Maingear's Retro98 Is a Dad PC That Can Run AAA Games

Summary

• The Maingear Retro98 features a hand-built tower inspired by the late 1990s with functional legacy details like a turbo button and power-lockout key
• The hardware inside is entirely modern with configurations offering up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 and a Ryzen 9 9950X3D processor
• Availability is extremely restricted with only 32 standard units and six liquid-cooled Alpha units being produced for this drop

Maingear‘s Retro98 gaming desktop has officially arrived to transport enthusiasts back to the Quake era through a meticulously crafted beige chassis. Designed to evoke the aesthetics of 1998, the new release blends old-school computing charm with the most powerful PC components currently available on the market. The collection emphasizes a “Retro” motif that hides modern I/O ports behind a magnetic logo plate while maintaining the tactile feel of classic desktop towers.

Constructed using the SilverStone FLP02 tower case, the Retro98 is a specialized iteration of the brand’s MG-1 platform. The exterior is defined by its era-accurate beige finish and an LED fan-speed display that mirrors the hardware of the late twentieth century. For those seeking maximum performance, the flagship Alpha build utilizes an open-loop liquid cooling system to manage the thermals of high-end internals including 64GB of Kingston FURY RAM and 4TB of NVMe Gen5 SSD storage.

Despite its vintage appearance, the system is built for contemporary AAA gaming. Base models are equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070, ensuring that the nostalgia is strictly limited to the visual department. Each unit is hand-assembled in the United States and features the clean cable management and bloatware-free Windows installation that has become a hallmark of the boutique builder’s reputation.

Check out the desktop above. The Maingear Retro98 is available now via the Maingear webstore with prices starting at $2,499 USD.