I don't know much about raptors other than the fact that they can open doors and the impression that they are absolute jerks, and I don't think Velocity Micro's Raptor eS40 desktop is actively trying to kill me. I mean, it's kind of like the Raptor.

The Velocity Micro is powered by an overclocked Intel Core i9 10900K, 32GB of Crucial Ballistix RGB DDR4-3200 RAM, 1TB of Samsung 970 Pro SSD and 4TB of HDD storage, and finally 10 GB Nvidia Geforce RTX 3080 graphics card to arm it. This particular configuration costs $3,400, but you can choose from a number of Intel and AMD specs starting at $1,300. [The 1TB Samsung 970 Pro will quickly fill up to capacity, so if you want to max out all the graphic bells and whistles, you'll need a 4 TB HDD, I would have preferred a larger SSD instead.

It is also important to note that Velocity Micro has confirmed that they have the RTX 30 series in stock for custom orders.

I like the new NX2 chassis design. It is clean, sleek, and doesn't look as crowded as other smaller cases. The pull-out handle is a smart touch, especially if you intend to use this rig as a portable workstation, and the CPU performance and RAM are sufficient to perform the non-gaming tasks required of a workstation.

The name eS, short for esports, makes sense. The weight and size of this system is attractive, especially if you have a dozen or so players who need to set up fairly quickly for tournaments. Weighing in at a light 15 pounds, the pop-up handle is something I would like to see on more mini-cases. If you plan to move the system frequently, you might want to remove the tempered glass side panels for safety reasons. However, you will miss the RAM and the intense indigo blue RGB lights emanating from the four fans.

I wish something had been done about the two long CPU cables, since the other cables are neatly tied and tucked away out of sight. A small bracket under the top of the case to run the cables could have kept them out of sight. This may just be a special concern of mine, but otherwise it's a minor quibble against a nice, minimalist design that is fairly innocuous.

Gaming on Raptor did not disappoint either, with the RTX 3080 producing impressive results as expected. This is our third system with the RTX 3080, and we are still amazed at frame rates averaging over 140 fps at 1080p, 112 fps at 1440p, and 65 fps at 4K. 155 in system-intensive games like "Total War" and "Gears Tactics fps scores are impressive.

Of course, these numbers are with ray tracing turned off. With it turned on, frame rates dropped significantly in games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Watch Dogs Legion, hovering in the mid-20 fps range at 4K. Thankfully, games raytraced at 1080p and 1440p do better, but not as high as we would like. So, if you insist on playing the game with RTX on, some tweaking will be necessary on the user's part. Cyberpunk 2077 was tougher than we expected, although with DLSS on, it was more bearable to play at 4K.

The small NX2 case makes the Velocity Micro an ideal living room gaming PC. It fits perfectly into the available space on the TV stand currently reserved for either a PS5 or an Xbox Series X (honestly, either would be fine if available). The TV at home is an LG UHD 55" UK6500 series, which supports 4K HDR at 60Hz (120Hz at 1080p). Playing "Cyberpunk 2077" and "Dragon Quest XI" on the big 4K screen of your couch, you almost forget that you likely won't get a next-generation gaming console until sometime next year.

But with a PC this powerful, you may find yourself limited by the refresh rate of your average TV. Using V-sync to lock the frame rate to 60fps or 120fps is discouraging, even though we know the RTX 3080 can do better.

Versatile: Perfectly sized for a living room PC, but with more than enough power for professionals and gamers using high-end displays.