Thermal and power consumption testing goes hand-in-hand with system performance -- part of your performance profile depends heavily on your power output and heat, along with the ability to cool things down. Our power measurements are done scoping total system power using a Kill-A-Watt device between the mains power cable and the wall. This gives us an idea of the real, total power consumption of the system.
Total System Power Consumption And Acoustic Output Measurements
For idle power, we simply let the system rest at the Windows 11 desktop. The idle power figure in the chart below is not the absolute lowest value we recorded, but represents the average of low values over a 1 minute period.
For peak power, we instead ran the most brutal torture test we could imagine: Prime95's Small FFTs test along with Furmark driving the GPU to its max load concurrently. This is not a realistic scenario that users are likely to encounter, as even a crypto-mining workload will not generate this kind of power usage, or heat. Still, it serves as an extreme measurement for the top-end of the system's power draw.
As expected, this is not a configuration of the Vybe that folks concerned with power-efficiency are going to dial-up on Maingear's system configurator. This Vybe didn't draw as much as an RTX 3090 rig from last year but it was right up there. Regardless, this Vybe's power draw is well within the spec limits of its 850 Watt EVGA power supply. Let's look at acoustics and thermals next, when trying to keep on this high-end PC gear cool...
Even with a beefy Radeon RX 6950 XT GPU, the 2022 Maingear Vybe is well-behaved.
If we were to choose a single word that best describes the Maingear Vybe's acoustic and thermal signature, that would have to be "tame." Under a heavy gaming workload of an F1 2022 run at the 4K Ultra preset, we recorded just 47db of noise output, which is more than reasonable for a gaming desktop PC. We also witnessed the system's Ryzen 7 5800X3D processor averaging around 76ºC under the full load of a repeated Cinebench R23 stress test loop, which bodes well for its custom Maingear Epic 360mm AiO liquid cooler.
Maingear Vybe (2022) Powered By Ryzen And Radeon: Our Conclusion, In A Word, Dialed
At this point you've probably gathered that we're pretty fond of this year's new Maingear Vybe, especially with this absolute beast configuration of AMD Ryzen and Radeon gaming firepower. The Vybe we were shipped for testing is a very straight-forward platform, sans Maingear's fancy Apex Liquid Cooling system, but with a more off-the-shelf AiO closed loop setup that performs admirably and keeps system cost a little lower as a result.
Then again, our configuration, even with Maingear's ongoing 4th of July sales event going on right now, still clocks in at $4800 ($4799 to be exact). That's a big bite to chew on if you're watching your pennies, but if you're looking for one of the fastest pre-built gaming PC's money can buy currently, this particular Maingear Vybe is a top candidate. We could get into the analysis of DYI build cost versus pre-built here, but frankly that's gotten old. Quick napkin math says we're looking at about a ~ 30% mark-up, which we think is fair when you consider the time it takes to assemble a rig like this, its immaculate build quality, the attention to every detail in its setup and Maingear's 1 year parts and labor warranty, along with lifetime phone and email support. And of course, if need be, you can always configure some lower cost component options versus the ultra-high end build we tested here.
Is this beautiful Vybe configuration perfect? No, it's not and perfection is rather elusive when it comes to custom gaming PCs especially. One could argue that the system's IO options lacking Thunderbolt connectivity, and only offering standard Wi-Fi 6 support versus 6E, are minor but notable drawbacks, depending on your use case. That said, other than these caveats and whether or not you fancy the Vybe's clean, understated lines, we found little to nitpick with this powerful all-AMD killer gaming rig from Maingear.
So yes, as has historically been the case in our previous Maingear gaming desktop experiences here at HotHardware, the new 2022 Vybe adorned in Ryzen and Radeon red, really impressed us. If you're looking to just strap-in for some PC gaming action with an immaculate, premium, pre-built desktop system, Maingear still delivers some of the best around.
