I used the Maingear MG-1 to play loads of Bethesda’s Starfield–which, regardless of being an influence hog, does not assist ray-tracing–in addition to the most recent replace to Cyberpunk 2077, which does. Each held up surprisingly effectively. After taking part in on the 3090 Ti in my foremost desktop, and even the 4070 laptop computer GPU within the Razer Blade 14, I anticipated the 4060 to be a gentle step down, however I performed each video games with minimal points.
Starfield struggled probably the most, although. With settings cranked to Extremely, at 1080p, I used to be in a position to constantly hit 30 frames per second, although the sport began to slog a bit in crowded areas, like cities. Updates because the sport’s launch have improved efficiency a bit, however if you happen to’re hoping to make use of brute power to beat some less-than-optimized video games, you may not less than wish to step as much as the MG-1 Platinum, which comes with an Nvidia RTX 4070.
Whereas taking part in Cyberpunk 2077, I used to be in a position to crank the graphics settings as excessive as they’d go—together with utilizing the ray-tracing options, which look unimaginable—at 1440p (whereas testing a distinct show), however the system nonetheless usually struggled to interrupt 50 fps. After I went again to my 1080p monitor, I used to be in a position to flip the ray-tracing options again on and constantly hit 60 fps.
Past that, although, the MG-1 is mercifully effectively tuned. There’s nearly no bloatware put in. It is principally Microsoft’s personal apps that each one Home windows PCs include, like Workplace apps.
Customization and Repairability
The comfort of prebuilt PCs can generally come on the expense of upgradeability, however Maingear has fortunately made it fairly simple to swap out components and improve elements. The glass panel on the facet is secured by two thumb screws that simply come off. A second panel on the alternative facet will be eliminated to deal with cable administration beneath the motherboard.
Almost all the pieces within the PC is accessible from the principle compartment, except for the facility provide. That’s siloed in a smaller compartment on the base of the tower, with energy cables extending from a number of holes to run to the motherboard the place wanted. That is additionally the area the place HDDs will probably be mounted if you happen to add them throughout customization. Nonetheless, if you wish to add drives later, you’ll must get the brackets they mount to, as they don’t include the PC and not using a drive.
After all, it’s value noting how a lot you’ll be able to customise the PC earlier than you even get it. Maingear’s Reside 3D Configurator enables you to swap out components, add upgrades, and alter the RGB shade to see what it would seem like with totally different aesthetics. You’ll be able to even add your customized artwork for the entrance panel to preview what it would seem like when printed.
The configurator shows your preferences in a 3D viewport you can orbit and zoom in on, and it’s surprisingly detailed. When including an HDD, for instance, it not solely provides the drive and the brackets, however even provides the cable working to the SATA port precisely the place it is going to be when it arrives. You will get extra info right here about your construct than I’ve ever seen in every other PC builder.
The 3D configurator additionally checks compatibility for all of the components you have chosen, so you’ll be able to’t by chance find yourself constructing a customized rig that does not work. For instance, once I chosen the RTX 4090 graphics card, which might require rather more energy to run, the configurator lit up with vivid yellow warnings telling me to decide on a stronger energy provide earlier than I might add the PC to my cart.
I used to be shocked at how a lot I loved utilizing the Maingear MG-1 Silver. It is value noting right here that you could possibly in all probability get an identical, extra highly effective rig for cheaper if you happen to constructed it your self, as I did, however it’s nonetheless beefy sufficient to deal with a number of the most demanding video games. Higher nonetheless, it is one of many best methods to get a customized gaming rig with out having to learn to construct one from scratch. You’ll be able to decide from a number of preset choices, or select which components to improve in an easy-to-use interface, and it arrives absolutely assembled. All it’s a must to do is plug it in and begin gaming.
