MSI launched the original Nightblade about 18 months ago, but its 10-litre Nightblade MI is a relative newcomer, as it only debuted at the end of July this year. Nevertheless the Taiwanese PC and components maker has decided to synchronise the release calendars for both these Nightblade machines and refresh them both, it announced today. The aim of these machines is to provide all the essentials for "top notch" modern PC gaming, and a ladle more, in as compact a gaming style package as possible. Buyers will also be able to upgrade these systems for a good few years, to keep up with modern PC gaming hardware demands, reckons MSI.
Rather than selling these gaming PCs as barebones systems like the first Nightblades we saw, MSI has seen fit to configure these systems with build to order choices of 6th gen Intel Core processor, various amounts of memory, and various amounts/types of built-in modern storage options including M.2 Gen3 x4 Turbo M.2 flash storage. There are some key specs that don't appear to be configurable; such as motherboard choice, graphics card choice, PSU choice, OS choice, and the inclusion of a slim super-multi DCD drive.
|
MSI Nightblade X2 |
MSI Nightblade MI2 |
|
|
Processor |
Intel® 6th gen Core™ i5 / i7 processor |
Intel® 6th gen Core™ i5 / i7 processor |
|
Operation System |
Windows 10 Home |
Windows 10 Home |
|
Chipset |
Intel Z170 |
Intel B150 |
|
Graphics |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB GDDR5 |
|
Memory |
Max 16GB dual slots DDR4 Long-DIMM |
Max 16GB dual slots DDR4 Long-DIMM |
|
Storage |
1x 3.5" HDD / 2x 2.5" HDD/SSD / 2x M.2 PCI-E SSD |
2x 3.5" HDD / 2x 2.5" HDD/SSD / 1x M.2 PCI-E SSD |
|
Communication |
801.11 b/g/n/ac (Killer Wireless-AC 1535) Wi-Fi + 10/100/1000 x 1 (Killer E2400 with Killer Shield) + Bluetooth (optional) |
801.11 b/g/n/ac + Bluetooth (optional) |
|
Optical device |
Slim tray Super Multi DVD |
Slim tray Super Multi DVD |
|
Power supply |
600 W 80 Plus Gold |
350 W 80 Plus Bronze |
|
Dimensions |
345.8 mm x 277.33 mm x 175.7 mm (16 L) |
127.6 mm x 234.8 mm x 340.6mm (10 L) |
|
I/O |
Front: 1x USB 3.0 type C, 2x USB 2.0 |
Side: 1x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type C, 1x USB 2.0 |
The MSI Nightblade X2 is a compact gaming system with a volume of just 16 litres while its smaller brother, the MI2, has a capacity of 10 litres. The larger chassis of the X2 affords 'moar power', as you can see from the specification table above. It comes as standard sporting an Intel Z170 chipset (rather than the B150), it comes with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 Ti (rather than the GTX 970) and it offers more storage options, faster networking, a beefier power supply and a better selection of I/O.
Standard MSI gaming system frills such as built-in RGB LEDs, Super RAID compatibility, MSI Gaming Centre software, OC Genie, and Nahimic Sound Technology complete the above systems and help them earn their gaming stripes. MSI says that the Nightblade X2 and MI2 gaming PCs will become available worldwide from the middle of October, which is almost upon us. Pricing is yet to be revealed.
