The Digital Storm Veloce is offered in several configurations, all with a 13.3-inch screen, Nvidia's 2GB GeForce GTX 765M graphics, and Windows 8. The $1,284 base model features a 2.4GHz Core i7-4700MQ processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive. Our $1,596 test unit steps up to a 2.7GHz Core i7-4800MQ and pairs its 750GB hard drive with a 128GB SSD. The top of the line offers 2.8GHz Core i7-4900MQ power, 16GB of memory, and a 750GB hard drive plus 240GB SSD for $2,180.
Whatever the internals, the Veloce is an angular, slightly chunky laptop measuring 8.9 by 13 by 1.26 inches and weighing 4.6 pounds—almost twice as thick as the Razer Blade (0.66 inch) and half a pound heavier, despite its smaller screen. Add its 1.2-pound AC adapter and it falls into the category of definitely noticeable in your briefcase, though certainly not as burdensome as your average 15.6- or 17.3-inch gamer.
But while it's not as sleek as the Razer Blade, the Digital Storm offers a sharper screen: Its 13.3 inches pack 1,920x1,080 pixels, where the Blade's 14 inches stop at 1,600x900—a conscious choice on Razer's part for the sake of higher frame rates. (MSI's GE40 does the same.) So if you were disappointed to learn the Razer couldn't play at 1080p, the Veloce will appeal to you. Ditto if you want more storage than the Blade's 128GB (for $1,799) or 256GB (for $1,999) SSD, since the Digital Storm combines a 128GB SSD with a 750GB hard drive.
On the minus side, when you have the same graphics adapter (the GTX 765M) pushing 44 percent more pixels, you're going to get slower frame rates—and sure enough, the Veloce trailed the Blade by 4 to 10 frames per second in our gaming tests. That's not to say that challenging games are unplayable, however: The Digital Storm mini managed 46 fps at Tomb Raider (2013)'s High image-quality setting and 32 fps at its Ultra or second-best setting. Only when pushed to the game's Ultimate mode, which makes Lara Croft's hair as lifelike as a Pantene model's, did the Veloce falter (17 fps).
Whatever the internals, the Veloce is an angular, slightly chunky laptop measuring 8.9 by 13 by 1.26 inches and weighing 4.6 pounds—almost twice as thick as the Razer Blade (0.66 inch) and half a pound heavier, despite its smaller screen. Add its 1.2-pound AC adapter and it falls into the category of definitely noticeable in your briefcase, though certainly not as burdensome as your average 15.6- or 17.3-inch gamer.
But while it's not as sleek as the Razer Blade, the Digital Storm offers a sharper screen: Its 13.3 inches pack 1,920x1,080 pixels, where the Blade's 14 inches stop at 1,600x900—a conscious choice on Razer's part for the sake of higher frame rates. (MSI's GE40 does the same.) So if you were disappointed to learn the Razer couldn't play at 1080p, the Veloce will appeal to you. Ditto if you want more storage than the Blade's 128GB (for $1,799) or 256GB (for $1,999) SSD, since the Digital Storm combines a 128GB SSD with a 750GB hard drive.
On the minus side, when you have the same graphics adapter (the GTX 765M) pushing 44 percent more pixels, you're going to get slower frame rates—and sure enough, the Veloce trailed the Blade by 4 to 10 frames per second in our gaming tests. That's not to say that challenging games are unplayable, however: The Digital Storm mini managed 46 fps at Tomb Raider (2013)'s High image-quality setting and 32 fps at its Ultra or second-best setting. Only when pushed to the game's Ultimate mode, which makes Lara Croft's hair as lifelike as a Pantene model's, did the Veloce falter (17 fps).
