Rate this System from Digital Storm

yodachoda · Apr 19, 2015

Hi all, first some background:

About a month ago I bought a system from CyberPower PC that had an issue that made me return it. After powering the PC on after being shut off, it ran very very slow. Nothing would make it fast except restarting the PC, which usually made it very fast (until the PC was shut down again). I tried many many solutions but none fixed it, so I returned it.

I'm now thinking of trying Digital Storm. Here's what I'm thinking of:

Intel Core i7 4790K 4.0 GHz
GIGABYTE G1.Sniper Z97
16GB DDR3 1866MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series
750W EVGA SuperNOVA
1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB (Includes PhysX)
Digital Storm Vortex 240mm Radiator Liquid CPU Cooler
Stage 1: Overclock CPU 4.0GHz to 4.4GHz
Windows 8.1
1 TB seagate harddrive

I will then purchase a SSD an install it on my own (cheaper that way).

Rate this system! Also, please don't mention building my own PC. The difference in price between building it my own (in terms of total price of components) and the price from Digital Storm is about $500. Quite a lot, but I'm willing to pay this much for someone to build it for me, test it thoroughly for me, and give me a warranty and a lot of tech support.

WildCard999 · Apr 19, 2015

It will be a good gaming system, shame you dont want to build it though, with the $$$ you save you could probably get that SSD and SLI that GTX 970.

DonkeyOatie · Apr 19, 2015

How much are you paying for this? Price/performance matters. I would choose some different components and use air rather than liquid cooling. I'd also like to know exactly what PSU it is. SuperNOVA NEX is not so good,

WildCard999 · Apr 19, 2015

@DonkeyOatie-True, it needs to be a B2, G2, P2 or T2 to be a good model by EVGA.

yodachoda · Apr 19, 2015

DonkeyOatie :

$1901 with free shipping, excluding the SSD. Yeah I agree price totally matters, can't believe I forgot to include it.

About the PSU, unfortunately the website does not specify which SuperNova 750W it is exactly. Some other PSU options though for about the same price are:

750W Corsair CX750M
600W Digital Storm Certified (Platinum Efficiency)
850W EVGA SuperNOVA (gold efficiency)

Isn't the only advantage of air cooling over liquid the price? Don't forget there's an overlocked processor.

DonkeyOatie · Apr 19, 2015

Yes. I noticed that it is overclocked, but not too much. Air is usually cheaper, quieter, and less complex. The 240mm radiator is good, 'go big or go home' as far as I am concerned.

As far as the PSU is concerned, Efficiency means nothing, it's like fuel economy in a car, it means nothing about the quality of the engine. I have no great confidence in any of those PSUs. It's a place where system integrators cut corners. If thy don't state the specific model, it is probably one of the lower grade ones. If they were using a B2 or G2, they would probably say so.

The PSU will work fine when you get it, the question is how long will it last. Heat degrades the capacitors, so I'd expect the PSU to last about 3 years before it needs to be replaced, but you might get more. how long is the warranty.

Plan B? Is there a local bricks and mortar computer store near you? The may charge a lot less to assemble your parts and you could then get exactly what you need. Do you live near a MicroCenter?

yodachoda · Apr 19, 2015

DonkeyOatie :

Yes. I noticed that it is overclocked, but not too much. Air is usually cheaper, quieter, and less complex. The 240mm radiator is good, 'go big or go home' as far as I am concerned.

As far as the PSU is concerned, Efficiency means nothing, it's like fuel economy in a car, it means nothing about the quality of the engine. I have no great confidence in any of those PSUs. It's a place where system integrators cut corners. If thy don't state the specific model, it is probably one of the lower grade ones. If they were using a B2 or G2, they would probably say so.

The PSU will work fine when you get it, the question is how long will it last. Heat degrades the capacitors, so I'd expect the PSU to last about 3 years before it needs to be replaced, but you might get more. how long is the warranty.

Plan B? Is there a local bricks and mortar computer store near you? The may charge a lot less to assemble your parts and you could then get exactly what you need. Do you live near a MicroCenter?

The EVGA 850W Supernova is the G2 version and looks like it's highly rated: it's got 5/5 stars on Newegg.

WildCard999 · Apr 19, 2015

It's not OCed, the I7-4790K is stock 4ghz and turbo boost to 4.4ghz if needed, automatically. EDIT: Since its the G2 version its an excellent PSU, I have it as well, just be sure the register it within 30 days so you have the 10 year warranty on it.

DonkeyOatie · Apr 19, 2015

If it is the G2, then it is indeed a great PSU.

The OP says it is overclocked, from 4.0 to 4.4

yodachoda · Apr 19, 2015

WildCard999 :

Ok, the G2 EVGA 850W seems like the way to go but isn't 850W overkill?

WildCard999 · Apr 19, 2015

yodachoda :

Its slightly overkill but since the PSU is 80+ Gold it is very power efficient (90% typically) and if you decide to overclock the cpu past 4.4ghz and do SLI later on its good to have the extra power. SLI will only put it around 550W (inclduing cpu), but for how good it is I wouldn't get anything less.

yodachoda · Apr 19, 2015

Cool, thanks for the help so far. Rate this updated system!

Intel Core i7 4790K 4.0 GHz
GIGABYTE G1.Sniper Z97
16GB DDR3 1866MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series
850W EVGA SuperNOVA G2
1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB (ASUS Strix Edition)
Digital Storm Vortex 240mm Radiator Liquid CPU Cooler
Stage 1: Overclock CPU 4.0GHz to 4.4GHz
Windows 8.1
1 TB seagate harddrive

$1954 + free shipping, excluding SSD

DonkeyOatie · Apr 19, 2015

Good parts but overpriced, but you know that. Did you consider my suggestion of getting a store to assemble parts for you? MicroCenter does that and so did my TigerDirect before the closed down, and most others too, especially if you buy the parts from them.

yodachoda · Apr 19, 2015

DonkeyOatie :

How overpriced would you say? I'm calculating about $400 more than the total value of the components. That's a bit less than my original estimate of $500 because there were some small items in the build I missed.

I'm assuming Microcenter would charge somewhere in the area of $100-$200 to put it together?

DonkeyOatie · Apr 19, 2015

Perhaps 'overpriced' is not the right word. I meant more expensive than you need. This is about what you are buying.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($324.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($92.53 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-G1.SNIPER Z97 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($151.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Tactical 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($323.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Silverstone FT04S-W ATX Full Tower Case ($229.00 @ Directron)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($117.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.79 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1490.25
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-19 18:49 EDT-0400

This is about as good and a lot cheaper.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($324.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.95 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Tactical 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($323.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Antec Eleven Hundred V2 ATX Mid Tower Case ($80.74 @ Mwave)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.79 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1306.40
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-19 18:55 EDT-0400

WildCard999 · Apr 20, 2015

You could even make a 6-core (12 thread) Intel with a GTX 980 for the price of that Digital Storm PC. If you live near Western Mass, US i'd build it/program it for you, love building systems.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/NfzGRB Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/NfzGRB/by_merchant/
CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($299.99 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme3 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($181.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($184.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.30 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Video Card ($589.99 @ B&H)
Case: Corsair 780T ATX Full Tower Case ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($117.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg) Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.79 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1934.86 before rebates.

yodachoda · Apr 20, 2015

WildCard999 :

Unfortunately I don't live near there, I'm in Chicago IL.

Like I said, I'm already aware that buying the system from DS, I'm paying about $400 more than the total of all the parts, but here's where that $400 goes:

1. Building the PC. I could do it myself, but how long would it take? Including researching, at least 8 hours? I value 8 hours of my time at around $200 since that's about how much I make in 8 hours of work. Additionally, isn't a PC slightly more than the sum of its parts? I.e. If it's put together a little smarter, wires will get in the way less and result in a cooler system that lasts slightly longer.

2. They test it thoroughly so it's very likely I'll get a PC with no issues down the road. If I build it myself, it may turn on fine the first day sure, but what if I get some type of issue (see my CyberPower PC issue in the OP)? How much time and money would I have to spend to solve it?

3. Long warranty and tech support.

These seem worth $400 to me. I'd rather have a PC with slightly worse specs that is reliable and stable than a PC with slightly better specs that is perfectly fine 99% of the time but randomly crashes 1% of the time.

DonkeyOatie · Apr 21, 2015

Your money, your choice. You have good parts that will serve you well.

WildCard999 · Apr 21, 2015

Sounds good, either way its going to be a powerful machine.

yodachoda · Apr 21, 2015

Ok you 2 have gotten me to more seriously consider building it myself. The only thing really holding me back is I'm afraid the PC will have an issue after I build it.

Please post in this thread:

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2618495/issue-rate-diy-built-pcs.html

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