The well-known Twitch streamer Shroud announced on November 18 that he has entered into a partnership with the PC manufacturer MAINGEAR. Along with this announcement, he also showcased a limited high-end PC named MG1: Shroud Edition. MeinMMO provides you with all the information on this partnership and shows you what the new computer is capable of.
Twitch streamer and YouTuber Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek is one of the most recognized gaming content creators. Many may know the Canadian primarily through his former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Valorant content. And even in Overwatch 2, the “Shooter God” knows how to impress.
Accordingly, Shroud’s announcement on November 18 that he has entered into a partnership with the American PC manufacturer MAINGEAR received significant (media) interest.
This announcement also revealed that the streamer is not just cooperating with the company but is also now a co-owner.
The announcement video of Shroud’s cooperation with MAINGEAR and his first signature PC can be viewed here:
In the announcement trailer for his first signature PC, the MG1, Shroud says the following:
I have tried to be the best throughout my entire career. To become a champion. To put on a good show. To celebrate victories with my community. And above all, to stand out from the rest. This is the MG1, my first signature PC with MAINGEAR. A product of great craftsmanship, ensuring that I am never held back.
Twitter – shroud, translated from English
This is the MG1 Signature PC from Shroud and MAINGEAR
The MG1 from Shroud and MAINGEAR comes in five different price variants – Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Legendary, and Ultimae. The different specs of each signature PC depend on the costs – the more expensive the model, the better the hardware installed.
These are the five models of the MG1:
The technical specs of the MG1
What hardware does the MG1 come with? Each of the five PCs is equipped with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX; the most expensive model “Ultimate” even comes with the recently released RTX 4090. This currently fastest graphics card is the latest flagship from NVIDIA and has a retail price of around €2000. Depending on the game, it is said to offer double the performance of the manufacturer’s previously fastest graphics card, the RTX 3090 Ti.
Additionally, each of the five models comes with a fast SSD from Solidigm and a desktop processor from Intel.
Unfortunately, the Intel Core i5-12400F of the entry-level model “Gold” is a rather weaker CPU, while the mid-range model of the MG1 – Platinum – with the Intel Core i5-13600k already offers significantly more performance. The processor provides you with very high gaming performance and good energy efficiency. A detailed review of the Core i5-13600k can be read at GameStar.
Unfortunately, nothing can be said about the processing of the MG1 from a distance; however, the support and zero-bloatware promises are positively notable.
Price-performance ratio
Is an MG1 worth the price? Like with other pre-built edition PCs, the MG1 costs a bit more than if you were to buy the individual hardware components separately.
For instance, we arrive at a price of around €1200 for the individual parts of the Gold model, resulting in a savings of almost €400. However, these costs do not include the casing or RGB fan.
What the actual build cost is can be hard to say. A markup of €200 is steep, but not entirely unreasonable.
However, it’s also interesting to compare it to the non-Shroud models from MAINGEAR. These are almost identical but sometimes over €100 cheaper. One example: the cheapest model has 500 GB less storage but is also about €150 less than the Shroud model.
These are the reactions to the MG1
What does the internet say about the announcement? As expected, Shroud’s announcement of his cooperation with MAINGEAR has sparked a wave of reactions on Twitter, most of which were positive to almost euphoric.
The official Twitter account of NVIDIA GeForce, for example, reacted with hearts to the announcement of the streamer:
Streamer colleague Hiko also congratulated Shroud on his new cooperation.
And the content creator “NRG Apryze” also showed his respect. On this occasion, the esports streamer ironically suggested that Shroud, with his insane speed, should run for president:
However, there are also some voices that view the cooperation more critically. Particularly, the price of the MG1 models is the focus of these users. A few examples can be seen here:
A very critical Twitter user uses drastic words to express his views regarding the prices of Shroud’s signature model:
And another user speaks – despite his love for Shroud – even of an additional “MAINGEAR tax,” which would explain the prices of the MG1 series.
So far, neither Shroud nor MAINGEAR have commented on the criticisms raised by these users.
What do you think about the cooperation? Do you find the price for Shroud’s signature PC justified and are you possibly considering buying one of the MG1 models yourself?
Feel free to share your opinions in the comments.
