New Purchase - Follow the progress!

Hello Everyone!
I submitted an order on May 8th 2021 and wanted to start a thread for anyone who is interested to watch the progress, step by step. I figured others may be curious how long turnaround times were since we're still dealing with a GPU shortage, so feel free to check this post for a reference/example.

UPDATE
I called and updated my order 12 days after I made the original purchase request, which could have impacted the TAT for this order. I'm assuming that's not the case since the updates I've received seem to match what others have experienced. However, I still wanted to let everyone know for 100% transparency. I also got caught up with work during June and didn't follow up to post any updates here, but I'm planning to post at least once a week going forward, or if I receive additional updates.

System Configuration:
Chassis Model: Digital Storm Lumos
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (16-Core) 4.9 GHz Turbo
Motherboard: ASUS ROG Strix X570-E Gaming (Wi-Fi) (AMD X570 Chipset) (Up to 3x PCI-E Devices)
System Memory: 32GB DDR4 3200MHz Digital Storm Performance Series
Power Supply: 850W Digital Storm Performance Series (Modular) (80 Plus Gold)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Optical Drive: - No Thanks
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD M.2 (500GB Seagate FireCuda 520) (NVM Express) (Gen4 PCIe)
Storage Set 2: 1x SSD M.2 (1TB Digital Storm M.2 Performance Series)
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 RTX 3080 10GB (Performance Edition) (VR Ready)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Add On Card: - No Thanks
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Digital Storm Vortex Liquid CPU Cooler (Dual Fan) (Fully Sealed + No Maintenance)
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: Cooler Master MasterFan Halo (RGB Fans) (Remote Control Only)
Internal Lighting: Remote Controlled Advanced LED Lighting System (Multiple RGB Color Modes)
Airflow Control: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: Option Not Available
CPU Boost: Stock Factory 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 10 Home (64-Bit)
Recovery Tools: USB Drive - Windows 10 Installation (Format and Clean Install)
Virus Protection: Windows Defender Antivirus (Built-in to Windows 10)
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 30-35 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty (3 Year Labor & 1 Year Part Replacement)

Any thoughts or feedback is welcome and appreciated


Order Updates:
5/08/2021 @ 23:00: Order submitted with load configuration: 3897419
5/10/2021 @ 10:35: Stage 1: Backlog Queue
5/20/2021 @ 17:48: Called and updated the order with the following loadout config: 3911971
6/30/2021 @ 15:55: Stage 2: Inventory Assigned
7/02/2021 @ 15:35: Stage 3: Pending Assembly
7/07/2021 @ 13:27: Stage 4: Assembly Started
7/13/2021 @ 11:31: Stage 5: Stress Testing & Benchmarking
7/20/2021 @ 15:10: Stage 6: Quality Assurance.
7/20/2021 @ 15:36: Stage 7: Packaging.
7/26/2021 @ 10:00: Stage 7.5: Shipped
7/31/2021 @ 15:30: Arrived: Perfect Condition



Edited by Timeteller - 31 Jul 2021 at 6:10pm

Hey Cretae,

Thank you for your feedback, it's much appreciated!

I noticed when playing around with the build that I was forced to increase the PSU when I selected one of the newer GPU's, so I think I overlooked that and left it the same after switching back to the Radeon RX 6800. I'll look into your suggestions and will see if I can make those changes since the order has already been placed (I'm hoping so).

Full transparency: This is the very first PC I have "built" or purchased with the intention of gaming. I am computer savvy, but have only spent a couple weeks looking into the different CPU's, GPU's, and etc. that are available which is why I truly appreciate anyone's feedback here.

Do you happen to have any experience or feedback with the Ryzen 9 3900xt CPU or Radeon RX 6800 GPU? I'm going to use this computer 50% of the time for Gaming (Warzone/FTP Shooting Games) and the other half of the time for Excel projects and stocks.

Originally posted by Cretae Experience, no. Research and reviews, yes. The 3900X will be solid help with faster processing of spreadsheets, and any other complex processing you may engage in. Strictly for gaming, there is very little gain from the extra cores. For just $70 more, (than a 5800X) and a use for it, it's a fine choice. The extra 16 GB of RAM will also be useful for productivity. The GPU choice should be appropriate for your monitor resolution and gaming performance you want. The Nvidia 3070 and the 6800 are solid choices for good framerates at 1440p. The RTX 3070 is the better card, however, and cheaper here by $171. It's better for gaming because it's a bit faster natively, offers Nvidia's 2nd Gen ray tracing, widely considered better than AMD first try at that, and possesses this magical quality known as Deep Learning Super Sampling, or DLSS. What this does in game is upscale lower resolution images rendered faster to a higher resolution in real time using deep learning AI. It improves the look the more it's used in-game. AMD is coming with their version of this tech, which they call Fidelity FX Super Resolution but it does not appear to be in their cards yet. AMD has more video RAM, and a nifty trick called Smart Access Memory when paired with an AMD 5000 series processor, that allows the proc to use directly all 16Gb of DDR6 on the card at once. This can result in performance boosts up to 15% in some games, but the RTX 3070 is already just about that fast vs. the 6800. https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-RTX-3070-vs-AMD-RX-6800/4083vs4088 It's a very close call and when all the features are enabled in each brand, it will be even closer. For right now, the lower price and DLSS puts the RTX 3070 in front, and the better choice IMHO. For 1080p gaming, it's the 3060 Ti all the way. DS will welcome alterations to your order without a problem. They want most that you are happy with your build. You could see if this build works for you. I took a little and added a little and came out near the same price:       3901280    $3789.   Note the super-fast 2TB NVMe for Storage 2, the "purty fans", and what I think is the better GPU for you. If you like it, perhaps you could just swap it for your order without going piece by piece. Hope it helps you.

Hey Cretae,

Thanks again for your response and feedback!

I took everything you said into consideration and believe I have chosen to go with the 5950x / 3080 combination. I did quite a bit of research into the DLSS and ADM's Super Resolution after you brought it to my attention (a sign that I should have done more research before eagerly placing an order). It seems the Radeon is a great GPU, but DLSS simply destroys it on the charts for higher resolution gaming FPS. Also knowing that more and more games are offering DLSS I figured I should go with the 3080, plus I'm sure it will last me the next few years at least.

Here is a new config loadout which I'm prepared to email Digital Storm with: 3907956

Do you mind providing your thoughts one last time kind sir?





Edited by Timeteller - 17 May 2021 at 4:32pm

Originally posted by Cretae Well now, that's a system that checks all the boxes! The only thing I question is the top-end proc. You never mention a productivity use like rendering or heavy photo/video editing that will use the extra cores. Strictly gaming on it will never make enough difference to justify the investment. If you don't need the extra processing power that much, I would back off to a 5900X and save yourself $340. That would still be 12cores/24 threads for all your needs. If you need the number crunching though, the 5950X is a better processor than anything short of a tier 2 Threadripper IMHO. It's been my pleasure to help in any way.

Posting here to confirm that I've contacted Digital Storm on Friday (5.21.2021) and have locked in the changes with the new loadout! Now it's the waiting game

Thanks again for the recommendations Cretae!

Awesome man! I began stage one on my lumos on the 3rd. I'm excited to see your progress!

Hey Everyone!

Apologies for not following up sooner than this, last month was pretty hectic! I've updated the original post to include some of the updates I've received along with the new loadout configuration details.

It seems I'm on track to receive my order sometime over the next 20-30 days, so about 3 month wait time overall. That's still just a guess though, as I could get stuck in one of these later stages longer than usual.

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend!



Edited by Timeteller - 07 Jul 2021 at 6:29pm

I'm curious about that monitor too. Right now I have the more expensive LG equivalent, but it looks to me like the specs are pretty much the same. I'm glad to see that LG is getting some competition. This should bring prices down for everyone.

Originally posted by JamesAstro Here is that monitor compared side-by-side with the LG. Monitor comparison

Hey JamesAstro!

Thanks for providing that link to compare both monitors, interesting stuff! I'm leaning more towards the Alienware monitor even though I do see the slightly better specs of the LG option. I have a few other projects I'm working on completing after this PC build and spending over $1,000 on a monitor is already a tough decision for me

I'm definitely interested in everyone's thoughts though and if anyone would suggest a different brand or model. A friend of mine has the Viotek 49" Monitor and they absolutely love it. However, I've seen some scary reviews of dead pixels or the monitor stop working entirely after a few months which is why I was okay with investing a little more for the peace of mind with reliability/quality.

Posting to stay true to my weekly update, regardless if I've received one from Digital Storm!

After today it'll be 5 business days that the machine has been in Stage 5, which worries me just a little bit as I've noticed others (equivalent machines) fly through stage 5,6,7. Hope everything is alright with the parts assigned with this build. If not, then I guess I'm glad their finding and fixing the issues before it's sent out lol!

It's normal for orders to take some time in Stage 5, we're a tad backlogged in testing at the moment.

Originally posted by Alex It's normal for orders to take some time in Stage 5, we're a tad backlogged in testing at the moment.

Thanks for the update sir, much appreciated!

Sweet!

I'm only 5 stages behind you.

Trying to be patient.

Originally posted by Cretae Will not be long now!

Extremely excited to be in the last stages and am hoping this may be sent out today haha!

Also an update for anyone who was curious about the previous monitor question/post - I went ahead and ordered the 37.5" Alienware Monitor.

I did a lot research into most of the popular brands 24", 25", 27", 30-34", 37", and 48-50" monitors. I really wanted something higher than 1080p since the 3080 GPU I've ordered should be able to handle it. I also would prefer an IPS with the maximum refresh rate as possible, but when checking prices for monitors pushing anything over 144hz I was noticing an average price of $600-900 for just a 25" or 27" monitor. I'm not a professional gamer and plan to use this monitor for 50% work and 50% gaming. With that being known, I decided the Alienware would allow me to ditch the dual setup for now and for slightly cheaper than other top brands. I understand this monitor isn't 1440p, and I did find a couple cheaper options for relatable monitor specs, but majority of those monitors you'll find are 1080p. This thing isn't cheap either, but I do like the built in lighting and was able to purchase from Dell directly with a nice discount.

Long story short: I chose the 37.5" Alienware to eliminate the dual setup for one screen, while supporting higher than 1080p with 144hz. I'll add a single 27" 360hz monitor later on if I ever find myself taking gaming more seriously.

As always, I'm open to any feedback or to discuss other options I could have went with instead of the Alienware.

Hope everyone had a good week and is ready for the weekend!





Edited by Timeteller - 23 Jul 2021 at 1:31pm

Originally posted by JamesAstro I think you made an excellent choice with the Alienware monitor. As I mentioned earlier, I own the LG 38GL950G. However, if I was purchasing a monitor today, I would probably get the Alienware model that you purchased. It's cheaper than the LG, but has similar features and quality. I've been using ultrawide monitors for gaming and productivity ever since they became available, and there is nothing quite like them. For gaming it gives you an excellent feeling of in-game immersion, and for productivity it gives you huge amounts of space for window layout. The 34" ultrawide monitors are great, but the 38" models give you 1600 vertical pixels of space, which really makes a difference. I could never go back to anything smaller. These monitors also give you a lot of options for performance tweaking. For example, suppose you have a game that won't perform well at 3840 x 1600. Well, just run it at 2560 x 1440 with scaling turn off, and you'll basically have the equivalent of a 1440p monitor with the same pixel density. I've never done that personally, because I love the ultrawide aspect ratio. However, it's always an option. Ultrawide monitors give you amazing flexibility. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine!

Thank you for the links and information JamesAstro! I'll be sure to follow up with feedback about both the PC and Monitor for anyone who is interested later on

Good Afternoon DS Family,

Exciting news has arrived via email!

At 10:00am this morning I received the final e-mail update that my package has officially been shipped

Luckily I'm in Nevada so the ETA for the computer is only Wednesday, which is the same ETA as the Alienware 37.5" monitor.

I guess now we're in stage 7.5, which is hoping FedEx will handle everything with care

Edited by Timeteller - 26 Jul 2021 at 12:00pm

Following up with another update:

Computer monitor has indeed arrived today. I'll be home shortly to unbox and will probably provide some initial feedback this weekend for those who are interested in the monitor. I'll also try to follow-up after couple weeks of use to provide additional feedback.

As for the computer - I still see the same information on FedEx, which is stating that the label was created and provided to FedEx early Monday morning (9:40am). However, the FedEx website shows the parcel has not been received yet and is still pending that step before they can confirm a delivery ETA. I originally thought they may have grabbed the PC and just failed to scan it prior to taking off to Nevada, but i'm assuming that's not the case now that it's 5pm lol. Not complaining, as I knew a 2 day turnaround seemed extremely fast when others customers here mentioned 7-14 days. However, I still wanted to post here to be 100% transparent so others know what to expect!


Hope everyone has had a good Wednesday - I'll post again once I receive some new information about the delivery ETA!

Nice! Congrats and game on!