MaingearPotenza
Latest
NVIDIA launches GeForce 650 Ti, Maingear says all custom desktop models now have it
No one can accuse Maingear of skipping the latest hardware cycles -- less than a month after offering PCs with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 and 660 graphics, the PC system builder has announced that you can get all its desktop machines with GTX 650 Ti graphics now, too. As it happens, NVIDIA has just launched that very product -- a friskier version of the GTX 650 with extra Cuda cores -- keeping Maingear in lockstep with its graphics board suppliers again. That card will fill the gap between the $229 GeForce GTX 660 and $109 GTX 650 cards and run $149 (estimated), while Maingear has said it will feature special F131 and Potenza GTX 650 Ti systems at $150 off, along with a free copy of Assassin's Creed III. So, if you need all the fps you can get, but can't quite pony up for the more desirable GTX 660, check the PR for more details.
Maingear outfits desktops with GeForce GTX 650 and 660, drops prices to lure us in
Whenever there's a new video card or processor, Maingear is almost always on the scene with an upgrade -- sometimes within seconds of its hardware partners. A plan to use NVIDIA's new GeForce GTX 650 and 660 graphics chips from day one proves that rule in style, although Maingear is going the distance with some incentives beyond just shiny parts. Along with making the mid-tier GeForce technology an option for every desktop, the PC builder is offering special GTX 650 and 660 versions of its F131 and Potenza gaming rigs that knock as much as $150 off the price. The base prices of $949 for the limited-run Potenza and $1,199 for the F131 keep either system in serious gamer territory and preclude us from calling them tremendous bargains. Nonetheless, it's difficult to grouse very loudly: it's not often that a price drop and a hardware upgrade walk hand in hand.
Hands-on: Maingear Shift running Saitek flight-simulation hardware (video)
Custom PC builder Maingear had something pretty nifty up its sleeve at Pepcom tonight: versions of its desktops configured to run Saitek's flight-simulation hardware -- in this case, with a full cockpit setup. In partnership with Mad Catz, the company developed configurations of its Potenza, F131 and Shift desktops optimized to work with the Saitek line of flight-sim systems. Tonight we saw the Shift paired with some pretty heavy-duty hardware: we're talking 18 USB connections for the full Saitek cockpit. Maingear's pro-certified system packs a Core i7 CPU clocked at up to 3.9GHz and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 graphics (with four GPUs), and with an experienced pilot behind the wheel, that translated into a smooth landing in Flight Simulator X. Maingear says the whole setup -- hardware controls plus the Shift desktop -- will go for $5,500 starting tomorrow. That's the top-of-the-line configuration, mind you; if your piloting aspirations are more modest, you could opt for the more affordable Potenza, which starts at $1,000. Check out a video demo below.%Gallery-158862%
