14 DAY TRIAL // Even though it barely has enough room for full-size PCI Express and DIMM memory slots, the mini-ITX motherboard form factor can do some really amazing things when approached properly. MSI has definitely approached it properly.
Oh, it's true that you may or may not consider it too expensive or too underpowered for your taste, depending on how much firepower you like, and how much value you put in the imposing size and looks of ATX towers.
However, at the end of the day, the MSI Nightblade computer is a very powerful piece of work, despite its small size.
It's not quite the smallest gaming system we've seen, and it can't hold a candle to HTPCs or nettops in that area, but it is definitely compact, especially since it apparently crams a full ATX motherboard into a mini-ITX form factor.
Why, it even has a carrying handle, so you can take the thing with you to a LAN party if one of your friends ever hosts one.
The MSI Nightblade gaming mini PC
Technically, it's a collection featuring multiple members, but the newest addition is called MSI Nightblade B85 and uses GeForce GTX 900-series graphics cards from NVIDIA.
That means you get to choose between the GeForce GTX 980, the GTX 970 and the GTX 960. Only one of them can fit at any given time, but one is enough anyway.
A motherboard designed around the B85 Intel chipset holds everything together, but the CPU, memory, storage and everything else can be customized.
And with rubber covers fitting the metal screws on the backside of the Nightblade, you can stack the system vertically, not necessarily lay it on its normal underside. Means you don't need to worry about the panel and connectors on the back suffering any damage if you transport the thing to a friend's house.
Speaking of which, the handle is located on the bottom-front. That way, the computer will hang relatively parallel to your legs instead of pressing against them edge-first.
Availability
The MSI Nightblade B85, like the rest of the series, sells with Killer Game Networking technology, Audio Boost 2 and Military Class 4 components. The price of the PC as a barebone system is around $380 / €310, but a video board will add around two hundred to it, not to mention the RAM, HDDs/SSDs, etc. Even when small enough to hold under the arm, gaming performance doesn't come cheap.
