Maingear Shift

Hassle-free upgrades, Clever case design. Eyeball-rupturing speed on games. Doubles as a media center powerhouse

Confusing orientation makes cable clutter a bigger eyesore than usual. No matter how you slice it, seven thousand smackers is a lot for a PC

Beautiful interior and exterior ; Jaw-dropping performance

Limited PCI upgradability due to tri-CrossFire rig ; Pricey

You might not find a faster (or flashier) system than Maingear's Shift, but that doesn't mean this beautiful monster is perfectly priced for its performance.

Speedy on benchmark tests. Intelligent packaging. Intelligent thermal design. Easy-to-upgrade hard drive bays. Uncluttered exposed surfaces. Quiet during normal operations

No eSATA ports. Must open lid with screwdriver to get to ports. Doesn't top every single benchmark test. Graphics cards get loud during 3D gaming

The Maingear Shift both promises and delivers a more mature gaming experience. That's not to say it's solely for Mature-audience games, rather it's the hardcore gamer's PC for when he's older (and wealthier).

Clever, original chassis design ; Beautiful paint job ; Near-infinite expansion

Intermittent hardware issues ; Crazy expensive

The Maingear Shift is practically guaranteed to handle 4K and VR gaming with ease. Despite a few nagging component issues, this build is a visually stunning 'flagship gaming PC.'

Two GeForce GTX 590s, two Vertex 3s, and a 5GHz 2600K

Pricey; paint job has a couple of rough spots

Tri-SLI Fermi and 4GHz Gulftown equals pure joy

Loud in gaming; puts out enough heat to cook bacon

What Maingear gives you over the Digital Storm is a pretty good price break. While the HailStorm pushed the $7,800 mark, the Shift eases in below $6,900. That’s quite a savings. Of course, for many folks that’s like getting a $10 million price break on...