MSI Vortex mini gaming PC has up to 64GB DDR4, Intel Core i7 Skylake, dual NVIDIA GPU

When it comes to gaming PCs, I prefer to build my own. Selecting the components, piece by piece, can be very rewarding. If you are on a budget, it is often more affordable than buying a pre-built machine too.

While many hardcore PC gamers would pooh-pooh buying an already-assembled computer, sometimes a tower comes along that is so special, that all rules go out the window. Today, such a special PC begins shipping to consumers. The MSI Vortex is a tiny gaming PC in a cylinder-shaped chassis. It is sort of like Apple's Mac Pro in outward appearance, but the comparisons stop there.

"The world smallest gaming cylinder, the Vortex measures only 10.5 inches tall but can blast away bigger systems with an unlocked Intel Core i7 6700K  processor, up to 64GB of DDR4 memory, SSDs in Super RAID 4, and dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 GPUs in SLI. MSI's newest tower is also engineered for superior upgradability, expandability, and compatibility with a variety of connectors, including Thunderbolt 3 that supports up to 40GBs of data transfer rate", says MSI.

The company further says, "minimal in footprint but maximum in performance, the Vortex features MSI's 360 degree Silent Storm Cooling technology to ensure extreme coolness under the most intense gaming sessions. MSI's cooling system creates a vortex-shaped wind path by capturing heat from the bottom of the unit and circulating it upwards, resulting in superior thermals and acoustics. The 450W 80 plus Gold power supply is also built into the Vortex to minimize space to completely power the system and any peripherals you want to connect".

The appearance can be customized as well, thanks to some Windows-based software. You see, it is possible to change the colors of the LED lighting using a program. You can even make the lighting pulse, such as using a "breathing" effect. Sure, this won't impact performance, but if you go to a LAN party, having a unique and flashy computer matters from a swagger perspective.

MSI shares the following specs.

Obviously, with specifications like this in such a svelte and well-engineered chassis, you can expect a big price tag. The $4,000 cost for the top model makes it too expensive for many -- including me -- but if you can afford it, hey, why not? With that said, you could definitely build a comparable PC at a much lower price -- it just won't be as tiny, nor cylindrical.

While MSI promises up to 64GB of RAM, it will only ship with a max of 32GB. You can double this yourself, but that would require buying four 16GB sticks and discarding -- or selling -- the 8GB ones that are included. This would be an expensive, and arguably pointless, upgrade for gaming purposes.

Will you buy this expensive and diminutive beast? Tell me in the comments.