HotHardware’s April 13, 2023 report followed a custom Maingear MG-1 build pairing AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X3D with an XFX Radeon RX 7900 XTX. The system used standard, off-the-shelf components, and HotHardware recorded strong results in its 2023 tests—including 143 frames per second in Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker at 4K UHD with maximum image quality. Those results describe that tested build and setup, not a current MG-1 configuration or a performance guarantee.
What went into the Maingear MG-1 build
The system centered on AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X3D processor and XFX’s Radeon RX 7900 XTX graphics card. HotHardware’s component list for the tested machine was:
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| Component | Model used in the 2023 build |
|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte AORUS X670E MASTER E-ATX |
| Graphics card | XFX Speedster MERC310 Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24GB |
| Memory | G.Skill Trident Z5 NEO Series (AMD EXPO), 64GB (2 x 32GB) DDR5-6000 |
| Storage | Solidigm P44 Pro 2TB PCIe SSD |
| Power supply | Thermaltake ToughPower GF3 1200W ATX 3.0 |
| CPU cooler | Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML280 Mirror closed-loop AIO |
| Case | Maingear MG-1 Shroud Edition mid-tower ATX |
This is a record of the parts in HotHardware’s particular system, not confirmation that the same parts, revisions, or configuration are available from Maingear today. The parts list is useful when researching that build or checking compatibility for a similar one; it is not a ready-made current shopping list.
How the build was put together and presented
HotHardware described the MG-1 as using standard, off-the-shelf parts and standard form factors rather than proprietary components. That matters to owners interested in future changes: standard components provide a path to upgrades, subject to ordinary compatibility checks such as motherboard support, case clearance, power requirements, and cooling.
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- AMD RYZEN 9 9950X3D2 DUAL EDITION 16-CORE PROCESSOR — Built on AMD Zen 5 architecture with dual AMD 3D V-Cache technology, 16 cores, 32 threads, boost speeds up to 5.6GHz, and 192MB of L3 cache. Enjoy exceptional high-FPS gaming performance and powerful multitasking for streaming, content creation, and other demanding workloads.
- ALL-NEW, UPGRADEABLE MG-1 MK. II — Built around standard ATX hardware including 64GB DDR5-6000 memory, a 4TB Gen4 NVMe SSD, an X870E motherboard, and a 1250W 80+ Gold power supply for straightforward future upgrades. Reinforced construction, expanded airflow, an improved component layout, and refined RGB lighting elevate the MG-1 from the inside out.
- ZERO BLOATWARE. COOLED, TUNED AND STRESS-TESTED. — Start with a clean Windows installation free from unnecessary preinstalled software. A 360mm AIO liquid cooler, seven chassis fans, and custom fan curves balance cooling and noise, while CPU, GPU, and memory stress testing verifies reliable performance under demanding loads.
- BUILT AND SUPPORTED BY MAINGEAR — Hand-assembled by enthusiast technicians in New Jersey and supported by the same in-house team. Includes a 1-year limited warranty, award-winning lifetime technical support, protective double-layer packaging, and a custom GPU support bracket.
The report also praised the tested system’s cable management and presentation. It called attention to the MG-1 Shroud Edition’s removable front panel and RGB lighting. These are observations about the reviewed build and case, not measurements of performance or a guarantee about every MG-1 configuration.
What HotHardware’s tests showed
The report found strong results across productivity, rendering, synthetic graphics, and games within its own 2023 comparison set. The Ryzen 9 7950X3D MG-1 build led that set in all three Blender rendering tests and placed second overall in 3DMark Time Spy.
Rank #2
- NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 5070 12GB GDDR7 GRAPHICS — Built for smooth, high-refresh 1440p gaming. Powered by NVIDIA Blackwell with DLSS 4, Multi Frame Generation, advanced ray tracing, and 12GB of ultra-fast GDDR7 memory for responsive frame rates and exceptional visual detail in demanding games.
- INTEL CORE ULTRA 5 250K PLUS 18-CORE PROCESSOR — Combines 6 Performance-cores and 12 Efficient-cores with 18 threads, boost speeds up to 5.3GHz, 30MB of Intel Smart Cache, and Intel AI Boost. Enjoy responsive gaming performance and efficient multitasking for streaming, content creation, and everyday productivity.
- ALL-NEW, UPGRADEABLE MG-1 MK. II — Built around standard ATX hardware including 32GB DDR5-6000 memory, a 2TB Gen4 NVMe SSD, a Z890 motherboard, and an 850W 80+ Gold power supply for straightforward future upgrades. Reinforced construction, expanded airflow, an improved component layout, and refined RGB lighting elevate the MG-1 from the inside out.
- ZERO BLOATWARE. COOLED, TUNED AND STRESS-TESTED. — Start with a clean Windows 11 installation free from unnecessary preinstalled software. A 360mm AIO liquid cooler, seven chassis fans, and custom fan curves balance cooling and noise, while CPU, GPU, and memory stress testing verifies reliable performance under demanding loads.
- BUILT AND SUPPORTED BY MAINGEAR — Hand-assembled by enthusiast technicians in New Jersey and supported by the same in-house team. Includes a 1-year limited warranty, award-winning lifetime technical support, protective double-layer packaging, and a custom GPU support bracket.
Its clearest named gaming result was an average of 143 frames per second in Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker at 4K UHD with maximum image quality. That figure belongs to HotHardware’s tested system and conditions; it should not be treated as a universal result for the CPU and GPU, or as a prediction for another game, build, or test setup.
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HotHardware also reported qualitative comparisons in Cinebench, PCMark 10, 3DMark Port Royal, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, and F1 22. The report’s available descriptions do not establish additional exact scores here, so those results should not be converted into made-up figures or broader rankings.
Rank #3
- NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 5090 32GB GDDR7 GRAPHICS — Built for uncompromising 4K gaming and demanding creative workloads. Powered by NVIDIA Blackwell with DLSS 4, Multi Frame Generation, advanced ray tracing, and 32GB of ultra-fast GDDR7 memory for exceptional visual fidelity and elite high-refresh-rate performance.
- AMD RYZEN 7 9850X3D 8-CORE PROCESSOR — Built on AMD Zen 5 architecture with AMD 3D V-Cache technology, 8 cores, 16 threads, boost speeds up to 5.6GHz, and 96MB of L3 cache. Its large cache and fast clock speeds deliver exceptional high-FPS gaming performance with the multitasking power for streaming and everyday creation.
- ALL-NEW, UPGRADEABLE MG-1 MK. II — Built around standard ATX hardware including 32GB DDR5-6000 memory, a 2TB Gen4 NVMe SSD, an X870E motherboard, and a 1250W 80+ Gold power supply for straightforward future upgrades. Reinforced construction, expanded airflow, an improved component layout, and refined RGB lighting elevate the MG-1 from the inside out.
- ZERO BLOATWARE. COOLED, TUNED AND STRESS-TESTED. — Start with a clean Windows 11 installation free from unnecessary preinstalled software. A 360mm AIO liquid cooler, seven chassis fans, and custom fan curves balance cooling and noise, while CPU, GPU, and memory stress testing verifies reliable performance under demanding loads.
- BUILT AND SUPPORTED BY MAINGEAR — Hand-assembled by enthusiast technicians in New Jersey and supported by the same in-house team. Includes a 1-year limited warranty, award-winning lifetime technical support, protective double-layer packaging, and a custom GPU support bracket.
What the report does—and does not—establish
HotHardware’s authors, David Altavilla and Paul Lilly, summed up their tested system this way: “Our custom MG-1 build based on AMD’s Zen 4 and RDNA 3 hardware performed as we expected and even better in some cases, with high scores pretty much across the board.” That is the authors’ assessment of this one build and its test results.
The report is a 2023 build and benchmark account, not a current comparison of gaming PCs. It does not establish today’s MG-1 availability, component inventory, pricing, or how this configuration ranks against systems now on sale. If you are comparing builds, weigh CPU and GPU, memory capacity and speed, storage, cooling, power supply, case compatibility, upgrade options, and results in the games or workloads you actually use.
Rank #4
- NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 5070 12GB GDDR7 GRAPHICS — Built for smooth, high-refresh 1440p gaming. Powered by NVIDIA Blackwell with DLSS 4, Multi Frame Generation, advanced ray tracing, and 12GB of ultra-fast GDDR7 memory for responsive frame rates and exceptional visual detail in demanding games.
- AMD RYZEN 7 7800X3D 8-CORE PROCESSOR — Built on AMD Zen 4 architecture with AMD 3D V-Cache technology, 8 cores, 16 threads, boost speeds up to 5.0GHz, and 96MB of L3 cache. Its large cache and gaming-focused design deliver exceptional high-FPS performance with responsive multitasking for streaming and everyday use.
- ALL-NEW, UPGRADEABLE MG-1 MK. II — Built around standard ATX hardware including 32GB DDR5-6000 memory, a 2TB Gen4 NVMe SSD, an X870E motherboard, and an 850W 80+ Gold power supply for straightforward future upgrades. Reinforced construction, expanded airflow, an improved component layout, and refined RGB lighting elevate the MG-1 from the inside out.
- ZERO BLOATWARE. COOLED, TUNED AND STRESS-TESTED. — Start with a clean Windows 11 installation free from unnecessary preinstalled software. A 360mm AIO liquid cooler, seven chassis fans, and custom fan curves balance cooling and noise, while CPU, GPU, and memory stress testing verifies reliable performance under demanding loads.
- BUILT AND SUPPORTED BY MAINGEAR — Hand-assembled by enthusiast technicians in New Jersey and supported by the same in-house team. Includes a 1-year limited warranty, award-winning lifetime technical support, protective double-layer packaging, and a custom GPU support bracket.
Where to read the original build account
HotHardware published “Behind The Scenes Building An All-AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D MG-1 Gaming PC At Maingear” on April 13, 2023. Its article directs readers interested in configuring a system to Maingear’s MG-1 product page and 3D customization tool; current availability and terms are not established by that 2023 report.
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- AMD RYZEN 7 9850X3D 8-CORE PROCESSOR — Built on AMD Zen 5 architecture with AMD 3D V-Cache technology, 8 cores, 16 threads, boost speeds up to 5.6GHz, and 96MB of L3 cache. Its large cache and fast clock speeds deliver exceptional high-FPS gaming performance with the multitasking power for streaming and everyday creation.
- ALL-NEW, UPGRADEABLE MG-1 MK. II — Built around standard ATX hardware including 32GB DDR5-6000 memory, a 2TB Gen4 NVMe SSD, an X870E motherboard, and an 850W 80+ Gold power supply for straightforward future upgrades. Reinforced construction, expanded airflow, an improved component layout, and refined RGB lighting elevate the MG-1 from the inside out.
- ZERO BLOATWARE. COOLED, TUNED AND STRESS-TESTED. — Start with a clean Windows 11 installation free from unnecessary preinstalled software. A 360mm AIO liquid cooler, seven chassis fans, and custom fan curves balance cooling and noise, while CPU, GPU, and memory stress testing verifies reliable performance under demanding loads.
- BUILT AND SUPPORTED BY MAINGEAR — Hand-assembled by enthusiast technicians in New Jersey and supported by the same in-house team. Includes a 1-year limited warranty, award-winning lifetime technical support, protective double-layer packaging, and a custom GPU support bracket.
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