If you can recall a few weeks back I ran an Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla stream with MSI. The brand sent over a custom PC build for me to use for the game and it was a monster. For starters, it packs the latest 12th-Gen Core-i9 processor combined with an RTX 3070 Ti. However, there was a lot more going on in this PC that you guys probably missed and to say thanks to MSI for sending this PC over, I wanted to showcase some of the awesome components included in this build in case you are in the market for a new PC or perhaps a specific upgrade to a certain piece of tech.
I also put this PC to the test using a range of games and benchmarks. Just so you can see how powerful the GPU and specifically, the CPU is. This is my first taste of the desktop Core i9 and it is pretty fierce. Also, disclaimer, everything on this PC belongs to MSI. I only borrowed it for this stream.
Here’s everything inside this PC:
- MSI Sekira 500X Case
- MSI MEG Z690 ACE Motherboard
- MSI NVIDIA RTX 3070 Ti Gaming Trio X
- 12th-Gen Intel Core-i9
- MSI Coreliquid S360 Cooler
- MSI A850GF PSU
- MSI Optix MAG 274QRF
- MSI Vigor GK30 mouse and keyboard
- MSI Spatium M390 SSD 1TB
- 32GB of Kingston Fury Beast DDR5 RAM
Watch all these cool MSI things in action below
MSI Sekira 500X Case
First off I wanted to show you the case because without it we wouldn’t have a PC. MSI used the Sekira 500X PC case to build this PC and this chassis is a monster. No really, my back cried every time I had to lift it off the floor and put it onto my desk. The case alone weighs 20Kgs and that is without all the extra goodies inside of it.
The Sekira Case is versatile and supports Mini-ITX, Macro ATX, ATX and EATX motherboards. It also comes with multiple spots for fans and radiators. You can install four 200mm fans, seven 120mm fans and six 140mm fans in this case. Not to mention it supports three different installation spots for radiators too. This includes 140mm, 280mm and 360mm.
The case is any PC gamer’s dream chassis. It boasts a tool-less tempered glass opening on both sides meaning you can get in and out of the inner workings without a screwdriver. It also supports up to 8 RGB LED lights thanks to its large LED Hub. You can also install and run supported Mystic Light hardware thanks to the case’s ARGB support. If you don’t have this hardware, the case then boasts seven different LED profiles to choose from.
The Sekira case also comes packed with ports. You’ll find a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C, four Type-A ports, an audio out and a mic port all at the top of the case.
I think this case is pretty awesome. It is massive, which might be a problem for some people out there but the sheer versatility goes a long way here. I especially loved how everything is basically tool-less in the case, You can remove the hard drives thanks to the drawer positions and even easily detach the radiator by simply sliding it out from its spot. Not to mention it just looks cool too.
MSI MEG Z690 ACE Motherboard
A PC isn’t a PC without a motherboard and the MSI MEG Z690 ACE Motherboard powered this PC. This motherboard is one of the most advanced components you can get on the market and fully supports Intel’s new 12th-Gen CPUs. It even has a 24k gold foil coating. No jokes here. This thing is literally gold and you’ll probably pay a gold bar for it too.
It boasts a range of ports and IO and the sheer versatility of its PCIe and M.2 connectors make this a future-proof motherboard too. It packs five M.2 connectors with PCIe 4.0. Each one is coated with MSI’s Shielded Frozr. It includes the latest DDR5 memory slots with MSI’s Memory Boost technology. The CPU slot is LGA 1700 too meaning it is ready for the latest Intel CPUs.
As for the ports, you’ll find the following on the back of this MSI MEG Z690:
- 2x Mini DisplayPort input ports
- 2x Thunderbolt 4 40Gbps
- 1x USB 3.2 Gen2 10Gbps Type-C
-
7x (Gen2, Type A), 1(Gen2, Type C)
- 2 x Intel 2.5Gbps LAN
- WiFi 6E Module + Antenna Support
- Optical S/PDIF-Out
- RS Out
- CS Out
- Line In
- Line Out
- Mic
If you want to upgrade this motherboard, you can boost it with up to 128GB of RAM, kit it out with up to six SATA III drives and fill up all of the five M.2 Slots. It, of course, also supports the latest GPUs with two PCIe 5.0 slots and a PCIe 4.0 slot.
MSI NVIDIA RTX 3070 Ti Gaming Trio X
A GPU nowadays isn’t much to write home about so this next part won’t blow you away as much as the rest of this build. The fact that MSI was able to get their hands on an RTX 3070 Ti is also an achievement and it goes without saying that this is a great GPU. It is probably one of the best you can get before you start spending crazy amounts of money on say an RTX 3080 and 3090 that you probably won’t utilize the power on anyway.
This RTX 3070 Ti comes with MSI Mystic Light support, NVIDIA’s 2nd gen RT Cores, 8GB of GDDR6X RAm and three giant Torx Fans to keep it cool. It is also powered by MSI’s Tri Frozr 2 cooling system which enhances the airflow of the PC through the GPU’s machine-precision-cut heatsink to push out hot air as effectively as possible. It is also quite silent and manages to stay cool during the most intense gaming sessions.
12th-Gen Intel Core-i9
If you’re looking for one of the best CPUs around, this 12th-Gen Intel Core-i9 is definitely it. Before I get into the specifics, I need to talk about this packaging because wow. Intel’s approach to its packaging for the 12th-Gen CPUs is definitely the best I have seen for a long time. The CPU comes in a golden disc packaged in a blue shell. It is something you buy, usually with a lot of money, and can keep on your shelf as a sort of achievement. I just think the gold coin sort of “die” design is amazing.
This specific CPU is the Intel Core-i9 12900K. It just recently launched in late 2021 and packs 16 cores. This includes 8 performance and 8 efficiency cores. It boasts a Turbo Frequency of 5.20GHz and a base clock of 3.20GHz. It chows power and can use up to 240W of power when running in turbo.
But this 12th-Gen CPU isn’t just some pretty packaging. It also enables the entire PC to perform better across the board. It is needed to tie all the motherboard components together so everything works in sync. The CPU is also quite powerful. I ran some benchmarks using Geekbench and it spat out these scores:
Geekbench
- Multi-Core – 16880
- Single-Core – 1920
MSI Coreliquid S360 Cooler
A new 12th-Gen Intel CPU also needs a compatible cooler and MSI packed in the new Coreliquid S360 Cooler into this PC. It supports the new LGA 1700 CPU slots which makes it the perfect companion for the CPU. This massive 360mm liquid cooler spans the entire top part of the Sekira case and helps keep the tension down when it comes to the heat on the CPU.
For the most part, it does an excellent job. The 2.4-inch IPS panel can be customized to display the current temperature of the PC but at the same time, you can also add your own cool gif and images to the display too. MSI added an Assassin’s Creed Valhalla gif to this one but you can go to town with the sheer level of customization on offer here.
The fans can reach 2000RPM and MSI says the cooler has an expected life of 50,000 hours. If you don’t own a new CPU, the cooler is also compatible with other Intel and AMD models too. Be sure to check out the official support before picking it up.
MSI A850GF PSU
Of course, nothing in this PC would run if we don’t have a power supply and the model used here is the MAG A850GF. This 850W power supply does its job. Sure, it doesn’t have any RGB or any special smart features but I don’t think it needs them anyway. The rest of the PC makes up for all of that. This PSU powers the build and that is all we really need here.
MSI also packed the PC with its own Spatium M390 SSD because, we need storage, of course. They also threw in Vigor GK30 mouse and keyboard combo. It is a combination of a pretty sleek white keyboard and mouse and the RGB lighting just looks amazing in contrast to the white shell. There’s also 32GB of Kingston Fury beast DDR5 RAM.
I also got the MSI Optix MAG 274QRF monitor. This 27-inch monitor packs an IPS display with a 165Hz refresh rate and a 1440p resolution. It makes for a great companion for both PC and console gaming thanks to its HDMI 2.1 interface. You can play PS5 and Xbox Series X at 4K120Hz while using the DisplayPort on the PC to get the best 165Hz experience.
So all of this sounds like an MSI dream right? Well, it is pretty much is. The entire experience was definitely one of the best I have had in a while when it comes to PC gaming. There’s also a benefit to having a fully MSI built PC around thanks to the way all the components work together. The Mystic Light support enhanced the RGB while the MSI Center allowed me to keep tabs on all the components while gaming. I specifically loved the cooler because it was always just there showing me how things were running.
So now that you know all of the components in this PC, here are some benchmarks I ran while using it. These tests represent the best experience you can get at 1440p across certain games.
- Far Cry 6 (1440p RTX On Ultra)
- 90FPS Average
- 105FPS Maximum
- 83FPS Min
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
- 81FPS Average
- 183FPS Maximum
- 41FPS Min
- 3DMark TimeSpy
- Overall – 15192
- Graphics – 14780
- CPU – 18046
- 3DMark Firestrike Ultra
- Overall – 9478
- Graphics – 9240
- Physics Score – 38318
- Combined Score – 4897
- Watch Dogs Legion
- 101FPS Average
- 176FPS Maximum
- 60FPS Min
- Geekbench
- 157676 OpenCL
If you are worried about the price tag on this beast then I don’t blame you. This PC is hella powerful but at the same time, these components will set you back quite a lot of moola. I estimate that this PC build will cost you at least R65,000. That is also excluding the monitor that costs R11,000 on its own. It is a steep price to pay for the best and thanks to MSI for giving me a taste of what it is like to own it.
