Theres something special about building a PC by hand.
I still have fond memories ofmy first tower.
Maingear handed me their MG-1 Legendary desktop with a special surprise in the box.
The Maingear MG-1is exactly what I would want from a custom PC.© Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
A custom front panel normally costs $100 extra.
Its a typical mid-size desktop case in most ways that matter.
That customizable, removable front plate is like the cherry on top of a thick vanilla ice cream cone.
© Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
Its a good thing for Maingear that vanilla is my favorite flavor.
The Legendary can handle pretty much any game you throw at it.
It looks good, especially the liquid cooling apparatus and infinity mirror.
© Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
You dont notice it unless youre staring down at the glass side panel from above.
If the PC sits on your desk, you dont have to care.
It will cost under $3,400 if you select all the parts from Maingears website.
© Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
The Intel Core i9 might come in a little less than $500.
Its the cost of convenience, but there are extra benefits to buying a PC with custom parts.
The pros at Maingear have such solid cable management it puts any of my past attempts to shame.
Its a more upgradable PC with two spare RAM slots and some spare PCI-e slots.
The company alsooffers new versions of its lineup containing AMDs latest Ryzen 7 and 9 CPUs.
It would look much cleaner to diffuse the light with a single piece of opaque plastic.
Otherwise, my favorite added doohickey is the CPU liquid cooler unit with the slick infinity mirror effect.
It clicks with MSIs motherboard to offer a clean-looking interior that doesnt attempt to pretend its not a PC.
Despite that, the PC is well put together.
I removed the backplate and found superb cable management that kept every wire secure while delineating where each goes.
And you have to give Maingear props for its customizable front plate.
It locks in with several magnets and stays secure despite accidental knocks or shudders.
This beast is quiet, for the most part.
The fan systems dont tend to buzz with helicopter strength, even when under stress.
Maingear MG-1 Review: Performance
The Legendary is a system made for high-performance gaming.
I didnt have to tell you that, did I?
I played and benchmarked multiple games at 4K resolution.
Still, the Intel Core i9-14900K is a solid processor for a machine of this punch in.
It still beats the Intel Core i9-14900KF in single-core and multi-core CPU benchmarks with Geekbench and Cinebench.
At the very least, the motherboard supports gen-5 PCI-e slots for future, potentially monstrous GPUs.
But at this point, theres not a single game you cant play on the MG-1 Legendarys specs.
The customizable front panel offers just the right amount of flair.
The MG-1 may seem humble, but thats only because it knows it doesnt need to compete.
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