Review - Cool Blue Bolt XPost Date: 2018-07-18 |
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Dakota Red
Groupie Joined: 08 Jun 2013 Online Status: Offline Posts: 121 |
Quote Reply
Topic: Review - Cool Blue Bolt X Posted: 18 Jul 2018 at 6:03pm |
A year ago, I bought a new monitor. The Asus ROG PG348Q is a 34” wide screen monitor with a resolution of 3440x1440 and G-Sync. Now that is a lot of pixels to push around but I really did think my Bolt 3 could handle it. My Bolt 3 had an Intel Core i7 4790K, an ASUS Z97I-PLUS, 16GB DDR3 1866MHz, and a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 4GB. Even though it was over 2 years old I had been playing a few older games at ultra or high settings on a 27” G-Sync Monitor for 2 years with no problems. I did not think the added pixels would tax my Bolt that much. After switching to the new monitor, I noticed that my frame rates were lower in my games than before. To get my frame rates up I needed to turn a few graphic settings off (like shadows – bye, bye), or down a notch. Then I noticed that my graphic card’s fans were spinning at full speed during game play and it would become very warm in my office where I have my computer. Sitting at my desk I could actually feel the fans in my Bolt pushing the hot air out during game play. This only happened when I was playing a game and not when I was using my computer for anything else. I opened the case and cleaned out any dust (there wasn’t much). That didn’t help so I thought it was time to get drastic. Off came the side glass panel and then the other side metal panel. That did the trick and the heat came down to almost normal levels. But I still did not have my games running at ultra/very high settings and the fans on my graphic card still spun up to full speed when I played any games. Then I noticed that my liquid cooling reservoir was close to the minimum level which means it would soon be needing a refill. The Digital Storm 240mm Liquid Cooling System is a very good liquid cooling system but IMO it is a bear to service. Even if I was looking to save some money and do the work myself, afterwards I would still have a computer that could not play games at ultra or very high settings, my graphic card would be pushed to its limits, the side panels would have to stay off, and I would have a computer with 3-year-old equipment in it. For 10 to 11 months I had watched my liquid level get lower and then dip below the minimum level, which means that it was critical for me to get the liquid cooling system refilled. I only had a few options. I could service the system myself, or take it to a shop to have done, or send it back to DS to do, or I could buy a new top-of-the-line Intel desktop computer. Since this is a review of my new Bolt X I guess you can figure out what I did. This is my fourth DS computer. The one before the Bolt 3 was a Slade, and I can not remember the model name of the one before that. Each was a top-of-the-line Intel desktop computer for its time. Each was beautifully built by DS and each worked great, right out of the box. Am I a believer in the build and quality of Digital Storm computers? You bet I am. I ordered my Bolt X on May 16, 2018 and received it on July 2. I have had my new Bolt X for over two weeks and It is running fantastic (all my games are running at ultra-high detail and if I buy any new games that push the envelope of graphics I hope I will be able to run them at high detail). Here are my Bolt’s specs;
Chassis
Model: Digital Storm BOLT X
UPS guy just dropped it off at the front door.
Let us start to unpack!!! That is my Bolt 3 on the desk. This box has the DS personalized information notebook, excess cables, program disks, component manuals, and the emergency boot thumb drive. Back to the unpacking!!!!! The computer itself comes wrapped in its own Digital Storm cloth bag. The acrylic side panel window is wrapped in a protective cover. DS cuts individual pieces of dense foam to form fit inside the computer to protect components during shipping. After I took out the foam pieces and before I put the acrylic window on. Put the window on and get it up on my desk. I think it might be time to turn this bad boy on!!! The Asus motherboard has it own LED lighting separate from the DS case LED lighting. This is an awesome computer. So cool .... Cool Blue, that is. Digital Storm - you are the best!!!
Edited by Dakota Red - 30 Jul 2018 at 10:22am |
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Performance matters. Non-Performance is not an option.
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Snaike
Moderator Group Just a dude trying to keep the spam away Joined: 23 Jan 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 9448 |
Quote Reply Posted: 18 Jul 2018 at 7:04pm |
Now that's good looking unit... very nice!
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hoserator
DS Veteran We don't need no stinking "Avatars" ! Joined: 08 Oct 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 7942 |
Quote Reply Posted: 19 Jul 2018 at 12:57am |
Very nice indeed. Congratulations. Enjoy. Edited by hoserator - 20 Jul 2018 at 2:26am |
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Cretae
DS Veteran Joined: 22 Mar 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 7328 |
Quote Reply Posted: 19 Jul 2018 at 3:53pm |
Great rig. Thanks for sharing!
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oldlady RPGer
DS Veteran One of the cool kids Joined: 09 Sep 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1080 |
Quote Reply Posted: 21 Jul 2018 at 2:46am |
Nice Nice nice!!!! Beautiful blue and I like the hard line(ellerlux).
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Me sitting my ECMO in PICU. Now you know why I like LC. ;)
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Dakota Red
Groupie Joined: 08 Jun 2013 Online Status: Offline Posts: 121 |
Quote Reply Posted: 30 Jul 2018 at 10:24am |
Update: 7-29-2018 On Thursday I was sitting at my desk and playing Star Wars: TOR when I heard a pop followed by a clink from my Bolt X sitting on my desk next to me. I looked over and saw all the liquid from my water cooling system draining out to the inside of my Bolt. I admit that I froze and then I heard another pop and my monitor went black. A message came up on the monitor. “No signal detected.” I unfroze and unplugged the computer but the damage was already done. This all took place in about 4 seconds. I looked inside and saw a missing part of my hard tubing sitting on the bottom of my Bolt. I’m sure the graphic card was ruined but whether the motherboard or anything else was too I do not know. Liquid was running out of the bottom of my Bolt and onto my desk. I ran and got a towel but by the time I got back some liquid had already dripped onto my carpeted floor. I picked my Bolt up and placed it in my bathtub. I cleaned everything up as best as I could. It was 9 pm (EST) so I knew nobody would be at DS to answer the phone but I called anyway and left a message about what just happened. I asked that I be given a call back as soon as possible on Friday. By 2 pm (EST) on Friday I could not wait any longer and gave DS Technical Help Department a call. Cody answered my call and after I told him what happened he said he would request a RMA to have it shipped back to DS so it could be disassembled so damaged parts could be replaced. DS will then reassemble my Bolt and retest it before shipping it back to me. I had to send Cody pictures of my damaged Bolt for him to attach to my RMA before he sent it to management to ok and issue the RMA to me. On Saturday at 2 pm I received the ok to ship my Bolt back by UPS. The email had a shipping label attached. I printed it and then attached it to the shipping carton my Bolt had been sent in. (I had kept the box and foam packing material that DS had used to ship it to me.) I placed my packaged Bolt in the back of my truck and went to the local UPS Store to drop it off. I got a receipt for the dropped off box and when I got home I noticed that it would not get picked up from the store and taken to their local terminal till Monday. I have no idea what the turnaround time for something like this is but I hope it isn’t the 5 weeks it took to build my Bolt. I also hope DS keeps me informed with what is happening with my Bolt once they have it in-house. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. |
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Performance matters. Non-Performance is not an option.
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Cretae
DS Veteran Joined: 22 Mar 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 7328 |
Quote Reply Posted: 31 Jul 2018 at 3:14pm |
My most heartfelt sympathies.
The response you've gotten so far is typical of DS service as far as I'm aware. It's why we're fans. I believe they will take great pains to see that you are satisfied in the end. I believe the turnaround will be with all diligent speed, but with making sure the repairs are permanent being paramount. You're pride in your new system was obvious to all of us here, and we are behind you 100%. If I had any doubt DS would drop this ball, I wouldn't be here. Hang tough, Dakota Red, and keep us in the loop. All the best. |
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Dakota Red
Groupie Joined: 08 Jun 2013 Online Status: Offline Posts: 121 |
Quote Reply Posted: 01 Aug 2018 at 11:03am |
Thank you Cretae for your encouraging words . I also think DS will do their best. That is why I have bought from them for many years. My computer is scheduled to be delivered to DS tomorrow, Aug. 2nd. Like I said before I hope they keep me in the loop as to what they found and when they estimate they will be able to get it back to me. I have an ok laptop but as time goes by I miss my Bolt more and more.
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Performance matters. Non-Performance is not an option.
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hoserator
DS Veteran We don't need no stinking "Avatars" ! Joined: 08 Oct 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 7942 |
Quote Reply Posted: 02 Aug 2018 at 1:29am |
Oh no. Sounds like a fitting came off. DS will make it right and make sure all works as it should. Don't know how long the repair process takes. Hope it is not long at all. Keep us posted.
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Dakota Red
Groupie Joined: 08 Jun 2013 Online Status: Offline Posts: 121 |
Quote Reply Posted: 09 Aug 2018 at 2:36pm |
Well guys it is not good news. My computer was received by DS on Aug. 2. They did not even open the box till yesterday. It took them a whole week just to open the box. To say that I am disappointed would not be an overstatement. I have purchased 4 computers from DS and this is the only one that has been returned for repairs. Their email to me said that they estimated up to 15 business days (3 weeks) before they ship it back to me (as long as there are no delays in the repair). It has already been 2 weeks since it stopped working, plus 3 weeks for the repair and then a week to send it back to me. I am looking at a 6 week turnaround. (As long as there are no delays in doing the repair) My computer worked for less than 4 weeks before it stopped working. Anybody out there have any words of encouragement? Let's all meet around the campfire tonight and sing "Kym-by-ya". On second thought, I don't think even that will cheer me up.
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Performance matters. Non-Performance is not an option.
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oldlady RPGer
DS Veteran One of the cool kids Joined: 09 Sep 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1080 |
Quote Reply Posted: 12 Aug 2018 at 4:08pm |
Wow that sucks.
DS will make it right. You are a valued customer. You have purchased 4 computers and I have 5 of there's. When I had to send my big Cube back to them(for repairs) they actually hadn't started repairs until I asked what's going on(it had been two weeks). They fixed everything pretty quick after that and updated some parts. It's hard waiting. All my best. |
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Me sitting my ECMO in PICU. Now you know why I like LC. ;)
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Dakota Red
Groupie Joined: 08 Jun 2013 Online Status: Offline Posts: 121 |
Quote Reply Posted: 13 Aug 2018 at 8:57am |
Thank you for giving me some insight into your repair time frame "oldlady RPGer". Parul from DS has contacted me and said that DS will make an effort to repair my computer and get it sent back to me quickly. I hope it goes as smoothly as it sounds like your repair went (after you had notified them of the two weeks you had already been waiting with no news).(The upgraded parts sounds nice too.) I think this week will tell me how smoothly and quickly the repairs will go.
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Performance matters. Non-Performance is not an option.
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smilejk
Newbie Joined: 14 Aug 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4 |
Quote Reply Posted: 14 Aug 2018 at 3:54pm |
your bolt x looks different from the one advertised in digital storms youtube channel....
Can any Digital storm employee confirm the current bolt x looks like this customers config: with the different tubing, and that tank at the top now being covered by a large black plastic cover? |
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Dakota Red
Groupie Joined: 08 Jun 2013 Online Status: Offline Posts: 121 |
Quote Reply Posted: 20 Aug 2018 at 11:51am |
Wow! smilejk, I did not even notice that the cover over my reservoir was different than the one in the youtube video. That cover has some led s and shows more of the tank. I guess that does make it look a little more cool but if I tell them I want to change out the cover for the led one who knows how long I would have to wait for my computer to be sent back to me. I think I'll stick to the cover I have so I can get it repaired and sent back to me sooner. I just hit Level 3 of the repair process and they think they might be able to ship it back to me on Friday if nothing more goes wrong with the testing of my Bolt. And as for the tubing looking different I don't see any difference. Maybe my eyes are just not as good as they use to be.
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Performance matters. Non-Performance is not an option.
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FR3SHM3AT
Groupie Joined: 12 Feb 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 494 |
Quote Reply Posted: 25 Aug 2018 at 2:26pm |
What a beautiful system and set up
Congrats and sucks about the issue you had. Good thought your way !! being back up and enjoying that bad boy. |
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Dakota Red
Groupie Joined: 08 Jun 2013 Online Status: Offline Posts: 121 |
Quote Reply Posted: 15 Sep 2018 at 2:27pm |
I have my computer back. UPS delivered it 4 days ago. Mostly it is in great shape. DS rerouted the liquid tubing lines. (I have no idea if DS thinks that the original routing had something to do with the failure of the liquid tubing system.) I got an email from a DS technician about 2 to 3 weeks ago that it passed all initial test and it was going to QA for one more look by another DS technician before it would be packed up and sent back to me. At 6 days I sent an email to see when my computer would be sent back to me. The same technician that had emailed me before informed me that the video card would only do 20 frames per second in their video test and that he would be installing a new video card. So not only did the liquid cooling system fail but it damaged my video card. Another week lost in California but I am glad they tested my unit thoroughly before sending it back to me. The only thing wrong so far is that after unpacking it I noticed all the flat and reflective surfaces had dust and smudges on them. All the fittings had smudges on them too. My Bolt X has a clear acrylic side panel so before I reattached it I had to carefully clean off all the surfaces. I reattached the clear side panel and the computer is running great. In the last couple of days I have noticed another problem. The acrylic side panel has a few light scratches and a few scuff marks. They are so slight and small that I can not see them until the sunlight coming in my window reflects off my desk and hits them from a certain angle. How weird is that? I called DS yesterday and asked for a new panel to be sent to me. They asked that I send pictures to them but I told them I did not know if a picture would be able to show these marks. I did get 3 pictures that showed these marks but you really need to look hard for them. Today is Saturday so I don't think I will hear anything from DS till Monday. I'm hoping that they send me a new panel so I can have my computer back to the way it was when I first got it. Here is a new picture as it looks now after the repairs. Edited by Dakota Red - 15 Sep 2018 at 2:38pm |
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Performance matters. Non-Performance is not an option.
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hoserator
DS Veteran We don't need no stinking "Avatars" ! Joined: 08 Oct 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 7942 |
Quote Reply Posted: 16 Sep 2018 at 1:25am |
Hope this time it stays together. The issue with scratches on acrylic is why glass is better. Whenever sun rays hit mine at a certain time of the year, it brings out all the micro scratches you get from cleaning and dust you could not see otherwise. If I wait an hour, they are gone.
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Snaike
Moderator Group Just a dude trying to keep the spam away Joined: 23 Jan 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 9448 |
Quote Reply Posted: 16 Sep 2018 at 1:46am |
gah.... that is one sexy machine.
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bprat22
DS ELITE DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!) Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391 |
Quote Reply Posted: 16 Sep 2018 at 3:24am |
Congrats on getting it back.
I like the rerouting of the tubing a lot more than original. All right angles instead of angles and bends. That was almost worth the aggravation of sending it back. Not quite, but almost. Enjoy. |
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oldlady RPGer
DS Veteran One of the cool kids Joined: 09 Sep 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1080 |
Quote Reply Posted: 16 Sep 2018 at 5:58am |
It sure looks beautiful! Glad it's back.
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Me sitting my ECMO in PICU. Now you know why I like LC. ;)
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Cretae
DS Veteran Joined: 22 Mar 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 7328 |
Quote Reply Posted: 16 Sep 2018 at 8:26am |
Happiness is... getting your rig back better than before!!
Hope you never have to go through that again, but it's cool to have that kind of support. |
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thedemoncowboy
Groupie Joined: 15 Feb 2019 Online Status: Offline Posts: 175 |
Quote Reply Posted: 15 Feb 2019 at 9:38pm |
Sorry to chime in so late, but how are you enjoying it?
.. removed mis-formatted quote .. Edited by Snaike - 16 Feb 2019 at 7:32am |
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