by A gamer in the market for a pre-built gaming PC might go to Google and be drawn to the likes of Alienware or the HP Omen. They’re not bad systems, but they tend to come with proprietary parts or lack upgradeability. Buying a built-in PC from a real PC reseller means you get components off the shelf. This gives you options and upgrade potential.
Mwave is one of Australia’s largest PC retailers. It sells systems ranging from business machines and NUCs, all the way up to high-end gaming machines. And that’s what I have on hand today. The Mwave Respawn Ninja Beast Mode Alpha Gaming PC (opens in a new tab) it certainly comes with a beast of a spec.
If you have checked out our Intel Core i9 13900K (opens in a new tab) and GeForce RTX 4090 (opens in a new tab) reviews, you’ll know they’re the best choices for a high-end gaming PC. You’ll also need serious cooling to tame it all, a big case to house it, a quality power supply, and a big SSD to hold a huge library of games. The Alpha has it all.
Sure, you can expect to pay a pretty penny for the privilege of owning this aptly named beast, but at AU$7,699 that’s not an unreasonable price given the caliber of components it includes. However, if the price is a little daunting, you are more than free to swap in the components you want and Mwave’s PC configurator (opens in a new tab) it is one of the best in the business. For example, if the 4090 is too much for your needs, you can choose an RTX 30-series card or a lower CPU. It’s an excellent system and well worth checking out.
But I digress. I’m here to check out the Respawn Ninja Beast Mode Alpha (I think I’ll call it Alpha for short). Is it worth your hard-earned dollars? On paper, that would be a yes, but let’s first see how this top-spec machine performs.
Mwave Respawn Ninja Beast Mode Alpha Specs
PROCESSOR: Intel Core i9 13900K
Cooling down: EKWB 360mm AIO
Motherboard Chips: Z790
Memory: 32GB (2x 16GB) DDR5-5600
Graphics: Asus TUF GeForce RTX 4090 OC edition
Storage: Seagate 520 2TB NVMe SSD
Power: Thermaltake ToughPower 1200W
Warranty: 2 years
Price: AU$7,699 (opens in a new tab)
This Mwave build comes with the aforementioned Intel i9-13900K CPU. It’s a great gaming chip, but it’s good at everything else too, including multitasking, streaming, content creation, or whatever you want to throw at it. Still, it’s a hot and power-hungry CPU, and it demands all the cooling the 360mm EKWB liquid cooler can give it.
The system comes with an Asus Prime Z790-A motherboard. The board looks great. It includes four M.2 slots and a capable 16+1 phase VRM, which is more than enough to power the 13900K without overstressing the card’s heat sinks.
The I/O of the card cannot match that of the top shelf cards. You don’t get USB4 or 10G LAN, but for a card in its price range, that’s good enough. Key features include Wi-Fi 6E, 2.5G LAN, and a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C connector.
The graphics card is an Asus TUF GeForce RTX 4090, and this thing is a beast. It has a massive cooler, and when used with all the surrounding fans, it always stays cool. We saw a maximum GPU temperature of 65 degrees which is excellent for a 450W graphics card.
You get 2x16GB of memory, specifically Corsair RGB DDR5-5600 C36, and it’s a good value kit. You can add more if you like, but going 64GB or 6000MHz or higher won’t have a tangible impact on gaming performance.
The SSD is a 2TB Seagate FireCuda 520. It’s not the fastest drive currently available, and it’s perhaps one of the weakest links in such a high-spec system, though it’s no turtle. A decent NVMe SSD is essential for quick system boot up, game load times, and overall system responsiveness. The 520 might seem slower in synthetic tests, but it will blow away any SATA SSD, and at 2TB it’s big enough to fit all your apps and a sizable games library.
The case is an absolute beauty. The Lian-Li O11 Dynamic EVO is perfect for housing a high-end system. Note the placement of the front USB and audio connectors. Their low-lying placement means that the system is better placed on a desk than under it, where they’ll be virtually out of reach.
Mwave decked out the system with seven 120mm Lian Li SL-Infinity fans with three more attached to the 360mm EKWB AIO radiator. This means you have high airflow which is essential for 13900K and 4090 heat generation.
Check out the gallery below. If you love RGB and making it your own, you’ll love Beast Mode Alpha. I downloaded the Lian Li app and quickly played around with the RGB settings. Or, if you prefer, you can use the Asus Aura Sync app.
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So, on paper, the Mwave Respawn Ninja Beast Mode Alpha Gaming PC has fantastic specs. Since we know the capabilities of its base hardware, we pretty much know how it’s going to perform.
This system is designed for 4K gaming.
We’re comparing it to a few other systems, although they’re all RTX 30-equipped systems with 12th Gen series processors and lower-spec Ryzen 5000s. In all honesty, they’re a lot cheaper too. The exception is the Alienware Aurora R13 (opens in a new tab) which was tested with a 12900KF and RTX 3090 and was priced up to $7,999. It’s a good indicator of how much leap the 13th generation and the RTX 4090 have made.
System performance
Yes, Alpha is a fast PC! Blows away the 12th Gen 12900KF and Ryzen 5800X3D of the Aftershock Ultracore (opens in a new tab) in system benchmarks, but has a major weakness. The CPU easily hits 100c, and while it’s always quiet, it’s a bit also silent.
I needed to install the Lian Li control app to get fan speed control. This gave me full access to fan hysteresis control, allowing the fan speeds to ramp up when needed. It really is a must have app as I haven’t been able to control the fans using the Asus AI suite or through the BIOS.
Synthetic and 1440p gaming performance
Make sure you have at least a high refresh rate 1440p or ultrawide to get the best out of the beast. A game like Metro Exodus with all ray tracing settings on still tops out at 120 FPS. And it’s almost twice as fast as a 3090 in Cyberpunk 2077. Nice!
4K gaming performance
This system is designed for 4K gaming. Cyberpunk 2077 is actually playable at max settings with DLSS. The RTX 30 cards gave a presentation in comparison. And if you don’t mind resetting the ray tracing settings, every single game will deliver over 120 FPS. And it’s hard to see this system struggling in any game for at least a couple of years, at least until the RTX 50 series and maybe even next-gen consoles arrive.
The 2023 games will be at home with the beastly Alpha, there is no doubt.
I’m really impressed with the build quality and choice of components on the Alpha.
Mwave Respawn Ninja Beast Mode Alpha costs a lot, but when compared to the pre-built RTX 4090-equipped PC Case Gear and Scorptec, it offers solid value. You get a lot for your AU$7,699, but it’s still a quantity of money, and building a similarly spec’d system yourself is a cheaper option.
But a DIY build versus a pre-built one is like comparing apples to oranges. This is a system for users who want a top spec PC and just play games without having to build and troubleshoot it. It looks like a PC you built yourself, and not just another custom-built Alienware system from Harvey Norman. Such systems work, but lack the personal touch.
As someone who has built many systems, I am truly impressed with the build quality and choice of components on the Alpha. It’s a superbly built PC with immaculate cable management and attention to detail, and that alone will be reason enough for a well-heeled gamer to drop the cash and get Mwave to build it for them.
No system is perfect. Personally, I’d be tempted to upgrade to a 13700K for easier cooling and a higher spec motherboard would be nice, but with a 13900K and RTX 4090 in one system plus all the other goodies at a highly competitive price point, I have no problem recommend this system. Respawn Ninja Beast Model Alpha is an aptly named machine for PC gamers who want a high-end PC to play without worrying about the hassles of building their own PC.
