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CNET editors' rating:
4.0 stars
Excellent
Detailed editors' rating - Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 8 reviews
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Product summary
The good: Brand-new Intel Core 2 Duo CPU; great price for the performance; highly upgradable.
The bad: Media card reader costs extra.
The bottom line: The budget desktop scene is due for a shake-up with Intel's new chips and AMD's impending price cuts, but the Velocity Micro Vector GX Campus Edition is a strong opening volley. There's not much we'd change about this back-to-school package; it's as capable as it is attractive.
Specifications: Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 (1.86 GHz); RAM installed: 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM; Hard drive: 250 GB Standard; See full specs
CNET editors' review
- Reviewed on: 07/18/2006
- Released on: 07/27/2006
The Vector GX features the lowest-end processor in the Intel Core 2 Duo lineup: the 1.86MHz Core 2 Duo E6300. It's a much more affordable chip than the higher-end Core 2 Duos found in the pricier Falcon Northwest Mach V and the Dell XPS 700. Rounding out the rest of the core specs are 1GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM, a 250GB hard drive, and a 256MB Nvidia GeForce 7600 GS 3D card. Your disc-burning needs are met with both a dual-layer DVD burner and a DVD/CD-RW combo drive. In addition, the $999 price also includes a 17-inch LCD, a set of Creative SBS350 2.1 speakers, and a Velocity Micro-branded mouse and keyboard set. This configuration will tackle schoolwork, Web browsing, light gaming, and common digital media tasks with no problems, at roughly the same speed or faster than some more expensive PCs. It should also run Windows Vista with the Aero effects turned on, at least according to Microsoft's Vista system requirements. In general, we'd like to see a broader sample set before we make a wholesale judgment. But based on this one review, it seems that the Core 2 Duo E6300 is not as revolutionary as the higher-end chips in the line, but its performance gains are still competitive with AMD's offerings at the same price range.
You will probably want to upgrade to a better 3D card, a faster CPU, and potentially more memory if you'd like to use the Vector GX for gaming, digital content creation, or other more-demanding tasks. You'll be able to add all of those items and more, including additional Core 2 Duo options, via Velocity Micro's online configurator. Gamers should keep in mind that this is not an SLI-ready PC, which means that it can't accommodate two graphics cards. Velocity will offer Nvidia's two-chips-on-one-card product, the Nvidia GeForce 7950 GX2, which should solve most 3D performance worries (for about $500 extra). But with its single PCI Express graphics slot, you shouldn't really consider the Vector GX a low-cost upgrade platform for through-the-roof gaming like many of Velocity Micro's other models. You still get three empty standard PCI slots, as well as three x1 PCI Express slots, so with the right upgrades you could turn it into a wireless, TV tuning, media server, a basic digital content creation workstation, or pretty much anything else.
We always appreciate the build quality and confident aesthetics of Velocity Micro's systems, and the Vector GX Campus Edition doesn't disappoint. In fact, its looks are one of the features that help it stand out from the rest of the budget pack before you even get to its next-generation processor. Its all-aluminum case serves a functional purpose in that it helps keep the system cooler than with a plastic or steel chassis, but it also gives the system an understated, yet powerful appearance. If we were selecting a PC based strictly on looks for a college dorm setting, we like the message the Vector GX sends much better than the plastic, alien-looking iBuyPower Value Ultra.
The accessories that come with the Vector GX provide you with a solid basic computing experience. The 17-inch AOpen LCD, with a native 1,280x1,024 resolution, is large enough to watch a movie on in a small room, and the 2.1 Creative speakers are equally dorm room appropriate. About the only feature of this package that we think is cheesy is the floppy drive. We're not sure we've even seen a floppy disk in the last 18 months, let alone used one to store data. Media card readers cost $15 or less. In the age of digital cameras and USB thumbdrives, the floppy is dead. You can upgrade to a floppy-8-in-1 media reader combo drive for $25, but we'd like to see this option come standard.
We've always lauded Velocity Micro's support. The Vector GX comes standard with one year parts and labor coverage. We credit Velocity Micro most for its comprehensive online support, which is easy to navigate, clearly written, and in general one of the most robust in the industry. Phone support is not 24/7 in the standard package, but its lines are still open during a generous window, from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m, Monday through Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET on Saturdays. And of course you can upgrade the service incrementally, up to three years of warranty coverage, with 24/7 emergency phone support and onsite service.
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Photoshop CS2 image-processing test |
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Find out more about how we test desktop systems.
System configurations:
AMD test bed
Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe motherboard; Nvidia Nforce 590 SLI chipset; Corsair 1,024MB DDR2 SDRAM 1,066MHz; 512MB Nvidia GeForce 7900 GTX; 74GB Western Digital 10,000rpm serial ATA hard drive; Windows XP Professional SP2; PC Power & Cooling 1kw power supply
Cyberpower
Back to School Super Value
Windows XP Home SP2; 2.0GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ AM2 socket; 1,024MB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz; 512MB Nvidia 7300 GS (PCIe); 3800+ WDC WD2500JS-00NCB1 250GB SATA 7,200rpm
iBuyPower
Value Ultra
Windows XP Home SP2; 2.2GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ AM2 socket; 1,024MB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz; 256MB Nvidia GeForce 7600 GT (PCIe); 250GB Western Digital 7,200rpm serial ATA hard drive
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 whitebox
Windows XP Professional SP2; Intel Core 2 Duo E6700; Intel Desktop Board D975XBX; Intel 975X chipset; 1,024MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 512MB Nvidia GeForce 7900 GTX (PCIe); 74GB Western Digital 10,000rpm serial ATA hard drive
Polywell
Poly 430AM2
Windows XP Home SP2; 2.2GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ AM2 socket; 1,024MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 256MB Nvidia GeForce 7600 GS (PCIe); (2) Seagate ST3160812AS 160GB SATA 7,200rpm; Nvidia Nforce RAID class controller (RAID 0)
Velocity Micro Vector GX Campus Edition
Windows XP Home SP2; Intel Core 2 Duo E6300; Intel 975X chipset; 1,024MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 256MB Nvidia GeForce 7600 GS (PCIe); WDC WD2500JS 250GB 7,200rpm SATA
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- back-to-school,
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