| Since the 1980s, gamers have been
constantly riding the wave of innovation in gaming
and PC technology. PC games have traveled a long
and progressive journey since the days of Pong and
Space Invaders and each year, new advances in game
technology place even greater performance demands
on PCs.
There are several major components that can enhance
the performance of your gaming system:
 The
Central Processing Unit (CPU) is essentially the
brain of your PC. The performance of the CPU plays
an integral role in the performance of your games.
The CPU is like a calculator, processing information
in the form of mathematical calculations which
tells the CPU to either write to or retrieve from
memory. The faster the information is calculated,
stored, or retrieved from memory, the faster processes
and applications can run, affecting the overall
performance of the PC.
When searching for the right CPU for your gaming
system, don’t rely too heavily on clock
speed, the time it takes to complete a clock cycle,
since it alone does not directly impact performance.
Cache also has little effect on overall processor
performance. Instead, pay attention to performance
reviews and instructions per clock (IPC), the
number of instructions that are processed during
each clock cycle.
A smart processor choice for gaming would be
the Intel Core 2 Duo or the AMD 64 Athlon X2 processor.
For the ultimate gaming experience, choose Intel’s
Core 2 Extreme or the AMD 64 Athlon FX, taking
advantage of the latest dual core technology for
ultra-smooth gameplay. While Intel processors
generally provide better performance overall,
AMD technology offers more value to mainstream
buyers.
Intel’s cutting edge quad core processor,
the Core 2 Extreme QX6800, is the best processor
for multithread software use, but not the best
solution for today’s games. As games become
increasingly threaded, we will begin to see the
value of quad core processors in gaming.
The video card contains a Graphics Processing
Unit (GPU), and is the most important part of
any gaming system since it handles the processes
to render 3D images onto your monitor. The better
the GPU, the more visible the performance gains
will be during extreme gaming.
 When
searching for the right video card, pay attention
to frame rates and resolutions (the higher the
better), as well as anti-aliasing (AA), special
technology in the GPU that smoothes the edges
of 3-D images. Full-screen-anti-aliasing (FSAA),
applies this technology to the whole screen.
The most advanced single video card available is NVIDIA’s revolutionary GeForce 8800. The first card generation with DirectX10, the
GeForce 8000 series are also the fastest card for DirectX 9 games. The 8800 introduces geometry shaders and supports 128-bit and 64-bit
floating point HDR and 16x full-screen anti-aliasing.
Two of the newest innovations in graphics technology,
NVIDIA’s Scalable Link Interface (SLI) and
ATI’s Crossfire technology, combine multiple
video cards or graphics processing cores to enable
peak graphical performance under the highest resolutions,
especially HD.
There are several types of memory: the hard drive
(permanent storage), Read Only Memory (ROM), and
Random Access Memory (RAM). “Memory”
by itself is synonymous with RAM, which stores
temporary information. The CPU can grab information
from RAM relatively quickly, and allows for more
processes to run simultaneously.
 The
Column Address Strobe (CAS) level refers to the
memory’s latency, the time it takes for
memory to respond to instructions from the CPU.
Lower CAS levels are better for your PC’s
performance (CL3 is better than CL4).
Velocity Micro systems use Double Data Rate 2
(DDR2) RAM, processing twice as much information
as Single Data Rate (SDR) RAM. 1024 MB (1 GB)
or 2046 MB (2 GB) should satisfy most gamers,
but enthusiast gamers who want viable memory for
years to come should choose 4096 MB (4 GB), especially
with the arrival of Vista.
 The
hard drive is the permanent storage space for
your PC. Larger hard drives can store more information,
which is measured in gigabytes (GB). Today’s
games can be resource hogs, so a large hard drive
would be a good investment for your gaming system.
When choosing your hard drive, pay attention
to the size, RPM, and amount of cache. RPM, or
Revolutions Per Minute, is a measure of the spindle
speed of the hard drive. Higher RPM allows for
faster encoding and retrieval of information.
Similar to the CPU cache, the hard drive cache
stores frequently-used information. The more cache
a hard drive has, the faster the CPU can retrieve
information from the hard drive.
For increased hard drive performance, choose
Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) technology.
RAID allows two hard drives to be “striped”
together into a single C:\ drive. RAID 0 Stripe
is the most common configuration, where two hard
drives are working to process the same data. RAID
1 or mirroring involves duplicating data on two
hard drives, providing better read performance
but less data capacity. Also look for Serial Advanced
Technology Attachment (SATA), a high speed interface
for connecting hard drives to the motherboard.
Two SATA drives can be used in the RAID configuration.
Smaller hard drives do not necessarily mean compromised
performance, especially with high RPM. A 150 GB
10,000 RPM hard drive offers incredible performance.
A smart choice for a gaming system would be either
7200 or 10,000 RPM, depending on your level of
gaming. A 250 GB hard drive with 7200 RPM is a
good start for most users, but die hard enthusiasts
may want to opt for 2 150 GB, 10,000 RPM hard
drives in a RAID 0 configuration.
Our best value is the 500 Watt Velocity Micro Power Supply, for a maximum 500W of power with two blue lighted fans to keep
things cool. For more serious gaming, we offer an 850W PSU, which is SLI-ready. This power supply is even powerful enough for
quad graphics applications.
The ultimate power supply for hours upon hours of hardcore enthusiast gaming is the 1200W. The 1200W is amazingly quiet with ultra
high efficiency, making it the premier choice for die hard gamers.
Performance
PC parts, like car engines, generate heat and
need to be kept cool for optimum performance.
PC components are delicate and extremely sensitive
to heat, which is why it is extremely important
to have enough cool air flow so that your gaming
doesn’t crash and burn, literally.
 The
CPU is the most important part to keep cool since
it generates the most heat. There are several
types of CPU cooling devices to choose from. Velocity
Micro offers several air cooling systems and a
liquid cooling system. For everyday gaming, you
can either choose from our Arctic Cooling, Intel
Certified, or AMD Certified Heatsink fans, lowering
temperatures and noise levels. Heat sinks attached
to the processors draw heat from the processor
into the open space of the chassis, which is then
dispensed through a fan (why it is important for
optimal space inside the case).
For more powerful processors, extreme gamers
should choose the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 heatsink
or our Velocity Micro LiquiCool 3 Advanced Thermal
Electric cooler. Instead of using a radiator,
like heatsink fans, the LiquiCool 3 uses a “Chiller”
which chills the liquid coolant, increasing thermal
capacity and faster heat absorption from the CPU.
The latest GPUs come attached with powerful heatsinks,
but the older GPUs could use some extra cooling
power when processing the advanced game technology
of today and the future. The best choice to ensure
that your graphics card keep cool during heated
gameplay is the VideoCool system. This card plugs
into any available PCI slot and features two fans
with adjustable speeds and built in UV-LED lights,
lighting up your case as it cools.
Optical drives use lasers to read and write data
on discs. Types of optical drives include CD-ROM,
CD-R/W, DVD-ROM, and DVD+/-R/W. ROM stands for
Read Only Memory and will only read the CD or
DVD. Drives that are R/W are able to read from
and write to the disc. The (#)x refers to the
speed at which the optical drive can read from
or write to a disk. For example, 18x CD-R/W can
write to a disk at a speed of 18x the actual playback
speed.
 The audio solution that you choose for
your powerful gaming rig has a substantial effect on your gaming experience. Velocity Micro offers several different audio processing
options. If you are looking for value in your audio selection, you should choose our On-Board Integrated Realtek audio with 7.1 channel
surround sound for immersive gaming. Audio solutions that are built into the motherboard are sufficient for everyday tasks and mild
gaming, but enthusiasts and performance junkies looking for the ultimate in immersive audio should choose from our Creative Labs
SoundBlaster X-Fi family of audio cards.
The SoundBlaster X-Fi ExtremeMusic sound card boosts performance more than 15% over motherboard audio solutions, providing incredibly
dynamic and realistic 3D sound. The SoundBlaster X-Fi Platinum delivers exceptional audio quality, with an internal drive bay and
convenient front-facing input/output connectivity for headphone listening and PC gaming. X-Fi Elite Pro is the ultimate audio solution,
featuring 64MB of on-board X-RAM, audio memory dedicated to higher gaming audio quality and performance.
Besides using the latest and greatest retail-grade
parts in our performance gaming systems, Velocity
Micro performs additional tweaks, tuning, optimization,
and overclocking to ensure that your customized
hot-rod gaming system peaks at the highest performance
level possible with rock solid stability. We make
adjustments and tweaks to the motherboard BIOS
and Windows settings and install software for
monitoring and management. We optimize settings
for RAM management, video performance, and disk
performance, tweaked and tuned for the best performance
from your individual system.
For the ultimate in performance and hardcore gaming,
create your gaming rig with Velocity Micro!
Ultimate Performance for Gaming Enthusiasts:
Superior Performance for the Mainstream:
Extreme Performance and Value:
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