Maingear MG-1 (i5-14600K / RTX 4070 Ti / 32GB RAM / 2TB SSD) vs MSI MEG Trident X2 13th (i9-13900K / RTX 4090 / 64GB RAM / 2TB 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.

MSI has unveiled the Meg Trident X2 system at CES, available for pre-order. It features a cooling-focused design with mesh intakes and exhausts, a 280mm AIO, and an inverted GPU mounting. The specs include an Intel i9-13900KF, RTX 4090, 64GB DDR5-4800 RAM, 2TB PCIE 4.0 NVME SSD, and a front LCD display. Expansion options are available. The pre-order price is $4,699 US. The reviewer appreciates the features but has concerns about the 750W PSU and the high price compared to past high-end PCs.