Let me walk you through some of its strengths that stand out most after a month of testing.

Most notably, the Codex’s SSD is pretty slow, even for a budget gaming PC.

That’s fine for day-to-day use, but way slower than most gaming PCs we test.

MSI Codex R2 Gaming Desktop:…

This black carrying bag the PC arrives in may seem like no big deal, but once you unbox a PC with one you’ll never want to go back.

For under $1,500 you get a good gaming PC that can handle most games well at 1080p.

But at this price, that’s not really what matters.

Prime

Msi Computers Codex R2 Gaming…

Macy’s

MSI Gaming Desktop PC Codex…

MSI Codex R2 gaming PC review unit on a desk

MSI Codex R2 gaming PC review unit on a desk

MSI Codex R2 gaming PC review unit on a desk

MSI Codex gaming PC bag and box

This black carrying bag the PC arrives in may seem like no big deal, but once you unbox a PC with one you’ll never want to go back.

MSI Codex R2 gaming PC review unit on a desk

MSI Codex R2 gaming PC review unit on a desk

Acer Predator Orion (2024) review unit on desk

HP Omen 35L

MSI Prestige 16 AI EVO (2025) review unit on desk

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Ti

MSI Claw 8 AI+ - Hero

Game running on Nvidia GeForce RTX 50-series cards.

Nvidia RTX 5090

Acer Nitro 50

How to build a PC

RTX 5090 shown at CES 2025

RTX 50 series GPUs

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves

Alienware AW2725Q

The Ordo Sonic+ toothbrush photographed in front of a blue background.

Saucony Endorphin Elite 2

the 1ZPresso J-Ultra coffee grinder with foldable handle and external adjustment dial for easy grind adjustment

Five Copilot+ PCs shown side by side