There’s one thing particular about constructing a pc by hand. I nonetheless have good reminiscences my first tower. However let’s face it: some individuals haven’t got the time or endurance to establish all of the components they want, after which haven’t got the information to place all of them collectively. Customized PC maker Maingear has been concerned in gaming for a few years, and judging from the MG-1, the corporate is aware of what the PC gamer neighborhood desires: customizability, high-quality components, and plenty of RGB.
Maingear handed me their MG-1 Legendary desktop pc, and there was a particular shock within the field. The corporate offered our evaluation unit with a pill with a military-style inexperienced and black sample and Gizmodo’s brand emblazoned on the entrance. A customized entrance panel normally prices an extra $100.
Sure, it is a method of currying favor with us earlier than we spend time with their product, however not less than it additionally provides us an concept of what Maingear’s MG-1 philosophy is. In most respects, it is a typical midsize desktop case. As soon as operating, these items emit all of the opalescent RGB lighting you would need, however it may simply be mounted on or beneath a desk. The customizable, detachable entrance panel is just like the cherry on prime of a thick vanilla ice cream cone. It is a benefit of Maingear that vanilla is my favourite taste.
Maingear MG-1 Legend
The Maingear MG-1 is a stable product constructed by an organization that clearly is aware of what it is doing. Legendary can deal with nearly any recreation.
benefit
- Wonderful construct high quality and cable administration
- Stunning, customizable entrance panel
- Stay quiet even beneath stress
shortcoming
- LED strips are too DIY for skilled building
The good thing about a pre-built system is that Maingear is aware of the person components will work collectively, and they are often housed in a stunning case with a customized CPU cooler. Appears to be like nice, particularly the liquid cooling setup and edgeless mirrors. Once you open it up, you will discover two RGB LED strips operating alongside the underside compartment and one facet close to the entrance fan. You will not discover it except you peer into the glass facet panels from above. If the pc is in your desk, you needn’t care. If it had been at your toes, these LED strips would look too DIY for the additional value of a pre-built PC.
My model of the MG-1 comes with 2 TB of SSD storage, Intel Core i9-14900K, 32 GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Tremendous. If you choose all of the components from the Maingear web site, the value can be lower than $3,400. That is a steep value, however contemplating the RTX 4080 Tremendous prices round $1,000, it is not outrageous. The Intel Core i9 is more likely to price just below $500. This comes at the price of comfort, however there are extra advantages to purchasing a pc with customized components. The professionals at Maingear have such dependable cable administration that it places something I’ve tried previously to disgrace.
The fashionable model of the MG-1 Legendary with none customization begins at $2,700, which is lower than the value of the MG-1 Legendary. Alien Aurora R16 With comparable specs and efficiency. It is a extra upgradeable PC, with two spare RAM slots and a few spare PCI-e slots.
The corporate additionally Providing a brand new model of the product line together with AMD’s newest Ryzen 7 and 9 CPUs. Once you purchase, you are solidifying your allegiance to the AMD or Intel ecosystems, however contemplating programs with a ostensibly stable chip just like the MG-1 Legendary begin at $2,800, It deserves severe consideration in comparison with the Intel selection.
Maingear MG-1 evaluation: Construct high quality
Maingear particularly informed me that they need to present probably the most standardized Home windows 11 expertise attainable on their PCs. It incorporates fairly just a few elements from MSI, and for those who’re not cautious, you may by accident reinstall all of the outdated software program that you just did not need to lose in your pc. Should you’re like me, you take a look at a number of merchandise on the identical time, like Razer’s Dafa easy mouse pad, black widow keyboardWait, it received’t be lengthy earlier than your pc is crammed with functions that need to launch at startup.
As I discussed earlier than, I like all of the RGB lights within the MG-1 cavity aside from the only LED strip on the backside. Utilizing a bit of opaque plastic to diffuse the sunshine will look a lot cleaner. Past that, my favourite extra trick is the CPU liquid cooler unit with a glossy infinity mirror impact. It matches MSI’s motherboard, presents a clear inner look, and does not attempt to fake it is not a PC.
The facet panels are held collectively by 4 thumbscrews, which took somewhat longer to take away than I am used to with most customized circumstances. The facet panel then slides again out, revealing these annoying LED gentle bars and customized mounting brackets for the GPU. The stand is made from 3D-printed plastic, however the 4080 Tremendous mounts so securely that it does not even wobble when pulled. The draw back is that it is advisable utterly take away the entrance panel to entry the screws that maintain the graphics card in place.
Nonetheless, the PC is effectively put collectively. I eliminated the again panel and located glorious cable administration that retains each wire protected whereas defining the place every wire goes. And it’s important to give props to Maingear’s customizable entrance panel. It locks with a number of magnets to remain safe even within the occasion of an unintended bump or jolt.
This beast is quiet for probably the most half. Even beneath stress, the fan system does not buzz with the depth of the helicopter. At most it was a low growl, inflicting the colleagues on the desks round me to look up in curiosity moderately than annoyance.
Maingear MG-1 evaluation: Efficiency
Legendary is a system designed for high-performance gaming. I did not should let you know, did I? Trying on the specs; you possibly can already inform the system manages effectively, going as much as 4K natively in a number of demanding video games utilizing the very best attainable settings with out upgrading. No, it will not provide the benefits which can be attainable on a PC with out an RTX 4090, but it surely needs to be greater than sufficient.
I performed and benchmarked a number of video games at 4K decision. The Intel Core i9-1400K is a robust CPU, though it nonetheless may not be as top-notch as the newest AMD Ryzen 7 7800x3D you get within the newest model of the MG-1 Legendary. The 4080 Tremendous and CPU collectively are sufficient that will help you attain 60 FPS or extra at 4K or ultrawide (3440 x 1400) resolutions.
That does not imply there will not be compromises. With ray tracing set to extremely, I can obtain 50 FPS Cyberpunk 2077 Sub-4K benchmark with none upscaling or body technology, however after I add the DLSS high quality setting to Auto, My body price is over 100 FPS. At 4K decision, you want an additional increase of DLSS to hit 60, and all ray tracing trim and settings are on Excessive or Extremely.
One thing comparable occurred in different video games I examined. Horizon: Forbidden West Easy as butter and black delusion wukong Even when I flip off upgrades, there isn’t a match. video games like this Warhammer 40,000: House Marine 2 Slightly additional assist with upscaling was wanted at 4K, with all settings set to max, however even after I relied on the unit, it by no means dropped beneath 49 FPS even when Tyranid swarms had been swarming it.
The CPU in my evaluation unit is now not the CPU of the MG-1 Legendary except you construct your personal. Nonetheless, the Intel Core i9-14900K is a stable processor for this sort of machine. It nonetheless beat the Intel Core i9-14900KF in each single-core and multi-core CPU benchmarks at Geekbench and Cinebench. 14th Era Intel CPU Sure Coming beneath intense scrutiny because of latest instability points, so Truthful sufficient to need to steer clear of Intel till ultimately Affirm Every part is within the form of a ship.
Maingear MG-1 Assessment: Conclusion
Once you look straight at it, the MG-1 is a classy, environment friendly PC that leaves loads of room for future customization. You may need to seize some translucent quarter pipes to make the LED strips extra harmonious with the general design, however that is a difficult proposition with such a stable construct.
There is not a number of free house, and the dimensions might restrict you if you wish to match greater than two SSDs on the motherboard. I may even keep vigilant concerning the future Nvidia RTX 50 sequence launchedas a result of we nonetheless don’t know the way massive they are going to get. On the very least, this motherboard helps Gen 5 PCI-e slots for doubtlessly big GPUs sooner or later.
However presently, there is not a recreation that you may’t play on the MG-1 Legendary’s specs. It is a stable machine that hasn’t wanted many upgrades over time, aside from the usual TLC a PC deserves. Customizable entrance panel offers simply the correct model. The MG-1 might look unassuming, however that is solely as a result of it is aware of it does not must compete.
