After debuting the world’s first AI gaming monitor prototype at CES, MSI is now ready to lift the lid on the whole project at Computex. Dubbed MSI MEG 321URX, the display will enhance your gaming experience as much as possible using artificial intelligence and the brand’s RGB SpectrumBar.
If the name sounds a little familiar, it hails from the same series as MSI MPG 321URX. That’s currently the best gaming monitor money can buy, as far as I’m concerned, so it bodes well that the MEG version touts the same specs.
This includes 4K resolution with a 240Hz refresh rate and 0.03ms response time on top of a 32in QD-OLED panel. The brand’s popular OLED Care 2.0 suite protects Samsung’s third-gen tech, and you can also expect DisplayHDR True Black 400 and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro to stop screen tearing. It even keeps cool in the same way, using Graphene film and bespoke heatsinks in lieu of noisy fans, which helps keep things running silent.
Connectivity is largely identical, with a 98W PD KVM switch to hook up your peripherals and HDMI 2.1 with 120Hz VRR for consoles. The similarities end with DisplayPort 2.1, which is the first major change you can spot. The new standard can handle three times the bandwidth of 1.4. The best graphics cards for gamers don’t yet have the port but it’s backwards compatible and comfortable futureproofing. After all, the connection will likely arrive with RTX 5000 series, supporting future combinations like 4K/360Hz and high refresh rate 8K.
At CES, MSI showed off some of the things its SpectrumBar can do. In addition to putting on a glowy show that syncs with other Mystic Light-enabled products, it leveraged AI to transform into a health bar that reacts to your character’s vitality in real time. We didn’t see that this time around, so it’s unclear whether this is still a planned feature.
Stepping up from that, the current focus is AI Sky Sight, which can detect enemy positions and display them on screen. This treads a fine line between cheating and accessibility. The example given to us is that artificial intelligence can spot pixel changes on the screen and point you in the right direction. These are all things you could see without its help but might’ve missed.
Some will understandably argue that this presents an unfair advantage over your opponent in competitive games since the computer is far faster than the reflexes of any human. Others could take the stance that it’s accessibility for disabled people, but more so in single-player or co-op games like Monster Hunter. All I know is that support will be on a game-by-game basis, and developers can block it if they disagree with it.
Currently, MSI is aiming to get MEG 321URX on store shelves by 2025, but you better start saving. It’ll likely cost you roughly $1,800. If MSI can get the thumbs up to pop AI features in popular games, then it goes some way to justify the lofty price, but this otherwise has me on the fence. You could pay into a closed ecosystem with no signs of growing. A year’s a long time, though, so we’ll see.