My DS Computer Review

Well here is my review of DS of a system I bought:

Chassis: Antec 900
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Interior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Power Supply: 750W Corsair HX (Dual SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 2.66GHz (1333MHz FSB) (12MB Cache)
Motherboard: NVIDIA 750i SLI Core 2 Quad (Chipset: nForce 750i SLI)
System Memory: 4GB DDR2 Corsair at 1066MHz Dominator DHX (Extreme-Performance)
Card Reader: - No Thanks
Hard Drive 1: - Added from another system from DS that I had there for service
Hard Drive 2: - No Thanks
Raid Option: - No Thanks
Hard Drive 3: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: - Added from another system from DS that I had there for service
Optical Drive 2: - Added from another system from DS that I had there for service
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card(s): ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB
TV Tuner: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: Air Cooled Stage 2 (Silent Artic Cooling Heat-sink Upgrade (Copper Heatpipes)
Internal Lighting: Blizzard Internal Lighting (Blue Edition) (Cold Cathode Tubes)
Modifications: - No Thanks
CPU Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my processor
Graphics Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Memory Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Windows Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (64-Bit Edition) (For Enthusiasts)
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Benchmarking: - No Thanks
Pre-Install Game: - No Thanks
LCD Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks my keyboard comes with a mouse
External Storage: - No Thanks
Warranty: 3 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty

This was basically a new system but DS added a hard drive and the optical drives I had from an older system that was having the video cards replaced.  By the way, the service on that computer is going well and I should have it back next week.

This review is basically from someone who knows a little about computers, in fact, I know just enough to get myself in trouble sometimes.  Anyway, I bought from DS before and already had a system from them.  That’s the system that is having the video cards replaced under warranty.  I also referred my brother to DS and he bought from them and has been trouble free since he got his computer.

Anyway this new system I bought wouldn’t boot the second day I had it.  I called DS and worked with them on it but finally had to send it in.  They diagnosed the problem as a bad motherboard.  The motherboard was replaced and we have had the system a week now and it is working flawlessly.  The whole experience with their support was positive and it went smoothly.

Since I already bought from DS before, I did commit before checking other vendors to make sure how DS stood against the competition.  So I made some calls after committing to this order and I am satisfied with the price I got vs other companies.  DS wasn’t the cheapest and it was a long way from being the most expensive from comparing components vs price.  I did check and call one vendor who was cheaper but I learned there was a trade off in that their machines weren’t fully customizable.  In fact, they wouldn’t customize at all other than some models they had that offered their customization such as overclocking components but you had to buy their customization and you had no input.  I could probably live with that but there was something else that was more important to me than price.

That was DS customer service.  Not enough can be said how good their customer service is.  That’s not to say there isn’t good customer service from other companies, but DS is well…………….different.  If you don’t have service after the sale, in my opinion you have nothing.  I once had a computer from Quantex who left me and other customers without service from one day to the next.  Get my drift?

Anyway I said there support is different.  I’ve also had computers from Gateway, several from Dell, and three laptops that I recommended to my brother from HP.  Their service is not bad but very frustrating for me.  First you call their support and get a tech, he can’t help you and he sends you to a tech who knows more and so on.  And I don’t want anyone to take this wrong that I’m a bad person but some of their techs speak very broken English and I honestly just cannot understand what the tech is saying to me sometimes and then we both get frustrated.  One trick I have learned over the years is if you call a tech from one of these companies and he can’t help you, call back the next day and sometimes you get a different tech that diagnoses your problem in five minutes.  I just had a bout with HP about wireless card not working on one of my brother’s laptops.  I called HP and they sent a new card and I put it in and it still wouldn’t work.  I called HP back and the tech asked me who sent the wireless card because they had a recall on the mother board for this problem and the laptop needed to be sent in.  See what I mean abut calling the next day?

DS is different in that when you call tech support you get a person who can diagnose your problem and no 2 or 3 transfers to different techs.  I also found their staff to go out of their way to help you and not one that asks you if you need anything else and almost hangs up before you can get an answer.  That is the feeling I get.  DS support is also no hassle, something goes wrong with your computer, they take care of it, no worry on your part.  Peace of mind.  A couple of  things I do wish they would do that would improve their support is to have weekend service.  Their phones are also busy and sometimes you can’t get through all the time but I have never called DS and left a message without someone calling me that very same day.

I guess to summarize it, I would say if you want a serious machine that is fully customizable at a very, very good price with the best support in the business, buy a Digital Storm.