HailStorm II: Super Mega Beast - Review & Pics

The moment many of you (and myself) have been waiting for - The Super Mega Beast has arrived and is officially up and running. I'll be posting the pics below. I will be starting my review now and will update it as I get to test/use it more...

First, let's see the build specs:
     
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Hailstorm II Edition
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 4770K 3.50 GHz (Unlocked CPU) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS MAXIMUS VI EXTREME (Intel Z87 Chipset) (The Ultimate Power Platform)
System Memory: 16GB DDR3 1866MHz Corsair Dominator Platinum DHX (Extreme-Performance)
Power Supply: 1200W Corsair Pro Platinum Series with Corsair Link (CP-9020008-NA) (Quad SLI Compatible)
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (256GB Solid State (By: Samsung) (Model: 840 Pro Series)
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - 1x (512GB Solid State (By: Samsung) (Model: 840 Pro Series)
Optical Drive 1: ASUS Blu-Ray Player/DVD Writer (Play Blu-Ray and Burn DVDs) (Model: BC-12B1ST)
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Graphics Card(s): 3x SLI Triple (NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN 6GB (EVGA Superclocked Edition)
Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound Blaster ZxR (Ultimate in Audio Playback and Creation)
Extreme Cooling: H20: HydroLux Level 4: Digital Storm Exotic Custom Cooling System (3x Video Cards + CPU + Chipset)
H20 Tube Color: Red Tubing with High-Performance Fluid (UV Lighting Reactive)
Chassis Airflow: Upgrade All Fans to Corsair Airflow 120mm Performance Edition (Up to 6 Fans)
Chassis Airflow: Upgrade All Fans to Corsair Airflow 140mm Performance Edition (Up to 6 Fans)
Internal Lighting: Digital Storm HydroLux RGB LED Lighting System (Requires HydroLux Control Board & Software)
Airflow Control: Digital Storm HydroLux Thermal Management Control Board & Software
Chassis Mods: Hailstorm II: Bottom Baseplate Mod (Cleaner Wiring Look & DS Logo Branding)
LaserMark: Digital Storm LaserMark Service - Graphic (Plexiglass Acrylic Window)
CPU Boost: Stage 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires Pro/Deluxe/Sabertooth Motherboard)
OS Boost: FREE: Yes, Disable and tweak all of the non-crucial services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 8 (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Advanced Recovery Kit (40GB Hard Drive Partition of Image With OS & Drivers)
Exclusive T-Shirt: FREE: Digital Storm T-Shirt - Black (Extra Large)
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty + 4th Year FREE (Summer Sale)     
-- FREE Intel Bundle - Grid 2 (Steam Digital Download Code for 4th Gen CPUs)     
-- FREE nVidia Bundle - Splinter Cell Black List (Ubisoft Digital Download Code for nVidia GPUs)     
MISC     Red Cable Sleeving                    
MISC     Red Aluminum Anodized Pump     
MISC     XSPC RayStorm CPU Water Block (Intel)
MISC     QTY x3 XSPC Razor GTX Titan/780 GPU Full Cover Water Block     
MISC     QTY x3 XSPC Razor GTX Titan/780/770 Back Plate     
MISC     XSPC M6E ASUS Maximus VI Extreme Motherboard Water Block     
MISC     QTY x2 XSPC SLI Flow Bridge (2 Slot)
MISC     XSPC Photon 270 Reservoir w/Red LED     

Build & Order Process:

When I decided to have my gaming rig built by a boutique PC builder, I roamed the interwebs for a few days before locking my sights on DS. Until that day, I had never heard of them but found many good reviews and forum posts leading me to them. After trolling the website & forums for a week or so, I decided to bite the bullet and pull the trigger on my purchase. My original online purchase went super smooth and my rig was in the process of being built. Now, many of you have seen by build progress and will know that I am truly insane on what I have created. For those who are just arriving, you can read the ramblings of a mad man here. Alex and the DS team were relentless in their pursuit in making me happy with all my daily upgrades/changes/custom parts/etc. (Thanks Guys!).

Shipping

Now originally I was going to have it shipped the ol' fashioned way - ground via FedEx. Alex talked me into shipping it Freight to reduce the risk of shipping mishaps. Now, as I was awaiting the completion of my machine, I was reading bad things about the way the Freight company was handling the orders (slow, uncooperative) and had me seconding guessing this decision. But maybe I was the lucky one or perhaps after the many complaints, my machine arrived in almost record time - 3 business days (plus the weekend) from DS to my front door! Shipped 09-27-13. Arrived 10-01-13. Now I do live in AZ, but heard it was taking up to 2 weeks for some to get their machines and I was expecting the same. Again, the delivery guy was awesome and actually waited for me as I had to run home from work to sign for the package (Thanks Randy @ DHE!). The box was in perfect condition and looked like it was treated with care. I'm so glad Alex persisted on asking for me to ship it via freight - it was worth every penny!

First Impressions:

Once I got the box open and got my first look at this awesome piece of art, I was truly amazed! The look far exceeded all expectation of what I was originally looking for. DS took great care in assembling my machine and after hooking it up, it fired up the first time without a hitch. Now having over a dozen 120mm/140mm fans in thing, it's so quiet when set to Auto Mode, you can't even tell it's on. I cranked it up to Extreme Mode and it's still nearly just a whisper. I can just barely hear it over the ceiling fan that's in the room! It took all but 10 seconds to connect to my home wifi and change the internal lighting to red (I will be adding more lights soon!). Temps are right around 30 ºC @ Idle and the fans are moving very little (can't even hear them).

I'm going to spend some time installing and playing some games. For now, enjoy the pics and will be back with an update soon!

Edited by fstcvc - 01 Oct 2013 at 10:04pm

Got it inside and off the pallet... Wow is it heavy!

Look at all the mini-goodies!!

Good thing I ate my Wheaties this morning!!

The front is a little understated compared to what lurks inside...

First look at the inside... What masterful work they do at DS!

Even the wiring compartment on the back is nice and tidy...

Here it is after I first powered it up (and changed the lighting to red)... Picture is kind of washed out (will try to take a better picture later).

A distance shot to show how much this illuminates the area around it... It's a little dark in the bottom left corner so I will have to add some lighting there and by the bottom fans as well as along the front panel...

And one final pic for the evening... The etching on the side panel plexi is very subtle but cool looking when you see it. I'll have to try to get a good pic of that one of these days...

A BIG CONGRATS on an awesome rig.

Enjoy.

WOOOOT !!! Congrats my friend it is so awesome to finally see your rig Best wishes to you for many many ass kickin years to come bud

That is one sweet rig!

Thank you for taking the time to post such an extensive review of the PC with unboxing photos.

Very nice. Quite the beautiful machine DS put together for you

My machine arrives tomorrow!! Let us celebrate together.

Originally posted by SkunkWorks Very nice. Quite the beautiful machine DS put together for you My machine arrives tomorrow!! Let us celebrate together.

This thing is HUGE! Way larger than I could ever imagine a computer being!

I'm sure it'll rock for a long time to come and it was worth the wait!

Hope your rig is rocking as well!

Edited by fstcvc - 03 Oct 2013 at 7:27am

Outstanding computer and system!!!!!!!  Way,way above the norm.

Originally posted by Meller Hey FSTCVC.I'm so glad you got your PC all in one piece.  That freight shipping looked amazing. The box looked like it was in perfect shape.  Love the PC.   She looks amazing.  You name her yet?  Just like a car, she won't fully work until she has a proper name.Congrats and enjoy.Also, are your tit

Never named my computers before (or my cars)...

I'm thinking The Red Queen...