Pulsar Performer: Evaluating Next Gen Gaming Systems

Do you have $3000 to burn and you’re looking to upgrade to a new gaming/streaming PC? The Starforge Voyager Creator probably isn’t on your radar, but after this review, it might make its way to your shortlist. Founded in August 2022 and based in Austin, Texas, StarForge Systems is a new player in the very saturated custom PC building scene, gaining support from star streamers like Asmongold, Mizkif, Rich Campbell, and others associated with the OTK streaming group, showing their passion for making a mark in a fierce market.

Currently priced at $2799 (originally $2999), we’re reviewing the Starforge Voyager Creator, the cheapest model in the Creator series. With its Intel Core i7-13700K, NVidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti, and 32GB DDR5 6000 RAM, this PC is designed to handle 4K gaming and streaming with frame rates exceeding 100FPS in most modern AAA games.

Starforge Voyager Creator

9/ 10

A formidable gaming/streaming PC crafted by a new and streamer-backed company eager to make waves in the industry. With excellent performance, silent operation, and an eye-catching design, this pre-built system comes at a premium price but offers one of the more attractive designs in its class.

Brand

Starforge

Memory

Teamgroup Delta RGB 32GB DDR5 6000 CL38 (2x16GB)

Graphics

PNY GeForce RTX™ 4070 Ti 12GB

CPU

Intel Core i7-13700K

Storage

2TB Kingston KC3000 PCIe 4.0 NVME

Motherboard

MSI Z790 Tomahawk Wifi DDR5

Case

Lian Li PC-011 Dynamic Evo Mid-Tower (Black)

CPU Cooler

Deepcool LS720 360mm AIO Liquid Cooler

Operating System

Windows 11 Home

PSU

MSI MPG A850G Gold PCIe 5

Fans

6 x Deepcool FC 120mm

Cables

CableMod Pro ModMesh Sleeved Cable Extensions (Black)

Pros

• Beautiful design
• Silent operation
• Highly modular Lian case
• Handles AAA games on max settings
• 2 year warranty
• Well packaged

Cons

• Expensive
• Limited front IO
• No choice of part customization

Expand

See at Starforge Systems

Although other System Integrators and PC brands may offer better value for similar hardware, the Starforge Voyager Creator has the edge in design.

It uses the trendy and attractive Lian Li PC-011 Dynamic Evo Mid-Tower case, and has all the RGB you’d expect. The system is pre-configured and fully warrantied for two years of parts and labor, sparing you the trouble of sourcing and assembling individual components.

However, it’s worth noting that this convenience comes with a $400-$500 premium compared to building a similar system yourself, or about $200-$300 vs other high-end system integrators.

Aside from its design, cooling and silent operation were clearly a priority when Starforge built this out. Even with more demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077 or Hogwarts Legacy, this is easily one of the quieter gaming PCs I’ve tested recently, and for the most part, it’s hard to tell it’s even running.

Fan speeds ramp up with prolonged rendering or CPU-intensive tasks, but the Voyager Creator still offers a quiet computing experience, even during demanding workloads.

Arguably, even cooler than its low temps, Starforge gives you the “chance to watch [your] PC built live”. This is a unique experience, and although you’re not assembling it yourself, gives you a deeper connection and understanding of your PC and certainly more appreciation for the hand-built process that goes into these builds.

While the Starforge Voyager Creator may not be the most budget-friendly option and may not offer the most extensive legacy, it’s one of the better-looking and quieter choices in 2023.

If you’re in the market for a well-designed pre-configured gaming PC with these specs and want to avoid the complexities of self-assembly, and like the assurance of a long warranty, it may be worth considering despite the premium price.

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Hardware and Comparable Custom Builds

PC Part Picker

By using PCPartPicker, a nearly identical build with the same components can be configured for $2364.50 after rebates. However, this estimate doesn’t include additional components like the CableMod Pro ModMesh Sleeved Cable kit, which retails for $49.90, or the custom backplate. If you were to build the PC yourself, you might expect to spend around $2400.

Other Pre-Builds

For the same price range, there are pre-built options available, such as the2023 MSI Aegis RS 13NUF-439US , which comes with an i7-13700KF CPU, 32GB RAM, 2TB NVMe SSD, and an RTX 4070Ti 12GB graphics card.

Although the case may not be as flashy or premium-looking as the Starforge Voyager Creator, the MSI Aegis RS is about $300 cheaper. It includes a wired gaming keyboard and mouse combo, which add a little value, if you want semi-decent peripherals right out of the box. The one year MSI USA warranty for parts and labor isn’t as extensive as the two years offered by Starforge, though in my experience, most issues typically arise within the first year anyway.

Alternatively, if you’re willing to make some compromises in storage capacity, theiBUYPOWER Gaming PC Computer Desktop Y40312i offers an appealing deal. This system features an Intel i7-13700KF CPU, 32 GB of 5200 MHz DDR5 RAM, and an RTX 4070Ti 12GB graphics card. It features a 1TB NVMe SSD and a 1TB HDD for additional storage. The RAM is slightly slower, you lose out on the faster storage, and the system has three fewer case fans; but it comes at a significantly lower price of $2,199.00 when on sale, making it a highly competitive option.

Considering these alternatives, the MSI Aegis RS and the iBUYPOWER Gaming PC offer similar performance to the Starforge Voyager Creator at a more budget-friendly price. However, the Starforge Voyager Creator boasts a more premium design, and slightly better components that offer flexibility with future upgrades and longer warranty coverage.

Design and Setup

The PC arrives in a massive, hefty box, carefully protected with several fragile stickers to ensure its safe delivery. Our shipment arrived in excellent condition, without any bruises or holes, a testament to the packaging’s effectiveness.

Upon opening the box, you’ll encounter layers of bubble wrap, the original Lian Li accessory box, and the original Lian Li case box. You’ll also find the original soft MSI pouch, containing additional cabling associated with its MSI Z790 Tomahawk Wifi DDR5 motherboard. Furthermore, the Starforge Accessory box includes essential items like the power cable, Wi-Fi antennas for the motherboard, MSI badging stickers, Starforge quick setup guide, warranty card, and information.

With all of that removed, you’ll get your first glimpse of the PC’s rear side, showcasing its motherboard and IO. The PC boasts excellent padding on its top and bottom, ensuring everything remains secure during transit. Considering its massive size and weight, it’s recommended to carefully flip the box on its open cutout side and then lift it, avoiding any struggle that may lead to accidental dropping.

To prepare the PC for use, you’ll need to remove its left glass side to access the custom protective foam pieces surrounding the GPU, motherboard, and power supply.

Additionally, a small protective film on its Deepcool LS720 360mm AIO Liquid Cooler needs to be removed. ‘

Both the left and front glass sides have a protective film on both sides, requiring removal before use. It’s worth noting that the Lian Li PC-011 Dynamic Evo Mid-Tower case’s design doesn’t make removing these sides easy, making it unlikely that you’ll need to re-enter the case anytime soon after the initial setup.

During this process, you’ll have the opportunity to inspect the cable management on the front and back, finding everything neatly tied and organized without any sloppiness. Starforge deserves an A+ for its packaging and protection during shipment. Having previously worked for a System Integrator, I can appreciate the effort and cost required to protect a PC this well, making me truly value the care and attention that went into this aspect of the process.

Something interesting that Starforge adds to the Lian case is a custom foam-board-like black backplate featuring their logo and several stars and cubes in white. These semi-transparent white shapes allow the RGB lighting from the RGB light strip adhered to the backplate to shine through, adding a nice touch of brand flavor to the unit and making it feel more custom rather than an off-the-shelf Lian case.

However, there are some concerns with this design. For one, the backplate attaches via a magnet but is easy to knock loose, and the whole piece feels somewhat cheap, flimsy, and like an afterthought rather than the centerpiece it was intended to be. Despite these minor issues, the backplate still enhances the overall aesthetics of the PC, making it stand out from other builds.

After reassembling everything, the last steps are to install the Wi-Fi antennas and the power cable. The Starforge Voyager Creator Pro is made of 4mm Aluminum, 4mm Tempered Glass, and 1mm Steel Structure, measuring (D)465mm × (W)285mm × (H)459mm, making it a robust and substantial PC.

It weighs around 70 pounds, so having two sets of hands during setup is essential to ensure safe handling. The O11 Dynamic EVO Mid-Tower case is stunning and modular, offering ample customization and support for future expandability. However, compared to other mid-tower cases, it’s on the larger side and requires more desk space, so make sure you have enough room for it.

With its meticulous design and attention to detail, the Starforge Voyager Creator Pro is not something you’d want to tuck away under your desk; instead, it deserves a prominent spot in your gaming setup.

Upon powering it on with its power button on the top right side of the front panel, the PC comes to life with a mesmerizing series of RGB lighting from its water cooler, RAM, fans, and back panel, all in perfect synchronization.

After completing the usual Windows 11 setup, you’ll be prompted with an MSI update dialogue, offering updates or installations for several drivers. Although it would have been convenient for the PC to come pre-installed with a Windows 11 image featuring these drivers, it’s only a minor gripe in an otherwise impressive setup process.

Now, it’s time to unleash the true capabilities of the Starforge Voyager Creator Pro. Let’s put it to the test and see what this powerful gaming/streaming PC can truly achieve.

Performance

When we check out the Starforage Voyager Creator alongside other units we’ve reviewed in the past, it’ll give us a good idea of how it performs and how it stacks up against different hardware. It’s exciting to see how the Voyager Creator holds up against the MSI Aegis RS, which uses last-gen hardware. This will give us a sense of whether the Voyager Creator, with its latest-gen components, really brings a significant performance boost and is worth the additional cash for some.

Plus, since we have a bunch of current gaming laptops with the latest Intel mobile CPUs, we can see how the Voyager Creator’s desktop setup compares in terms of portability and power efficiency.

PCMark 10

3DMark TimeSpy

Davinci Resolve

Gaming

In our game benchmarks, we run everything at the highest quality preset on a 2560 x 1080p monitor.

In more intense games like Red Dead Redemption 2, we noticed the GPU utilization reaching around 99%, with temperatures hovering at approximately 71 degrees Celsius and power usage around 240 Watts.

In older and less demanding games like Detroit Become Human, GPU utilization drops to under 50%, and temperatures stay around 40 degrees Celsius, yet we maintain a steady 60fps without any drops.

For Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, we experienced an average FPS between 92 and 110.

However, Gotham Knights is poorly optimized for PC, resulting in absurdly low CPU and GPU utilization of about 15% and 60% respectively. Despite this, we still manage around 58-62 fps in the open world and 110-120 fps indoors.

Hogwarts Legacy is another game that isn’t the best optimized and is highly GPU-bound. With around 11% CPU utilization and 95% GPU utilization, we achieve between 105-125 fps in the opening scene where we follow Professor Fig.

The popular Diablo 4 is far less demanding, allowing us to achieve 220+ fps easily. As for Cyberpunk 2077, with all visual settings maxed out, including Ray Tracing Ultra, we experience fps between 55-62.

Expensive, but Justified for Some

The Starforge Voyager Creator impresses as a compelling gaming/streaming PC with its latest-gen components, delivering outstanding gaming performance even on max settings. If you have the space for it, the design and build quality truly stand out, especially with the eye-catching Lian Li PC-011 case adorned with mesmerizing star RGB lighting that beautifully shines through.

Although it’s natural to have reservations about choosing a relatively new and lesser-known System Integrator, my experience with Starforge has been remarkably positive. They’ve aced the packaging, assembly, and component selection, ensuring the PC arrives in pristine condition, ready to go. While I can’t vouch for their support team’s reliability and efficiency, the fact that they offer a rare 2-year warranty showcases their confidence in their product, instilling a sense of reassurance in buyers.

The Voyager Creator undeniably delivers top-notch performance, but the premium price tag can’t be ignored, especially in an increasingly price-driven market. Comparing it to building a similar system yourself or exploring other pre-built options, the Voyager Creator’s $400 higher price may give some pause. That extra cash could be spent on games, accessories, or simply tucked into your pocket.

However, if the Voyager Creator’s striking appearance resonates with you, and you prioritize the convenience of a pre-configured system that comes with an extended warranty, then this PC marks a noteworthy debut. Its powerful performance, meticulous design, and generous warranty make it an enticing choice for those looking to level up their gaming and streaming experiences.

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