FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Register Register  Login Login

Looking to buy my 1st high end gaming PC

Post Date: 2015-02-12
 Post Reply Post Reply
Author
  Topic Search Topic Search  Topic Options Topic Options
Chillez View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie


Joined: 12 Feb 2015
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 23 		  Quote Chillez Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Topic: Looking to buy my 1st high end gaming PC
    Posted: 12 Feb 2015 at 12:12pm
I'm getting ready to buy first new desktop since I've heard great things about DS as company. I'm used to gaming on laptops and not PCs this will be my first purchase. I'm kinda new to PC world so any advise and suggestions would be awesome. What I need to know is should I buy Aventum II which is best system for me or wait until Aventum 3 that comes out this spring. The Aventum 3 is a beast machine from all that I have read and heard is pre-wired for liquid cooling and configured to allow for easy user friendly upgrades the LED lightning system really stands out for me. Is it really worth waiting and will it be huge upgrade compared to Aventum II? What does everyone think.   

What I want is high end gaming computer that gives me an edge on my opponents that I can multitask with several programs including graphic design and photography while the system stands out being stylish.

Budget:
[$4,000-6,000]

Usage:
I like to game on run "ultra" settings on most games such as MMO and FPS for next 5+ years being able to run highest possible settings on every game I play with zero lag.


Below is the system I customized what should I remove or add.

System Configuration:

Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Black OPS Aventum II
Exterior Finish: Onyx Black Matte Finish with Red Stand
Trim Accents: - Not Available
Processor: Intel Core i7 5820K 3.3GHz (Six-Core) (Unlocked CPU)
Motherboard: ASUS X99-E WS (Intel X99 Chipset) (Workstation Class)
System Memory: 16GB DDR4 2666MHz Corsair Vengeance LPX (High-Performance)
Power Supply: 1500W Silverstone Strider ST1500
Expansion Bay: Dual Solid State Hard Drive Hot Swap Bay
Optical Drive: Blu-Ray Player/DVD Writer (Play Blu-Ray and Burn DVDs) (Slim Slot Loading Edition)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (250GB Samsung 850 EVO)
Storage Set 2: 1x Storage (1TB Western Digital - Black Edition)
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): 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 4GB (ASUS Strix Edition)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
HPC Processor: - No Thanks
Extreme Cooling: H20: HydroLux Level 1: Digital Storm Exotic Custom Cooling System (CPU Only)
H20 Tube Color: Red Tubing with High-Performance Fluid (UV Lighting Reactive)
Chassis Fans: Upgrade All Fans to Corsair Airflow Performance Edition (Up to 6 Fans)
Internal Lighting: Digital Storm RGB LED Lighting System (Requires Thermal Management Control Board & Software)
Airflow Control: Digital Storm Thermal Management Control Board & Software
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: Noise Suppression Package Stage 1 (Optimized Airflow & Fan Speeds Only)
LaserMark: - No Thanks
CPU Boost: Stage 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires High-End Motherboard Selection)
Graphics Boost: Yes, Overclock the video card(s) as much as possible with complete stability
Memory Boost: Memory Fan Kit Only (Does not include memory overclocking service)
OS Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Professional (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows CD)
Virus Protection: FREE: McAfee AntiVirus Plus (1 Year Service Activation Card) (Not Pre-installed) ($35 Value)
Office: - No Thanks
Game: - No Thanks
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
NVIDIA SHIELD: - No Thanks
Branded Gear: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 15-20 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty (3 Year Labor & 1 Year Part Replacement)

Edited by Chillez - 12 Feb 2015 at 12:20pm
Back to Top
michaeljhuman View Drop Down
Groupie
Groupie

Email address used to purchase matched with forums account email.

Joined: 09 Jan 2015
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 297 		  Quote michaeljhuman Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 12 Feb 2015 at 12:19pm
If I was making the decision, it would come down to how much I value the III design, and how long I am willing to wait. I don't think they have announced if the price will be higher, otherwise that would be a factor
"The other day, I shot an elephant in my pajamas. What an elephant was doing in my pajamas, I will never know"
Back to Top
Chillez View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie


Joined: 12 Feb 2015
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 23 		  Quote Chillez Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 12 Feb 2015 at 12:21pm
Originally posted by michaeljhuman

If I was making the decision, it would come down to how much I value the III design, and how long I am willing to wait. I don't think they have announced if the price will be higher, otherwise that would be a factor


Okay, thanks. I think DS announced the price range would be in $3,000-$6,000 range depending on the specs and what all you put into it.
Back to Top
 View Drop Down
DS Veteran
DS Veteran

Email address used to purchase matched with forums account email.

Joined: 28 Oct 2014
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1674 		  Quote  Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 12 Feb 2015 at 12:45pm
As it stands right now, the Aventum II is mid-$4k to $8k range from their pre-configured systems.

The Aventum III will be a little smaller than the Aventum II while still having as much cooling capacity. They have put in a number of quick disconnect fittings into the system to ease the changing of parts (but you are in no way precluded from changing parts in the Aventum II, it is just not as easy as with the III).

Per your configuration above: the GPU will be the components that benefit the most from liquid cooling and if you're going to be going with the Aventum, it makes sense to water-cool the GPUs, in addition to the CPU (Otherwise I'd recommend you go with the Velox). So, You'll want to change your cooling option the a level 3 for the CPU + 2 GPUs.

And finally, for the "ultra" settings in the future, it sort of depends on what your display(s) is/are. With UHD displays, both 3840x2160 and 7680x4320, with high refresh rates, large color space, and high dynamic range, that will put a toll on the GPU that current gen GPUs can't really handle. But they can definitely handle a 1440p monitor pretty easily, so it'll depend on which direction you go in the future...with the ability to easily swap out graphics cards in the future, that'll definitely allow you to keep the performance up to handle higher resolutions, etc. in more demanding games of the future.
Bolt II Review (and now some modifications!)

Configuring a Computer
Back to Top
Chillez View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie


Joined: 12 Feb 2015
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 23 		  Quote Chillez Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 12 Feb 2015 at 1:05pm
Originally posted by 

As it stands right now, the Aventum II is mid-$4k to $8k range from their pre-configured systems.

The Aventum III will be a little smaller than the Aventum II while still having as much cooling capacity. They have put in a number of quick disconnect fittings into the system to ease the changing of parts (but you are in no way precluded from changing parts in the Aventum II, it is just not as easy as with the III).

Per your configuration above: the GPU will be the components that benefit the most from liquid cooling and if you're going to be going with the Aventum, it makes sense to water-cool the GPUs, in addition to the CPU (Otherwise I'd recommend you go with the Velox). So, You'll want to change your cooling option the a level 3 for the CPU + 2 GPUs.

And finally, for the "ultra" settings in the future, it sort of depends on what your display(s) is/are. With UHD displays, both 3840x2160 and 7680x4320, with high refresh rates, large color space, and high dynamic range, that will put a toll on the GPU that current gen GPUs can't really handle. But they can definitely handle a 1440p monitor pretty easily, so it'll depend on which direction you go in the future...with the ability to easily swap out graphics cards in the future, that'll definitely allow you to keep the performance up to handle higher resolutions, etc. in more demanding games of the future.


Okay thanks for the info and replay. Do you think Aventum III is worth waiting until spring with it being smaller, more cooling capacity, easier to change parts for upgrading in future without all the wires and cords. The newer design to me looks beautiful compared to Aventum 2. Yeah displays are huge for gaming with refresh rates, color, GPU that can handle it. I'm very new to in and outs of PC

Edited by Chillez - 12 Feb 2015 at 1:07pm
Back to Top
 View Drop Down
DS Veteran
DS Veteran

Email address used to purchase matched with forums account email.

Joined: 28 Oct 2014
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1674 		  Quote  Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 12 Feb 2015 at 1:26pm
It will be your call on whether to wait for the Aventum III or not. You have to look at your own needs (space for the computer, time you are willing to spend if you're changing out a part, and whether you need a new system now or can wait) and preferences (looks) to see if it is worth waiting for.

As far as the PC industry goes, you are catching a new socket for the CPU early in its lifecycle. Intel likes to appease its enterprise customers with three generations of processor upgrades for each socket and we are still on the first gen for the new socket introduced later last year; so you'll be able to upgrade the processor on the motherboard for some time to come (next gen isn't supposed to come out until late this year or next year).

GPUs, however, will see some substantial improvement over the coming years. They have a serious bottleneck with their memory architectures, but some new developments (like High Bandwidth Memory (HBM)) are looking to address this. These new developments should be able to power the next gen displays with little problem, if you get one with a high enough amount of VRAM.

The only other major change I see in the consumer space is with the new Type-C connector for USB. Devices using it should start to appear later this year, but it may take some time for these connectors to get on motherboards and computer chassis' still. The short term solution would probably be with short adapter cables that plug into the standard USB ports on your machine or with PCI-e cards that will plug into your motherboard alongside your GPUs.

Edit: I should clarify and say that CPUs aren't making tremendous gains lately, so if you get something now, you'll probably be fine for a while as you won't get much by upgrading anytime soon. The option a few years down the road to upgrade your processor will be there however and could offer some gains with a couple generations of improvement.

Also, as for next-gen GPUs with HBM, AMD will be coming out with theirs sometime in the next few months. NVIDIA will be introducing theirs (called Pascal) next year.

Edited by  - 12 Feb 2015 at 1:30pm
Bolt II Review (and now some modifications!)

Configuring a Computer
Back to Top
michaeljhuman View Drop Down
Groupie
Groupie

Email address used to purchase matched with forums account email.

Joined: 09 Jan 2015
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 297 		  Quote michaeljhuman Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 12 Feb 2015 at 1:47pm
Even 5 year old processors seem pretty good, .e.g. 2600K

I only bought a new PC because I wanted 6 core ( 12 thread.) I wanted to see what it was like, for normal use, gaming and music recording needs ( using VSTs and such)




Edited by michaeljhuman - 12 Feb 2015 at 1:48pm
"The other day, I shot an elephant in my pajamas. What an elephant was doing in my pajamas, I will never know"
Back to Top
Kaelara View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie

Email address used to purchase matched with forums account email.

Joined: 30 Oct 2014
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 67 		  Quote Kaelara Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 12 Feb 2015 at 4:31pm
The Choice of Cases often is a very personal choice, so if you are more into must have something that looks cool and is a showstopper than, Maybe waiting for the Aventum 3 is the best choice for you.

I Personally went with the Velox.. great ventilation, perfect for an Air cooled only system that if I so wanted could convert to Water Cooling. Enough Space for anything I want and with the lighting kit even looks terrific.. Plus no plastic.

I played the waiting game before and the problem that occurred when what I was waiting for to come out , came out , there was always something better down the road.

Even Now AMD is releasing their Next gen GPUs that are really going to shake things up with some brand new game changing tech with Nvidia to follow next year... and here I plopped down nearly 700$ for 2 980s.

Am I going to trash the 980s when these new cards come out. No Not til I am really ready to buy two maybe three new monitors.

So go with the Case that makes you happy, otherwise I fear if you buy something just to satisfy that itch, you will always have that small regret.

I built my last gamer on my own. I wanted the Rampage MOBO for that set up, but given all the delays I had with getting in my GPUs   ( two of them came DOA) when I was told it was on back order by more than one vendor, I settled for my second choice... I regret that because that MOBO even though it was not cheap, lasted about 2.5 yrs before it went bad. I then really regretted not waiting for the Rampage.. but who knows maybe it would have happened anyway, they never could tell me why it went bad.

Anyway good luck. DS does some wonderful work, they may not be the cheapest , but they do top quality work and they stand behind and support their product, something not a lot of companies do any more



Edited by Kaelara - 12 Feb 2015 at 4:33pm
Kaelara

Velox
Asus X99 Rampage V
Intel i7-5820k 3.3
16G DD4 2800Mhz Ram
2x SLI Dual Nvidia Geforce GTX 980 4GB Asus Strix Edition
Corsair H110 280mm Radiator Liquid CPU Cooler


Back to Top
Chillez View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie


Joined: 12 Feb 2015
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 23 		  Quote Chillez Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 12 Feb 2015 at 8:50pm
Originally posted by Kaelara

The Choice of Cases often is a very personal choice, so if you are more into must have something that looks cool and is a showstopper than, Maybe waiting for the Aventum 3 is the best choice for you.

I Personally went with the Velox.. great ventilation, perfect for an Air cooled only system that if I so wanted could convert to Water Cooling. Enough Space for anything I want and with the lighting kit even looks terrific.. Plus no plastic.

I played the waiting game before and the problem that occurred when what I was waiting for to come out , came out , there was always something better down the road.

Even Now AMD is releasing their Next gen GPUs that are really going to shake things up with some brand new game changing tech with Nvidia to follow next year... and here I plopped down nearly 700$ for 2 980s.

Am I going to trash the 980s when these new cards come out. No Not til I am really ready to buy two maybe three new monitors.

So go with the Case that makes you happy, otherwise I fear if you buy something just to satisfy that itch, you will always have that small regret.

I built my last gamer on my own. I wanted the Rampage MOBO for that set up, but given all the delays I had with getting in my GPUs   ( two of them came DOA) when I was told it was on back order by more than one vendor, I settled for my second choice... I regret that because that MOBO even though it was not cheap, lasted about 2.5 yrs before it went bad. I then really regretted not waiting for the Rampage.. but who knows maybe it would have happened anyway, they never could tell me why it went bad.

Anyway good luck. DS does some wonderful work, they may not be the cheapest , but they do top quality work and they stand behind and support their product, something not a lot of companies do any more



I also want high end PC first and foremost that can handle high end gaming along with graphic design and other high end programs before flashy eye candy look. I want great system that is dependable that is close to noise free that will last for years down the road. Feel free post any builds you recommend I'm open for any suggestions and other systems for my price range ($4,000-6,000) would I have to get into $7,000 for better build GPUs, graphics card, memory, etc. I'm still very new to PC world.

Edited by Chillez - 12 Feb 2015 at 8:52pm
Back to Top
Kaelara View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie

Email address used to purchase matched with forums account email.

Joined: 30 Oct 2014
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 67 		  Quote Kaelara Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 12 Feb 2015 at 11:21pm
I love to build systems. For 6k you can really get a nice one.

However there are some changes coming down the road that you might want to wait for.

AMD is releasing their Next Gen GPUs that will include cards using the High Band width Memory. It is hoped that this will solve some the bottleneck issues that are limiting the performance of the current cards. These cards are expected to be released in the Second Quarter this year.. Nvidia is releasing their cards with this technology Next year 2016

The Next Gen Titan is rumored to be coming

now is this worth waiting for I do not know, like all new technology it will be more expensive. But when it does come out Prices on the 900 Series cards will drop, Maybe allowing you to do some things that right now are just too expensive.

The one thing I do not want to do is throw so much information at you that you just do not know what to do or what is best. You may be New, but that does not mean you do not know what you want and what you can afford.

It is so easy to get caught up in all the numbers and talk about great performance and such , that suddenly that 6000$ system is now a 10,000$ and your ready to take out a second mortgage on your house to get it.

This is what I cam up with for 5880$, I just like this case better than the Aventum 2 ( have not seen the aventum 3) esp if you want to watercool

Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Hailstorm II Edition
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 5930K 3.5GHz (Six-Core) (Unlocked CPU)
Motherboard: ASUS X99-E WS (Intel X99 Chipset) (Workstation Class)
System Memory: 16GB DDR4 2666MHz Corsair Vengeance LPX (High-Performance)
Power Supply: 1050W Corsair HX1050
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (250GB Samsung 850 EVO)
Storage Set 2: 1x Storage (1TB Western Digital - Black Edition)
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): 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 4GB (Includes PhysX)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
HPC Processor: - No Thanks
Extreme Cooling: H20: HydroLux Level 3: Digital Storm Exotic Custom Cooling System (2x Video Cards + CPU + Chipset)
H20 Tube Color:Red Tubing with High-Performance Fluid (UV Lighting Reactive)
Chassis Fans: Upgrade Chassis With LED Performance Fans (Red) (Up to 6 Fans)
Internal Lighting: Remote Controlled LED Lighting System (Multiple color options and lighting effects)
Airflow Control: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Stage 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires High-End Motherboard Selection)
Boost Graphics Card(s): - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Professional (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows CD)
Virus Protection: FREE: McAfee AntiVirus Plus (1 Year Service Activation Card) (Not Pre-installed) ($35 Value)
Office: - No Thanks
Game: - No Thanks
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
Portable Gaming: - No Thanks
Branded Gear: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty (3 Year Labor & 1 Year Part Replacement)
Kaelara

Velox
Asus X99 Rampage V
Intel i7-5820k 3.3
16G DD4 2800Mhz Ram
2x SLI Dual Nvidia Geforce GTX 980 4GB Asus Strix Edition
Corsair H110 280mm Radiator Liquid CPU Cooler


Back to Top
 View Drop Down
DS Veteran
DS Veteran

Email address used to purchase matched with forums account email.

Joined: 28 Oct 2014
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1674 		  Quote  Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 12 Feb 2015 at 11:57pm
What kind of work load does "graphic design and other high end programs" entail? Are we talking a ton of ultra-high-res layers with various amounts of transparency? Are you needing 10-bit color support?
Bolt II Review (and now some modifications!)

Configuring a Computer
Back to Top
Soulistice View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie


Joined: 12 Feb 2015
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 11 		  Quote Soulistice Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 13 Feb 2015 at 4:00am
If you could also post the configuration code, then it would make fiving suggestions easier. It does look like your configuration will do the job as it is, though.
Back to Top
Chillez View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie


Joined: 12 Feb 2015
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 23 		  Quote Chillez Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 16 Feb 2015 at 9:23pm
I've been super busy with work lately I'll answer questions above later. My other question is what kind of monitor do you recommended me looking into buying also which surround sound hooked up to PC that's has high reviews. I'm looking to spend around $400-700 for surround sound system I rather have it mobile. .
Back to Top
Chillez View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie


Joined: 12 Feb 2015
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 23 		  Quote Chillez Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 18 Feb 2015 at 8:02pm
Originally posted by 

What kind of work load does "graphic design and other high end programs" entail? Are we talking a ton of ultra-high-res layers with various amounts of transparency? Are you needing 10-bit color support?


Yeah not ton of ultra high res layers nothing that extreme for the programs. No on 10 bit color support. This is more for schooling graphic design and some photography if possible.
Back to Top
 View Drop Down
DS Veteran
DS Veteran

Email address used to purchase matched with forums account email.

Joined: 28 Oct 2014
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1674 		  Quote  Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 18 Feb 2015 at 8:34pm
So a GTX 980 could work for you. Check which games you're interested in playing and look up benchmarks with the GTX 980 graphics cards and see how they do (keep in mind that DS won't OC the cards like the reviewers do, so unless you want to do the OC yourself, don't count on achieving numbers as they do).

If you want to pull the trigger now, the Aventum II is the way to go:

Configuration URL:     https://www.digitalstormonline.com/configurator.asp?id=1151091
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Black OPS Aventum II
Exterior Finish: Onyx Black Matte Finish with Red Stand
Trim Accents: - Not Available
Processor: Intel Core i7 5820K 3.3GHz (Six-Core) (Unlocked CPU)
Motherboard: ASUS X99-DELUXE (Intel X99 Chipset)
System Memory: 16GB DDR4 2666MHz Corsair Vengeance LPX (High-Performance)
Power Supply: 850W EVGA SuperNOVA
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Optical Drive: Blu-Ray Player/DVD Writer (Play Blu-Ray and Burn DVDs) (Slim Slot Loading Edition)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (512GB Samsung 850 PRO)
Storage Set 2: 2x Storage (2TB Western Digital - Enterprise Edition)
Storage Set 3: 2x Storage (2TB Western Digital - Enterprise Edition)
RAID Config: RAID 10: Performance + Drive Failure Protection (Recommended) (Requires 4 HDDs)
RAID Card: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Graphics Card(s): 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 4GB (Includes PhysX)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
HPC Processor: - No Thanks
Extreme Cooling: H20: HydroLux Level 3: Digital Storm Exotic Custom Cooling System (2x Video Cards + CPU + Chipset)
H20 Tube Color:Red Tubing with High-Performance Fluid (UV Lighting Reactive)
Chassis Fans: Upgrade All Fans to Corsair Airflow Performance Edition (Up to 6 Fans)
Internal Lighting: Digital Storm RGB LED Lighting System (Requires Thermal Management Control Board & Software)
Airflow Control: Digital Storm Thermal Management Control Board & Software
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Stage 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires High-End Motherboard Selection)
Boost Graphics Card(s): Yes, Overclock the video card(s) as much as possible with complete stability
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Professional (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows CD)
Virus Protection: FREE: McAfee AntiVirus Plus (1 Year Service Activation Card) (Not Pre-installed) ($35 Value)
Office: - No Thanks
Game: - No Thanks
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
Portable Gaming: - No Thanks
Branded Gear: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 15-20 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty (3 Year Labor & 1 Year Part Replacement)

If you can wait until the end of the month, the Velox becomes an option:

Configuration URL:     https://www.digitalstormonline.com/configurator.asp?id=1151092
Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Digital Storm Velox
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 5820K 3.3GHz (Six-Core) (Unlocked CPU)
Motherboard: ASUS X99-DELUXE (Intel X99 Chipset)
System Memory: 16GB DDR4 2666MHz Corsair Vengeance LPX (High-Performance)
Power Supply: 750W EVGA SuperNOVA
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Optical Drive: Blu-Ray & DVD Writer/Reader (Burn + Play Blu-Ray & DVDs) (12x BD-R)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (512GB Samsung 850 PRO)
Storage Set 2: 2x Storage (2TB Western Digital - Enterprise Edition)
Storage Set 3: - No Thanks
RAID Config: RAID 1: Mirroring: Drive Failure Data Fault Tolerance Protection (Requires 2 HDDs)
RAID Card: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Graphics Card(s): 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 4GB (ASUS Strix Edition)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
HPC Processor: - No Thanks
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 Extreme Performance
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Fans: Upgrade All Fans to Corsair Airflow Performance Edition (Up to 6 Fans)
Internal Lighting: Digital Storm RGB LED Lighting System (Requires Thermal Management Control Board & Software)
Airflow Control: Digital Storm Thermal Management Control Board & Software
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Stage 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires High-End Motherboard Selection)
Boost Graphics Card(s): - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows CD)
Virus Protection: FREE: McAfee AntiVirus Plus (1 Year Service Activation Card) (Not Pre-installed) ($35 Value)
Office: - No Thanks
Game: - No Thanks
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
Portable Gaming: - No Thanks
Branded Gear: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty (3 Year Labor & 1 Year Part Replacement)
Specifications:

And if you can wait until the spring, the Aventum III will become available.

I added storage to the configs; I'm guessing you'll need a good deal. I put them in a redundant configuration for reliability purposes (if 1 drive fails, you won't lose the data). Only minor adjustments otherwise. Cheers!

Edited by  - 18 Feb 2015 at 8:35pm
Bolt II Review (and now some modifications!)

Configuring a Computer
Back to Top
Chillez View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie


Joined: 12 Feb 2015
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 23 		  Quote Chillez Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 09 Mar 2016 at 9:58pm
Update Aventum ||| out now with Aventum II being older model I'd like few suggestions my budget is around $6-7 thousand. I'm close to pulling the trigger now with more money saved up in past year. Any suggestions and builds would be much appreciated. Thanks!

System Configuration:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Aventum 3
Exterior Finish: Black Metallic Matte Finish
Trim Accents: - Not Available
Processor: Intel Core i7 5820K 3.3GHz (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 Dominator Platinum DHX (Extreme-Performance)
Power Supply: 1000W Corsair HX1000i (Digitally Controlled Power)
Expansion Bay: Option Not Available
Optical Drive: Blu-Ray Player/DVD Writer (Play Blu-Ray and Burn DVDs) (Slim Slot Loading Edition)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD PCI-E Card (400GB Intel 750 Series) (NVM Express) (Extreme Performance)
Storage Set 2: 1x Storage (2TB Western Digital / Seagate / Hitachi)
Storage Set 3: 1x Storage (3TB Seagate)
RAID Config: RAID 1: Mirroring: Drive Failure Data Fault Tolerance Protection (Requires 2 Similar HDDs)
RAID Card: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Graphics Card(s): 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB (ASUS Strix Edition) (VR Ready)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
HPC Processor: - No Thanks
Extreme Cooling: H20: HydroLux PRO: Exotic Custom Cooling System (CPU Only)
HydroLux Tubing Style: Flexible Tubing (Requires HydroLux Liquid Cooling System)
HydroLux Fluid Color: Red Fluid (Requires HydroLux Liquid Cooling System)
Cable Management: Exotic Cable Management - Red - (Cable Combs with Custom Color Sleeved Extension Cables)
Chassis Fans: Corsair LED Airflow Performance Edition (Red) (Up to 6 Fans)
Internal Lighting: Digital Storm RGB LED Lighting System (Requires Thermal Management Control Board & Software)
Airflow Control: Digital Storm Thermal Management Control Board & Software
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: - No Thanks
CPU Boost: Stage 2: Overclock CPU - Up to 4.8GHz (Depends on Cooling and Motherboard)
Graphics Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
OS Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows CD)
Virus Protection: FREE: McAfee AntiVirus Plus (1 Year Service Activation Card) (Not Pre-installed) ($35 Value)
Office: - No Thanks
Game: - No Thanks
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
Branded Gear: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 15-20 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty (3 Year Labor & 1 Year Part Replacement)

SKU ID 1278804



Edited by Chillez - 10 Mar 2016 at 1:55pm
Back to Top
eeekman View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie

Email address used to purchase matched with forums account email.

Joined: 06 Oct 2015
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 95 		  Quote eeekman Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 10 Mar 2016 at 8:34pm
You might want to save a little more and get those video cards water cooled or talk to sales about adding a fan through the side panel to cool the video card area.

I found that in order to keep mine cooled by air I had to manually turn the fans up to obnoxious level (76%) to keep them below 90C. I ended up sending them back to be setup for water cooling.
Aventum 3
i7-6700k @ 4.6GHz
32gb 3200MHz RAM
Gigabyte Auros Waterforce Extreme 1080ti
Back to Top
Chillez View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie


Joined: 12 Feb 2015
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 23 		  Quote Chillez Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 10 Mar 2016 at 10:52pm
Originally posted by eeekman

You might want to save a little more and get those video cards water cooled or talk to sales about adding a fan through the side panel to cool the video card area.

I found that in order to keep mine cooled by air I had to manually turn the fans up to obnoxious level (76%) to keep them below 90C. I ended up sending them back to be setup for water cooling.


Okay thanks for advise I'll look into doing that. Do you have any other advise for me and what I could change in my setup. I'm pretty new with desktops this will be my first purchase used to gaming on laptops only with older models you have hard time replacing parts like graphics card, video card, etc.
Back to Top
 View Drop Down
DS Veteran
DS Veteran

Email address used to purchase matched with forums account email.

Joined: 28 Oct 2014
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1674 		  Quote  Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 11 Mar 2016 at 12:18am
The Aventum 3 has enough cooling capacity for dual CPUs, VRMs, chipset, and quad GPUs...cooling just the CPU on it would be completely under-utilizing this case. Have DS put the water blocks on the Strix cards so they will be under their warranty (ASUS voids the warranty with any modification, like removing the stock cooler) and be working right out of the box when you receive it.

I'd spec all Western Digital (WD) drives...they have a good deal better reliability than Seagate. They also should be the same size for the RAID...it'll work, but just down at the size of the smaller drive. You can select 2x drives in the options; do that and they will be guaranteed the same drive.
Bolt II Review (and now some modifications!)

Configuring a Computer
Back to Top
eeekman View Drop Down
Newbie
Newbie

Email address used to purchase matched with forums account email.

Joined: 06 Oct 2015
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 95 		  Quote eeekman Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 11 Mar 2016 at 6:33am
Your hard drive selection does not include 2 identical hard drives for RAID 1 -

"Storage Set 1: 1x SSD PCI-E Card (400GB Intel 750 Series) (NVM Express) (Extreme Performance)
Storage Set 2: 1x Storage (2TB Western Digital / Seagate / Hitachi)
Storage Set 3: 1x Storage (3TB Seagate)
RAID Config: RAID 1: Mirroring: Drive Failure Data Fault Tolerance Protection (Requires 2 Similar HDDs)"

I use 2 Western Digital Black 1tb drives in RAID 1 for all my storage (documents, movies, pictures, etc.}. Their drives have always been reliable for me. The "Black" drives are available in larger sizes if you need that much storage space. Keep in mind 2 1tb drives in RAID 1 is only 1tb of staorage space.

Also, 400gb on your primary drive will get used up fast if you install a few games. You could choose a larger, 1.2tb, Intel 750 drive or use 2 Samsung 850pro's (say 512gb each) in RAID 0. There's no fault tolerance but you'll get 1gb of very fast primary drive.

Check out this configuration:

Configuration Code: 1384424
Total Price with Instant Savings: $7,370.00

Direct Load URL: https://www.digitalstorm.com/configurator.asp?id=1384424

Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Aventum 3
Exterior Finish: Black Metallic Matte Finish
Trim Accents: - Not Available
Processor: Intel Core i7 5820K 3.3GHz (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 Dominator Platinum DHX (Extreme-Performance) <br><strong></strong>
Power Supply: 1000W Corsair HX1000i (Digitally Controlled Power)
Expansion Bay: Option Not Available
Optical Drive: Blu-Ray Player/DVD Writer (Play Blu-Ray and Burn DVDs) (Slim Slot Loading Edition) <br><strong></strong>
Storage Set 1: 2x SSD (512GB Samsung 850 PRO) <br><strong></strong>
Storage Set 2: 2x Storage (2TB Western Digital - Black Edition) <br><strong></strong>
Storage Set 3: - No Thanks
RAID Config: RAID 0: Striping: Performance, But No Data Fault Tolerance Protection (Requires 2 Similar HDDs) <br><strong></strong>
RAID Card: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Graphics Card(s): 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB (ASUS Strix Edition) (VR Ready)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
HPC Processor: - No Thanks
Extreme Cooling: H20: HydroLux PRO: Exotic Custom Cooling System (2x Graphics Cards + CPU) <br><strong></strong>
HydroLux Tubing Style: Flexible Tubing (Requires HydroLux Liquid Cooling System)
HydroLux Fluid Color: Red Fluid (Requires HydroLux Liquid Cooling System)
Cable Management: Premium Cable Management (Strategically Routed & Organized for Airflow)
Chassis Fans: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: Digital Storm RGB LED Lighting System (Requires Thermal Management Control Board & Software)
Airflow Control: Digital Storm Thermal Management Control Board & Software
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Stage 2: Overclock CPU - Up to 4.8GHz (Depends on Cooling and Motherboard)
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
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows CD)
Virus Protection: FREE: McAfee AntiVirus Plus (1 Year Service Activation Card) (Not Pre-installed) ($35 Value)
Office: - No Thanks
Game: - No Thanks
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
Branded Gear: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 15-20 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty (3 Year Labor & 1 Year Part Replacement)

You could save some money by going with the LTE water cooling configuration but you'll lose the quick connects which make replacing components (video cards for example) much easier.

As a note, the stock Aventum 3 cooling with stock fans works really well. There is no need to upgrade the fans to "high airflow" fans. Also, the RGB lighting option provides quite a bit of light and the DS software allows you to change the lighting color. LED fans may be overkill.


Edited by eeekman - 12 Mar 2016 at 3:27am
Aventum 3
i7-6700k @ 4.6GHz
32gb 3200MHz RAM
Gigabyte Auros Waterforce Extreme 1080ti
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down



This page was generated in 0.1523438 seconds.