The MSI Aegis 3 gaming computer shows that a system may be remarkable in terms of both appearance and hardware without taking up the entire desk. incearca incearca incearca judeţ
That is not to mean that it is deficient in terms of appearance and parts, though. It has an aggressive design that is comparable to the Ti3’s (which made us think of a robot that had been severed), but it is smaller, which will make it more practical for many people, especially if you’re looking for a gaming PC that you can carry around with you to events and LAN parties.
A reduced price tag also comes with a smaller footprint. Can the MSI Aegis 3 perform well enough to earn a spot on your desk? Let’s investigate.
Price and availability
The Aegis 3 costs £1,799.99 in the UK and is equipped with an eighth generation Intel Core i7 8700 processor, 8GB of RAM, 16GB of Intel Optane, a 1TB hard drive, a 128GB SSD, and a GTX 1070 graphics card.
In contrast, the similar system in the US will cost $1,568 (but with a 2TB hard drive). Although we don’t yet know the pricing for Australia, we’d venture a bet that it will be close to the AU$2,599 of last year’s model because the UK and US prices are so similar.
Although they are not cheap, these costs are comparable to those of last year’s model and come with better components for only a small price premium. Its price is undoubtedly more attractive than that of the Aegis Ti3, which costs roughly four times as much while having far more potent components.
Design
As we already said, the Aegis 3 has a special chassis that is exclusive to the Aegis line and has an incredibly alien appearance. Despite the Aegis 3’s reduced size, this chassis is still striking enough to draw a few comments from individuals who noticed it on our desk.
Small arms on either side of the chassis help make the Aegis 3 look even more alien and can also be utilized to hang your gaming headphones on. LED lights (that can be customized by MSI’s included software) illuminate from within, giving it an extremely threatening appearance.
The desktop’s footprint is comparably tiny to that of the Alienware Aurora and the Corsair One at 14.8 inches deep, just like it was with the previous iteration.
The smaller chassis does make it more difficult to update the components in the future because there is less room to access the hardware and, unlike the Alienware Aurora, tools (well, a screwdriver) are required to open the case. This won’t be a significant problem for individuals who often open up their PCs to modify, but it’s not quite the user-friendly upgrade experience that the Alienware delivers.
The Aegis 3 has a strong grip on the back, similar to earlier models, making it easy to carry. But, the chassis weighs a little bit—between 17.75 and 25 pounds, depending on how it is set up.
Performance
The Aegis 3 8RD is a desktop computer made by MSI with gaming in mind, and the hardware supports this. Our test computer is equipped with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 GPU and an Intel Core i7-8700 processor. In our tests, the combination performed well, and benchmark results were excellent. It’s unfortunate given the machine’s price tag of US$1,500–US$1,600 that not all contemporary titles will run smoothly at 4K. Overall, during testing, the Aegis 3 8RD performed as we had anticipated.
Verdict
The MSI Aegis 3 from this year is a fantastic update that keeps the appealing smaller form factor while bringing some nice hardware revisions. Despite its (relatively) modest size, the design is distinctive, has a few nice features for PC gamers, and has plenty of ports and upgrading options.
Even the newest games operate flawlessly at extreme graphics settings when played in 1080p. It’s not the most powerful gaming PC available, so you should seek elsewhere if you’re searching for a machine that can handle 4K resolutions.
We believe MSI has priced the MSI Aegis 3 appropriately, especially given that it is available for around the same price as last year’s model, given the performance and design. Nonetheless, there are a variety of configurations, and not all of them are offered in every market, which makes it a little more difficult to obtain a certain construction. The precise specifications MSI supplied us, for instance, are not fully clear as to where you might purchase them.
