MSI has invented a new way to control your computer, here’s how it works. Top model based on Intel Core i7-10700K and RTX 3070.
Configuration
Theoretically, the Aegis Ti5 can be supplied in any configuration: despite the futuristic appearance, in practice it is a normal PC, in which you can put at least Ryzen 3 no video cards at all, even though a monster Intel Core i9-10900K from RTX 3090… In life, however, there are no plans for cheap configurations: the computer was assigned to the MEG series, and this in MSI language means everything that is most expensive and powerful.
So far, Aegis Ti5 is assembled only on the basis of Intel. The motherboard is based on Intel Z490 – through HWInfo it breaks through as MSI MS-B9311 and, in theory, made specifically for this computer. But it looks nothing special in it: a standard mATX with an LGA1200 socket, four DIMM slots for RAM and cooling on the power lines. Three adapters are responsible for the network on it: for WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 it costs Intel AX201, on LAN – Intel I219-V at 1 Gbps and I225-V at 2.5 Gbps. The rear panel has two USB 2.0, three USB 3.2 Gen.2, one USB 3.2 Gen.2 Type-C, Thunderbolt 3, a pair of RJ-45 and audio outputs. In addition, on the front panel of the case, on top, two more USB 3.2 Gen.2, USB 3.2 Gen.1 in Type-C format and two 3.5 mm headset jacks are soldered.
The processor in our version is Intel Core i7-10700K: This is an 8-core with Hyper Threading support and a frequency of 3.8 to 5.1 GHz. In older versions, Aegis can also be equipped with a Core i9-10900K with ten cores. We had 32 GB of RAM in two strips Samsung at a frequency of 2900 MHz. Drives – three: one hard drive from Seagate 2 TB and two SSDs from Western digital 1 TB each. By default, the latter are combined in RAID0 and the system has one 2 TB storage with a speed of 3.5 GB / s read and 3.3 GB / s write. If necessary, you can add another M.2 and a pair of 2.5-inch drives. And, finally, we got the video card MSI RTX 3070 Ventus 2x – with two large turntables. The top trim levels, of course, will RTX 3080…
Specifications
CPU: Intel Core i7-10700K (3.8-5.1 GHz, 8 cores, 16 threads, 125W)
System logic: Intel Z490
RAM: 2x 16 GB DDR4-2999 MHz, Samsung M378A2K43DB1
Video card: MSI RTX 3070 Ventus 2x (1755/14000 MHz, 8 GB GDDR6)
Storage system: 2x 1 TB NVMe SSD in RAID0 (WDC PC SN730 SD8PNTY-1T00-1032), 2 TB HDD (ST2000DM008-2FR102)
Wired network: 1 Gbps (Intel I219-V), 2.5 Gbps (Intel I225-V)
Wireless network: Wi-Fi 802.11ax, Bluetooth 5.2 (Intel AX201)
Ports on facial side corps: 2x USB 2.0, PS / 2, HDMI 1.4, USB 3.2 Gen. 2 Type-C, 3x USB 3.2 Gen. 2, Thunderbolt 3, 2x RJ45, 5x 3.5mm jack, S / PDIF (motherboard), 3x DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.1 (graphics card)
Sound: HD Audio
Power Supply: 750 watts
Operating system: Windows 10 x64 Pro
Dimensions: 55.1×23.9×51.1 cm
The weight: 15 Kg
Price for February 2023: up to 400,000 rubles ($ 5333)
Delivery and appearance
Aegis comes in a huge box that even a Super Full Tower would fit into, but the PC itself does not take up so much space: the volume was overtaken to protect the case. There are two boxes at once with a total wall thickness of one and a half centimeters plus huge pieces of foamed polyethylene with edges of almost six centimeters. At the same time, the PC is additionally covered with a cloth case with ties, and along with it there is a small box with a complete set containing instructions, two SATA cables and a healthy rag with the MSI logo for wiping the case.
It makes no sense to describe the appearance of the Aegis Ti5 – it’s easier to look at the photos, so we’ll better tell you how and from what all this is assembled. The main material from which the molds were molded was plastic. It is used to make the side panels, strut wheel, center adjuster, and the front and top. Moreover, the latter are glossy, and you will have to dust off them regularly. Note that the plastic itself is of high quality: thick and tough, but, for our taste, at such a cost it was necessary to make everything from metal – it would have turned out much more solid.
At the same time, inside, under the plastic, there is a standard metal case of approximately the same format as that of a mini-Tower for mATX boards. A powerful handle is screwed to it from above on the back, for which the computer can be safely carried from place to place. Behind the bottom, under a plastic cover, there is a slot for a hard drive, and in a round leg there is a place for a power supply. The structure rests on the floor with a metal foot with a rubber adhesive that does not allow slipping. There are no questions about rigidity to the design, but physics is still not fooled: the upper part springs a little under its own weight. Also note that there are two slide-out headphone holders on the top of the front panel. They are 9 cm long, so they can fit even with the widest headband.
As you probably already noticed in the photo, the computer is literally littered with backlights. It was made with high quality: through the program Mystic light You can control any element, and the ribbons are selected so that all shades clearly coincide with each other. The top cover here is translucent, and when the lights are turned on, the video card is visible under it.
Wheel
Well, the main element of the Aegis Ti5 is a huge knob in the center of the body called the Gaming Knob. It is a large button with a spinning ring around it and a built-in 1.3-inch display. By default, the wheel is responsible for adjusting the volume in Windows, and an animated dragon, which is quite frivolous for such a computer, is spinning on the screen. True, you can change it, but the scheme, frankly speaking, is rather complicated: you need to prepare a 240×240 picture yourself (and if you want animation, then several pictures with a total volume of no more than 3 MB) and upload it via Dragon Center.
If you tap the screen and turn the knob, the Gaming Knob switches to other modes of operation: backlighting, launching applications, monitoring resources, switching Nahimic sound profiles, enabling Gaming Mode, controlling a music or video player, and clearing memory. In the process, you select the desired item, click on the screen, and you are already thrown to additional settings. Which one, you choose yourself in the Dragon Center program.
In it, you can pre-register backlight options, choose which parameters will be displayed when resource monitoring is turned on, and even display a weather forecast. Programs for launching are also attached here – and even the image of the shortcut is picked up, which is displayed on the display. Here, however, DC needs a direct path to the EXE file: it is not friendly with desktop shortcuts.
All in all, the Gaming Knob really works, and on a gaming PC it’s an extremely cool idea that you really want to use. However, in some places the system needs some work. Firstly, it would be better to make the ring itself more solid and smooth: now it is plastic and too light. Secondly, Dragon Center needs to be lightened and accelerated. Thirdly, the ring must be untied from the DC control, because if the computer is loaded with some kind of rendering, the screen does not respond to actions. Otherwise, the system definitely deserves attention and further development.
Inside
Let’s go back to the hardware. Despite the unusual layout, to put it mildly, everything is easy to understand. Four screws hold the side covers, and one is the bottom one that covers the HDD. Hidden behind the right cover are two slots for 2.5-inch drives. Behind the left is a heatsink for the processor LSS and a free PCIe x16 slot. If necessary, you can dig deeper, disassemble everything to the ground and assemble your configuration: the components are standard, only they are located in an unusual way. For better cooling, the main compartment of the case is divided into two parts: in the upper there is a video card, in the lower – everything else, including a dual processor LSS.
MSI itself calls the cooling scheme Silent Storm Cooling 4… Its idea is precisely to divide the iron into four compartments so that the components do not warm up each other. Thus, the engineers managed with only three turntables in the main compartment: on the front wall, on the back and on the back of the motherboard, opposite the processor socket.
The stone sits under a double LSS – apparently, MAG Coreliquid 240R, – in which the pump is placed on the radiator. It is fixed on a hinged bar on the left side of the case and, when the side cover is thrown off, covers the entire motherboard. If you need to replace the RAM, processor or add an M.2 drive to the system, then this is not a problem: you need to unscrew the two screws and pull out the heatsink. As for the video card, it does its own cooling. It stands parallel to the floor, sucks fresh air through the roof of the case, and throws the heated air back. The same is with the PSU: it is bypassed with an internal fan.
Unfortunately, the circuit is noisy. Even at rest, the noise fluctuates at the level of 37 dB, and under load, when four turntables from the LSS and the video card are overclocked, this figure rises to 43-44 dB – and this is a lot. The default settings do not help: either in Extreme Performance mode or in Silent, only the processor frequencies and permissible maximum temperatures change. However, if you rebuild the fan schedules manually – through Hardware Monitor in the BIOS – then in office mode the computer will barely get over 32 dB, which is already on the verge of audibility.
As for the cooling efficiency, the video card for half an hour in Metro: Exodus rises to a temperature of 89 ° C. And the processor is gaining 61 ° in 3ds max and Prime95 and 45-50 ° C in games. The frequencies are absolutely normal: 4 GHz under AVX, 4.6 during rendering and 4.7 GHz in games across all eight cores.
results
In real life, this allowed the system to be even faster than a similar RTX 3070 in conjunction with Ryzen R7 5800X… In Full HD, almost all games are kept at about 80 fps – only Cyberpunk 2077 shows less, although with the last patch it finally crossed the 63 frame mark. The cherished 60 fps was also passed by Metro: Exodus with full RTX enabled and without DLSS. I got close to this mark and Watch Dogs: Legion: she scored 52 frames per second with ray tracing.
The computer can handle QHD just fine. Assassin’s creed valhalla, Watch Dogs: Legion, Total war: three kingdoms and Metro: Exodus fit 70 frames, and Horizon zero dawn, F1 2023 and Hitman 3 over a hundred. Cyberpunk 2077 also performed well: 50 fps with all settings at maximum. But the “rays” in QHD already require DLSS: without it, Watch Dogs drops to a critical 36 fps, and Cyberpunk 2077 – to 19.
With 4K, the situation is this: you can play anything, but you will have to forget about 60 fps. As an option, of course, you can lower the settings, but it makes no sense to do this in 4K, which is needed precisely for the sake of the picture quality, we do not see. The maximum is to enable DLSS.
