Some people want their gaming PC to embody their fantasy: a super-sized case, neon backlighting, or strobe lights. Others want a quiet, well-performing machine that blends in with their family room or office.
Velocity Micro's Raptor Z40 fits that last category with a discreet black design that fades into the background and an easily accessible front panel for connecting VR headsets. It also packs in a solid collection of high-end components, and the $1,899 configuration we tested performed admirably on our benchmarks and in our gaming tests.
Geekbench results fell in line with expectations, and the system blasted through our Diablo III tests with a screen-melting maximum of 385 frames per second at 1080p on our test monitor. The system's 4.0GHz 4th-generation Intel Core i7-4790K processor held up well in our graphics tests, as well. The system averaged 151 FPS on our ultra setting in the Battle for Zenith test, although it suffered from a bit of frame rate dip when we switched to a higher resolution.
The Velocity Micro Raptor Z40 comes with a one-year warranty (you can extend it), and you'll find plenty of spare ports in its tool-free interior for expansion, especially for storage. You'll have to add your own mouse and keyboard, though. A pack-in mouse and keyboard aren't included, and there's no pack-in storage. You can use the included 256GB SSD as an external drive, but it won't be fast enough for some games.