A year ago I would just have just bought the top-of -the-line Alienware Area 51. However, Dell has annoyed me to the point where I think I should look elsewhere.

I've been checking out some reviews and specs for other high-end gaming rigs, and the one that caught my eye was the Velocity Micro Raptor Z55.

Anyone else ever heard of this machine? It looks good on paper, for sure, but what do I know?

I will be reading this thread with interest. We bought a Velocity Micro computer back in the 2000s and were quite happy with it; however, that was a long time ago and I have no idea what they are like now.

Like Marian, I'm not sure how they rate now, but this has been a solid desktop.

I don't like the specs of the Z55 for gaming though. I would take a look at the Z95 for much better specs for gaming. The Z95 at least has the base Intel Ultra 5 processor... although I would certainly want to get at least an Ultra 7 processor. It has an Nvidia 5060 GPU, but I would personally prefer something better than that. I put a 5060Ti in my new build and I really like it. The Ti means it is an upgrade to the generic 5060. You can certainly go higher if you want to spend the money. I like the base motherboard in the Z95 too. The Gigabyte Aorus Z890 is a really good board.

Computer components are outrageously expensive right now in the US due to tariffs and other factors. You might not have to deal with it in Canada. I paid $2500 for my new computer and it's far from top of the line. I do feel like the Velocity Micro Raptor is a solid choice though. Be aware that both of the ones that I looked at are the full ATX form factor cases which are quite large.

Couldn't agree more with ditching Dell.

Okay. I will look at specs more closely since the Velocity seems like a solid choice. I would want a 5090 and all the other bells and whistles. Hopefully there's a human somewhere in the mix who can steer me in the right direction. I built my office specifically with the idea pf adding a desktop down the line so I have room under the desk and a keyboard shelf.

That's definitely the direction I would go. And if you can spring for the Intel Ultra 9 processor, go for it.