MSI introduces powerful but compact desktop computers featuring processors from AMD’s unique Max+ 300 series. The PC family is named ‘AI Edge’.
MSI introduces a family of professional compact white desktops featuring processors from the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ family. Anyone who thinks these devices have something to do with the equally new and compact white desktops called MSI Pro Max AI+ is completely wrong for reasons that are also incomprehensible to us. This family of PCs stands on its own and is called ‘MSI AI Edge’.
Real AI PC
Fortunately, the chaos in the marketing department does not affect the relevance of the exciting new systems. The desktops truly deserve the name ‘AI PC’, thanks to the Strix Halo chips from AMD inside.
You can configure the desktops with up to an AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395. That is a Zen 5 processor that is assisted by an RDNA 3.5 GPU chiplet with 40 compute units and an XDNA 2-NPU. However, the CPU-GPU tandem gives this processor its power, because AMD provides it with 128 GB of LPDDR5X memory on the chip itself, of which 96 GB can be allocated for the GPU. This makes this chip capable of loading even large LLMs and performing local inference at a level that is gradually reminiscent of cloud-based AI.
No empty promises
We already tested the Strix Halo chip extensively in the HB ZBook Ultra G1a 14 workstation, and found that the CPU delivers on its promises. With these processors, AMD offers capabilities on a single chip for which there is currently no alternative in the x86 ecosystem. MSI capitalizes on this by bringing the performance to the general public in its MSI AI Edge PCs.
Productivity and business use of AI are the main goals of these AMD computers, but they have more to offer. For example, you can also play games on them, although there is no discrete GPU on board. The performance is then at the level of a desktop with Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060. It goes without saying that other workloads such as video editing also benefit from the CPU-GPU-RAM triangle.
MSI announces the AI Edge desktops without reference to a specific timing for availability. However, AMD Strix Halo has been on the market for some time, although AMD did expand the portfolio at CES. We also do not yet know the price.