Starforge Systems Navigator PC review: streamer-backed

Inside the Starforge Navigator

Starforge is a bit heavy on the fans, likely for aesthetic reasons, but it makes the PC louder than it needs to be. The fans ramp up when the PC is under load, as expected, but there’s a constant hum coming from the rig due to the seven fans in the relatively small case.

Still, the fans are configured in a smart way here. There are four intakes, three on the side and one on the bottom, and three exhausts, one at the rear and two on top through the liquid cooler. The XPG case Starforge uses includes dust filters for all of the intakes, so keeping the PC clean shouldn’t be a hassle.

In addition to the PC, you get an accessories case, a power cable, and a quick start guide. The start guide is helpful, though it should note the plastic that covers the liquid cooler. There’s a thin layer of plastic over the liquid cooler, and it’d be easy to miss in the rush of setting up a new gaming PC.

The accessories box held a suite of goodies that were included with the XPG case, including a vertical GPU mount, extra screws, cable ties, and even a GPU support. Starforge oddly doesn’t include any extra power supply cables, however. Someone familiar with PCs could separate what’s what here, but a bit of documentation for newcomers would be helpful with a suite of disparate parts like this.

The inside of the PC is a dream. Starforge has excellent cable management, and it includes some comforts like cable combs to keep the front bay looking tidy. This is much better attention to detail than you get with something like the MSI Aegis RS 12, and a good argument for a system integrator over a mainstream brand.

I can only speak for the PC I reviewed. I’ve seen a handful of other reviews that have spotted issues like the SSD heat sink sticker still being applied and connectors not being seated fully. These problems have been showcased by massive names like Gamers Nexus and Linus Tech Tips, and further amplified by the streamers serving as a face for Starforge Systems.

In short, I believe Starforge is aware of the attention paid to its PCs given its star-studded slate of owners, and I don’t believe oversights like this will be common or widespread.

Warranty and support

Starforge includes a two-year warranty on all new PCs, covering hardware and labor for the “core computer.” The company defines that as the original hardware in the PC, short of any special requests or monitors ordered alongside the PC. If you have a valid claim, Starforge says it will replace or repair your PC under the warranty.

One exception to this warranty is modification. If you change anything in the PC or otherwise tinker inside, there’s a good chance your warranty claim will be denied. Thankfully, Starforge doesn’t place any warranty stickers at critical entry points, so as long as you’re not breaking anything when opening the PC, you should be safe under the warranty — I won’t tell if you won’t.

In addition to the warranty, you get 30 days to return the system for a refund. Shipping isn’t included in the refund, unless the return was due to the system being damaged during transit. Beyond that point, Starforge still accepts returns, but you’ll be charged a 15% restocking fee, as well as a “rental fee” of $75 per day beyond the return window.

Starforge makes a strong argument for going with a smaller system integrator rather than a mainstream brand like HP, Asus, or Lenovo. A big reason why is software. The Navigator doesn’t come bogged down with a barrage of software, with Starforge instead opting for a few useful apps, which means you can dive in and start using your PC right away.

Performance

The Ryzen 5 7600X is a six-core CPU, which is a bit underpowered for productivity use. It’s a good place to cut when building a focused gaming rig, however. In Cinebench, the Ryzen 5 7600X was a bit behind the multi-core score I achieved with the stock part, though it managed to match the speed in the single-core benchmark.

It’s not too big of a trade-off, and likely down to variance between the CPUs themselves. The more interesting benchmarks are for the GPU. Starforge says this a rig for “1080p Ultra” gaming, though that’s selling it short. The RTX 4070, as you can read in our RTX 4070 review, is squarely a 1440p graphics card with aspirations for 4K.

Starting with the 4K benchmarks, the Starforge Navigator is right in line with what I expect to see from the RTX 4070. There are some places where the reference PC is ahead, most notably in Cyberpunk 2077 with DLSS 3 enabled, but you’re consistently getting over 60 frames per second (fps) in demanding games at this resolution, either natively or through some combination of upscaling and frame generation.

Things are more comfortable at 1440p, with games like Horizon Zero Dawn shooting well above 100 fps. Once again, Starforge is within a frame of my reference PC in most games, showcasing that there aren’t too many bottlenecks here for the GPU.

The main drawback here for gaming is the CPU. The Ryzen 5 7600X is a solid gaming CPU, but a faster CPU could make a big difference for games that can scale up on the processor, such as Cyberpunk 2077. In this build, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D seems like an obvious choice for a high-end rig, so a few options to swap out the CPU would help tailor the PC for the other components inside.

There are a lot of system integrators on the market. Some of them build solid PCs, and others are so problematic you could call them a scam. Thankfully, Starforge Systems fits into the former category. There’s still a modest build fee here of around $400, but that’s fair considering the attention to detail inside the PC.

Cable management is excellent, and performance lined up with my expectations. The PC is a bit loud due to being stuffed with fans, and you don’t have a ton of options for a GPU upgrade without extra power supply cables, but for a PC that’s built well and runs well, you could do a lot worse.

Editors’ Recommendations