A Closer Look
The design is… and it has a… and it looks like… OK I have no freaking idea, this thing has got all sorts of crazy going on and do you know what? I absolutely love it. I’ve reviewed so many systems which offer a unique look and that unique look almost always comes from how they arranged the RGB lighting. This is properly going out there to make something different and it’s a real showstopper as a result.
MSI hasn’t reinvented the PC thought, this is actually a micro-ATX case, so changing the GPU, cooler, motherboard, PSU and all that is going to be possible for you in the future. It actually runs from one of their own mATX Z490 boards.
You can even see there’s plenty of ventilation throughout the build, with the CPU fan located on the back left side, pulling air from this ventilated mesh panel.
I like that they’ve kept the text understated here, it doesn’t draw too much attention… unlike the rest of the case, of course.
There’s a really nice blend of materials here, with matte greys making up the bulk of the design, but it has a nice look and feel to it overall. There’s a lot of glassy black on the front and top, which makes for a striking contrast. As you’ll see shortly, that top panel is actually a window, and there’s RGB LED lighting tucked into all kinds of places too.
What’s this, a set of semaphores? You’ll find matching ones on each side of the case and you can simply pull them out…
They’re headset hangers! Alas, you could hang your hat and car keys from them if you so desire; I know I would.
Up on the top, you’ll find teh power button, audio jacks, two USB 3 ports, and a Type-C port.
The front panel has a lot going on too, with loads of ventilation holes running down the sides and that stunning glossy black front section.
There’s a built-in OLED display here, which is integrated into a dial control with some mechanism that allows the screen to be pushed in and clicked like a button.
The right side looks broadly the same as the left, with even more ventilation to allow for good airflow.
Hey look, it’s the other flip out hanger!
Then we have all this goodness going onat the rear!
As I said, it’s an mATX build, so you get four expansion slots, with the pre-installed GPU taking up two of those. Plus, you get a single HDMI and triple DP from this card.
There’s a lovely fan mounted as the exhaust here. It looks like the PSU, but it’s not, the PSU is hidden further down in the case.
The MSI Gaming motherboard offers up dual LAN, Thunderbolt, and a few more USB ports here too.
Tucked under the PC in that weird ball mount, you’ll find the PSU; I told you it was hidden.
RGB and OLED Time
Power on the system and you can see some really interesting RGB integration. There’s a circle of lighting in the lower section, plus that boomarang shape on the side panel.
You get this funky shape on the front too, with the MSI logo appearing in the inky black front panel too once the lights are on.
On the top, a soft glow of light from the case interior illuminates that dark tinted top panel window.
Lean over the case, and you can see the triple fan coioler on that gorgeous MSI RTX 3080 graphics card.
And then… there’s this guy. A cheeky little MSI dragon waving at me from the front panel control nob.
Everyone say hi *waves*. You can upload your own clips to this too using their desktop software.
Turn the dial or push the dial like a button, but it’s not a touch screen.
Want to see system performance, FPS, temperatures? Not a problem.
Just spin the dial and get a quick glance. You can customise what panels to show and hide too.
Gaming mode, media controls, even just the time or some dank memes… the wheel has something for everyone.
