A compact gaming rig that does every thing proper

Mafia: The Previous Nation calls for to be performed on an unlimited display. As a lot as I like my 32-inch Alienware OLED gaming monitor, it does not do justice to Mafia’s cinematic vistas of Sicily. However, I additionally needed to play that sport in its full 4K glory, with not one of the compromises of immediately’s sport consoles. So why not simply shove a tiny gaming desktop below my dwelling theater? Enter the Fragbox, Falcon Northwest’s revamped small type issue gaming PC. Whereas it’s extremely costly, beginning at $3,997, it is extremely highly effective and provides you the liberty to simply improve the {hardware} down the road.

I do know what you are pondering: “A $4,000 desktop, on this financial system?” That pricing additionally does not embody upgrading from the inventory NVIDIA’s RTX 5070 GPU, in addition to including extra RAM and bigger SSDs, all of which may drive the worth up 1000’s extra. I initially deliberate to evaluate the FragBox again in early December 2025, earlier than the AI-induced RAMaggedon made reminiscence, storage and different elements dramatically costlier. Falcon Northwest is principally referred to as a boutique and high-end system builder, so its wealthier clientele can possible climate the pricing storm. If you happen to’re in search of a deal, although, you will not discover it right here.

So what, precisely, is a FragBox? Think about a typical mid-tower desktop squashed right down to a system that is solely 10.2-inches tall, 10.5-inches large and 15.9-inches deep. When Falcon initially debuted the FragBox in 2004, it was notable for being a genuinely small PC that used full-sized components. That is nonetheless a important promoting level immediately: It may possibly nonetheless slot in massive NVIDIA GPUs, together with the beefy RTX 5090, in addition to both Intel’s newest Core Extremely chips or AMD’s Ryzen 9000 CPUs. An enormous 280mm radiator sits on the prime pulling out scorching air, and it additionally serves as an All-in-One (AIO) liquid cooler for the CPU.

At 25 kilos, the FragBox is not precisely mild, however its sturdy steel deal with makes it simple to maneuver round. Most mid-tower desktops often weigh between 20 and 35 kilos, relying on their case materials. However they’re additionally a lot bigger and tougher to squeeze into tight areas. The FragBox’s comparatively squat measurement makes it simple to shove into a house leisure heart, or simply sit on the nook of your desk. I do want the deal with was detachable, although. It was about half an inch too tall for considered one of my cabinets.

Regardless of its density, the FragBox’s elegant design makes it a cinch to entry to all the system’s elements. Simply unscrew the facet and prime panels and you’ll simply take away the GPU, RAM, storage and different main elements. There are three slots of M.2 SSDs, in addition to two places for two.5-inch drives and a spot for a big 3.5-inch HDD. The system is bundled with a 1,200W energy provide, which must be greater than sufficient to deal with future GPUs and CPUs.

Ports are plentiful as nicely: There are two USB-A and one USB-C connections proper up entrance, alongside a headphone jack. On the rear, you have received your typical assortment of mid-tower connections, together with 4 USB-A 2.0 connections, seven USB-A 3 ports, one 20G USB-C 3.2 port, 2.5G Ethernet, HDMI and DisplayPort. Our RTX 5090 evaluate unit additionally included three DisplayPort jacks and one HDMI connection (which you may see on most GPUs). Wi-Fi 6E can be built-in, although at this worth it will have been good to see Wi-Fi 7.

The FragBox, fortunately, lacks the garish LEDs and tacky thermal glass you discover on extra ostentatious gaming rigs. Falcon Northwest’s aluminum case appears to be like and feels stately, like an old-school luxurious automobile. If you need one thing flashier, you may shell out an extra $400 for a customized UV printed case or $149 for a UV-printed entrance panel.

Our evaluate unit was geared up with AMD’s Ryzen 9950X3D CPU, NVIDIA’s RTX 5090, 96GB of DDR5 RAM and a 2TB SSD. So certain, even earlier than benchmarking or operating any video games, I anticipated it to be a beast. In PCMark 10, the FragBox scored a whopping 13,810, which is round 500 factors greater than my mid-tower system with the identical CPU and GPU. It additionally scored the best 3DMark Speedway and Port Royal ray tracing scores I’ve ever seen. Much more spectacular, the FragBox’s followers had been barely audible below load, and the CPU and GPU sat at a chill 52C and 65C, respectively

To get again to my preliminary level, it ran Mafia: The Previous Nation in 4K flawlessly, with each graphics setting cranked all the way in which up. Whereas taking part in on my 120-inch projector dwelling theater setup, the sport reached 62 fps natively, and flipping on DLSS upscaling and body technology bumped that as much as 120 fps. Not that you simply want an excellent greater framerate for a slow-paced, largely cinematic motion sport. I used to be simply completely happy to be taking part in with none compromises — even the PS5 Professional cannot attain the identical stage of graphical constancy because the monstrously highly effective RTX 5090.

I am no stranger to big-screen PC gaming, however beforehand I’ve needed to run a laughably lengthy HDMI cable from my desktop to make it work. I am simply too previous for that mess now. And it additionally does not work persistently, particularly at greater framerates, because of the huge bandwidth required to pump out 4K at excessive refresh charges. In-home sport streaming can be an possibility, however that is not nice once you’re blowing video games as much as an unlimited TV or projector display. It is simply too exhausting to disregard the imperfections of streaming compression. (Admittedly, I would like to check newer high-bandwidth choices, particularly after I used to be impressed by NVIDIA’s GeForce Now upgrade final yr.)

The FragBox additionally made it simple to leap into all of my current Steam titles, together with Mewgeneics and Arc Raiders on a giant display. Sadly, Home windows itself stays a key stumbling block for dwelling theater PC gaming. You will nonetheless must preserve a keyboard and PC round to take care of the preliminary OS configuration. And even as soon as I enabled Steam’s Large Image mode, which gives glorious controller choices, I nonetheless sometimes needed to take care of Home windows Updates and different annoyances.

Microsoft is presently attempting to optimize Windows for gaming handhelds, and it is reportedly doing much more to make a future PC-powered Xbox feel more console-like. For now, although, utilizing a Home windows PC in your house theater does not really feel a lot totally different than it did a decade in the past. Steam is your savior, Home windows is your enemy. Or you would simply save 1000’s of {dollars} and purchase a $500 PlayStation 5 or $700 PS5 Pro, as an alternative. The latter will nonetheless get you clean framerates and a wholesome dose of ray tracing, with out the annoyance of Home windows, keyboards and mice.

However in the event you simply need a compact and insanely highly effective gaming desktop, and you do not thoughts spending a premium, it is exhausting to disclaim that the FragBox will get every thing proper.