When it comes to computers…I’m very utilitarian. A computer is supposed to be shoved underneath a desk…functional and unsee. Another thing that puts me in a weird spot is for most of my adult life I wasn’t quite a “PC Gamer” and using WASD in games is like telling me to write with my left hand. Even though I’m so fascinated by the pluses the platform can provide such as the “nearly complete” backwards compatibility and endless mods which can make the experience your own it’s not something that drives me to participate in the hardware arms race that PC Gamers have to contend with. Especially with the impending release of the Nvidia 50 series on the horizon it’s certainly going to be a knife fight for those looking to have the state of the art machine in their possession.
For those looking to stay above the fray, prefab systems are the way to go. However, unlike days of yore, prefab machines feel like they’ve veered towards RGB lighting and cases where you can view the internals of the system and away from glossy cases. One of these system fabricators is Starforge Systems. Founded in 2022 the company has certainly planted their flag on the scene and while sometimes news about the company has not been positive (Such as when co-owner Zack “Asmongold” Hoyt had to step away from his position from the company for some controversial statements), I can’t say that I’ve seen anything which bemoan the company’s offerings other than the usual counterpoints about purchasing from a prefab manufacturer.
So when the company offered us an opportunity to check out their Voyager-Class Frieren PC, I figured why not see what life is like on the other side. For those who are asking what’s a “Frieren”? Let me go on another tangent. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is a fantasy manga serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday by author Kanehito Yamada and drawn by Tsukasa Abe. It followed Frieren an elf who along with her companions defeated a great evil to bring evil to the land and long since that grand adventure ended she has to come to terms with her companions aging and passing on as well as her relationship with humanity. The series which began in 2020 is still being serialized and became an anime in 2023 which certainly helped boost the series’ reach.
The PC came in a hefty box which I practically struggled to carry into my home. The packaging wasn’t distinct in fact it was actually just the packaging from Lian Li, the manufacturer of the case the PC uses. I get that this product wasn’t going to sit on a store shelf, but when you’re paying for a premium product, especially something that is a tie in…you want to see something that designates the distinction. Once I got it situated on my desk, I noticed that the negative space inside the case was filled with expandable foam bags…so it required me to open up the case to remove it. The process was a little unwieldy and during the process I even unintentionally knocked out the magnet company logo that was on the watercooler. Otherwise reassembly was a lot smoother than the initial disassembly and I was able to power on.
The case itself stood out, but that’s because it’s an all white case with light blue accents. The top of the case features a spell circle such as the ones seen generated by the mages from the franchise. The right side of the case shows Frieren and her original party of Himmel, Heiter and Eisen, the left shows Frieren and her new party of Fern and Stark. This panel which bears the new party is printed on a glass plate which allows a view of the innards of the pc. Aside from the hardware there is also a light up panel which comes pre-installed with a swappable plate. Most of the components inside are also white giving the system quite a uniform look. Its size (18.8in x 11.4in x 18.5in) along with graphics printed on the case will draw eyes to it.
Powering on the PC, and going through the 30ish minute initial setup, my first impression was that the computer wasn’t pre-loaded with bloatware. Having done some IT work in the past for small businesses one of the tasks which was in my initial setup checklist would be to purge the machine of all the “offers” pre-installed which help keep the costs down.
Having recently caved and “built” a gaming PC (The work was offshored to a friend who is more willing to navigate the ever changing standards that I’ve lost interest in tracking) I had access to games that were more than capable of pushing the hardware to its limits. The games I tested on the machine were a pair of heavy hitters from 2024, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 and Black Myth: Wukong. Both games ran quite smoothly and on a Dell S3422DWG Curved Gaming Monitor it made me question why I spent most of my life gaming on consoles and regular displays.
So clearly component wise, the Frieren PC will keep you in the game for quite a while. However at a starting price of $2,089.98 I’m sure most folks will experience sticker shock and will contemplate looking for cheaper alternatives. Using PC Part Picker I was able to deduce that the components for this system would cost around $1,600~ pre-tax (This is an approximate figure as the PC utilizes some custom components that aren’t tracked on the platform.). So the upcharge you’re paying for Starforge to assemble and ship your PC is roughly $500~. In a previous life I would say save that $500 dollars and do it yourself, but as of now I realized how much more complex PC building has gotten.
With my new (non-Starforge) gaming PC I was experiencing intermittent crashes and when I reached out to the builder who assembled it, he asked me to check whether XMP or EXPO was enabled. It turns out the wrong RAM timing was enabled and it was causing the crashes. I’m also experiencing screen tearing and numerous attempts to resolve it have gone fruitless. So this experience reminded me how woefully not prepared I am to deal with PC hardware and perhaps $500 is a small price to pay for an optimized PC.
So besides being quite the looker and running pretty much any game I threw at it with no problems (It had not run other powerhouses like Little Kitty, Big City and Balatro). I would not hesitate to recommend a Starforge System PC if you’re ok with paying a premium for a low friction PC gaming experience. The machine also comes with a wall graphic and desk pad, so it is certainly something you can design a room around. For those who might not be into this franchise, it seems Starforge will have other anime franchises in the wings to adorn their hardware as with their recently announced Kaiju no. 8 case and PC Bundles…so weebs will continue to win.
The Freiren PC was loaned to Gaming Age by Starforge systems for evaluation purposes.