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MAINGEAR Revives 90s Nostalgia with Beastly Retro98 Gaming PC
MAINGEAR kicked off 2026 with a blast from the past on January 29, dropping the Retro98a limited-edition gaming PC that channels the chunky beige towers of 1998 while cramming in today's top-tier components. Available exclusively at MAINGEAR.com, this machine targets gamers who cut their teeth on LAN parties and midnight GPU swaps, blending retro aesthetics with modern firepower.
Ultra-Limited Production: 32 Units Plus 6 Alpha Editions
Exclusivity defines the Retro98. MAINGEAR produced only 32 standard units and 6 high-end Alpha variants, totaling 38 machines. Once sold out, no re-runsMAINGEAR confirmed this is a one-and-done release. Pricing starts at $2,499 for the base model, scaling to $4,999 for the top Alpha config. This scarcity echoes collector's edition drops, appealing to enthusiasts chasing unique hardware.
Four Configurations: From Entry to Extreme
- Base Retro98 ($2,499): Intel Core Ultra 7 265K CPU, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 GPU, 32GB DDR5 RAM, 2TB NVMe Gen4 SSD, MSI Z890 Gaming Plus WiFi motherboard, MSI 650W PSU, Windows 11 Home.
- Retro98 | 5080 ($3,499): AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU, RTX 5080 GPU, 32GB Kingston FURY Beast DDR5 6000MT/s CL32 RAM, 2TB NVMe Gen4 SSD, MSI X870E Gaming Plus WiFi motherboard, MSI 850W PSU, Windows 11 Home, MAINGEAR EPIC 360mm AIO cooling.
- Retro98 with Ryzen 9 9850X3D (Higher Tier): Steps up to AMD's new flagship Ryzen 9 9850X3D, recently made available across MAINGEAR's lineup including MG-1 Legend (RTX 5080) and MG-1 Champion (RTX 5090).
- Alpha Edition ($4,999): AMD Ryzen 9 9850X3D (or up to 9950X3D), RTX 5090 GPU, ASRock PG X870E Nova WiFi motherboard, XPG Fusion 1600W Titanium PSU, Windows 11 Proultimate spec for 4K gaming and content creation.
Every config features liquid cooling via MAINGEAR's EPIC 360mm AIO, ensuring thermal headroom for sustained loads. The retro beige chassis hides these modern guts, complete with period-accurate styling like exposed drive bays and oversized buttons.
AMD Ryzen 9 9850X3D: Now in Full Swing at MAINGEAR
Beyond Retro98, MAINGEAR integrated the fresh Ryzen 9 9850X3D into its broader ecosystem. This 16-core Zen 5 X3D chip, with its massive 144MB L3 cache, excels in gaming thanks to 3D V-Cache tech. Custom orders for platforms like MG-1, North, Rush, shroud Edition, Force, APEX Rush, and APEX Force now support it. Paired with RTX 50-series GPUs, these systems deliver frame rates over 200 FPS in demanding titles at 1440p and 4K.
Performance Breakdown: Gaming and Beyond
The Retro98 isn't just eye candy. Base models handle 1080p/1440p gaming effortlessly, while upper tiers crush 4K ray tracing with DLSS 4 and AMD FSR. The Ryzen 9 9850X3D configuration shines in CPU-bound scenarios like simulation games and multi-threaded tasks. Creatives benefit too: high-res video editing in Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve, plus Photoshop/Lightroom workflows, run smoothly on 32GB+ DDR5 and fast NVMe storage. Benchmarks from similar builds show 150+ FPS in Cyberpunk 2077 at 4K ultra with RT, low temps under 70°C thanks to AIO cooling.
Why Retro98 Matters in 2026's PC Market
2026 sees retro gaming PCs surge, fueled by nostalgia for Windows 98 era amid RTX 50-series and Zen 5 dominance. MAINGEAR's drop coincides with Ryzen X3D availability expansion, positioning Retro98 as a collector's gem. Its specs rival Alienware Area-51 or Corsair Vengeance i8300 but in a unique form factor. For builders, it highlights upgradeable platforms; the chassis supports standard ATX components for future-proofing.
MAINGEAR's move underscores a trend: blending heritage design with bleeding-edge tech. Gamers swapping GPUs in the 90s would envy thisRTX 5090 in a beige box. Head to MAINGEAR.com before stock vanishes.