Review: MSI Trident 3 Arctic

Conclusion

For years, manufacturers have been trying to move the PC out of the office and into the living room as a big-screen companion. Success has been limited, to say the least, and the advent of smart TVs and cheap-and-cheerful streaming dongles has quashed the desire for dedicated HTPC solutions.

Yet there is one remaining scenario in which a powerful living-room PC makes sense: gaming. An industry-wide transition to more efficient components has paved the way toward high-performance systems that are smaller and quieter than ever before, and multiple big-name players are moving to present games-console alternatives for enthusiasts entrenched in the PC ecosystem.

MSI's latest offering, the £1,800 Trident 3 Arctic, is a pricey prospect but one that strikes a lot of the right notes. Setup is a doddle, a choice of orientation allows it to fit into most homes, heat and noise are well managed, and with a Core i7-7700 processor paired to GeForce GTX 1070 graphics, the system offers more potential than any current-generation console.

A bulky power supply and questionable aesthetics leave room for improvement, but MSI has laid down a marker and anyone in the market for a small-form-factor gaming PC ought to have the Trident 3 Arctic on their radar.

MSI Trident 3 Arctic

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TBC.

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