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Maingear announced the next iteration of its retro-inspired drops, Retro98, a limited-edition gaming PC drop inspired by the rigs that sparked our obsession with gaming.
Built around the SilverStone FLP02 tower PC case, this drop is for the gamers who swapped GPUs under cover of darkness, begged for RAM upgrades for their birthday, and lived for LAN parties. (We probably are still begging for RAM upgrades now, given the shortage of main memory chips).
On the outside, Retro98 looks like it was pulled straight from a 1998 gaming setup, but don’t be fooled by the beige box. Maingear contends it’s an absolute beast.
Available in four fully loaded configurations, including an unapologetically over-the-top liquid-cooled rig co-developed with Alphacool, Retro98 is packed with today’s most elite components: the newly announced AMD Ryzen 9 9850X3D (up to 9950X3D), graphics up to the GeForce RTX 5090, ultra-fast Kingston FURY RAM and SSDs, and modern airflow engineering. It’s all hand-built with Maingear’s signature craftsmanship.
Maingear’s Retro98 PC gaming rig. Source: Maingear
From the LED fan speed display, turbo button, and power lockout key on the front panel, to the “ketchup-and-mustard” sleeved cable colorways to anti-kink coils on the tubing and a pump/res combo proudly housed in the 5.25″ drive bay space, every detail plays like a love letter to the golden age of PC gaming. Even the front I/O is neatly hidden behind the Maingear logo, no mods needed, just turn it on and relive the thrill of 3 a.m. LAN sessions, the company said.
“This drop is for those of us who tore open the family PC just to install a 3DFX accelerator,” said Wallace Santos, Maingear CEO and founder, in a statement. “Retro98 brings back that feeling of chasing every last frame, waiting for the dial tone to download driver updates, and building a system that could handle the most graphics-intensive 32-bit games. Except this time, we built the one your younger self always dreamed of.”
Each Retro98 system is hand-assembled by a single master technician at Maingear HQ in New Jersey, and tested like we’re keeping it for ourselves. These aren’t slapped-together beige boxes, they’re built with purpose, reinforced for longevity, tuned to get every last drop of performance, and backed by lifetime support.
Close-up view of the RAM in Retro98. Source: Maingear
Once it’s sold out, it’s gone forever. Only 32 units + 6 alpha units. No reruns. Period. Retro98 drops today exclusively at www.Maingear.com, starting at $2,499.
AMD Ryzen 9 9850X3D Available Across The Board: Kicking 2026 off strong with the latest high-performance gaming CPU in its arsenal, Maingear has unveiled two new pre-configured MG-1 systems featuring the newly-released Ryzen 9 9850X3D CPU: MG-1 | Legend, which is paired with the RTX 5080 GPU, and MG-1 | Champion, which packs the flagship RTX 5090 GPU. Furthermore, every MAINGEAR gaming and workstation platform, including the MG-1, North, Rush, shroud Edition, Force, APEX Rush, and APEX Force can be custom-ordered with this new CPU.
Game Now. Pay Later. With Zero Interest
With MAINGEAR’s flexible financing powered by Bread Pay, gamers can gear up with the rig they really want and pay over time, with zero interest (on approved credit). No hidden fees. No prepayment penalties. Just easy monthly payments. Learn more and check your rate in seconds at maingear.com/finance with no damage to your credit score.
