Maingear F131 (2018) - Review 2022

Fifty-fifty hanging in the rarified company of other super-high-terminate enthusiast desktops, the Maingear F131 (starts at $ane,699; $9,857 as tested) stands out. It packs blazing speeds and premium components into an intricately designed microATX build, consummate with a custom hardline-pipe open cooling loop and a large coolant reservoir. You tin configure information technology with much less expensive parts, but the outrageously loaded-up model we tested is a feat of engineering. Whether yous want to use it every bit an elite-level gaming desktop or as a general powerhouse and art piece, the F131 brims with excellence.

Masterful Pattern

The level of craftsmanship is top notch. From the size and shape of the liquid reservoir to the angles of the piping matching the build of the instance, all of the components complement the others, resulting in a tight, great-looking design. The F131 is alpine, but all the parts fit in precise fashion, allowing it to be more compact and slimmer than other systems of this caliber.

The aluminum instance is black with blood-red triangular accents, and the entire left panel is made of tempered glass. The example is lit with plentiful, but not overpowering, LED strips. (An included remote lets you alter the colors and effects.) It's of import to remember that I'thou describing the $9,857 configuration we were loaned for testing when I reference the components and style. Maingear will build annihilation to lodge, customizing everything from the outside paint job to the interior accent colors and components.

The tower measures 21.3 by half-dozen.four past 19 inches (HWD), significantly smaller than the chassis of the Acer Predator Orion 9000 (27.63 past xi.8 by 25.32 inches) and the Origin PC Genesis (25.26 by 9.75 past 24.8 inches). The Genesis besides offers an middle-catching water-cooling setup, but it'due south not as intricate, and it looks a scrap less impressive in the larger space.

The F131's tall, semi-translucent cooling block came filled, in our test unit, with red liquid, which feeds into the cooling loop fabricated of metal tubing. This is a organisation Maingear calls Noon, engineered with Bitspower for the F131. It includes dual pumps (for fail-rubber redundancy), pressure-regulated cooling, and sensors for both menses charge per unit and temperature.

The radiator fits along the entire acme of the case for maximized cooling—you can feel the heat emanating from the top while the system's running. The graphics card has its own mounted cooling cake, as does the CPU (a much smaller ane), both continued to the same loop. The interior of the F131 runs cool and very quiet as a issue, essentially inaudible fifty-fifty while grinding through our criterion tests. Yous can get the tubing in clear acrylic, also, but the shiny metal looks slick, specially with the case lights reflecting off the joints and curves. The exterior of our instance is finished with the Modernistic Camo pigment scheme.

The rest of the build is only as loftier-finish, with cutting-edge components that match the souped-up mode. Our configuration of the F131 includes an MSI X299 Gaming Pro Carbon motherboard, an Intel Core i9-7980X Farthermost Edition CPU (the 18-core monster at the top of Intel'south enthusiast processor line), dual Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti graphics cards, 32GB of 1000.Skill Trident Z RGB memory, a 1TB Samsung 960 Pro M.2 SSD, a 4TB Seagate Barracuda hard bulldoze, and a i,200W EVGA Supernova P2 Platinum power supply. These are the best, or among the best, possible options for each component type.

Rather than ports on the front or top panel, the most attainable connections are located on the front end of the left side, reachable but non blemishing the face. Here, you lot will discover four USB iii.0 ports, a USB-C port, and headphone and mic jacks. In a more traditional location effectually dorsum, you'll find 5 more USB 3.0 ports, ii USB 2.0 ports, another USB-C port, and non ane but 2 Ethernet jacks. Other extras include Wi-Fi (it'due south built into the motherboard), lifetime service labor and phone support, and a one-yr warranty.

Oh, Did We Mention It's Fast?

The F131 excels in every area of performance, and then some. The 18-core processor is more than equipped for any believable chore you can throw its way, as we saw with the Genesis and the Falcon Northwest Talon that share the aforementioned scrap.

The PCMark 8 criterion, at its Piece of work Conventional setting, measures full general productivity for everyday tasks, just it can't quite demonstrate the adequacy of the flake. The score was very loftier, but the exam doesn't stress the utilize of multiple cores, so the results tend to plateau at the loftier end.

The multimedia tests, specially Cinebench, better demonstrate the processor's adequacy. It should be mouthwatering for media professionals who tin can save time and frustration with every extra second saved waiting for videos to render or filters to employ.

As you tin can come across in the nautical chart, the competition offers similarly baking functioning, which is what you'd await and demand in this cost tier. Even among those, though, the F131 stands out—no doubt because of the efficient cooling system keeping the components running about acme speeds. The main takeaway is that, in addition to looking fantastic, the F131 offers breakneck operation for enthusiasts of any kind.

Come across How Nosotros Test Desktops

That said, naturally the F131 can run any game extremely well. The 3DMark scores demonstrate its power on their own—any computer packing two GeForce GTX 1080 Ti cards is set upwards for success here, whether for gaming or enervating professional 3D applications. The pricey machines existence compared here all autumn into the same general chart-topping range, though the Talon's dual Nvidia Titan Xp cards just nigh border out the others. On the Sky and Valley gaming tests at ultra-quality settings and 4K resolution, the F131 churned out 97 frames per 2nd (fps) and 111fps, respectively, without breaking a sweat. Gaming at 4K is a huge strain for nigh computers, but the F131 handles it with aplomb.

Back up the Arts

The F131 is an art installation of a desktop; information technology'due south every bit much near immaculate craftsmanship every bit it is about top-cease functioning. Lower-configured versions of the F131, obviously, will not match its lofty speeds, so I'm only speaking for this wildly over-the-tiptop build, but yous should be able to manner something from the F131 configurator that fits your needs and budget.

As we tested it, though, it's amid the nearly expensive desktops that has crossed the lab demote in some time. Among the bazaar-PC gaming elite, the F131 shines amidst the brightest in both design and performance, earning top marks beyond the board. No, not many shoppers will be able to beget this beast, but the carefully considered design and masterful execution make it our current favorite pick among the supercar-grade systems in this price range.

Source: https://sea.pcmag.com/first-looks/21187/maingear-f131-2018

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