Used Vanquish 7 Digital Storm

Budget:
? Asking $650 but would like to get to $500

Expectations:
Beginner gaming pc

Usage:
Gaming

Special Needs:
Mid tier gaming with upgrade ability

Specifications:

Looking at a 2 yr old (Im told) Digital Storm set up that is being sold. Here is what I know about it...

gpu - geforce gtx 1050 ti 4gb
mother board - asus/msi amd b350m
processor - ryzen 5 2600 6 core boost up to 3.9 ghz
power supply - 600w
RAM insalled 8gb
2tb seagate storage



Is this a good deal? Looking at another one that is not a Digital Storm also.

Thank u!

Edited by Seve - 07 Jun 2021 at 2:16pm

Can it? Absolutely. All PCs from DS can be upgraded. That's the whole point of having a PC, you can swap pieces and parts in and out. The only restriction is how well each piece works with each new piece.

The only thing you won't have is the lifetime technical warranty from Digital Storm as you're not the original purchaser. (I think there's a way to do that, but you would have to speak directly to DS about that.)

But, yea, all PCs not named after a fruit (can't mention competition brands here, but I'm certain you know to whom I refer) can be upgraded. Only depends on your budget.

Good luck.

hoserator - my bad, just wanted a comparison of similar model.

Cretae - Thank you! Ohers have said that this build would be more "future proof" with already having 16gb Ram and x570 mobo in it currently, so I am not so   certain now????

Originally posted by Cretae Yeah, but everything else is way behind the Vanquish, and wasn't built by DS. You can game on the Vanquish right away, and take your time shopping for RAM and a GPU. The other one will not play very well at all with Vega 11. Getting and installing 16 GB of RAM is very easy. I came back because I want to caution you to shop very carefully for a GPU upgrade, which you won't be able to do if you end up with onboard video. That will be lame from day one. You really need to take your time and explore a lot of options in the GPU world. It's a mess right now with even the GTX cards selling over MSRP some places. You might be best served to stay with the 1050 Ti for awhile so that prices can stabilize a bit. It's far from a lousy card, but in normal times, or if you can find a good deal, you will be happier with a 1650 Super up to a 1660 Ti. You don't really need much more for good gameplay at 1080p resolutions.

Thank you Cretae!

So what is onboard video? Is that with the Vega 11? It is not as easy an upgrade then?

This helps me immensely. That is precisely what I plan to do, wait until prices come back before upgrading unless I find a deal on a used GPU that someone is upgrading out from.

Made this purchase yesterday and we are quite impressed with this rig! Its fast, quiet and really looks great. So far every game we have played has had zero issues and is lightning fast, with the exception of Warzone. When we down loaded it the pc memory was stuck a 100% and everything was sluggish and slow there was no way to play. The 1050 Ti and only 8 GB RAM just couldn't keep up. Every other game was not any issue so far.

My question is I found a new GTX 1660 Super OC edition 6GB for sale very reasonable at $153. If I were to purchase this and add 16GB Ram would that be enough to play a game like Warzone? Or are other factors like the mother board and OS in play as well?

Thanks for the advice. We are very happy to be with the DS team!     

Thanks Cretae! So my question is are we positive this GPU will definitely work with my PC specs and will the 600W PSU be enough?

Also here are the descritions on the GPU and memory cards that lists for $150.00 and $103.00 respectively. Will these be compatible ?

ASUS - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER OC Edition 6GB GDDR6 PCI Express 3.0 Graphics Card
"Improve your computer visuals with this Asus TUF Gaming GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER graphics card. The NVIDIA Turing architecture coupled with a blazing-fast GDDR6 memory smoothly handles demanding games, while the DirectCU II copper heat-pipes provide better cooling during long sessions in battlefields. This Asus TUF Gaming GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER graphics card features the GeForce Experience for capturing, live-streaming and sharing content with anyone."

CORSAIR - Vengeance 16 GB (2PK x 8GB) 1.6 GHz DDR3 DIMM Desktop Memory Kit - Multi
"This 2-pack of Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3 memory delivers enhanced multitasking performance for your 2nd or 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ dual-channel processor- and motherboard-equipped desktop."

These are available in 32GB for same price BTW.

I searched my motherboard, asus/msi amd b350m, and I couldn't tell if it could handle the Warzone requirements as I don't understand the pc jargon.

Please if someone could let me know if this needs upgrading and which mb is recommended to upgrade, or if this is ok for now.

With the above it will only cost $250 to upgrade.

Thank you!





Edited by Seve - 12 Jun 2021 at 9:42am

Are you sure it's DDR3? I keep reading those motherboards take DDR4, and maybe up to 3000GHz. Which one is it, the Asus or the MSI? I've tried to look up both, but I don't have the exact name. Whatever variant of a B350m I see, both brands take DDR 4 RAM. It's much faster than DDR3, and the slots are not the same, so you must be sure you get the right kind. Perhaps you can tell from what's in there, but every B350m I look at says it takes DDR4. For example, I've looked at Asus Prime B350m-"e" and Asus Prime B350m-"a". Also MSI B350m "Pro", "Gaming Pro" and "Mortar" models. All take DDR4.

Both the card and the right set of RAM will be compatible with your motherboard. The mobo will run the CPU, the RAM and the GPU, and those will run the games. The mobo just supplies the power and chipsets for running those parts. you have plenty of PSU at 600W to poer your upgrades, but you will top out the GPU you can power the higher you go up that chain. The 1660 Super is a great card for that money, at 1080p. One I have happily recommended in the past. The Asus OC is icing on the cake.

If you must, go to Asus or MSI support with all the info you can get off your motherboard to make sure what you have. Of course if you got a manual, that would be ideal. If not, you can probably download one when you know the brand and model.   

I use Userbenchmark all the time to get info on part vs part. It has been very useful to determine, in my mind, if a particular part actually is capable of performance that justifies it's price against a more economical choice. You need to take the write-ups at the bottom with a little grain of salt. Sometimes they can be a little obsolete against the other selection. Also the prices they quote can't be relied upon these days, but they can give an indication what the market thought about the part in more normal times.

Sorry about that GPU snafu. Good catch! Keep on the lookout for a 1660 SUPER, I think it's a very good card. I comes so close to the performance of a 1660 Ti, I think it's the better pick if you can get it for less money. Absolutely nothing wrong with getting all the mileage you can out of the card you have, while maybe prices can normalize.

🙂 Thanks hoserator!

Looking at a NVIDIA EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 ti that is for sale on FB marketplace. Says he is firm on asking price of $500 so I threw out a lower price just cause what the heck. He has come down to $400.

Just making sure to ask, this would be compatible with my Vanquish 7 level 2? And is this a decent deal for the gpu?

Thanks 😊

Edited by Seve - 15 Jun 2021 at 5:25am

Found a deal of someone selling this:

"Gently used gaming PC parts! Recently upgraded so looking to unload these. All you need is a hard drive, RAM + a case. Over $1.3k retail. Asking $800"

I need help in determining whether I necessarily need just some of these or not. However, it does include the 1660ti gpu I am looking for.

I am curious if any of these parts (other than the 1660ti gpu) would be an upgrade to what I currently have?

Please see below the list of pc parts...

new (used) vs what I have currently

EVGA 600w power supply vs 600w Digital Storm performance series (seems equal)

amd ryzen 3 3200g with heatsync fan processor vs amd ryzen 5 2600

msi x570 + wi-fi motherboard vs asus/msi (b350m chipset) (up to 2x pci-e devices)

EVGA 1660ti geforce gtx graphics card vs 1050ti (yes)

reddragon RGB mechanical keyboard (not needed)
HP Omen 25" monitor (not needed)
Razer basilisk v2 mouse (not needed)

What would be a good upgrade and/or what could I keep in my current set up.

Thank you again



Edited by Seve - 16 Jun 2021 at 5:12am

I got a new open box TridentZ G.skill 16gb ram 3200Mhz. DDR4 to upgrade my 8gb.


I bought this thinking I was gonna use it only to realize that it won't work with my older mobo Asus PRIME B350M-a. Newbie mistake but valuable lesson learned to always check QVL list on both components websites before purchasing.


Two 8gb cards CL 16-18-18-38

Strange tho that on PCpartpicker it said it would match but obviously it did not.

I went to the ASUS webstore and downloaded a list of RAM that will work but the list did not include this exact serial #
F4-3200C16D-16GTZSW

Also went to the G.SKILL website and my mobo was not listed on the QVL.

   

Happy Father's DAY to all dads out there.

Would a XFX AMD RX 580 4GB GPU be a considerable upgrade from my Asus GeForce GTX 1050 with ryzen 5 2600?

It compares well to a GTX 1060 6GB, which was my recommendation for 1080p gaming before the 1660 series of Nvidia cards came out. Not too shabby at all, and a lot stronger than your 1050 Ti.

If you are able, compare it with a 1060 6GB pricewise. That's the card to beat between those two. It's 4GB of DDR5 RAM will do better than a 1060 3GB, but not by a wide margin. If one of those was available, the 1060 3GB would also be a very strong upgrade.   

Since I'm embarrassed I steered you wrong on mobo compatibility originally, I'm gonna shut up. I never gave a thought to the advances in video RAM in so short a time.

I think you've shown you can do very well researching and negotiating on your own.

    

     

If you make it your boot drive, you will see boot times under 20 seconds. Everything else will be more or less instant. Double click on something, and it will open instantly. Load times for apps will be down to next to nothng.

You would be well advised, if you make it your boot drive, to partition it in the Windows wizard or some free 3rd party software. Make your "C" Windows partition no more than about 200GB, or large enough just for your operating system, browser, maintenance software, and apps. That way, whenever you have to scan your primary drive for malware, viruses. adware, etc. you don't have to waste time scanning games and photos, music files, that won't get infected. Your scans will be much faster, which will encourage you to run them more often. More importantly, if you ever need to do a clean install of Win, you won't wipe the whole drive, but only the "C" partition. It will also be easier to back up that whole drive to an external.   

Yes, absolutely assumed an NVMe version SSD. A SATA SSD will perform far better than a mechanical hard drive, and will seem very quick in comparison. It will not measure up to an NVMe SSD, but it will be an improvement.

The advice about partitioning the drive holds true whichever kind you have. It still makes very good sense to limit the size of your primary drive for all the reasons stated.