Mafia: The Previous Nation calls for to be performed on an unlimited display. As a lot as I like my 32-inch Alienware OLED gaming monitor, it doesn't do justice to Mafia's cinematic vistas of Sicily. However, I additionally wished to play that sport in its full 4K glory, with not one of the compromises of right now's sport consoles. So why not simply shove a tiny gaming desktop beneath my dwelling theater? Enter the Fragbox, Falcon Northwest's revamped small type issue gaming PC. Whereas it's very costly, beginning at $3,997, it's extremely highly effective and provides you the liberty to simply improve the {hardware} down the road.
I do know what you're pondering: "A $4,000 desktop, on this economic system?" That pricing additionally doesn't embrace upgrading from the inventory NVIDIA's RTX 5070 GPU, in addition to including extra RAM and bigger SSDs, all of which might drive the worth up 1000’s extra. I initially deliberate to evaluation the FragBox again in early December 2025, earlier than the AI-induced RAMaggedon made reminiscence, storage and different elements dramatically dearer. Falcon Northwest is especially generally known as a boutique and high-end system builder, so its wealthier clientele can possible climate the pricing storm. For those who're searching for a deal, although, you received't discover it right here.
So what, precisely, is a FragBox? Think about a typical mid-tower desktop squashed all the way down to a system that's solely 10.2-inches tall, 10.5-inches broad and 15.9-inches deep. When Falcon initially debuted the FragBox in 2003, it was notable for being a genuinely small PC that used full-sized elements. That's nonetheless a principal promoting level right now: It could possibly nonetheless slot in giant 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 isn't precisely gentle, however its sturdy steel 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 measurement makes it straightforward to shove into a house leisure middle, or simply sit on the nook of your desk. For those who want a bit extra top clearance, it’s also possible to take away the deal with from the highest panel. Simply be certain there’s sufficient room for some airflow — all of that warmth has to go someplace, proper?
Regardless of its density, the FragBox's elegant design makes it a cinch to entry to the entire system's elements. Simply unscrew the aspect and high panels and you may simply take away the GPU, RAM, storage and different main elements. 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 needs to be greater than sufficient to deal with future GPUs and CPUs.
Ports are plentiful as effectively: There are two USB-A and one USB-C connections proper up entrance, alongside a headphone jack. On the rear, you've 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 evaluation unit additionally included three DisplayPort jacks and one HDMI connection (which you'll see on most GPUs). Wi-Fi 6E was additionally constructed into our unit, however Falcon says that Wi-Fi 7 is now customary with new builds.
The FragBox, fortunately, lacks the garish LEDs and tacky thermal glass you discover on extra ostentatious gaming rigs. Falcon Northwest's aluminum case seems to be and feels stately, like an old-school luxurious automotive. If you need one thing flashier, you’ll be able to shell out a further $400 for a customized UV printed case or $149 for a UV-printed entrance panel.
Our evaluation unit was geared up with AMD's Ryzen 9950X3D CPU, NVIDIA's RTX 5090, 96GB of DDR5 RAM and a 2TB SSD, which provides as much as a whopping $7,995. 5 months in the past, it might have value $7,047 —- you’ll be able to thank the RAM scarcity for the worth bounce.
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 larger 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 beneath load, and the CPU and GPU sat at a chill 52C and 65C, respectively
|
CPU |
GeekBench 6 CPU |
GeekBench 6 GPU |
Cinebench 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Falcon Northwest FragBox |
3,445/22,787 |
390,148 |
N/A |
|
Desktop with AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D, RTX 5090 |
3,366/18,950 |
381,400 |
134/2,124 |
|
Desktop with AMD Ryzen 9 7900X, RTX 5090 |
2,822/14,216 |
358,253 |
113/1,103 |
|
Apple Mac Studio M4 Max |
4,090/26,394 |
116,028 |
190/2066 |
To get again to my preliminary level, it ran Mafia: The Previous Nation in 4K flawlessly, with each graphics setting cranked all the best way up. Whereas taking part in on my 120-inch projector dwelling theater setup, the sport reached 62 fps natively, and flipping on DLSS upscaling and body era bumped that as much as 120 fps. Not that you simply want a brilliant larger framerate for a slow-paced, largely cinematic motion sport. I used to be simply blissful to be taking part in with none compromises — even the PS5 Professional can't attain the identical stage of graphical constancy because the monstrously highly effective RTX 5090.
I'm 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'm simply too outdated for that mess now. And it additionally doesn't work constantly, particularly at larger framerates, due to the huge bandwidth required to pump out 4K at excessive refresh charges. In-home sport streaming can also be an possibility, however that's not nice while you're blowing video games as much as an unlimited TV or projector display. It's simply too onerous 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 improve final yr.)
The FragBox additionally made it straightforward to leap into all of my current Steam titles, together with Mewgeneics and Arc Raiders on a giant display. Sadly, Home windows itself stays a key stumbling block for dwelling theater PC gaming. You'll nonetheless have to maintain a keyboard and PC round to cope with the preliminary OS configuration. And even as soon as I enabled Steam's Huge Image mode, which gives glorious controller choices, I nonetheless sometimes needed to cope with Home windows Updates and different annoyances.
Microsoft is at the moment making an attempt to optimize Home windows for gaming handhelds, and it's reportedly doing much more to make a future PC-powered Xbox really feel extra console-like. For now, although, utilizing a Home windows PC in your house theater doesn't 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 Professional, as an alternative. The latter will nonetheless get you clean 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 also you don't thoughts spending a premium, it's onerous to disclaim that the FragBox will get every part proper.
Replace 2/23, 1:48PM: Added up to date details about Wi-Fi 7, deal with removability and pricing.
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