Velocity Micro Raptor ES40 review

I love mini computers. There’s something so fascinating and completely satisfying about a gaming PC that has the power of a massive tower condensed into something with a surface area barely larger than a shoebox. That’s what Velocity Micro offers in its Raptor ES40 gaming PC; a compact system that can accompany you as a professional gamer or simply someone who travels frequently. Or maybe you just prefer something that doesn’t dominate your desktop like a full tower, but allows you to dominate the latest games.

But you know, if you want to travel with it, it even has a carrying handle. Yes, the Velocity Micro NX2 custom mini-ITX case comes with its own retractable carrying handle, which certainly seems sturdy enough to support its weight. But let’s be straightforward, it’s just something you’ll fiddle with (hand up, handle down) more often than you would with the adjustments.

The case itself has a very Lian-Li feel, all black brushed aluminum and tidy lines, but thankfully without the machined edges that I always end up whining about with Lian-Li cases. The tool-free design means you can easily remove the solid and tempered glass side panels, and the basic layout makes it simple to access the interior for upgrades etc.

There is also a surprising amount of space for a graphics card inside. I tried to get an RTX 4090 there, but it was a bit too ambitious. I think you could Just press one if you removed the 120mm front fan first, but suffice it to say that you’ll be able to fit cards under 300mm long into this system when it comes to upgrading the GPU.

However, what I put there in my review machine is already something juicy and actually represents the pinnacle of what the Velocity Micro will deliver with the Raptor ES40. Right now we have the Asus Dual version of the RTX 4070 Super, which fits comfortably into a mini ITX case and doesn’t look like it’s struggling to breathe.

The inlet draws air in from the front and blows it out to the back of the GPU, through the RAM, SSD and VRM, as well as through the push/pull configuration of the 120mm CPU liquid cooler, which is exhausted from the back of the case. It’s impressive that cooling is actually so effective in a case of this size.

Compared to the iBuyPower V40 Valorant we recently reviewed, which comes in a larger case with a 240mm CPU cooler, the Raptor ES40 manages to keep both the GPU and CPU cooler. This is a bit contrary to what you might expect given their relative sizes.

In addition to the Nvidia GPU, a graphics card designed for 1440p gaming, you also get one of the latest Zen 5 processors, the Ryzen 7 9700X. In fact, it was one of our favorite Ryzen 9000-series chips, and a follow-up to one of our favorite Ryzen 7000-series processors. It’s definitely an eight-core, 16-thread processor that delivers excellent all-around performance combined with an extremely competent power core.

My only concerns with this configuration concern the motherboard where the processor is plugged in. Considering this version’s price tag is over $2,500, I’d definitely rather have something with a bit more specs than the entry-level AMD A620 chipset board. The Gigabyte A620I AX is a decent budget mini ITX motherboard, and we were impressed with its overall performance during our review, but it’s certainly not the most feature-rich.

Picture 1 With 6

I certainly wouldn’t feel comfortable recommending upgrading the CPU to something like the 9900X at most. VRM 5+2+1 is a bit featherlight, and a powerful processor, consuming system power like black coffee on a strenuous morning, will have a strenuous time.

It also comes with just one PCIe 4.0 M.2 slot for your storage needs. An inexpensive B650I board would allow for a PCIe 5.0 SSD and a second slot for another M.2 SSD. Currently, there are only two more SATA 6 Gb/s plugs in the case.

This motherboard choice means you also have a restricted selection of USB ports on the back, but as is the case with mini ITX boards, although you do get at least a pair of Type A slots and one Type C slot on the case’s front panel.

However, apart from this detail, the rest of the specifications are consistent with the guidelines. The 2TB Crucial SSD isn’t the absolute fastest, but it’s roomy enough to provide plenty of space for installing an OS and games, and the 32GB of DDR5-5200 memory is perfect for a 2024/5 gaming PC. There’s also the excellent 750W EVGA SFX power supply. This is a power supply that supports graphics cards up to RTX 4080 Super… if it fits in the case.

Right now, you can enjoy excellent 1440p gaming performance with this device with the super powerful RTX 4070 card. In my tests, only Avatar’s performance lags behind the pace and I can’t for the life of me understand why, because the rest of the benchmarks are absolutely at the same level or better than an iBuyPower machine with similar specifications.

However, in the Baldur’s Gate 3 tests you can see where the newer processor outperformed the iBuyPower platform, as well as 1% low frame rates across the board. This machine will simply provide better and smoother gameplay.

Picture 1 With 4

Also in terms of raw material processing and productivity standards, the Raptor ES40 is a real performer. In a world where Intel and AMD processors offer an almost absurd number of cores, it’s tempting to view an eight-core chip as something fairly low-rent, but here we show just how capable the Ryzen 7 9700X is in both gaming and gaming. and productivity.

However, the hit is the price. This will often be a problem when you combine a standard system with an off-the-shelf compact gaming PC. Downsizing the platform comes with a significantly higher price tag, but still, the fact that the Velocity Micro machine is nearly $1,000 more costly than the similarly spec’d iBuyPower might be a bitter pill to swallow.

However, if you want to buy yourself a well-equipped, powerful, impressively frosty and still gaming PC, the Raptor ES40 should absolutely be on your list. You can definitely build a cheaper one yourself, but that’s not why you’re looking for a pre-built computer, right?