Why it matters: Maingear is now accepting orders for its Zero line of prebuilt gaming PCs featuring motherboards with rear-mounted connectors and a case that fully showcases the internal tidiness.
The Maingear Zero series spans multiple performance tiers and price points. The entry-level Zero / Silver, for example, includes an Intel Core i5-14400F alongside 16 GB of RGB DDR5, a 1 TB Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSD, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU. It all comes stuffed in an MSI MAG Pano M100 PZ MATX case, and starts at $1,399.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is the Zero / Ultimate, which pairs an Intel Core i9-14900K with 32 GB of RGB DDR5, a 2 TB Gen4 SSD, and an Nvidia RTX 4090 with 24 GB of RAM. The starting price here is $3,929.
Maingear's Zero series machines utilize MSI Project Zero motherboards and the MSI MAG Pano M100 PZ case, an attractive MATX chassis with a 270-degree panoramic tempered glass window. All configurations use Intel CPUs and Nvidia GPUs, and come backed by a one-year warranty and lifetime support.
It's worth noting that base configurations can be customized to add more memory or storage to the mix, for example, or trade out the CPU or GPU to something that's a better fit for your needs. Extended warranties are also available, and everything can be financed and spread out over monthly payments. Most configurations ship in three to five business days.
MSI is one of several motherboard makers pushing the rear connector initiative. Asus, for example, calls theirs the BTF (short for Back to the Future, for some reason). The idea behind these platforms and others is to move core connectors to the backside of the motherboard to reduce cable clutter up front, resulting in a more visually appealing build.
For DIY jobs, you'll need a compatible chassis with the appropriate cutout on the motherboard tray and enough clearance between the back of the board and the rear side panel to accommodate connectors. Done right, it's possible to build an eye-turning build with hardly any unsightly cables showing.
