As a first time customer, here's my review.

Sup gang.

It's been a little while since I was most active, but I think I have enough usage from my pockets of play time after work to collect final thoughts.

MODEL: Bolt x

CPU & GPU: Stage 3 water-cooled 5800X and (my already owned) 5700XT.

Digital Storm/Bolt X PROS:

- Probably the best looking electronic device I've ever seen.
- Whisper quiet.
- As powerful as you'd imagine with the components used. It'll be even more so once (if?) I can buy a 3080 some day.
- Built like a tank in their custom all metal chassis.
- Good wire management.
- Great water cooling design and execution.
- Customer service always answered and were polite during my assembly process.
- Customer service continued being great even after I received my PC to help sort out questions or potential issues.

Digital Storm/Bolt X CONS:

- Bolt X only has two fans total, and as beautiful as the case is, it does seem thermally limited. Customer service graciously sent me a new cover to replace the tempered glass one–one made of acrylic with holes for ventilation–but it's unfortunate this was necessary. Perhaps a few extra fans could have made up for the ITX form factor, but to my knowledge, was not an option in the builder.

- Even understanding the difficulties of the pandemic and the ambiguity from parts manufacturers such as Nvidia/AMD, there was some fault on Digital Storm's side in terms of transparency at the end of 2020 and early 2021. I think most of us would have been a lot more understanding about the situation had our expectations been set properly rather than being told a 20-25 business day wait. I also understand this might have been a calculated risk, as telling customers when they hop on the builder that their PC would realistically take 2 months or more to arrive would scare a lot of people away. But as the customer, I can say that it was not the right practice in setting my overall impression. I have been won over in the end and of course it was worth the wait, but that was almost not the case. Definitely a risky move I didn't appreciate in full honesty. It seems like their build times have returned to normal, so this may not be something new customers will have to face.

Summary/TL;DR:

I'll give Digital Storm as a whole a 4/5. The customer service and craftsmanship easily make up for the unexpectedly long wait end the end. I'll definitely recommend them to friends and family.

I give the Bolt X a 3/5 as its thermal limitations and lack of fans can potentially affect performance, especially if you get something demanding like a 3080 or 6800XT. I would trade its sheer sexiness for something a little more practical.

Edited by Slick_the_Bandit - 01 Apr 2021 at 1:07pm

Originally posted by Slick_the_Bandit Sup gang. It's been a little while since I was most active, but I think I have enough usage from my pockets of play time after work to collect final thoughts. MODEL: Bolt x CPU & GPU: Stage 3 water-cooled 5800X and (my already owned) 5700XT. Digital Storm/Bolt X PROS: - Probably the best looking electronic device I've ever seen. - Whisper quiet. - As powerful as you'd imagine with the components used. It'll be even more so once (if?) I can buy a 3080 some day. - Built like a tank in their custom all metal chassis. - Good wire management. - Great water cooling design and execution. - Customer service always answered and were polite during my assembly process. - Customer service continued being great even after I received my PC to help sort out questions or potential issues. Digital Storm/Bolt X CONS: - Bolt X only has two fans total, and as beautiful as the case is, it does seem thermally limited. Customer service graciously sent me a new cover to replace the tempered glass one–one made of acrylic with holes for ventilation–but it's unfortunate this was necessary. Perhaps a few extra fans could have made up for the ITX form factor, but to my knowledge, was not an option in the builder. - Even understanding the difficulties of the pandemic and the ambiguity from parts manufacturers such as Nvidia/AMD, there was some fault on Digital Storm's side in terms of transparency at the end of 2020 and early 2021. I think most of us would have been a lot more understanding about the situation had our expectations been set properly rather than being told a 20-25 business day wait. I also understand this might have been a calculated risk, as telling customers when they hop on the builder that their PC would realistically take 2 months or more to arrive would scare a lot of people away. But as the customer, I can say that it was not the right practice in setting my overall impression. I have been won over in the end and of course it was worth the wait, but that was almost not the case. Definitely a risky move I didn't appreciate in full honesty. It seems like their build times have returned to normal, so this may not be something new customers will have to face. Summary/TL;DR: I'll give Digital Storm as a whole a 4/5. The customer service and craftsmanship easily make up for the unexpectedly long wait end the end. I'll definitely recommend them to friends and family. I give the Bolt X a 3/5 as its thermal limitations and lack of fans can potentially affect performance, especially if you get something demanding like a 3080 or 6800XT. I would trade its sheer sexiness for something a little more practical.

Thank you for bringing this to light. I ordered the Bolt X a few days ago and now I'm concerned I may run into this issue. I'm running 3080 GPU. I've emailed DS regarding this issue to see how they will tackle against this inconvenience.

Originally posted by GrandesBollas The Bolt X, in my opinion, has always been a risky purchase given its compact form factor. Until about a year ago, the Bolt X could be configured with water cooling of both the CPU and GPU. Inadequate case cooling, coupled with an air-cooled GPU is a recipe for poor thermals. I totally get why DS equipped my Lumos with a turbo version of RTX 2070. These coolers are appropriate for air flow constrained cases to ensure that heated air gets ejected. The selling appeal for the Bolt X is eye candy. Beautiful liquid cooling set up. Take that away, and the Bolt X is no better than a Clevo laptop equipped with a 9900K CPU.

That’s a beautiful build. Perhaps I should’ve done a little more research before jumping the gun. What do you think would fix this situation? Maybe I can request GPU Liquid Cooling for extra charge? Or should I request to change the case?

I was really keen on the Bolt X sleek and minimalist design but my concern is increasing as I do more research.

Great review

Originally posted by GrandesBollas The selling appeal for the Bolt X is eye candy. Beautiful liquid cooling set up. Take that away, and the Bolt X is no better than a Clevo laptop equipped with a 9900K CPU.

Yep, couldn't put this any better.

Originally posted by Slick_the_Bandit I think it's important to note that the Bolt X isn't destined to fail because it's an ITX form factor. It struggles because of how it* specifically was designed. There is almost enough space as is for one or two 120mm fans at the bottom, especially if you go with 120mm fans that are 10 or 15mm thick. I'm running the XFX Thicc 3 5700XT which is an absolute unit of a GPU, but I managed to plop a fan underneath it just to experiment (unconnected). It has the vents on the bottom already. Even a single 120mm fan flowing into the case from below would have created an air current inside the case and change everything, I feel. If there is ever a Bolt X mkII, bottom fans would be a great improvement. In fact, I've already ordered and received a couple fans and double-sided electronics tape to test this out. I'm going to slide one of the 15mm thick fans I bought and stick it to the bottom, underneath the GPU. Originally posted by RBNFITNESS Perhaps I should’ve done a little more research before jumping the gun. What do you think would fix this situation? Maybe I can request GPU Liquid Cooling for extra charge? Or should I request to change the case? I was really keen on the Bolt X sleek and minimalist design but my concern is increasing as I do more research. After battling this myself, I'll tell you this: you don't have to if you really don't want to. Certain changes can make a huge difference. Just the acrylic cover DS sent me with (surprisingly tasteful) vent holes cut into it dropped my GPU temps by 10C degrees! I also tweaked the GPU fan curve, which was not aggressive enough by default. The biggest downside to the acrylic is that it is clear instead of tinted like the glass, and because of the nature of plastic, a lot of dust sticks to it, both inside and out. Water-cooling the GPU would be best for temps, but it's a nightmare in the long term. 320 watts TDP on a 3080 is a significant jump from my 5700XT's 225 watts, but between the acrylic cover cutouts and some under-volting, you could find a happy medium. I can also update if my additional fan experiment goes well. Safest option would be to choose a different case, but there are ways of dealing with the Bolt X.

Yup... ended up switching to a similar size... Lumos... went with a bigger power supply, 3090 gpu & gpu cooling. I’m not taking any chances.

Just as an update, we have been shipping new BOLT X units that show signs of possible thermal issues with a new side window that has hexagon cutouts for better airflow. Please note, this new panel is not of glass but acrylic.