My Bolt X - 3 years later

It was almost exactly 3 years ago when I ordered my Bolt X. For the curious, original thread about my PC here: https://www.digitalstorm.com/forums/new-digital-storm-customer-and-bolt-x-owner-tidf29989/


I ordered it with an i5 7500 and a GTX 1070, though in retrospect I wish I had sprung for a slightly higher level CPU. The GTX 1070 turned out to be a really good investment as it still holds up reasonably well 3 years later.

Sadly, as fond as I am of my Bolt X, it is showing its age. I almost upgraded the GPU earlier this year, but held off as I wasn't playing that many games lately. But with Cyberpunk 2077 on the horizon, I'll be spending a lot of time gaming again soon.

Not sure what I'll do in terms of upgrades just yet, but I'm exploring my options. I have grown really fond of the Bolt X case though, and I really don't want to give it up. I had given some thought to just trying to put in all new components into the existing case. That might be my sentimentality getting the better of me however. I don't think this is necessarily the best case in terms of airflow. Hasn't been an issue thus far, but I'm thinking my next CPU will be an unlocked model and I'll try to overclock.

Anyway the point here is that I've had this thing for 3 years and it's actually held up quite well. Hardware and software are both functioning perfectly fine, though I do notice my CPU fan is a bit noisier than it used to be. I did have some issues with my LED light strip becoming unfixed early on, but after fiddling with it, I am happy to say it remains firmly in place to this day. If there's anyone out there wondering if DS systems are well made, my anecdotal data can be added to the "yes" category.

True, the form factor will be a challenge. I have to decide whether or not my fondness for the look and design of this case will justify the potential headache of trying to work inside of it. Heat hasn't really been an issue so far, but then I've not overclocked my current processor.