Micro Express MicroFlex 68B: One of the Best Values Gets Better

19.10.2011
Once again, Micro Express beats itself at its own game. But that's a good thing: The MicroFlex 68B desktop system (priced at $1,200 as of 10/19/2011) is a variation on a theme previously created by the company's top-ten Mainstream desktop, the MicroFlex 25B. The not-so-subtle differences between the two PCs include a brand-new case (we love it!), a lot more storage this time around (we love it!), and -- finally -- support for all the Blu-ray titles you can watch (we love it!).

As you might be able to guess, we're big fans of the changes.

The 68B and its predecessor share the exact same processor, an Intel Core i5-2500K. This time around, Micro Express doesn't opt for a huge overclock: The system ships with its CPU running at stock-clock speeds, a standard 3.3 GHz. What you do get, however, is a lot more memory -- 16 gigabytes of DDR3 RAM, or four times the brains of . We also appreciate that Micro Express took one of our big criticisms about the 25B to heart: The company has bumped this system's total storage to a terabyte drive and a 128-gigabyte SSD, a great improvement over the 25B's paltry 300-gigabyte drive.

"No overclock, you say! But what about the system's performance?"

Strange as it might seem, we saw virtually no difference in performance between the overclocked 25B and the stock-clocked 68B on our WorldBench 6 suite of tests. The 25B's score of 184 was just four points below that of the 25B's -- allowing it to share the title of one of the fastest sub-$2000 . And the 68B's graphical capabilities aren't a slouch, either. The exact same powers both Micro Express machines, and it's still just as good as any for delivering excellent frame-rates on our Unreal Tournament 3 benchmark (112, when tested at a resolution of 2560-by-2100, high quality settings).

Micro Express packs the guts of the 68B into one of Cooler Master's beautiful Storm Enforcer chassis. We love the case's near-silent ventilation, mostly thanks to a large, 20-centimeter front fan that delivers both red accent lighting and quieter airflow. A side panel window gives you the opportunity to admire the system's tidy insides from afar, and a swinging front door conceals the 68B's Blu-ray combo drive and multiformat card reader (including one USB port).