review Msi vortex

Msi vortex review

If there's one thing I want to do when it comes to building a PC, it's looking at ways to put together a system that doesn't conform to the ATX standards. The ATX layout was introduced by Intel way back in 1995, and it's a dated layout. Intel tried to introduce a replacement for ATX called BTX in 2004, but stopped pushing it after roughly two years. Over time, case manufactures have tried various methods to change design formats, and variations on the ATX form factor have helped. Other form factors like micro-ATX and mini-ITX are based on ATX, keeping the rear IO-port layout and main board format the same, but reducing overall board size.

Apple released the cylindrical Mac Pro in 2013, and it was a complete departure. There are some pros and cons to the Mac Pro layout but for the most part, the biggest drawback is its lack of upgradeability. However, there's no denying that decoupling the motherboard's main components into individual modules allows for some truly unique designs.

Enter MSI's Vortex, a complete departure from typical desktop designs very much in the same spirit as the Mac Pro. Consider it a gaming PC version of Apple's machine. It's structure is cylindrical, and shares many of the same design principles as the Mac Pro, but unlike the Mac Pro, the Vortex brings along gaming cred.

There's a lot going on with the Vortex. It's got great connectivity, and MSI has done an excellent job of packing in as much as it can into the smallest amount of space possible. On the inside, everything is custom, and MSI uses a layout very similar to Apple's Mac Pro.

Two GeForce GTX 980s flank two of the three sides of the Vortex's guts. A single large fan sits at the top below the grill, pulling cool air through the bottom.. The system works remarkably well in this layout: the Vortex stays virtually silent when you're not gaming, and the system operates cool. Hooray for the laws of convection. Fire up a game and the fan spins up, but it's no louder than your average desktop.

Admittedly, I like MSI's intention: take a gaming PC and reformat it into a small form factor but keep traditional large desktop performance. Whether you like the exterior design or not is a matter of personal preference, but when you look inside the Vortex's shell, it's immediately clear that MSI has done an impressive job with the interior. MSI says the Vortex challenges the status quo of desktop gaming systems and that size doesn't matter. It claims the Vortex packs "just as much punch" as a full size system. Unfortunately, in practice, it only gets part of the way there.