# MSI Nightblade MI2 GAMING PC



## cadaveca (Jan 12, 2016)

350W? 10 Litres? What sort of power can you get inside that space? MSI's Nightblade MI2 answers both those questions in a very surprising way. Packing a GTX970, Skylake CPU, DDR4, M.2 SSD, and a built-in optical drive, the MSI Nightblade MI2 is a fully 1080p-capable GAMING PC you can lug around under your arm.

*Show full review*


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## Assimilator (Jan 13, 2016)

I wonder if this board supports BCLK overclocking.

Lack of temperature and noise data makes this review far less useful than it could be.


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## LDNL (Jan 13, 2016)

Indeed. Ive been using multiple ITX cases and configurations and I can tell from experience that small laptop fan + small psu fan are gonna be painfully loud under load and propably wont live long because of the high temperatures if you are using the same components as in the review. An ideal processor would be a non K i5 plus a GTX950/960 so the PSU wont blow up.


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## cadaveca (Jan 13, 2016)

Assimilator said:


> Lack of temperature and noise data makes this review far less useful than it could be.


You didn't read the review then.



> Combined with the fan pictured above and my test-bench's Intel i7-6700K, I rarely heard this constellation produce any noise at all, with just the occasional blast of air being shot out the back of the Nightblade MI2



But no BCLK OC at the time of testing, and I'm not interested in OC either, given the power numbers and performance.



LDNL said:


> Indeed. Ive been using multiple ITX cases and configurations and I can tell from experience that small laptop fan + small psu fan are gonna be painfully loud under load and propably wont live long because of the high temperatures if you are using the same components as in the review. An ideal processor would be a non K i5 plus a GTX950/960 so the PSU wont blow up.



As for you...



> Power numbers from the wall were pretty decent. Even with ridiculous loads such a system would never see during normal use, the maximum power I could get my chosen configuration to pull was 304 W. A couple more drives might make those numbers go up just a bit, but we're talking about a mechanical and an M.2 SSD as the only possible options. I used an MSI GAMING GTX 970 and an Intel i7-6700K as well as two 8 GB SO-DIMMs (the maximum supported is 32 GB), so any configuration below these specs should have no problems whatsoever in running for a long time without stressing FPS's 350W power supply.






Swapping down to the 65W 6700 would drop that power by likely 20-30W, again, as mentioned in the review...? I put in the 6600 and saw power drop that much. No need to drop down from GTX970, do it on the CPU and you'll have no problems. I use this thing daily... typing from it now.


You guys need to realize that like 200W of that 304W maximum I got out of this rig is from the GPU, and that a 65W CPU at stock doesn't need that much cooling, nor does it heat the insides of the case very much. Also, since the GPU is kind of in its own area, and easily gets fresh air form the side vents, while having a cooler that normally doesn't even spin often, there is very little noise to be had, and very little heat. Current modern Intel and NVidia hardware simply does not draw that much power so as to need fans blazing 24-7.

Now, I'll admit, before I got this rig up and running, I thought exactly as you did. Then I built it up, used it, and was left impressed. Yet at the same time, I have a rig with 6700K and dual 980's, and even that rig barely makes any noise... playing BF4 on the dual 980's the fans barely even move. The MSI GAMING GTX970 is similar. Also, since this is a barebones unit, the amount of heat and noise will lessen considerably when you put in hardware that consumes even less power. I don't see any reason to include in-depth data about power use and noise levels when such things aren't dictated by the stock configuration... it's all about what hardware you decide to put in it.


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## Bjorn_Of_Iceland (Jan 13, 2016)

Maybe just buy a Dan A4 SFX once it comes out and not be limited by PSU.


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## thebluebumblebee (Jan 13, 2016)

> ...the maximum power I could get my chosen configuration to pull was 304 W. I used an MSI GAMING GTX 970 and an Intel i7-6700K as well as two 8 GB SO-DIMMs (the maximum supported is 32 GB), so any configuration below these specs should have no problems whatsoever in running for a long time without stressing FPS's 350W power supply.


Seriously considering making that my signature, for all the people who think you NEED a 750 watt PSU for a "standard" gaming system.


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## Frick (Jan 13, 2016)

Ooohhh I like. More specs on the PSU would be nice, but it's FSP so it'll be ok.


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## cadaveca (Jan 13, 2016)

Bjorn_Of_Iceland said:


> Maybe just buy a Dan A4 SFX once it comes out and not be limited by PSU.



Meh. I'd grab the other MSI barebones with 650W PSU and not be limited if that's what I wanted. The point isn't shoving the greatest amount of power into the smallest space, it's about having an effective solution highly capable @ 1080P/1200P gaming, while minimizing the desktop footprint. So you're not really limited by the PSU in any way here, the way I see it.



thebluebumblebee said:


> Seriously considering making that my signature, for all the people who think you NEED a 750 watt PSU for a "standard" gaming system.



My Skylake/Dual GTX980 rig won't go over 535W. So yeah, power requirements are not the same as the used to be, even with multiple GPUs.


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## LDNL (Jan 14, 2016)

cadaveca said:


> You guys need to realize that like 200W of that 304W maximum I got out of this rig is from the GPU, and that a 65W CPU at stock doesn't need that much cooling, nor does it heat the insides of the case very much. Also, since the GPU is kind of in its own area, and easily gets fresh air form the side vents, while having a cooler that normally doesn't even spin often, there is very little noise to be had, and very little heat.



Then im sure you wouldnt mind providing us with the temperature readings while under load? From the screenshots of the BIOS people can clearly see that processor is idling at 45C.


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## Folterknecht (Jan 14, 2016)

LDNL said:


> Then im sure you wouldnt mind providing us with the temperature readings while under load? From the screenshots of the BIOS people can clearly see that processor is idling at 45C.



Good CPU cooler or not - we 're still dealing with the same problem as with Ivy Bridge and Haswell here. Furthermore there is no OC involved and that means temps below Tmax are fine as long as the fan isn't making a ruckus but stays silent and no throtteling is happening.

There was an interview with Intel guys developing Devils Canyon on TH very interesting - at leasts some parts. What they found was that as long as Haswell stayed below 80°C (don't remember the exact value) OC capabilities were not impacted.


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## Assimilator (Jan 14, 2016)

cadaveca said:


> You didn't read the review then.



I did, and a single sentence commenting on the perceived thermal and acoustic characteristics of the system is nowhere near the hard numbers that I'd need to determine whether or not I'd be willing to buy it. You ran benchmarks, why couldn't you run Core Temp and GPU-Z at the same time and at least give us those temperature readings? I'm not expecting you to run your tests in a dedicated anechoic chamber at a constant 25 degrees ambient, I'm just asking for what in my opinion is some very basic yet critical information - especially in a small-form-factor system that is implicitly thermally constrained due to its size.


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## cadaveca (Jan 14, 2016)

Assimilator said:


> I did, and a single sentence commenting on the perceived thermal and acoustic characteristics of the system is nowhere near the hard numbers that I'd need to determine whether or not I'd be willing to buy it. You ran benchmarks, why couldn't you run Core Temp and GPU-Z at the same time and at least give us those temperature readings? I'm not expecting you to run your tests in a dedicated anechoic chamber at a constant 25 degrees ambient, I'm just asking for what in my opinion is some very basic yet critical information - especially in a small-form-factor system that is implicitly thermally constrained due to its size.



IF thermals were an issue, I'd have reported it. I'm only concerned with throttling, since there are zero clock/voltage controls within BIOS (which also means there is ZERO you can do about it other than adjusting the fan curve). And given that a 6700K doesn't come with a cooler, actual load temps of any particular CPU is not relatable, since there is no "stock" cooling. So I didn't care about temperatures. I understand where you are coming from for sure, but again, it really depends on what CPU you install. I heard the fan only occasionally. The CPU did not throttle. That means it was somewhere under 95C, and that the fan did not run constantly.



LDNL said:


> Then im sure you wouldnt mind providing us with the temperature readings while under load? From the screenshots of the BIOS people can clearly see that processor is idling at 45C.


 Actually, for the tested configuration, I would mind, since I don't record temperatures other than to monitor throttle, and currently a 65W i5-6600 is installed into it, not the reviewed 91W i7-6700k. I'll take the hour plus to pull the whole thing apart, change the thermal paste and CPU, run tests, then swap out the CPU again back to its current configuration, just for you. And how, exactly, are you going to compensate me for the time to do so? Do keep in mind I do reviews as a hobbyist, not a "professional". That means there are no standards I have to adhere to, and I get to make my own judgement calls as to what data I include or not. I did also finish this review before Christmas.

I also suppose you'd want me to then use the thermal paste that came in the box...  whoops.... that's gone...

Skylake isn't Haswell, and doesn't run very hot. I barely break 60c @ stock under an H90 on my personal (retail, non ES) 6700K.

If I seem a bit aloof about this, it's because I really would report any problems with temperatures. Neither the GPU or CPU I used to test throttled, and honestly, I was more concerned about power usage rather than temperatures. I also had in my mind "regular" users, who for the most part don't care about system noise. I have talked to countless students at school and other "normal" people, and the things that they care about aren't the same as what "enthusiasts" care about. I'm more concerned with the thoughts and ideas that those general users, since getting non-PC users to buy a PC is better than for the industry than catering to enthusiasts who are going to buy stuff anyway. Other people will complain about the use of "gaming" being used in naming, but I applaud it, as it gets the point across to those that don't know the specifics like you would. So as much as you might not like it, an enthusiast's opinion isn't that important, really, when it comes to a product like this.


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## LDNL (Jan 15, 2016)

cadaveca said:


> Actually, for the tested configuration, I would mind, since I don't record temperatures other than to monitor throttle



Normal ATX cases has sufficiant airflow as standart. Unfortunally some ITX case don't and the airflow is very restricted. To have stable and* long lasting system* is to have a good balance with components that can manage with the airflow restrictions by not having them running too hot everytime you open up a game. Sure they wont throttle but as stated they wont last and and im especially worried about the small PSU in circulating that heat and running at a 90% load at the same time.



cadaveca said:


> ...and currently a 65W i5-6600 is installed into it, not the reviewed 91W i7-6700k. I'll take the hour plus to pull the whole thing apart, change the thermal paste and CPU, run tests, then swap out the CPU again back to its current configuration, just for you. And how, exactly, are you going to compensate me for the time to do so?
> 
> I also suppose you'd want me to then use the thermal paste that came in the box...  whoops.... that's gone...



Im fine with the readings of that i5 and GPU. That'll give me a pretty good picture of what the airflow is through out that system. I dont know where you got the idea that im expecting you to take apart the system to change the CPU. You stated that the CPU has been changed and my response would have been the same. Somehow I get the feeling youre trying to take this conversation elsewhere with some pretty bizzare accusations of me expecting you to do stuff and then elaborating way too much.



cadaveca said:


> Do keep in mind I do reviews as a hobbyist, not a "professional". That means there are no standards I have to adhere to, and I get to make my own judgement calls as to what data I include or not.



But this is basic information every system builder wants to know. What are the thermal limits of product and what can I build in it. In this case it happens to favor the manufacturer to leave such information out. Remember that ASRock M8 that you reviewed a year ago? Other websites and reviewers called out the significant thermal and acoustic issues of that system but youre conclusion was:

"So, where are the benchmarks, you might ask? With as many CPU and VGA options on the market today, there's simply no point in posting any. Whether you want to use the Pentium G3258 or the high-end I7-4790K, the BIOS is ready to rock, and if you want to use the Z97 M8 as a workstation with a XEON CPU, you can do that too. Maybe you need a R9 290X, a GTX980, or a TITAN for gaming performance, or just the on-board GPU capabilities pretty much all LGA 1150 CPUs provide - this isn't a system set to a specific level performance; it's all up to you and the parts you choose to install."

I may have skipped a page or two but didnt see any mention of these significant thermal and acoustic issues. What you are basicly doing is throwing around high end hardware names like buzzwords to give the reader the wrong idea what hardware they can use with that system. Granted you did mention the "PSU can generate a fair amount of noise under high load" but thats because of the bad airflow and the PSU was designed to be an exhaust. Thats pretty desperate imo.



cadaveca said:


> If I seem a bit aloof about this, it's because I really would report any problems with temperatures. Neither the GPU or CPU I used to test throttled, and honestly, I was more concerned about power usage rather than temperatures. I also had in my mind "regular" users, who for the most part don't care about system noise. I have talked to countless students at school and other "normal" people, and the things that they care about aren't the same as what "enthusiasts" care about. I'm more concerned with the thoughts and ideas that those general users, since getting non-PC users to buy a PC is better than for the industry than catering to enthusiasts who are going to buy stuff anyway. Other people will complain about the use of "gaming" being used in naming, but I applaud it, as it gets the point across to those that don't know the specifics like you would. So as much as you might not like it, an enthusiast's opinion isn't that important, really, when it comes to a product like this.



Ill be brief since I have 5 minutes to respond to this.

If you dont add basic thermal and acoustic information to the review, the regular users will find out the hardway what not to use with these ITX barebone enclosers. The evil corporate overlords might want that because thats money in their pockets but you as a review have a responsability to test and advice what components people should use to have a long lasting and stable system. I must admit I am a silent freak myself but system noise should be a factor because these systems most likely end up in the living room (or atleast a few). I am an enthusiast and my opinion might not be that important but with these small and very air restricted system the information is. Thats all I ask in future reviews.


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## cadaveca (Jan 15, 2016)

LDNL said:


> Normal ATX cases has sufficiant airflow as standart. Unfortunally some ITX case don't and the airflow is very restricted. To have stable and* long lasting system* is to have a good balance with components that can manage with the airflow restrictions by not having them running too hot everytime you open up a game. Sure they wont throttle but as stated they wont last and and im especially worried about the small PSU in circulating that heat and running at a 90% load at the same time.



You bet. Fortunately, since the case has such a small area (10 litres), it's quite simple to maintain constant fresh air in the system. Since the system is focused on gaming, and not compute, that means that we're really talking about nearly all of that 300W I got mine to pull from the wall.



> Im fine with the readings of that i5 and GPU. That'll give me a pretty good picture of what the airflow is through out that system. I dont know where you got the idea that im expecting you to take apart the system to change the CPU. You stated that the CPU has been changed and my response would have been the same. Somehow I get the feeling youre trying to take this conversation elsewhere with some pretty bizzare accusations of me expecting you to do stuff and then elaborating way too much.



Nah. I mean exactly what I said, and nothing more. I'm not one to mince words too much, but it seems some people think otherwise often. I'm quite blunt, and that doesn't always go over well.  I'm aware of it, but no one's perfect. 



> But this is basic information every system builder wants to know. What are the thermal limits of product and what can I build in it. In this case it happens to favor the manufacturer to leave such information out. Remember that ASRock M8 that you reviewed a year ago? Other websites and reviewers called out the significant thermal and acoustic issues of that system but youre conclusion was:
> 
> "So, where are the benchmarks, you might ask? With as many CPU and VGA options on the market today, there's simply no point in posting any. Whether you want to use the Pentium G3258 or the high-end I7-4790K, the BIOS is ready to rock, and if you want to use the Z97 M8 as a workstation with a XEON CPU, you can do that too. Maybe you need a R9 290X, a GTX980, or a TITAN for gaming performance, or just the on-board GPU capabilities pretty much all LGA 1150 CPUs provide - this isn't a system set to a specific level performance; it's all up to you and the parts you choose to install."
> 
> I may have skipped a page or two but didnt see any mention of these significant thermal and acoustic issues. What you are basicly doing is throwing around high end hardware names like buzzwords to give the reader the wrong idea what hardware they can use with that system. Granted you did mention the "PSU can generate a fair amount of noise under high load" but thats because of the bad airflow and the PSU was designed to be an exhaust. Thats pretty desperate imo.



Actually, I mentioned that the PSU fan in that case was a problem, both in the review and the conclusion, IIRC. I used a VGA with a blower fan myself, and that system still sits today as it did when I tested it, in use by my youngest daughter. Still kicking it pretty decently, too. Like, that's what's different about me and most other reviewers... I'm not selling the stuff I get ASAP to make money. I actually use it, and for extended periods, so sometimes my thoughts about a product are different because I didn't just fire a rig up, test, and then dismantle and sell. I really do set up each motherboard and use it for a couple of weeks, at least, and this sometimes means that I review some products later, with different ideas. I do also show nearly all products to my friends locally, and ask them what they think. Their opinion matter a lot.



> Ill be brief since I have 5 minutes to respond to this.
> 
> If you dont add basic thermal and acoustic information to the review, the regular users will find out the hardway what not to use with these ITX barebone enclosers. The evil corporate overlords might want that because thats money in their pockets but you as a review have a responsability to test and advice what components people should use to have a long lasting and stable system. I must admit I am a silent freak myself but system noise should be a factor because these systems most likely end up in the living room (or atleast a few). I am an enthusiast and my opinion might not be that important but with these small and very air restricted system the information is. Thats all I ask in future reviews.



If a company wants a specific conclusion, they can bite me. I really do talk to a lot of people who don't care aobut such things. I look at it this way, to give some perspective; Son'y original PS3s, both the 60 GB, and then the 80 GB were horrible for noise. I have one of each. There were many complaints online. Yet these units still sold in the millions. XBOX 360 was notorious for the RROD... yet they still sold. PS3's died and new ones were bought, but Microsoft literally ended up replacing nearly every launch unit. Today, nobody cares about either. I'm still using my 80 GB PS3. And the MSI GAMING MI2. It's a device for gaming, so the true end user this box was for should be using it for gaming. I 100% agree with everything you've said, no question, except as you've mentioned, you're into silence. You want you stuff to last. There area  wide variety of users out there, and not al ldevices can cater to everyone. For noise, because I do not have a sound level meter handy, I can only report subjectively. A good sound meter costs thousands, and I have been formally trained to use one, but as a hobbyist, it isn't something I can afford. As to temperatures, I'll have some screenshots for you, but it won't be something I'm overly interested in focusing on, unless I find it a problem. I really feel that it's added data that is a waste of my time to highlight when not problematic. Most people don't read much more than the first and last pages of a review, so if there are problems with something, I do have to cover it somewhere in those two pages, in the least.


EDIT:

Load temps running wPrime 1024M looped for 10 loops are:

drum roll, please..... 65c.


ROFL.

(CPU is pulling about 50W, tested in other system)

If you want some gaming load temps, let me know. Please do keep in mind that's we are talking about when it comes to a Skylake CPU; 50W. It's not hard to cool 50W.


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## thebluebumblebee (Jun 7, 2016)

Dave, did I miss it?  Do you mention what PCI-e connectors are available from the PSU?  With the GTX 1070/1080's and their 8 pin connector, I was wondering if those are 6 or 6+2 pin connectors.


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## cadaveca (Jun 7, 2016)

thebluebumblebee said:


> Dave, did I miss it?  Do you mention what PCI-e connectors are available from the PSU?  With the GTX 1070/1080's and their 8 pin connector, I was wondering if those are 6 or 6+2 pin connectors.


Both connectors are 6+2-pin type (8-pin). If it had been anything less I would have mentioned it, as it might limit what type of GTX970 you use (some are dual 8-pin)


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## protonwrangler (Jun 7, 2016)

I'm trying to understand the airflow, particularly for the graphics card. I checked the MSI website and looked at your photos.

It looks like there's no intake fan. From what I can see the graphics card can draw air in through the right side perforations, then it's blown around and depends on the power supply fan and the cpu heatsink blower to exhaust this air. Is that pretty much it? This is something I wouldn't expect to work too well, but maybe the cpu blower moves enough air to be practical.


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## cadaveca (Jun 7, 2016)

protonwrangler said:


> I'm trying to understand the airflow, particularly for the graphics card. I checked the MSI website and looked at your photos.
> 
> It looks like there's no intake fan. From what I can see the graphics card can draw air in through the right side perforations, then it's blown around and depends on the power supply fan and the cpu heatsink blower to exhaust this air. Is that pretty much it? This is something I wouldn't expect to work too well, but maybe the cpu blower moves enough air to be practical.


Yeah, it all up to the CPU blower to remove the air from the case, and it does manage to do so quite well. So much so that temperatures are really decent, and the system is nearly silent.

To be honest, I was a bit skeptical about the design myself at first, but now after having had the system running in my house for several months, I love it more than ever. You do also need to keep in mind that since there is no overclocking available, if you chose 65W CPU and the GTX970, there is actually quite low power consumption, and thereby, very little cooling needed.


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## Jay Werrett (Jun 22, 2016)

Just got this machine, do you think the psu be OK if I use 256gb m.2 and a 480gb ssd and two 8tb 3.5" drives in the machine? Currently running it with gtx 970 but planning maybe get the gtx 1070 or the new amd rx480

Not sure if this is gonna overload it, the 3.5" drives are gonna be just for movies for plex so not sure if go for wd black or wd green drives 

Enjoyed your review as it's what made me purchase this machine and I still can't get over how small this machine really it, it's scary what can be crammed into such a small space


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## cadaveca (Jun 22, 2016)

Yeah man, stuff it to the gills. You'd have to be using the maximum of every device in order to potentially have any problems, you'd think.

If you got a 65W CPU as I suggested in the review, then you should be fine.

BTW, when you get it all built up, let us know what you think about the noise levels... or lack thereof.


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## Jay Werrett (Jun 22, 2016)

Your a star and yes I will report back on the noise, just had my 16gb crucial ram come through as I don't think I'd see a huge diffrent from CL15 ram or CL13 "hyper x ram" or even notice the difference apart from price 

What drives do your recommend for 3.5" as trying decide if WD black or green as it basically only be for movies for plex that is all, as i got the 480gb ssd for my "general downloaded/junk files" and the m.2 for the OS and apps etc

And trying decide if get a geforce 1070 or wait for the amd rx480 as I will only be running one monitor for gaming at 1080p so not sure if the geforce 1070 is gonna end up being a overkill 

Once again thank you and helping me decide on this machine 

Amazing people say you need powerful PSU's for this kinda hardware..... but its been proven you actually don't at all


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## cadaveca (Jun 22, 2016)

New hardware within the last 12 months+ doesn't need big PSU power. IN the past, fi you wanted to push high OC, yeah, you needed some PSU grunt.

For videos and such, green drives are fine, and they use less power and make less noise than the blacks (I have both). Ram difference is small too, for sure.

GTX970 is pretty good for 1080P for most stuff, so I imagine 1070 will be fantastic.


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## Jay Werrett (Jun 22, 2016)

OK i will get two 6tb green drives ordered as I don't think they do the green in 8tb 

Do you not recommend the new amd rx480 then? as I don't want to go overkill on a top card to find I never use it fully with 4k monitor or multiple monitor setup


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## cadaveca (Jun 22, 2016)

I can't say much about RX480 since I know nothing about it yet. Have to wait until W1zz reviews it before I can get a decent opinion of my own.


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## Jay Werrett (Jun 22, 2016)

OK brilliant can't wait, oh is it worth fitting a fan to the front inside the case if this is possible, swear on msi site it looks like a fan is in the front part of the chamber air flow but nothing in mine on the front even though looks like could be possible


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## cadaveca (Jun 22, 2016)

I didn't find any need to change the cooling. The CPU fan spins at low RPM most of the time, and will take a quick blast and throw out all the heat when it begins to get a bit toasty. They did design the unit with their GTX970 GAMING and its non-rear-exhausting heatsink in mind, so I wouldn't worry about it too much. The MSI TwinFrozr GPU cooler is practically inaudible on its own, and gets plenty of fresh air thanks to the vents in the side of the case, as would any GPU you use.

Its really hard for me to not give this unit rave reviews! I was quite skeptical about it at first, but once I had it built up and in use, I quickly forgot what I was worried about. True engineering excellence.


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## Jay Werrett (Jun 22, 2016)

Ok i leave it alone, mine came all pre built but think mine the armor gtx 970 as its white not the black and red gaming card

Cant wait for my m.2 256gb so can get it up and running


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## Jay Werrett (Jun 23, 2016)

Well what a con, looks i was sold a mi model with mi2 inner parts as there no mystic front leds just red grills even though it the skylake model of the mi2 in description

Will have contact msi tomorrow find out how box label / sn shows it a mi2 when clearly isnt


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## cadaveca (Jun 23, 2016)

Yeah, that's odd. Might also want to check with the retailer.


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## Jay Werrett (Jun 23, 2016)

Yes I shall do, just looked front box it shows the m1 model but yeah one I got has to be m2 cause of the usb 3.1 oval shaped port on the front side etc, but it shows 2 red grills not the lights so yes very odd 

Hopefully find out more when ring up


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## Jay Werrett (Jun 24, 2016)

Well got an update from msi and seems mine dont have front leds but red vents instead... 

"Thanks for supporting MSI! 
About the question , Nightblade MI2C doesn't install front LED light , only Nightblade MI2 have front LED light"

Im intrested if this method is to help heat from the hard drives vent better being close to the front panel


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## cadaveca (Jun 24, 2016)

Jay Werrett said:


> Well got an update from msi and seems mine dont have front leds but red vents instead...
> 
> "Thanks for supporting MSI!
> About the question , Nightblade MI2C doesn't install front LED light , only Nightblade MI2 have front LED light"
> ...


well damn, I didn't even know there WAS an MI2C, ROFL.


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## Jay Werrett (Jun 24, 2016)

I know nor me lol, I am currently question them as to where the front intake fan is with these systems as shown on there pictures, which in turn creates this cooling chamber from front to back and would cool even the 3.5" hard drives, the bios reports of cpu fan and system fan, so it was obviously meant to have one


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## cadaveca (Jun 24, 2016)

Maybe. I did think the same when I first got mine. But temperatures are fine. I could see if you had got a couple of the WD Black drives how a fan might be needed (they are noisy and run kind of hot). I'm not sure if there is a header on the board though... pretty sure the pins were not in place on mine (near the bottom front edge of the board by the PSU).


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## extreemator (Aug 12, 2016)

graprhics card is not of rear exaust (because they don't have anything else rather than their custom cooler) Hot air get's traped inside, especially when cpu is not loaded enough and the hot air is not moved out of the system (because cpu cooler is the only exasut cooelr in the system) seems like front cooler is not installewd too. gpu core drops frequency up to 200Mhz in summer, because they also set the treshold of 80C for GPU, what a lamers.


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## Jay Werrett (Aug 12, 2016)

I agree yet MSI are not interested at all in my emails or forum msgs that there no fan on the intake so how can they call it a cooling chamber where nothing intakes fresh cold air from the front

I have even tested it with a temp front fan put in the space for one and the HDD temps on there own I see a 12'C difference!!! When running scan bench marks in loop on the 8TB drive

This is disgusting as when the GPU is at load which I have now tested with a msi 1070 card the temp in the case and effect it has on HDD temp is stupidly high if not to high.

If I stress out the GPU for 10min the CPU fan is at nearly full speed even though CPU sits around 10% load all course the heat inside the case is making the CPU radiator heat up silly high to.

MSI arnt interested in my case about it or about me paying for an aegis case with better cooling etc 

Disgusting really as this mi2 really needs a founder edition card to exhaust the heat straight out the back not inside the case causing all other components to suffer excess heat build up


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## Caring1 (Aug 13, 2016)

Put your large W.D. Black drives in an external enclosure and install a front fan in the case, problem solved.
Not sure why you thought stuffing a small case full would allow it to remain cool while running.


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## extreemator (Aug 13, 2016)

It's a naive design and burocracy mistake, not small case's


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## Jay Werrett (Aug 13, 2016)

Caring1 said:


> Put your large W.D. Black drives in an external enclosure and install a front fan in the case, problem solved.
> Not sure why you thought stuffing a small case full would allow it to remain cool while running.



That's not the point really, I have installed a fan in the front and regardless the case size if you got fans on front and back it will do its job, bit like people saying you need a high power PSU for your latest graphics card when you don't.

The point is that MSI advertise this machine with the intent of a "cooling chamber" when clearly this is not when the fan is missing on the front and they desoldered the "sys fan" header which have meter tested and this still works so no idea why this was done.

The thing CPU fan is then meant to try do the exhaust work with a card in the way and no way for fresh air be blown over it, even without the HDDs in the inside is still very high when gaming. 

Wonder how many people don't even know there is no fan when the picture on the website clearly shows a fan, or buy this and wonder why there machine slows or throttles cause of it getting way to hot.

There new cases all seem fix this issue or have moved the PSU external as they know this was getting hot to cause being so close to the GPU without a front intake fan


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## extreemator (Aug 13, 2016)

The front fan shouldn't be intake fan strictly. It will be better of as an exaust fan (though the gaps on the front panel don't seem to let a lot of air through they are small) , the gpu pumps air inside,  all it needs is get the air away, no point of putting it through that small cpu radiator.


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## Jay Werrett (Aug 16, 2016)

Thank you extreemator

Will give this a try with swapping the fan around the other way and do some tests today using it as another exhaust for heat inside.

Since fitting the fan in the front as an intake temp is alot better in general so hopefully people with same mi2 /mi2c will look into putting a fan in for reduced temps overall on the components 

Or even better complain to msi as to why they advertise a cooling chamber with front fan when they never installed one yet did for some strange reason in the older mi model


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## RichF (Nov 12, 2016)

cadaveca said:
			
		

> I don't see any reason to include in-depth data about power use and noise levels when such things aren't dictated by the stock configuration... it's all about what hardware you decide to put in it.


Red herring.



			
				cadaveca said:
			
		

> IF thermals were an issue, I'd have reported it.


Also a red herring.

People like to see basic things reported as measured data, like thermals and noise, so they can come to their own conclusions and see evidence to support the reviewers' conclusions.

I’ve read plenty of articles and reviews where the conclusions reviews have are different from the data they present. One recent example is the way a review praised EVGA over its BIOS to raise fan speed and noise levels (almost double the noise according to his measurements). If he hadn’t shown what the data was I would have assumed that there wasn’t a significant issue. For some people a 9 decibel increase is significant.



			
				cadaveca said:
			
		

> I also had in my mind "regular" users, who for the most part don't care about system noise.


Another red herring.

Regular normal people don’t read tech sites’ hardware reviews. They play their consoles and beer pong.



			
				cadaveca said:
			
		

> I have talked to countless students at school and other "normal" people, and the things that they care about aren't the same as what "enthusiasts" care about.



And yet here you are writing for an enthusiast audience.

Are normal people are going to want to see your detailed audio performance chart? Stereo crosstalk? IMD at 10 kHz? I don’t even know what that means and I’m a super geek. It's not total harmonic distortion so it's something else even more arcane.



			
				cadaveca said:
			
		

> I'm not one to mince words too much, but it seems some people think otherwise often. I'm quite blunt, and that doesn't always go over well.


There is a difference between concision and brusqueness. If you're getting negative feedback concerning how you communicate it's likely the latter rather than the former.



			
				cadaveca said:
			
		

> Actually, I mentioned that the PSU fan in that case was a problem, both in the review and the conclusion, IIRC. I used a VGA with a blower fan myself, and that system still sits today as it did when I tested it, in use by my youngest daughter. Still kicking it pretty decently, too. Like, that's what's different about me and most other reviewers... I'm not selling the stuff I get ASAP to make money. I actually use it, and for extended periods


Having your daughter use a loud system proves that you're a better reviewer?



			
				cadaveca said:
			
		

> For noise, because I do not have a sound level meter handy, I can only report subjectively. A good sound meter costs thousands, and I have been formally trained to use one, but as a hobbyist, it isn't something I can afford.



A good enough sound meter is inexpensive. One is less than $20 and tells us more than a subjective impression. Techpowerup should be able to afford to loan a $20-50 sound meter to its reviewers.

https://www.amazon.com/Mini-Digital...rs-20&linkId=373e010257361ad14093d1c744b78efa

https://www.amazon.com/Extech-40773...rs-20&linkId=90a7cbdafbcd1d45fa9eb02033cce46a


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## RichF (Nov 12, 2016)

I forgot to mention that the reason I read your review was to find out what your noise measurements were since the first review I read complained about a constant high-pitched sound from the PSU.


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## thebluebumblebee (Nov 12, 2016)

RichF said:


> A good enough sound meter is inexpensive.


This is TPU.  A "good enough" meter is not good enough.  If a test is going to be done here, it's going to be done with a level a professionalism and with the right tools.  At least that's what I expect.  The fan noise tests for the GPU's use a ~$4,000 Bruel & Kjaer 2236 sound-level meter.  Check out the equipment that's used to test PSU's.


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## cadaveca (Nov 12, 2016)

RichF said:


> I forgot to mention that the reason I read your review was to find out what your noise measurements were since the first review I read complained about a constant high-pitched sound from the PSU.


I did not notice any PSU noise.

As to your other post, I think you mistake a system without XMP support nor voltage controls as being for an "enthusiast". As such, the criteria that enthusiasts use to determine system quality cannot be applied. No real enthusiast should consider a system that only runs stock. The Nightblade MI2 takes high-end hardware support, and stuffs it into a tiny package, and as such, at high loads, can generate a fair bit of fan noise, but given what seems to be the target audience, this is not an issue. My Playstation3 is louder.


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