MSI Aegis 3 8RD (Core i7-8700, GTX 1070, 16 GB) Desktop PC Review

Compact gaming PC! The MSI Aegis 3 8RD is a compact gaming PC that is equipped with an Intel Core i7-8700 processor and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 GPU. Hence, the Aegis 3 is powerful enough on paper to handle all modern games. The whole thing is packed in a stylish case with RGB lighting. Find out in our review whether MSI’s latest compact gaming PC impresses in our tests and whether it is a worthwhile purchase.

Sebastian Bade (translated by Alex Alderson), Published 12/01/2018 🇩🇪 🇪🇸 ...

The MSI Aegis 3 8RD is a ready-made PC for gamers who do not want to spend time sourcing and assembling components. MSI offers the optimal solution with the compact computer. The Aegis 3 8RD has well-matched hardware, while MSI has included a special heat pipe solution specifically to cool the Intel Core i7-8700 processor. The company has included an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 GPU with 8GB GDDR5 VRAM too, specifically the MSI GeForce GTX 1070 Gaming Armor 8G. The Aegis 3 8RD is rounded off with two 8 GB SO-DIMM modules, but this could be expanded to 32 GB should you need to.

A gaming laptop, or in this case a gaming PC, should have enough storage to accommodate a large collection of games. MSI has included a combined total of 1.2 TB with the Aegis 3 8RD, which is spread across a 256 GB SSD and a 3.5-inch 1 TB HDD. Moreover, there is also 16 GB of Intel Optane memory, which should quicken the load times of games that are stored on the 1 TB HDD.

The Aegis 3 8RD is a compact gaming PC with a stylish case and RGB lighting. The device currently costs around US$1,500-US$1,600 at the time of writing from various companies online.

Test device courtesy of MSI Deutschland

Download your licensed rating image as PNG / SVG

MSI Aegis 3 8RD

Processor

Intel Core i7-8700 6 x 3.2 - 4.6 GHz, Coffee Lake-S

Graphics adapter

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) - 8 GB VRAM, Core: 1747 MHz, Memory: 8000 MHz, Nvidia 416.81

Memory

16 GB

, DDR4 2400, Two SO-DIMM slots, both occupied. 32 GB max RAM

Mainboard

Intel B360 (Cannon Lake-H)

Storage

Intel SSD 760p SSDPEKKW256G8, 256 GB

, WDC WD10EZEX-22MFCA0 & Intel Optane Memory 16 GB - MEMPEK1W016GA, 1100 GB free

Soundcard

Realtek Audio

Connections

4 USB 2.0, 5 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 DVI, 2 HDMI, 3 DisplayPort, 1 Kensington Lock, Audio Connections: 7.1 analogue surround sound, SPDIF

Networking

Intel Ethernet Connection I219-V (10/100/1000MBit/s), Wireless AC-9461 (ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 5.0

Size

height x width x depth (in mm): 376 x 170 x 433 ( = 14.8 x 6.69 x 17.05 in)

Operating System

Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64 Bit

Additional features

MSI Gaming Center, MSI Mystic Light, 24 Months Warranty

Price

1500 EUR

Links

MSI homepage
MSI notebook section

Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

see all specifications

[+] Add to comparison

» Compare devices

Case

MSI Aegis 3 8RD with its headset holders and RGB lighting switched on (Source: MSI)

MSI has not equipped the Aegis 3 8RD with an off the shelf case. Its design is rather extravagant for our tastes though, particularly because of its aggressive angles and RGB lighting. Helpfully, MSI has placed the power supply at the bottom of the case, which helps make the machine feel stable and unlikely to fall over.

Metal and plastic dominate the materials used, with the former used for the internal frame, while all exterior panels are made from plastic. The lack of metal on the outside makes the Aegis 3 8RD look rather cheap to our eyes, an impression that is reinforced by the creaking sounds that emit from all corners and edges when we apply some pressure to the case with our hands. Overall, we would have wished that MSI had designed a more impressive outer case to match the machine’s premium price.

Looks are a matter of taste though, but those who like RGB lighting should like the Aegis 3 8RD, which has it in abundance. MSI has included a carrying handle too, which makes it easier to reposition or move the machine should you need to. There are also fold-out handles from which to hang headsets and a window on the right-hand side of the device that gives a glimpse of some of the components that are housed underneath the Aegis 3 8RD’s aggressive exterior. There is plenty of ventilation to cool the graphics card with fresh air too. Dispensing with the window would have given the machine a cleaner look though, in our opinion.

Connectivity

The Aegis 3 8RD has a solid selection of ports despite its compact size. There is a total of nine USB ports to which numerous peripherals could be connected including a USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-C port on the front of the device, which should future-proof it somewhat. The Intel Core i7-8700 processor has an integrated GPU too, so you could run an external monitor on the integrated graphics should you need to. However, we expect that most people will make use of the three DisplayPort 1.4 ports, the single HDMI 2.0 port or the DVI-D port that the GeForce GTX 1070 GPU offers. The Aegis 3 8RD supports up to three monitors simultaneously too.

The machine uses an Intel Wireless-AC 9461 chip for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity. There is also an RJ45 Ethernet port should you wish to use a wired Internet connection instead.

Security

The Aegis 3 8RD has a Kensington lock slot, which may be useful if you plan on frequently taking the machine to LAN parties. MSI preinstalls Norton Internet security software to protect the machine from viruses and other malicious code. There is also Windows Defender that is integrated into Windows 10 if you would rather not use third-party anti-virus software.

Maintenance

The machine is easy to open, which is useful for maintaining or upgrading components. The two side panels are quick to disassemble and are only fixed in place with screws. Removing these gives access to practically all components, like the fans and the GPU. The default power supply is rated at 450 W though, so keep that in mind if you plan on upgrading to a more powerful CPU or GPU in the future. MSI has also equipped the Aegis 3 8RD with SO-DIMM RAM, which manufacturers typically use in laptops. There are no trade-offs from using laptop RAM over conventional RAM and we suspect that MSI has done this to save space. The machine is well-equipped with storage media too. There are two 3.5-inch bays, one 2.5-inch drive bay, and two M.2-2280 bays, all of which are wired out of the box.

Warranty

The Aegis 3 8RD comes with 24 months manufacturer's warranty with an on-site pick-up and return service. Please see our Guarantees, Return policies and Warranties FAQ for country-specific information.

Software

MSI has included its Mystic Light software to adjust RGB lighting. There are several preset profiles to choose from or an option to manually configure each lighting element individually. The company has also preinstalled its Gaming Center, which gives an overview of system information and has several fan modes. We set our test machine to the ‘Game mode’ fan curve for our tests. We would recommend using the ‘Silent mode’ though because the CPU fan runs much quieter on this profile than on ‘Game mode’.

Performance

The Aegis 3 8RD is a desktop PC that MSI has designed primarily for gaming, something which is reinforced by the hardware used. Our test machine has an Intel Core i7-8700 processor and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 GPU. The combination worked well in our tests and scored highly in benchmarks. However, the machine will not play all modern games comfortably at 4K, which is a pity given its US$1,500/US$1,600 cost. Overall, the Aegis 3 8RD performed as we expected during testing.

Processor

MSI equips the Aegis 3 8RD with an Intel Core i7-8700 processor, which has six cores that support up to 12 threads simultaneously. The Coffee Lake SoC has a 65 W thermal design power (TDP) and a 3.2 GHz base clock that can clock up to 4.3 GHz on all cores or 4.6 GHz on a single core thanks to Intel Turbo Boost technology. The Core i7-8700 is effectively a lower-clocked and multiplier-locked version of the Core i7-8700K.

Correspondingly, the Core i7-8700 sits behind the Core i7-8700K in our benchmark comparison tables. The Core i7-8700 compares directly with the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 because both are hexa-core processors that support up to 12 threads and have a 65 W TDP. Overall, the Core i7-8700 scores around 10% higher than the Ryzen 5 2600 in our benchmarks, while the more-powerful Ryzen 7 2700 sometimes finished below the Intel CPU too.

However, the Ryzen 7 2700 APU outscored the Core i7-8700 by 32% in a looped Cinebench R15 multi-core benchmark. The Ryzen 5 2600 even outscores the CPU in our test machine by 8% despite having the same core count, thread count and TDP. By contrast, the Core i7-8700 finished well clear of its AMD competition in the single-core benchmark, which is what Intel CPUs often manage to do.

Performance Rating - Percent
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	48 pt ∼48%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	45.4 pt ∼45%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X ^-1! 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	43.9 pt ∼44%
Intel Core i7-8700 3200 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	41.3 pt ∼41%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X ^-1! 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	40.6 pt ∼41%
Intel Core i7-8700K ^-2! 3700 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	40.5 pt ∼41%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	39.9 pt ∼40%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	38.5 pt ∼39%
Intel Core i5-8500T 2100 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	35.3 pt ∼35%

Cinebench R15
CPU Single 64Bit
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	199 Points ∼61% +4%
Intel Core i7-8700 3200 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	192 Points ∼59%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	176 Points ∼54% -8%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	176 Points ∼54% -8%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	163 Points ∼50% -15%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	161 Points ∼49% -16%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	159 Points ∼48% -17%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	159 Points ∼48% -17%
Intel Core i5-8500T 2100 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	145 Points ∼44% -24%
CPU Multi 64Bit
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	3110 Points ∼32% +159%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	2997 Points ∼31% +150%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1801 Points ∼19% +50%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1551 Points ∼16% +29%
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	1405 (1375.04^min - 1405.28^max) Points ∼14% +17%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1341 Points ∼14% +12%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1270 Points ∼13% +6%
Intel Core i7-8700 3200 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	1199 Points ∼12%
Intel Core i5-8500T 2100 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	843 Points ∼9% -30%

Cinebench R11.5
CPU Multi 64Bit
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	27.07 Points ∼38% +108%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	23.13 Points ∼33% +77%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	18.68 Points ∼26% +43%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	16.71 Points ∼24% +28%
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	15.64 Points ∼22% +20%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	14.56 Points ∼21% +12%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	13.71 Points ∼19% +5%
Intel Core i7-8700 3200 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	13.04 Points ∼18%
Intel Core i5-8500T 2100 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	8.6 Points ∼12% -34%
CPU Single 64Bit
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	2.27 Points ∼58% +5%
Intel Core i7-8700 3200 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	2.16 Points ∼55%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1.95 Points ∼50% -10%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1.9 Points ∼48% -12%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1.81 Points ∼46% -16%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1.78 Points ∼45% -18%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1.76 Points ∼45% -19%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	1.73 Points ∼44% -20%
Intel Core i5-8500T 2100 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1.65 Points ∼42% -24%

Blender - v2.79 BMW27 CPU
Intel Core i5-8500T 2100 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	561 Seconds * ∼4% -45%
Intel Core i7-8700 3200 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	388.2 Seconds * ∼3%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	375.7 Seconds * ∼3% +3%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	350 Seconds * ∼2% +10%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	308.3 Seconds * ∼2% +21%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	264 Seconds * ∼2% +32%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	163 Seconds * ∼1% +58%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	152.7 Seconds * ∼1% +61%

wPrime 2.10
32m
Intel Core i5-8500T 2100 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	8.025 s * ∼2% -47%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	5.5 s * ∼1% -1%
Intel Core i7-8700 3200 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	5.469 s * ∼1%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	5.141 s * ∼1% +6%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4.62 s * ∼1% +16%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4.186 s * ∼1% +23%
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	4 s * ∼1% +27%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	3.484 s * ∼1% +36%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	3.34 s * ∼1% +39%
1024m
Intel Core i5-8500T 2100 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	235.1 s * ∼3% -64%
Intel Core i7-8700 3200 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	143.7 s * ∼2%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	140.9 s * ∼2% +2%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	133.8 s * ∼2% +7%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	130.5 s * ∼2% +9%
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	118.6 s * ∼1% +17%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	96.6 s * ∼1% +33%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	55.1 s * ∼1% +62%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	53.2 s * ∼1% +63%

HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 - 4k Preset
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	17.5 fps ∼38% +84%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	16.9 fps ∼36% +77%
Intel Core i7-8700 3200 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	9.53 fps ∼20%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	9.51 fps ∼20% 0%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7.79 fps ∼17% -18%
Intel Core i5-8500T 2100 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	6.3 fps ∼14% -34%

X264 HD Benchmark 4.0
Pass 1
Intel Core i7-8700 3200 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	235.5 (234^min - 237^max) fps ∼55%
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	232 (229^min - 233^max) fps ∼55% -1%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	226.7 fps ∼53% -4%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	207.4 fps ∼49% -12%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	205.3 (204.6^min - 207.33^max) fps ∼48% -13%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	202.3 (200.47^min - 203.47^max) fps ∼48% -14%
Intel Core i5-8500T 2100 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	196 (196^min - 196^max) fps ∼46% -17%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	195.7 (195.08^min - 196.35^max) fps ∼46% -17%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	189.6 (188.03^min - 193.43^max) fps ∼45% -19%
Pass 2
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	144.9 (143.48^min - 145.54^max) fps ∼53% +93%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	134.3 (133.84^min - 135.07^max) fps ∼49% +79%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	104.5 fps ∼38% +39%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	89.7 (89.5^min - 89.85^max) fps ∼33% +19%
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	87.4 fps ∼32% +16%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	80.5 fps ∼29% +7%
Intel Core i7-8700 3200 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	75.2 (74.9^min - 76.3^max) fps ∼27%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	75 (74.84^min - 75.82^max) fps ∼27% 0%
Intel Core i5-8500T 2100 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	51.8 (51.6^min - 51.9^max) fps ∼19% -31%

WinRAR - Result
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	7120 KB/s ∼14% +20%
Intel Core i7-8700 3200 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	5912 KB/s ∼12%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4779 KB/s ∼9% -19%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4599 KB/s ∼9% -22%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4548 KB/s ∼9% -23%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4517 KB/s ∼9% -24%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4440 KB/s ∼9% -25%
Intel Core i5-8500T 2100 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4331 KB/s ∼8% -27%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	4150 KB/s ∼8% -30%

TrueCrypt
AES Mean 100MB
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	19.5 GB/s ∼59% +153%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	19 GB/s ∼58% +147%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	10.6 GB/s ∼32% +38%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	9 GB/s ∼27% +17%
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	8 GB/s ∼24% +4%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	8 GB/s ∼24% +4%
Intel Core i7-8700 3200 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	7.7 GB/s ∼23%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7.5 GB/s ∼23% -3%
Intel Core i5-8500T 2100 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	3.4 GB/s ∼10% -56%
Twofish Mean 100MB
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	2.9 GB/s ∼0% +123%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	2.9 GB/s ∼0% +123%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1.6 GB/s ∼0% +23%
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	1.4 GB/s ∼0% +8%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1.4 GB/s ∼0% +8%
Intel Core i7-8700 3200 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	1.3 GB/s ∼0%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1.2 GB/s ∼0% -8%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1 GB/s ∼0% -23%
Intel Core i5-8500T 2100 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	0.629 GB/s ∼0% -52%
Serpent Mean 100MB
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	1.8 GB/s ∼0% +126%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1.8 GB/s ∼0% +126%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	1 GB/s ∼0% +26%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	0.899 GB/s ∼0% +13%
Intel Core i7-8700 3200 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	0.795 GB/s ∼0%
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	0.793 GB/s ∼0% 0%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	0.78 GB/s ∼0% -2%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	0.732 GB/s ∼0% -8%
Intel Core i5-8500T 2100 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	0.359 GB/s ∼0% -55%

Geekbench 4.1 - 4.4
64 Bit Single-Core Score
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	5937 Points ∼61% +7%
Intel Core i7-8700 3200 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	5565 Points ∼57%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4999 Points ∼52% -10%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4903 Points ∼51% -12%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4706 Points ∼49% -15%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4681 Points ∼48% -16%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4631 Points ∼48% -17%
Intel Core i5-8500T 2100 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4626 Points ∼48% -17%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	4304 Points ∼44% -23%
64 Bit Multi-Core Score
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X 3500 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	36198 Points ∼40% +56%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X 3400 MHz, NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	28877 Points ∼32% +24%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3700 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	25919 Points ∼29% +12%
Intel Core i7-8700K 3700 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	25223 Points ∼28% +9%
Intel Core i7-8700 3200 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	23220 Points ∼26%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3200 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	22776 Points ∼25% -2%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3600 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	21616 Points ∼24% -7%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3400 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	20633 Points ∼23% -11%
Intel Core i5-8500T 2100 MHz, AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	18335 Points ∼20% -21%

* ... smaller is better

Cinebench R15 multithreaded benchmark loop

MSI Aegis 3 8RD during a looped Cinebench R15 multithreaded benchmark

Energy consumption during a looped Cinebench R15 multithreaded benchmark

We ran a looped Cinebench R15 multithreaded benchmark to determine how well the CPU performed under sustained load. Our test machine performed largely consistently in the benchmark loop, scoring 1,199 points initially before dropping to an average of around 1,169 points. This represents a 3% drop in performance, which does not count as thermal throttling in our opinion. Hence, MSI has developed a solid cooling solution, which is supported by our core temperature results. The Core i7-8700 averaged 71.4 °C during the looped multi-core benchmark and consistently consumed around 61 W. The CPU also started each benchmark run at 4.3 GHz across all cores before dropping to just 4.0 GHz after eight seconds, during which time it consumed up to 81 W.

MSI Aegis 3 8RD: Ø1169 (1152.37-1199.4)

Cinebench R10 Shading 32Bit

6835

Cinebench R10 Rendering Single CPUs 64Bit

9187 Points

Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 64Bit

43704 Points

Cinebench R10 Shading 64Bit

6835 Points

Cinebench R10 Rendering Single 32Bit

6992

Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit

35384

Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 32Bit

12.17 Points

Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 32Bit

87.3 fps

Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64Bit

2.16 Points

Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64Bit

13.04 Points

Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64Bit

88.2 fps

Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 32Bit

1.92 Points

Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit

192 Points

Cinebench R15 Ref. Match 64Bit

99.6 %

Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit

136 fps

Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit

1199 Points

Help

... in comparison

System Performance

Our test machine performed well in system performance benchmarks too, although all our AMD comparison APUs scored higher overall in PCMark 10. Nevertheless, the Aegis 3 8RD is powerful enough for photo- and video-editing or other computationally intense tasks. The Intel Optane memory should drastically shorten load or render times.

PCMark 10 | PCMark 8 | PCMark 7

PCMark 10
Score
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7764 Points ∼100% +27%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7451 Points ∼96% +22%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7337 Points ∼95% +20%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	7285 Points ∼94% +19%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7018 Points ∼90% +15%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	6465 Points ∼83% +6%
Intel Core i7-8700K NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	6150 Points ∼79% +1%
Intel Core i7-8700 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	6100 Points ∼79%
Intel Core i5-8500T AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	5473 Points ∼70% -10%
Essentials
Intel Core i7-8700 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	9689 Points ∼100%
Intel Core i7-8700K NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	9597 Points ∼99% -1%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	9521 Points ∼98% -2%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	9205 Points ∼95% -5%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	8985 Points ∼93% -7%
Intel Core i5-8500T AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	8499 Points ∼88% -12%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	8382 Points ∼87% -13%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	8377 Points ∼86% -14%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	8203 Points ∼85% -15%
Productivity
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	8447 Points ∼100% +8%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	8024 Points ∼95% +3%
Intel Core i7-8700K NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	7871 Points ∼93% +1%
Intel Core i7-8700 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	7808 Points ∼92%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7703 Points ∼91% -1%
Intel Core i5-8500T AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7516 Points ∼89% -4%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7443 Points ∼88% -5%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	5982 Points ∼71% -23%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	5779 Points ∼68% -26%
Digital Content Creation
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	8528 Points ∼100% +5%
Intel Core i7-8700K NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	8356 Points ∼98% +3%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	8266 Points ∼97% +2%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	8215 Points ∼96% +1%
Intel Core i7-8700 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	8141 Points ∼95%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7433 Points ∼87% -9%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7388 Points ∼87% -9%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7020 Points ∼82% -14%
Intel Core i5-8500T AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	6966 Points ∼82% -14%

PCMark 8
Home Score Accelerated v2
Intel Core i5-8500T AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4898 Points ∼100% +4%
Intel Core i7-8700 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	4708 Points ∼96%
Intel Core i7-8700K NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	4648 Points ∼95% -1%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4483 Points ∼92% -5%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4392 Points ∼90% -7%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	4367 Points ∼89% -7%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4359 Points ∼89% -7%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4311 Points ∼88% -8%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4209 Points ∼86% -11%
Work Score Accelerated v2
Intel Core i5-8500T AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	5495 Points ∼100% +12%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4891 Points ∼89% 0%
Intel Core i7-8700 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	4891 Points ∼89%
Intel Core i7-8700K NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)	4821 Points ∼88% -1%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4750 Points ∼86% -3%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4735 Points ∼86% -3%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4633 Points ∼84% -5%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	4598 Points ∼84% -6%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	4520 Points ∼82% -8%

PCMark 7
Score
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	8593 Points ∼100% +17%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	8402 Points ∼98% +14%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7960 Points ∼93% +8%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7619 Points ∼89% +4%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7556 Points ∼88% +3%
Intel Core i7-8700 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	7338 Points ∼85%
Productivity
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	8383 Points ∼100% +42%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	8137 Points ∼97% +38%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7074 Points ∼84% +20%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	6869 Points ∼82% +17%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	6860 Points ∼82% +17%
Intel Core i7-8700 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	5886 Points ∼70%
Entertainment
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7939 Points ∼100% +9%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7809 Points ∼98% +7%
Intel Core i7-8700 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	7302 Points ∼92%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7262 Points ∼91% -1%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7065 Points ∼89% -3%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	7000 Points ∼88% -4%

PCMark 7 Score		7338 points
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2		4708 points
PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2		8234 points
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2		4891 points
PCMark 10 Score		6100 points
Help

... in comparison

Storage Devices

Spare 2.5-inch drive bay under the rear case cover

Gaming devices need a lot of disk space on which to store games, and the Aegis 3 8RD has plenty. MSI installs Windows 10 on a 256 GB Intel NVMe SSD, which is much faster than its SATA III counterparts. There is also a 1 TB 3.5-inch Western Digital HDD that is supported by an Intel Optane SSD. The HDD writes only at 136 MB/s, which is much slower than the Intel NVMe SSD.

Moreover, there are spare 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch drive bays should you need more storage. MSI has pre-wired all drive bays, so you can simply drop in additional drives and format them.

Intel SSD benchmarks

Western Digital HDD & Intel Optane benchmarks

CrystalDiskMark 3.0

CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6

AS SSD

Intel SSD 760p SSDPEKKW256G8

Sequential Read: 2062 MB/s

Sequential Write: 1225 MB/s

512K Read: 1413 MB/s

512K Write: 671 MB/s

4K Read: 57.6 MB/s

4K Write: 118.3 MB/s

4K QD32 Read: 369.4 MB/s

4K QD32 Write: 280.7 MB/s

Graphics Card

The Core i7-8700 processor integrates an Intel UHD Graphics 630, although the latter is not powerful enough to handle most modern games. The Aegis 3 8RD does not support Nvidia Optimus technology for graphics switching, which is something that manufacturers have increasingly integrated into notebooks to reduce power consumption. This could be useful to bring down electricity bills, but it is not necessary by design for a gaming PC.

The Aegis 3 8RD has an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 GPU, which is the MSI-customised Armor 8G version. The GPU has 8 GB GDD5 VRAM and a 1,557 MHz base clock speed that can boost up to 1,747 MHz when required. Overall, the GPU is powerful enough to play modern games at high resolutions with smooth frame rates. The GPU in our test machine performed at expected levels in synthetic benchmarks too.

You could also use MSI Afterburner to overclock the GPU for improved performance at the cost of higher power consumption. The GeForce GTX 1070 in our test machine could handle a 108% power limit, but your results may vary. We would not recommend overclocking the GPU though given how compact the case is. An 8% power limit increase is relatively low too.

3DMark 11 | 3DMark

3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance GPU
Average of class Desktop (508 - 104464, n=45, last 2 years)	32083 Points ∼100% +30%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-8500T	31785 Points ∼99% +29%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	31548 Points ∼98% +28%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	31265 Points ∼97% +27%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	29935 Points ∼93% +21%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	29285 Points ∼91% +19%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	28462 Points ∼89% +15%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	27881 Points ∼87% +13%
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	27632 Points ∼86% +12%
Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) (23660 - 26098, n=5)	24686 Points ∼77% 0%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) Intel Core i7-8700	24652 Points ∼77%

3DMark
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Graphics
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	155414 Points ∼100% +41%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	127011 Points ∼82% +15%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	120426 Points ∼77% +9%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	118153 Points ∼76% +7%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) Intel Core i7-8700	110542 Points ∼71%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	107514 Points ∼69% -3%
Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) (104764 - 110542, n=4)	107294 Points ∼69% -3%
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	102781 Points ∼66% -7%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	86339 Points ∼56% -22%
Average of class Desktop (2453 - 246319, n=40, last 2 years)	75886 Points ∼49% -31%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-8500T	60794 Points ∼39% -45%
1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	27349 Points ∼100% +49%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	23194 Points ∼85% +27%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-8500T	23130 Points ∼85% +26%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	22761 Points ∼83% +24%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	22338 Points ∼82% +22%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	21547 Points ∼79% +18%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	20808 Points ∼76% +14%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	20234 Points ∼74% +10%
Average of class Desktop (378 - 65879, n=43, last 2 years)	19701 Points ∼72% +8%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) Intel Core i7-8700	18313 Points ∼67%
Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) (16685 - 18408, n=5)	17893 Points ∼65% -2%
2560x1440 Time Spy Graphics
Average of class Desktop (102 - 36138, n=41, last 2 years)	11004 Points ∼100% +84%
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	9635 Points ∼88% +61%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	7284 Points ∼66% +22%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-8500T	7238 Points ∼66% +21%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	7183 Points ∼65% +20%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	7129 Points ∼65% +19%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	6815 Points ∼62% +14%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	6673 Points ∼61% +12%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	6530 Points ∼59% +9%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) Intel Core i7-8700	5973 Points ∼54%
Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) (5555 - 5973, n=3)	5808 Points ∼53% -3%

3DMark 03 Standard		163345 points
3DMark 06 Standard Score		39794 points
3DMark Vantage P Result		56296 points
3DMark 11 Performance		20187 points
3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score		182786 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score		39273 points
3DMark Fire Strike Score		16083 points
3DMark Fire Strike Extreme Score		8230 points
3DMark Time Spy Score		6106 points
Help

... in comparison

Gaming Performance

While the Aegis 3 8RD fell behind in synthetic benchmarks, it beats most of our comparison test systems. Our Core i7-8700K-powered system scored consistently higher framerates in the games that we tested, while the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 generally outperforms the GeForce GTX 1070, although the latter has an advantage in games like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Battlefield 4 and Rise of the Tomb Raider.

Overall, the Aegis 3 8RD delivered consistently high performance in the games against which we tested it, but it falls just short of being powerful enough for always smooth 4K gaming. Games like FIFA 19 and Call of Duty Black Ops 4 averaged over 100 FPS on our test system at 4K, but others like Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Monster Hunter World and Shadow of the Tomb Raider would not average even 30 FPS. Dropping the graphics preset or the resolution to 1,440p fixes these low frame rates though. We also noticed no performance spikes during a stress test, which we conducted with The Witcher 3 set to the ultra preset.

Performance Rating - Percent
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 ^-2! Intel Core i7-8700K	94 pt ∼94%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) Intel Core i7-8700	88.7 pt ∼89%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 ^-6! AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	88.4 pt ∼88%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 ^-6! AMD Ryzen 5 2600	86.8 pt ∼87%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 ^-6! AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	86.6 pt ∼87%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	86.6 pt ∼87%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 ^-6! AMD Ryzen 7 2700	86.6 pt ∼87%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 ^-2! Intel Core i5-8500T	83.3 pt ∼83%
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal ^-12! AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	80.8 pt ∼81%

The Witcher 3
1024x768 Low Graphics & Postprocessing
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	318.2 (289^min - 352^max) fps ∼100% +16%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	298.7 (259^min - 354^max) fps ∼94% +9%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	285.1 (259^min - 331^max) fps ∼90% +4%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	284.8 (216^min - 294^max) fps ∼90% +4%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	283.7 (248^min - 321^max) fps ∼89% +4%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) Intel Core i7-8700	273.3 fps ∼86%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	258.5 (219^min - 295^max) fps ∼81% -5%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-8500T	225.9 (176^min - 251^max) fps ∼71% -17%
1920x1080 Ultra Graphics & Postprocessing (HBAO+)
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	80.9 (68^min - 87^max) fps ∼100% +28%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	79.4 (70^min - 86^max) fps ∼98% +26%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-8500T	77.7 (67^min - 86^max) fps ∼96% +23%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	77 (67^min - 84^max) fps ∼95% +22%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	73.3 (62^min - 82^max) fps ∼91% +16%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	73.3 (62^min - 80^max) fps ∼91% +16%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	69.4 (58^min - 76^max) fps ∼86% +10%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) Intel Core i7-8700	63.2 fps ∼78%

Rise of the Tomb Raider
1024x768 Lowest Preset
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	281.7 (266^min - 303^max) fps ∼100% +4%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) Intel Core i7-8700	271.4 (263^min - 279^max) fps ∼96%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	263.8 (256^min - 274^max) fps ∼94% -3%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	263.7 (256^min - 276^max) fps ∼94% -3%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	262.2 (252^min - 300^max) fps ∼93% -3%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	258.9 (230^min - 274^max) fps ∼92% -5%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	253.2 (243^min - 262^max) fps ∼90% -7%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-8500T	221.6 (204^min - 244^max) fps ∼79% -18%
1920x1080 Very High Preset AA:FX AF:16x
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	105.7 (90^min - 116^max) fps ∼100% +6%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) Intel Core i7-8700	99.7 (90^min - 108^max) fps ∼94%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	99 (85^min - 112^max) fps ∼94% -1%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-8500T	96.6 (83^min - 107^max) fps ∼91% -3%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	94.7 (78^min - 106^max) fps ∼90% -5%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	94 (82^min - 103^max) fps ∼89% -6%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	91.5 (82^min - 103^max) fps ∼87% -8%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	91.3 (79^min - 101^max) fps ∼86% -8%

Battlefield 1
1280x720 Low Preset
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	200 (186^min - 201^max) fps ∼100% +9%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	199.1 (182^min - 201^max) fps ∼100% +8%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	197.6 (183^min - 201^max) fps ∼99% +7%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	196.2 (185^min - 201^max) fps ∼98% +7%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-8500T	196 (181^min - 201^max) fps ∼98% +6%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) Intel Core i7-8700	184.2 (135^min - 199^max) fps ∼92%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	181.4 (141^min - 194^max) fps ∼91% -2%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	173 (161^min - 185^max) fps ∼87% -6%
1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:T
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	147.7 (137^min - 155^max) fps ∼100% +21%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-8500T	146 (131^min - 155^max) fps ∼99% +20%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	145.1 (131^min - 167^max) fps ∼98% +19%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	136 (123^min - 142^max) fps ∼92% +11%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	135.6 (124^min - 152^max) fps ∼92% +11%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	135.2 (124^min - 148^max) fps ∼92% +11%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	127.1 (116^min - 144^max) fps ∼86% +4%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) Intel Core i7-8700	122.1 (108^min - 131^max) fps ∼83%

Assassin´s Creed Origins
1280x720 Very Low Preset
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) Intel Core i7-8700	111 fps ∼100%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	84 fps ∼76% -24%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	81 fps ∼73% -27%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-8500T	80 fps ∼72% -28%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	76 fps ∼68% -32%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	70 fps ∼63% -37%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	68 (34^min - 93^max) fps ∼61% -39%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	67 fps ∼60% -40%
1920x1080 Ultra High Preset
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) Intel Core i7-8700	72 fps ∼100%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	67 fps ∼93% -7%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	67 fps ∼93% -7%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-8500T	66 fps ∼92% -8%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	63 fps ∼88% -12%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	59 fps ∼82% -18%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	57 (6^min - 93^max) fps ∼79% -21%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	57 fps ∼79% -21%

Final Fantasy XV Benchmark
1280x720 Lite Quality
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	164.4 (87^min - 226^max) fps ∼100% +13%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	145.6 (94^min - 177^max) fps ∼89% 0%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) Intel Core i7-8700	145.4 (95^min - 203^max) fps ∼88%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	143 (98^min - 201^max) fps ∼87% -2%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	141.5 (72^min - 177^max) fps ∼86% -3%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	133.6 (88^min - 191^max) fps ∼81% -8%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	133.4 (78^min - 177^max) fps ∼81% -8%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-8500T	68.1 (49^min - 198^max) fps ∼41% -53%
1920x1080 High Quality
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	61.4 (39^min - 99^max) fps ∼100% +3%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	59.8 (33^min - 93^max) fps ∼97% 0%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) Intel Core i7-8700	59.6 (35^min - 90^max) fps ∼97%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	58.9 (23^min - 92^max) fps ∼96% -1%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	58.5 (23^min - 92^max) fps ∼95% -2%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	58.5 (23^min - 92^max) fps ∼95% -2%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	56.7 (20^min - 89^max) fps ∼92% -5%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	55 (19^min - 86^max) fps ∼90% -8%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-8500T	54.5 (34^min - 85^max) fps ∼89% -9%

Far Cry 5
1280x720 Low Preset AA:T
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	144 (114^min - 194^max) fps ∼100% +2%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) Intel Core i7-8700	141 (110^min - 179^max) fps ∼98%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	125 (99^min - 171^max) fps ∼87% -11%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-8500T	124 (98^min - 165^max) fps ∼86% -12%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	122 (97^min - 162^max) fps ∼85% -13%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	118 (90^min - 159^max) fps ∼82% -16%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	114 (89^min - 154^max) fps ∼79% -19%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	100 (82^min - 133^max) fps ∼69% -29%
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	96 (77^min - 116^max) fps ∼67% -32%
1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:T
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	111 (90^min - 128^max) fps ∼100% +23%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	99 (78^min - 124^max) fps ∼89% +10%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	98 (75^min - 125^max) fps ∼88% +9%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-8500T	98 (79^min - 125^max) fps ∼88% +9%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	96 (75^min - 121^max) fps ∼86% +7%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	94 (74^min - 117^max) fps ∼85% +4%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) Intel Core i7-8700	90 (78^min - 103^max) fps ∼81%
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	80 (64^min - 107^max) fps ∼72% -11%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	80 (61^min - 108^max) fps ∼72% -11%

Shadow of the Tomb Raider
1280x720 Lowest Preset
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	188 fps ∼100% +21%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-8500T	155 fps ∼82% 0%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) Intel Core i7-8700	155 fps ∼82%
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	117 fps ∼62% -25%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	107 fps ∼57% -31%
1920x1080 Highest Preset AA:T
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	103 fps ∼100% +37%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	91 fps ∼88% +21%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-8500T	91 fps ∼88% +21%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	85 fps ∼83% +13%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) Intel Core i7-8700	75 fps ∼73%

Forza Horizon 4
1280x720 Very Low Preset
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	234 fps ∼100% +30%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-8500T	203 fps ∼87% +13%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	200 fps ∼85% +11%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) Intel Core i7-8700	180 fps ∼77%
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	141 fps ∼60% -22%
1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:2xMS
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	131 fps ∼100% +39%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-8500T	131 fps ∼100% +39%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	121 fps ∼92% +29%
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	112 fps ∼85% +19%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) Intel Core i7-8700	94 fps ∼72%

Assassin´s Creed Odyssey
1280x720 Low Preset
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	120 (52^min - 163^max) fps ∼100% +6%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) Intel Core i7-8700	113 (59^min - 169^max) fps ∼94%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	92 fps ∼77% -19%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-8500T	79 fps ∼66% -30%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	73 (20^min - 101^max) fps ∼61% -35%
1920x1080 Ultra High Preset
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X	67 (30^min - 125^max) fps ∼100% +22%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) Intel Core i7-8700	55 (11^min - 101^max) fps ∼82%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i7-8700K	51 fps ∼76% -7%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	50 (25^min - 75^max) fps ∼75% -9%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 Intel Core i5-8500T	50 fps ∼75% -9%

Battlefield 4
1024x768 Low Preset
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	200 (190^min - 202^max) fps ∼100% 0%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	200 (192^min - 201^max) fps ∼100% 0%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) Intel Core i7-8700	200 (195^min - 202^max) fps ∼100%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	199.9 (190^min - 201^max) fps ∼100% 0%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	199.6 (194^min - 202^max) fps ∼100% 0%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	191.8 (178^min - 200^max) fps ∼96% -4%
1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:4x MS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop) Intel Core i7-8700	158.4 (144^min - 192^max) fps ∼100%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X	142.5 (132^min - 172^max) fps ∼90% -10%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	139.5 (130^min - 169^max) fps ∼88% -12%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600X	139.5 (130^min - 169^max) fps ∼88% -12%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	137.2 (125^min - 173^max) fps ∼87% -13%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X	136.3 (126^min - 174^max) fps ∼86% -14%
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 AMD Ryzen 5 2600	133.1 (121^min - 159^max) fps ∼84% -16%

MSI Aegis 3 8RD GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop), i7-8700, Intel SSD 760p SSDPEKKW256G8: Ø63.6 (61-65)

	low	med.	high	ultra	4K
Battlefield 4 (2013)	200	200	200	158.4	78
GTA V (2015)	174.1	168.6	148	101.4	89.5
The Witcher 3 (2015)	273.3	194.4	116	63.2	42.3
Rainbow Six Siege (2015)	322.9	279.7	207.2	189	74.9
Rise of the Tomb Raider (2016)	271.4	195.4	119	99.7	42
Far Cry Primal (2016)	154	131	116	94	41
The Division (2016)	245.9	192.1	109.3	86.5	42.2
Overwatch (2016)	300	297.2	279.7	176.8	60.8
Deus Ex Mankind Divided (2016)	160.7	144	87.2	62.9	29.6
Battlefield 1 (2016)	184.2	164.2	134.5	122.1	47.7
Dishonored 2 (2016)	118.8	118.4	111.4	102.1	45.2
Watch Dogs 2 (2016)	166.5	120.8	88.1	64	33.8
For Honor (2017)	298.6	151.7	143.4	115.7	47
Ghost Recon Wildlands (2017)	174.1	99.8	92	53.2	34.4
Rocket League (2017)	242.5	248	205.9		96.1
Dirt 4 (2017)	308.9	234.5	171	95.9	56.3
Playerunknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) (2017)	182.8	153.3	136.9	110.6	41.8
Destiny 2 (2017)	183.5	156.8	148.7	129.2	45.8
Assassin´s Creed Origins (2017)	111	94	86	72	32
Call of Duty WWII (2017)	256.8	249	156	120.2	60.4
Fortnite (2018)	247	226.5	169.2	124.9	38.4
Final Fantasy XV Benchmark (2018)	145.4	85	59.6		27
Kingdom Come: Deliverance (2018)	138.8	103.2	82.8	63.2	22
Far Cry 5 (2018)	141	103	96	90	35
The Crew 2 (2018)	60	60	60	60	41.3
Monster Hunter World (2018)	166.8	102.3	93.5	72.2	22.4
F1 2018 (2018)	249	177	142	95	47
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018)	155	93	86	75	25
FIFA 19 (2018)	273.3	248.7	232.1	229.3	117.4
Forza Horizon 4 (2018)	180	127	118	94	52
Assassin´s Creed Odyssey (2018)	113	89	76	55	26
Call of Duty Black Ops 4 (2018)	224.7	199.5	196.7	184.5	64.6
Hitman 2 (2018)	92.7	91.4	83.2	80.2	39.7
Fallout 76 (2018)	60	60	59.9	59.9	43.3
Battlefield V (2018)	177.3	136.6	117.5	106.7	44.9

Overclocking

3DMark 11 results having overclocked the GeForce GTX 1070

We also tried to overclock our test machine, but the locked multiplier on the Core i7-8700 prevented us from doing so. MSI do sell a version with a Core i7-8700K processor, but the company could prevent the CPU from being overclocked. There are no overclocking-related options within the BIOS on our test device, so we suspect that overclocking is out of the question even with an unlocked CPU. This makes sense though, given the limited cooling within the Aegis 3 8RD’s compact case and that MSI has included a 450 W power supply, which may reach its limits if it were to power an overclocked CPU and GPU.

Overclocking the GPU is possible as we mentioned earlier, but we would recommend against doing so permanently. The GeForce GTX 1070 in our test handled a 100 MHz core clock increase and a 550 MHz VRAM boost stably. We also set the power limit to 108% as stated in the Graphics Card section. The changes resulted in a 700-point higher score in 3DMark 11, which represents around a minor 3% performance boost. So, while it is possible to overclock the GPU, the returns are insignificant and are offset by increased power consumption and potential system instability.

Emissions

Fan Noise

The Aegis 3 8RD is audible at idle mainly because of its 3.5-inch HDD that always whirrs away. The sound is not annoying, but it could be mitigated if you remove the HDD altogether. The CPU cooler has two heat pipes that are cooled by a radial fan. MSI markets its cooling system as Silent Storm Cooling 2 that the company describes as being an:

exclusive, silent and powerful cooling system that embraces several separated chambers for component cooling.

The cooling solution blows warm air out of the back of the case, which is effective but noisy under sustained load. MSI Gaming Center has a manual fan curve option should you wish to adjust the fan speed to your liking. The ‘Silent mode’ preset makes our test system quiet enough under load for our liking, but the system will run hotter. We could not find any performance difference between the different fan profiles though. Please keep in mind that we ran our benchmarks with the Aegis 3 8RD set to ‘Game Mode’. The GPU has two axial fans that work quietly even under prolonged load.

Temperature

The Aegis 3 8RD manages its temperatures well. We did not notice any thermal throttling regardless of how hard we pushed our test machine and no area of the machine got noticeably hot.

The Core i7-8700 reached a maximum of 85 °C during a one-hour stress test, with the GeForce GTX 1070 remaining slightly cooler at a maximum of 72 °C. In short, neither the CPU nor the GPU get worryingly warm and you should not experience any overheating when gaming.

Our test machine also passed the 3DMark Sky Diver stress test with 98.1% peak performance. Moreover, 3DMark 11 demonstrated that the Aegis 3 8RD does not thermal throttle even if pushed to its limits.

Combined FurMark and Prime95 stress test

Power Management

Power Consumption

The Aegis 3 8RD has a 450 W power supply that can power the system comfortably even when it is pushed hard. Our test machine achieved a maximum power consumption of 247.8 W when gaming, which is respectable and gives the power supply room to breathe. Please keep in mind that these measurements do not include how much power an external monitor uses.

Our test machine consumes an average of 41 W at idle. The limited Turbo Boost time keeps power consumption down too. The Aegis 3 8RD averaged 126 W during the eight-second Turbo Boost window at the start of the Cinebench R15 multi-core looped benchmark. This then drops to an average of 112 W after the Turbo Boost switches off.

Neither the CPU nor GPU are under 100% load when gaming, so it is worth keeping in mind that the Aegis 3 8RD can consume more than 247.8 W. We established the machine’s maximum power consumption by running a combined FurMark and Prime95 stress test, which returned a maximum power consumption of 278 W.

The GeForce GTX 1070 has a 150 W TDP, which should act as a guide for those who plan on upgrading to a more-powerful GPU. In short, the Aegis 3 8RD has plenty of wattage in reserve for more-powerful components or additional drives, but we would recommend against upgrading the system so that it consumes above 400 W, as this could cause power supply problems.

The power consumption of our test system

During a one-hour FurMark and Prime95 stress test

While playing The Witcher 3 1,080p on the ultra preset

Power Consumption
Prime95 V2810 Stress (external Monitor)
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	270 Watt * ∼100% -140%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (Idle: 74.3 W)	211.2 (205^min - 216^max) Watt * ∼78% -88%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (Idle: 71.3 W)	171.7 (166^min - 176^max) Watt * ∼64% -53%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	157.5 Watt * ∼58% -40%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	140.9 Watt * ∼52% -25%
Intel Core i5-8500T AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	132.7 (120^min - 145^max) Watt * ∼49% -18%
Intel Core i7-8700 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	112.3 Watt * ∼42%
1920x1080 The Witcher 3 ultra (external Monitor)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	421 Watt * ∼100% -70%
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	411 Watt * ∼98% -66%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (Idle: 74.3 W)	408 Watt * ∼97% -65%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	396.5 (376^min - 415^max) Watt * ∼94% -60%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	378.2 Watt * ∼90% -53%
Intel Core i5-8500T AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	353.6 (271^min - 395^max) Watt * ∼84% -43%
Intel Core i7-8700 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	247.8 Watt * ∼59%
1280x720 FurMark 1.19 GPU Stress Test (external Monitor)
Intel Core i7-8700 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	218.2 Watt * ∼100%
Cinebench R15 Multi (external Monitor)
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	263 Watt * ∼100% -133%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (Idle: 74.3 W)	219.2 Watt * ∼83% -94%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	164.4 (159.3^min - 165.75^max) Watt * ∼63% -46%
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	149.5 Watt * ∼57% -33%
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	143.2 Watt * ∼54% -27%
Intel Core i7-8700 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)	112.8 Watt * ∼43%
Intel Core i5-8500T AMD Radeon RX Vega 64	108.1 (106^min - 110^max) Watt * ∼41% +4%

* ... smaller is better

Verdict

Pros

+ fast hexa-core processor with 65 W TDP

+ Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 GPU

+ 256 GB NVMe SSD

+ 1 TB HDD & Intel Optane memory

+ plenty of USB ports

+ compact case

+ impressive gaming performance

+ comparatively low power consumption

+ Wi-Fi ac

+ Bluetooth 5.0

Cons

- the case looks rather cheap

- no standard ATX motherboard

- stock CPU cooler is audible under load

The MSI Aegis 3 8RD desktop PC review. Test device courtesy of MSI Germany.

The MSI Aegis 3 8RD is a compact gaming PC that costs between US$1,500 and US$1,600 at the time of writing. The PC is powered by a fast hexa-core CPU and a decent graphics card. In short, the Aegis 3 8RD can display modern triple-A games smoothly at maximum details.

The Core i7-8700 is not Intel’s latest CPU, which the company launched late last year. However, it is efficient and is great value for money. The same applies to the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 GPU but equipping the machine with an AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 would further reduce power consumption when gaming.

The MSI Aegis 3 8RD is a compact gaming desktop PC that can handle modern triple-A games with ease. The machine has great cooling too, which ensures that the system will not thermal throttle even if pushed to its limits. Buyers will not go wrong if they pick up the Aegis 3 8RD instead of creating a system themselves. In short, the MSI Aegis 3 8RD is ideal as a second PC for LAN parties or as a living room gaming PC.

The Aegis 3 8RD has a relatively compact 19.6-litre case, which has been adorned with RGB lighting. People can disable the lighting if they find it distracting or gimmicky though. We would have preferred a more premium looking exterior case though as the plastic panelling looks and feels cheap for a US$1,500/US$1,600 machine.

The case is not all bad though. The carrying and headset handles are useful, while the plastic used keeps the total system weight below 10 kg, which makes the Aegis 3 8RD relatively easy to carry between LAN parties.

The machine has five drive bays and 1.2 TB of storage, which should be enough for most people. There are pre-wired spare 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch drive bays though, so you could simply drop in additional drives without having to reformat your system.

MSI WT75 8SM (Xeon E-2176G, Quadro P5200) Workstation Review 04/19/2019

MSI GE75 Raider 8SF (i7-8750H, RTX 2070) Laptop Review 03/07/2019

MSI GL73 8SE (i7-8750H, RTX 2060) Laptop Review 02/12/2019

Pricecompare

Read all 2 comments / answer

Loading Comments

Comment on this article

Editor of the original article: Sebastian Jentsch - Managing Editor Consumer Laptops - 1748 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2010

Computers always had an important place in my life, starting with an Intel 80286 microprocessor in the early 1990s. I became interested in the productive side of technology, especially in campus radio, while studying at TU Chemnitz and during a trainee program in Belfast. Hardware interests led me to manage Notebookjournal.de, which is now a division of Notebooksbilliger, for a few years. I became self-employed in 2010 and took the next logical step in my career by starting to write for Notebookcheck.

contact me via: Xing

Translator: Alex Alderson - Senior Tech Writer - 8651 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2018

Prior to writing and translating for Notebookcheck, I worked for various companies including Apple and Neowin. I have a BA in International History and Politics from the University of Leeds, which I have since converted to a Law Degree. Happy to chat on Twitter or Notebookchat.

contact me via: @aldersonaj

Please share our article, every link counts!

> Notebook / Laptop Reviews and News > Reviews > MSI Aegis 3 8RD (Core i7-8700, GTX 1070, 16 GB) Desktop PC Review

Sebastian Bade, 2018-12- 1 (Update: 2019-02-25)

MSI Aegis 3 8RD (Core i7-8700, GTX 1070, 16 GB) Desktop PC Review

Case

Connectivity

Security

Maintenance

Warranty

Software

Performance

Processor

Cinebench R15 multithreaded benchmark loop

System Performance

Storage Devices

Intel SSD benchmarks

Western Digital HDD & Intel Optane benchmarks

Graphics Card

Gaming Performance

Overclocking

Emissions

Fan Noise

Temperature

Power Management

Power Consumption

The power consumption of our test system

Verdict

Pros

Cons

Related Articles

Pricecompare