First post, first purchase Lynx i3 build thoughts.

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   Hello, first time customer and user, purchased a Lynx build at the beginning of March and I figured I would contribute to the forum by talking about it. I got this build because I'm replacing a crappy Dell laptop.  I'm not much of a PC gamer at all, I am a console person (own a PS5/4/3, a Wii U, a 3DS and a Switch) but I was getting tired of my Laptop being a P.O.S and proprietary big company builds (Dell, HP, etc).  I did buy a Victus 15L (I work at wal-mart) but due to me doing some accidental damage to the power supply it got fried.  Fine, I screwed up it's not HP's fault I am an idiot lol but when I got it back from warranty repair it was still fried so I returned it and finally figured screw it, lets look at Redux, Skytech, etc.  If it's good enough for lower-settings smooth FPS gaming it is more than enough for my puny web-browsing and multimedia consumption needs.  Ended up with DS from friend recommendations and I went for the lowest Lynx build: 

System Configuration:

Chassis Model: Digital Storm Lynx - Level 1 (MPN-LV1-12100F-B660-3050-V1) (BTO)
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i3-12100F (4.3 GHz Turbo) (8-Thread) (4-Core) 3.3 GHz (Alder Lake)
Motherboard: ASUS / MSI / ASRock (Intel Chipset) (Up to 2x PCI-E Devices)
System Memory: 16GB DDR4 2666MHz Digital Storm Performance Series
Power Supply: 700W Digital Storm Performance Series (Supports up to an NVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti GPU)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Optical Drive: - No Thanks
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD M.2 (500GB Digital Storm M.2 Performance Series) (NVM Express)
Storage Set 2: - No Thanks
Storage Set 3: - No Thanks
RAID Config: - No Thanks
RAID Card: - No Thanks
Internet Access: Wireless Connectivity (Supports 802.11ac) (Integrated Motherboard Wi-Fi)
Graphics Card(s): 1x GeForce RTX 3050 8GB (VR Ready)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Add On Card: - No Thanks
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: High-Performance Copper Heat Pipe Cooler
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: Digital Storm Performance Series (RGB Fans)
Internal Lighting: Remote Controlled Advanced LED Lighting System (Multiple RGB Color Modes)
Software Control: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: Option Not Available
CPU Boost: Turbo Boost Advanced Automatic Overclocking
Graphics: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
OS Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Home (64-Bit)
Recovery Tools: USB Drive - Windows Installation (Format and Clean Install)
Virus Protection: Windows Defender Antivirus (Built-in to Windows)
Office: - No Thanks
Mouse Pad: - 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)

Happy with the part selection for sure.  I read that the particular core i3 in this build is GREAT value and a solid budget gaming CPU.  The RTX is definitely more than enough for my needs and I like the simplicity of the cooling situation.  With it being a i3 a beefy fan cooler should be more than adequate.  

I ordered it on 3/1 and was fully expecting it to take time.  3/15 it went to stage 2 but was stuck there until 3/29.  I was worried a hiccup came up considering it's a fan cooled i3 build and not a crazy liquid cooled build lol.  Huge shoutout to Alex though, I e-mailed them and asked nicely about the progress.  I was kind, I was aware of how build times can be and just simply inquired about if the order was progressing normally.  They responded back by upgrading the order and within a day it was moved through.  Totally wasn't expecting that level of customer service.  I would have been fine with a "Nothing is wrong with your order, it's going to be a bit...." and instead it got zipped through so HUGE thank you to Alex.  It's currently in transit and I'm really looking forward to it.  

I don't plan on doing anything new gaming wise with it BUT now it's got me itching for older games back in the mid to late 90's that I couldn't run on our family's windows 95/98 setup that are on GOG.   Definitely getting Empire Earth, and others like that.  I'm sure a i3 RTX 3050 build could easily hand 3d Windows 98 era graphics lol.  I will update when I get the PC!  On a side note, down the line I might get a sound card because I'm constantly listening to music (my collection is over 100gb).

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too_lazy_noob Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 03 Apr 2023 Online Status: Offline Posts: 6	Quote Reply Topic: First post, first purchase Lynx i3 build thoughts. Posted: 03 Apr 2023 at 2:58am
	Hello, first time customer and user, purchased a Lynx build at the beginning of March and I figured I would contribute to the forum by talking about it. I got this build because I'm replacing a crappy Dell laptop. I'm not much of a PC gamer at all, I am a console person (own a PS5/4/3, a Wii U, a 3DS and a Switch) but I was getting tired of my Laptop being a P.O.S and proprietary big company builds (Dell, HP, etc). I did buy a Victus 15L (I work at wal-mart) but due to me doing some accidental damage to the power supply it got fried. Fine, I screwed up it's not HP's fault I am an idiot lol but when I got it back from warranty repair it was still fried so I returned it and finally figured screw it, lets look at Redux, Skytech, etc. If it's good enough for lower-settings smooth FPS gaming it is more than enough for my puny web-browsing and multimedia consumption needs. Ended up with DS from friend recommendations and I went for the lowest Lynx build: System Configuration: Chassis Model: Digital Storm Lynx - Level 1 (MPN-LV1-12100F-B660-3050-V1) (BTO) Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i3-12100F (4.3 GHz Turbo) (8-Thread) (4-Core) 3.3 GHz (Alder Lake) Motherboard: ASUS / MSI / ASRock (Intel Chipset) (Up to 2x PCI-E Devices) System Memory: 16GB DDR4 2666MHz Digital Storm Performance Series Power Supply: 700W Digital Storm Performance Series (Supports up to an NVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti GPU) Expansion Bay: - No Thanks Optical Drive: - No Thanks Storage Set 1: 1x SSD M.2 (500GB Digital Storm M.2 Performance Series) (NVM Express) Storage Set 2: - No Thanks Storage Set 3: - No Thanks RAID Config: - No Thanks RAID Card: - No Thanks Internet Access: Wireless Connectivity (Supports 802.11ac) (Integrated Motherboard Wi-Fi) Graphics Card(s): 1x GeForce RTX 3050 8GB (VR Ready) Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Add On Card: - No Thanks Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: High-Performance Copper Heat Pipe Cooler 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: Digital Storm Performance Series (RGB Fans) Internal Lighting: Remote Controlled Advanced LED Lighting System (Multiple RGB Color Modes) Software Control: - No Thanks Chassis Mods: - No Thanks Noise Reduction: - No Thanks LaserMark: Option Not Available CPU Boost: Turbo Boost Advanced Automatic Overclocking Graphics: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s) OS Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Home (64-Bit) Recovery Tools: USB Drive - Windows Installation (Format and Clean Install) Virus Protection: Windows Defender Antivirus (Built-in to Windows) Office: - No Thanks Mouse Pad: - 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) Happy with the part selection for sure. I read that the particular core i3 in this build is GREAT value and a solid budget gaming CPU. The RTX is definitely more than enough for my needs and I like the simplicity of the cooling situation. With it being a i3 a beefy fan cooler should be more than adequate. I ordered it on 3/1 and was fully expecting it to take time. 3/15 it went to stage 2 but was stuck there until 3/29. I was worried a hiccup came up considering it's a fan cooled i3 build and not a crazy liquid cooled build lol. Huge shoutout to Alex though, I e-mailed them and asked nicely about the progress. I was kind, I was aware of how build times can be and just simply inquired about if the order was progressing normally. They responded back by upgrading the order and within a day it was moved through. Totally wasn't expecting that level of customer service. I would have been fine with a "Nothing is wrong with your order, it's going to be a bit...." and instead it got zipped through so HUGE thank you to Alex. It's currently in transit and I'm really looking forward to it. I don't plan on doing anything new gaming wise with it BUT now it's got me itching for older games back in the mid to late 90's that I couldn't run on our family's windows 95/98 setup that are on GOG. Definitely getting Empire Earth, and others like that. I'm sure a i3 RTX 3050 build could easily hand 3d Windows 98 era graphics lol. I will update when I get the PC! On a side note, down the line I might get a sound card because I'm constantly listening to music (my collection is over 100gb).

Cretae Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS Veteran Joined: 22 Mar 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 7331	Quote Reply Posted: 03 Apr 2023 at 6:27am
	I won't bore you with the details, but I checked your specs against my 5 year old i7 8700K with a GTX 1070 GPU. A DS computer which does everything I require of it to this day. We are neck and neck! Your CPU is rated for gaming 6% better all around than mine; the GPU is just slightly off at 6%, but yours has premium features and new tech mine cannot touch. It's remarkable how far the base Lynx has come since those days when it came with video integrated into the CPU. You are right that it will perform up to your expectations. It will run rings around all those older games and beg for more. I venture to say you'll have little problem playing an array of newer games with some feature tweaks occasionally. You've got the right design for you. Well done.

too_lazy_noob Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 03 Apr 2023 Online Status: Offline Posts: 6	Quote Reply Posted: 08 Apr 2023 at 7:19am
	It arrived on 4/5 and in great condition. No shipping damage at all. Had it set-up the next day. It sucked because I work overnights and I got like 2 hours of sleep from the PC arriving at 6PM on the 5th. Couldn't shut my brain off to go to sleep due to excitement lol. That night of work SUCKED. Now it's a couple of days later and this thing has been running perfect. Thermals are in the 30's and it's zippy as hell. My Dell laptop would take at least 20 minutes to startup and open Firefox, this thing takes less than a minute lol. The craftsmanship is incredible as well. Case is beautiful, solid and the airflow is awesome. I hate that so many SI's will slap their parts into glass-faced cases with slits for intake ventilation, it looks cool but all I see is a PC parts-oven. This case is one that does airflow great. One thing that threw me off though is that instead of a tower cooler it has an AIO cooler. I asked customer support about it (nicely of course, one of this size is definitely capable of a core i3 lol) and it was a free upgrade due to parts availability. As always, big thanks to Alex for answering my questions and being awesome at customer support. Only thing I'm thinking about doing is adding a soundcard. Does anybody know if a Soundblaster would be a hindrance to the GPU airflow? It's a single fan chonky one so the space between would be a little close. Don't know if that would screw with the exhaust fan flow from the GPU, thoughts anyone? So yeah, DS has a repeat customer for sure. Great customer service and the quality of the build is amazing. Thank yoooouuu Digital Storm!

Snaike Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Just a dude trying to keep the spam away Joined: 23 Jan 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 9462	Quote Reply Posted: 08 Apr 2023 at 4:09pm
	Nice!! Thanks for the pics! Congrats

hoserator Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS Veteran We don't need no stinking "Avatars" ! Joined: 08 Oct 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 7966	Quote Reply Posted: 08 Apr 2023 at 10:08pm
	Congratulations and welcome to DS. You will enjoy that system. Thank you for the images!

Alex Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Digital Storm Supervisor Joined: 04 Jun 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 16314	Quote Reply Posted: 09 Apr 2023 at 10:29am
	Thank you for sharing your review!


Cretae Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS Veteran Joined: 22 Mar 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 7331	Quote Reply Posted: 09 Apr 2023 at 11:16pm
	With those temps you're reporting, I don't think a soundcard is gonna hurt one bit. Nice looking rig. Isn't better, newer tech awesome?

too_lazy_noob Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 03 Apr 2023 Online Status: Offline Posts: 6	Quote Reply Posted: 10 Apr 2023 at 2:23am
	Hell. Yes. My previous pc was a Dell laptop with a 5600rpm spinner drive in it. Startup to Firefox home screen took 20 minutes at least. Hangups would often happen, etc that thing was a piece of JUNK. Just took the the battery and HD out of it last night because I plan to use it as target practice (wanna make the HD a separate target and don't want an uncontrollable lithium ion fire to deal with). Had to take the whole back off just to get to 2 things that could be easily removable on older laptops, just that alone is going to make it satisfying to see some lead go through it lol. No longer using laptops for home computing, down the road this company has got a repeat customer that's for sure.

Cretae Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS Veteran Joined: 22 Mar 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 7331	Quote Reply Posted: 10 Apr 2023 at 2:31pm


hoserator Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS Veteran We don't need no stinking "Avatars" ! Joined: 08 Oct 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 7966	Quote Reply Posted: 11 Apr 2023 at 2:19pm

First post, first purchase Lynx i3 build thoughts.

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