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New Comp Review + Pix

Post Date: 2010-09-15
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dblecircle View Drop Down
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Posts: 80 		  Quote dblecircle Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Topic: New Comp Review + Pix
    Posted: 15 Sep 2010 at 12:55am
So my baby finally arrived... and what a beautiful baby it is!
A brief review of my experience is warrented for general feedback...
 
This is my first DS comp, my last comp was a Velocity Micro, Q6600 2.6, GTX 8800, upgraded to Win 7 8gigs Ram.  Not a bad machine did me well for a few years but was very buggy after I upgraded to Win 7 with the Ram because of an outdated BIOS (which took forever for me to figure out.)  I had moved to using and editing HD video and wanted something that could handle it.
 
I looked all around for months and compared prices, I settled on DS because as has been said many times before, I believed in the Customer Service and the reviews were very good.  My initial experience was a bit upsetting because I had tried call DS a few times and could not get anyone to pick up the phone in any department.  However, whenever I emailed anyone I got a response never more than a day later, usually just a few hours later.  So if you have business with DS I suggest emailing, they are always very professional and nice once you get a hold of them.  BTW you SHOULD call your bank before your transaction, even for debit cards when you have enough money in your account.
 
I sent in a purchase order before I had really flushed out my ideas on the forums, that was a mistake, though the advice on the forums is not always what you are looking for, 90% of it is very good common sense stuff from people who know what they are talking about. I used 2 of the suggestions and was very happy with the changes.  DS had some issues doing my hardware request change after they had emailed me my old configuration in like stage 6 or 7 or something and I noticed the changes hadn't been made, they went back and made them quickly and the computer was out the same day it would have been anyway.  I also recieved the wrong traking number from them for my comp which I also pointed out and they fixed and sent me the right one.  Sarah was the one who helped on all that and "saved the day" - Yaaaa Sarah!
 
The comp arrived on time, the box was in decent condition, the computer was in good condition, the only issue being a rough cut on the 120 mm blowhole above the GPUs.  It just looked like it hadn't been sanded down or the edges softened which would have been nice.  Also in the picture ad of the blowhole a custom DS fan is in place which looks cooler than the fan I got, I guess I was expecting the DS logo fan.
 
Those are pretty much my only gripes, other than that the comp booted right up and I was good to go. 
 
Observations:
 
Clean lines, the mem fan which I got some crap for buying on the forums Smile actually is really cool looking as it matches the blue of the P6x58d mobo totally by mistake I assure you.  I dunno why but it just really love it so I'm glad I made the personal choice to get it.  The Astek cooler with the 240mm fan is cool too, and what I could afford for cooling.  But I need to see temps and stuff to know how effective they are which I haven't done yet.  I chose the white lighting which is because I like the kind of lab feel it gives, everything needs to be clean under it and you can see exactly what is going on.  The window actually faces a wall so I'm not usually looking in the computer, and if I do its not really for amosphere it's to examine it.  There is significant negative airflow as you can feel air being drawn into the comp from the spaces between the drives.  Some people have complained about the 800d airflow, however I like the negative airflow pulling in between the cracks and drafting up the bottom.  The rig I would say is noisy with the fan upgrade and 2 480s, but noise was not an issue to me as I sit right by a window heater/air conditioner which is usually blasting away anyway.  That's what they make Bose noise cancelling headphones for... which by the way run AMAZING with the x-fi champion card.  I really could hear a significant difference over my old integrated sound...
More to follow w pix

980x @ 3.9, SLI Dual 480s, 120 gig SSD, X-fi Champion, 1200w, 800d, 12 gigs RAM, RTS + CS5 Fun O Fun Oh My!
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dblecircle View Drop Down
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Posts: 80 		  Quote dblecircle Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 15 Sep 2010 at 1:04am
So far the rig is working wonders with Adobe CS5.  I'm very happy with the results.  I only loaded up one game, SCII and maxed everything out, and it was actually a real pleasure over my previous experience with the game, I get it now... why people get so excited about the gaming graphics, they are really pretty to look at, and I'm just talking about an RTS.
 

Other than that I have work tomorrow, I don't know what they were thinking having me work on the day I got my DS comp AND the day after... untill friday!  Bastards! Upset (joking I need the money lol).



Edited by Alex - 15 Sep 2010 at 1:12pm

980x @ 3.9, SLI Dual 480s, 120 gig SSD, X-fi Champion, 1200w, 800d, 12 gigs RAM, RTS + CS5 Fun O Fun Oh My!
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Posts: 80 		  Quote dblecircle Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 15 Sep 2010 at 1:05am


Edited by Alex - 15 Sep 2010 at 1:12pm

980x @ 3.9, SLI Dual 480s, 120 gig SSD, X-fi Champion, 1200w, 800d, 12 gigs RAM, RTS + CS5 Fun O Fun Oh My!
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Posts: 49 		  Quote the12deel Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 15 Sep 2010 at 1:49am
Gratz on the new rig, I can't wait to order mine.


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Posts: 841 		  Quote rholyrag Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 15 Sep 2010 at 6:54am
Congrats!Excited
"What we do in life echoes in eternity" - Maximus from Gladiator
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Posts: 441 		  Quote sirsiddius Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 15 Sep 2010 at 8:36am
Would be nice if you resized your pics so we can see more of your epic rig.Smile
I ninja edit cause I can't spell properly.
-Edited by Sirsiddius
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Alex View Drop Down
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Posts: 16314 		  Quote Alex Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 15 Sep 2010 at 1:21pm
@dblecircle,

Thank you for posting your review! Valuable feedback such as yours allows us to maintain the #1 spot in the custom high-performance PC market.

I'm sorry to hear about some of the minor inconveniences you had to encounter. I do agree that around the time you were placing your order there was some difficulty getting a hold of us. Our phone staff resources were stretched thin from the surge of incoming calls during the 'Black to School' and 'Labor Day' sale seasons. We understand the importance of being able to answer the phone or return voice mails promptly, and we've been working on a game plan to maintain this goal.

The performance fan option you selected includes high RPM fans which push a lot of air, but, as you know, high RPMs are linked to fan noise. We can help you adjust the fan speeds if you get in touch with our support staff. Going with our 'Stage 1' Noise Suppression package ensures our customers receive a quiet system that has efficient and optimized airflow.

We've been doing testing on a new procedure for cutting blow holes in the side windows and it doesn't look like yours came out as clean as I would liked myself. Feel free to email me: [email protected] and I'll have the guys ship you a new replacement window with a better side blow hole.

If you can put some some more pics showing off your entire system and your setup I'll get the guys to add your review to the 'Customer Reviews' section.

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Posts: 80 		  Quote dblecircle Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 15 Sep 2010 at 11:15pm
Thank you so much for your suggestion and going out of your way to help!  I just sent you an email at the address requested.
 

For me the bottom line with you guys is simply: you care, and... you're real.  No one can be perfect, but you can always strive for perfection, and that includes when little mistakes happen, not flinching, but just making sure they are taken care of right away.  For me, I experienced no delay in shipping, I got what I wanted, and it works beautifully.  Helping with this last issue is proof positive you are obsessed with detail and want everything to not only be acceptable, but exceptional.

 

Can't ask for more than that for customer service IMO.

 

What can one do but be a loyal customer after that?

 



Edited by Alex - 16 Sep 2010 at 1:12am

980x @ 3.9, SLI Dual 480s, 120 gig SSD, X-fi Champion, 1200w, 800d, 12 gigs RAM, RTS + CS5 Fun O Fun Oh My!
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Posts: 80 		  Quote dblecircle Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 15 Sep 2010 at 11:18pm
@sirsiddius,
 

Sorry I have my internet set to a high resolution where you can see all that at once.

 

Tried to resize the next couple a little smaller.

 



Edited by Alex - 16 Sep 2010 at 1:12am

980x @ 3.9, SLI Dual 480s, 120 gig SSD, X-fi Champion, 1200w, 800d, 12 gigs RAM, RTS + CS5 Fun O Fun Oh My!
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Posts: 1514 		  Quote maxyme Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 15 Sep 2010 at 11:33pm
Your build looks awesome! by the way how do you like dual sli? you have the gtx 480's right? and whats your clock speed? I'm getting a very similar build so just wondering how things work. I'm also using it for some tri screen gaming and cs5 stuff... web design coding ect...
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Posts: 80 		  Quote dblecircle Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 16 Sep 2010 at 12:03pm
I am hoping to be able to answer these questions over the weekend.  It's very frustrating but I happen to be in the middle of a lot of work right now so I have only just basically been able to set the system up, I haven't run any benchmarks yet.
 
I can tell you on CS5 I was running native .mts files with 3+ effects on them rather seemlessly and I had not even enabled the Mercury Playback Engine by using the simple hack for the 480s.  I was going to do that over the weekend.  But point being even WITHOUT it CS5 was running smoothly so far. 
 
The only game I have played on it so far is SCII and it's beautiful, but I'm looking forward to playing some games that will give those cards more of a run for their money.
 
Like I said, this weekend the fun begins so I can give you more info after that!
 

980x @ 3.9, SLI Dual 480s, 120 gig SSD, X-fi Champion, 1200w, 800d, 12 gigs RAM, RTS + CS5 Fun O Fun Oh My!
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Posts: 137 		  Quote McStrav Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 16 Sep 2010 at 1:01pm
I see you went with the DS Certified 1200w PSU, my question about it is, is the power supply fully modular?
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Posts: 16314 		  Quote Alex Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 16 Sep 2010 at 7:18pm
Originally posted by McStrav

I see you went with the DS Certified 1200w PSU, my question about it is, is the power supply fully modular?

It is.
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Posts: 1514 		  Quote maxyme Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 16 Sep 2010 at 7:19pm
Originally posted by dblecircle

I am hoping to be able to answer these questions over the weekend.  It's very frustrating but I happen to be in the middle of a lot of work right now so I have only just basically been able to set the system up, I haven't run any benchmarks yet.
 

I can tell you on CS5 I was running native .mts files with 3+ effects on them rather seemlessly and I had not even enabled the Mercury Playback Engine by using the simple hack for the 480s.  I was going to do that over the weekend.  But point being even WITHOUT it CS5 was running smoothly so far. 

 

The only game I have played on it so far is SCII and it's beautiful, but I'm looking forward to playing some games that will give those cards more of a run for their money.

 

Like I said, this weekend the fun begins so I can give you more info after that!

 

haha sounds awesome! bet this is the slowest week ever for you! Thanks
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Posts: 80 		  Quote dblecircle Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 18 Sep 2010 at 9:43pm
The clock speed is 3.95GHz which was what the free overclock was from DS.  I'm very happy with it as its totally stable and so far is doing everything I need it to hands down.  Maybe sometime in the near future I'll try to throw it up to 4.2 - 4.5, but why mess with it when it's working everything so great right now?
 
CS5 so far is a dream, the scrubbing is instantaneous like a hot knife through butter, you can cruise around any project and view exactly what is going on all the time.  It frees your mind from worrying about the jumpy crashing, jerky loading of frames to simply here's what it is, I like it, I don't like it, I'm changing it, and nothing is slowing you down.  I have to admit I'm VERY excited about it.
 
But you do have to make sure your cards work with the Mercury Playback Engine to free everything up like that.  Now officially I would say go with 470s because they are officially approved for CS5.  Unofficially I would say get the 480s and do this:
 
 
because it totally works and is amazing.
 
In anycase, CS5 is a dream to work in with this set up, I feel really happy and encouraged by the results so far and my creative juices are flowing to the max because I don't have to bother with the bulls**t of waiting for rendered effects to know what something is going to look like, its a visual experimental heaven.
 
Mind you I have one screen, hoping to move to two.  I can't comment on triscreen stuff.  I haven't rendered a project yet, I don't konw how times are affected there.  I've just been able to play with video clips in projects so far and what I'm seeing blows my mind that's all.
 
I hope that helps, if you need any more info just let me know cause I had trouble finding someone to tell me what this stuff would do before I got it and would have appreciated it.
 
 

980x @ 3.9, SLI Dual 480s, 120 gig SSD, X-fi Champion, 1200w, 800d, 12 gigs RAM, RTS + CS5 Fun O Fun Oh My!
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Posts: 137 		  Quote McStrav Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 18 Sep 2010 at 9:50pm
Originally posted by Alex

Originally posted by McStrav

I see you went with the DS Certified 1200w PSU, my question about it is, is the power supply fully modular?

It is.
Sweet!!!!
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Posts: 1514 		  Quote maxyme Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 18 Sep 2010 at 10:36pm
Originally posted by dblecircle

The clock speed is 3.95GHz which was what the free overclock was from DS.  I'm very happy with it as its totally stable and so far is doing everything I need it to hands down.  Maybe sometime in the near future I'll try to throw it up to 4.2 - 4.5, but why mess with it when it's working everything so great right now?
 

CS5 so far is a dream, the scrubbing is instantaneous like a hot knife through butter, you can cruise around any project and view exactly what is going on all the time.  It frees your mind from worrying about the jumpy crashing, jerky loading of frames to simply here's what it is, I like it, I don't like it, I'm changing it, and nothing is slowing you down.  I have to admit I'm VERY excited about it.

 

But you do have to make sure your cards work with the Mercury Playback Engine to free everything up like that.  Now officially I would say go with 470s because they are officially approved for CS5.  Unofficially I would say get the 480s and do this:

 


 

because it totally works and is amazing.

 

In anycase, CS5 is a dream to work in with this set up, I feel really happy and encouraged by the results so far and my creative juices are flowing to the max because I don't have to bother with the bulls**t of waiting for rendered effects to know what something is going to look like, its a visual experimental heaven.

 

Mind you I have one screen, hoping to move to two.  I can't comment on triscreen stuff.  I haven't rendered a project yet, I don't konw how times are affected there.  I've just been able to play with video clips in projects so far and what I'm seeing blows my mind that's all.

 

I hope that helps, if you need any more info just let me know cause I had trouble finding someone to tell me what this stuff would do before I got it and would have appreciated it.

 

 

thanks for the feedback no questions so far for you. if i have any in the future i will know who to ask.
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Posts: 441 		  Quote sirsiddius Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 19 Sep 2010 at 5:09am
Originally posted by dblecircle

@sirsiddius,
 Sorry I have my internet set to a high resolution where you can see all that at once.


Sometimes I forget that times have changed and people have moved on. You've all moved on to huge 24 and 30 inch monitors, while I'm still on the same 1280x1024 I bought 5 years ago.


Edited by sirsiddius - 19 Sep 2010 at 5:11am
I ninja edit cause I can't spell properly.
-Edited by Sirsiddius
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Posts: 80 		  Quote dblecircle Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 19 Sep 2010 at 9:58am
Sometimes I forget that times have changed and people have moved on. You've all moved on to huge 24 and 30 inch monitors, while I'm still on the same 1280x1024 I bought 5 years ago.
 
I think it's probably one of the most cost effective ways to upgrade or wow your computer, when I had saved up a bit and got my monitor you see above I remember it was a total gamechanger for me.  You can just do more and have a bigger space to work and play.  My next upgrade will be having a dual monitor set up for CS5. 
 
 


Edited by dblecircle - 19 Sep 2010 at 9:59am

980x @ 3.9, SLI Dual 480s, 120 gig SSD, X-fi Champion, 1200w, 800d, 12 gigs RAM, RTS + CS5 Fun O Fun Oh My!
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Posts: 216 		  Quote AmbientChong11 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 19 Sep 2010 at 3:34pm
Originally posted by sirsiddius

Originally posted by dblecircle

@sirsiddius,
 Sorry I have my internet set to a high resolution where you can see all that at once.


Sometimes I forget that times have changed and people have moved on. You've all moved on to huge 24 and 30 inch monitors, while I'm still on the same 1280x1024 I bought 5 years ago.
 
After buying my DS PC, I'm still using my 32" 5 year old monitor. The resolution cap's 1360 x 768. Not that great as it was used for watching TV and not meant for a monitor ...... until now.
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