Comparing Systems -- Sell Me on DS

First, I don't mean to offend DS or anyone on this forum. I'm highly interested in a DS computer and have never bought a custom computer. I've been involved with computers since the Vic-20 and almost every PC since 1988. I've done some basic upgrades, but never built my own system even though I have degree in Electrical Engineering. I find the current state of computer purchasing very confusing...lots of information, but no clear directions for me to go toward. Hardware does not equal performance, but it's hard for me to pass up larger hardware numbers.

Both the systems I'm considering are around $2,400. I tried to match the mouse, keyboard, monitor and limited warranty (3 yrs) to give a somewhat equal look. The Dell seems to offer a larger SSD, larger hard drive, double the memory, media card reader, and a wireless card. The DS seems to offer a blue-ray, liquid cooled, better video card, and overclocked cpu.

Expectations:
Replacing a Dell Inspiron Slim Tower, Quad Core. First gaming system, so no real expectations other than faster system.

Usage:
Games as I can get to them between work and kids (Quake from previous playing, not sure what I'll get into for the future); some heavy video and music editing.

Saved Ticket #: 690852

DS Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Pre-built Digital Storm ODE V2 - Level 4
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 3770K 3.50 GHz (Unlocked CPU) (Quad Core) (Requires Z77 Motherboard)
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V LX (Intel Z77 Chipset)
System Memory: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Corsair Vengeance Series (High-Performance)
Power Supply: 800W Corsair GS (Dual SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (120GB Solid State (By: Corsair) (Model: Force GT Series CSSD-F120GBGT-BK) (SATA 6Gbps)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Western Digital/Seagate/Hitachi/Samsung (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache)
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: Blu-Ray Player/DVD Writer (Play Blu-Ray and Burn DVDs)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x AMD Radeon HD 7970 3GB
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Corsair H100 Liquid CPU Cooler (240mm Radiator) (Extreme-Performance Edition)
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Red)
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock CPU 4.0GHz to 4.4GHz
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Game: - No Thanks
Display: Acer 23 inch (Widescreen) (Black) (High-Performance Gaming Display)
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: Razer Arctosa Gaming Keyboard (USB) (RZ03-00260800-R3U1)
Mouse: Razer Deathadder (Infrared 3500 dpi) (Gaming Mouse) (USB Wired)
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: FREE: Digital Storm T-Shirt - Black (Extra Large) <b></b>
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty

I'm comparing to a Dell XPS 8500
Specification:
PROTECTION     3 Year Premium Protection Package
MONITOR          Dell S2330MX 23 Inch Ultra-Slim Monitor with LED     
SPEAKERS     No speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system)
KEYBOARD     Logitech MK710 Wireless Desktop Keyboard and Mouse Combo
MOUSE          Mouse included with Keyboard purchase
ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM
XPS 8500     XPS 8500, White Chassis w/19:1 media card reader     
OS          Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English     
PROCESSORS     3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3770 processor 3.40 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 3.90 GHz     
MEMORY          16GB Dual Channel DDR3 1600MHz - 4 DIMMs     
HARD DRIVE     2TB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive 6.0 Gb/s + 256GB SSD SRT Enhancement     
VIDEO CARD     AMD Radeon™ HD 7770 2GB GDDR5     
OPTICAL DRIVE     16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW), write to CD/DVD     
WIRELESS     Dell Wireless 1703 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.0+LE     
SOUND CARD     Integrated 7.1 with WAVE MAXXAudio 4     
USB 3.0 Integrated 10/100/1000 Ethernet     
Dell Datasafe     DataSafe 2.0 Online Backup 2GB for 1 year          
Wireless Driver     Dell SRV Software 1703     
Optical SW     No PDVD

Thanks in advance
Phil H.

@hicksp002,

Originally posted by hicksp002  ...I've been involved with computers since the Vic-20 and almost every PC since 1988. ...

Originally posted by Alex @hicksp002,   Welcome to the community and thank you for your interest in a new Digital Storm PC. I'm sure the community of customers will help you out (as bprat22) has.

Alex, I sent a message via the chat that wasn't active asking about military discount. Does DS offer this? Thanks in advance.

hicksp002,

Sell you on digital storm?  No problem.

If mentioning companies is bad Alex, feel free to edit please.

Dell - if you buy a PC from them, you'll get a good one, with required software such as Dells 'safe' software - which basically allows you to backup your PC - if you upgrade.  If you want a Alienware, which is their gaming powerhouse flag ship - you'll pay insane premium and your customer service is based in Costa Rica. (no offense meant)  I have both a desktop and a laptop from Dell and many other vendors - I have been waiting on my box, literally a box - to send my gear back to the company for repair as it failed for 2 weeks.  Their support is horrible, their drivers are insane, for example.  If you order a desktop and have a sound card in it (this is not a exaggerated example) there will be no less then 5 different sets of audio drivers all named something like EH8887.exe for you to download and install.  This, often leads to driver problems.  You can get a Dell tech to help you should you ever need it, but, that is if you have warranty.

Digital Storm, EASILY has the BEST customer team and technical experts I have ever had the privilege to work with.  Please understand, I am very strict.  As soon to be retired Military, I demand people to do what they say.  Every complaint, suggestion, request or problem has been dealt with by DS in supurb fashion.

Once you start building the PC - DS won't install crap software you don't need - like get 100 free mp3's from the buy.com toolbar.

They will design the system how you want, if they can.
They will also suggest where you may run into issues and how to fix those issues as far as your configuration.

Oh and Alex never sleeps.  He is tied into the forums like Neo and the Matrix.

Seriously, Digital Storm is honestly, truly, the best building team out there.
I wish I could offer some crazy guarantee to help you see what I see but there isn't really a need - DS will do that for me.


Edited by xii - 23 May 2012 at 7:48am

Changed my order to get the 24 in Asus monitor, but basically same ODE V2 Level 4 from above. Thanks for everyone's help. I won't return to the US until mid-June, so the system should be at home waiting for me when I get back. It's been a long year away, and this should be a good birthday, homecoming gift for me.

System Configuration:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Pre-built Digital Storm ODE V2 - Level 4
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 3770K 3.50 GHz (Unlocked CPU) (Quad Core) (Requires Z77 Motherboard)
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V LX (Intel Z77 Chipset)
System Memory: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Corsair Vengeance Series (High-Performance)
Power Supply: 800W Corsair GS (Dual SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (120GB Solid State (By: Corsair) (Model: Force GT Series CSSD-F120GBGT-BK) (SATA 6Gbps)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Western Digital/Seagate/Hitachi/Samsung (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache)
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: Blu-Ray Player/DVD Writer (Play Blu-Ray and Burn DVDs)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card(s): 1x AMD Radeon HD 7970 3GB
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Digital Storm Vortex 240mm Radiator Liquid CPU Cooler (Extreme-Performance Edition)
H20 Tube Color: - Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Red)
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: - No Thanks
CPU Boost: Stage 1: Overclock CPU 4.0GHz to 4.4GHz
Graphics Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Memory Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
OS Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Game: - No Thanks
Display: Asus 24 inch VE248H (Widescreen) (Black) (2ms Response Time) (LED Backlight)
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: Razer Arctosa Gaming Keyboard (USB) (RZ03-00260800-R3U1)
Mouse: Razer Deathadder (Infrared 3500 dpi) (Gaming Mouse) (USB Wired)
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: FREE: Digital Storm T-Shirt - Black (Extra Large)
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty

Congrats

Almost the same for me!  Retiring in like.. a week?

Can't wait to be home... real food.. soft sheets.

Welcome home!