MSI recently sent us a whole set of PC components and peripherals for us to try out the latest DLC expansion of Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Dawn of Ragnarok.
The complete set includes the following parts:
CPU | 12th Gen Intel Core i5-12600K |
Motherboard | MSI MPG Z690 Force WiFi |
GPU | MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio 10G |
Casing | MSI MPG Quietude 100S |
PSU | MSI MPG A850GF |
AIO Cooler | MSI MPG Coreliquid S280 |
Monitor | MSI MPG ARTYMIS 343CQR |
Keyboard | MSI Vigor GK50 Elite |
Mouse | MSI Clutch GM41 |
Headset | MSI Immerse GH70 |
Starting off, the processor that we're using is the i5-12600K from Intel's Alder Lake lineup, which features 6 Performance-cores and 4 Efficient-cores, boasting a base clock of 3.7GHz and a maximum turbo frequency of 4.9GHz. As a 12th Gen Intel chip, it supports up to DDR5 4800 MT/s RAM and PCIe 5.0 solution.
Housing the processor is the MSI MPG Z690 Force WiFi motherboard that can fit its LGA 1700 socket. Of course, this motherboard has the same support for DDR5 RAM and PCIe 5.0. The MPG Z690 Force WiFi comes in a sleek and premium silver finish that should be an eye pleasure for minimalists. It offers three PCIe slots with two slots supporting PCIe 5.0 in 1 x PCIe x16 or 2 x PCIe x8 configuration, and one supporting PCIe 3.0 in PCIe x4 configuration. There are also five M.2 slots and 6 SATA slots onboard.
Moving onto its power design, it has a direct 18+1+1 power design and a pair of 8-pin EPS 12V. It's able to support up to four DIMMs and 128GB in total, and memory frequency up to DDR5-6666 through overclocking. As for the rear I/O, there are four USB 2.0 ports, a DisplayPort, an HDMI port, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps Type-A ports, a 2.5G LAN port, Wi-Fi 6E AX210 ports, a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 20Gbps Type-C port, a Flash BIOS buttons, and audio connectors.
For thermal control, the motherboard includes a large heatsink with heat pipes, MOSFET thermal pads rated for 7W/mK, additional choke thermal pads, and M.2 Shield Frozr.
The graphics card that MSI sent us is the powerful GeForce RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio 10G. Built on NVIDIA's Ampere architecture, this one is a premium tier triple-slot card with a graphene backplate and a beautiful splash of RGB lighting, which you can customize via the Mystic Light app. Video outputs include the standard set of three V1.4a DisplayPorts and an HDMI 2.1 port, though we would be glad to see another HDMI port.
Also, there are three 8-pin connectors that can deliver power to a 13 phase VRM with additional 3 phases for the 10GB of 19 Gbps Micron memory. The Gaming X Trio 10G has a rated boost clock of 1815MHz and a 10GB GDDR6X of memory speed.
The main highlight of this graphics card is its chunky Tri Frozr2 cooling system, which consists of three Frozr Fan 4.0, each of which has a linked outer ring design that focuses airflow into the cooling system. It also employs precision-machined core pipes for maximum contact with the GPU and spread heat along with the heatsink, and Wave-curved 2.0 fin to reduce noise while cooling the system.
Onto the real cooling department, we're using the MEG Coreliquid S280 in this build, a 360mm AIO that's all about performance and less RGB. You get some rainbow colors in the middle on a 2.4" IPS display, showcasing the system's hardware information (such as CPU core speed, coolant and processor temperatures, memory or system load), animations, texts, and anything customizable via the MSI Center.
It uses a trio of 120mm MEG Silent Gale P12 fans, each capable of delivering a maximum airflow of 872.27cfm at a top speed of 1800rpm. Despite the lack of RGB, we actually love the fact that the fans can operate at nice and low noise levels, thanks to the Hydro-Dynamic bearing. Perhaps, what makes it a winner against many AIO coolers is its compatibility with even the latest Intel chipsets with LGA1700, which means our i5-12600K is a good go. In fact, it supports all Intel and AMD processors so no headache on that.
Next, a power supply unit that can support the RTX 3080 GPU. This one is the MPG A850GF power supply with reliable 100% Japanese 100°C an 80 Plus Gold certification, which promises lower energy consumption and higher efficiency. It comes in a fully modular design that improves cable management and this is complemented by flat cables, making it easier for us to build the rig and it gives more room for airflow. Its I/O provides multiple options to support different ways of connection according to the power connector design of different graphics cards.
Everything mentioned above is put into its dedicated places in the MPG Quietude 100S mid-tower PC casing, which features three noise dampening panels, with the top and front ones being removable for additional cooling if needed. It comes equipped with a single 120mm MEG Silent Gale P12 fan and allows you to stuff up to 7 fans inside. You can install up to two 3.5″ HDDs or two 2.5″ SSDs in the casing. For connectivity, it offers two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports and a single USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C port on the top of the case.
With the PC setup done, it's connected to MSI's MPG ARTYMIS 343CQR curved gaming monitor with a 1000R curvature. From the front, it has super slim bezels on the top and sides, along with a thicker chin with a small MSI logo adorned on it. On the back, there's a joystick and two buttons, one of which launches the Gaming OSD (on-screen display) app while the other is a power button. The RGB lighting on the back sits in a line arching over the top of the stand towards the iconic dragon logo on the far right.
The monitor is mounted on a V-shaped stand with a hole for cable management. For adjustments, you can tilt, swivel, and adjust its height. At the bottom, the input panel includes two HDMI 2.0 ports, a DisplayPort 1.4, and a USB Type-C port. No built-in speakers are available here but you get a 3.5mm headphone jack.
It features a 34" screen on a VA panel with a 165Hz refresh rate, a 3440 x 1440 (UWQHD) resolution, a 1ms response time, and a peak brightness of 550 nits. When it comes to color, the monitor covers 92.7% DCI-P3 and 117.8% sRGB color gamuts, offering well-balanced and rich hues but this one's not for content creation.
Done with the PC and now we're ready for gaming so MSI packed a few peripherals for us to better enjoy the new game (We're trying it with the new DLC of Assassin's Creed, remember?) Anyway, we have the Vigor GK50 Elite mechanical keyboard, Clutch GM41 Lightweight Wireless gaming mouse, and the Immerse H70 headset.
The Vigor GK50 Elite is a full-sized gaming keyboard with a sleek metal top plate and brushed finish. It offers two types of mechanical switches: Cherry Switch (Red) and Kailh Blue. Ours is the latter, which is loud and clicky with 4.0 mm ± 0.4 mm total travel. The switches are coupled with unique-looking octagonal keycaps. Per-key RGB lighting can be customized via the MSI Dragon Center software.
Paired with the keyboard is the Clutch GM41 wireless gaming mouse that weighs only 74g. It features 2.4GG RF wireless technology with only 1ms latency. Specs-wise, it has a 1000Hz polling rate and 20000 maximum dpi. It ships with a charging dock in the box, which can fully charge it in 90 minutes.
Lastly, the Immerse GH70 gaming headset features virtual 7.1 surround sound, which is excellent for gaming as it allows you to hear enemies from far before they are even visible on-screen. It comes with a smart audio controller that lets you immediately toggle the 7.1 surround sound mode, mute the microphone, and volume up or down. Further fine-tuning can be done in the MSI Gaming Center.
With everything set, we've run the MSI PC rig for some benchmark tests and the results are as below:
With the Intel Core i5-12600K and the MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio 10G graphics card, we're impressed by how smooth Dawn of Ragnarok ran, even at ultra-high graphics settings. In the Port Royal test, it managed a whopping 11,358 score, placing it on the top 40% among other systems with the same combination. In Time Spy Extreme, we got 8,122 points.
Besides the products that we received, MSI has partnered with Ubisoft to give away Assassin's Creed Valhalla and the Dawn of Ragnarok expansion for free until 10 April. You may visit MSI's official website for more information.
