Vanquish 5 order and review in progress

Happy election day to everyone in the states,

The purpose of this post is to review a DS Vanquish 5 computer from time of order until it lands in my home and can be tested personally. Hopefully this will help those considering buying from DS.

On November 6th 2016 I placed my second Digital Storm PC order. The first order was for a Vanquish 3 level 3 in June of 2015. That computer used an i5 4690k processor, GTX 970 GPU, a 120GB SSD and 8GB DDR3 1600MHz ram. That PC was bought largely with playing The Witcher 3 at ultra settings in 1080p in mind, and it did this wonderfully. The temps ranged on the high side of reasonable, but never stepped into dangerous territory at any point. I did have to underclock the 970 GPU in order to prevent it from crashing on certain games, but this was a defect baked into the card and not in any way an issue with DS.

I ultimately made the choice to sell that computer, retaining about 65% of the value. My life was at a point where I didn't have time for gaming and figured I could cut my losses and reinvest into a new system when my situation changed.

So, last Sunday, I made the decision to keep my business with Digital Storm. I purchased a Vanquish 5, again at the equivalent of what used to be a "level 3," or what is now considered the "Best" option on the "good, better, best ultimate" scale. The price difference from June of last year to November of 2016 is about $240 dollars, however I find that the value of the system you get at this level where performance is concerned is significantly higher to match this price increase. Instead of an i5 at level 3, there is an i7. The GPU tier has remained the same, with the 970 of that generation being the 1070 of today, however the 1070 does what earlier generations have not, which is to crush the previous generation's best cards at less than half the cost. 8gb has become 16gb ddr4 ram, and the size of the SSD has doubled.

On my last build, some may remember me being grumbly about their choice not to use CoolerMaster hyper 213 evo fans. I suspect this will be the same on this system. I also note that while my original system stated outright that the SSD would be a Samsung850 evo, this build does not. The memory on my last build was Adata XPG series, as well, which I thought was a fantastic choice for that machine. When paying these kinds of prices, I really hope that DS continues to use parts that enthusiasts would realistically consider using in their own computers. I will update everyone on what parts are used once I do receive the final build.

As of writing today, the system has reached Stage 3, with an estimated 8-13 business days left until shipped.

Edited by halcyonview - 08 Nov 2016 at 10:48am

Congratulations. Nicely written.

Computer moved into stage 6 last night, which I was very excited about. I chose 3 day air shipping, so I was very hopeful that the order would ship today so that I could receive it by Friday, but it doesn't look like that's happening. C'est la vie.

I received the Acer XB271hu monitor, and I am very impressed and relieved. These monitors have some notorious quality control issues, and I chose to go the refurbished route. I ordered from a very popular electronics store off their website, paid about 60% of the retail cost of a brand new panel. It arrived with extremely minimal wear, no backlight bleed that I can see, no dead pixels, no scratches on the screen whatsoever. Had to test it on a PS4, so I won't be able to fully review it until it's hooked up to the new rig and utilizes the g-sync and native resolution. So far though, very happy.

It is tough to see some of the competing brands putting out deals on computers that are similar to my build, but boast a K series processor and a better GPU for hundreds less. Given my last experiences with DS however, I am confident that I made the right choice. There's a peace of mind that goes into buying with DS, not only in that they will use better quality parts than the competition, but also that it will be assembled and tested better, too. I see the extra money I paid here as an investment toward the longevity of the system.

Anyway, that's my rant for now. Here's to hoping it gets out the door soon! I am guessing that 3 day air is fulfilled by UPS, which is a shame, as they are terrible in my area, whereas FEDEX is always extremely careful and doesn't misdeliver items. I've had to track down two different packages that UPS sent to the wrong house in the last three months. Crossing my fingers!

Brief update.

Received computer this evening. Will post a revised review in original post when I have had more time with the machine.

PC came in different packaging than last year, but no less sufficient. Expanding foam really saves the day on these- all parts working right out of the box. I am very thankful that so far the rig seems to be running smoothly and the prospects of an RMA are currently looking unnecessary.

Time from order to receiving the system, including shipping, was 17 days. I paid for 3 day air.

Downloaded a few utilities, installed Overwatch, and gave the thing a spin. Running at 1440p resolution on "epic," aka max settings, the machine hit a temperature high on the GPU of 66 degrees Celsius with a custom fan curve hitting 74% fan speed at 100% GPU utilization. I'm very happy with this. Meanwhile, the CPU barely broke 60 degrees as well.

PSU is EVGA Supernova, motherboard is ASUS Z170 E, and cooler is Zalman CNPS10X Performa. GPU is as advertised, Asus turbo.

More to come. Very pleased so far.

Great to hear that things are going well! 

Nice, thanks for the continued updates. 

Out of curiosity have you isolated the noise to the GPU? Just curious.