Compact with power you need
Now a days, there is so many choices when comes to purchasing a desktop system, whether for general use, gaming, streaming or editing. It is also comes with the fact that some prefer pre-built, some loved custom built PC on their own. To me I am good with both, however not all component can be purchased easily or at the right price, especially when it come to Graphic Cards pricing, followed by form factor of a desktop that suits your needs.
Lets dive into the review of MSI MPG Trident AS 11th, a slim profile desktop with every bits of power within it.
Design & Ports
To start, the MPG Trident AS is one compact system, with a measure size of 10 liter compacted into one and weighs about 9KG in average. Compared to a normal ATX desktop, the MPG Trident is lightweight enough and fits on most desks.
Over to the rear IO portions, below is the following IO arrangement
1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A
1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C
4 x USB 2.0 Type A
1 x HDMI 2.0b with HDR port, supports a maximum resolution of 4K 60Hz
1 x DisplayPort 1.4 port, supports a maximum resolution of 4K 60Hz
3 x Audio jacks
1 x RJ45
1 x DC in
Such IO arrangement is pretty standard, and quite flexible and plenty of USB ports to be used on any occasion. Do take note that although the motherboard rear panel has HDMI and DP port, you can only use the ports from the actual graphics card as the system is configured with a RTX GPU and the Processor has no integrated graphics in it.
The front I/O consists of below on its arrangements
1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type C
1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A
1x USB 2.0 Type A
1x Mic in / 1 x Headphone out
Lets take a look of the inside of the case, where its really packed inside, in fact it is so tight, one would need some skill even needing to upgrade the RAM inside, however this is pretty much expected as it is a small form of casing. There is a m.2/NVME slot located the back of the Motherboard if you wish to add storage to it, which I find that is the easiest access for upgrade storage. The Graphics card sit on top of the position with an extended vertical PCI-E riser adaptor, which of course supports the PCI-E 4.0 standards. Processor wise it is fitted together with a heatsink and fan with ARGB support control via MSI own software in Windows, which also be able to control the LED strip and the front LED case. Power supply wise, its a GOLD certified PSU rated at 450w 80+. Other accessories included are Clear Side Panel, Vigor GK30 RGB Keyboard, MSI Gaming Optical Mouse, Power cable.
MSI MPG Trident AS 11th standard features and specifications
Processor | 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-11700F |
Motherboard | MPG B560i GAMING EDGE WIFI |
System Memory | 16GB DDR4 @ 3200MHZ X1 |
Graphics Card | GeForce RTX™ 3060 VENTUS 2X 12G OC (LHR) |
Primary Drive | WD SN530 PCIE 3 x4 1TB |
Secondary Drive | N/A (Optional) |
PSU | 450w 80+ PSU |
Others | Intel AX 210 WiFi with Bluetooth 5.0 |
Operating System | Windows 10 64bit Home SL |
DIMENSION/Weight | 137.06 x 396.57 x 410.39 mm, 9KG |
Included Accessories | Clear Side Panel, Vigor GK30 RGB Keyboard, MSI Gaming Optical Mouse, Power cable |
Benchmark Scores (With BAR Enabled)
Software Suite and BIOS
The MSI MPG Trident AS 11th does includes the MSI Center Software suite that does provide vast flexibility over your RGB lighting control, as long your future upgraded components supports ARGB lighting and certified by MSI, so far the controls are quite simple and easy to understand, since the whole system is by MSI, including the Keyboard and Mouse, so all of the control is compatible with it and we have no complains. Of course there is also the Live Update features which enables you to update your system drivers.
Audio wise, the motherboard comes with Nahimic Suite by Steel Series that enables user to select different profile for your music and gaming needs, as long you are utilizing your 3.5mm audio jack equipment such as headphones or a combo of headphone and microphone.
Over to the BIOS/UEFI panel, MSI uses a pretty detail yet flexible interface which you can overclock, set fan curves, voltage control and of course updating the BIOS with your flash drive, selecting boot devices, XMP selections for RAM and detailed information on your hardware, and although most branded desktop BIOS is locked, this is not, as this gives user freedom to upgrade and customize the settings.
Verdict
Overall, if you wish to have a no fuss system yet still meet all the demands for gaming, working, editing, this is recommended because due to the constant PC hardware component pricing stability, sometimes its better to just get a pre-built. Currently the MPG Trident is selling around RM8000 to RM10000 on an average street price depending on configurations. Moreover MSI keep the system quite open that you can change or upgrade the hardware, which includes the Memory, SSD, Graphics card.
For more information on the MPG Trident AR , Click Here
Special Thanks to MSI for providing the MPG Trident for the purpose of this Benchmark and Review.