If there’s ever a place to debut forward-thinking devices, it’s CES. Such qualities aren’t exclusive to literal innovations in computing and can also apply to the design language of components and cases too.
Case in point (pun intended), so many of the showpieces you’ll find in MSI’s booth. Strolling through the aisles, several oddities caught the eye of Club386 that wouldn’t look out of place at NASA HQ or on a spaceship straight out of a sci-fi series.
MEG Maestro 900L PZ
It’s hard to miss MEG Maestro 900L PZ. This is an enormous and eye-catching case, following in the footsteps of last year’s similarly impressive-looking MEG 700L PZ. This is a chassis for those that aim to make a statement with their systems, featuring a panoramic tempered glass that wraps around its front and sides allowing everyone to see your build in all its majesty.
After seeing MEG X870E Godlike at the literal heart of MEG Maestro 900L PZ, rocking two GeForce RTX 4080 Suprim X graphics cards, surrounded by a flurry of fans, is truly a sight to behold. The black-and-gold colour scheme futher adds to its lavish looks, portraying its undoubtedly premium price tag. MSI hasn’t announced how much this case will cost but expect to pay a pretty penny.
Diving beneath the surface of MEG Mastero 900L PZ, it can support a whopping 16 120mm fans or dual 420mm radiators. It’s also capable of running dual systems, one ATX and the other mini ITX, making it an ideal pick for creatives that prefer to house two PCs in a single case. Expect to see some truly extravagant configurations emerge from this case from builders far more talented than I.
As its ‘PZ’ moniker betrays, MEG Maestro 900L PZ is also compatible with MSI’s Project Zero motherboards. I’m keen to take the back panel off and see how easy it is to manage cables in the case, particularly given the lack of an apparent traditional rear I/O. While there’s no peek behind the curtain available just yet it’s only a matter of time before someone reveals its secrets (I call dibs).
Project Zero X
Perhaps in the far-flung future we’ll be free of the clutter inherent to cables, but glimpses of this promised land are already here with concepts like Project Zero X. While this motherboard shares many similarities with existing Project Zero boards such as B650M Project Zero, it’s a far more dramatic shift in design upon closer inspection.
This build banishes both cables and headers, with connectors for the likes of fans and even graphics cards placed on the rear of the board instead. MSI places two beautiful brushed metallic heatsinks in their place, featuring ridges for some added flair.
MSI adopts a different approach to its competitors, opting for a PCIe riser cable in place of a bespoke graphics card complete with unique connector. Power connectors are stealthily slink round the side too. While this does hamper the cable-free approach, I’d argue the end-result isn’t overly intrusive.
Most intriguingly, though, is Project Zero X’s rear I/O. Spinning the case around, we find the expected assortment of ports bottom-centre of the chassis surrounded by ventilation cut-outs. This approach feels console-like, and it’s a format that certainly piques my interest.
As a reminder, this is a concept piece. With any luck, though, MSI will craft a commercially available version of Project Zero X in the future.
MPG CoreLiquid P13 & MAG CoreLiquid A15
I spent many hours as a kid staring at pictures of astronauts, wondering what it’d be like to wear a spacesuit. My fascination with space remains and I think it’s partly the reason I’m so drawn to MPG CoreLiquid P13.
Looking at MPG CoreLiquid P13’s semi-spherical 2.1in LCD display cover, it’s difficult not to think about an astronaut’s visor. More specifically, seeing the white heatsink cover against the black backdrop brings Bruce McCandless’ now-iconic photograph to mind.
Coming back to Earth, let’s talk specs. MPG CoreLiquid P13 is 360mm in size, featuring three of MSI’s CycloBlade 9 ARGB fans pre-installed to the radiator. It also sports MSI’s EZ Conn design, allowing you to connect all three fans to your motherboard via a single cable.
Installing MPG CoreLiquid P13 should be easy as the cooler packs a single bracket that’s compatible with AMD (AM4/AM5) and Intel (LGA1700/LGA1851) motherboards. It’ll also come pre-packaged with an alternate offset bracket for Core Ultra 200S processors that will better cool their off-centre hotspot.
On the less-pricey side, MSI offers MAG CoreLiquid A15. It shares many similarities with its MPG sibling, sporting pre-installed fans and multi-platform bracket (complete with LGA1851 offset alternative).
Truly, the only major differences between the two appears to be their colour scheme and a lack of LCD on MAG CoreLiquid A15. While less-astronaut, the RGB cutouts on this heatsink are giving me Space Marine or XCOM 2 Muton vibes.
These aren’t the only goodies MSI had to show at CES 2025. The company has new QD-OLED and Mini LED monitors coming to market later this year, alongside some liquid-cooled GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics cards that will probably run as cool as they look.
