector for MSI, Music Maker Jam and PowerDirector 17 Essential for MSI are also present and are more akin to bloat. These Cyberlink photo/video editing apps aren’t particularly popular choices among professionals, but I suppose they could make for a good way to get your feet wet before dipping into anything more advanced. 

MSI Prestige 14 Evo Configurations

The Evo-certified MSI Prestige 14 has five available configurations, with price and availability depending on theretailer. Our configuration had an Intel Core i7-1185G7 CPU 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. It cost $1,149 at B&H and Newegg at time of review.

The cheapest version we could find was the version with the i5-1135G7, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, which came in at $1,099 at B&H at time of the review. 

On the other side of the spectrum, the most advanced version we could find had the same specs as our review unit, except for having a 1TB SSD. It cost $1,199 at Best Buy at the time of review.

Bottom Line

The MSI Prestige 14 Evo may seem premium at first, thanks to its name and the shiny trim along its outer edges, but on further inspection, it has serious compromises on everything but its performance.

While the Prestige 14 Evo largely boasted slight performance improvements over competitors, its gains were mostly meager, with the Razer Book 13 in particular nipping at its heels across our tests. This is unfortunate, given that the Razer Book 13 has a brighter screen as well as louder and, in our experience, clearer audio.

Granted, the $1,599 Razer Book 13 is also more expensive than the Prestige 14 Evo, and the Dell XPS 13, which has similar strengths, is even more unapproachable at $1,650.

But the $999 Asus Zenbook 13, which has a larger SSD and a brighter screen, is actually cheaper than the Prestige 14 Evo. MSI’s machine outclasses it a touch more on performance than the Razer Book 13 and the XPS 13, but the ZenBook actually has faster file transfer speeds than any of them. Its speakers were similarly tinny to the Prestige 14 Evo, but were much louder.

So whether you settle on the Prestige 14 Evo depends on your priorities in a laptop. If budget and performance are your first concerns, then it’s a pretty enticing machine. But if you’re willing to take a slight performance hit and pay a few hundred dollars more, you can get a machine with much higher quality components. Alternatively, if you’re OK with a noticeable but not oppressive performance dip, you could also get a machine with overall better components while paying less.

MSI issued the following statement to Guru3D:

A fire accident occurred in MSI's Baoan factory in Shenzhen on the afternoon of November 5th. The company initiated emergency response measures and notified the fire department to deal with it quickly. No injuries were caused and the production line was not affected. In the future, the factory will strengthen the promotion and training of personnel. At present, all units are operating normally. Thank you for your concern.

According to this statement, the incident does not appear to have any major consequences. There are no reported injuries or deaths, nor has the production line been affected. We have not been able to verify this information.

The facility in question is said to be a location where MSI manufactures PCBs for various devices.

This event comes only months after the sad passing of MSI's CEO, Charles Chiang who fell from one of the company's buildings.

At this time, these are the only details available to us. We will keep this story updated as we learn more.

The MSI Vigor GK50 Elite checks off a lot of those boxes, but not all of them. It’s an updated version of the MSI Vigor GK50 Low Profile that ups the ante with full-height mechanical switches and keycaps. At about $80 as of writing, this is a steal. With a gamer-friendly design, customizable per-key lighting and grease-resistant keys, the MSI Vigor GK50 Elite is one of the best budget mechanical keyboards for gamers. If you’re in the market for an RGB clacker with luxurious comfort and typing that won’t kill your pockets, take a close look.

MSI Vigor GK50 Elite Specs 

Design of MSI Vigor GK50 Elite

The MSI Vigor GK50 Elite carries over the same beautiful look as the preceding VIgor GK50 Low Profile. That means you’re getting a sleek metal top plate with a brushed finish. This makes for a subtle shine that helps the keyboard look a bit more expensive than it actually is. You also get a couple of appearances from MSI’s mascot, Lucky the Dragon, without it getting tacky. 

But it’s not just about how nice the Vigor GK50 Elite is to look at; it’s also about how functional the design is for long-term use. Thanks to some matte coating, the octagon-shaped plastic keycaps did a good job of fighting off grease stains, making this a good fit for the snacky gamer. The coating also makes for decent resistance; the keycaps squawk loudly if you rub your finger across them. Overall, the keycaps feel as thick and quality as your standard plastic keycaps aka nothing particularly special. 

The top-plate brings durability to the keyboard, but the Vigor GK50 Elite is still relatively lightweight overall at 1.8 pounds. For comparison, the similarly priced Cooler Master CK552 and Corsair K60 RGB Pro are 1.9 pounds and 2 pounds, respectively. Of course, our review focus takes up more space than its low-profile counterpart. While our review unit is 17.1 x 5.3 x 1.5 inches, the Vigor GK50 Low Profile is 17.1 x 5.6 x 1.3 inches.  Both offer feet on the underside that flip out sideways, providing more height without the losing stability. 

One shortcoming is in the Vigor GK50 Elite’s cable. It's a braided cable but doesn't seem to have much reinforcement where it connects to the keyboard and is a little flimsier than what you'll find on some rival keyboards. It seems like it could break after too much manipulation.

Typing Experience on MSI Vigor GK50 Elite

The MSI Vigor GK50 Elite is available with two types of mechanical switches, and they’re both tactile and clicky. You can opt for Kailh Box White switches or the Kailh Blue switches in our review unit.

Kailh Box Blues are loud and clicky and specced for 1.9 ± 0.4mm pretravel, 4.0 ± 0.4mm total travel and actuate with 50 ± 10 grams of force, bottoming out at 60 ± 10g. That makes them similar to the more traditional Cherry MX Blues (2mm pretravel, 4mm total travel, actuating at 50g and bottoming out at 60g). These types of switches are popular for typing, thanks to their discernible tactile bump along the way and satisfyingly loud clicking sound. And if you type hard enough, those clicks will be accompanied by dings on the keyboard’s metal top plate, for an even louder experience. 

The amount of space between the keys was another positive, making it comfortable for me to type on for hours. If you’re used to linear switches or non-mechanical keyboards, the Vigor GK50 Elite will definitely take some getting used to it, particularly when it comes to applying enough force to get through that tactile pump. For comparison linear Cherry MX Reds only require 40g to actuate. 

But eventually I found myself typing faster on MSI’s clacker as I got more used to it. On the 10fastfingers.com typing test, I was able to hit my standard speed and accuracy. Now, I’m singing this keyboard’s praises to heavy typists.

It’s also worth noting that this will likely provide a more comfortable typing experience than the Vigor GK50 Low Profile. That keyboard comes with Kailh Choc White switches, with just 1.5mm pre-travel and 3mm total travel. We enjoyed the Vigor GK50 Low Profile’s sound and clickiness and didn’t think the switches were too shallow, but if you’re doing a lot of typing or want a more traditional feel, the Vigor GK50 Elite may be a little more up your alley. 

Gaming Experience on MSI Vigor GK50 Elite

While my typing grew to improve with the Vigor GK50’s tactile, clicky switches, it’s a bit of a different story with gaming.

Whether playing Destiny 2, Ark: Survival Evolved or Dead By Daylight, I found the Kailh Blue switches slightly tiring because I had to apply more force to actuate them than I’m typically used to. This slowed me down, especially when I first started gaming with the keyboard. Again, this will present a greater learning curve to gamers used to linear switches particularly. Minding that caveat, after I got more used to it the Vigor GK50 Elite felt responsive and reliable when it came to rapid inputs. MSI also equips the keyboard with n-key rollover. 

The keys on MSI’s Vigor GK50 Elite are well-spaced, which was advantageous when gaming. Not only did it help me avoid mistresses, but it made the keyboard more comfortable to use, and I didn't experience the normal wrist fatigue after many hours of gameplay. 

With ARK, I was able to program keys to my liking, making consumables and my hotbar more readily accessible. I even used my per-key RGB to set different colors to important keys, which was super helpful in battle. It was all so convenient that it made me want to stay away from console gaming for a while.

Another thing to keep in mind when gaming on this keyboard is how loud it is. Not only do the Kailh Blue switches have a prominent click, but if you type hard enough you’ll also hear a ding on the metal top plate.

MSI includes an extra left Ctrl keycap and Alt keycap, as well as a keycap puller. These additional keycaps have rounded tops, instead of being indented like the rest, and are supposed to help gamers. But I thought they felt odd alongside the other keycaps and served no purpose

Features and Software on MSI Vigor GK50 Elite

The Vigor GK50 Elite works with MSI Dragon Center software, which I happened to already have installed. However, I had some difficulty downloading it, though others on staff did not.

The MSI Vigor GK50 Elite offers great hotkey mapping out of the box, allowing you to switch between modes for media, volume and launching software. You can also control RGB settings, including speed, colors and brightness here. This is a nice touch, as it means you don’t have to download or open software to change up your lighting. 

Bottom Line  

If you’re in the market for a mechanical keyboard, the MSI Vigor GK50 Elite is a no-brainer. It’s not just about throwing specs at you: MSI has built a keyboard that’s comfortable that I loved every second I spent typing or gaming with it. I also highly recommend it for people who get wrist fatigue.

On the down side, this keyboard only comes with clicky, tactile mechanical switch options, which can get tiring when gaming, particularly if you're used to linear switches. Finally, the cable doesn’t look the sturdiest.

But at this price, the Vigor GK50 Elite is a great value. I typically use a Logitech G915 TKL, one of the best wireless keyboards and more pricey at $230, but I’d still opt for the (roughly) $80 Vigor GK50 Elite with its full-sized typing experience and easy RGB control. Built for comfy gaming while staying shiny and sleek, this keyboard is one to rule them all.  

The B550 Unify and Unify-X are very unique in the workloads the boards are designed for. Both boards have no RGB, but feature quad M.2 slots, and both models are designed specifically for extreme overclocking.

Specs-wise, the MEG B550 Unify and Unify X comes with a beefy 14+2 VRM power delivery system, only equal to that of the B550 AORUS Master from Gigabyte. However the Gigabyte model "only" comes with 70A power stages, the Unify and Unify X upgrade the power stages to 90A units. The extra amperage is overkill for moderate overclocking, but for world records, they can help stabilize the power the CPU needs at very high wattage.

To achieve quadruple M.2 slot capability on the Unify series, MSI removed the 2nd PCIe x16 slot (wired with 8 lanes traditionally) to make way for two M.2 slots. All in all you get four PCIe gen 4.0 capable M.2 slots. However, you can't run a graphics card or other PCIe devices in the first x16 slot and expect gen 4.0 performance on all four slots. Two of the slots can switch from either running off the CPU PCIe lanes or the chipset PCIe lanes. For most users that need a graphics card, you'll be running two of the M.2s from the chipset which means a downgrade to Gen 3.0 speeds. Still having quad M.2 slots at all is impressive and Gen 3.0 speeds are still very quick for storage.

The final big feature for the Unify, and especially the Unify X, is the memory overclocking capability. The Unify can support an official max speed of 5600Mhz, the Unify X with the dual DIMM slot design increases that max spec to 5800MHz. The Unify X removes two of the DIMMS to achieve a higher speed. Having more DIMMs always hinders overclocking performance, so this is a great feature to have if you desire ultra-high memory speeds.

There is no release date for either of these boards. However, the Ryzen 5000 series launch is just a week away so we can expect MSI's Unify boards will release around that time.

If you want to keep gameplay above 100 frames per second (fps), a monitor with 1080p resolution is the easiest way to make it happen. Moving fewer pixels means less processing power is required. For shoppers, this approach keeps hardware costs down (no need for the top cards on our GPU benchmarks hierarchy) and still provides an excellent gaming experience.

An attractive choice for gamers on a budget, the MSI Optix MAG273R is a 1080p, 27-inch IPS monitor that provides a 144 Hz refresh rate, Adaptive-Sync, extended color and HDR for $250-$260 (as of this writing). It’s aimed at eSports enthusiasts but works equally well in all kinds of fast-moving action games. 

MSI Optix MAG273R Specifications

The Optix MAG273R starts with an IPS panel equipped with a flicker-free backlight capable of a claimed 250 nits of max brightness and wide color gamut, namely sRGB+. MSI takes a unique approach to extended color in this case. Most wide gamut screens simply follow the DCI-P3 spec and under-saturate the green primary by 10% or so. The MAG273R, on the other hand, follows sRGB for most of the saturation range and pumps up only the brightest hues. The net effect is a little more natural looking. We’ll explain further on page three.

AMD FreeSync is the native Adaptive-Sync for fighting screen tearing, but we were able to run Nvidia G-Sync on our test sample, even though it’s not certified by Nvidia (you can learn how i our How to Run G-Sync on a FreeSync Monitor tutorial). FreeSync runs from 30 to 144 Hz and supports Low Framerate Compensation (LFC) to ensure that you won’t see tearing at any speed.

Also included is low motion blur in the form of a backlight strobe. It also eliminates both HDR and Adaptive-Sync when engaged.

MSI’s MAG273R is billed as HDR-ready and we confirmed HDR10 support in our tests. But in terms of Adaptive-Sync, HDR only works alongside FreeSync, not the unofficial G-Sync support we uncovered.

There aren’t a ton of bells and whistles here but ultimately, performance is the key to success. At around $300, the MAG237R looks like a decent value for budget systems. Let’s take a look.

Assembly and Accessories of MSI MAG273R

Once you secure a Phillips-head screwdriver, assembling the MSI MAG273R is a simple matter. The base attaches to the upright with a captive bolt, and the panel hooks on and is secured with two screws.

Additional hardware is included for the 100mm VESA mount if you want to use your own bracket. Included cables are HDMI and USB, along with a small external power supply.

Product 360 for MSI MAG273R

The MSI MAG273R has a flush-mounted bezel that’s 9mm wide. It’s only visible when there’s an image on-screen. A wider strip runs across the bottom with the MSI logo in the center. The screen is free of grain or artifacts and prevents reflection of all but the brightest room lights. The stand is a quality piece with a 5.2-inch height adjustment and -5/20 degrees of tilt. There is no swivel or portrait mode. Movements are firm and free of play.

The power toggle is a tiny key underneath the right side, and other controls are all under the management of a single joystick which is on the back. Also in the back is an attractive shield-shaped graphic showing a dragon against a red background.

Across the top, above the upright is an LED lighting feature. You can toggle it in the on-screen display (OSD) or use MSI’s Gaming OSD desktop app. The RGB can be coordinated with MSI’s Mystic Light products for a system-wide light show.

The MSI MAG273R's input panel offers two HDMI 2.0 ports and a single DisplayPort 1.2a (for gaming comparisons, see our HDMI vs DisplayPort article). You can run FreeSync at 144 Hz over either interface, but the unofficial G-Sync support requires DisplayPort. Both input types also support HDR but only with FreeSync. A 3.5mm audio port provides sound for headphones or powered speakers. There are no speakers built in. You also get three USB 2.0 (one upstream and two down) for peripheral hookup.

OSD Features of MSI MAG273R

Pressing the joystick brings up the MAG273R’s OSD, which fills a large portion of the screen. At the top of each menu is information on resolution, refresh rate, HDR and FreeSync status and active input.

The Gaming menu offers five picture modes aimed at different game types. User is the default and best mode, as it allows for image adjustments. Night Vision raises the black level to make shadow detail more visible. Response time is a three-level overdrive. We ran it on its maximum without visible ghosting.

Anti-Motion Blur is a backlight strobe that takes out overdrive and Adaptive-Sync. It also reduces brightness by 50%. We noticed visible phasing when using it, so we recommend leaving it off. Refresh Rate is an FPS counter you can place in any corner of the screen. Alarm Clock is a countdown timer, and Screen Assistance offers an array of aiming points. You get five different reticle shapes in either red or white, and you can place it anywhere on the screen using the joystick.

The Professional sub-menu repeats the backlight strobe option and adds dynamic contrast (HDCR) and four more picture modes. The last one, HDR, attempts to simulate the effect of HDR with SDR content. We weren’t fans of it, but users should try it for themselves before deciding. Image Enhancement adds ringing around high-contrast objects. We suggest leaving it off.

The Image menu has the MAG273R’s calibration controls. You get three color temp presets, plus a set of RGB sliders. We were able to achieve excellent grayscale tracking with them. We wish there were extra gamma presets because we found the default luminance curve to be a little light; measuring closer to 1.9 rather than 2.2.

MSI Optix MAG273R Calibration Settings

We stuck with the MAG273R’s User mode for our calibration and testing. After selecting the User color temp, we tweaked the RGB sliders to achieve a very accurate white point. There are no color gamut options, so DCI-P3 is the gamut used for all content, SDR and HDR.

Below are our recommended settings for the MSI Optix MAG273R.

Applying an HDR10 signal automatically switches the monitor into HDR mode, where all image controls are locked out.

Gaming and Hands-on

The first thing we noticed when starting up Windows on the MSI MAG273R is its excellent contrast. Though contrast on this IPS panel isn’t quite in the same league as a VA monitor, the MSI has a little more dynamic range than most IPS panels, and the difference was visible in a side-by-side comparison. The MAG273R also makes very good use of its wide color gamut to enhance SDR content without going too far into over-saturation. This quality makes it easy to forget you’re looking at an FHD screen. Though pixel density is just 81 pixels per inch (ppi), it fools the eye into thinking resolution is higher.

Detail in tiny fonts and icons is solid, but you can see the occasional jagged line. If you spend most of your time editing documents and spreadsheets, a 27-inch 1440p or 4K resolution monitor, like those on our Best 4K Gaming Monitors list, is a better tool.

But when viewing graphics, photos or videos; we became less aware of the MAG273R’s lesser resolution. Moving images rendered cleanly with the overdrive set to its maximum speed. There was no ghosting, and motion blur was minimal at 60 Hz and even less at 144 Hz.

Moving into the jungles and caves of Tomb Raider, we were again struck by the MAG273R’s contrast. Though our tests show only about 15% more dynamic range, it looked like a lot more to the naked eye. MSI engineered the color tracking to make excellent use of the wide gamut, and it showed in this SDR-encoded game. Detail popped nicely with sharp rendering of textures and surfaces. Specular highlights shined brightly while dark scenes came close to true black with easily seen shadow detail.

For video processing, we stuck with FreeSync and max overdrive, since we saw no benefit to the MAG273R’s backlight strobe option. The backlight strobe dimmed the picture too much, and the loss of Adaptive-Sync was easily noticeable. With either FreeSync or (unofficial) G-Sync active though, we had no issues. Control response was instantaneous with no stutter, tearing or ghosting. The MAG273R has a top-of-the-line overdrive implementation. Motion resolution was always high regardless of how fast the action was.

Frame rates in all cases stayed maxed at 144 fps when paired with a system using either a Radeon RX 5700 XT or GeForce GTX 1080 Ti graphics card. Many systems with less processing power than ours will be able to run the MAG273R at 144 Hz, thanks to its FHD panel. Speed is this monitor’s forte for sure.

HDR gaming is pretty much a non-starter here. There is no visual benefit to running in HDR mode because contrast was no higher than it is in SDR mode. HDR worked fine with FreeSync, but we turned on G-Sync, despite lacking Nvidia certification, HDR didn’t work. HDR is best reserved for movie watching; it isn’t of any use while gaming.

To read about our monitor tests in-depth, check out Display Testing Explained: How We Test PC Monitors. We cover brightness and contrast testing on page two.

Uncalibrated – Maximum Backlight Level

We’ve rounded up a group of 27-inch screens to compare the MAG273R’s performance. They cover IPS, VA and TN technologies and both FHD and QHD resolutions. All are capable of HDR and feature extended color. There’s the ViewSonic Elite XG270QC, Aorus FI27Q, Gigabyte G27QC, Viotek GFI27QXA and, finally, the Pixio PX278.

MSI rates the MAG273R at 250 nits max brightness, but our sample measured nearly 318 nits. There are brighter monitors out there, but this Optix provides more than enough light for any indoor environment. Black levels are surprisingly low for an IPS monitor, and we recorded an impressive 1,289.5:1 contrast ratio in the static test. Contrast doesn’t get much better for an IPS panel than that. Only the two VA monitors in the group can boast wider dynamic range.

After Calibration to 200 nits

After calibration (see our recommended settings on page 1), the MAG273R still leads the black level contest and picks up a bit more contrast; now it’s 1,315.1:1; one of the highest IPS contrast scores we’ve recorded. That great range is visible in the image, which looked deeper and more vibrant than most IPS or TN screens we’ve reviewed. MSI is using a very capable panel here.

ANSI contrast is strong at 1,207:1 -- also one of the highest scores in this test for an IPS panel. Though we noted a few minor uniformity issues, it didn’t prevent our MAG273R sample from showing us a superb image. It’s definitely a cut above average in that department.

The MAG273R’s default mode, User, is the best starting place for calibration and provides the most accurate out-of-box image. We noted a few flaws there though and, therefore, recommend adjustment, or the use of our suggested settings, for the best possible picture.

Grayscale and Gamma Tracking

We describe our grayscale and gamma tests in detail here.

The MAG273R’s default color temp runs a little blue with visible errors from 40-100% brightness. Some content looked fine this way, but neutral grays and whites were a little cool in tone. The error also flattened the image somewhat. Gamma runs light throughout the brightness range. Our measurements show a slight lack of pop in the brightest highlights. Luckily, the tracking is linear which prevents detail from becoming too undefined.

After calibration (see our recommended settings on page 1), grayscale tracking is near-perfect with no visible errors anywhere in the brightness range. Gamma is unchanged though, which is unfortunate. Since the trace is fairly straight, a couple of additional presets would be all that’s necessary to fix the problem.

Comparisons

A 4.42 Delta E (dE) grayscale error puts the MAG273R out of contention for our Calibration Not Required list. The blue errors are just visible in most content, so you’ll want to tweak the RGB sliders as we did for best results. The monitor is capable of reaching a high standard, so it’s worth changing the default settings. A 0.90dE allows the MAG273R to hang with the best monitors in this regard.

Gamma tracking is linear with a small 0.20 range of values, but the average of 1.92 is 12.73% below the correct 2.2 level. While color still looks vibrant and saturated, highlight detail is less defined than it could be. MSI could add gamma presets with a firmware update.

Color Gamut Accuracy

For details on our color gamut testing and volume calculations, click here.

MSI took a favorable approach to its implementation of extended color on the MAG273R. The DCI-P3 color space is fine for HDR content but too saturated for SDR material. Most wide-gamut monitors simply follow the DCI-P3 targets. 

The MAG273R, however, runs closer to sRGB for the 20-60% portion of the saturation range, then turns up the vivacity for the brighter areas of the image. This makes SDR content look better because no details are overblown. We’ve highlighted the difference in the first two charts. 

When compared to DCI-P3, the MAG273R meets or exceeds the 100% targets but undershoots the inner ones. If you compare to sRGB though, you can see what MSI is going for. 20-60% is nearly spot-on, while 80 and 100% are over. This makes the monitor’s lack of an sRGB mode excusable. Calibration brings the measurements even closer to their sRGB targets.

Comparisons

The MAG273R’s 3.35dE color score is calculated against the sRGB spec. That’s why we have termed this monitor’s native gamut “sRGB+”. It’s nearly identical to DCI-P3 but measures closer to sRGB for most of its volume. It’s a good compromise that helps it work well for both SDR and HDR content.

Gamut volume measurements show nearly 90% coverage of DCI-P3 and about 133% coverage of sRGB. The MAG273R isn’t suitable for color-critical work, but its saturated hues are fine for gaming, entertainment and workday tasks. One could apply a software lookup table to work in the sRGB space.

To learn about our HDR testing, see our breakdown of how we test PC monitors.

The MAG273R’s HDR doesn’t do much for gaming, but if you want to watch an HDR-encoded movie, it is capable of reasonable accuracy. When the monitor detects an HDR10 signal, it switches automatically into HDR mode. All image adjustments, including brightness, are then locked out.

HDR Brightness & Contrast

The MAG273R offers up a little more brightness in HDR mode, just about 337 nits versus the 317 nits we measured for SDR. Since it has decent black levels and over 1,358:1 contrast with HDR, an HDR image will look good but not significantly different from its SDR counterpart. There is no dynamic contrast feature available in HDR mode, so it cannot deliver any greater dynamic range.

Grayscale, EOTF and Color

The blue error we saw before our SDR calibration is also present in HDR mode, visible from 30-100% brightness. There are no adjustments available to make it better.

The MAG273R’s EOTF luminance curve tracks very well with a sharp transition to tone-mapping at around 65%. HDR content will look fine as a result, though it won’t have any more impact than well-mastered SDR games or videos. Color tracking is also good with most measurements close to their targets. Errors lean toward over-saturation, which results in the image looking more vibrant at a slight cost in detail.

Viewing Angles

The MAG273R has excellent off-axis image quality with only a slight blue shift and a 30% brightness reduction when viewed from 45 degrees to the sides. It performs better in this regard than many of the IPS screens we’ve reviewed. One could share this screen if they wished. From the top, you can see a green and red shift, loss of detail and a 40% brightness reduction. Overall, this is better than average viewing angle performance.d

Screen Uniformity

To learn how we measure screen uniformity, click here.

Our MAG273R showed a slight glow in the corners that was visible when the room lights were turned off. It resulted in a 12.77% score, which is a little below average. This is a sample-specific result. Some MAG273R monitors will measure better. We could not see a problem in actual content or in brighter field patterns above 10%.

Pixel Response and Input Lag

Click here to read up on our pixel response and input lag testing procedures.

The MAG273R posts the same response time as the majority of 144 Hz monitors with 7ms to draw the screen. Its overdrive reduced blur to a minimal level, and we saw no need for the backlight strobe. Motion was smooth and free of stutter.

Control lag measures a low 25ms, which puts it ahead of at least one 165 Hz display, the Aorus FI27Q. Competitive and casual gamers alike will enjoy this Optix’s snappy response and excellent video processing.

For gaming monitors, motion processing and responsiveness are just as important as color accuracy and fidelity. We’d all like to connect fast 4K displays to our computers or consoles, but the reality of that is you’ll need a box full of expensive hardware to drive an expensive monitor. Competitive gamers need speed above all.

The MSI Optix MAG273R delivers speed without costing a lot. It also has better contrast than nearly every IPS monitor we’ve reviewed, though the numbers say only 15% greater, it looks like much more than that, with most thanks due to the monitor’s wide gamut implementation. By following sRGB targets up to 60% saturation, the MAG273R maintains a natural and accurate look while saving extra vibrancy for the brightest hues. Picture quality is good enough to make one forget they’re looking at an FHD screen.

The only flaws we noted were a light gamma and HDR that doesn’t look that different from its SDR image. The MAG273R doesn’t use dynamic contrast, so the actual dynamic range is the same whether viewing SDR or HDR content.

But for gaming, you’ll enjoy the advantage of Adaptive-Sync as you play at 144 Hz. You’ll be able to maintain this speed easily with a wide variety of systems. Premium components are not required to see this monitor perform at its best.

Ideally suited for eSports or first-person shooters alike, not only is the MSI MAG273R a good value on its own, but it also keeps your total system budget in check too.

With an MSRP of $749, the MSI 3080 Trio is in direct competition with the Asus 3080 TUF, but it offers a bigger cooler and more RGB for the money. It also includes a support bracket, which is definitely something we appreciate on a card with a 2-slot mounting bracket that weighs nearly 1.6kg. Also, it has three — count 'em, three! — PCIe 8-pin power connectors. Are those truly necessary, or just for show? It's tough to say, though we suspect anyone thinking about setting LN2 (liquid nitrogen) overclocking records will appreciate the extra power.

It's great that the MSI RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio actually lists a higher TDP (TGP) than the reference 3080 — well, not 'great' necessarily, but at least it shows MSI took the time to evaluate the product and provide a realistic measure of power requirements. We'll get to that later, but the specs are generally the same as the Asus, the main difference being that the MSI runs with an 1815 MHz boost clock by default, while the Asus card runs with a 1785 MHz boost by default — you have to install Asus GPU Tweak II and select the OC Mode profile to get the 1815 MHz boost clock. I certainly appreciate not having to bother with one more piece of software, though others may not care so much.

Like the Asus card, ultimately the MSI card is a great alternative to the Nvidia Founders Edition. Or at least, it would be if you could find any of the cards in stock. We've heard rumors and hearsay that demand for the Ampere launch was over four times greater than what Nvidia saw with the Turing launch. That wouldn't be at all surprising, since Ampere is a bigger jump in performance and also marks round two for ray tracing and deep learning gaming hardware — a chance to improve on the first generation RTX cards, basically.

MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio: Design, Cooling, Aesthetics 

Fundamentally, the MSI RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio is pretty similar to what we've seen from previous generation MSI cards. Sure, it's a bit larger than some of the other custom cards out there, but it's mostly the same design as the MSI RTX 2080 Super Gaming X Trio (for the cooler and fans, at least). It weighs 30g more, and the GPU, VRAM, and PCB are obviously different, but it's not a radically new cooler design. And that's totally fine — "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

The cooler is a 2.9-slot design, and since SLI isn't supported on 3080 cards, there's not much worry of blocking access to other PCIe slots. Still, if you're hoping to do multi-GPU, you'll be limited to two cards at most in typical ATX cases. Three 90mm (92mm?) fans keep things cool. In a similar though slightly different take on fans compared to the Nvidia 3080 Founders Edition, these have a partially integrated rim on the outside. Pairs of two fan blades are connected at the rim, rather than a continuous rim, presumably to increase the static pressure and better direct the airflow.

As far as RGB lighting goes, MSI includes a large white plastic strip across the top of the card that helps diffuse the lighting beneath it, and it's the main source of lighting. The MSI logo on the top is also RGB backlit, though the lights there aren't nearly as bright. Finally, the front of the card has three small RGB backlit areas, though these will often face the bottom of the case and aren't particularly bright.

Video outputs on the MSI RTX 3080 Trio are the same as on the 3080 FE: Three DisplayPort 1.4a and one HDMI 2.1. The Asus card holds an advantage here, as it has a second HDMI 2.1 port. Also, there are the three 8-pin PEG connectors to consider. If you don't have a beefy PSU (at least 850W), we'd take care of that before upgrading to any of the RTX 3080 or 3090 cards — and if you're running something like a Core i9-10900K and plan on doing any overclocking, a 1200W or higher PSU actually doesn't seem too extreme.

About the only real question mark is the capacitor configuration on the back of the GPU. To be clear, everyone has been speculating about the various designs, and many have concluded that a pure MLCC (multilayer ceramic capacitor) configuration with six blocks of 10 MLCC each is best. The MSI 3080 Trio uses one MLCC block, with five SP-Caps for the other sections. Originally, the MSI card (like many other third-party cards) was a bit unstable at its factory settings — there were numerous games where it would crash during testing. Ultimately, all of that instability appears to have been fixed via the latest 456.55 drivers, and the decision to use pure MLCC or pure SP-Caps or some mix of the two behind the GPU doesn't appear to be a major contributor to the earlier instabilities.

Any modern high-end video card ends up with hundreds of capacitors and other components scattered across the PCB. Trying to pin instability on any single area is a bit of a stretch unless you have the facilities, expertise, and low-level access of, say, Nvidia. It's also important to note that performance did not change significantly compared to the launch drivers. I've retested the MSI 3080 Trio with 456.55, and everything is margin of error differences. Sometimes it's 0.5% faster, sometimes it's 0.5% slower, often it's only a 0.1% difference. I could get that same level of variation just running through our test suite several more times on each GPU.

Is a pure MLCC solution superior? Asus, EVGA, and Nvidia seem to think so, in that all of their top 30-series cards (including all of the Asus and Nvidia cards) use six MLCC blocks. Certainly, six MLCC blocks costs a bit more, assuming high quality capacitors are used. But the characteristics of MLCC and SP-Caps are different more often than one choice being universally better.

[Disclaimer: I am not an electrical or computer engineer. I got a BS in computer science, and I'm far more interested in gaming and hardware performance than I am with the inner workings of a capacitor. What I can say is that the MSI card now works fine in all the tests I've run.]

Pulling off the backplate and heatsink for the MSI 3080 Trio is pretty simple. Four screws secure the GPU mounting bracket, and 11 more hold on the backplate and help stabilize the large heatsink. Once the screws are out of the way, it's just thermal pads and thermal paste holding the three 'layers' together, and pulling them apart doesn't require too much effort.

There are a lot of thermal pads on the MSI card, which sort of goes with the 340W territory. Keeping all the VRMs, inductors, capacitors, and the GPU itself cooled requires quite a bit of effort. Plus, those thermal pads are nice in that they prevent the cooler from crushing or scratching the various components. The GPU itself also had a ton of thermal paste, relatively speaking. How much is necessary, and is it possible to have 'too much of a good thing?' The general consensus is that you need 'enough' but that having extra won't really hurt (provided it's non-conductive, of course).

The board comes equipped with a 10-phase power delivery system for the GPU (and an optional 11th phase presumably for the 3090 models). The memory system has also seen a lot of changes from the previous RTX 20-series — which was almost certainly required for the GDDR6X support and higher speeds it uses. In general, there seem to be more capacitors, chokes, and resistors than on the RTX 20-series, all of which are necessary to meet the demands of a 340W card.

MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio: Manual Overclocking 

Considering there were some stability problems before the 456.55 drivers came out, I thought perhaps the MSI card was already at its limits with the factory OC — I had to underclock by 20MHz just to get some benchmarks to complete two weeks ago! With the new drivers in hand, however, I was able to push the GPU clocks a bit further.

More voltage doesn't seem to be very helpful. I tried bumping voltage by +100mV, and if anything, stability was worse; even +50mV was potentially worse. In our more in-depth look at the 456.55 drivers, we noticed that the voltage/frequency curves were tuned down on most of the cards, which tends to support the idea that voltage isn't the limiting factor when using normal cooling. Thermals were also fine, at least on the GPU — it's possible some other element is overheating and that's the limiting factor on this particular card.

There's definitely not a ton of headroom for overclocking, but depending on the game, I could run at anywhere from +60MHz to +125MHz on the GPU core (using MSI Afterburner). Despite that seemingly wide gap, real-world clockspeeds were quite similar. Superposition, which managed to run fine at +125MHz, showed an average GPU clockspeed of 2059 MHz during a 20-minute stress test. Metro Exodus, which required a lower +60MHz offset and a higher fan speed, ended up with an average GPU clock of 2069 MHz. (This is with setting the power limit to 102% as well, which was the limit in MSI Afterburner.) At stock, Metro Exodus showed an average speed of 1978 MHz.

As with the Founders Edition cards, memory overclocking had far more headroom. After checking for drops in performance due to EDR (Error Detection and Retry), I ended up with a similar +750 MHz memory offset to what we've seen on other 3080 cards, yielding 20.5Gbps GDDR6X speeds. That's a modest 8% boost, which is still better than nothing.

The overall gains from my manual overclocking were pretty negligible. Even at 4K ultra, performance was only 2-3% faster than the factory stock settings, and I definitely feel like I'm redlining the card a bit. Power use wasn't very different, and some of the gains simply came from increasing the default fan curve (temperatures were 10C lower than at stock because of this). If it were my personal card and I was planning on a long-term overclock, I'd go with +500 MHz on the memory (20Gbps) and call it a day.

MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio: Test Setup 

As usual, we're using our standard GPU test bed for this review. If you'd like to see how the RTX 3080 does with other CPUs, we ran a series of RTX 3080 CPU Scaling benchmarks on several other processors. The short summary is that the Core i9-9900K does just fine for 1440p and 4K gaming tests, and the RTX 3080 is really for modern displays that support at least a 1440p resolution. A Core i7-8700K or Core i9-10900K doesn't change performance much at 4K, though the older 8700K becomes more of a limiting factor at 1440p. For Ryzen users, the Ryzen 5 3600 and Ryzen 9 3900X performed 5-7% slower at 1440p, but only 2% slower at 4K ultra. 

You can see the full specs of our GPU test PC to the right. We've equipped it with some top-tier hardware, including 32GB of DDR4-3200 CL16 memory, a potent AIO liquid cooler, and a 2TB M.2 NVMe SSD. We have two nearly identical test PCs, one of which is equipped for testing power use — that's the OpenBenchTable PC. The other (Phanteks case) is used for our primary gaming benchmarks. We also use the Phanteks PC for our FLIR thermal videos (see below).

Our current gaming test suite consists of nine games, and none of these have ray tracing or DLSS effects enabled. We provided 15 'bonus' benchmarks in the RTX 3090 FE review — all at 4K ultra with DLSS enabled, where possible — and given the similarity in performance between the MSI 3080 Trio and the 3080 FE, it should maintain its slight performance lead.

We're only showing the 1440p ultra and 4K ultra testing results for extreme performance third party cards, as that's the presumed use case. We did run the other tests, but there was nothing particularly noteworthy to report. As far as performance goes, there's not a huge amount of difference between the various RTX 3080 cards we've tested so far.

MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio: 1440p and 4K Ultra Gaming Benchmarks 

We have four charts for each of the games we tested: 4K Ultra, 4K Ultra Percentile FPS, 1440p Ultra, and 1440p Ultra Percentile FPS. Performance improves thanks to the factory overclock, with the MSI coming in 3% faster than the 3080 FE at 1440p ultra, and 3.5% faster at 4K ultra. It also costs 7% more, but it has more RGB and runs cooler and quieter. Assuming you can find one for sale, the MSI card looks as good as any other RTX 3080 so far.

9 Game Average

Borderlands 3

Division2

Far Cry 5

Final Fantasy XIV

Forza Horizon 4

Metro Exodus

Red Dead Redemption 2

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Strange Brigade

Throughout the test suite, the MSI 3080 Trio comes out in first place (for now) among the RTX 3080 cards. Note that we tested the Asus card using the default 'Gaming Mode' and not 'OC Mode,' so it should potentially be a bit faster than what we show here. On the other hand, the MSI card has a bigger cooler and a higher TDP, which appears to allow it to run slightly faster. It's not a huge gap, regardless of game or setting, but the MSI 3080 Trio consistently comes out ahead of the other two 3080 cards we've tested.

MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio: Power, Temperatures, Fan Speeds, and Clock Speeds 

MSI rates their RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio at 340W TDP, which is 20W higher than the Asus and Founders Edition cards. Considering the performance delta we saw in the benchmarks, we were curious to see if the power delta would show up. We use Powenetics in-line power monitoring hardware and software so that we can report the real power use of the graphics card. Powenetics also links up with GPU-Z to record GPU temperature, fan speed, and GPU clock speed, which we'll report below.

You can read more about our approach to GPU power testing, but the takeaway is that we're not dependent on AMD, Nvidia or any other GPU vendor to accurately report how much power a GPU uses. We run FurMark as a worst-case stress test, and we also run five loops of the Metro Exodus benchmark at 1440p ultra (without ray tracing or DLSS) and record the results. We've recorded the results with both the 456.38 and 456.55 drivers.

On average, the MSI RTX 3080 Trio uses about 25W more than the 3080 FE in our Metro Exodus and FurMark testing. It's also about 10-15W higher than the Asus 3080 TUF and comes very close to matching the power draw of the RTX 3090 FE. Power use on its own doesn't tell the full story, but it's noteworthy that the MSI card uses 7.5% more power than the 3080 FE to get 3% higher performance. Almost makes you wonder if a 250W RTX 3080 might have ended up with performance that was just a bit too close to the previous generation cards for comfort. The new drivers don't significantly change the power use, but there are other changes.

In terms of temperatures and noise levels, the MSI 3080 Trio is a great example of the balancing act that manufacturers go through. The noise levels were just a hair lower than the Asus 3080 TUF (48.9 dB vs. 49.0 dB — nothing to really worry about), and fan speeds were 250 RPM lower. However, with higher power use and slower fan speeds, temperatures were basically equal to the 3080 FE. It's also interesting to see the new drivers both lowered temperatures and lowered fan speeds once again, which is possible because voltages were also decreased. If you're concerned about temperatures, you can always use a tool like MSI Afterburner to tweak the fan curve, but 70C shouldn't pose a problem.

Meanwhile, GPU clocks are about 80 MHz higher than the Asus card, and 90 MHz higher than the 3080 FE. Again, that probably has more to do with the MSI card having an increased power limit than the default factory overclock. Interestingly, the new 456.55 drivers dropped the GPU clocks in FurMark while still ending up with slightly higher power consumption and higher fan speeds.

MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio: Going Big

What a difference a week makes — provided that week includes a new driver specifically to address stability concerns. Last week, I was ready to tear into the AIB partners for being too aggressive with factory overclocks. Now, it's no longer a problem. The MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio went from being a questionable card to the best performing RTX 3080 we've currently tested. Of course, you need a roomy case and triple 8-pin power connectors, but anyone hoping to get by with a modest power supply on the RTX 3080 is probably asking for trouble down the road.

Unfortunately, supply and availability remain major hurdles for anyone wanting to purchase an RTX 3080. It doesn't matter if you're after a reference clocked model or are willing to pay significantly more money for a big factory overclock. Every RTX 3080 remains sold out, back-ordered, or whatever else you want to call it. We'd love to have hard numbers on how many cards have actually been shipped and sold, but that's not something Nvidia or any other manufacturer normally provides. All we know is that Nvidia says it had similar numbers of cards on hand for the launch of RTX 30-series as it did for the RTX 20-series. Except, RTX 20-series cards still sold out at launch for several weeks, and demand for the RTX 30-series is much higher.

As we've been saying for two weeks now, give it some time and have patience, and the RTX 3080 will eventually be available for purchase at $700-$800, depending on the model you want. At its MSRP of $750, the MSI RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio is a good option, particularly for anyone who wants a higher factory overclock without the need to get their hands dirty. Provided your case is large enough to accommodate the card, naturally.

If you want more RGB bling in your PC build, MSI has you covered for a nominal price premium. You also get a support bracket, which really is a nice extra on a 1.56kg card. Bigger isn't always better — if you offered me a whole gallon of ice cream or a double scoop waffle cone, I'm taking the latter — but when it comes to graphics cards, bigger almost inevitably means lower temperatures and less noise. Small form factor builds need not apply.

Update 9/29/2020, 7:30am PT: MSI sent over images and a statement disputing any claims that it has changed the design on its 30-series GPUs. Included are four images of the backs of the cards, showing the capacitor configuration. The MSI RTX 3090 Gaming Trio and MSI RTX 3090 Ventus 3X have a layout with 4x SP-Caps and 2x MLCC clusters, while the MSI RTX 3080 Gaming Trio and MSI RTX 3080 Ventus 3X have a layout with 5x SP-Caps and 1x MLCC cluster. These are the cards that actually shipped to consumers and reviewers; earlier variants may have existed but apparently did not ship to anyone outside of MSI. This includes the 6x SP-Cap card, images of which were posted on MSI's site at one point but have since been removed.

Original Article:

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 just can't seem to catch a break. The Ampere-powered offering is one of the best graphics cards on the market despite its limited availability, but some custom models are suffering from stability issues.

Reports of custom GeForce RTX 3080 crashing started piling up last week. EVGA has acknowledged that the root of the crashes is likely due to the design and choice of capacitors. Some vendors have openly responded to the issue, while others kept their silence. 

In a nutshell, there are two types of capacitors that filter voltage. POSCAPS (Conductive Polymer Tantalum Solid Capacitors) are bigger and have a higher temperature tolerance, meaning they're more expensive but don't excel at high frequencies. MLCC (Multilayer Ceramic Chip Capacitors), on the other hand, are smaller, cheaper and adept for higher frequencies in comparison to POSCAPS. However, they have a lower temperature tolerance, so they crack more frequently. So far, user reports show that the custom GeForce RTX 3080 models that leverage a complete POSCAPS design are more susceptible to instability and crashes.

MSI, as reported by VideoCardz, has started silently revising the design on the its GeForce RTX 3080 models. As a matter of fact, MSI has removed the renders of the backplate from the product pages, although some regional product pages are already showing the new design.

The original capacitor layout on the GeForce RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio employed five POSCAPS in conjunction with one array of MLCC. The new design consists of four POSCAPS and two arrays of MLCC.

On the GeForce RTX 3080 Ventus 3X, MSI had originally utilized a design six POSCAPS, which has been substituted with a new layout that includes five POSCAPS and two arrays of MLCC.

It's unknown if any of the old designs from MSI or other vendors actually made it into the wild. 

The other notable internal change should interest storage enthusiasts. MSI says the Stealth 15M supports PCIe 4.0, and the company will include a PCIe Gen4 x4 SSD in the laptop, in capacities up to 2TB. Given what we’ve seen from PCIe 4.0 SSDs on the desktop front (many with bulky coolers), it will be interesting to see how a speedy next-generation drive will affect battery life, as well as how MSI will keep the drive (and everything else) cool in a chassis so slim.

The next-gen speed theme carries over to the connectivity front as well, as the Stealth 15M includes Thunderbolt 4 (TB4) support. This also means you can charge the laptop over USB-C PD, though you’ll want to use the power brick for fast charging and gaming, as TB4 tops out at 100 watts. Killer Wi-Fi AX1650 is also included for fast and stable downloads and file transfers. Other aspects of the Stealth 15M are somewhat less exciting. The 15.6-inch “IPS-level” display boasts a 144 Hz refresh rate, and the keyboard sports a white backlight, rather than RGB. You do, though, get a 720p webcam , unlike many of Asus’ gaming laptops of late that have eschewed a camera altogether. And there is a Micro SD card slot on the left edge.

There’s no word yet on pricing or exact availability for the Stealth 15M, but we’re excited to get it in for testing. MSI’s slim laptops have impressed us in the past, but some also have a tendency to run hot. It will be interesting to see how MSI manages thermals in such a slim laptop -- especially with the addition of PCIe 4.0. Battery life will also be interesting, given the new Intel silicon paired with the Stealth 15M’s unimpressive-sounding 52 Whr battery. The company says you can expect “9+ hours” of unplugged productivity time. This is a U-series laptop, though, so we’re likely due for another refresh whenever Intel releases an H-series Tiger Lake lineup.

Specs

The Summit line is the laptop maker’s first stab at a pure business machine, and will be launching with two core variations, the GPU-less B series and the GTX-equipped E series. MSI says it chose the name Summit because it embodies a “meeting of leaders,” but with Dell, HP and Lenovo already making the best laptops for business, these machines will need to bring a lot to sit at the table. Still, the company’s hoping that our new telecommuting era has disrupted the standard enough for it to squeeze into the market with new features that other brands lack. 

The Summit E15 is the most powerful of the Summit line, and uses a Tiger Lake Intel Core i7 and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Max-Q. It offers up to 2TB of storage and comes equipped with Thunderbolt 4, and has a 15.6 inch IPS-level display with options for both 4K and FHD, including one touchscreen option that’s exclusive to FHD. What’s probably most noticeable here, though, is the sleek and minimal black and gold look. Gone is the dragon shield and in its place is a new logo that simply says “MSI” in a stylized font.

The Summit E14, then, is largely the same machine as the Summit E15, but with a smaller 14 inch display, no HDMI port and one less USB Type-A port.

The B series looks to be a more budget friendly approach to the Summit line, carrying over the same sleek look from the E series but ditching the 4K screen option and the dedicated graphics card. It still has a Tiger Lake Intel Core i7, but uses Intel Iris Xe for graphics. Both B Series laptops- the B15 and the B14- also top out at IPS-level FHD screens, with options varying on color quality rather than resolution (you can choose between either a 72% NTSC option or a 45% NTSC option). As Tiger Lake machines, both B series Summit laptops also support Thunderbolt 4.

Oddly enough, the 15 inch B series laptop also has a unique option to combine an M.2 SSD with a SATA SSD, something not present in the rest of the Summit line.

MSI also took this opportunity to refresh and slightly rebrand its creator-focused Modern and Prestige laptops as well. These machines will both have Tiger Lake CPU options up to Intel Core i7, and will each have both dedicated GPU and integrated graphics options. The Prestige line will also have an option that carries the Intel Evo moniker, which is the chipmaker’s new name for second-genration Project Athena. 

The new Prestige laptops will have one 15-inch two 14-inch variations. One of the 14 inch options will focus on Intel Evo and will use integrated Xe graphics, while the other Prestige laptops will include GTX 1650 Max-Q GPUs. All Prestige laptops will have IPS-level displays, with the two Nvidia models having options for either 4K or FHD and the Evo model topping out at FHD. Like the Summit series, every Prestige laptop will also have Thunderbolt 4. 

The Modern line refresh will also have 14 and 15 inch models, each of which will have the same dedicated and integrated graphics options. That means that regardless of which size you opt for, you’ll be able to choose between an Nvidia Geforce MX450 GPU or Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics. Both models will also top out at IPS-level FHD screens (with options for either 72% NTSC or 45% NTSC) and will support Thunderbolt 4, but the 15-inch version will come with two SSDs as opposed to the 14-inch versions’ single SSD.

While the company has made productivity and creation machines before, the Summit line is its first foray into enterprise consumers. MSI reps told us over video call that it’s hoping to offer business consumers features its competitors can’t, like “better webcams,” that are more pertinent to our new work-from-home world. Still, this line is launching with 720p webcams, though MSI hopes to improve its offerings in the future.

If you thought you would never see MSI and power supply in the same sentence, then think again. MSI this week unveiled its venture into the power supply market with its new MPG GF Series product line.

Currently, MSI has three MPG GF units up its sleeve: the A650GF, A750GF and A850GF. As the model names imply, they come with capacities of 650W, 750W and 850W, respectively. 

According to the manufacturer, the power supplies support Nvidia's latest graphics cards, so hopefully they'll support Nvidia's next-gen Ampere cards and the new 12-pin PCIe power connector. If MSI's statement is accurate, then 650W should be the minimum capacity recommended for Ampere.

The MPG GF Series features a flexible power distribution to the CPU and graphics card. In one scenario, the power supply allows you to spread the juice across three 8-pin GPU connectors and two 8-pin CPU connectors. In another scenario, you can distribute the workload over four 8-pin GPU connectors and a single 8-pin CPU connector.

MSI Power Supply Specs 

Similar to rival high-end units competing among the best power supplies, the MPG GF Series pridefully sport the 80 PLUS Gold certification that's complemented with features, such as an active PFC design, LLC Half Bridge Topology with DC-DC module and 100% Japanese 105 degrees Celsius capacitors. The typical list of protections include OVP, OCP, OPP, OTP, SCP and UVP.

The MPG GF Series comes with a fully modular design and flat cables to facilitate cable management and reduce cable clutter inside your case. The modular panel looks pretty standard. It houses four 6-pin connectors for SATA devices and peripherals, four 8-pin connectors for graphics cards, two 8-pin connectors for the processor and a combination of a 18-pin and 10-pin connectors for the 24-pin ATX cable that goes to the motherboard.

MSI backs the MPG GF Series with a limited 10-year warranty. The company didn't mention when the power supplies will be available to the public or how much they will cost.

As PC Gamer reported, the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) published a very interesting entry today. Apparently, MSI has registered 29 different Nvidia graphics cards based off the next-gen Ampere architecture with the regulatory body. These could be MSI's take on the GeForce RTX 3090, 3080 and RTX 3070, respectively.

Instead of publicly exposing the model names for the graphics cards, MSI cunningly filed their part numbers. It's a good tactic, since hardware sleuths are constantly on the lookout for new model name listings, but almost no one pays attention to the part numbers. 

Fortunately, we do have MSI's current Turing-powered offerings as reference; however, we don't for sure if MSI will maintain the same formula for its Ampere cards. 

The part numbers on the EEC don't really tell us much about the specifications, so we still have to to get all the juicy details. Hopefully, that'll come on September 1, when Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang plans on making a GeForce announcement. 

For the current GeForce RTX-20 series, MSI utilizes the V371, V372 and V373 prefixes for the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, RTX 2080 and RTX 2070, respectively. MSI generally uses smaller numbers to denote higher-specced models. 

We've applied the same pattern for MSI's alleged Ampere products in the table below: 

The 29 different part numbers from the EEC listing can be separated into three groups: V388, V389 and V390. According to MSI's nomenclature for Turing, the V388 should be the GeForce RTX 3090, while the V389 and V390 likely correspond to the GeForce RTX 3080 and RTX 3070, respectively.

As a result, the EEC submission seemingly points to 14 GeForce RTX 3090s, 11 GeForce RTX 3080s and four GeForce RTx 3070s. It is important to note that not every EEC-registered product makes it to market. Brands often register an abundance of part numbers or product names just to get dibs on other competitors. The companies will use some of them, while others remain inactive forever.

As mentioned, Nvidia has a big GeForce-related online event scheduled for September 1.  If you believe in coincidences, Nvidia announced the GeForce 256 graphics card on August 31, 1999. So this year marks the 21 year anniversary of the "the world's first GPU" as Nvidia marketed it. There's simply no better time or a bigger stage to announce Ampere.

At this point, it's pretty much anybody's guess which models will star in Nvidia's Ampere show. The GeForce RTX 3090 and RTX 3080 are strong candidates; although, we wouldn't be surprised if the RTX 3070 also gets in on the fun.

First, there was a mortar, bazooka and tomahawk in MSI's MAG (MSI Arsenal Gaming) lineup. Now, there's a torpedo. Continuing its love of military-theme model names, MSI recently announced the MAG B460 Torpedo motherboard for Intel 10th Generation Comet Lake-S processors.

Conforming to the typical ATX form factor, the MAG B460 Torpedo will debut with a 13-phase power delivery subsystem and a single 8-pin EPS power connector to supply juice to your best CPU. The presence of four DDR4 RAM slots means the motherboard can accommodate up to 128GB of DDR4-2933 memory.

The MAG B460 Torpedo's storage options consist of six SATA III ports with support for RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 arrays and two M.2 slots. Both M.2 slots leverage a PCIe 3.0 x4 interface, but there are some limitation. For starters, the primary M.2 slot is the only one that can house M.2 SSDs up to 110mm in length. The secondary M.2 slot is compatible with drives up to 80mm. 

Additionally, Intel Optane drives are only supported on the secondary M.2 slot.

Expansion possibilites aren't too shabby on the MAG B460 Torpedo. MSI equipped the mothjerboard with two PCIe 3.0 x16 slots and two PCIe 3.0 x1 slots. The first PCIe 3.0 slot runs at x16, of course, and is directly linked to the Comet Lake-S processor. The second PCIe 3.0 slot, however, is confined to x4 because it's powered by the B460 chipset.

If you're keen on using the integrated graphics from your Comet Lake-S chip, the MAG B460 Torpedo provides one HDMI port and one DisplayPort output for your displays. The first supports resolutions up to 4096 x 2190 at 30 Hz refresh rates and the latter does 4096 x 2304 at 60 Hz.

The MAG B460 Torpedo comes with a single 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port, which is possible thanks to the Realtek RTL8125B controller. The rear panel features a combo PS/2 port, two USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, as well as five 3.5mm audio jacks and an optical S/PDIF out. 

Further expanding the port selection are one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C , one USB 3.2 Gen 1 and two USB 2.0 headers. 

MSI didn't reveal the pricing for the MAG B460 Torpedo. However, CompSource has the motherboard up for $116.25, making the MAG B460 Torpedo just a bit cheaper than the MAG B460 Tomahawk that retails for $139.99.

MSI’s B550 product stack currently consists of 12 boards, ranging from the Pro B550M Pro-VDH Wi-Fi  ($109.99), several MAG and MPG class boards including the popular B550 Tomahawk ($179.99), and the flagship B550 Gaming Carbon Wi-Fi ($219.99). MSI’s lineup has something for just about every AMD Ryzen system builder, including Micro ATX- and Mini ITX-size motherboards.

In our testing, the B550I Gaming Edge Wi-Fi performed well in the majority of benchmarks, matching the other B550 boards we’ve tested so far, generally landing within a standard margin of error. The board handled stock operations without issue, boosting our Ryzen 9 3900X to 4.6 GHz and 4.3 GHz (two core/all core boost), respectively. Overclocking was also successful in running the CPU at 4.3 GHz. Read on to find detailed specifications and performance results. 

MSI MPG B550I Gaming Edge Wi-Fi Specifications

Features

 Starting with the accessories, our B550I Gaming Edge Wi-Fi includes the expected basics (though not much else), which is typical of today’s motherboards at this price point. 

• Driver DVD
• Quick Install guide
• User Manual
• Two SATA cables
• Wi-Fi antenna
• Case badge
• Two M.2 Screws

MSI went with a less-is-more look with this board. The 8-layer PCB is all black, as are the VRM and chipset heatsinks. The VRM heatsink extends out over the rear IO area, covering all the bits below. Stenciled in grey on top of the heatsink is the MSI name, along with the company’s iconic gaming dragon. The chipset/M.2 heatsink includes a tiny fan, which was inaudible during testing. Outside of that, the DIMM slots and all other connectors are black.

The B550I Gaming Edge Wi-Fi doesn’t include RGB lighting onboard, but does have a 3-pin header for those who cannot live without it and will bring their own. Overall, it's a stealthy black board that will fit in with most build themes.

Since this is a compact Mini ITX board, we’ll start the tour at the top and go around clockwise, covering all the details. In the top-left corner is a single 8-pin EPS connector that sends power to the VRMs. To the right of it, above the mounting bracket, is a set of four debug LEDs. The debug LEDs will turn on and off during the POST process. If there is a problem with any of the four areas (CPU, DRAM, VGA or Boot), that LED will stay lit, informing the user where the POST is hung up. The debug LED is a valuable tool to have for troubleshooting, especially without the 2-character debug display often found on larger boards. 

The far-right edge sports the two single-sided latching DIMMs slots that are capable of supporting 64GB of RAM with speeds listed up to DDR4 4600+. To the right are two (of three) 4-pin fan headers. The CPU and Pump headers output 2A/24W and 3A/36W respectively, which should easily support a couple of fans and most pumps. Below these headers is the 24-pin ATX connector, while below that are four vertically oriented SATA ports (which support RAID0, 1, and 10). Just underneath those ports is a front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C header and a USB 3.2 Gen 1 header.

On the bottom portion of the board, we see a few headers along with a single full-length PCIe 4.0 (x16) slot. The headers in this area are for the front panel (audio and buttons) and additional USB 2.0 ports. Hidden under the chipset heatsink and fan is the first M.2 socket. This socket supports both PCIe- and SATA-based modules, up to 80mm. The second M.2 socket hides on the backside of the motherboard. The M.2 slots support RAID0 and RAID1 on NVMe drives.

Also in this area is the Realtek ALC1200 codec, along with a couple of capacitors (yellow) dedicated to the audio. While this isn’t the premium ALC1220 or 1220-VB codec, most users will be satisfied with the sound, regardless. 

MSI implemented a 10-phase (8+2, Vcore + SOC) VRM with a Monolithic Power Systems MP2855GUT controller. Details are scarce on this controller, but since we don’t see doublers for Vcore, that leads us to believe it has nine discrete channels. The digital PWM controller then feeds eight 60A MP86936 MOSFETs for Vcore. While this isn’t the most robust power delivery on the Mini-ITX B550 boards, it handled our Ryzen 9 3900X without issue at stock and while overclocked, without burning up or causing other issues.

Flipping the board around to the rear IO, we first see an integrated IO plate, six USB ports (USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A/C, 2x USB 3.2 Gen1, and 2x USB 2.0), 5-plug analog plus SPDIF outputs for the audio and a BIOS Flashback button. There is a single HDMI output for video, as well as the ethernet port and 

Software

MSI doesn’t offer an excessive amount of software, but it covers all the bases. The utility section of MSI’s support page for this board includes an MSI-skinned version of CPUz, Realtek Audio control and Dragon Center. Dragon Center (DC) is a one-stop-shop to monitor the system, control any RGB lighting (Mystic Light), LAN, and gaming highlights. DC is relatively comprehensive, though it is missing software-based overclocking and fan controls.

MSI Dragon Center

Nahimic

Firmware

To give you a taste of the Firmware, we’ve gathered screenshots showing a majority of the BIOS screens. MSI’s layout is informative and straightforward to use in EZ Mode or Advanced, with the latter separated into the more familiar sections on the main page. When overclocking, you’ll find the most frequently used options on the initial BIOS screen in the OC section. Overall, the MSI BIOS is easy to navigate and read, with plenty of options to tweak your system.

Test System and Comparison Products

Our test system uses Windows 10 64-bit OS (1909) with all threat mitigations applied. The motherboard BIOS used is the latest non-beta available to the public unless otherwise noted. The hardware used is as follows: 

For this review, we’ll be comparing the MSI MPG B550I Gaming Edge Wi-Fi ($199.99) against the full-size B550 motherboards we’ve tested, the MAG B550 Tomahawk ($179.99), Gigabyte B550 Aorus Master ($279.99) and the Asus ROG Strix B550-F Gaming Wi-Fi ($209.99). As soon as we can get other Mini-ITX size boards from the B550 family, we’ll have better direct comparisons. 

Benchmark Settings 

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Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including stock Thermal Velocity Boost), with all power-saving features enabled. Optimized defaults get set in the BIOS and the memory uses its XMP profiles. For this baseline testing, we set Windows to High Performance, except for power testing that uses the Balanced plan for the PC to reach an idle state.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetic benchmarks are a great tool to figure out if a board is running out of spec, as identical settings should produce similar performance results. Advanced memory timings are the one place where motherboard makers can still optimize for either stability or performance, though, and those settings can impact some testing.

In our synthetic benchmarks, the B550I Gaming Edge Wi-Fi’s results were right in line with the other, ATX B550 motherboards we’ve tested. We haven’t seen a lot of deviation in most of these tests, except perhaps with the PCMark suite which can be a bit temperamental at times.

Timed Applications

In our timed application tests, LAME and Handbrake, the Gaming Edge Wi-Fi’s times we spot on against the other B550 motherboards.

3D Games and 3DMark

We’ve recently updated our game tests to The Division 2 and Forza Horizon 4. The games are run at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset. As the resolution goes up, the CPU tends to have less of an impact and most games at this resolution in the first place. The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used resolution with settings most people use or at least strive for.

During our gaming and 3DMark tests, MSI’s Mini ITX board kept up with all other B550-based products without issue. 3DMark Fire Strike, Time Spy, and our two games continue to show very little difference with all boards, within a small margin-of-error range.

Power Consumption and VRM Temperatures

For power testing, we use AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU and Cache enabled, using the peak power consumption value. The wattage reading comes from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter to capture the entire ecosystem. The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts are the same.

When our system was at idle (using the AMD Balanced power plan in Windows), the Gaming Edge Wi-Fi pulled 47W from the wall, a value tied for the lowest idle wattage we’ve seen so far. After applying the AIDA64 stress test load, power use peaked at 216W from the wall, leaning towards the higher end of consumption.

Our B550 Gaming Edge Wi-Fi and its 8-phase (Vcore) 60A VRMs handled both stock and overclocked testing without issue. During the stock runs, the hottest point on the VRM peaked just under 50 degrees Celsius (Hwinfo didn’t display a MOS sensor). After overclocking to 4.3 GHz and 1.35V, temperatures increased a few degrees and peaked at 56 degrees Celsius, well within the operational parameters of the MOSFETs. 

Note that the dip on the chart around the 18-minute mark was from the chassis fan falling on the VRMs for a brief time, not any throttling.

Overclocking

There are several ways to overclock on AMD platforms, depending on your goals. If your focus is single-threaded performance, it’s best to tweak PBO and let the motherboard and CPU figure it out under the parameters entered. If you are looking for better multi-core/thread performance, you will overclock all cores to the same speed. Part of our goal is to test the capability of the motherboard, so we chose the more power-hungry option, 4.3 GHz and 1.35V for an all core/thread overclock. The Gaming Edge Wi-Fi handled our 12c/24t Ryzen 9 3900X overclock without issue. Vdroop was mitigated well by the default setting (auto); no other tweaks were necessary. We simply set the voltage to a static 1.35V and 43x CPU multiplier, then off we went to stability testing.

Final Thoughts

MSI’s B550I Gaming Edge Wi-Fi ($199.99) proved to be a competent performer in our stock benchmarks, as well as the overclocking we put it through. The power delivery, while not the most robust, handled our 12c/24t Ryzen 9 3900X with poise. Features-wise, the tiny board managed to stuff two M.2 slots, four SATA ports and a fair amount of USB ports on the rear IO (and headers). About the only thing missing is lighting. You’ll have to bring your own RGB via a header on the board.

At this price and form-factor, the B550I Gaming Edge’s direct competitors are the Gigabyte B550I Aorus Pro AX ($179.99), ASRock B550 Phantom Gaming-ITX/ax ($199.99) and the Asus ROG Strix B550-I Gaming ($229.99). The most significant difference between these boards outside of price is the VRM capability (the other boards have better power delivery), audio (not that many would notice a difference), officially supported memory speeds and aesthetics/integrated RGB lighting (ASRock and Gigabyte integrate the LEDs).

Without getting our hands on the other Mini ITX size boards (yet), it’s tough to declare an outright winner among these diminutive B550 based motherboards. For just under $200, the MSI B550I Gaming Edge Wi-Fi showed that it is more than capable of handling our Ryzen 9 3900X, even when overclocked. Suppose you are looking for a Mini ITX size motherboard and want to save some money by going to B550 chipset. In that case, the MSI MPG B550I Gaming Edge Wi-Fi is a viable option to build your system around, though if you crave that RGB lighting and better power delivery, there are other options available. Some are even priced less.

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Packing an RTX 2080 Super Max-Q graphics card and 10th Gen Intel Core i9 CPU, The GE66 Raider proved it’s ready to make ample use of its mind-blowing 300 Hz display, too.

MSI GE66 Raider Specs

Design of MSI GE66 Raider

How does a laptop manage to look more mature and more wild than your typical gaming clamshell? A cool and classy chassis underscored (quite literally) by a stunning RGB bar, that’s how. The GE66 Raider isn’t the only laptop to incorporate colorful LEDs on its deck. The Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G732 has a light bar on three sides. However, I’d argue that the GE66 Raider does it best. The boldness of the light bar and its beveled glass encasement make for a crystalline vibe that goes galactic with the right color scheme. The default settings (a combination of fuchsia, blue and green) is enough of a show to cross the Aurora Borealis off my bucket list. (Okay, not quite). But with those same default settings on the keyboard, it’s one prismatic phenomenon that’s probably as showy as RGB can be without inducing nausea.

Speaking of the keyboard, this one is from SteelSeries and offers per-key programming via SteelSeries’ Engine 3 software, as is the RGB light bar. But only the default setting was cosmic enough for me to warrant this level of RGB spectacle.

The aluminum lid is a royal shade of gray, fitting for the dragon shield that tops it. The logo’s raised silver outlining is the sort of attention to detail that makes company logos more forgivable. Plus, a dragon emblem is way cooler than someone's last name in a circle (for example). Sadly, silver only lives on the lid; the rest of the laptop is black, which, perhaps, helps the RGB pop.

On the left side of the GE66 Raider’s black deck is a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C port (20 Gbps), a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A (10 Gbps) port, plus a 3.5mm headphone/mic jack. The right side has a pair of  USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports (5 Gbps) and, surprisingly, an SD card reader. There are more ports on the laptop's spine, namely HDMI 2.0, Mini DisplayPort 1.4, and RJ45 Ethernet port and a port for MSI’s proprietary charger. MSI really has all the bases covered here.

The underside of the laptop has what MSI calls “Dragon armor carving,” which is really a bunch of stretched out hexagons. Overall, this feels like a solid machine with only a small amount of flex in its thin, 15.6-inch screen. MSI says it increased the torque on the hinge by 14% over the last generation (the MSI GE65 Raider) and widened it 9%.

The sleek black deck is smooth with a very subtle hint of shimmer. Combined with the 5mm thin bezel around the display, 82% screen-to-body ratio and, again, the mesmerizing effect of the RGB keyboard and light bar, you’ve got a machine that seems premium where needed and fun where wanted.

The GE66 Raider stacks up averagely when it comes to 15-inch gaming clamshells. The Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 GX550, for example, is 14.1 x 10.6 x 0.8 inches and 5.3 pounds, while our MSI review unit is 14.1 x 10.5 x 0.9 inches and the same weight. You can get sleeker though. The MSI GS66 Stealth, as its name subtly suggests, is slightly lighter at 4.6 pounds and trimmer at 14.2 x 9.7 x 0.7 inches.

MSI GE66 Raider Gaming Performance

With an RTX 2080 Super Max-Q graphics card, our review unit of the GE66 Raider easily hit 60 frames per second (fps) in most games. I enjoyed Battlefield V at ultra settings typically in the 80-90 frames per second (fps) range. During intense battles, it’d drop to roughly 73-76 fps, and when I crawled through some grass it climbed as high as 130 fps. After I added ray tracing into the mix, framerates stayed around the 70-80 fps range, hitting 99 fps during calm moments and the low 70s in heavy battle.

When it came to running the Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark (1920 x 1080, highest settings), the GE66 Raider averaged 75 fps. That’s 6 more fps than the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 GX550 and greater than the MSI GS66 Stealth’s 66 fps average. Both laptops use the same GPU as our review unit. Meanwhile, the Alienware m17 R3 with a Nvidia Geforce RTX 2080 Super came close to matching the GE66 Raider at 74 fps.

Our review unit outperformed its sibling MSI machine and the ROG Zephyrus Duo when it came to Grand the Grand Theft Auto V benchmark (1920 x 1080, very high) as well. However, the Alienware bested the MSI by 7 fps.

The Far Cry New Dawn (1920 x 1080, ultra) benchmark ran at 99 fps on our GE66 Raider. That’s 10 more fps than the Asus and Alienware and 14 more fps than the GS66 Stealth averaged.

The GE66 Raider also comes out on top when looking at Red Dead Redemption 2 (1920 x 1080, medium). Our configuration ran the benchmark at 58 fps, which is slightly faster than both the Zephyrus Duo and m17 R3 and 9 fps quicker than the other MSI machine here.

To stress test our review unit, we ran the Metro Exodus 1080p RTX benchmark on a loop 15 times to simulate 30 minutes of gaming. During this time, the game ran at an average framerate of 51.9 fps. The RTX 2080 Super Max-Q ran at an average clock speed of 1,360.4 MHz and temperature of 64 degrees Celsius (147.2 degrees Fahrenheit). The CPU, meanwhile, was running at 4.4 GHz average clock speed and 76.5 degrees Celsius Average (169.7 degrees Fahrenheit).

MSI GE66 Raider Productivity Performance

The configuration of the GE66 we tested has an Intel Core i9-10980HK with eight CPU cores and 16 threads, working with 32GB (2x 16GB) of DDR4-3200 RAM and a 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD. That’s a lot of power, and the laptop proved more than sufficient for running 22 Google Chrome tabs, including one playing Netflix, as well as Slack. I was able to track through an episode on Netflix with a 1-3 second delay. And there were no obvious delays when navigating or scrolling through my numerous browser tabs.

On Geekbench 5.1, an overall productivity performance benchmark, our configuration of the GE66 Raider proved more effective than the other machines here. Its score of 8,347 on all cores outshined the ROG Zephyrus Duo. The Asus scored 8,134 with the same specs as our review unit but with two 1TB SSDs in RAID0. The Alienware also has the same CPU and RAM as our GE66 Raider and a 1TB drive in RAID0. It fell behind our review unit by 720 points. The GE66 Stealth got 6,261, with a lesser Intel Core i7-10750H CPU, 32GB of DDR-2666 RAM and a 512GB SSD.

It took our review laptop 36 seconds to copy 25GB of files, which equates to 745.8 MBps. That’s much slower than the ROG Zephyrus Duo’s 1,413 MBps and the Alienware’s 1,220.4 MBps. The GE66 Stealth, however, was at a comparative crawl.

The GE66 Raider shined in Handbrake. It took the laptop 6 minutes and 59 seconds to transcode a video from 4K resolution to 1080p. That’s quicker than all the other laptops here, especially the GS66 Stealth, which needed 2:56 longer. 

MSI GE66 Raider Display

The screen on the GE66 Raider packs a wildly fast refresh rate of 300 Hz, coupled with a 3ms response time. This is part of a growing trend of gaming laptops sporting insanely high refresh rates, including the 300 Hz Razer Blade Pro 17 (2020) and Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G732.

Even the best gaming monitors are still stuck at 240 Hz max (360 Hz desktop monitors are en route). But while the screen may update with new information 300 times a second, your graphics card may not be so fast, depending on the game you’re running. AAA titles are out of the question when it comes to hitting 300 fps. Instead, you’ll have to play an esports game, like Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, FIFA, Rocket League or CS:GO to get past the 240 fps mark.

Overwatch is another contender for high framerates, so I dropped settings to the lowest on the GE66 Raider. I surpassed 240 fps quite frequently. Framerates were as high as 301 during a low-intensity training session, and during actual gameplay it usually was in the 250-260s, sometimes dropping as low as 194 fps and reaching as high as 281 fps.

In terms of image quality, the GE66 Raider’s screen packs a healthy amount of color for both gaming and movies. Overwatch looked as pleasant as ever on the laptop, with tanks featuring their gold tones instead of looking like a pale yellow. I could also see the nuanced shades of gray in Reinhart’s weapon, which can look more washed out and flat on other screens.

Mission: Impossible - Fallout also looked as colorful as I expected after watching it numerous times on a large TV. Green poplars in a garden stood out, as did the subtly olive tone of Ilsa’s jacket. The purple-pinkish haze that subtly covers a scene at an airport at dusk and is often lost on other displays was also visible.

The panel is IPS style, and side angle viewing lives up to expectations. When watching Mission: Impossible from a 90-degree angle there were reflections on the further half of the screen, but it was still watchable, especially for a movie this good. At a 45-degree angle, there were virtually no issues.

Our testing showed that this speedy panel averages a solid 300 nits max brightness. However, every other laptop here has a brighter screen, including the smaller second screen on the Zephyrus Duo. The other MSI and the ROG Zephyrus Duo offer a similar amount of coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut as the GE66 Raider. However, the Alienware is incredibly colorful.

MSI GE66 Raider Keyboard and Touchpad

I love a trim gaming laptop, but in the GE66 Raider’s case, that comes at the price of a spacious keyboard. MSI said it enlarged the keycaps, especially the left Ctrl key, compared to the GE65 Raider. But there are also some (but not all) navigational keys squeezed into the right column, and the arrow keys that aren’t offset enough to be easily locatable. At the end of the day, you’re left with keys that are pretty close together and very flat, making it easy for the fingers to slide across to other keys accidentally. There are also some weird choices, like the abomination of the left FN and Ctrl keys crammed into one space.

When gaming, this resulted in mispressed keys and me having to look down more often than usual to reorient myself. The larger Ctrl key helped, but I still found it hard to find other keys when holding down Ctrl, like when I was trying to slide in Apex Legends. And when trying to input combos, I had to look down to figure out where I was in a sea of flat keys.

On the 10fastfigners.com typing I test I averaged 113.7 words per minute with a 96.6% accuracy rate. That’s pretty typical for me and only slightly below my 98% average accuracy, likely due to how snappy the keys are. But my fingers felt a little worn out afterward.

On the other hand, the keyboard’s quite functional. As mentioned, you get some navigational keys, like Home and Page Up. You can also use the function row to toggle the webcam off (handy for privacy), activate crosshairs for training, enter Game Mode, quickly turn the fans to max speed and toggle through the keyboard and light bar’s premade RGB effects simultaneously or control RGB brightness.

The GE66 Raider is also rocking a 4.1 x 2.5-inch touchpad, which I found to be a good size. It isn’t very slippery, instead offering a healthy amount of friction for control. I had no problem navigating Windows 10 with touchpad gestures.

MSI GE66 Raider Audio

The MSI GE66 Raider’s two 2W speakers live on either side of the deck, a more logical location than speakers that are under the laptop, which can result in muffled sound. They’re Dynaudio brand (if you forget, a logo on the deck will remind you), and MSI says they support up to a 192 KHz sampling rate and 24-bit Hi-res audio and go up to 122 dB.

In Overwatch, the overall sound was a little tinny. But I’ve heard worse, especially on other gaming laptops and thin ultraportables. The battlegrounds sounded like there were people banging on different types of metal trash cans as opposed to firing off different weapons. The audio didn’t sound as layered as usual, and even Reinherart’s voice was more metallic. When I switched to external speakers, I could hear more bass and a greater variance in weapon noises. The speakers’ volume, on the other hand, was ample, even with all my windows and balcony door open on a rainy day. 

Music also sounded different than usual. When I played “Like Glue,” Sean Paul sounded like he was singing far away down a tunnel and higher pitched. Moving to speakers resulted in a warmer voice with more bass. The instruments in The Strokes’ “What Ever Happened?” didn’t sound as detailed on the GE66 Raider either.

MSI GE66 Raider Upgradeability

Once you remove 11 Philips head screws and apply some elbow grease, you can pry off the GE66 Raider’s cover for upgrading. You can replace the RAM to reach up to 64GB (mine had two 16GB sticks), and my unit also had an empty spot for adding another M.2 SSD by removing an additional Philips head screw. You can also unscrew the Wi-Fi card.

MSI GE66 Raider Battery Life

Like the GS66 Stealth, MSI gave the GE66 Raider a 99WHr battery, the largest size it’s legally allowed to implement into a laptop, a company rep told me. But while the GE66 Raider may offer a lot of performance in a more portable package, you’ll still want to bring the charger if you plan on using it all day.