First Look: Velocity Micro Edge Z-55 Video
First Look: Velocity Micro Edge Z-55 Video Transcript
[ Music ] ^M00:00:03
>> Rich: Hi, I'm Rich Brown, Senior Editor for CNET.com. Today we're going to take a look at the Editor's Choice winning Velocity Micro Edge Z55; this is kind of an upper mid-range gaming desktop and it's actually pretty cool because it has one of Intel's brand new Core I7 processors inside. It is the lower end of the those processors, it's the Core I7 920 but Velocity Micro has over-clocked it so you get a little bit more bang for your buck. Overall for its price this system is very impressive it blows away, ya know, the higher end systems from just a couple months ago it will play pretty much any game on the market, very high detail settings and high resolutions, very smoothly there's basically not a whole lot with this system that you can't do. So if you're familiar with Velocity Micro's PC's you'll recognize this case it's the typical sturdy simple design we actually really like it. On the front panel it's pretty straight forward you have a media card reader, DVD burner and that's about it there's no USB ports. So, on the back panel you can see this system offers a wide variety of inputs and outputs most interesting we've got a pair of HDMI ports back here, most people probably won't haul this system into their living room to connect to an HD TV but you do have the option and, ya know, we're starting to see more monitors come out traditional LCD computer displays. Up here you have the standard data inputs and outputs, you have USB 2 ports, Firewire input as well as standard Analog audio out. Up here we have 2 external SATA ports, that's for if you have an external hard drive you want to plug it in, eSATA will give you a nice fast connection. So, inside the case you'll see Velocity's typical well done design it's nice and clean, good air flow, the cables are pretty much tied down and you can see there's a fair amount of room for expansion at least with the hard drives. We like the outward facing bays makes it easier to pop drives in and out, there's 2 3D cards here it's a pair of 512 ATI Radeon 4870 cards, they might have been nice if Velocity had gone with the 4870 X2, which would have given you a dual chip card that only took up one slot. So, here you've Core O7 chip behind this fan and heat sync and back here you've got 3 DDR3 memory slots, so as you can see this system is pretty loaded and because of that it did very well on our benchmarks. Anyone looking for a fast PC that doesn't necessarily want to break the bank will be very happy with this system and that's why it's an Editor's Choice winner. So, I'm Rich Brown and this is the Velocity Micro Edge Z55. ^E00:02:16
Related Videos
Velocity Micro's Raptor Z90 offers everything we expect given its high-end components, but Intel's latest CPUs lack the value of its older chips, making this system and others like it recommendable to buyers with niche performance needs.
Velocity Micro's Edge Z15 represents one of the best deals we've seen this year in midrange gaming PCs. It has all the power necessary to play current games (even 'Crysis') at smooth frame rates, and its clean, spacious interior gives you plenty of upgrade room. We recommend this system to any PC gamer looking for a sub-$2,000 desktop.
Velocity Micro Gamer's Edge DualX
Get a first look at Velocity Micro's new gaming computer in action.
Velocity Micro's Edge Z30 is the best deal going right now for midlevel gaming PCs featuring Intel's new Core i7 chips. The overclocked Core i7 860, a fast Nvidia graphics card, and a solid selection of features all around make it easy for us to recommend this system to anyone looking for a capable gaming desktop.
The Velocity Micro Edge E2250 is a very fast midrange PC, and it's one of the best PCs in its class for digital media editors. Gamers will find a strong foundation with some upgrade potential, but they can get better performance for the dollar elsewhere.
As we've seen from previous Velocity Micro PCs, the Edge Z40 is an outstanding gaming PC and all-around performer for its price. We recommend it to anyone looking for a mainstream gaming desktop.
Velocity Micro Gamer's Edge DualX (Athlon 64 FX-57)
The Velocity Micro Gamer's Edge DualX, tweaked to near perfection, gives gamers plenty of extra juice to slay the competition.
The Velocity Micro Vision FX AVD serves up the features and the performance needed for digital-video creation.
Velocity Micro's fast back-to-school mainstream desktop
This looks like a textbook computer, but an overclocked CPU is just one of the boutique PC surprises in the Velocity Micro Vector Campus Edition.
Velocity Micro Vector Holiday Edition
Velocity Micro's Vector Holiday Edition offers one of the best deals we've ever seen in a mainstream PC. For under $1,000, this system provides a Blu-ray drive, overachieving speed, and room to grow in an attractive, well-built package. We enthusiastically recommend this system to anyone looking for a fast, affordable computer.
Velocity Micro Edge Z55 (Intel Core i7-920) Review
The good: Fast overclocked Intel Core i7 processor; ample memory and graphics card power; provides enough performance to justify its upper midrange price.
The bad: Uses two graphics cards when a single, dual-chip card would have done the same work and allowed more room for upgrades.
The bottom line: Velocity Micro's Edge Z55 provides a powerful example of the leap ahead in performance afforded by Intel's new Core i7 CPUs. Velocity Micro's own overclocking efforts don't hurt either. Any PC gamer would love to make this upper midrange desktop their own.
Velocity Micro Edge Z55 (Intel Core i7-920) Specs
Manufacturer: Velocity Micro
Part number: EDGEZ55
- Product Specifications
Velocity Micro Edge Z55 (Intel Core i7-920) Prices
Online stores
| Store | Certified rating | Inventory | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Next Warehouse | Rate this store See store profile | In stock | $1,522.19 |
| Next Warehouse | Rate this store See store profile | In stock | $1,522.19 |
| Next Warehouse | Rate this store See store profile | In stock | $1,522.19 |
| Next Warehouse | Rate this store See store profile | In stock | $1,522.19 |
| Next Warehouse | Rate this store See store profile | In stock | $1,522.19 |