A compact gaming rig that does every part proper

Mafia: The Outdated Nation calls for to be performed on an infinite display screen. As a lot as I really like my 32-inch Alienware OLED gaming monitor, it would not do justice to Mafia’s cinematic vistas of Sicily. However, I additionally wished to play that recreation in its full 4K glory, with not one of the compromises of right this moment’s recreation consoles. So why not simply shove a tiny gaming desktop underneath my house theater? Enter the Fragbox, Falcon Northwest’s revamped small type issue gaming PC. Whereas it is very costly, beginning at $3,997, it is extremely highly effective and offers you the liberty to simply improve the {hardware} down the road.

I do know what you are considering: “A $4,000 desktop, on this financial system?” That pricing additionally would not embody upgrading from the inventory NVIDIA’s RTX 5070 GPU, in addition to including extra RAM and bigger SSDs, all of which might drive the value up 1000’s extra. I initially deliberate to overview the FragBox again in early December 2025, earlier than the AI-induced RAMaggedon made reminiscence, storage and different parts dramatically costlier. Falcon Northwest is principally generally known as a boutique and high-end system builder, so its wealthier clientele can probably climate the pricing storm. For those who’re on the lookout for 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 extensive 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 fundamental promoting level right this moment: It may well 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 high pulling out sizzling air, and it additionally serves as an All-in-One (AIO) liquid cooler for the CPU.

At 25 kilos, the FragBox is not precisely gentle, however its sturdy metallic deal with makes it straightforward to maneuver round. Most mid-tower desktops normally 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 dimension makes it straightforward to shove into a house leisure middle, 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 one among my cabinets.

Regardless of its density, the FragBox’s elegant design makes it a cinch to entry to the entire system’s parts. Simply unscrew the aspect and high panels and you’ll simply take away the GPU, RAM, storage and different main parts. 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 bought 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 overview unit additionally included three DisplayPort jacks and one HDMI connection (which you may see on most GPUs). Wi-Fi 6E can also be built-in, although at this value 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 seems and feels stately, like an old-school luxurious automotive. If you need one thing flashier, you possibly can shell out a further $400 for a customized UV printed case or $149 for a UV-printed entrance panel.

Our overview unit was outfitted 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 working 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 very best 3DMark Speedway and Port Royal ray tracing scores I’ve ever seen. Much more spectacular, the FragBox’s followers have been barely audible underneath 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 Outdated Nation in 4K flawlessly, with each graphics setting cranked all the way in which up. Whereas enjoying on my 120-inch projector house 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 a brilliant greater framerate for a slow-paced, principally cinematic motion recreation. I used to be simply completely satisfied to be enjoying with none compromises — even the PS5 Professional cannot attain the identical degree 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 would not work persistently, particularly at greater framerates, because of the huge bandwidth required to pump out 4K at excessive refresh charges. In-home recreation streaming can also be an choice, however that is not nice once you’re blowing video games as much as an infinite TV or projector display screen. It is simply too laborious 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 straightforward to leap into all of my latest Steam titles, together with Mewgeneics and Arc Raiders on a giant display screen. Sadly, Home windows itself stays a key stumbling block for house theater PC gaming. You may nonetheless must hold a keyboard and PC round to take care of the preliminary OS configuration. And even as soon as I enabled Steam’s Massive Image mode, which affords wonderful controller choices, I nonetheless often needed to take care of Home windows Updates and different annoyances.

Microsoft is presently making an attempt 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 would 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 may simply save 1000’s of {dollars} and purchase a $500 PlayStation 5 or $700 PS5 Pro, as a substitute. The latter will nonetheless get you easy framerates and a wholesome dose of ray tracing, with out the annoyance of Home windows, keyboards and mice.

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