New Aventum 3 Owner

pics of my new Aventum 3 just picked up this past week. everything's running great so far. i'll post a decent review sometime in the near future after a breaking in period.





Review Update:

Ordering Process

Once DS unveiled their demo Aventum 3 I knew I had to have one for myself, but I had a specific vision for it, so I knew I would be special ordering a few things.  DS made this process a fairly easy one.  To be real, nobody "needs" and Aventum 3, and many cheaper builds can achieve the same or better performance.  It is a luxury "want" item.  Some people prefer sculptures or paintings, my Aventum is my showpiece for my man cave. 

Alex and other DS employees not only accepted my input and desires, they also offered suggestions and compromises (some of which actually turned out better).  It was a collaborative process that I appreciated.

Build Time

I ordered and paid for the unit in October and received the completed unit in December.  There was significant delay; however, it is mostly due to the wait/change of special order fans.  It's a long story, but suffice it to say that this falls on my shoulders, NOT DS.  There was another delay with a faulty motherboard discovered during the testing phase.  Hardware fails, and I'd rather it fail on a DS work bench then in my home, so nice catch DS!  I was in no rush to get this pc as I had a more than capable rig at home.  I was more concerned with getting a problem-free final product. 

the special order fans were: 13x Cougar CFD14 white LED, 2x Cougar CFD12 white LED.  these fans were worth the wait.  they cool amazingly well, look fantastic, and are extremely quiet. 

Some of you might also notice that the cpu block is custom ordered from EK as well as the gpu interconnect.  The fluid used is Mayhems Pastel Ice White.

Delivery

Ever since I had shipping damage with my last computer, I vowed to never again trust the shipping gods with a delicate pc again.  That is partly why I chose DS.  They are within driving distance.  I arranged to pickup the unit (for a small convenience fee) at their Fremont, CA location. 

On the day, I met with a very nice gentleman named James in the receiving area.  I noted DS had about 36 units ready for the late afternoon UPS pickup grouped together in the area.  James had me sign off on some things.  I requested that they load the rig w/o boxing materials into the back of my SUV as that would've been a tight fit (this thing is huge).  James offered to provide me with folded boxing materials for future eventualities (I declined).  He and another employee (John) loaded it in.  After a quick inspection of the rig I was on my way home.  I did not find any defects with the machine at all. 

Build Quality/Setup/First Impressions

Pictures can't do justice to the build quality of this machine. It is even more impressive in person.  While it's huge, it's also very elegant in its own way.  I'm told a person by the name of Kevin was the primary builder.  He did an amazing job!  Setup was a breeze (really just plug and play).  No bloatware to speak of.  No problems with anything.  I loaded up some programs/apps that I commonly use and I haven't had any conflicts.  I've attached all of my peripherals (mouse, keyboard, headset, external DAC/AMP combo, monitors) and drivers w/o issue. 

Even though this rig has 15 fans, 3 rads, and a pump it is more quiet than my previous rig.  While the games I've loaded so far don't really push this machine my temps are in the 30's. 

Documentation

I like the idea of the binder and certificate of ownership.  The normal checklist of signatures was there as well.  What I would of liked to have seen was a more comprehensive build log and testing results documentation.  There's no info on the overclocking procedure (the methodology, the tracking of what settings failed and when, the types of tests run and for how long).  Other than that, I liked that all of the installation cd's were arranged in binder sleeves for easy access and organization. 

Warranty/Service

I received the promotional +1 year warranty, but I (thankfully) haven't had need to test out their warranty and service as of yet.  I will update this in the future should the need arise. 

Conclusion

It has been, by and large, a very good experience so far with DS.  I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone seeking a boutique builder's services.  I'd like to thank Alex, Jericho, Kevin, James and John for all of their assistance with this build!  job well done!!


Edited by db188 - 15 Dec 2015 at 9:45pm

Congrats, db.   Awesome rig. love the clean look of the new Aventum.

Nice! Good to see it complete! Enjoy!

Now, THAT is a thing of beauty. Congratulations.

thanks everyone for the posts.  thanks Steven for  the link.  it's really a testament to DS and i understand Kevin was the primary builder on my system; please extend my praise and gratitude to him on a job well done!!!

That is one awesome machine! Very nice.

HOLY SCHEISSE!!!!!


Your rig is so awesome!!!!

Fabulous review.

Yes! congrats for having a new Aventum 3. Users are happy about it and claim it to have a high end rig. If anyone here still need more information, you also have to see more of Aventum 3.

Reference:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/3083178/computers/digital-storm-aventum-3-review-this-big-bad-desktop-celebrates-high-end-gaming.html







fixed broken link...

Edited by Snaike - 10 Jul 2016 at 11:21pm