MSI launches its most powerful gaming desktop to date but is mum on price

MSI has gone and gutted its Infinity X gaming desktop and replaced the previous generation internals with some of the fastest components money can buy. Namely, the newest version of the Infinity X pairs the best gaming processor, a Core i9-9900K, with the best graphics card for gaming, a GeForce RTX 2080 Ti.

We couldn't find the upgraded desktop in stock at the usual destinations, or at any online retailer, and MSI didn't mention a price. There's little chance this thing goes for less than two grand, though—the CPU and GPU alone are worth north of $1,700.

If you go shopping for one, be aware that there are two main models, the Infinity X 9th and Infinity X 9th Plus. They appear identical at a glance, and for the most part they are, except the Plus model sports a motherboard based on Intel's Z390 chipset and the non-Plus version uses a Z370 board. That's not immediately obvious on the product pages—you have to click on the "Configurations" link to see the expanded spec sheets.

Beyond those core components, the Infinity X 9th supports up to 64GB of DDR4-2666 memory and can accommodate up to two M.2 solid state drives, two 3.5-inch drives, and a single 2.5-inch drive. For the power supply, the system comes with either a 850W 80 Plus Platinum PSU, or a 550W 80 Plus Bronze model.

Front panel ports include two USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports (Type-A and Type-C) and a USB 2.0 port. Around pack, there are four USB 2.0 ports, USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C and USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A ports (one each), a GbE LAN port, a PS/2 combo port, various audio jacks, and HDMI 1.4, DisplayPort 1.2, and DVI-D video outputs.

For cooling, MSI plops all these high-end parts into what it claims are three separate chambers. This consists of the traditional top and bottom chambers for the motherboard/CPU and power supply, respectively. However, MSI also mounts the graphics card vertically and considers that a third chamber. It's an interesting design, though we haven't spent any hands-on time with the Infinity X 9th, so we can't say how effective it is.

MSI did not say when the Infinity X 9th and Infinity X 9th Plus will be available.

Paul Lilly

Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).