The well-known tech YouTube channel Linus Tech Tips has disassembled an expensive gaming PC from Starforge Systems. This is the company of Asmongold and other major streamers. So far, Asmongold has been quite harsh when it comes to criticism of “his” company.
Who are the two “competitors?” Linus Sebastian is the owner of the most well-known tech channel on YouTube, Linus Tech Tips. Anyone interested in tech or hardware can’t overlook him and his team. Linus tests various things on his channel. Once he teamed up with shooter master Shroud to find out, if a 165 Hz monitor really makes a difference in gaming.
Asmongold is one of the most well-known Twitch streamers and has been active on the platform since 2014. He currently boasts over 3 million followers, making him the largest streamer in the MMORPG space. He is known not only for his passion for gaming but also for his absolutely chaotic room from which he accepted his award as “Best MMORPG Streamer” in March 2022.
What happened? Linus purchased a gaming PC from Asmongold’s company, “Starforge Systems,” and disassembled it in his video. The gaming PC officially costs $3,500, which is around €3,570. At the time of the video, the PC had been slightly discounted:
- On the one hand, the base price was reduced from $3,500 to $3,400.
- On the other hand, there was an additional discount of $100 because a RTX 3080 Ti was installed in the PC and Linus did not take the opportunity to install a RTX 3090.
Asmongold saw the video and reacted accordingly. This is not the first time Linus has disassembled a setup from a Twitch streamer, as Linus previously disassembled the system of streamer xQc in front of thousands of viewers and it did not end well for the streamer.
You can watch the entire video, including Asmongold’s reaction, on YouTube:
Tech expert disassembles 3,500-Euro PC on camera while Asmongold watches
What is positive?
- The gaming PC comes in two thick boxes. This not only ensures good protection but also obscures the contents from potential thieves. Overall, the system is carefully packaged.
- The cable management is sensible and well integrated into the case.
- The actual performance of the system is about 5% lower than a self-built system, which according to Linus is really impressive. Other manufacturers like Dell or HP have delivered significantly weaker devices here.
What does he criticize?
- Inside, there is a modular power supply, but the unused cables are not included. According to Linus, this severely limits a user if they later want to install another GPU.
- Some cables are plugged in incorrectly. While this does not affect performance, it is still “a kick in the royal behind of the system builders.”
- Windows is only available as a digital license without a sticker on the system. Linus finds this unprofessional.
Starforge Systems installs an i9-12900KF and DDR4 RAM. Linus finds this surprising because the i9-12900K would be more powerful, and one could already install DDR5 RAM in this system, which other providers do.
What about the price? This is one of Linus’s biggest points of criticism. A comparable system with similar hardware can already be assembled for 2,600 US dollars – which is 900 US dollars less than what “Starforge Systems” charges.
Linus adds, however, that not everyone wants to assemble their own system. And complete systems are expensive everywhere. For comparable systems, you will pay between 3,500 and 4,500 US dollars with other providers as well.
Asmongold appears visibly relieved by Linus’s conclusion
How does Asmongold react? The Twitch streamer watches the video with great tension and you can see that he is waiting for the big possible fiasco where he would have to defend himself in front of his viewers.
Especially the incorrectly plugged cables on the motherboard leave him speechless. For several moments he sits in front of the video not knowing what to say while the chat types “F”. Finally, he explains that the labeling of the cables and on the motherboard is quite small and the PC wouldn’t catch fire due to the error. However, he will check his own PC later to see if the same mistake was made, just to be safe.
Asmongold definitely appears relieved and cannot hide his feelings when Linus explains that the performance of the Starforge system holds up pretty well. At this point, he can’t help but complain once more about all the people who had criticized his system.
This reminds us of the time when Asmongold and his colleagues could not handle criticism of their PC company. When Linus brings up the criticism, Asmongold explains that it was in a stream by Mizkif and not him.
What is his final conclusion about the video? At the end, Asmongold looks quite satisfied and explains that he is pretty happy about the video, even though he was worried at the beginning:
I feel good, that’s great. (…) To be honest, I was a bit nervous at the beginning about them making a video. (…) I’m glad they made the video, it’s very good feedback and very good criticism and everything they say is right.
The last story surrounding PC companies and Twitch went horribly wrong. The CEO of “Artesian Builds” messed up with viewers and streamers. His company has since closed, but some of his employees have found their way into the company run by Asmongold and his streamer colleagues:
In 59 terrible seconds on Twitch, a CEO ruins everything – Gaming PC company must close now
