My DS Experience: Initial Review

First of all I order my system on March 27, 2009. The system was as follows:

Chassis Model: Cooler Master HAF 932
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Interior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: EVGA X58 3X SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports Triple SLI or CrossFire)
System Memory: 3GB DDR3 1333MHz Mushkin (Highly Recommended) (Digital Storm Certified)
Power Supply: 650W Corsair TX (Dual SLI Compatible)
Card Reader: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD-ROM/CD-ROM (DVD Reader 16x / CD Reader 40x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card(s): 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 896MB (216 Cores) (Includes PhysX Technology)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Cooler Master V8 (Compatible With i7 Processors)
Liquid Color: - Not Applicable, I do not have a H20: Stage 3 Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
CPU Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my processor
Graphics Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Memory Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Windows Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: - No Thanks, Please test my memory, I will be responsible for software based support
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Benchmarking: - No Thanks
Pre-Install Game: - No Thanks
LCD Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-10 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: 3 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty

Run down on ordering.

System ordered about 3:00 PM CST on Friday, March 27.
Unit shipped April 6, 2009 (6 business days later).
Arrived April 10, 2009.

Note: I did not request any overclocking or OS installation. However, after placing my order I did think to ask DS if they would install my Windows XP Home Edition if I provided them the product key. This they did do with no additional charge.

The system arrived well packaged and in excellent condition. I have to say I was amazed at the size of the HAF 932 case. I added a second harddrive to the system myself on arrival. It was an IDE drive I used for storage in my previous computer. Only extra part I needed was a 4-pin female to male conversion cable to provide power to the old IDE drive. I also installed my Creative: Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Sound Card from my old system. I did this by disabling the on-board sound in the BIOS and then installing the card and drivers. My installations went without a hitch.

I must say the system is impressive. It was assembled very professionally and everything worked correctly out of the box. Thought the system is not overclocked, I was impressed with the fact that I can now run Warhammer Online with maximum video quality settings and there is not the slightest hiccup. Plus the terrain texture is much improved and the spell casting graphics are now amazing. Additionally, I was very impressed with how quiet the system is overall which may be helped by my not overclocking the processor or GPU.

I did have several occasions to contact DS customer service during the build (i.e. to request Windows XP installation). This was done through their customer service page. The response time was impressive and they were always extremely helpful.

My rating so far:    out of 5.

Pics!!!!

Great system and review! Congratulations on the new computer Steve!  

Goodie!  Many of us live on pictures.  Especially the cash strapped.  hehehehehehe

very nice steve lets get some pics boss