What you need to know
- MSI's Aegis ZS line of desktops is now available with the latest AMD Ryzen CPUs and Radeon RX graphics cards.
- Aegis ZS desktops with AMD Ryzen 5000 series CPUs and Radeon RX 6700 XT graphics can utilize AMD Smart Access Memory, which increases gaming performance.
- MSI emphasizes that since the Aegis ZS desktop is made with non-propriety components, PC gamers can easily upgrade its parts.
MSI's Aegis ZS desktops are now available with the latest CPUs and graphics from AMD. The lineup now has options with 7nm AMD Ryzen processors and AMD Radeon RX 6000 series graphics. The combination of those CPUs and GPUs should deliver solid performance for the best PC games. They also meet the requirements for AMD Smart Access Memory (SAM). The AMD-powered Aegis ZS starts at $2,000.
Smart Access Memory allows systems to fully utilize VRAM. Our Cale Hunt ran AMD Smart Access Memory through its paces last year, including testing it with a variety of popular games. He concluded that the feature does help with gaming performance but that the benefits vary per system.
"There are no doubt games available that will greatly benefit from having SAM enabled, but it's certainly not a selling point on its own," said Hunt. "It's a nice addition to a GPU that is lacking some of NVIDIA's main selling features, but it's probably not going to make as much of a difference as, say, an RTX 3070 GPU in a game that supports DLSS."
Of course, having some of the latest CPUs and GPUs from AMD provide benefits other than Smart Access Memory. The new AMD-powered MSI Aegis ZS should have more than enough power to deliver solid performance for AAA titles. The specs should handle 1080p and 1440p gaming well and be able to dabble in 4K, depending on the title.
Aegis ZS desktops are made with non-proprietary components, so PC owners can easily swap out or upgrade parts.
