My Digital Storm Assassin review

First off let me say this is my second computer from Digital Storm. The original system i ordered was a core2quad system that still runs flawlessly minus some stability issues that digital storm fixed right away.

Before i even placed the order i had a few questions about special order parts that Sarah helped me with right away in a timely fashion. The final build i decided to go with was as follows.

Order Contents:
- Digital Storm Desktop 263158 Quantity: 1 $3,399.00(took advantage of the presidents day sale)

System Configuration:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Black OPS Assassin Edition
Processor: Intel Core i7 2600K 3.40GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 Deluxe (Intel P67 Chipset) (Features USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s)
System Memory: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Corsair Dominator DHX (High-Performance)
Power Supply: 1000W Corsair (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible)
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC128MAG-1G1 2.5 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (64MB Cache) (Model: Black Edition WD1002FAEX)
Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card(s): 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1.2GB (Includes PhysX Technology) EVGA brand
Sound Card: ASUS Xonar Essence STX Virtual 7.1 (PCI-Express Slot Based)
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: Noctua NH-U12P SE Dual 120mm Fans High Performance Cooler
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Blue)
CPU Boost: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 4.0GHz to 4.7GHz (Cooling Upgrade Recommended)
Graphics Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Memory Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
OS Boost: FREE: Yes, Disable and tweak all of the non-crucial services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD)
Benchmarking: - No Thanks
Pre-Install Game: FREE: Hot-selling game with a NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 or above graphics card
Exclusive T-Shirt: FREE: Digital Storm T-Shirt - Black (Xtra Large)
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty


I placed my order on Febuary 21st by phone and elected to wait for the revised Sandy bridge motherboards to come in.

Stage 1- Feb 23rd
stage 2- March 10th
stage 3- March 10th
stage 4- March 11th
stage 5- March 11th
stage 6- Match 14th
stage 7- March 15th

Overclock processor settings

Processor Speed GHz: 4.5
CPU Multiplier: 45
Voltage CPU VCore: 1.408 (ive further tweaked this my self down to 1.35)
VDroop Control: Yes
i7 - BCLK MHz: 100
i7 - Voltage QPI\DRAM:
i7 - Voltage QPI\PLL:
i7 - Voltage CPU VTT:
i7 - Voltage IOH Vcore:
i7 - Voltage ICH Vcore:
i7 - Voltage IOH/ICH I/O:

I recieved my rig a week later, here are some pics from unboxing and setting up.











After setting her up and putting her through all its paces i'm just shocked at the level of performance this thing puts out. Every game i could throw at it took it without issue. The build quality and my favorite the cable management is really what i admire most.

If i had to nitpick about anything i did have an issue with my SSD being plugged into the wrong port so i was losing about 1/3rd performance. My voltage was also a bit high which i got help right away with on both issues.

All in all i couldn't be happier with my purchase. The biggest thing in my mind is support and customer service. I know if i have any issues they will be fixed and i wont even worry because i know Digital Storm will be there for me ALWAYS. If your reading this and you have any doubt please take my advice and don't research anymore you've found hands down the best custom PC builder ever.

Ill update this review from time to time if anything pops up.

Edited by RiceEatin2000GT - 06 Apr 2011 at 2:29am

Rice,

meh, mine comes wednesday...going to have to call as soon as I get err running, did some research of my own and max listed by tomshardware and other various sites is 1.5 and im at 1.53, even the asus guy who did the oc for the newegg video only used a vcore of 1.5 for 5.2 and im only at 4.9 so in therory mine should be way lower, at least 1.48 or something...at 1.53 im probally going to fry the sh*t out of my processor, not very happy...the tech shoulda know to not do that, shoulda called and I woulda said drop the oc down then!

Your setup looks really nice tho!

Edited by Divine - 28 Mar 2011 at 3:22pm

RiceEatin2000GT,

Awesome rig!

If you get a chance to do a Performance run on 3DMark11 would you mind to share the results here?

I'm not sure on this, but I think all Asus mobo's are enabled for feedback to Asus's PC Probe utility. PC Probe running on my system gives me feedback for most of the voltages on my X58 Sabertooth and any fan tachometer readings as well as PWM fan speed control. Mainly, the part that you might be interested in is that it can monitor core voltage.

Go to Asus's website, look up your mobo, and see if its there. If the page displays the utility, it's more than likely that you can use it to monitor your motherboard voltages, which is nice. PC Probe's a bit finicky with shutdowns though, just panics and locks itself up. Hasn't done anything bad though when I just force it to shut down.


Edited by ablahblah - 28 Mar 2011 at 5:35pm

full score sheet


http://3dmark.com/3dm11/922036

Edited by RiceEatin2000GT - 29 Mar 2011 at 1:16pm

Originally posted by Tidgxor Awesome! Thanks for posting that, I was just curious how the 2600k was doing in that particular benchmark. I think your full score link, is paired with a different machine though.

lol woops, fixed

Originally posted by Mickeyfree18 Man, what an epic beast of a machine you've got there man! My build comes on Friday (hopefully) can not wait!!!! Soon as I get it I will write my own review for all of you to see!

thank you man, make sure you post pics!

updated drivers to the new 275.33 and significantly increased my score.

2.jpg

Edited by RiceEatin2000GT - 02 Jun 2011 at 12:41am

RiceEatin2000GT,

System looks great! Can you let us know what the noise (or lack thereof) is like?

Thanks.

Thanks RiceEatin2000GT! So on the basis of your reply it looks as though the GTX 570s aren't a problem. Good.

lol rice as much as I don't like teh assassin, your case with the noctua u12 and teh evga sli 570 and that blue light with the blue text on the 1000w corsair really pops

this right here is the one that I really like and thinks shows teh best:



adn the one in your sig is a really nice view also, I know some people say noctua didn't have great colors but I disagree, look at how it pops in your case for example, its beautiful.




Oh terminator is getting jealous I got go

Edited by DST4ME - 15 Jun 2011 at 8:34am

LOL thank yourself and your pc

I did nothing

No but really, I really like your the looks of your setup, you did a great job with matching the coloring and etc, it pops

I have a feeling she is gonna be doing that for years to come

You mentioned your SSD being plugged into wrong port.Which port is it supposed to be plugged into? I want to check mine to see if its plugged into the right port.

DST4ME, a few Q's:

1) Why do you not like the Assassin case?

2) The Noctua U12 -- doesn't it obstruct the upward flow of the middle fan on bottom?

3) The bottom fan closet to the front: seems like it's just blowing straight at the HD bay, only a couple of inches above. Don't see how the airflow from that one is reaching the top.

4) On the backside, no fan on the PSU? I believe it's vented to the back...is that enough?

Seems like only the fan on the GPU(s) is doing it's thing...?

Thought it was appropriate, as I am asking questions directly related to his comments.

Sorry to taint your perfect thread.

Originally posted by Trench Sorry, I shouldn't have been sarcastic. Another reason is that it references you excellent photos (not being sarcastic).

its all good man im sure dst will post and help ya out.