System Review: Digital Storm's Gaming Dominator
Table of contents
- 1. Hand-Assembled, But Not Custom-Built?
- 2. Gaming Dominator Details
- 3. Test Settings
- 4. Benchmark Results: 3D Games
Many people love the craftsmanship that goes into a custom-built performance PC, but not everyone can justify the expense. Buyers unwilling to pay exorbitant build fees and unable to assemble their own machines have often been forced to rely upon on tech-savvy relatives, neighbors, or friends to make recommendations and assist with building and testing. Unpredictable quality and an almost total lack of support are the typical results of these cost-savings efforts (Ed.: raise your hands if you've been that "nice guy," who offered to help build a friend's machine, only to become the 24-hour tech support line when they had an issue with it).
But what if you had a truly skilled friend who, for a few hundred dollars, would build your system, overclock it for maximum performance, provide lifetime technical support, replace anything that breaks for the first three years, and was even willing to buy it back for the first 30 days if you found a serious problem? Digital Storm recently told us that it could be that friend, and we wanted to put the company to the test.
Long-time custom builder with an eight-year reputation (supported by its A+ Better Business Bureau rating), Digital Storm now sells several pre-packaged configurations at steeply discounted prices compared to their traditional build-to-order service. And unlike those large faceless corporations who try to offer similar options, every component Digital Storm uses is a high-end off-the-shelf part, making upgrades easy and relatively pain-free.
| Digital Storm Gaming Dominator Specifications | |
|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i7-950 (3.20 GHz, 8.0 MB Cache) Overclocked to 3.83 GHz (23x 166.6 MHz) |
| CPU Cooler | 120 mm Single-Fan Radiator |
| Motherboard | MSI X58 Pro BIOS 7.3 (04-17-2009) Intel X58/ICH10R Chipset, LGA-1366 |
| RAM | Mushkin 6 GB DDR3-1333 CAS 9 at DDR3-1333 CAS 8-8-8-19 (1T) |
| Graphics | XFX GeForce GTX 295 1.79 GB 576/1242MHz GPU/Shader, GDDR3-2016 |
| Case | Cooler Master HAF 932 |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB 7,200 RPM, 32 MB Cache SATA 3.0 Gb/s |
| Sound | Integrated HD Audio |
| Network | Integrated Gigabit Networking |
| Power | PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750W ATX 12V 2.2 / EPS 12V, Active PFC |
| Optical | Optiarc 20X DVD±R, 8X DVD+RW 6X DVD-RW |
| Removable | None |
| Software | |
| OS | Windows Vista Home Premium x64 SP1 |
| Productivity | None |
| Games | None |
| Accessories | |
| Monitor | None |
| Keyboard | None |
| Mouse | None |
| Speakers | None |
| Warranty and Price | |
| Warranty Period | Three Years Hardware, Lifetime Support |
| Price | $2,233 |
We priced out every component in the Gaming Dominator at our favorite discount vendors and found a $300 difference before-shipping. That’s $200 post-shipping, since Digital Storm currently offers a $100 instant rebate to cover total shipping value on this product.
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OK I've only got as far as the spec, but already I'd have to question why they'd put the i7 950 in unless it's to simply charge more for the system or Intel offers them an incentive to use officially-clocked parts instead of going for the £200 920 and clocking it like a motherbitch.
I'm also concerned that they don't state what the CPU cooler is.
Anyway, reading on...
OK I should've waited - the cooler's detailed on the next page lol
OK, is it just me or is that system a little thin on the ground for the cost? No Blu-ray? Only 1 HDD?
Gaming performance isn't just the GPU or CPU - disk access times are important too so you don't spend forever waiting for stuff to load (I'm looking at you id Tech 4 and Source), so I'm sure the £230 you'd save using a i7 920 and overclocking it you could put in another Caviar Black and RAID 0 or a smallish SSD along with a Blu-Ray Reader/DVD writer combo (plus it'd be SATA too so the cabling's tidier).
+1 to you lephuronn. they were counting on peoples going 'ZOMG gtx 295 and i7 950'. little do they know that people who know that they arent the only things that matter in gaming performance. +1 to OC'd i7 920 too
much better value than 950 =]hehe and also WTB raid 0 as you mentioned phist of phurry
btw is it just me or could they have increased the memory speed and have better latency for the price? plus i have read the articles on here about mem speed vs latency too.
not too bad though i suppose. still components>pre built
i just went onto the digital storm website and looked at this pc. it says that it comes with '6GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified by Mushkin enhanced' yet the review has only 1333MHz memory....... check for yourself http://www.digitalstormonline.com/ [...] ?id=292413 i may be wrong so can other people please follow this up thank you very much apologies if i have wasted your time.
why thank you blobbybloo and yes I noticed the RAM too, although they did tighten the timings to 8-8-8-19 to compensate.
I specced the same system at Overclockers and came up a few quid shy of £1,400. I then re-specced it based on what I thought could be done.
Having dropped down to the i7 920 I could afford to add another Caviar Black for RAID 0, go 6GB OCZ Reaper 1600 MHz at 7-7-7-24, up to an LG Blu-Ray reader/DVD writer combi and even take the GTX295 up a notch to an EVGA Co-op FTW.
Came out at effectively £1,320 so I still have money to play with!
Basically, the money saved dropping to the 920 didn't actually get spent from what I can see - the RAM and GPU were only a tenner more each than the original, so it was just £65 for another Caviar and an extra £60 to do the Blu-Ray.
That £80 - dedicated sound card? Drop the RAID and get a 150GB VelociRaptor or 64GB SSD instead?
Don't get me wrong, the system is still very nice, but as blobbybloo pointed out, I think the wow factor of the 950 and GTX295 is what they're going for here. Shame, because more careful selection of components would've produced a slightly better and slightly cheaper machine.
Sounds like you should set up your own company LePhuronn
- And I totally agree with you.
cheers zsolmanz - i've thought about it actually but i'm a few generations behind on tech to be properly effective i feel.
I don't know why anyone who could build a PC would buy one pre-built.
The most fun is putting them together
IMO computers are like lego
Sure it can be frustrating and there can be problems but its fun and more rewarding.
Personally I don't like the HAF - I've put my i7 in a Raven