Velocity Micro Vector A5 Small Form Factor Desktop PC

Apr 2 2009 - Velocity Micro's Vector A5 is actually quite an old system that has been offered as a low cost computer for some time. Unlike many of the company's other desktop offerings, the Vector A5 does not have many customization options which really hampers the system. Performance is hampered by the 1GB of memory that makes Vista run extremely poorly. Users will definitely want to upgrade what components they can to improve performance but this will drive up the cost compared to other low cost small form factor offerings.

Apr 2 2009 - The Vector A5 from Velocity Micro comes with just one processor offering, the Pentium Dual-Core E2180. This is a fairly low end desktop processor that does perform better than most small form factor systems that use laptop processors. The problem is that the base system comes with just a single gigabyte of PC2-6400 DDR2 memory. This is the bare minimum required to run the Vista operating system and as a result it runs with many slowdowns compared to other systems. Users will definitely want to upgrade the memory.

Storage is a bit better than the processor and memory. The base Vector A5 uses a 320GB hard drive that is a bit larger than small form factors desktops that use laptop drives but smaller than the ones that use desktop drives. Users can upgrade to a larger 500GB drive if they need more space. The optical drive choice of a CD-RW/DVD combo drive over a DVD burner is a bit odd though. Most every desktop now comes standard with a dual layer DVD burner. Once again, users can upgrade but it drives the price up.

Graphics are limited to an integrated NVIDIA GeForce graphics processor that does handle 3D graphics a bit better than the Intel integrated solutions. Still, it does not have sufficient performance to play any of the modern 3D PC games beyond basic graphics levels at 800x600 or possibly 1024x768 depending upon the game. It should at least be able to handle high definition video streams from the web.

The biggest problem comes from the case design. The Vector A5 case has been around for several years and isn't the most practical or stylish of designs available. Upgrading the case can be quite difficult compared to some models on the market. With Velocity Micro also offering limited upgrades at the time of purchase, upgrading isn't much of an option for many people.