MSI PRO DP21 PRODP2114M897 2025, Core i7-14700, 32GB, 1TB SSD, Black

The MSI PRO DP21 crams a 20-core i7-14700 and 32GB DDR5 into a 2.3-liter chassis, landing in the 82nd and 83rd percentiles respectively. But the integrated UHD Graphics 770 sits at just the 37th percentile, and the gaming score of 14.3 out of 100 is rough. It's a compact business workhorse, not a gaming machine.

The Core i7-14700 is the star here. Twenty cores, 33MB of L3 cache, and a 2.1GHz base clock. That's an 82nd percentile CPU in our database, which puts it ahead of most desktops we've tested, not just mini PCs. Paired with 32GB of DDR5 at the 83rd percentile, this little box will chew through multitasking, virtual machines, and heavy productivity workloads without breaking a sweat. The 1TB NVMe SSD sits at the 73rd percentile, which is solid but not spectacular. Boot times will be snappy, and you'll have room for plenty of local files.

The weak link is graphics. The Intel UHD Graphics 770 is integrated, meaning it shares system memory and has no dedicated VRAM. At the 37th percentile, it's fine for driving a 4K display at 60Hz over HDMI 2.1, running office apps, and handling light photo editing. But anything 3D is off the table. The 120W PSU tells you everything about the thermal and power envelope here. This is an efficiency-first design, not a performance monster.

Against the HP OMEN GT22-3080 and Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 10, the PRO DP21 gets absolutely destroyed in graphics performance. Those machines have dedicated GPUs that would run circles around the UHD Graphics 770. But they're also massive towers that weigh three to four times as much. The Apple Mac Studio M5 Max is the more interesting comparison. It's also compact and powerful, but it costs significantly more and locks you into macOS. The Dell Aurora Gaming and Horizon Pcs Autherium Dragon are gaming-focused machines that trade blows on CPU but leave the DP21 in the dust on GPU. For pure CPU performance per liter of chassis volume, the DP21 holds its own. For anything else, the competitors win.

Pricing is all over the map depending on where you shop. US listings run $1,364 to $1,369, while Canadian buyers face CAD 2,138 and UK shoppers see GBP 1,848. Those international prices feel steep for what you're getting, especially when the GPU is integrated and reliability sits at the 36th percentile. The US price is more defensible given the 20-core CPU and 32GB of DDR5, but you're paying a premium for the small form factor. If you don't need the tiny chassis, you can get similar specs in a traditional tower for less.

The MSI PRO DP21 packs a 20-core Intel Core i7-14700 and 32GB of DDR5 into a 2.3-liter chassis that weighs just 1.52kg. That CPU sits in the 82nd percentile of our database, which is genuinely impressive for a box this small. You're getting serious processing muscle in something you can mount behind a monitor and forget about. The 1TB NVMe SSD and Windows 11 Pro round out a package clearly aimed at business users who need compact power without a dedicated GPU.

But the integrated Intel UHD Graphics 770 is the elephant in the room. It lands in the 37th percentile, which means this machine is built for spreadsheets, not frame rates. The gaming score of 14.3 out of 100 tells you everything. If you need a tiny workhorse for office tasks, kiosk duty, or digital signage, this thing delivers. If you want to game, keep walking.

Gamers and anyone doing 3D work should look elsewhere. The integrated UHD Graphics 770 sits at the 37th percentile, and the gaming score of 14.3 out of 100 is one of the weakest we've seen for any desktop. The 120W PSU also means you can't add a dedicated GPU later. If you need any kind of graphical horsepower, the HP OMEN GT22-3080 or Lenovo Legion Tower 7i Gen 10 are far better choices, even if they take up more desk space. And with reliability at the 36th percentile, businesses that can't tolerate downtime might want to consider options with a stronger track record.

The MSI PRO DP21 is a niche product that nails its niche. If you need a compact, VESA-mountable Windows 11 Pro machine with a genuinely strong CPU and plenty of RAM for business workloads, this is a solid choice. The 82nd percentile CPU and 83rd percentile RAM make it a multitasking champ in a tiny package. But the 37th percentile GPU and 14.3 gaming score mean it's useless for anything graphically demanding. At $1,364 to $1,369 in the US, it's a reasonable deal for the right buyer. Just know exactly what you're getting into.