90 Days Later....

It's been about 3 months since I took delivery on my new DSO system (#610021), and I thought I would take some time away from playing SW:ToR and D3 beta to make some comments about it, not only to show my gratitude, but perhaps in the hopes of providing helpful feedback to potential/future DSO customers.

I had sky-high expectations for this system, and it exceeded them in *every* way. It booted up and ran right out of the box (and wowser, what a box it was!). Today I was setting up my old Toshiba laptop (the system I used for 3 years prior to getting this DSO system) for my sister to use, and initially I thought there was something wrong with it, it was sooo slow and unresponsive. Then it dawned on me that there was nothing wrong with the laptop - I was just used to using a system the was so fast everything was pretty much instantaneous, from application loading to browser page display. This system plays BF3 at 80-85 FPS on Ultra+AA, and SW:ToR, which has become infamous for bogging down the fastest of systems, at 110 FPS. SW:ToR is also gaining a reputation for heating systems and graphics cards well into the egg-frying range, but RealTemp always shows mine is just fine. This system is like the Energizer Bunny - it just keeps going and going and going...:)

I would like to mention three things here that potential buyers should keep in mind. None of these are negatives or problems, but all good to know:

1. My system is not silent, but it is pretty quiet. All it makes is a soft "swooshing" sound, which you can hear if you are near it and paying attention. It is not intrusive or bothersome at all. If your system is making more noise than this, esp. if it makes any kind of "screeching" sound, there's a good chance you have a fan problem.

2. I ordered the blue LED package. When I got the system up and running, I noticed - for the first time - that this particular case/package had a red LED panel in the front. It looks somewhat patriotic in an evil sort of way to me, but for someone who is pickier than I am, it might drive them nuts. Word to the wise - pay attention to the photos of your system if you order an LED color package.

3. I don't mean this as a criticism, nor is it my desire to discourage anyone from buying DSO systems, but my system puts out a ton of heat. I'm thinking that this is actually a *good* thing, since it means that all that heat is *not* staying inside the system, i.e., evidence of what a good job DSO did in designing the interior cooling. My computer room (i.e., man-cave) is a non-master bedroom in a pretty typical three-bedroom ranch home, so it is big enough without being really big. I have a ceiling fan that normally runs on low. We also have a brand-new, heavy-duty Lennox furnace. The new computer puts out enough heat that the room gets too warm for comfort when the furnace is set to 70 during the day and the door is shut, so I have to either keep my door open or turn the fan on high. At night, when we turn the furnace down to 65, I shut my door to hold down the gaming noise, and this is usually ok...sometimes I have to turn the fan on high. Not sure what things will be like in the summer, but I'm thinking that ceiling fan is gonna spend most of its time on high...:)


In closing, I would like to thank the users in this forum, who were very friendly and helpful to me while I was designing my system. Not to mention the tech support folks who also post in this forum - how unheard of, and how refreshing. Thanks all, for an incredible system !!!

jmaster299 already addressed your points, so I'll just add: Congratulations on your experience thus far, here's to many more happy updates! 

Thank you for taking the time to write your post. It's great to hear from our customers. I'm glad that you're enjoying your system and that you're happy with it!

He wasn't criticizing anything in your post, merely taking the time to offer insight in the event you may have any thoughts as to why some of the things you're saying are occurring.

I didn't read anything in your post that may alude to any criticism, so I doubt anyone else did.