MSI Trident X PC
Small size, big performance.
Now that we have new CPUs and GPUs from Intel and Nvidia, those considering upgrades have some tasty new options to choose from. Not everyone wants to, or is comfortable building their own PC though and these users look for something off the shelf to plug and play. MSI has produced a gorgeous looking little PC whose compact dimensions pack in some truly high end hardware to cater to gamers looking for a powerful yet small form factor gaming rig out of the box.
The Trident X packs some beastly components into its 10 litre case. The configuration we have for review comes with an 8-core i7-9700K and GTX 2080 for starters. Add to that 32GB of memory, a 512GB NVMe SSD and a 2TB HDD and you have a system that will power through any game, even at 4K. If that’s not enough, MSI offers versions of the Trident X packing a 9900K and 2080Ti. That’s about as high end as it gets! There’s some
bloatware like Norton anti-virus we could do without though.
The specifications are one thing, but MSI has really produced a gorgeous chassis to contain these powerful components. There’s a healthy dose of RGB lighting on the front and top of the case along with the CPU cooler shroud. MSI ships two case side panels with the Trident X, one of which is metal while the other is tempered glass. We’ll have to ask MSI if they plan to sell this chassis separately as we like it a lot. It’s not quite console size, but it’s not all that much bigger either.
The use of standard components means there’s some upgrade potential down the line. You could upgrade to a next-gen GPU for example, and the NVMe SSD is exposed for easy swapping. MSI has made a good choice to go with a standard air cooler which means that air is directed over the motherboard and components, greatly assisting cooling, which can be a significant weakness in SFF systems.
As we’d expect with a component set such as this, performance is strong. The 9700K provides multithreaded grunt with a Cinebench 15 score of 1438. That’s better than an 8700K despite its apparent thread disadvantage. Gaming is also strong thanks to the capable GTX 2080 Ventus. Middle Earth: Shadow of War and Rise of the Tomb Raider returned 56 and 63 fps at 4k respectively. This means 1080p and 1440p gaming with a high refresh rate monitor will look a treat.
The Trident X is a seriously capable PC and is competitive at this price point when compared to off the shelf and store built PCs around $3,500. A plus is that the after sale support and the warranty process will be simplified should you ever need to claim it. Of course it’s cheaper to build your own, but for many reasons, that’s not as simple as it sounds for a lot of users. The Trident X is a great looking, powerful and surprisingly affordable option for gamers and users who need serious PC grunt combined with plug and play ease.
“The specifications are one thing, but MSI has really produced a gorgeous chassis to contain these powerful components. ”