Upgrading a 2015 DS Velox build help!Post Date: 2019-12-04 |
Post Reply 
|
| Author | |
Baaru 
Newbie 
Joined: 04 Dec 2019 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8 |
 Quote Reply
 Topic: Upgrading a 2015 DS Velox build help!Posted: 04 Dec 2019 at 6:19pm |
|
Hello Everyone,
I've been reading this board for a while now and everyone is so helpful! I've bought 2 separate DS rigs over the years and I will continue to do so because of their build quality and reliability. With that being said, my current rig was built in 2015 using the Velox case. Looking to upgrade now, I see that there are still some very similar component and I'm wondering about recycling some of my current components and just upgrading the stuff that needs to be. Specifically, appears the case, PSU and maybe even the cooling could be used again. This is assuming its not suggested to get new components due to degradation over time. My questions would be: 1. Does DS do that? Would i ship them back my old computer and have them just upgrade the appropriate parts? 2. Is it cost effective? Or should i just sell my old rig and buy a whole new one? 3. Is it advisable? Though i may recycle some parts, they are going on 5 years now, so im worried about them holding up. Budget: [About 3k, give or take to either upgrade my current system or buy a new one.] Expectations: [I wish to jump into a more recent gaming rig with the latest CPU and GPU platforms. I'm also looking to game at 2k resolution though im not ready for 4k gaming.] Usage: [Purely gaming with light work related tasks (i.e. email. browser based work/apps, MS office apps.] Special Needs: [No special needs, though i would like to maximize CPU over clocking ability and remain fairly quiet. I wont be over clocking the GPU] Saved Ticket #: [NEW build 2760634 / Old build i currently have 1326217 (EDIT: I found the correct build number.] Specifications: [Old 1326217] Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Digital Storm Velox Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i7 5930K 3.5GHz (Six-Core) (Unlocked CPU) Motherboard: ASUS X99-A USB 3.1 (Intel X99 Chipset) (Up to 4x PCI-E Devices) System Memory: 32GB DDR4 2666MHz Corsair Vengeance LPX (High-Performance) Power Supply: 1000W Corsair HX1000i (Digitally Controlled Power) Expansion Bay: - No Thanks Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x) Storage Set 1: 1x SSD PCI-E Card (400GB Intel 750 Series) (NVM Express) (Extreme Performance) Storage Set 2: 1x Storage (1TB Seagate) Storage Set 3: - No Thanks RAID Config: - No Thanks RAID Card: - No Thanks Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Graphics Card(s): 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB (Includes PhysX) Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio HPC Processor: - No Thanks Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Corsair H100i GTX - 240mm Radiator Liquid CPU Cooler (Extreme Performance) H20 Tube Color: - Not Applicable, I do not have a custom HydroLux liquid cooling system selected Chassis Fans: Standard Factory Chassis Fans Internal Lighting: - No Thanks Airflow Control: - No Thanks Chassis Mods: - No Thanks Noise Reduction: - No Thanks LaserMark: - No Thanks CPU Boost: Stage 1: Overclock CPU - Up to 4.4GHz (Depends on Cooling and Motherboard) Graphics Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s) Memory Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory OS Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating [New Rig 2760634] Chassis Model: Digital Storm Velox Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i9-9900K (5.0 GHz Turbo) (16-Thread) (8-Core) 3.6 GHz Motherboard: MSI MPG Z390 GAMING PRO CARBON AC (Wi-Fi) (Intel Z390 Chipset) (Up to 3x PCI-E Devices) <br><strong></strong> System Memory: 32GB DDR4 3000MHz Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro (RGB Light Bar) <br><strong></strong> Power Supply: 850W Corsair RM850x (Fully Modular) Expansion Bay: - No Thanks Optical Drive: - No Thanks Storage Set 1: 1x SSD M.2 (512GB Samsung 970 PRO) (NVM Express) (Extreme Performance) <br><strong></strong> Storage Set 2: 1x Storage (2TB Seagate / Toshiba / Hitachi) Storage Set 3: - No Thanks RAID Config: - No Thanks RAID Card: - No Thanks Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Graphics Card(s): 1x GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8GB (VR Ready) <br><strong></strong> Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio HPC Processor: - No Thanks Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Corsair H115i PRO - 280mm Liquid CPU Cooler (Fully Sealed + No Maintenance) <br><strong></strong> 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: Corsair LL Series (RGB Fans) (Software Controlled Effects) <br><strong></strong> Internal Lighting: - No Thanks Airflow Control: - No Thanks Chassis Mods: - No Thanks Noise Reduction: - No Thanks LaserMark: - No Thanks Boost Processor: Stage 2: Overclock CPU - Up to 5.1GHz on All CPU Cores <br><strong></strong> Boost Graphics Card(s): - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s) Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system Special Note: Thank you very much in advance. And I really have enjoyed my various DS builds over the past decade. Edited by Baaru - 04 Dec 2019 at 6:25pm |
|
 |
|
|
HockeyBuck
DS Veteran 
Joined: 27 Jul 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1608 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 04 Dec 2019 at 10:11pm |
|
Welcome back Baaru...
I have had 4 DS rigs since 2011...all still serving 24/7. You are not so far behind with that 2015 X99 / i7 5930K rig, however the GPU is way overdue for an upgrade...and were you to pop in a nice new NVidia RTX 2070 Super, RTX 2080 Super or RTX 2080 Ti GPU I suspect you would be flying pretty high again gaming at very High or Ultra settings for a couple more years anyway. You have a pretty good Overclocked CPU, SSD and 32 GB DDR4 RAM...X-99 mobo is still workable if you wanted to get another year or two out of it. A lot of us get further down the road in exactly this situation by just upgrading the GPU. To answer your question, I have heard DS will work upgrades in an old DS rig but you would need to ask DS what it would cost and shipping to see if it’s a viable option for you. If you go that option, then definitely upgrade mobo, cooler, CPU, RAM and Drives and you are pretty much buying an all new rig in an old case. If instead you are ready for a brand new DS Velox rig, the new Velox build you put together is very strong in using I9-9900K Stage 2 OC CPU, Corsair 280mm AIO cooler, MSI Z390 motherboard, 32 GB Corsair Vengeance RGB RAM, and fast Samsung M.2 NVME drive1...except for the RTX 2070 Super GPU... It’s an excellent mid-range card that would play well for you now at 1080P and OK at 2K. Not quite as strong a GPU choice to go 5 yrs with as your GTX 980 TI was in the current 2015 rig... You might want to go up a notch to the 15%+ stronger RTX 2080 Super for more GPU cores, better 2K/ 1440P performance & future 4K or VR use... but you have a solid set of component choices in the build, and $300 off $3000 DS Sale should help. You could save a little on the CPU if you needed to and drop to the other excellent Intel gaming processor...the i7-9700K 8-core 8-thread CPU is very close in performance to the slightly better I9-9900K 8-core 16-thread in gaming. Let us know what you end up doing...!  Edited by HockeyBuck - 04 Dec 2019 at 10:17pm |
|
|
|
|
Cretae
DS Veteran
Joined: 22 Mar 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 7331 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 05 Dec 2019 at 6:26am |
|
Just to be clear, DS promises "labor free upgrades for component upgrades purchased directly from Digital Storm".
One presumes every component priced here on the configurators includes the original cost of installation, so I think you might expect a small discount if labor is not to be charged. Having said that, I agree you would extend your system life very well with a simple video card upgrade. The rest of your rig is very strong still for gaming. We hear on the forums regularly from prior purchasers that have systems that are 8, 9, even 10 years old that have seen minor upgrades in GPU and storage, and are still going. Mine was 8 years old when I bought new, and I had not upgraded much. When your present rig, updated, finally lags behind, the tech will be a generation or two even stronger than it is now. 
|
|
|
|
|
Baaru
Newbie
Joined: 04 Dec 2019 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 05 Dec 2019 at 7:16am |
|
HockeyBuck / Cretae,
Thank you both very much! You both make very valid points with regards to my vid card. Perhaps I'll jump into a RTX2080 Super as upgrade for my current rig and save a little cash now. Then maybe in a year ill upgrade the rest of the system. Do either of you have a preference on brand/flavor of gfx card manufacturer? I thought i read EVGA was decent, but any other suggestions on a good RTX 2080 / 2070 Super? I tried looking here on DS, but it just suggests it would be one of the top available brands. As for the return shipping to DS, i guess in a year it wont matter, if im replacing all of that i might as well buy a whole new rig (and save my old one for VM work and such). Cheers! Baaru |
|
|
|
|
HockeyBuck
DS Veteran
Joined: 27 Jul 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1608 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 05 Dec 2019 at 10:56am |
|
EVGA is the best in GPU quality, and I can recommend the EVGA RTX 2080 Super FTW3 Ultra Gaming as it has a very effective 3 fan cooler with a way thick heatsink. I have the non super EVGA RTX 2080 FTW3 in my 2012 DS X79 rig and it’s pretty awesome at staying cool..
 Edited by HockeyBuck - 05 Dec 2019 at 10:57am |
|
|
|
|
Baaru
Newbie
Joined: 04 Dec 2019 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 05 Dec 2019 at 10:58am |
|
Awesome and thanks again HB. I will plan to go with that as the upgrade and then update the rest of the system within a years time.
Edited by Baaru - 05 Dec 2019 at 11:12am |
|
|
|
|
HockeyBuck
DS Veteran
Joined: 27 Jul 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1608 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 05 Dec 2019 at 11:21am |
|
Should be a huge upgrade you will enjoy...These cards are heavy, so to resist gravity and video card sag you might do well to grab a video card support or GPU bracket that mounts under it. Amazon has lots.
I use this black anodized aluminum one that just props it up to prevent sag....$12 on amazon! upHere Graphics Card GPU Brace Support Video Card Sag Holder G205.  Edited by HockeyBuck - 05 Dec 2019 at 11:23am |
|
|
|
|
Baaru
Newbie
Joined: 04 Dec 2019 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 05 Dec 2019 at 11:43am |
|
Very good point, ill grab one of those too. Im curious now as to if my current rig doesn't already have some sort of support since it was built by DS and the grf card is not exactly small either (no sagging issue to date). I'll have to look in a bit.
|
|
|
|
|
Post Reply
|
| Forum Jump | Forum Permissions You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot create polls in this forum You can vote in polls in this forum |
About Digital Storm
Contact Information
Facility Tour
Financing
Buy Now, Pay Later
Downloads
GSA Schedule
Terms & Conditions
Privacy Policy
Request Help
Call: 1-866-817-8676
(Hours 9AM-5PM PST)
Topic Options