Which MSI Gaming PC is Right For You? Three Systems Tested!

How Much Does it Cost?

Well, obviously they’re all broadly different systems, The Trident A can vary quite a lot depending on each reseller’s configuration of memory, storage, and even things like GPU and CPU may be different. There are some less and more powerful models available and prices can swing significantly. Of course, that’s true of all three systems.

The Codex 5 is a larger system, but this model is available for as low as £1200 depending on the graphics card, but moving up to higher-end models takes it to £2100 and makes fairly sweeping changes to its configuration, but not the overall aesthetic. It’s fairly sensible given the cost of the CPU and GPU combined are most of that price. I like that it comes with a 750W PSU too, giving you some overhead to upgrade in the future and while not this gen, the RTX 2060 Ti still is pretty potent.

The Aegis Ti5 is in another league though, with prices up to £4000 for some models. The one I tested is actually about £700 off right now, bringing it closer to £3300-3400 at some retailers. That’s pretty impressive given the flagship hardware contained within and the unique design. Sure, it’s not for everyone, but you certainly get a lot for your money on this one. I suspect the system prices are steadily on the decline at the moment anyway, with new GPUs on the horizon and overall market prices returning to normal.

• MSI MPG Trident A 11th Gen – £1150 to £1400
• MSI MAG Codex 5 11th Gen – £1200 to £2100
• MSI MEG Aegis Ti5 12th Gen – £3350 to £4000

The Home Office – But Really, It’s For Gaming

The slimmer Trident A is in many ways my favourite here. it’s superbly compact and stylish, and the price is pretty attractive too. For the home office, it’s going to be easy to integrate into smaller workspaces. Given more people work from home these days, setting up a new dedicated workspace in the home can be tricky, so a smaller system does help with that a lot. That being said, the slim case still has room for upgrading your hardware. It’ll house a larger GPU in the future, and the motherboard, CPU and other components are all user upgradable. Overall though, it’s a well-balanced system with a good CPU and GPU combo that worked great for gaming, despite the slimmer size.

My First Gaming PC?

The MSI MAG Codex 5 I tested is a little bit similar to the Trident A in terms of hardware, but it’s obviously much larger. If you wanted a little more future proofing in terms of upgrade options this certainly has that. I could add a larger cooler, AIO radiator, different GPU combinations, and more. Most interesting, it has a lot of HDD and SSD bays spare, should you wish to expand on that also. The lower cost of the system can be seen in the case, cooler and memory configuration, but it still holds up well in terms of performance. If you’re buying your system PC out of school or college, or you’re shopping for your teens for a present, this is a good starting point for their first PC.

Maximum Swag

The MSI MEG Aegis TI5 12th Gen is really in a league of its own. While it looks utterly bonkers in terms of design, I absolutely love the look of it. However, I’ve seen a few people look at it with disgust too, but what do they know! Despite the design, it’s all standard hardware on the interior. It’s a normal m-ATX motherboard, an ATX PSU, and a full-size triple-fan MSI RTX 3090 in there. That means you can easily upgrade or replace hardware in the future if you so desire. Albeit, there’s not much need right now, because this PC is a savage weapon of raw performance. It doesn’t matter if you’re rendering 4K video or playing the latest games maxed out… it’s going to get the job done. If you want a kick-ass PC, this is the one to get. It’s expensive, but the benchmarks show you for a fact, twice as expensive, twice as fast.

So, which one of these three systems would you purchase? The Slimmer Trident A, the more expandable Codex 5, or the godly Ti5? Let me know in the comments! And thank you MSI for letting me play with these three systems!