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Velocity Micro is a privately held boutique computer manufacturer located in
Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...
(USA), specializing in custom high-performance
gaming computer A gaming computer or gaming PC is a personal computer specifically designed for playing video games at very high graphic and gameplay configurations. Gaming PCs typically differ from mainstream personal computers by using high-performance video ...
s, professional
workstation A workstation is a special computer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by a single user, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems. The term ''workstat ...
s, and
high-performance computer A supercomputer is a computer with a high level of performance as compared to a general-purpose computer. The performance of a supercomputer is commonly measured in floating-point operations per second (FLOPS) instead of million instructions p ...
solutions. Its extended product line includes gaming PCs, notebooks,
CAD Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve co ...
workstations, digital media creation workstations, home and home office PCs, home entertainment media centers, Tesla-based
supercomputer A supercomputer is a computer with a high level of performance as compared to a general-purpose computer. The performance of a supercomputer is commonly measured in floating-point operations per second ( FLOPS) instead of million instructions ...
s, and business solutions. All products are custom assembled by hand and supported at the company's headquarters.


History

Velocity Micro traces its origins to 1992 when founder Randy Copeland began designing and producing high-performance computer systems to run
CAD software Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve co ...
and other demanding applications. These computer systems were custom-built to facilitate the design process and tailored to the extreme needs of each client. Velocity Micro was officially founded in 1997 as an extension of this highly individualized, high-performance computing philosophy. In 2001, Copeland accepted the opportunity to appear in ''
Maximum PC ''Maximum PC'', formerly known as ''boot'', is an American magazine and website published by Future US. It focuses on cutting-edge PC hardware, with an emphasis on product reviews, step-by-step tutorials, and in-depth technical briefs. Componen ...
s boutique roundup article entitled "Minor League, Major Performance". The quote which appeared in that February 2002 issue – "put together with the kind of care and craftsmanship the behemoth manufacturers can't offer" – propelled Velocity Micro forward and is still used by the company today. In May 2007, Velocity Micro acquired former competing boutique builder, Overdrive PC, known for their extreme
overclocking In computing, overclocking is the practice of increasing the clock rate of a computer to exceed that certified by the manufacturer. Commonly, operating voltage is also increased to maintain a component's operational stability at accelerated spe ...
capabilities they term "HyperClocking." Since the acquisition, Velocity Micro has incorporated HyperClocking into many of its extreme gaming systems. Overdrive PC remains a separate brand under Velocity Micro ownership. In 2010, Velocity Micro entered the
eReader An e-reader, also called an e-book reader or e-book device, is a mobile electronic device that is designed primarily for the purpose of reading digital e-books and periodicals. Any device that can display text on a screen may act as an e-read ...
and
tablet computer A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being comput ...
markets with the release of the first
Cruz Cruz is a surname of Iberian origin, first found in Castile, Spain, but later spread throughout the territories of the former Spanish and Portuguese Empires. In Spanish and Portuguese, the word means "cross", either the Christian cross or th ...
products: the Cruz Reader and the Cruz Tablet (T100). These
Android Android may refer to: Science and technology * Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system ** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...
-based devices featured 7" full-color screens. The Cruz Reader utilized a
Resistive touchscreen In electrical engineering, a resistive touchscreen is a touch-sensitive computer display composed of two flexible sheets coated with a resistive material and separated by an air gap or microdots. Description and operation There are two differ ...
, whereas the Cruz Tablet made use of the more advanced and responsive
capacitive touch screen A touchscreen or touch screen is the assembly of both an input ('touch panel') and output ('display') device. The touch panel is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information processing system. The display is often ...
. Five product generations of Cruz tablets were produced and sold in 7", 8", and 10" screen models with close to a million units in the market by 2012. As of 2013, Velocity Micro no longer supports or offers these or any other Android-based devices for sale. In 2011, Copeland was named a "Tech Icon" by the ''PC Magazine'' staff in an article celebrating 30 years of the PC for his contributions to the industry. He continues to have an active role at Velocity Micro as president and CEO. In October 2019, Velocity Micro announced a partnership with Ansys that would provide access to resources, licenses, and benchmarks allowing Velocity Micro to build custom computers that are tailored to be integrated with Ansys applications. Velocity Micro has also partnered with
Nvidia Nvidia CorporationOfficially written as NVIDIA and stylized in its logo as VIDIA with the lowercase "n" the same height as the uppercase "VIDIA"; formerly stylized as VIDIA with a large italicized lowercase "n" on products from the mid 1990s to ...
,
AMD Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Santa Clara, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for business and consumer markets. While it initially manufactur ...
, and
Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
to provide retail-grade hardware in custom computer builds.


Retail

In August 2005, Velocity Micro began offering pre-configured, high-performance desktops in select
Best Buy Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...
stores across the country, followed by BestBuy.com that September. In July 2007, Velocity Micro began offering notebooks and desktops in
Circuit City Circuit City is an American consumer electronics retail company, which was founded in 1949 by Samuel Wurtzel as the Wards Company, operated stores across the United States, and pioneered the electronics superstore format in the 1970s. After m ...
Stores across the country. In November 2008, Velocity Micro announced they were also moving into the online retail outlets
Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...
,
Newegg Newegg Commerce, Inc. is an American online retailer of items including computer hardware and consumer electronics. It is based in City of Industry, California. It is majority-owned by Liaison Interactive, a multinational technology company. Hi ...
,
TigerDirect TigerDirect is an El Segundo, California-based online retailer dealing in electronics, computers, and computer components that caters to business and corporate customers. Previously owned by Systemax, which is known for its acquisitions of the int ...
, and Staples. In January 2009, Velocity Micro announced they were moving into Fry's stores nationwide. In 2010, the Cruz Reader and Cruz Tablet went on sale at
Borders Books Borders Group, Inc. (former NYSE ticker symbol BGP) was an American multinational book and music retailer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. In its final year, the company employed about 19,500 people throughout the U.S., primarily in ...
as well as their other numerous other retail partners. As of Jan. 2016, Velocity Micro continued to sell desktops and laptops through Newegg.com and Amazon.com.


Awards

Velocity Micro has won over 60 industry media awards for performance and craftsmanship including 19 Editor's Choice awards from ''
PC Magazine ''PC Magazine'' (shortened as ''PCMag'') is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and have continued to the present d ...
''.
CNET ''CNET'' (short for "Computer Network") is an American media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally. ''CNET'' originally produced content for radio and televi ...
, ''
Maximum PC ''Maximum PC'', formerly known as ''boot'', is an American magazine and website published by Future US. It focuses on cutting-edge PC hardware, with an emphasis on product reviews, step-by-step tutorials, and in-depth technical briefs. Componen ...
'', ''
PC World ''PC World'' (stylized as PCWorld) is a global computer magazine published monthly by IDG. Since 2013, it has been an online only publication. It offers advice on various aspects of PCs and related items, the Internet, and other personal tech ...
'', HardOCP, ''
Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...
'', and '' Computer Shopper'' have all awarded Velocity Micro machines high marks. In Sept. 2007, Velocity Micro won PC Magazine's "Reader's Choice for Service and Reliability" Award. In a July 2008 review from ''PC Magazine'', the company received an Editors Choice award for its Vector Campus Edition model. In November 2008, Core i7 based systems from Velocity Micro won Editors' Choice awards from ''
Maximum PC ''Maximum PC'', formerly known as ''boot'', is an American magazine and website published by Future US. It focuses on cutting-edge PC hardware, with an emphasis on product reviews, step-by-step tutorials, and in-depth technical briefs. Componen ...
'' and
CNET ''CNET'' (short for "Computer Network") is an American media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally. ''CNET'' originally produced content for radio and televi ...
. More recently, in April 2013 the Velocity Micro Vector Z25 won and Editors Choice award from ''PC Magazine'', stating "the Z25 is a midtower PC with all the goods".
PCMag.com ''PC Magazine'' (shortened as ''PCMag'') is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and have continued to the present d ...
later went on to name the Velocity Micro Vector Z25 as "Best Mainstream Desktop of 2013" after consideration of all mainstream desktop computers covered during the entire year 2013. In August 2014, Velocity Micro followed up on that award with another Editors' Choice from
PCMag.com ''PC Magazine'' (shortened as ''PCMag'') is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and have continued to the present d ...
, this one for its Edge Z55 gaming PC. Said the editors, "The Velocity Micro Edge Z55 blows away the competition ...and costs $3,000 less. We wholeheartedly award the Edge Z55 our Editors' Choice for high-end gaming desktop PCs". Velocity Micro participated in the 2018
Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
Extreme Rig Challenge and won the award for Best Performance, providing a 40% higher score than the previous year's entry.


References

{{reflist Computer hardware companies Computer systems companies Home computer hardware companies Computer companies of the United States Manufacturing companies based in Richmond, Virginia Companies established in 1997