My review: Aura 7700K, 32GB, 1080Ti

I just received my new Aura this week and thought I'd share my thoughts\review.

Order thru delivery process:
•     Order date: March 2nd
•     Delivery Date: April 11th.
•     Days from purchase to delivery: 40
•     Carrier: UPS.
•     Packaging: Great internal and exterior packaging is used to ensure no damage in transit. Not sure if it matters with newer displays but when the UPS driver dropped off the package it was upside down.
•     Notes: The finally shipping date after I received the final stage completion notice was over a week. I suspect this has something to do with the addition of the 1080Ti. I can only assume this since I didn’t receive any updates after I was informed the device was complete.
Setup:
•     Assembly: This was a bit tricky. I did read a few reviews around the web so I knew what to expect concerning the assembly. Connecting the PC to the stand isn’t as simple as one might think due to its weight and shape so I’d recommend most people have some help when assembling.
•     Plugging in: Again, I read reviews before the system arrived so I thought I knew what to expect. The ports are very difficult to get to once the system is assembled. The PC can move at an angle slightly but nowhere close to enough to help get to the ports. I ended up pulling the system to the very edge of the desk so I could look up under the system and plug everything in.
•     First bootup: Digital Storm fully setup the machine so once the machine was plugged in and the power button was pushed I was on the desktop in under 5 seconds!
•     Pre-Installed software: No bloatware, junkware or any other unwanted software! This was unexpected since most other manufactures has returned to the practice of fill the machines with junk.
Hardware:
•     Display: The display is of course the first part of any system everyone notices and with the Aura it’s no different. The curved 34” screen immediately grabs everyone’s attention and sets the expectations high for what to expect next. The clarity and crispness of the screen is good with no noticeable flaws of any kind. Unfortunately, the resolution and overall experience isn’t comparable to other top of the line systems\displays that have been released recently. I was debating between this machine and the new MS Studio. The Aura won out in the end mainly due to the long wait times on the highest Studio model. I knew the screen on the Aura wasn’t going to be anywhere near the quality of the Studio so any comparisons aren’t really fair but I wanted to point out what to expect. The colors are Aura are vivid and pop nicely but the contrast isn’t quiet at the level I’d hoped for. I’ve tried to adjust to levels I’d prefer but haven’t found good levels.
•     Audio: As expected with an AIO PC. Nothing great, nothing horrible. The fan noise does overtake the speaker sound, more on that later.
•     Ports and connections: AS mentioned early the ports on the bottom of the system are extremely difficult to access but the PC does have a great variety of ports. The addition to the USB-C port is killer. I use a HP Elite X3 Windows phone that has a USB-C port so the port was wonderful to see. The transfer speeds on all the ports are amazingly fast.
•     Built-in wireless: I spent about an hour trying to get a clean, fast connection going but gave up and went with a wired connection. Not sure what the issue is but the connection wasn’t strong enough for my liking. The router is ~30 feet away in a room directly above the room I have this system in so I figured I’d have great speeds\connection but it didn’t’ happen. The other devices in the room connect at full speeds and no hiccups. NO big deal and I’m guessing its more my lack of trying than hardware related.
•     CPU\Memory\Hard Drive: I do a great deal of video editing so my Aura had to be built to handle it. So far, I can only say WOW. The speed and fluidness of everything is amazing and I couldn’t be happier. Working with 8-10GB 4K files I’m seeing no issues keeping up. Of course, this is where I’m wishing the Aura had a 4K display.
•     NVidia 1080Ti: I’m sure this is the part most people looking to buy an Aura are most interested. First off, YES my system was assembled and delivered with a 1080Ti. I’ve seen all kinds of incorrect information floating around about the Aura not supporting and\or the Aura not needing this video card so hopefully this sets the record straight.
o     Games played so far:
     Mass Effect Andromeda: Playing with all setting at max quality is absolutely beautiful and flawless. I couldn’t be happier. I’ve seen a friends PC running the game on a 1080 and the Ti definitely makes a difference.
     The Witcher and Dragon Age: Beautiful, fluid gameplay with no complaints.
     Older games like Diablo 3: Not great. Not due to the speed of the machine but the display type.
•     Fan noise: Here’s my main gripe about the machine. Going in I assumed and expected some fan noise since it is an AIO PC. Problem is the noise is so high when pushing the machine with Mass Effect or video editing it becomes obnoxiously loud. Not only wind swirling noise but a bit of a rattle too. When nothing mush is going on the PC is extremely quiet.

Final thoughts after the first 5 days:
Overall, I’m very happy with the system and recommend to anyone looking for an AIO PC as long as they understand 2 main points:
•     The display is great but it’s NOT 4K so don’t expect a MS Studio experience.
•     The fan noise is something to think about. Placing in a room such as a media room, like me, won’t be the best option. Anyone else in the room will be distracted by the noise and will definitely complain. When pushing the system headphones will be a must.
My rating would be 8.5 out of 10.

System Configuration:

•     Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Pre-built Digital Storm Aura
•     Processor: Intel Core i7-7700K 4.2 GHz (Codename Kaby Lake) (Unlocked CPU) (Quad Core)
•     Motherboard: MSI Z270I GAMING PRO CARBON AC (Intel Z270 Chipset) (Mini-ITX) (Up to 1x PCI-E Device)
•     System Memory: 32GB DDR4 3000MHz Digital Storm Performance Series
•     Power Supply: 450W (80 Plus Gold Rated) (Supports up to GTX 1080)
•     Storage Set 1: SSD - 480GB Digital Storm Performance Series
•     Storage Set 2: Hard Disk - 1TB 7200RPM (SATA 3Gb/s)
•     Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
•     Graphics Card(s): 1x GeForce GTX - Latest GeneraTIon NVIDIA Graphics Card
•     Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
•     Extreme Cooling: Digital Storm Vortex Liquid CPU Cooler
•     CPU Boost: Stage 1: Overclock CPU - Up to 4.4GHz (Depends on Cooling and Motherboard)
•     Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Professional (64-Bit Edition)


Edited by Iamdavid - 16 Apr 2017 at 9:59am

My 2nd system (not an Aura but a Bolt I) suffers from the same fan-noise issue. I will say that its annoyance kind of diminishes over time and that some games are way worse than others - and not necessarily the games you would expect. I'm glad to hear things are quiet when you aren't doing anything too strenuous. Be sure to check out bprat's suggestions if you haven't done those already.

Thanks for the detailed review.


Edited by Tidgxor - 16 Apr 2017 at 11:01am

Congratulations and welcome to DS. That is a very nice system notwithstanding the AIO screen. Can you hook up another monitor to the card?  Real nice review, thanks. Enjoy.

Originally posted by hoserator Congratulations and welcome to DS. That is a very nice system notwithstanding the AIO screen. Can you hook up another monitor to the card?  Real nice review, thanks. Enjoy.

I haven't tried but from what I understand I can add a secondary display from the other ports. I do have a 4K TV in the same room so I'll give it a shot. The lack of 4K is overstated by most critics, I've used multiple displays and couldn't tell which is which for the most part outside of the MS Studio.