While laptops are pretty common for various reasons, there are still those who opt for desktops, including gamers and creators. Desktops tend to offer far more customization options for users and are typically easier to upgrade over the long run. Our MSI P100 review takes a look at a desktop targeting creators which is not only powerful and sleek looking but also suitable for gaming. Read on for our full review!
Specifications
The MSI P100 Prestige 8929 desktop sent to us has the following features and specifications (configurable when ordering):
| Model | Prestige 8929 |
| CPU | Intel Core™ i9-9900K Processor @ 3.60GHz |
| Chipset | Intel® Z390 |
| Mainboard | MPG Z390I GAMING EDGE AC (MS-7C04) |
| Graphics | MSI GeForce RTX™ 2080 Ti 11GB GDDR6 |
| System Memory | 2x DDR4 2666MHz U-DIMMs, 64GB total |
| Storage | 2x M.2 SSD (1x auto switch + 1x PCIe or Intel Optane) 2x 2.5” SSD / HDD |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Home |
| Sound | 7.1 Channel HD Audio |
| I/O (Front) | 1x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-C 1x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A 1x USB 2.0 Type A 1x Mic-in 1x Headphone-out |
| I/O (Rear) | 2x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A 2x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A 2x USB 2.0 1x DP out (1.2) 1x HDMI out (1.4) 1x RJ455 1x Audio jacks 1x Optical S/PDIF out |
| Connectivity | Wireless LAN Intel® Dual-Band Wireless-AC Bluetooth 5 LAN Realtek® 8111H |
| AC Adapter / PSU | Modular 450W 80 Plus Bronze Certified PSU Modular 650W 80 Plus Gold Certified PSU |
| Cooling System | Fan Cooler |
| Volume | 10.36 L/21.89pt |
| Dimension (WxDxH) | 131.85 x 372.20 x 403.88mm (5.19 x 14.65 x 15.90 inch) |
| Weight | 7.71 kg (17.00 lbs) |
What’s in the box
- MSI P100 Prestige 8929 desktop computer
- Power cord
- Quick Guide
Design
When first taking the MSI P100 Prestige 8929 desktop computer out of the box, you definitely notice the sleek and sexy look — there’s really no other way to put it. While you can get an idea from the pictures, it looks much nicer in person. Our review unit came in the off-white colour, almost a pearl white which looks quite stunning.
The MSI P100 Prestige is pretty thin as far as desktop computers go and is just under 5 1/4-inches in with. It sits about 16-inches in height and just over 14 1/2-inches in depth. The front of the system has a slightly smaller piece that sits out from the main unit. With silver bevelled edges and an off-gold MSI logo on the front, it adds to the prestige look of its name. When powered on, the “Mystic Light” LED lights behind panel turn on, creating a very cool looking soft glow. This glow can be customized as I’ll discuss later. The top also has a raised panel with the power button towards the front, a smaller silver bevelled edge, and gold accents underneath.
The entire unit sits on a silver stand which has long narrow cutouts in it for airflow. On the underside of the stand are six pads to prevent desk scratching and offer The left and right side removable side panels have a triangle honeycomb motif which nicely hides the air ventilation. On the left side of the desktop, near the bottom front, are a few ports and indicators. These are (from top to bottom) the hard drive LED activity indicator, USB Type-C port, two USB Type-A (one USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A and one USB 2.0 Type-A) ports, a 3.5mm microphone jack, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
The top of the back has a small gold coloured plate with the word PRESTIGE stamped into it to finish off the sleek look. As with almost every desktop system, the rest of the ports are on the back of the computer. Of course, the MSI GeForce RTX™ 2080 Ti 11GB GDDR6 graphics card has three DisplayPort, one HDMI, and one USB Type-C ports.
The lower half of the machine is where you’ll find the ports running off the motherboard. These include two USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A, two USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A, two USB 2.0, one DisplayPort out (1.2), one HDMI out (1.4), one RJ455, one set of audio jacks (line-in, line out, mic, center out, right out), and one Optical S/PDIF out. Between the front side and back, you definitely won’t be needing a hub for extra peripherals. That being said, it’d be nice to see more than two USB Type-C ports for future peripherals. Finally, the power plug sits on the lower left of the back of the system. A lock slot is also on the left side just above the power adapter.
Of course, a slicker design means it’s more tightly packed inside. While it is chock full of performance components like an MSI GeForce RTX™ 2080 Ti 11GB GDDR6 graphics card, three hard drives (one NVMe SSD and two hard drives in Raid 0 configuration), 64GB of RAM, and a Modular 650W 80 Plus Gold Certified PSU, it is pretty tight. The side panels are easily removable (only two screws per side) but in order to even upgrade your RAM you’ll need to remove the cooling fan to access the DIMM slots. The secondary hard drives are easier to replace or upgrade while the primary NVMe SSD was nowhere to be seen without having to remove other internal components.
Design-wise, the MSI P100 Prestige 8929 is easily one I’d want showcasing my workspace permanently. For looks alone, I’d give it 10/10 but due to the cramped interior, it loses a mark.
Software
The system ships with Windows 10 Home and also includes a few other software packages, alongside the usual Windows 10 culprits. These include Norton Antivirus, PhotoDirector 8 for MSI, PowerDirector for MSI, and MSI Creator Center. While it’s nice to have PhotoDirector 8 and PowerDirector included, as this system is targeted towards creators, most will likely already have their software suite of choice, for example Adobe Creative Cloud.
MSI Creator Center allows you to enable and optimize Creator Mode and set application priority. You can also toggle between High Performance, Balanced, Silent, or customize performance settings. You can also monitor your system, adjust colour settings for EyeRest, Game, Movie, or custom setttings, manage LAN traffic priority, and, finally, change the colour and behaviour of the Mystic Light LED on the front of the system.
There’s not much to say here, to be honest. Windows 10 is Windows 10 and runs just fine, especially with the beefy components of the MSI P100 Prestige.
Performance
Looking at the specifications of our review unit, one would expect beastly performance. With an Intel Core™ i9-9900K Processor @ 3.60GHz, 64GB of RAM, a primary 1TB SSD, and an MSI GeForce RTX™ 2080 Ti 11GB GDDR6 video card, the MSI P100 easily chews through anything you can throw at it with ease. With 4TB of secondary storage in Raid 0 configuration, creators will have plenty of onboard storage for backup and working.
We ran a couple of quick performance benchmark tests and the primary Samsung MZVLB1T0 NVMe SSD reported an average of 3541MB/s sequential read, 2474MB/s sequential write, 113769 Random IOPS read, and 104980 Random IOPS write speed. On the other hand, the secondary storage, again in Raid 0 configuration, reported an average of 278MB/s sequential read, 214MB/s sequential write, 4882 Random IOPS read, and 1220 Random IOPS write speed.
Photo editing with Adobe Lightroom and working in Photoshop was quick and snappy. Images loaded and rendered quickly while layer adjustments and other Photoshop tasks were just as quick. The same went with video editing in Adobe Premiere. Export times seemed pretty quick as well with a 4 1/2-minute 1080p clip rendering and exporting in just under 2 minutes.
Of course, we had to test a couple of games as well. Using the MSI Optix MAG272CQR 27-inch curved gaming monitor with its WQHD (2560×1440) resolution, I tested a couple of my favourites: Forza Horizon 4, Heroes of the Storm, and Gears 5. At that resolution, Forza Horizon 4 hit a nice steady 125fps on Ultra settings while peaking out at 162fps. Also at the highest settings, Gears 5 averaged around 89 fps (peaking at just over 120) while Heroes was seeing upwards of 195fps during gameplay. The MSI P100 may be targeted at creators but it’s just as good for a gaming session now and then.
Price/Value
Of course, the MSI P100 isn’t cheap. Starting out at around US$2,499 for 32 GB DDR4, 2 TB HDD, 1 TB SSD, and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER 8 GB GDDR6 video card, it is on the pricey side. That being said, it definitely lives up to the expected performance and, if you’re a creator, more performance translates into better productivity.
Wrap-up
If you’re a creator and can find one in stock, the MSI P100 Prestige 8929 desktop computer will definitely speed up your workflow. Not only that, it has a super sexy design and is also suitable for gaming.
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Last Updated on February 3, 2021.
