What MSI built
MSI puts the Ryzen AI Max 395 into a 4-liter chassis with 128GB of shared memory. It is designed for local AI and rendering, with large media projects also in scope. PCWorld lists the case at 9.78 × 7.41 × 3.83 inches. MSI states a weight of 6.76 pounds. PCWorld describes it as larger than a traditional mini PC and much smaller than a tower.
The unit can sit flat or stand upright on its narrow side. Upright, it is almost 10 inches tall and takes up little floor space. The dark gray aluminum shell has rounded edges, even panel gaps and a thin copper-colored accent, with no lighting. Three fans pull air through large perforated grilles. Most warm air leaves at the rear, so PCWorld advises against pushing the machine against a wall.
The integrated 300-watt Flex power supply means one power cable and no brick. The trade-off is a wider, deeper case than many mini PCs.
Specs that matter
PCWorld's configuration is:
- CPU: Ryzen AI Max+ 395, 16 Zen 5 cores, 32 threads, up to 5.1GHz.
- Graphics: Radeon 8060S, 40 RDNA 3.5 compute units.
- NPU: XDNA 2 at 50 TOPS. MSI quotes 126 TOPS combined across all compute units. PCWorld stresses that the combined figure should not be equated with NPU performance.
- Memory: 128GB of LPDDR5X-8000 shared by CPU and GPU, soldered to the board.
- Storage: a 2TB Kingston PCIe 4.0 x4 drive, with a second M.2 slot free. Both slots have heatsinks, and there is no 2.5-inch bay.
- Ports: the front has two 10Gbit/s USB-A ports, a 40Gbit/s USB-C port and an audio jack. It also has a UHS-II SD 4.0 card reader. The rear adds another 40Gbit/s USB-C port, a USB-A port, two USB 2.0 ports, HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4a. It drives up to four monitors.
- Networking: 2.5GbE, Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4.
PCWorld's test unit reserved 64GB as graphics memory. That can be raised to 96GB through the BIOS "Variable Graphics Memory" setting or AMD's Adrenalin software. The 96GB is a carve-out of the same 128GB pool, not extra memory. Whatever goes to the GPU is no longer available to Windows and CPU-side applications.
Local AI: what is proven
MSI says it directly supports models up to 120 billion parameters. PCWorld notes that OpenAI's gpt-oss-120b occupies around 65GB in MSI's own benchmark, so it fits in the GPU allocation. MSI's product page pitches the machine for fully offline 120B-model deployment.
Fitting a model in memory is not the same as running it quickly. PCWorld says plainly that it did not measure token rates with large language models, so speed is unverified in that review. It also notes that ROCm support under Windows is still limited. Applications that need CUDA cannot use the Radeon 8060S as a compute accelerator.
TechRadar's separate review covers the hands-on AI work. Its reviewer used Lemonade to manage local models:
- A vision model sorted more than 2,600 images. Some images went unrecognized, which the reviewer attributed to poor exposure or unclear subjects.
- A coding model connected to Visual Studio Code through the Continue extension and produced a roughly 10-page static website.
- That session recorded 152,937 input tokens and 24,639 output tokens over 51 requests, taking about an hour.
- The final response ran at 47.85 tokens per second.
The reviewer also says setup takes real time and the machine is not plug-and-play for AI. Online AI was used at points to choose models, so "offline" describes the inference, not the whole workflow.
Performance and thermals
In PCMark 10, PCWorld measured 9,622 points. That is just under 6 percent ahead of the GMKtec EVO-X3 at 9,104. The gap comes mostly from productivity (12,673 vs 10,373). The EVO-X3 was slightly ahead on basic functions, and the two were nearly tied on digital content creation.
Other PCWorld results:
- 3DMark Time Spy: 10,802.
- Cyberpunk 2077: 48.85 FPS at Full HD with Ultra ray tracing and FSR 2.1, falling to 28.8 FPS at 3,440 × 1,440.
- SSD: about 5,976MB/s sequential read and 5,842MB/s write.
- Power: 14.1–14.9W at idle, about 165W under heavy load, and a 179.5W peak.
On thermals, a roughly 40-second HWiNFO capture showed no throttling, with CPU cores peaking at 61.4°C. PCWorld itself says that is no substitute for a sustained-load test. Fans are clearly audible under load, and no dust filters are visible. PCWorld did not record a dB(A) figure.
The system shipped with Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (build 26200.9457), and Windows Update was already offering 26H2. After first boot, Windows Update pulled in many AMD, Intel and Realtek drivers and estimated about 25 minutes for the restart. MSI Center's extra modules, such as AI Engine and LAN Manager, are optional.
Price and the competition
This is where the recommendation weakens. PCWorld says the OS-free version sold for around $4,500. The GMKtec EVO-X3 with 128GB and a 2TB SSD is $3,799.99 with Windows 11 Pro, and PCWorld found similar CPU and graphics results. That puts the MSI premium at around $1,100 or more.
MSI's warranty is 36 months, against two years on the GMKtec. The GMKtec also has OCuLink, which the MSI lacks. On the MSI, an external GPU can only connect over USB4, which adds protocol overhead.
TechRadar lists $5,499 in the US, €5,299 and £5,999. Those figures are not directly comparable with PCWorld's OS-free street price. Check the exact SKU and whether Windows is included.
Who should buy it
- For: a large pool of shared memory in a compact case, two USB4 ports, a UHS-II card reader, and an internal power supply. TechRadar also found Office, Adobe apps and 4K Premiere Pro editing smooth.
- Against: soldered RAM, 2.5GbE with no 10GbE, no OCuLink, and a price that rivals can undercut. TechRadar's reviewer also wished for faster networking when editing video from a NAS.
PCWorld recommends it for professionals who need more than the usual graphics memory in a compact chassis. Buyers who mainly want raw compute and 128GB of shared memory can find cheaper systems.
If you do not need local AI, free tiers from the major cloud providers will serve most people better, as TechRadar notes.