Bold designs, cutting-edge tech and gaming muscle: here’s what impressed us most at MSI’s Computex 2025 showing
Did you miss any news from Computex 2025 this year? We are currently digging through our photos and doing a deeper recap on the best launches from our favourite brands.
For Computex 2025, MSI focused on, well, everything, with new announcements for handheld gaming devices, artistic laptop collaborations, high-refresh rate monitors, mini motherboards, and more.
MSI powers up the Claw with Lunar Lake and Ryzen Z2
Despite the mouthful of a name, the Claw 8 AI+ Polar Tempest Edition looked great in a glittering white finish, and more importantly, uses the new Core Ultra 7 258V processor with 2TB storage. It also comes with 32GB of LPDDR5X memory, giving it a bit more headroom for multitasking and intense games.
Alongside the icy white finish, MSI showed off new colourways, including a surprisingly bold lime green that stood out in a sea of dark plastic. The Claw 8 retains key specs from the original model, like a 7-inch 120Hz IPS touchscreen, hall effect triggers, and that chunky 80Wh battery that made the original model an under-appreciated road warrior.
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MSI also gave AMD some love with the Claw A8, which has a Ryzen Z2 Extreme CPU that includes some pretty powerful RDNA 3 graphics with 12 compute units. It keeps the same chassis and cooling (as well as other spec like the display) as the Intel model, supports up to 24GB of LPDDR5 memory and comes with up to 1TB of storage.
While we have yet to do a full review, early impressions suggest it’s an excellent alternative if you play games that take advantage of Radeon features like RSR and HYPR-RX.
Retro GPU bonanza
MSI also teased a trio of new RTX 50 Series GPU concept designs, each with its own distinct vibe. First up was the Suprim Titanium Edition, clad in a sleek two-tone metal shroud that gave it a sort of industrial chic. MSI assured us it’s not just about looks, and that it has beefed-up structural rigidity and upgraded thermals.
Then there’s our favourite, the Cyclone Visual, which revives one of MSI’s classic GPU cooler designs from the early days. It has huge amounts of glorious copper, reimagined with modern fans and lighting, and a very fun retro style. Oh, and of course, an LCD screen on the middle of the fan.
Rounding out the lineup is the Twin Frozr 2025, which refines the long-running dual-fan setup with tweaked fin designs and airflow enhancements. MSI tells us it keeps the familiar silhouette but adds subtle engineering improvements aimed at quieter operation and more consistent cooling under load.
Desktops big and small: MSI shows off its gaming tower and pint-sized NUCs
For prebuilt gaming desktop lovers, the MEG Vision X AI gaming desktop has up to a Core Ultra 9 CPU paired with an RTX 5090, plus a funky 13.3-inch touchscreen for system control. The display sits on the front of the chassis and can be used to monitor temps, tweak performance profiles, or show off custom animations and widgets.
MSI was pretty proud of what was inside – high-end DDR5 memory, fast Gen 5 storage, and plenty of cooling to avoid spontaneous combustion. The case design is sleek but aggressive enough for gamers to want to show it off, plus of course RGB accents. MSI also touted the tool-free layout, which should help make upgrading it in the future nice and easy compared to some pre-built machines.
For those who want something a bit (ok, a lot) smaller, MSI also announced a range of new NUCs.
The Cubi NUC AI+ 2M and Cubi NUC AI 1UM cram Intel Core Ultra chips into sleek little boxes that can sit on your desk or be tucked away. They offer Copilot+ support, if that’s your jam, and are built with eco-friendly recycled-material shells, measuring just 0.826L and 0.51L.
Despite the small size, you still get the essential features, like Thunderbolt 4, HDMI, fingerprint recognition, dual 2.5GbE LAN ports, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, support for up to 96 GB of DDR5 memory and dual M.2 slots for speedy PCIe Gen 4 SSDs. They also feature MSI Power Link, which lets you turn on your PC via supported MSI monitors like a low-key PC wizard.
A display of displays
While MSI had many displays on, the MPG 271QR QD-OLED X50 stood out thanks to its AI Care Sensor. This clever bit of tech uses real-time person detection to tweak brightness and power usage depending on whether you’re actually in front of the screen. It is designed to help combat OLED burn-in and reduce power consumption when idle, which are both things we think are great real-world benefits. MSI explained that it uses an always-on CMOS sensor capturing images every 0.2 seconds, and an NPU-based IC to do the detection processing. This means it’s all done on device in a standalone unit, avoiding any privacy issues.
The actual panel itself is no slouch either, with a 2560×1440 resolution and an impressive 500Hz refresh rate, adding to the appeal for esports fans or those who just want to take their gaming further.
But it was far from the only interesting monitor MSI had on show. The MAG 272QP QD-OLED X50 might have a similar name, but the spec is quite different. It blends QD-OLED punch with a lower 240Hz refresh rate and 1440p resolution – in other words, targeting the sweet spot for not totally unaffordable gaming without the pixel overload of 4K.
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Then there is the MPG 274URDFW E16M – a rapid IPS display with Mini-LED backlighting and a 4K resolution plus HDMI 2.1 support. It has a 165Hz refresh rate at 4K, but can hit 320Hz in FHD mode. Meanwhile, the MSI MPG 242R X60N is aimed at competitive gamers, with a 1080p panel that has a refresh rate of up to 600Hz. MSI was showing off the difference in high refresh rate clarity compared to lesser panels, and we have to say, it did make fast movement a lot crisper.
From Ryzen power to meme-ready pumps: MSI builds for the bold
Then came motherboards. So many motherboards. But we were especially fond of MSI’s new mini-ITX boards: the MPG X870I Edge TI WIFI and MPG B850I Edge TI WIFI. They both look great for compact builds, and support all the good stuff: next-gen AMD processors, DDR5 memory, PCIe 5.0, and Wi-Fi 7. Both feature white aesthetics and compact layouts for small-form-factor builds.
MSI also had the B860I Edge TI WIFI on show, offering the same clean white aesthetic in a mini-ITX layout, with support for 14th Gen Intel CPUs, DDR5, PCIe 5.0 GPUs, fast NVMe storage and Wi-Fi 7.
The MSI MEG X870E Ace was on display – supporting the latest AMD CPUs. The board steps things up in the ways we love, like with 10G LAN for high-speed networking, USB 40Gbps ports, and for those who like to tweak and overclock, an 18+2+1 phase power design that should help you push your Ryzen 9000 series processor. Or the MAG X870E Tomahawk WiFi PZ, with rear mounted power connectors for ultra sleek builds.
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MSI’s latest liquid coolers are all-in on screens, with integrated IPS displays for real-time monitoring, or more likely, playing your favourite animations or displaying memes. The flagship MEG Coreliquid E13 Series features a massive 6-inch display, while the LFX series includes a 2.4-inch screen, an oversized copper cold plate, and a redesigned pump with dual impellers for better flow.
For more, ahhh, mainstream setups, the MAG Coreliquid I and M series offer either LED or LCD display options, daisy-chainable ARGB fans, and a pretty neat looking tool-free mounting system to streamline installation. If you prefer something a bit more subtle, the MPG Coreliquid P13 Series has a cleaner look, but does, of course, still sneak in a display.
If you just want the LCD display aesthetic, MSI also launched the MAG Vision Lite 12 – a 12.3 1920 x 720 display that connects via USB and that can be used to add some real-time hardware feedback, or maybe just bling, to your next build.
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Panther Lake, lacquerware, and Norse power: MSI’s wild laptop range
Grabbing plenty of attention, (and requiring dodging a sea of phones held up for photos), was the Prestige 13 AI+ Ukiyo-e Edition. Who knew MSI had an artsy side? The laptop features a lid finished with traditional Japanese lacquerware techniques and hand-applied artwork based on The Great Wave off Kanagawa. Yes, the famous wave you’ve seen before– now crashing across a high-end laptop.
The aesthetic leans into the ukiyo-e art style, and we can honestly say we haven’t seen anything like it outside of custom DIY one-offs. It’s not just a print job either – the finish has a subtly glossy, tactile quality that gives it a sense of depth. It even comes with matching accessories, including a themed mouse, sleeve, and box. That might sound like something you’d get in a souvenir-shop, but overall it was remarkably classy.
If waves aren’t your thing, MSI also had a range of other artistic designs on display.
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But what about the actual laptop? Is it all style, or does it have some substance? At just 990 grams, it felt featherlight but thanks to the magnesium-aluminum chassis, it also still felt stiff and robust. No Panther Lake here – it uses Intel’s Lunar Lake CPUs (up to the Ultra 9 288V), paired with 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. The 13.3-inch OLED has a 2880 x 1800 resolution, a 16:10 ratio and covers 100% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut. You also get dual Thunderbolt 4 and Wi-Fi 7.
So sure, in many ways it’s a niche machine, but also a very functional one, and a reminder that not every laptop has to look like a corporate slab of brushed grey metal.
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But speaking of corporate slabs of brushed grey metal (which to be fair, we also love), MSI also had an intriguing but as-yet not launched Panther Lake business laptop on display, with a fold-back 2-in-1 screen and a neat integrated stylus holder underneath. It comes in both a 16-inch and 14-inch model, is very lightweight and promises 24 hours+ of battery life. We eagerly await getting hands on with this one!
The MSI gaming laptop lineup on display included the mighty Titan 18 HX Dragon Edition (though to be fair, it officially launched at CES) with an 18-inch Mini LED, 3840×2400, 120Hz display and an RTX 5090 GPU in a Norse-themed chassis. Plus another machine signed by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
Then there was the Stealth A18 AI gaming laptop, showing off its gaming prowess, as well as its ability to connect directly to another machine using Thunderbolt. And not to forget, the more affordable Cyborg range of gaming laptops in both 17-inches and 15-inches.
We also got a peek at the new Stealth A16 AI+ and Prestige 16 AI+ Mercedes-AMG models and while they aren’t our usual style, we were suitably impressed by the bespoke finishes.
MSI also had loads more laptops on display, from Prestige range, to fully disassembled units showing the cooling technology.
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All the things you forgot MSI makes
Oh right, MSI also sells SSDs! And the latest models (like the Spatium M571 PCIe 5.0 M.2) are built with Phison’s E28 controller and TSMC’s 6nm process. This offers reduced power use and, as a result, runs cooler, which is especially handy for laptops and handheld devices.
We were happy to see MSI’s Datamag portable SSD get a speed bump to 40 Gbps, especially after being impressed by the 20 Gbps version. The cool thing about this high-speed external drive is that it’s MagSafe compatible, letting it snap into place cleanly and avoid extra cables or clutter. It also comes with some stick-on magnetic rings, so you can easily attach it to whatever you want.
And who can forget, MSI also does networking. The new Roamii lineup includes the BE Pro with tri-band Wi-Fi 7 and 10GbE ports. Then there’s the Roamii BE Max for ultra-fast 21Gbps speeds, and the Roamii BE Lite with 5Gbps. There’s even a USB Wi-Fi 7 adaptor. Stay tuned for our tests.
MSI’s new PSUs (wait, MSI builds PSUs?) were also on display. We favoured the mainstream MPG and enthusiast MEG series, both well thought out with ATX 3.1 and PCIe 5.1 support, fully modular cables, and 80 PLUS Platinum or Gold ratings.
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Want to know more about what MSI launched and demoed at Computex 2025? Take a look at the MSI event page.
TechRadar Australia flew to Computex 2025 courtesy of MSI Components, Corsair and Synology.
