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MSI Nightblade

MSI Nightblade
MSI NightbladeMSI NightbladeMSI NightbladeMSI NightbladeMSI NightbladeMSI NightbladeMSI NightbladeMSI NightbladeMSI NightbladeMSI Nightblade
alaScore 89

33 reviews

Jun, 2025

alaTest has collected and analyzed 33 reviews of MSI Nightblade. The average rating for this product is 4.3/5, compared to an average rating of 4.1/5 for other Desktops for all reviews. Reviewers really like the reliability. The price is also appreciated. There are some mixed reviews about the usability. Some have doubts about the design.

size, price, reliability

design

We analyzed user and expert ratings, product age and more factors. Compared to other Desktops the MSI Nightblade is awarded an overall alaScore™ of 89/100 = Very good quality.

Review analysis

(Based on 33 reviews)

Expert Reviews  

User Reviews  

Review Ratings

  (50% of reviews)
Show all 5 star reviews   (36% of reviews)
Show all 4 star reviews   (4% of reviews)
Show all 3 star reviews   (4% of reviews)
Show all 2 star reviews   (7% of reviews)
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Features

size
  Show positive (71%)Show negative (29%)(Show all)
price
  Show positive (83%)Show negative (17%)(Show all)
reliability
  Show positive (100%)None yet(Show all)
design
  Show positive (33%)Show negative (67%)(Show all)
usability
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Showing 9 review(s)

Expert Reviews User Reviews

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Showing 1 - 9 of 9 Show Reviews: in English | in other languages (24)

Expert review by : Zardon (kitguru.net)

MSI Nightblade Review (Dual SSD, i7 4770K, R9 290X)

 

In the last year we have seen a rising demand for smaller chassis such as the excellent Bitfenix Prodigy and Aerocool Dead Silence. With this in mind MSI are launching their MSI Nightblade - a barebon...

Officially supports very high end hardware configurations ; built to withstand abuse ; fantastic engineering quality

Can get incredibly loud under certain load conditions ; The boxy design of the case does look rather dated

Kitguru says: Its an incredible concept and well worth buying, but we would recommend some changes over the configuration we received.

Mar, 2014
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Expert review by : Wong Chung Wee (hardwarezone.com)

MSI Nightblade Compact Mini-ITX Gaming System Reviewed

 

The MSI Nightblade is a compact barebone mini-ITX system featuring the Z87I Gaming AC board, bundled with a 650W Gold Plus PSU and a slot-load ODD. Just choose your own CPU, memory, graphics card and storage options to complete this mini gaming system,...

Compact ; Good installation experience + routed cables ; Storage options and mSATA expansion board ; Instant OC via MSI OC Genie on chassis ; Takes in dual-slot graphics card + has a suitable PSU

Lacks a bundled CPU cooler and extra cooling fans ; Expensive

We find the MSI Nightblade suitable for a casual system builder who doesn't want to make the nitty-gritty decisions of choosing the mini-ITX chassis and the motherboard for a SFF gaming PC. In fact, one doesn't even need to pick the PSU and ODD too....

May, 2014
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Consumer review (newegg.com)

Not as good as it should be

 

The CPUs I tried are i3 4150 haswell dual core and i7 4770 haswell quad core. The memory were 2 8GB Team Dark Series 240-Pin ddr 3 and I used 2 different 128gb kingston SSD HDs. I tested everything on a ASUS Sabertooth X79. They all work fine on the...

looks great and awesome ventilation

i AM GOING ON MY 3RD BAREBONE ON WARRANTY. The first one wouldn't boot up. I tried different cpus, memorie, and hard drives but still wouldn't boot up. The second one booted up as soon as I installed all the hardware and Windows 8.1 pro. Once I started...

Jun, 2014
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Consumer review (newegg.com)

Not Compatible with Wii U Control Pad

 

The CPUs I tried are i3 4150 haswell dual core and i7 4770 haswell quad core. The memory were 2 8GB Team Dark Series 240-Pin ddr 3 and I used 2 different 128gb kingston SSD HDs. I tested everything on a ASUS Sabertooth X79. They all work fine on the...

looks great and awesome ventilation

i AM GOING ON MY 3RD BAREBONE ON WARRANTY. The first one wouldn't boot up. I tried different cpus, memorie, and hard drives but still wouldn't boot up. The second one booted up as soon as I installed all the hardware and Windows 8.1 pro. Once I started...

Jun, 2014
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Consumer review (newegg.com)

Great First Case

 

I will give this five eggs since my Nightblade came fine and everything works without any damage. I understand if others have issues with the case. Hopefully MSI has worked the issues out. I do not know if having a Granite surface has anything to do...

I had no trouble with quality control on this case. As this is my first computer I have built for myself personally I did not find it hard to install anything. The only thing I made sure to do was follow the order of installation in the manual. That...

I know some people have been getting cases with bent and flexed motherboards and faulty RAM slots. Hopefully you get lucky and get a non-faulty mobo with nothing missing ; This case is much heavier than it looks. Still not bad though

Jun, 2014
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Consumer review (newegg.com)

Working great

 

Overall I am very happy with my purchase. I bought 2 of these to sit side by side with our iMac 27's. I got sick of rebooting into windows to play games so I bought these. I used the following hardware: 1. Intel Core i5-4690 Haswell 3.5GHz (stock...

Easy to setup ; Great performance ; Full Size desktop card supported ; Low Noise ; Lots of ports available ; Built in wireless

Installing 3.5" drive is a pain because you need to remove the bay - Takes an extra 5 minutes ; Instructions are kinda skimpy

Jun, 2014
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Consumer review (newegg.com)

Not as Good as I thought...

 

Other than the pros and cons, I really like MSI and what they do for gamers. This was a good idea that just didn't work out as i hoped. I am currently shopping for another normal ATX larger case with better air flow and a bunch of quieter fans so i...

Pros are obvious ; 1. FASTEST BUILD EVER. within 30 minutes you have a computer up and running. every cable is already routed nicely, and all you need to do is install a CPU, CPU fan, memory, GPU card, and your HDD. ALSO comes with a handy 2x mSATA...

1. LOUD AS HELL! the fans that come with the case are 4Krpm and are loud as hair drier. and even though they are controlled with the "smart MSI controller" they pretty much need to run high all the time because of the heat of a ; 2. OVERHEATS WITH OC...

Jun, 2014
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Consumer review (newegg.com)

Incredible

 

This is the fourth Nightblade case I receive from newegg, the first one had a loose GPU slot, the second one had a bent motherboard pin, the third one had a busted power button (it stayed stuck in) and this fourth one finally seems to be ok. (side...

Looks good ; Good airflow for size

Pretty much everything else

May, 2014
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Consumer review (newegg.com)

It works. Well, even.

 

This feels like a solid base to build up from. Contrary to prior reviews, this worked well for me. It can utilize desktop-sized graphics cards, and handles the 8GB(whopping right? haha) of RAM I stuck in it, along with the Haswell i7 and the 480GB SSD....

I suppose its a bit heavy. Deceptively heavy, even, for its small frame... though it is supposed to be military grade. Honestly, it kinda feels like its made of really thin cast iron, but at least that means its durable

May, 2014
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Price comparison for MSI Nightblade