Time Warp Back to the 1990s With Maingear’s Retro98 PC

Everything ’90s is back — from Walkmans and cassettes to postgrunge rock. Gaming PC maker Maingear is getting on board the trend, selling a 1990s-inspired PC, the Retro98. The company says it even has a working Turbo button, though rather than changing the CPU frequency, it boosts cooling to maximum settings.  

A turbo button was a popular addition to 1980s and 1990s computers that toggled their speed, allowing them to run older, slower games.

Despite its retro exterior, the new PC boasts cutting-edge specs, including Nvidia GeForce RTX 50×0 graphics cards, 1TB or 2TB NvMe SSD drives and Windows 11. The catch is that the company is only making 32 units starting at $2,499.

The company is producing four different models, with the model number indicating the Nvidia graphics card: 

• $2,499 Retro98 5070 (Intel Core Ultra 7 265K) 
• $3,499 Retro98 5080 (AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D) 
• $4,999 Retro98 5090 (AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D)
• $9,799 Retro98α (AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D)

It could be argued that the overclock-adjacent Turbo button and the frankly awful beige color were what inspired the first wave of overclockers and modders. I was one of those people who couldn’t understand why PCs weren’t available in other colors.

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Although the limited number would seem to make these machines sell out quickly, as of Friday, when I reached out to Maingear, a spokesperson said they were still available.

Note that if you wanted to make one of these for yourself, then the beige-tastic Silverstone FLP02 case is available separately for $299.

Despite threats from handhelds and gaming laptops, desktop gaming is still alive and well. In the past month, I even built my kid a gaming desktop using the excellent Cooler Master Qube 500. With its garish green, pink and orange color scheme, that system is anything but beige.