New PC

Good evening everyone

I just ordered my first computer from DS and I heard you all were excited to see what people had put together! I am now in the phase 1 and checking my email every hour or so XD.

Chassis Model: Digital Storm Lumos
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i9-10850K (5.2 GHz Turbo) (20-Thread) (10-Core) 3.6 GHz
Motherboard: ASUS Prime Z490-P / MSI Z490-A Pro (Intel Z490 Chipset) (Up to 2x PCI-E Devices) (No SLI Support)
System Memory: 16GB DDR4 3200MHz Digital Storm Performance Series
Power Supply: 850W Digital Storm Performance Series (Modular) (80 Plus Gold)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Optical Drive: - No Thanks
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (1TB Samsung 860 EVO)
Storage Set 2: 1x Storage (2TB Seagate / Toshiba / Hitachi)
Storage Set 3: - No Thanks
RAID Config: - No Thanks
RAID Card: - No Thanks
Internet Access: Wireless PCI-E ASUS PCE-AC56 (Supports 802.11ac)
Graphics Card(s): 1x GeForce RTX 3080 10GB (Performance Edition) (VR Ready)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Add On Card: - No Thanks
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Digital Storm Vortex Liquid CPU Cooler (Dual Fan) (Fully Sealed + No Maintenance)
HydroLux Tubing Style: - Not Applicable, I do not have a custom HydroLux liquid cooling system selected
HydroLux Fluid Color: - Not Applicable, I do not have a custom HydroLux liquid cooling system selected
Cable Management: Premium Cable Management (Strategically Routed & Organized for Airflow)
Chassis Fans: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: Remote Controlled Advanced LED Lighting System (Multiple RGB Color Modes)
Airflow Control: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: Option Not Available
CPU Boost: Stock Factory Turbo Boost Advanced Automatic Overclocking
Graphics: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
OS Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: USB Drive - Windows 10 Installation (Format and Clean Install)
Virus Protection: Windows Defender Antivirus (Built-in to Windows 10)

Originally posted by Cretae Welcome to DS! Please do yourself a huge favor and check into an M.2 NVMe SSD for your primary drive. They run off the PCIe bus and are fully 5 times faster than SATA SSDs.

I will have to call them in the morning when they are open, thank you so much for the information!

I updated the order today for the NVMe! Got an update of projected mid November ship time. Will be including an unboxing video.

@Green TeaRex: the NVMe drive is the one you want. Cretae likes the 500GB size, I like the 1TB size. Both work the same.

If you go smaller, be sure to get the Samsung 970 512GB PRO and not the 500GB PLUS. There's no appreciable difference in performance, so the extra $ for the PLUS is wasted. Online, the PRO costs more...go figure.

If you get the 1TB, it's the other way around! The PRO cost more than the PLUS, but there's not much performance difference, so get the PLUS. Be sure to partition for your OS and maintenance apps, maybe browser, etc. You get to choose, but maybe 100GB would do. That way, you can easily and speedily clone the partition regularly (to an external drive) so if Windows ever blows up, you can easily replace it without having to mess with everything else.

Also, I very much like being able to scan my primary drive for viruses, malware and spyware within seconds so that I do it often. My 512 GB NVMe has about 230 GB on it total, and that includes a few Origin games I rotate in and out (via download and delete) just to keep them separate from my Steam library, which is on a SATA SSD. When I scan, it varies by the software and whether I do a "quick" or a "full", but it's usually less than 2 minutes.

Originally posted by austyn123 Yeah pretty much same build specs as you and I went with the Samsung 970 pro 512gb, I would have went with the 1tb but I already spent too much money on the pc lol. If you have the money 1tb could be worth it as newer games can use 100gb of space pretty easily with updates and dlcs. Either way both drives have the same exact speed 4500mb a sec read and 4000mb write speeds I believe. Welcome to the club man!

I feel ya. Alt hose little upgrades can be costly.

Originally posted by Cretae If you go smaller, be sure to get the Samsung 970 512GB PRO and not the 500GB PLUS. There's no appreciable difference in performance, so the extra $ for the PLUS is wasted. Online, the PRO costs more...go figure. If you get the 1TB, it's the other way around! The PRO cost more than the PLUS, but there's not much performance difference, so get the PLUS. Be sure to partition for your OS and maintenance apps, maybe browser, etc. You get to choose, but maybe 100GB would do. That way, you can easily and speedily clone the partition regularly (to an external drive) so if Windows ever blows up, you can easily replace it without having to mess with everything else. Also, I very much like being able to scan my primary drive for viruses, malware and spyware within seconds so that I do it often. My 512 GB NVMe has about 230 GB on it total, and that includes a few Origin games I rotate in and out (via download and delete) just to keep them separate from my Steam library, which is on a SATA SSD. When I scan, it varies by the software and whether I do a "quick" or a "full", but it's usually less than 2 minutes.

Hi, I’m sorry but I have a noobie question. Which would be considered the “main” drive looking at NastyEd’s build. Would it be the Storage set 1?

Originally posted by fwfdfireman Yes, storage set 1 on NastyEd's configuration.

Thank you so much for confirming! I can’t wait to build and order my first PC from DS :)

Originally posted by fwfdfireman Originally posted by GreenTeaRex Originally posted by fwfdfireman Yes, storage set 1 on NastyEd's configuration. Thank you so much for confirming! I can’t wait to build and order my first PC from DS :) I know that others, and I too, will highly recommend that your Storage Set 1 be an NVME SSD, instead of a sata ssd. Much, much faster. That will allow your system to boot up much faster. So the #1, an NVME SSD will have your OS and you can put "maintenance" software on it, like your anti virus and such. Then when you scan your PC, it is really quick. Your secondary drive, which you should have, can be an a regular sata SSD for games and much more, depending on the size you buy. If you only buy a 1TB for #2 SSD, then you could always add a 3rd storage drive making it an HDD, mechanical hard drive for your pictures and music files for example. If you can afford it, then I highly recommend this, Storage set #1 would be at least a 500GB NVME SSD, #2 would be at least a 1 TB sata SSD. Storage #3 would be up to you. I spec'ed mine the same but with an additional 1 TB sata SSD for #3 as I have lots of pics, music and my MC ride videos and graphics for film editing. Don't want to crowd my "games" drive. Best of luck to you.

Thank you for being very clear about it. I will definitely consider getting an NVME as an upgrade. I believe my #2 is a 2tb so it should be plenty enough also. I didn’t know storage management can be so technical. I can’t wait to start understand PC building more :)

There is free software available online to help you partition a drive. I have used EaseUS and been happy, but that was a couple of years ago. I suggest you Google "free partition software" and then Google the one you think best to look at reviews. If you see articles and/or reviews from PC magazine sources, you can rely on them IMHO.

Originally posted by Cretae There is free software available online to help you partition a drive. I have used EaseUS and been happy, but that was a couple of years ago. I suggest you Google "free partition software" and then Google the one you think best to look at reviews. If you see articles and/or reviews from PC magazine sources, you can rely on them IMHO.

Thank you so much for the useful tips! Much appreciated. I will definitely read up more on it :)

It is our sincere pleasure to be of help. We wish you all the best with your new adventure! All the learning you are embarking on should be seen as part of the fun.

Lots here only use Windows Defender but don't browse to suspicious web sites. In other words, don't click suspicious links that direct you to some web site you have never heard of.

Can can direct Steam to install your games wherever you like. The drive your OS is on too, IF it is partitioned to where the OS and maybe some maintenance software is all by itself in it's own designated area. The partition keeps it isolated.

If it's partitioned, yes, I would load games on the partition that does NOT include the OS.

I know some, like myself, only have 3 or 4 games at one time actually installed out of my libraries from Steam and Uplay, usually my favs. or new ones. And those I always install on my seperate drive and not the OS drive. It's really up to you how and where you want to install your games.

Just remember, NVMe will be faster with SSDs following in speed. HDD, your mechanical hard drive will be the slowest, but usually ONLY in loading up the game and getting in to the game. Game play is not affected, in most cases.

The 1 TB NVMe will have the Windows OS on it. You don't have to partition it if you don't want to, or don't care to find out and learn how to do it. But, in the best case scenario, you would want to partition it so the OS is all by it's lonesome in, say, a 250GB separate area of that 1 TB NVMe.

The last paragraph is in terms of speed. The fastest drives are NVMe drives. The second fastest drives are the sata SSDs and the slowest are the mechanical hard drives, commonly referred to as HDDs.

So if the Hdd, regardless of what brand it is, is your only other storage option, then yes, you load all your other stuff on that drive. You can create folders in it, for your games you could label one folder Steam Games, and then when you have Steam download and install a game, direct Steam to install to that drive and that folder.

A sata SSD would have been a better option, but a HDD will do fine. Like I said, it will take a bit longer for the game to load up then it would if you had a SSD or another NVMe to install them to.

The NVMe you got is a form of an SSD, solid state drive. The difference is, the NVMe connects directly to the motherboard. SSDs and HDDs will connect via a sata cable, which can not transmit data as fast as the NVMe that uses NO cable, as it is connected directly to the motherboard, the fastest communication path for data.

Originally posted by GreenTeaRex Originally posted by Cretae Also, I very much like being able to scan my primary drive for viruses, malware and spyware within seconds so that I do it often. My 512 GB NVMe has about 230 GB on it total, and that includes a few Origin games I rotate in and out (via download and delete) just to keep them separate from my Steam library, which is on a SATA SSD. When I scan, it varies by the software and whether I do a "quick" or a "full", but it's usually less than 2 minutes. Just to be clear, so you only put Windows, web browser, and a couple of games on your NVMe and on your SSD you keep the rest of your steam library? So only when you want to have a game with quick loading speeds you put that game in the NVMe? Which anti virus do you use? I read that it’s not the best option if you game often because it can drop your frame rates while gaming. I myself would also like to keep my computer protected at all times without affecting performance if it’s possible.

Your first sentence is absolutely correct.

I have a few Origin games on the NVMe because it is a different game store from Steam with far fewer games, and I want to keep them separate. IMHO, the games load plenty fast from my SATA SSD. I don't see a lot of difference in load times between the two, I think because a game just has to load everything in the precise order to function properly. It seems to be that need for precision that makes the load time similar even on an NVMe. There is some difference, but measured in mere seconds.

I have always used Windows Defender since it came out. Back in olden times, I had problems and conflicts no matter what anti-virus I tried. With Win Defender, there has never been any issue. Never a frame drop, never a conflict, never had to disable it to run a game, and never a virus alert, even. IMHO, that's the one you want to be protected all the time. It's built into Win, and enabled by default.

The only "bad link" I have clicked on is HERE.
They made me spend money!!