Scout: Budget DS Computer review

Sub-Total: $1,343.00

System Configuration:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master CM Storm Scout
Exterior Finish: - Not Available
Trim Accents: - Not Available
Processor: Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: EVGA P55M SLI (Intel P55 Chipset)
System Memory: 4GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 750W Digital Storm Certified (Dual SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition Recommended)
Expansion Bay: - Not Available
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD\261R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 22x / CD-Writer 48x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card(s): 1x ATI Radeon HD 5850 1GB
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: High Performance Cooler (Compatible With ONLY i5/AMD Processors)
H20 Tube Color: - Not Available
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Enhancements: - Not Available
Chassis Mods: - Not Available
Noise Reduction: - Not Available
CPU Boost: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Cooling Upgrade Recommended)
Graphics Boost: - Not Available
Memory Boost: - Not Available
OS Boost: FREE: Yes, Disable and tweak all of the non-crucial services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Virus Protection: - Not Available
Office: - Not Available
Benchmarking: - Not Available
Pre-Install Game: FREE: Hot-selling game with a NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 or above graphics card
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: FREE: Digital Storm T-Shirt - Black
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: FREE PROMO: 4 Year Limited Warranty with Life-Time Customer Support

Overclocked Processor Settings

Processor Speed GHz: 3.5
CPU Multiplier: 20
Voltage CPU VCore: 1.325
VDroop Control: Yes
i7 - BCLK MHz: 175


Computer received 7 business days after ordered from Fed Ex. It was well packed and protected in a very heavy box. I removed the side panel and inter packing and looked inside and checked. Everything was solid so hooked it up. It booted right up. First thing I noticed was the fans noise is louder than my other computer but not bad especially when I checked temperatures and the DS comp is running 15 degrees cooler than old comp (35 C vs. 50 C). My game is Lord of the rings from Turbine. Frames per second are 170 to 285 at the graphics very high settings and DX 10 with all the goodies. (Sweet eye candy)   Game lag is almost gone and in game loading is much faster.
The scout computer case looks good. The handles on top are quite handy. The lights from the front and back fans are good looking.

Now a few words about the budget build I choose after much research. I did not have the option to wait to save more money as my old computer was crashing regularly. The guys on the digital storm forums are very helpful and offered good advice which I appreciated and weighed vs. my ability to pay.   I put most of my money into the video card. I leaned heavy on this review about the overclocked i5 CPU, http://hothardware.com/Articles/Digital-Storms-Core-i5-System-Reviewed
I realize I will not be able to upgrade to the 6 core CPU’s and will not have hyper threading. Those would be nice but not for my budget and for my usage. I do hope to upgrade to a solid-state hard drive someday with the digital storm upgrade offer.
When digital storm brought back their value computer builds and the extra year of warranty was offered as Memorial Day sale I ordered.

taht is a lot of computer for the money!! glad you like it

You got the best computer for your budget, and I like to think that is what makes the DS community great!  Enjoy your beast of a rig, and thank you for sharing!  Oh by the way, any pics?

HWMonitor reports the temperatures as:

cpu 34 C to max of 41 C
gpu 35 C to max of 74 C

thats after 4 hours of Lord of the Rings online play.
frame rates average 220 and very very little lag.

I have windows media player going with CD's I ripped.
The sound is excellent for computer. It is clear and fills the area. Much better than I had with Vista. That was a pleasant surprise.

The more I use this computer the more impressed I am. Did not expect this much from a Budget computer. That overclocked i5 cpu is fast! I mainly got the i5 cpu in order to save money on the cpu cooler. 3.5 overclock on a i5 cpu with only a $29 cpu cooler --Wow way to go Digital Storm. And the computer runs Cool!

No game sent. Seems the game is for nvidia video cards only.
However, that is fine with me. My game Lord of the Rings Online from Turbine will be going free to play soon anyway and that keeps me busy.

I got to try this computer on a dx 11 game today and it was awesome. The fpx (frames per second) did reduce as I had heard they would but I can live very well at 132 to 185 fps. The colors stand out and the details and sharpness are great. Much better than dx 10. Still no lag problems from computer. I am feeling good about spending most of my money on the 5850 video card and getting the cheaper i5 cpu. The scout case and the $29 i5 cpu cooler continue to run cool. Cpu core temp max has been 53 C and the gpu max was 74 C. Dust filters are still clean. How often should I pull the dust filters off to check for dust build up?

Shar, your feedback has been very helpful for guidance on smaller budget builds. Thank you. I am really glad you're so pleased with your rig, and you made the right choices. Congrats.

Its been about three years now since I got my budget digital storm computer.  Happy to report NO problems with it. 
I added a $25 sound card a year ago when I upgraded to speakers that could hear the difference.  Got some M Audio powered monitors.
Six months ago I finally added a solid state 128 GB hard drive as C drive and used the computers drive for storage.  Game was running slow at entry and entering instances.  Time went from 30 seconds to 3 seconds or less.  Huge improvement, computer is like new again. 
Temperatures are still all running cool as when computer was new. 

Thanks for the update! 

Congratulations on your new rig!! Nice specs.

 It has been over 4 years now and this budget rig is still going strong.  NO PROBLEMS.  Have not done anything to it this past year except use everyday to surf net and play game.  Have been very lazy about cleaning dust filters and blowing out computer but that is not effecting it.  Digital Storm builds are made to last!