Time for new PC - let's party!Post Date: 2016-09-10 |
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Wildleeroy
Newbie Joined: 25 Jul 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36 |
Quote Reply
Topic: Time for new PC - let's party! Posted: 10 Sep 2016 at 9:39pm |
Time to replace my first DS PC; 6 years of heavy use and the power supply finally died. I've done some small incremental upgrades over the years but I think now is a good time to purchase a new system.
Budget: Approx $2500-2800 Expectations: Expect to run this system for 5+ years before upgrade/replace, so need long term reliability, similar to what I had with my previous Digital Storm PC. Plan to stick with 1080p resolution on single display, may add 2nd display in the future. Usage: Gaming/productivity - Office, WoW, SC2, latest BF titles etc. Special Needs: Case that has excellent airflow -- room can sometimes get warm during summer, even with A/C running. Noise isn't a major concern. Don't need a huge storage drive, I have a spare drive to throw in if I need more space. Some questions: Should I stick with stock CPU speeds for longevity or will a stage 1 OC be OK? Does higher speed memory make a noticeable difference? Should I specify the 6 performance fans option, or will the stock fans be sufficient? Do any cases come with a dust filter up front or can I make special request for that? I hear Noctua NH-D15 is the way to go for CPU cooling, beats out some cheaper LCs. I've been thinking of investing in a battery backup such as APC - any suggestions? What's the lifetime expectancy on the batteries? Here's my initial configuration. Curious on how many fans does Velox come with in the stock config? Saved Ticket #: 1487584 Total Price with Instant Savings: $2,673.00 Direct Load URL: https://www.digitalstorm.com/configurator.asp?id=1487584 Specifications: Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Digital Storm Velox Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i7 6700K 4.0GHz (Codename Skylake) (Unlocked CPU) (Quad Core) Motherboard: ASUS Z170 PRO GAMING (Intel Z170 Chipset) (Up to 5x PCI-E Devices) System Memory: 32GB DDR4 2666MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series <br><strong></strong> Power Supply: 750W EVGA SuperNOVA (750 B1) Expansion Bay: Option Not Available Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 8x / CD-Writer 8x) (Internal) Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (500GB Samsung 850 EVO) <br><strong></strong> Storage Set 2: 1x Storage (1TB Western Digital - Black Edition) <br><strong></strong> Storage Set 3: - No Thanks RAID Config: - No Thanks RAID Card: - No Thanks Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Graphics Card(s): 1x GeForce GTX 1070 8GB (EVGA ACX 3.0) (VR Ready) <br><strong></strong> Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio HPC Processor: - No Thanks Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Noctua NH-D15 (Extreme Performance) <br><strong></strong> HydroLux Tubing Style: - Not Applicable, I do not have a custom HydroLux liquid cooling system selected HydroLux Fluid Color: - Not Applicable, I do not have a custom HydroLux liquid cooling system selected Cable Management: Premium Cable Management (Strategically Routed & Organized for Airflow) Chassis Fans: Standard Factory Chassis Fans Internal Lighting: - No Thanks Airflow Control: - No Thanks Chassis Mods: - No Thanks Noise Reduction: - No Thanks LaserMark: - No Thanks Boost Processor: Standard Intel Turbo Boost 2.0 Automatic Overclocking <br><strong></strong> Boost Graphics Card(s): - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s) Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Professional (64-Bit Edition) <br><strong></strong> Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows CD) Virus Protection: FREE: McAfee AntiVirus Plus (1 Year Service Activation Card) (Not Pre-installed) ($35 Value) Office: - No Thanks Game: - No Thanks Display: - No Thanks Surge Shield: - No Thanks Speakers: - No Thanks Keyboard: - No Thanks Mouse: - No Thanks Branded Gear: - No Thanks Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed Warranty: Life-time Expert Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty (3 Year Labor & 1 Year Part Replacement) |
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DST4ME
DS ELITE Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
Quote Reply Posted: 10 Sep 2016 at 11:17pm |
A good safe oc is always the way to go, you need to worry about longevity with heat and vcore. Memory speeds above 2666Mhz don't make a noticeable difference.
Yes ask for the extra fans, not sure if any have one upfront but it will not matter, dust will find its way in, best way is to clean the system once a week, that way it will literally take 2 minutes. APC makes good backup, go to their site and locate one that can handle the wattage of your psu. My batteries die after 2 to 3 years. velox if I'm not mistake does not have the top fans but has the others. this is the psu you want, gave you a faster drive, extra fans and oc: Click Image To Go To Configuration Page Bit of info: 1. Do not install Mcafee , instead get a lighter better anti virus like ESET ( number 3 on the list ) Or any other good light Anti Virus will do. 2. With extra fans request that DS changes all case fans and connects all your fans to the mobo so you can control them via free software. This way we can control the fans without needing anything else (aka fan controller and etc). Also be sure to pick the color of the ring you wan the fans to have (red/blu/white). 3. The warranty here is 3 year labor and 1 year parts so if you want higher part warranty be sure to raise the warranty level to the desired level. |
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Wildleeroy
Newbie Joined: 25 Jul 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36 |
Quote Reply Posted: 11 Sep 2016 at 10:50am |
Thank you for the quick response DST4ME!
I will go with the OC. If you think it will be safe for life I will do it. Totally understand about heat being #1 enemy on CPU life so I will keep an eye on it and if I think it's getting too hot I will drop back the OC. Is there a safe VCORE for everyday use? Sorry for all the questions, I've been out of PC building for while. Want to make sure I know what to expect. Thanks! P.S. I think I will give the M.2 SSD a shot, wasn't even considering it but after some research I think I will love it. Edited by Wildleeroy - 11 Sep 2016 at 10:54am |
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DST4ME
DS ELITE Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
Quote Reply Posted: 11 Sep 2016 at 11:56am |
For temps on cpu and gpu I like to keep below 80c, some think its ok to go max gpu temp (for exmaple 1080 gtx has a 94c max temp) but I will not go that far, 85c is the max I'm willing to go for gpu maybe cpu depending.
If your cpu temps go above 80c we need to look at your system cause that would not be ok, with stage 1 oc you should not have heat issues since that is a light oc. a good vcore is one below 1.3 the m.2 is the way to go if you have the budget. ask as many questions as you like Edited by DST4ME - 11 Sep 2016 at 11:57am |
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Wildleeroy
Newbie Joined: 25 Jul 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36 |
Quote Reply Posted: 12 Sep 2016 at 1:17pm |
Well I put in the order... now the hard part is waiting. I'm stuck using my Surface tablet as my primary machine until this arrives. Super excited!
So now I'm looking at APC units. In one of the reviews a user mentioned having trouble with square sine wave(I think I got that right) which his PSU didn't like. Is that something that I need to be concerned with? |
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DST4ME
DS ELITE Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
Quote Reply Posted: 12 Sep 2016 at 1:42pm |
No worries with sine wave, just make sure you get one that supports the wattage of your psu.
Congrats Let the torture begin |
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Wildleeroy
Newbie Joined: 25 Jul 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36 |
Quote Reply Posted: 16 Sep 2016 at 6:16pm |
Got to Stage 3 today.... just 9-14 more business days till it ships
Going to place the order for the APC next so I have it by the time the PC arrives. I've been using AVAST for a/v protection, seems to work fine but I don't care for all the extra stuff they are adding in so I will probably give ESET a try. Off-topic I've been using my Surface 4 since my PC went down... and starting a couple days ago the display is shakey/jittery. Seems to be a hardware issue so now I've got to run to the store and see if I can get it swapped... Hopefully this bad luck with electronics doesn't continue... |
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DST4ME
DS ELITE Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
Quote Reply Posted: 16 Sep 2016 at 7:01pm |
Sounds good keep us informed about you build and that surface please
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Wildleeroy
Newbie Joined: 25 Jul 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36 |
Quote Reply Posted: 21 Sep 2016 at 2:20pm |
No updates on my build, still stage 3.
Was on with MS support and they are going to send me a new Surface Pro 4. It's a hardware issue affecting the display, so they just want to replace it straight up and get me back in operation. Gotta say their support person I worked with was top notch, very friendly and got right to the heart of the matter. Would gladly work with them again. Back to my new PC order - I just read the topic about the Noctua cooler no longer being offered on DS systems due to issues with damage in shipping. I'm a bit anxious about this now. Last time I got a system it had the Noctua D14 I think, and that arrived fine. Is this cooler much larger? Should I ask to change it or just leave it? Do we have any stats that say this % of customers had a problem with Noctua CPU cooler in shipping? Edited by Wildleeroy - 21 Sep 2016 at 2:20pm |
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DST4ME
DS ELITE Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
Quote Reply Posted: 21 Sep 2016 at 2:34pm |
You are covered for shipping and etc since you already ordered, worst case senario they send you another noctua and you put it in yourself, do you know how to unscrew 2 to 4 screws? cause that is all it takes.
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Wildleeroy
Newbie Joined: 25 Jul 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36 |
Quote Reply Posted: 21 Sep 2016 at 2:41pm |
Yeah, once upon a time I used to build PCs. I assume they've made mounting coolers easier since then. Used to bust my fingers mounting coolers to AMD CPUs grrr.
Actually just watched a video showing how easy Noctua is to mount on the CPU, talk about simple... Kinda sad DS doesn't offer it anymore on new builds, it's hands down the best air cooler and I'd personally prefer it over the cheapo all-in-one liquid coolers offered. Air coolers add extra airflow over the mobo cooling on board chips etc. |
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DST4ME
DS ELITE Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
Quote Reply Posted: 21 Sep 2016 at 2:47pm |
So true, people don't know this stuff and of course I have not heard one person from DS mention this either, I did see db188 mention it but he is a member/customer like me. Truth is that ups and fedex can't do their job right and that is why we are deprived of noctua, but DS keeps insisting the shipping damage is not shipping fault but noctua's fault, which is not true, if your china set got damaged during shipping, its not the china set's fault, its the shipping company's fault. Or maybe its your fault for going with a crappy shipping company. Edited by DST4ME - 21 Sep 2016 at 2:47pm |
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Wildleeroy
Newbie Joined: 25 Jul 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36 |
Quote Reply Posted: 23 Sep 2016 at 10:44am |
Checked with Alex and he said my order is on track! Harder to wait than usual since I have no desktop and my surface is pending replacement. When it rains it pours!
So should see it ship out in beginning of October... about 2 more weeks... sounds like "The Money Pit" w/ Tom Hanks :) |
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Wildleeroy
Newbie Joined: 25 Jul 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36 |
Quote Reply Posted: 23 Sep 2016 at 4:08pm |
Stage 5
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DST4ME
DS ELITE Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
Quote Reply Posted: 23 Sep 2016 at 4:37pm |
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Wildleeroy
Newbie Joined: 25 Jul 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36 |
Quote Reply Posted: 30 Sep 2016 at 9:07am |
Stage 6... 2-5 more days to ship
Got my new Surface from MS, so I'm back in business with that at least. |
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DST4ME
DS ELITE Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
Quote Reply Posted: 30 Sep 2016 at 2:51pm |
Nice lets hope it keeps moving
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Wildleeroy
Newbie Joined: 25 Jul 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36 |
Quote Reply Posted: 03 Oct 2016 at 6:22pm |
Order has shipped! I'll take some pics unboxing when it arrives. Let's see how UPS does...
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DST4ME
DS ELITE Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
Quote Reply Posted: 03 Oct 2016 at 9:49pm |
Now its time to pray to the shipping gods
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Wildleeroy
Newbie Joined: 25 Jul 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36 |
Quote Reply Posted: 10 Oct 2016 at 10:24am |
PC arrived today.
One of the fans on the HS came off, easy enough to reattach since they are simple clips. The HS also seems to be leaning, not sure if that's normal but the base on the HS looks to be attached solid and flat to the CPU, so just bent at the heat pipes from what I can tell. Video card doesn't look straight either but didn't pop out. Pics attached. Not sure if I should try booting it up. Any thoughts? Edited by Wildleeroy - 10 Oct 2016 at 10:26am |
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ArkansasWoman777
DS Veteran Joined: 19 Aug 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4314 |
Quote Reply Posted: 10 Oct 2016 at 10:37am |
Looks like your pc took quite a jolt, i would give DS a call and see what they will do
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"Captain Sirius Black"
Storm Trooper i5 3570k Ordered: 11-27-12 Stage 1: 11-29-12 Stage 2: 12-2-12 Stage 3: 12-2-12 Stage 4: 12-4-12 Stage 5: 12-4-12 Stage 6: 12-10-12 Stage 7: 12-12-12 |
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bprat22
DS ELITE DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!) Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391 |
Quote Reply Posted: 10 Oct 2016 at 10:38am |
It does look like your rig took a jolt in shipping. The Noctua does have the flexible heat pipes, and simply biasing the cooler to where it belongs might be all you need. It being bent probably won't effect its performance.
Some video cards do sit at an angle because of their weight. I would reseat the card just be be sure its seated in the Pcie slot squarely. Also make sure its not bent where it attaches to the back I/O wall. After checking the card and pushing the cooler I would fire it up and see. Edit.. make sure the Pci e slot isn't cracked. Edited by bprat22 - 10 Oct 2016 at 10:39am |
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Wildleeroy
Newbie Joined: 25 Jul 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36 |
Quote Reply Posted: 10 Oct 2016 at 11:16am |
Spoke with tech suport and said basically the same that was said here.
I booted the system up and so far looks ok. Only thing I found is one of the fans isn't spinning in the front panel. I have to figure out where that is connected.I loaded up HW monitor to watch my CPU temps... going to put some load on it and see how it looks. So far idle temps are around 20C... will let you know how it goes |
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bprat22
DS ELITE DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!) Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391 |
Quote Reply Posted: 10 Oct 2016 at 11:21am |
Chances are very good that you are good to go.
Stressing the rig while monitoring HWmonitor will tell if all is tight. Temps in the 70's C or lower are about normal, unless under custom water. |
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Wildleeroy
Newbie Joined: 25 Jul 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36 |
Quote Reply Posted: 10 Oct 2016 at 11:27am |
side note, wish they shipped these like they did in 2010, bigger box with the PC layed flat so no gravity pulling on the CPU cooler/video card. And it was suspended between two flat plastic layers that would let it absorb impacts better... probably wouldn't have run into these issues
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bprat22
DS ELITE DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!) Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391 |
Quote Reply Posted: 10 Oct 2016 at 11:48am |
That's how my ODE was shipped in 2011 also. I saw a different packaging when my son had his Vanquish shipped to my house a couple of months ago.
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Wildleeroy
Newbie Joined: 25 Jul 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36 |
Quote Reply Posted: 10 Oct 2016 at 12:36pm |
Front fan I mentioned before is actually spinning... I think it was cool enough before so the system turned off the one fan. I think I have to download software to see what the settings are
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bprat22
DS ELITE DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!) Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391 |
Quote Reply Posted: 10 Oct 2016 at 1:01pm |
I wouldn't think the fan was set to shut off, but maybe change speed with temp.
You can use Bios or Asus FanXpert, part of a mobo software package, to check speeds, if the fan is plugged into motherboard. The mobo headers are labeled to better check each fan, like ChasFan 1 for example. Edited by bprat22 - 10 Oct 2016 at 1:04pm |
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Wildleeroy
Newbie Joined: 25 Jul 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36 |
Quote Reply Posted: 10 Oct 2016 at 5:16pm |
I may have been mistaken and the fan was always spinning.
I went through and made sure all the fan connections to the motherboard were good. I'll give that software a try. |
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Boc3phus
Newbie Joined: 05 Jul 2016 Online Status: Offline Posts: 76 |
Quote Reply Posted: 10 Oct 2016 at 5:20pm |
I'm glad you got your machine and hope any issues will get worked out. Can you describe how your rig was packaged? It seems as though they are not using the plastic wrap cushion technique anymore? Seems kinda scary. Especially on the larger sytems.
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Aventum 3 Ordered: 10-05-16
Stages 1,2: 10-06-16 Stage 3: 10-06-16 Stage 4: 10-24-16 Stage 5: 10-25-19 Stage 6: 10-26-16 Stage 7: 11-04-16 (Passed) Shipped: 11-14-16 |
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Wildleeroy
Newbie Joined: 25 Jul 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36 |
Quote Reply Posted: 10 Oct 2016 at 6:54pm |
The "expanding cushion" was in the PC case, but it was loose and actually knocked off one of the Noctua's fans. I doesn't seem like it expanded properly and wasn't helping at all(unlike the cushion in the PC I ordered in 2010 and it was in tight around the video card holding things in place)... Outside packaging it was packaged in a soft cloth and then encased in solid foam padding around all corners.
I feel the major problem is the PC was shipped upright, instead of horizontal. Sure it makes it easier to pick up and move, but now you are hanging all the weight on the mobo while the package gets bounced around. |
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Boc3phus
Newbie Joined: 05 Jul 2016 Online Status: Offline Posts: 76 |
Quote Reply Posted: 10 Oct 2016 at 6:58pm |
Ok, thanks for clearing that up and providing the packing information. I agree with you about shipping upright. :/
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Aventum 3 Ordered: 10-05-16
Stages 1,2: 10-06-16 Stage 3: 10-06-16 Stage 4: 10-24-16 Stage 5: 10-25-19 Stage 6: 10-26-16 Stage 7: 11-04-16 (Passed) Shipped: 11-14-16 |
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DST4ME
DS ELITE Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
Quote Reply Posted: 10 Oct 2016 at 11:50pm |
Wildleeroy, sorry to hear about shipping, how is everything going now?
I agree laying flat is a much better way for shipping but the sides are more fragile than the top and bottom I think, I could be wrong on that. But I do agree if all things is the same flat on the side is much better shipping. mine was shipped on its side in crate and upsh*t still messed it up. |
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bprat22
DS ELITE DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!) Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391 |
Quote Reply Posted: 11 Oct 2016 at 2:38am |
Makes me wonder if the new shipping packaging is why DS dropped the Noctua due to shipping damage. Years ago the Noctua and my A70 cooler were popular and a common pick.
When I saw my son's Vanquish in the smaller box with just the styrofoam I thought it might be just the Vanquish. I'm sure most systems still arrive OK. |
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DST4ME
DS ELITE Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
Quote Reply Posted: 11 Oct 2016 at 2:51am |
Ya I was thinking also that they must have changed their foam packing, based on what everyone with shipping damage is saying and the fact that the noctua and other stuff is moving, tells me that its not the same packing as used on our pc, my foam packing was so tight, nothing could have moved, not even noctua.
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