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.
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.
