Rowan Crothers OAM PLY is an Australian PC enthusiast who’s been into overclocking and esports titles like CS:GO and Valorant since he was a kid—and goes by the online alias ‘magnetbrain’. He also recently won two gold medals and a silver for swimming at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and broke a world record while doing so, as well as taking Gold at the Madeira 2022 World Para Swimming Championship. Aorus decided to recognise the (latter) achievements by working with Rowan to build his dream PC (and matching themed, battle station) with the help of custom-building experts, TagMods. So, why did this happen? Which components were used? What did the team seek to achieve and what was the end result?
Gigabyte's put together a short YouTube video revealing more about this amazing system, and you can keep reading below to find out more details, including detailed specs and the full story behind its creation.
The components
Processor
Some people may scoff at the thought of the ultimate FPS shooter, CS:GO, needing a beefy processor, but any competitive player will tell you it’s essential. The game might happily report hundreds of frames per second when you’re idly jogging through A Long on dust2 , but it can quickly turn into a slideshow when a smoke grenade goes off. This is problematic when trying to take fights and win rounds with your team in competitive gameplay.
The old-school technology behind the game means that even the most modern systems can be tortured when it comes to fraught, grenade-ridden firefights which simultaneously stress the CPU, RAM and GPU to absurd levels. That’s why a brand-new 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13900K processor was chosen. It also overclocks like a dream, and CPU cooling was provided by a custom kit from EK Water Blocks.
Motherboard
If you’re going to overclock the ultimate processor, you’re going to need an ultimate motherboard that can push it to its limits while simultaneously providing utmost stability. Gigabyte’s Aorus Z790 Master is just that. It uses all-direct, digital, Voltage Moderator Resistors (VRMs) to deliver 23-phase power (with 105-Amp power stages) to best boost the speed of Intel’s 13th Gen processors. There are also special polymer capacitors to help keep everything stable.
These high-performance components are backed with superlative thermal designs which include NanoCarbon-coated, Fins-Array III heatsinks with 8mm mega-heat-pipes for ultimate, passive cooling. There’s also a top-performing, individual Thermal Guard 3 cover for the primary PCIe 5 M.2 drive and double-sided thermal pads for additional drives. These are all interwoven through the motherboard’s eight-layers and ‘double copper’ to further improve performance, stability and thermals.
It’s packed with connectivity (including Wi-Fi 6E, 10GbE LAN and 14 USB ports) plus optional expansion ports and headers for up to eight fans and/or water-cooling systems. Audiophile-grade sound componentry is built-in and it acts as the perfect base for an RGB Fusion-synchronised light show that syncs with other peripherals.
The Aorus Z790 Master also provides a thoughtful layout to ensure the latest graphics cards avoid colliding with other componentry. Plus, bespoke PCIe EZ-Latch Plus technology ensures everything is easy to install and remove.
Whether you’re a gamer or enthusiast, the Z790 Aorus Master’s combination of maximum performance, cooling and connectivity means it’s one of the most-capable motherboards Gigabyte has ever created.
GPU
Rowan felt that the new Aorus GeForce RTX 16GB 4080 Master was the most important element of his new rig. Wielding 16GB of GDDR6X RAM, it’s notable for having a cooling system featuring three, alternate-spinning, ‘Windforce Bionic Shark’ fans, plus ‘3D Active’ passive-cooling technology that includes 12 composite-copper heat pipes and a vapour chamber which are in direct contact with the GPU. This all enables its performance to be pushed to extremes while running stably. Or, it can operate in total silence, if required.
There’s also an anti-sag bracket to keep the monster in place, plus Aorus’ unique LCD Edge View screen, which displays performance information or even videos. It’s also decorated with RGB fusion LEDs for customisable, ocular awesomeness and comes with a four-year warranty for peace of mind.
RAM
The Z790 Aorus Master might well have been certified for every performance RAM kit on the market, but the obvious choice for Rowan’s PC was a 32GB kit of Aorus RGB 6000MHz DDR5 RAM. It features cherry-picked memory chips (ICs), copper-aluminium composite heat spreaders with NanoCarbon coating and more RGB fusion strips to make it look as awesome as it performs.
Storage
To ensure speed and reliability an Aorus Gen4 7000s SSD was selected. Utilising a top, E18 controller from Phison and top-tier, B27 NAND memory from Micron, this SSD offers-up massive 7,000MB/s sequential read speeds with zero throttling. Everything is kept cool with a 7mm-thick heat-spreader with NanoCarbon coating, and it has dual-sided, thermal-conductivity pads to further-ensure stability.
Power supply
With great power comes great responsibility... for delivering power. So, what better choice for a PSU than Aorus’ P1200W 80 Plus Platinum Modular. It features a 14mm, smart, double-bearing fan, dust-removal functionality, ‘80 Plus Platinum’ environmental certification for energy efficiency, plus every performance enhancement you’d expect for a top-of-the-line power supply. What’s more, in addition to the matching Fusion RGB lighting, there’s another LCD screen for displaying performance readouts or custom videos. A 10-year warranty seals the deal.
An ultimate battle station
In order to give both Rowan and his awesome PC a gaming desk that befitted them both, Gigabyte brought in the TagMod custom builds crew. They set about hand-carving a bespoke, resin-river, waterfall table using Tasmanian Blackwood, but transformed the river into a competition-style swimming pool. They painted the legs gold to match his medals, and the desk even features 3D-printed starting blocks with USB ports and a power switch.
Atop the custom desk build sits three monitors for Rowan to use, and to complete this most excellent PC. In the centre sits the Aorus FI32Q-X Gaming Monitor, a lovely QHD 2650x1440 IPS panel with 1ms GtG and a top refresh rate of up to 270Hz! On either side Rowan uses a pair of Aorus FI27Q-P Gaming Monitors, featuring high-quality 10-bit colour, HDR and a speedy 165Hz maximum refresh.
And, because three screens and a beastly PC is never enough for a gamer like Rowan, he also uses an Aorus 17X laptop powered by an i9-12900HX processor with RTX 3080 Ti graphics. Mighty!
Rowan himself helped with the build process in the Geelong workshop. This involved contributing towards component installation, cable management, cooler attachment, various design decisions and more. The result was an epic PC built into the side of a stunning, fully customised desk.
Life lessons
Rowan Crothers wasn’t just picked by Gigabyte at random. His story is one that rings true with many gamers to varying degrees.
Born with cerebral palsy, Rowan struggled with basics like walking and talking. The hurdle he found the hardest to overcome, however, was the bullying that all-too-often came from school kids who should have known better. However, when Rowan discovered online gaming, the jibes fell-away and the playing field became levelled.
Like so many of us, he was drawn to competitive shooters like CS:GO and later, Valorant. Here, he discovered that practising spray-control patterns didn’t just make him more competitive, it acted as gamified therapy for his real-life dexterity and coordination. Soon, he realised that if he focused on certain guns that he knew he could use, he could be competitive and own the show. Rowan took these skills to their limits, having reached the highest ranks of Global Elite & Radiant in both CS:GO and Valorant, also playing on some of the top teams in Australia & New Zealand.
Rowan’s story is easily relatable, even if it doesn’t always start or end with his extreme situations. He’s determined to use it to inspire others too, hence the esports crossover work with Gigabyte.
He says, “I want to be an advocate for kids who believe they don’t have a voice in the world: so that no kid—disabled or not—feels like they can’t do something or be something. That’s why I do what I do.
“Not every single person is going to be a professional athlete and reach that very top level, but sport’s not about that. You have the elite level and, a lot of what that elite level does, is inspire kids to get out into their community and do that sport.
“Esports have the same potential. It’s not just about these young kids reaching the professional stage, it’s about giving these kids an outlet and getting away from all the bullying in their lives, giving them new friends, [and] making them feel part of an awesome community.”
He adds that, “It doesn’t matter if you can’t run or jump, or if you have bad coordination, or if you have brittle bones and you can’t do intense sports: there’s still a competitive avenue for you. If you want to do something that proves your worth on the field... you can do it on an online field.”
His final message resonates through all walks of life: “No matter if it’s esports, swimming or whatever field, if it’s your passion, commit yourself and chase it.”
Hopefully, Rowan can motivate others who feel downtrodden, disadvantaged and low in self-confidence, and lead them to discover unexpected pathways that awaken the dormant passions which lie within their uninspired selves.
We suspect you might not want to meet him in CS:GO or Valorant just yet, though, as his new, OP Aorus PC from Gigabyte will help him own the show.
