Maingear MG-1 (i5-14600K / RTX 4070 Ti / 32GB RAM / 2TB SSD) vs Maingear MG-1 (i9-14900KS / RTX 4090 / 32GB RAM / 4TB SSD)

Maingear MG-1 Silver (Shroud Edition) Review

Price & Build

• Starts at $1,149 ($1,249 as tested).
• Premium feel, despite being entry-level.
• Excellent cable management.
• Non-proprietary parts, easy upgrades.

Design

• Compact mid-tower: 19 x 16.88 x 8.13 inches.
• Black aluminum chassis, windowed side panel, RGB lighting.
• Shroud Edition: special faceplates, customizable.

Performance

• Intel Core i5-13400F, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060.
• Decent gaming performance, adjustable settings needed.
• Subpar SSD: 512GB Solidigm P41 Plus.
• 16GB RAM, upgradeable components.

Cooling & Ports

• 4x 120mm fans, Cooler Master Hyper 212 cooler.
• Front: 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, 3.5mm jack.
• Rear: Multiple USB ports, Ethernet, HDMI, audio connectors.

Gaming Benchmarks

• 1080p: Strong performance, 4K: Modest performance.
• Examples: Shadow of the Tomb Raider (104 fps at 1080p), Far Cry 6 (91 fps at 1080p).

Productivity

• Geekbench 6: Single-core 2,330, Multi-core 9,743.
• File transfer: Slow, 489.65 MBps.
• Handbrake: 5:24 for 4K to 1080p transcode.

Software & Warranty

• Minimal pre-installed software.
• Windows 11 bloatware present.
• 1-year warranty, upgradeable to 2 or 3 years.

Bottom Line

• Good starter gaming PC, excellent upgradability.
• Avoid Shroud Edition unless a superfan.

Comparison: Corsair Vengeance i7500 vs MSI MAG Codex 5 13th

Storage:

• SSD: Both have 1TB NVMe SSD (flash storage, faster read/write).
• HDD: Unknown capacity for both.

Components:

• Corsair Vengeance i7500:

  • CPU: i5-14600K
  • GPU: RTX 4070
  • RAM: 32GB

• MSI MAG Codex 5 13th:

  • CPU: i7-13700
  • GPU: RTX 3070
  • RAM: 64GB

Form Factor:

• Volume and Dimensions: Unknown for both.

Performance and Features:

• Corsair Vengeance i7500:
  • Better GPU (RTX 4070).
• MSI MAG Codex 5 13th:
  • More RAM (64GB).

Both use NVMe SSDs and flash storage, ensuring high performance and reliability.

Maingear North Series Gaming PCs Refresh

New Features:

• North XL chassis: Bigger, chic design with wooden slats, tempered glass, brass accents.
• Enhanced cooling: Supports 280mm/360mm liquid cooling top; future 420mm front.

Configurations:

• Silver ($1,399): Intel i5-14400F, RTX 4060, 16GB DDR4-3600 RAM, 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, 650W PSU.
• Ultimate ($4,199): Intel i9-14900K, RTX 4090, 32GB DDR5-6000 RAM, 2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, 1200W PSU.

Boost Option: +$350 for double RAM and storage.

GPU Upgrades:

• Ruby: RTX 4070 Super
• Diamond: RTX 4070 Ti Super
• Legendary: RTX 4080 Super

Cooling System:

• Ultimate: Maingear Epic 360mm AIO cooler.

Maingear MG-1 Review

• Processor: i9-14900KS
• Graphics: RTX 4090
• Memory: 32GB RAM
• Storage: 4TB NVMe SSD
  • NVMe SSD: PCIe interface, faster read/write speeds, no mechanical components, silent operation, shock resistance
• Form Factor: Motherboard form factor not specified
• Chassis Dimensions: Volume, thickness, height, and width not specified