Tearing it open
Even though user access to the MSI AG270 isn't something that the company really discusses or advertises, of course we had to do it. Keep in mind that opening up the machine voids the warranty in this case, so even changing out the system memory or SSDs on this all-in-one is more or less at your own risk.
Removing the back panel was a pretty simple task; just a handful of screws hold it all in place. Upon taking the back panel off, you'll see all the hardware goodness that keeps the AG270 moving along, including the CPU, GPU, storage, etc. Clearly the motherboard is a small portion of the overall design, but the larger form factor allows MSI to do some interesting things will the cooler and storage that aren't possible with gaming notebooks.
In the upper right hand corner of the photo you'll see the 7200 RPM traditional desktop style hard drive that MSI is using. This gives you better performance than the 2.5-in hard drives and helps MSI save some money. Below that is the slot loading Blu-ray drive.
Speaking of cooling, both the Core i7-4870HQ and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M GPU are being run through the same, heatpipe-based cooling system. The small heatsink on the left side of this photo is for the Haswell processor while the larger unit up top with the set of three pipes coming off of it cools the discrete GPU on an MXM module.
The heatsink cooling the configuration here is pretty large and the fan running air over it is larger than you'd see on nearly any gaming laptop as well. Because the MSI AG270 is larger than a laptop, even one of those 17-in behemoths, the engineers have more headroom for cooling. I'm actually a bit disappointed that MSI didn't got another step and make the heatsink much larger inside the chassis to allow for a slower, quieter fan or even higher clock rates. Just a bit too much empty space for my liking.
The GTX 980M, even though it is a mobility part, will generate some significant heat. By using a larger heatsink and dissipating the heat off the die quickly, MSI can allow the GPU to stay at higher clock speeds (thanks to GPU Boost) for longer periods of time. This results in better frame rates during extended gaming periods.
You can see the back panel connections on the motherboard here in what is actually the bottom portion of the system.
The HM87 chipset (under the small heatsink), the memory, and the M.2 SSDs are visible here. Both SODIMM slots are filled so if you ever desire a higher capacity or higher speed of system memory, you're going to replace them both. The M.2 ports are easily accessible here as well should you wish to replace them with higher capacity SSDs in the future, just keep in mind you are going to be on your own in terms of support after you open the AG270 up.
No comments section would be
No comments section would be complete without a complaint, so here goes: no G-Sync panel?
That would add quite a bit
That would add quite a bit more in terms of cost to an already costly system.
Which is what I thought when
Which is what I thought when I read this review and saw the price tag. At the same time though, would it be such a bad thing to add a SKU with this option? This is clearly being marketed as a premium all in one.
On the other hand you are attaching gsync to a monitor that can’t be reused in the event the person upgrades to another all in one or a desktop system. In that respect I can see it as costly in respect to the consumer.
-R
Didn’t you read the PR
Didn’t you read the PR material? You’ll never need to upgrade it! May as well get G-Sync out of the high price.
well…this is kinda like a
well…this is kinda like a gaming laptop, when the time comes…its not like you get to keep the screen an upgrade your system.
Don’t really know what kinda void MSI was trying to fill with this.
These AOI’s would really have
These AOI’s would really have value added to them if you could use them only as a monitor if the rest of the system didn’t work or wasn’t needed. Or did I miss where it says you can use it as a monitor for a different pc?
You can.. the unit has a
You can.. the unit has a video in and can act like a monitor for your PS4 or whatever..
is the vga port in or out?
is the vga port in or out?
Does it have a some form of
Does it have a some form of video input so you can use it as a display? Also really msi, can’t even upgrade the storage or ram without voiding the warranty? Fucking ridiculous.
:EDIT: watched the video and saw that it has hdmi in
this doesn’t really look like
this doesn’t really look like a good buy at all.
this doesn’t really look like
this doesn’t really look like a good buy at all.
I can built a better desktop
I can built a better desktop with that money.
I glazed over this and didn’t
I glazed over this and didn’t notice much thermal information. Thermal always seems to be an issue with gaming laptops. How does this thing behave after an 8-10 hour gaming session?