Asus has recently released the ROG Evangelion collection, and I’ve had my hands test-driving a brand-new build for a couple of weeks. Here’s why I never want to use my boring gaming PC ever again.
My gaming PC is a beast. It has a Ryzen 5800X3D CPU, coupled with an RTX 4080. What more could I want? I was living blissfully in ignorance of what could be. That was until I saw Asus’s EVA-02 collab drop.
Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of the most popular Anime series of all time. Combined with my love for the mecha genre, I knew I had to check it out. A few weeks later, a behemoth package arrived at my doorstep. The Evangelion drop in all its glory, packed with brand-new PC parts like Intel’s 14th-gen offering, and a beautiful RTX 4090, as well as a bevy of peripherals and accessories.
Every part of this PC is incredible
Starting right off the bat, I was met with the ROG EVA-02 version of the Hyperion case, which is dutifully plastered with elements of Unit 02’s iconic red colors, with some green accents around it too. Several elements also resemble decals from the mecha itself, and it all makes for one of the most premium-feeling cases I have ever used, with huge glass panels containing all of that power housed within.
Featuring dual USB ports, in addition to a massive RGB acrylic panel of the EVA Unit 02 itself inside, the case is an absolute looker, and it looks brilliant. As a huge Evangelion fan, with Asuka Langley being my favorite character of Eva’s ill-fated pilots, I was ecstatic to see the amount of sheer detail that went into making the case truly unique.
Let’s just forget the part where I hit my knee on a part of the case and had a massive bruise afterward. The premium materials used feel incredible, so just be sure that your extremities are well clear of it before attempting to lift it all up.
Z790 Maximus HERO EVA-02
The motherboard is Asus’ high-end ROG Maximus Z790 HERO but kitted out in a gorgeous red and black colorway, with AT-Field accents. The left-hand side also supports a small display, which fits between an image of the Asuka, and Unit-02 itself.
My favorite part of the ROG EVA-02 variant of the Z790 Maximus HERO is the area around the CPU socket, which offers an AT-Field-like design spreading outward from it. While most of this will be covered up by a cooler, it’s an immensely cool design. There is a typo on the left-hand side of the board, however, Asus will be issuing replacements for anyone looking to pick one of these gorgeous-looking boards up for themselves.
Sporting the Z790 chipset will also allow for the system to offer heaps of power, including compatibility with the latest Intel 14th-generation processors. But, with all this power, you’ll need something to cool it, too.
ROG Ryujin III 360 ARGB EVA-02
The ROG Ryujin III neatly fits into the system, offering a large 360mm radiator to ensure that your CPU is kept cool. Sporting fans are accented with the EVA Unit 02’s emblem, as well as coming in a red colorway to bring home the Unit-02 theming of the whole system. The magnetic fans make installation a cinch, meaning there are none of the usual headaches involved during installation.
Sat atop the cooling block is a magnetic LCD screen, which itself is also Unit-02 themed. You can customize this with various Unit-02 themed options through Armory Crate, which will monitor your system, and offer great-looking screens with an EVA-02 flair. You can even install your animations on top. I love the bootup animations here, which offer up an EVA and NERV logo here, which all look excellent, especially when put together. It provides an additional industrial feel to the system, which is incredibly welcome.
ROG Thor 1000W Platinum II EVA Edition
Now, there’s only so much I can say about a power supply, but Asus has gone fully over the top here and added a screen showing concurrent power draw, in addition to a big old NERV logo plastered on it too. It’s a nice touch, and you can even see the wattage monitor through the case, to boot.
The RTX 4090 is an absolute highlight
Imagine if you took Asus’s already over-the-top ROG Strix RTX 4090 and gave it an incredible makeover. That’s what the EVA-02 edition of the GPU is. Sporting a shroud in the same colorway we’ve come to expect, this behemoth 3.5-slot GPU is a stunner. It weighs a ton, and even has a beautiful transparent orange ring around the shroud that still gives you that added flair on your system in a sea of red.
Of course, the real highlight is on the backplate portion of the system, where you get some official art of Asuka herself, which looks fantastic while set next to the retention plate. The entire unit is just absolutely gorgeous, and if you were to get just one thing from this entire collection for your gaming PC, then you might as well splash out on this GPU, it’s just that good-looking.
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You’re gonna need some help with the heavy lifting
The ROG Hercul EVA-02 edition is an Evangelion-themed GPU retention bracket, which helps keep the card level while inside the case, there’s even a spirit level inside, and you can hook it up to your addressable RGB pins. It looks fantastic, and while it’s expensive, it’s also a nice little touch that makes everything feel extra-premium.
Delightful peripherals
The ROG Eva-02 collection doesn’t just include PC components but some handy elements for your desk too. Namely, you can get the ROG Strix Scope RX EVA-02 Edition, which comes with a lovely red cable and some great-looking keycaps, which will make it stand out on any desk. Additionally, we also checked out the ROG Gladius 3 gaming mouse, which was kitted out with all of that excellent tech in a red, black, and orange shell which makes it delightful to use.
Placed on the ROG Scabbard II gaming surface, which also has an EVA Edition, it looks utterly incredible.
A performance behemoth
When paired with 32GB of RAM and a brand-new Intel Core i7-14700K, this ROG EVA-02 PC becomes a performance behemoth, tearing through titles like Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, Alan Wake 2, and more. We’ve popped some of our benchmarks for the system below.
Synthetic performance
| Benchmark | Score |
| Time Spy Extreme | 16992 |
| Port Royal | 24332 |
| Speed Way | 10019 |
Gaming performance (4K)
| Game | Average FPS |
| Alan Wake 2 (RT High, Ray Reconstruction, DLSS 3 enabled) | 68 FPS |
| Cyberpunk 2077 (RT Overdrive, no DLSS) | 24 FPS |
| Cyberpunk 2077 (RT Overdrive, DLSS3, Ray Reconstruction) | 75 FPS |
What’s clear from the benchmarks we performed in two recent AAA titles is that this thing will run just about anything, especially in the latest titles, at a punishing 4K resolution. With DLSS 3‘s big performance boost available to titles, you can expect the 4090 and 14700K housed within a run for their money.
At 4K, this system manages to outpace my own PC. While playing through some of Alan Wake 2’s creepy setpieces, this system made me wonder how everything ran on my older PC, which isn’t adorned with all the lovely features afforded to you by the ROG EVA-02 masterpiece that Asus has crafted.
Playing games on the system was whisper quiet, and the helpful monitoring of system stats on the AIO was an additional boon.
I don’t want to use my PC ever again
Sadly, I have to put the ROG EVA-02 PC back in its box to sent it all back to Asus, but a part of me absolutely does not want to. This is the best-looking PC I have ever seen, and with some of my favorite characters on it, too.
Hey, Asus, because I know you’re reading this, can I keep it? Pretty please? No? Well, alright then, it’s only fair since these PC parts will cost you an arm and a leg.
But, why should I stand for having an anonymous RGB-laden black box when it doesn’t even have anime girls and robots on it?
My PC is now pointless, if you ask me.
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