My new Digital Storm HAF X - Feedback and Review

I placed my order with Digital Storm on 7/2/2010 an recieved my system on 7/22/2010. I have been planning my upgrade for probably about a year and a half, and their sales team was extremely helpful, and I am really happy with the PC I have chosen. Below are some of the specific points:  
 
1) Pre Sales/Sales - As I had said, I have been shopping for about a year and a half, called them numberous times with questions. Sarah was particularly helpful. The nice thing about them is that if you want a specific item not in their list of selections, you can still request the item and they will accomodate you.  
 
2) Price Point - I have looked at a number of system builders, including ********, Falcon NW, Origin, and others. DigitalStorm has the best price point I could find, and often include special offers. I could not find better.  
 
3) Order Tracking/Build/Shipping - As the system goes thru it's build process, you get an email telling you exactly where it was at in the build process. At one point there was a few days delay in the performance testing phase, but called and found out it was in queue with a large amount of orders. When it did ship, I got an email with the tracking number, and it was on time. The system is well packaged, and and was shipped without a scratch (unlike some of systems I have ordered from other vendors). Overall, the system was built pretty quick, granted I did not order too complex a build such as custom water cooling, which probably would have made it a bit longer. My last system from VoodooPC took almost 2 months before they shipped it, and had numerous and obvious build mistakes, so this was really a delight.  
 
4) Performance - One of my biggest concerns with this system was getting a quiet system. I have a dB reader, and I thought my previous VoodooPC was prety quiet. It typically operated around 51-55 dB during normal operation. When I tested my DigitalStorm HAF X system, it didn't even register on the dB reader, which means it's below 50 dB, most likely low to mid 40s, and is really quiet, even during gaming (and it has a nvidia 480, supposidly loud). And performance wise, playing Starcraft 2 on my Samsung 32" 6500 LED 1080p HDTV/monitor was TOTAL EYE CANDY! My jaw literally dropped during cut scenes. The USB 3.0 ports are extremely fast. I moved 100 GB in 15 minutes to my new system, using USB 2.0 it takes 50-60 minutes.  
 
5) Tech Support / Post Sales - Honestly, I have not had any really siginficant tech support issues. I had maybe 3 minor issues. One was WesternDigital drives having a sticky power button issue, but I had this when I connected my old PC and laptop, so not related to DigitalStorm. The second was the resolution on the HDTV monitor. The nvidia driver will let you scale down the resolution, but it made the screen look odd, particularly text. Samsung advised me to change the 16:9 to Screen Fix in the TV settings, and now I am at 1080p, also not a DigitalStorm issue. And the last was issues with sound when I installed Starcraft 2. Blizzard support page had me adjust settings but that didn't fix it. I had to go to Realtek to get an updated sound driver which helped a bit (stereo sound).  The first patch from Blizzard fixed the sound issues with 7.1 sounds systems, and now it works just fine, also not a DigitalStorm issue.  

The only suggestion I could make to Digital Storm would be to find a way to include in in-drive digital media reader without disabling front USB ports.  That and hide the USB 3.0 cabling leading from the back tot the front.

 

Overall, it has been a really pleasant experience. DigitalStorm listened to my needs and demonstrated a real commitment to quality and service. If VoodooPC had 1/10th of DigitalStorm's commitment to quality and service, they might still be in business. I would recommend DigitalStorm in a heartbeat! I would definately recommend them for your next PC.  

 

 

 

 

When you have time post some internal close ups please.  Great news on the noise being so low.  It looks like you might have a liquid cooled CPU?

 

Thanks

Originally posted by Jinkar Hey Parallox. I'm curious to know the noise level of your Liquid Cooling setup. Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Asetek Liquid CPU Cooler (240mm Radiator) (High-Performance Edition) The noise level when it is idle and under load.  Does the 2x 120mm produce a lot of noise as well as will you hear the sucking noise of the hose when it transferring water?

 

I did a bit of research, a lot of resellers use the Asetek Cooler.  From what I have heard, the black tubing used is very good at condensation and leak prevention, especially since it is an enclosed system.  The fans are mounted at the top of the case inside.  during idle and even while playing games, I really don't gear it.  I think the case fans make more noise, and it is a LOT quieter than my last water cooled system, but that had a water pump and water cooled video cards. I gave some dB readings, and it definately ~10 dBs quieter, which is a lot at that level.

 

I know about the sucking sound you are talking about.  It was REALLY bad on my old system.  Especially in the begining because I discovered VoodooPC mounted the resevoir backwards.  But so far, no noice from cavitation or bubles, and I don't think I every will cause it is completely self sealed.