Would any self-respecting gamer buy off the shelf from a big-box retailer? The Gamer's Edge DualX T1300 represents Velocity Micro's entry into the electronics retail channel. Available in Best Buy retail outlets and online through BestBuy.com, the $1,991 T1300 is a serious gaming machine with an Nvidia GeForce 7800 GT video card and an AMD Athlon 64 3800+ CPU. It's one of three configurations offered by the retail giant (but the only one you'll see in stores), bringing boutique craftsmanship to off-the-shelf shoppers. Available only online are the more expensive T1400 model, with a dual-core Athlon 64 X2 4400+ processor, and the cheaper T1200, with an Athlon 64 3700+ CPU. The T1300 may appear pricey next to the mainstream systems sitting next to it on the shelf, but for a gaming PC, it's a smart configuration that gives you good bang for your gaming buck.
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
The Gamer's Edge DualX T1300 is housed in Velocity Micro's Signature LX-W case, a well-built black-aluminum chassis with silver trim, a side-panel window, and four caster wheels. The interior is well organized and well lit, thanks to a blue-cathode lighting kit and blue-lit cooling fans. The front door panel conceals four 5.25-inch drive bays and two 3.5-inch bays. A double-layer DVD burner and a DVD-ROM drive occupy two of the larger bays. The T1300 has a floppy drive as well, but it lacks a memory-card reader--a must for multimedia enthusiasts. Two USB 2.0 ports and a FireWire port share space on the lower-front bezel with headphone and microphone jacks. Rear-accessible connections include four USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire port, an Ethernet connection, and jacks for the onboard eight-channel audio, which is disabled because the system comes with a Creative Audigy2 ZS sound card.
The T1300's 2.4GHz Athlon 64 3800+ processor runs on an Asus A8N SLI motherboard with 1GB of DDR400 memory. A 250GB Western Digital Serial ATA (SATA) drive provides adequate storage for most multimedia projects, and the removable drive-bay cage has room for four additional hard drives.
Although the system comes with a single eVGA Nvidia GeForce 7800 GT graphics card, the motherboard is SLI compatible, meaning you can stick an identical 7800 GT card in the second x16 PCIe slot for a dual-card performance boost. This is a do-it-yourself job, since the T1300 is sold as is and is not customizable at the time of sale.
Interestingly for a retail box, the T1300 has a performance-enhanced, or overclocked, graphics card with the core clock bumped up to 480MHz and the memory clock running at 1.15GHz (400MHz and 1GHz are the default settings, respectively). The card gets some extra cooling assistance from Velocity Micro's VideoCool Positive Pressure Airflow System, which is actually a variable-speed dual-fan PCI-card assembly that occupies a slot opposite the graphics card. You won't find such features on other retail PCs. On CNET Labs' BAPCo SysMark 2004 application benchmark, the 2.4GHz AMD Athlon 64 3800+ CPU came in 5 percent behind the more expensive Gateway FX400XL , which has a dual-core 3.0GHz Intel Pentium D 830 processor--an impressive feat, considering that the Velocity Micro has a single-core CPU But the DualX T1300 was 14 percent faster than the budget-priced, AMD-based eMachines T6524, which uses the less powerful Athlon 64 3500+.
Since the T1300 is a fixed-configuration retail system, you're stuck with the stock CPU and video card. Fortunately, the CPU is fast enough for most users, and the video card is close to top-of-the-line. In CNET's Doom 3 tests, the DualX T1300's GeForce 7800 GT turned in impressive scores, pumping out 23 percent more frames per second than the Gateway FX400XL's GeForce 6800. Gamers who want the convenience of buying at retail will find they have enough 3D power for all the latest games.
The T1300's $1,991 price includes a standard Microsoft Internet keyboard and optical scroll mouse, Windows XP Home, and assorted bundled software, including PowerDVD 5, the Nero CD/DVD burning suite, Ubisoft's Far Cry, and a system-restore CD. A monitor and speakers aren't included, so be prepared to shell out for those or use your existing setup.
The neatly arranged Owner's Portfolio includes system discs, a user's guide, and an Asus motherboard manual. You also get a blue Velocity Micro owner's T-shirt, which, depending on your tolerance for such things, might be a plus or a minus.
Whether you purchase it in the store or online from BestBuy.com, Velocity Micro backs the system with its VelocityCare program, which provides a three-year parts-and-labor warranty and one year of onsite service and toll-free telephone support. The warranty compares favorably with the competition's; the vast majority of retail PCs come with a one-year warranty without onsite service. You can reach telephone support Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Emergency service is available on holidays and during off-hours (a technician will return your calls within 15 minutes). Best Buy offers additional protection through its three-year Performance Service Plan ($249), a carry-in program that covers parts and labor, with a No Lemon policy that guarantees a replacement after three service repairs.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
 | BAPCo's SysMark 2004 rating | Â Â | | SysMark 2004 Internet-content-creation rating | Â Â | | SysMark 2004 office-productivity rating | Â Â |
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
| 1,024x768, High Quality, with 4X antialiasing and 8X anisotropic filtering | Â Â | | 1,600x1,200, Ultra Quality, with 4X antialiasing and 8X anisotropic filtering | Â Â |
Find out more about how we test desktop systems.
System configurations:
Bully Surgeon
Windows XP Home SP2; 1.8GHz AMD Athlon 64 3000+; Nvidia Nforce-4 chipset; 1,024MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz; 128MB Nvidia GeForce 6600 GT (PCIe); Seagate ST3160827AS 160GB 7,200rpm Serial ATA
Cyberpower Gamer 6000SE
Windows XP Home SP2; 1.8GHz AMD Athlon 64 3000+; Nvidia Nforce-4 chipset; 1,024MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz; 256MB Nvidia GeForce 6600 (PCIe); Hitachi HDS722516VLSA80 160GB 7,200rpm Serial ATA
eMachines T6524
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005; 2.2GHz AMD Athlon 64 3500+; ATI Radeon RS482 chipset; 1,024MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz; integrated ATI Radeon Xpress 200 graphics chip using 128MB shared memory; WDC WD2000BB-22GUC0 200GB 7,200rpm ATA/100
Gateway FX400XL
Windows XP Professional SP2; 3.0GHz Intel Pentium D 830; 1,024MB DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz; Intel 945GP chipset; 256MB Nvidia GeForce 6800 (PCIe); Hitachi HDS722525VLSA80 250GB 7,200rpm Serial ATA (two separate drives, no RAID)
Velocity Micro Gamer's Edge DualX T1300
Windows XP Home SP2; 2.4GHz AMD Athlon 64 3800+; Nvidia Nforce-4 chipset; 1,024MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz; 256MB Nvidia GeForce 7800 GT (PCIe); WDC WD2500JD-00HBB0 250GB 7,200rpm Serial ATA