Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
Price Analysis And Conclusion
When Digital Storm sent us its Vanquish 5 for review, we were surprised how conservative the boutique custom shop could be with its moderate aesthetic and performance enhancements, in addition to the reasonable price tag. When the Velox arrived at our lab, it literally brought a storm of pure power as devastating as its MSRP, showcasing nearly every special treatment and upgrade that the company has to offer (less of custom open loop water coolers).
The Digital Storm Velox is simply the most powerful gaming PC we've had the pleasure of testing in recent memory, and it's no surprise considering its specs. An Intel Core i7-7700K is overclocked to an impressive 5.0GHz on an Asus Maximus IX Hero motherboard with 32GB (4 x 8GB) of DDR4-3000 and a pair of manually-overclocked EVGA GTX 1080 ACX 3.0 graphics cards in SLI. It also doesn't hurt that it's also one of the most aesthetically pleasing systems we've recently reviewed, with its custom Apollo White paint job and two-tone theme, RGB LED case fans and lighting strip, and a sweet RGB LED SLI bridge and motherboard. However, when you reach into your wallet for that $4,737, you may start to have shooting chest pains, or at least feel lightheaded.
It would be difficult to deny that the price makes this particular configuration of the Velox a pipe dream for most people, and we'll likely hear again our community express its displeasure at anything that isn't a link to a cart full of parts. However, Digital Storm has presented us with our first review sample that exceeds what novice-to-average DIY enthusiasts can do with its custom paint job, individually-braided ATX, CPU, and GPU power cables, and right-sided custom chassis. In addition, Digital Storm's beefy CPU and GPU overclock is remarkably stable, and we're not sure if even a seasoned PC builder could offer a better aesthetic value or performance threshold for much less. Sure, its possible, but we'd also offer that there's a certain value to a custom shop that can and will throw multiple aesthetic and performance-enhancing services into a unique gaming PC, especially for those who can't build or tweak it themselves.
Furthermore, just because the price is decidedly high doesn't mean we can't appreciate everything that went into the Digital Storm Velox. The chassis is both original and stylish, and the choice of hardware is strikingly similar to a system I would configure for myself (my personal gaming rig is just the previous-generation CPU, chipset, and GPUs, down to the brand). Being a DIY PC enthusiast, I can honestly say I couldn't pull off a better execution of cable management (I would say after over 100 PCs, I've become pretty good at it, too), and i certainly don't know how to/have time to paint a case myself, certainly not to to the quality Digital Storm provides. The company overclocked the CPU and GPU to levels I would personally feel comfortable with if I had built it myself, and the whole implementation of the Velox speaks to the company's expertise in the system building segment.
If you shave off the gratuitous extras, which consists of a $99 CPU and $45 GPU overclocking service, the custom paint job ($149), the RGB LED fans ($119), and the individually-braided white cables ($69), you still get a custom-designed chassis housing a new Kaby Lake i7-7700K, 32GB of RAM, a 512GB Samsung 960 Pro SSD, a 3TB HDD, and dual GTX 1080s in SLI for $4,256.
But then you're stripping away much of what's awe-inspiring about this particular sample. Besides, there's absolutely nothing about the way Digital Storm configured this gaming PC that was intended to save money. The company is staking its craftsmanship against other custom shop rigs that offer insanely customized and fine-tuned gaming systems that may interest a novice computer enthusiast, a hardcore PC gamer, or even a seasoned DIY veteran looking for a custom paint job and cabling in a dominant, overclocked, and SLI-equipped powerhouse. Until we see what others vendors have to offer at this price point, it would be difficult to justify the Velox over more affordable alternatives if you can't easily part with that much scratch.
The Digital Storm Velox certainly isn't a value buy; it's a selfish, luxury impulse (possibly mid-life crisis) purchase that could appeal to those with the cash and/or the crazy idea that no one can have a PC better than theirs. And if you buy a Digital Storm Velox, it's a good possibility that you could achieve that goal.
MORE: Best PC Builds
MORE: How To Build A PC
MORE: All PC Builds Content
