Digital Storm Online: The New Alienware
There are two things that are universally true about every PC gamer in the world. First, they don't trust Windows Vista. Second, (and the point of this article) their gaming rig (aka computer) is one of the most important pieces of equipment in their lives. So when it comes time to replace our old friend it is important to us that we choose a company that can deliver power without all the junk of the “big” brands (Dell, Compaq, etc).This is not an easy task. Often gamers choose to build their rigs themselves (much like a Jedi's lightsaber). Only the true elite geeks can pull this off without years of frustration and BIOS errors. Many find one of the few companies out there that specialize in building powerful gaming rigs. Companies such as Falcon Northwest and Voodoo PC offer amazingly powerful machines at a very high price. A few years ago, Alienware computers led the pack of quality machines built for reasonable prices. Since that time Alienware has gone to the Dark Side (purchased by Dell), and are now dead to me.
My path to purchase the epic gaming rig was starting to look dim. Then, from out of the darkness rose a shining light. It was Digital Storm Online. They are a very small San Jose based company that offers very powerful machines at a fraction of what companies like Voodoo PC or Falcon Northwest are charging. This got my spidey sense tingling. How could it be possible to build these computers at these prices. Ever the reckless fool, I went ahead and dropped my hard earned $3000 on a nice rig and sat back to see what happened. Consider me the tank for your PC shopping raid.
First, the stats:
System Configuration:
Case: Digital Storm Twister LITE (Silver Aluminum Edition)
Power Supply: 750W Thermaltake (SLI Compatible) (Silent Toughpower Edition)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4GHz (1066MHz Front Side Bus) (4MB Cache)
Motherboard: eVGA Core 2 Quad (Chipset: nForce 680i) (SLI Compatible) (Quad Core Conroe)
Memory: 2GB DDR2 Corsair at 1066MHz Dominator (Dual Channel) (Extreme-Performance)
Floppy / Media: Digital Media Card Reader (Black)
Hard Drive 1: 250GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA)
Optical Drive 1: Sony DVD-ROM/CD-ROM (DVD Reader 16x / CD Reader 40x)
Optical Drive 2: Sony DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 18x / CD-Writer 48x)
Network Card: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 2x SLI Dual (nVidia GeForce 8800GTS 640MB (By: eVGA) (PCI-Express)
Sound Card: Motherboard Multi-Channel High Definition Audio (7.1 Channel)
Cooling: Air Cooling (Blizzard Extreme Silent Arctic Cooling Heat-sink and Fan (Stage 2 Cooling)
Case Lighting: Blizzard Internal Lighting (White Edition) (Cold Cathode Tubes)
User Manual: FREE! Personalized Elite Digital Storm Binder (Paperwork/Benchmarks/CDs/Manuals)
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Restore Kit: FREE! Digital Storm Image Recovery System
Mouse: - No Thanks my keyboard comes with a mouse
Warranty: 2 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty
Support: Lifetime Toll-Free Platinum Care Technical Support
I didn't want to get overzealous with this computer. I wanted to make sure i could run the newest games out on the market in near top settings, but dropping 6-7k on a computer just isn't in my budget.The order process was simple and easy, and they emailed my confirmation almost immediately. They kept me informed throughout the entire process of building my computer, and even answered all my silly questions quickly and courteously. The lead time was a little long for a typical custom built computer taking about 2 ½ weeks, but it was worth the wait.
When the computer arrived, you could tell it was impressively built. Everything was nicely tucked away, and the air flow was near perfect. The install was clean without any of the junk that usually comes with a new computer (no support software, no AOL free trial). The machine was just in absolutely perfect working order. I was able to install the included Might and Magic: Dark Messiah as well as Supreme commander, and both have run without a single lock-up or glitch of any kind. The machine was ready to play out of the box. All drivers were up-to-date and ready to rock.
So really, if you're looking to have a computer custom built for gaming, consider going to Digital Storm Online and having a look what they have to offer. I promise you will not be disappointed.
Comments
Kris,
This looks like a dream machine for serious gamers! Thanks for a good write up on your machine and experience...
Michael
Posted by: Michael | March 28, 2007 11:37 AM
what a beast! 3000 bucks is a lot of money though.
Posted by: hyun | March 30, 2007 11:26 AM
I just dropped $2,400 for a rather awsome machine from these guys. Been using a Compaq presario for a long time. And i just cannot upgrade it anymore.
But this new machine coming in the mail. With 4 gigs of ram. A nvidia 8800x2 and dual core amd. Oh im so excited.
And the one thing i really love. I could have the machine come with Windows XP and not Vista. And even saved money by doing it. Glee
Posted by: Kurt | April 2, 2007 07:44 AM
just went to the SJ LAN show. Digital Storm was there. Most impressive. Spoke to one of their builders - Delos Gardner - about the high price of the machines. He said "no one touches the machine but me. and I build 3 machines a day." There are more than 1 builder - so they fill orders - but not assembly line style! Now that's impressive. If you want to get a tough machine before they get bigger and do assembly work, now is the time to get one.
Smart builder - that Delos. They were giving a machine away during the raffle - but only to those wearing their t-shirt which also had the Intel logo. Bad thing was that AMD was sponsoring the event - and a sea of Digital STorm t-shirts with the Intel logo swarmed the area in front of the stage. An AMD person chased down the winner and begged him to trade the Digital Storm machine for a bunch of AMD stuff! haha! now that tells you it's good too!
Posted by: cody | June 19, 2007 07:46 PM
I agree with Michael ....really 3000 bucks is a lot of money ...
Posted by: harris | August 28, 2007 01:24 AM
Well Im going to agree with the Kris. I actually put a Config together in Nov; within 1/2hr I had DS calling me to talk about my Config. They knew I wasnt going to be purchasing until Jan/Feb but they Still wanted to talk to me. Well that was impressive; that told me alot about their Customer Support immediately. After that Call I had called "Kelly" a few times to talk about a some Config issues I had; and he always had the Time to talk and never did he speak down to me regardless of my ?'s. So during this Time I wanted just get an Idea of what my $4000 - $5000 computer was going to cost if I bought the Parts myself. So I went to a Well Known Dealer online and I added up all the Parts; including the Case. The only thing I left out were the wires/Fans, etc. Basically from my Calculations DS wasnt charging all that much more than the combined Parts.
Yes I realize they get Wholesale Pricing, etc. But I felt that if I put the Rig together myself; I would have no guarantee's; warranties; I may have tech issues; etc. So I personally felt that it was well worth that xtra money to give to DS; because I would be receiving Great CS; my Rig would be under a Full Warranty for "3 Years" and Lifetime Customer Support to Boot. Now if I upgrade they will still Warranty my Rig. If I want them to upgrade my Rig they will; also If I want to add upgrades myself and buy the parts from them they will walk me thru the Installation and setup. None of this will void my warranty. So basically I feel I am paying that xtra money for the Warranty, the CS and the Peace of Mind. Is it worth it? Hell Yeah.
I received my Killer Rig last week and its running like a Dream; I got a Dual OS; XP & Vista; 1 150g Raptor & 500g HD; 8800GTX Card; Intel Quad 6850; 4g Corsair Dominator Ram 1066; Nvidia 680i Rev A1 MB; CM Stacker Case.
DSO has my Business for Life; Im happy, I have the peace of mind knowing that they are giving me a 3year full warranty and I can upgrade when I want. Well worth every $ I spent.
Also for those of you who dont have the money to spend on the High End Rig; they have Configurations for everyone's Budget.
Posted by: Chris | February 20, 2008 08:10 AM