A new MSI gaming PC featuring an NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti graphics card is currently available for $1,699 at Walmart, a price point noted as the lowest observed for such a configuration this year. This price point matches the sale prices seen during last year's Black Friday and Cyber Monday events, before significant component price increases, particularly for RAM. The same PC was previously highlighted in June for $50 more.
While the overall price is attractive for a system with an RTX 4070 Ti, there are notable compromises in its build. The system is equipped with 16GB of DDR5 RAM, though its speed is not specified by MSI and could potentially be slow. The storage is limited to 1TB, which is common for PCs under $2,000, but may require expansion for many users. The CPU is a repurposed mobile chip that features only 16MB of L3 cache, half that of standard AMD desktop processors, which can impact performance in cache-sensitive games.
Despite these limitations, the RTX 4070 Ti is still capable of delivering strong gaming performance at 1440p. Benchmarks show the GPU achieving 84 average FPS in Black Myth Wukong at 1440p High settings, 61 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p RT Ultra, and 108 FPS in F1 24 at 1440p Ultra High. In Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition at 1440p Ultra, it reaches 129 average FPS, and in The Talos Principle 2 at 1440p Ultra, it achieves 81 average FPS. These figures demonstrate the GPU's ability to handle demanding titles, especially in scenarios where the CPU is not the primary bottleneck.
For users primarily focused on gaming, this MSI rig presents a significant value proposition due to the RTX 4070 Ti. The PC utilizes the AM5 socket, offering an upgrade path to current or next-generation CPUs without requiring a motherboard replacement, which adds to the system's longevity. However, for those seeking a balanced, high-end machine that excels across all applications, alternative builds may be more suitable. The primary appeal of this MSI configuration remains its GPU at a competitive price point.