Im home and the computer is awesome!!!

Wall of text crits you for 938409385012 dmg… you die…

PREORDERING/ ORDERING PHASE

I have been into computer games for about 5 years now and have built simi-good computers myself so I have a basic understanding of how they work and whatnot. I have never had a high-end gaming computer though and since I have saved up some pretty good cash here in Afghanistan I thought now would be a good time to buy one. And then the search began… Hours upon hours of searching computer sights… Cyberpowerpc, Ibuypower, Alienware, Stealthmachines, Widowpc, Velocitymicro, Shopl2, AVA, FNW, ABC, CNN, TNT, LOL, JK. But I really did search all those other sights. I was originally going to go with Shopl2. I gave them a price range and they put together something they thought would be best for me. I gave my opinions and they said why they picked those parts. But now I am pretty glad I didn’t go with them. Raid 0 would have been a headache imo and 2 4870x2’s would have been overkill. Then after the 7th or 8th google page I found DSO (now when I search they are on page 1). I went to the configurer and started pricing out a system. As soon as I did an instant message popped up and asked if I needed help. I said sure and asked a few questions and was just super pleased with the customer service. Then I hit the forums. Wow, I was just amazed how I was welcomed right into the community. Mature and inviting help from the first post. Just to make sure I did a Google search on DSO to see what I could find. A review from hardocp.com from 2 years ago. With the talk of their customer service I new I couldn’t go wrong. And from what I can see it has only gotten better. Then the wait, probably the worst part of the whole ordering phase (not anyone’s fault but Intel… stupid i7 core). Finally the i7 core came out and I placed my order. The internet is horrible over here at times so I had to call my order in. Problem? Not for DS, only a total of 10-15 mins of my calling card had to be used and it was a done deal. What happened the next day? Alex says “We have a new configurer!” And boy did they add some cool stuff. So I called DS again to change my order. Again, super fast customer service with very helpful people. Did I forget anything? Yes… Still no problem updating the order. Three radiators for a complete custom cooling? DS hooked it up. Anything you want they can make it happen. And that is one of the most unique features about the whole DSO experience.

ORDER DATE: 19 Nov 08 DELIVERY DATE: 19 Dec 08

ORDER DETAILS

Chassis: Cooler Master HAF 932
Power Supply: 1000W Corsair HX
Processor: Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition 965 3.2GHz OCed to 4.0
Motherboard: ASUS Rampage II Extreme
System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1600MHz OCZ
Hard Drive 1: 300GB Western Digital VelociRaptor 10K RPM
Hard Drive 2: 1TB Western Digital 7200 RPM
Optical Drive 1: DVD Writer 20x / CD-Writer 48x LightScribe Edition
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port
Video Cards: 2x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260+ 896MB in SLI
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 3: Liquid Chilled FrostBite System For CPU With 3 x 120 radiators (DST4ME’s idea)
Internal Lighting: UV Internal Chassis Lighting System
CPU Boost: Yes, OC the processor as much as possible with complete stability
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit Edition
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System
Benchmarking: 3D Mark Vantage Advanced Edition
Warranty: 3 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty


The Extras

Steelseries G7 keyboard
Steelseries Siberia Red Headset
Steelseries World of Warcraft Gaming mouse (coming soon… on back order till Jan)
Logitech G51 speakers


THE PICS











PACKAGING

Great, just as everyone else has stated. Nothing was misplaced or broken inside and everything is running smooth.

FIRST BOOT UP:

Great. Fastest boot times I have ever seen. Literally seconds.. Had a nice welcome vista screen that let me set up any extras I wanted. Desktop was almost empty. Only 4 icons other than the recycle bin.


BECHMARKING/INTEL BURN/TEMPS





Idle Temps -




TESTING:

Sound Card, Music

The sound card isnt bad. Ive never used anything other than onboard sound though, so not sure if my opinion counts here.

Gaming , Simming

The gaming has been nothing short of amazing. Crysis is awesome. I dont play on ultra high but I do play on high with a 1920x1080 res. Wow looks great but these days it doesnt take much to make that game play well.

Applications, Internet

Apps are quick to open. By far the fastest computer I have ever seen.

CONCLUSION:

My DSO experience has be wonderful and already talked my friend into buying a computer from DSO. I would recommend this site to anyone and everyone. Thanks to everyone here on the forums that helped and DSO for being awesome.


Edited by bradesco - 04 Jan 2009 at 8:13pm

What program do I need to find out my temps?

Edited by bradesco - 27 Dec 2008 at 2:57pm

I forgot to ask, what are the advantages of having a triple rad setup?

Hmm makes me wonder if i should have included that into my build, doh! 

what cpu did you get?

stage 5 is testing.

fan kit does not fit the new ram

Edited by DST4ME - 27 Dec 2008 at 3:06pm

Could be ocz, but in his case I don't think the fan will matter much.

How long does Intel Burn take and what should my temps look like?

btw... I love this keyboard. I really really like the way the keys feel when they are pressed. :D steelseries G7... get it.

Oh, ok. 79, 70, 77, and 73 were the max temps..

Yeah that was after Intel Burn... Ill prolly just leave the OC the same. Im just going to game anyway. Its not that serious.

Generally I'd say DS pushes OCs as far as they can go while still being stable.  Everyone should keep in mind that some CPUs won't OC high even at low temperatures.  Take my QX6850- I can't push it above 3.6 even while running in acceptable temperature ranges at a higher clock- it just doesn't remain stable.  If you achieved a 4ghz OC- thats pretty damn good and I wouldn't mess with it :)

Thanks guys, I would have taken pics of it with the lights off but it was too bright outside and they didnt put the uv coolant in... its just the reg blood red. still looks sweet though so I dont want to change it.

sweet rig man !!!!.  just one thing.. does that reservoir slide out ? i hope so incase you have to fill it or top off.

other then that it looks AMAZING . love it man. hope you enjoy it.

and also www.shopl2.com is right down the block from my house. iv been in there , and they guys that work there are dumb. lol good thing you went with DS !


Edited by jtspectra2 - 28 Dec 2008 at 12:27pm

ya i know that, i have one, but it looks like its trapped behind the rad

Not sure... havent even tried. Been too busy gaming O_o Just got Crysis and Red Alert 3... Good times. Might check it out tomorrow. Just eying now I think i could get to it through the CD vent drive thingy.

Nice Rig Man!  

can you do a performance preset benchmark in vantage. i wanna see what you score. 

god theres a HUGEE difference in benchmark performance from the 260's to the 280's.




Edited by jtspectra2 - 30 Dec 2008 at 5:28pm

no , professional edition