Pros & Cons
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- Easy access to internal components.
- Lots of room for upgrades.
- Intel Core i5 processor is unlocked for overclocking.
- Dual PNY GeForce GTX 960 graphics cards offer excellent gaming performance.
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- Minimal storage.
Maingear Vybe (2015) Specs
| All-in-One Screen Type | 0 |
| Graphics Card | PNY Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 SLI |
| Operating System | Windows 8.1 |
| Optical Drive | BD/DVD/CD +/-RW |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-4690K |
| Processor Speed | 3.5 |
| RAM (as Tested) | 8 |
Gaming is a big part of the PC market these days, but it's rare to find a truly powerful machine at an affordable price. The latest iteration of the Maingear Vybe ($1,690 as tested) is just that desktop, leveraging affordable components to produce impressive performance, and offering plenty of room for adding storage and swapping out parts. Plus, the midsize tower is a nice change of pace from the several small-form-factor systems we've seen in this price range. Add it all up, and the Maingear Vybe replaces the Digital Storm Eclipse as our Editors' Choice for midrange gaming desktops.
Design and Features
Gaming desktop designs usually go one of two ways: completely over the top, with garish colors, custom paint jobs, and more lights than a Christmas tree; or utilitarian and subdued, ignoring the looks to focus on the purely functional and powerful hardware inside. The Vybe, somewhat refreshingly, takes something of a middle path, with a look that has some style, but doesn't scream "gamer" quite so loudly. The aluminum construction of the midsize tower has matte, space-gray panels on the top and sides, accented with a few LED-lit fans inside, and a Plexiglas window on the left-hand side to show off the interior. The back panel and interior of the tower add a splash of color with glossy-red paint. The front panel is relatively tame, with a black, plastic vent grille.
View All The front panel has 
Power and Reset buttons, jacks for headphones and microphone, two USB 3.0 ports, and an LG Blu-ray burner. Most of the Vybe's ports are on the rear panel, where you'll find six USB ports (four USB 3.0, two USB 2.0), a PS2 port, an Ethernet jack, and multiple audio connections, including headphone, microphone, S/PDIF and line-in. The main rear panel also has connections for HDMI, DVI, and VGA, but these are disabled—you'll need to connect to the rear ports coming off of one or both of the system's graphics cards. Each graphics card has three DisplayPort 1.2 outputs, along with single outputs for HDMI and DVI-D.
Final Thoughts
Maingear Vybe (2015)
The latest Maingear Vybe is a midrange gaming desktop that offers excellent performance and plenty of options to expand or upgrade down the road.