MSI today unveiled the final specs and availability for the Vortex, a mini-tower gaming PC the company is calling the "world's smallest gaming cylinder."

Small does not mean cheap, though. Available now, the Mac Pro ($2,999.99 at Apple.com) -like device, which we first saw at CES, will start at $2,199 for the base model, which runs a 4GHz Intel Core-i7 6700k processor, dual Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 SLI graphics, and 16GB of system memory.

Step up to the $3,999 model to double the graphics and system memory. Both versions include four hard drives in RAID configuration: a 256GB PCIe SSD, two 128GB SSDs, and a 1TB 7200 RPM conventional drive.

The Vortex is truly a mini-tower: it measures 7.61 by 7.01 by 10.55 inches and weighs just under nine pounds. Because of its small size, MSI envisions the Vortex as a versatile machine that can go in a living room as part of an entertainment setup or in a gaming den.

"The revolutionary Vortex gaming tower shatters the misconception that bigger systems deliver more power and performance," Andy Tung, president of MSI Pan America, said in a statement. "The groundbreaking system maximizes space and heat dissipation to unlock the power of its components for truly astronomical performance in a subwoofer size."

To cool the machine, air is circulated from the bottom to the top of the tower in a vortex-shaped wind path. Engineers also managed to squeeze in a 450W power supply, so no external brick is required.

As for display performance, the Vortex's dual GPUs can support up to six video outputs simultaneously. MSI's Dragon dashboard app controls let you set up customized lighting and monitor system performance.

Finally, connectivity options aren't in short supply, at least by mini-tower standards.There are four USB 3.0 ports and two Thunderbolt 3 connectors, which support up to 40GBs data transfer rates.

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