Velocity Micro Vector Campus Edition (2012)

• Pros

  Fine overall performance. Includes discrete video card. Arrives bloatware free.

• Cons

  Limited hard drive space. No front-panel USB 3.0 ports.

• 
• Bottom Line

  Whether it's for home or school, the Velocity Micro Vector Campus Edition is a fine general-purpose desktop at an attractive price.

• We all know that absolutely no one purchasing a computer for school would dare consider its prowess at anything other than strictly academic tasks. All that matters is a healthy processor and lots of memory—the very notion of also having a discrete video card capable of enhancing games (only after all the schoolwork is done, naturally) would never cross anyone’s mind. So we’re positive that most serious students will be scandalized by the 2012 revamp of the Velocity Micro Vector Campus Edition, which for $999 (direct) bridges the gap between those two worlds in a way that would do any teen or parent proud. So if you can see past your outrage at this fusion of gaming and processing prowess, you might just see an impressive everyday system. All this earns it our Editors' Choice for midrange desktops.
  
  Design and Features
  Like most Velocity Micro systems (such as the latest Raptor Z90 and last winter’s Vector Holiday Edition ), this latest Vector Campus Edition uses a variation on the company’s classic MX2-W chassis: brushed-aluminum exterior, crisp edges, windowed side panel, and striking blue interior lighting. It’s a familiar look, but it’s one that quietly allures and one that works. The aesthetic doesn’t carry over to the included keyboard and mouse, alas—they’re both basic black plastic—but you can’t have everything.
  
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  Velocity Micro Vector Campus Edition (2012) : Top Front
  Velocity Micro Vector Campus Edition (2012) : Front Panel
  Velocity Micro Vector Campus Edition (2012) : Optical Drive
  Velocity Micro Vector Campus Edition (2012) : Three-Quarters
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  On the component side, however, you can be forgiven for thinking you can. The Campus Edition is decently equipped with current midrange hardware that packs a punch without punching a hole in your budget. The processor is a 3.4GHz Intel Core i5-3570K, which has four processing cores but no Hyper-Threading support to give it control over eight simultaneous threads, but it’s been overclocked to a healthy 4.3GHz. A nice 8GB of RAM comes preinstalled, with two of the four RAM slots remaining free so you can add more down the line if you want. The video card uses the relatively powerful mainstream AMD Radeon HD 7750 chipset. You don’t get a ton of hard drive space—a mere 1TB—but there are two 3.5-inch bays free for future expansion. A DVD burner and multiformat card reader round out the external storage options.
  
  Front-panel ports are fairly limited: the obligatory headphone and microphone, FireWire, and USB 2.0—unfortunately, no USB 3.0. You get a better selection on the rear panel, with two USB 3.0 ports, four USB 2.0 ports, eight-channel analog audio, PS/2, and Ethernet joining the DisplayPort, HDMI, and two DVI ports on the video card. USB dongles granting 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity come pre-inserted as well.
  
  One thing you don’t get: bloatware. Like most boutique manufacturers, Velocity Micro ships its systems clean, so when you boot into the 64-bit edition of Windows 7 Home Premium, you won’t find any clutter at all on your desktop. Open Office 3.4 and Microsoft Security Essentials are available as no-cost upgrades so you can also have basic productivity and malware-protection functionality right out of the box.
  
  The Campus Edition is covered by a one-year parts-and-labor warranty, and an extra $69 gets you a one-year VelocityCare warranty that also includes on-site service.