PCWorld

MSI Trident 3 Arctic: Looks like a console, runs like a high-end desktop

Smaller form-factor PCs typically go one of two ways: First, you can prioritize the small part of the equation. This leaves you with something beautifully tiny, but at the cost of future upgrades—space-saving comes with the caveat of proprietary and non-replaceable parts. (See: Alienware Alpha.) Or you can prioritize future upgrades, which typically means a larger and less aesthetically pleasing machine.

The MSI Trident 3 is the rare machine that can do both—at least to some extent.

MSI TRIDENT 3 VS. CONSOLES

It really is tiny. Scale can be tough to judge in photographs, but at 13.6 by 9.2 by 2.8 inches, the Trident is so small it’s hard to believe there’s a full-size PC inside. It’s smaller than my launch-version Xbox One for instance, and quite nearly smaller than the new Xbox One X. (It’s smaller depth, but the Trident is about an inch longer and maybe half an inch taller.) The Trident sits comfortably in “console-sized” territory, in any case.

And it seems even smaller than it is. The Xbox One’s blunt VCR-like chassis looks every inch its size. The Trident’s canted angles

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from PCWorld

PCWorld2 min read
Microsoft’s Copilot AI Can Now Analyze Your Personal Files
Microsoft appears to have pushed the ability to upload documents, screenshots, and images to Windows 11’s Copilot AI assistant, allowing you to ask it to make sense of documents stored on your PC. Being able to “query” a document is a subtly powerful
PCWorld6 min readIntelligence (AI) & Semantics
Hey, Everyone: It’s Time To Switch To Windows 11
After three years, it’s finally time to upgrade to Windows 11. With Windows 11, Microsoft shifted into productivity mode, and to this day Windows 11 still feels like the operating system for work, while Windows 10 still feels lively and fun. But Wind
PCWorld15 min read
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon: The Ideal Business Laptop
Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon may be one of the best business laptops you can get your hands on. This isn’t your average laptop. It’s a high-end product that combines the latest Intel hardware with a lot of extra touches that make it just nice to use.

Related Books & Audiobooks