Skip to main content

Maingear’s Spark is a mini gaming PC that weighs less than a pound

Maingear just announced the availability of the Spark, a small form factor gaming rig powered by AMD hardware. The words “tiny” and “gaming PC” don’t often go hand and hand. They do in this case though.

The base model Maingear Spark is outfitted with an AMD A8-5557M quad-core processor running at 2.1GHz, an AMD Radeon R9 M275X graphics card, 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB 7,200 rpm hard drive. These specs are quite modest for a gaming PC, but at the very least, the base model’s $699 price tag reflects that.

Recommended Videos

Sure, it’s not half as cool looking as the newest from Zotac — which looks like R2D2’s spray-painted head — nor as intimidating sounding as some of CyberPower’s systems.

But it’s got it where it counts: potability and versatility. On the ports and wireless fronts, the Maingear Spark features four USB 3.0 connections, HDMI, a mini DisplayPort, Ethernet, an audio jack, and a Kensington lock slot. The Spark’s Wi-Fi adapter supports 802.11ac wireless, along with 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. Bluetooth 4.0 is here as well.

Measuring 4.5 × 2.34 × 4.23 inches and weighing less a pound (0.89 to be exact), the Maingear Spark is absolutely dwarfish. However, given the specs, you shouldn’t expect to play Crysis 3 on it, regardless of how you configure it on Maingear’s site. Although you can add more RAM and storage, you’re locked into the CPU and graphics card. However, if you’re a regular participant in DOTA 2, WoW, or League of Legends tournaments, the Spark could be a great fit for you given its combination of extreme portability and mid-range specs.

Or you could just buy something that fits in the palm of your hand. Now that’s portable.

Konrad Krawczyk
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Konrad covers desktops, laptops, tablets, sports tech and subjects in between for Digital Trends. Prior to joining DT, he…
The Alienware Aurora R16 is our “best gaming PC,” and it’s $400 off
Alienware Aurora R16 sitting on a coffee table.

If you think it's finally time for a gaming desktop upgrade and you're willing to spend some serious cash, you should set your sights on the Alienware Aurora R16. This configuration with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card, which is usually sold for $4,000, is on sale from Dell for $3,600. You'll be able to use the savings of $400 towards monitor deals to complete your PC gaming setup, but you need to hurry because the discount on this gaming PC isn't expected to last long.

Why you should buy the Alienware Aurora R16 gaming PC

Read more
Walmart slashed the price of this mini gaming PC to $330
The GMKtec Nucbox M5 Plus gaming PC on a white background.

What if we told you that you can get a dependable gaming PC for an affordable price, and it also won't take up a lot of space on your desk? We're not kidding -- check out the GMKtec Nucbox M5 Plus, which is on sale from Walmart with a $72 discount that further lowers its price from $400 to only $328. You'll need to act fast though, as we're not sure how much longer stocks will last for this mini gaming PC.

Why you should buy the GMKtec Nucbox M5 Plus gaming PC

Read more
Alienware gaming PC with RTX 5080 is $400 off
Alienware Area 51 gaming PC.

If your plan is to spend a huge amount of cash on a gaming PC deals so you'll end with an extremely powerful machine, you may want to set your sights on Dell's offer for the Alienware Area 51. This configuration of the gaming desktop with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 graphics card usually sells for $5,050, but it's currently down to $4,650 following a $400 discount. The savings aren't that huge compared to the price, but you might as well take advantage of it if you're interested in this gaming PC, so hurry!

Why you should buy the Alienware Area 51 gaming PC

Read more