The Asus Huracan G21 is a powerful, compact machine with sharp angles and subtle RGB lighting like the ROG Strix GL12CX The Huracan is similar in size to the MSI Trident X, but makes up for its lack of bulk with performance. As the popularity of small form factor PCs continues to grow, it is nearly impossible to judge a PC by its size alone. Any mini-ITX form factor could be hiding an RTX 2080 under its slim case, and the Asus Huracan G21 is no exception.

With its recent refresh, it is in a dead heat with other PCs in its class. It can be configured with up to an Intel Core i9-9900K CPU and a GeForce RTX 2080 GPU. If you are looking for a small PC that can handle even the most demanding games, the Huracan G21 is second to none of its competitors.

The all-black design gives this little tower of horrors a minimalist look, but with a multifunctional twist. The flap on the right side panel folds down to expose the hardware inside, but it is not just for show. The space between the geometric designs is open to allow excess hot air to escape. (Keep fingers and hands outside the case at all times. If you want to get inside, both side panels slide right off.) With the flaps closed, the PC remains cool, thanks to the Huracan G21's efficient venting of hot air out the back. It is noisier than a small-format PC, but at least you don't have to worry about overheating.

There are nine USB ports, six on the back and three on the front, one of which is a USB-C port, so there is plenty of room for all peripherals. There is also a door at the top of the case that lifts up for easy access to the hot-swappable 2.5" SSD drive bay, and a slot on the left side of the case houses an ancient relic called an optical drive (or CD drive, if you prefer). The optical drive is essentially obsolete, as most modern cases do not have bays for optical drives, but this drive still looks good because it blends in with the rest of the case.

However, if cable management outside the PC is a priority, you may be annoyed by the adapters used to power this PC instead of the usual PSU; like Asus' high-end monitors, the Huracan G21 comes with two 280W power bricks, one for the power supply and one for the optical drive. Part of the appeal of small form factor PCs is their light weight and mobility, and while the Huracan G21 is certainly lightweight, being tied to two power adapters makes moving this PC around and storing the cords under a desk a bit of a headache.

Putting the Huracan G21 through its usual suite of benchmarks proved this to be a tough little machine: the Core i9-9900K averaged 2,000 (200 single-core) in Cinebench R15 at a boost clock of 4.6Ghz multi-core score, while the RTX 2080 averaged 22,330 (1080p), 11,900 (1440p), and 6,210 (4K) in 3DMark.

But it is in-game benchmarks where the real performance is demonstrated: the RTX 2080 averaged 106 fps in The Division 2, 104 fps in Total War: Warhammer II (Battle Mode), and 78 fps on Metro Exodus at Ultra settings. Even at 1440p on Ultra settings, performance was impressive, averaging in the mid-70s fps for The Division 2 and Total War: Warhammer 2, and in the mid-60s fps for Metro Exodus. Raytracing fans will be happy to know that the Huracan G21 performed well in 4K. With ray tracing set to high, it can average slightly above 60 fps at 1440p.

The only disappointment on the hardware side is the speed of the 1TB SSD, with average sequential read/write speeds of 1,535 Mb/sec and 1,767 Mb/sec respectively. However, at least the components are easily accessible and can be replaced with faster ones, and with 32 GB of DDR4 2660 RAM on board, the system is future-proof.

However, like other small form factor prebuilts, the Asus Huracan G21 is not cheap, at $2,800 for this fully equipped configuration. This is cheaper than Corsair's One i165 (which retails for $3,500 but comes with a secondary 2TB HDD), but more expensive than MSI's Trident X (which currently retails for under $2,000, also comes with secondary storage and is quieter).

When you compare the cost to the components of the Huracan G21, you are paying for all the extras: cool magnetic flaps, aggressive angles, hot-swap SSD bays, warranty, and time saved from not having to do your own work on a Mini-ITX case. you are paying for.