New Customer - Shopping Around for a New Computer

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   Hello my darlings. After having dealt with the more "mainstream" computer manufactures with only unpleasant experiences (aside from my dealings with Apple) I have decided to give the boutiques a try. DigitalStorm was one of those boutiques that was recommended to me and the one that seems most promising.

I spoke with a gentlemen via live chat yesterday who was kind enough to recommend me the ODE level one and then later a customized Epoch as a result of my need for a wireless N card. I am happy with his work though I would prefer to have more than one comparable model and/or comparable configuration to look at and decide upon. 

I must admit that I am a little out of the loop. The last time I purchased (and kept) a computer was when Core 2s came in every machine and Core i3/5/7's were just coming out. I also no nothing when it comes to liquid cooling and don't know if I'm comfortable with it.

Finally, I should add that I've used Core 2 Duos coupled with 4GB of RAM in my main machine for as long as Core 2 Duos have been sold (a very long time) and it is only now that my needs are starting to exceed what that configuration can offer. My current notebook, a Macbook Pro (running Windows 7) that I purchased two years ago, has a Core 2 Duo and 4GB of RAM was only supposed to be a stop-gap measure until I had the time to research a proper purchase. Two years and many mistakes later, here I am ready to purchase within the next three months.  

Budget:

While I do not have a budgetary restriction, the reality of the situation is that I am dipping my toes back into the proverbial water so I am not going to spend many thousands of dollars at a company that while I was recommended and has excellent reviews is still a company that is unknown to me. This is mostly due to the fact that every time I purchased a non-Apple computer, I've been stung (for example, I recently - as in August - returned two $6200+ computers back to HP as a result of reliability issues and horrible technical support).

For my first purchase from DigitalStorm, I will simply say "as inexpensive as possible while still meeting my expectations and requirements." This means that even though I have the means to spend what is required for a super-top-of-the-line PC that can cook me breakfast, pick out a dress, and put my boots on for me I am not going to. If I am pleased with DigitalStorm, I will be willing to spend a lot more in the future while if I'm not I won't purchase from DigitalStorm again.

I will also be purchasing the six year warranty but there is no need to include this in any recommendations. I am just factoring the base price into my decision.

Expectations:

Decent Quality
Capable of serving files across a local network to notebooks
Capable of serving media to Media Center Extenders
Handle the basics: Skype, Web Browsing, Etc.
Play games like Guild Wars 2 well (the GPU should be at least equal to or better than the Radeon HD 6850)
Not be a toaster or a jet turbine =)

Usage:

The typical basics (Skype, web browsing, Office, etc.)
File server
Media Server
Occasional media editing (Adobe Master Collection CS5.5 will be installed as well as Sony's Video Editing Suite and Avid; Local rendering and video conversion does occur though I have Xeon machines for anything that requires "heavy lifting")
Occasional live streaming & screen casting (Wirecast Pro, Bandicam, and FRAPS will all be installed)
Occasional Gaming (Guild Wars 2 among a few others)

Special Needs:

Wireless N card (preferably a/b/g/n but b/g/n is fine as well)
Gigabit LAN (though this seems to be the standard)
One TB HDD with room for expansion
A decent amount of USB ports (my "current" notebook only has two which isn't enough)

Saved Ticket #:

727568

(This configuration was generated by a gentlemen I spoke to via live chat)

Specifications:

Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Corsair Carbide 300R (With Window)

Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish

Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish

Processor: Intel Core i5 3570K 3.40 GHz (Unlocked CPU) (Quad Core) (Requires Z77 Motherboard)

Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V LX (Intel Z77 Chipset) (Does Not Support SLI)

System Memory: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)

Power Supply: 800W Corsair GS (Dual SLI Compatible)

Expansion Bay: - No Thanks

Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (500GB Western Digital/Seagate/Hitachi/Samsung (7200 RPM) (16MB Cache)

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-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)

Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks

Internet Access: Wireless PCI-E 802.11n Up to 300Mbps (Supports 802.11n/g/b) (Model: ASUS PCE-N15)

Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 2GB (Includes PhysX)

Add-on Card: - No Thanks

Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio

Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Digital Storm Vortex 120mm Radiator Liquid CPU Cooler (High-Performance Edition)

H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected

Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans

Internal Lighting: - No Thanks

Enhancements: - No Thanks

Chassis Mods: - No Thanks

Noise Reduction: - No Thanks

LaserMark: - No Thanks

Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock CPU 4.0GHz to 4.4GHz

Boost Video Card: - 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 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)

Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD)

Virus Protection: - No Thanks

Office: - No Thanks

Game: - No Thanks

Display: - No Thanks

Surge Shield: - No Thanks

Speakers: - No Thanks

Keyboard: - No Thanks

Mouse: - No Thanks

External Storage: - No Thanks

Exclusive T-Shirt: - No Thanks

Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed

Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty

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AvalonL Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 11 Sep 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1	Quote Reply Topic: New Customer - Shopping Around for a New Computer Posted: 11 Sep 2012 at 3:20pm
	Hello my darlings. After having dealt with the more "mainstream" computer manufactures with only unpleasant experiences (aside from my dealings with Apple) I have decided to give the boutiques a try. DigitalStorm was one of those boutiques that was recommended to me and the one that seems most promising. I spoke with a gentlemen via live chat yesterday who was kind enough to recommend me the ODE level one and then later a customized Epoch as a result of my need for a wireless N card. I am happy with his work though I would prefer to have more than one comparable model and/or comparable configuration to look at and decide upon. I must admit that I am a little out of the loop. The last time I purchased (and kept) a computer was when Core 2s came in every machine and Core i3/5/7's were just coming out. I also no nothing when it comes to liquid cooling and don't know if I'm comfortable with it. Finally, I should add that I've used Core 2 Duos coupled with 4GB of RAM in my main machine for as long as Core 2 Duos have been sold (a very long time) and it is only now that my needs are starting to exceed what that configuration can offer. My current notebook, a Macbook Pro (running Windows 7) that I purchased two years ago, has a Core 2 Duo and 4GB of RAM was only supposed to be a stop-gap measure until I had the time to research a proper purchase. Two years and many mistakes later, here I am ready to purchase within the next three months. Budget: While I do not have a budgetary restriction, the reality of the situation is that I am dipping my toes back into the proverbial water so I am not going to spend many thousands of dollars at a company that while I was recommended and has excellent reviews is still a company that is unknown to me. This is mostly due to the fact that every time I purchased a non-Apple computer, I've been stung (for example, I recently - as in August - returned two $6200+ computers back to HP as a result of reliability issues and horrible technical support). For my first purchase from DigitalStorm, I will simply say "as inexpensive as possible while still meeting my expectations and requirements." This means that even though I have the means to spend what is required for a super-top-of-the-line PC that can cook me breakfast, pick out a dress, and put my boots on for me I am not going to. If I am pleased with DigitalStorm, I will be willing to spend a lot more in the future while if I'm not I won't purchase from DigitalStorm again. I will also be purchasing the six year warranty but there is no need to include this in any recommendations. I am just factoring the base price into my decision. Expectations: Decent Quality Capable of serving files across a local network to notebooks Capable of serving media to Media Center Extenders Handle the basics: Skype, Web Browsing, Etc. Play games like Guild Wars 2 well (the GPU should be at least equal to or better than the Radeon HD 6850) Not be a toaster or a jet turbine =) Usage: The typical basics (Skype, web browsing, Office, etc.) File server Media Server Occasional media editing (Adobe Master Collection CS5.5 will be installed as well as Sony's Video Editing Suite and Avid; Local rendering and video conversion does occur though I have Xeon machines for anything that requires "heavy lifting") Occasional live streaming & screen casting (Wirecast Pro, Bandicam, and FRAPS will all be installed) Occasional Gaming (Guild Wars 2 among a few others) Special Needs: Wireless N card (preferably a/b/g/n but b/g/n is fine as well) Gigabit LAN (though this seems to be the standard) One TB HDD with room for expansion A decent amount of USB ports (my "current" notebook only has two which isn't enough) Saved Ticket #: 727568 (This configuration was generated by a gentlemen I spoke to via live chat) Specifications: Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Corsair Carbide 300R (With Window) Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i5 3570K 3.40 GHz (Unlocked CPU) (Quad Core) (Requires Z77 Motherboard) Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V LX (Intel Z77 Chipset) (Does Not Support SLI) System Memory: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested) Power Supply: 800W Corsair GS (Dual SLI Compatible) Expansion Bay: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (500GB Western Digital/Seagate/Hitachi/Samsung (7200 RPM) (16MB Cache) 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-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x) Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks Internet Access: Wireless PCI-E 802.11n Up to 300Mbps (Supports 802.11n/g/b) (Model: ASUS PCE-N15) Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 2GB (Includes PhysX) Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Digital Storm Vortex 120mm Radiator Liquid CPU Cooler (High-Performance Edition) H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans Internal Lighting: - No Thanks Enhancements: - No Thanks Chassis Mods: - No Thanks Noise Reduction: - No Thanks LaserMark: - No Thanks Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock CPU 4.0GHz to 4.4GHz Boost Video Card: - 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 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition) Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD) Virus Protection: - No Thanks Office: - No Thanks Game: - No Thanks Display: - No Thanks Surge Shield: - No Thanks Speakers: - No Thanks Keyboard: - No Thanks Mouse: - No Thanks External Storage: - No Thanks Exclusive T-Shirt: - No Thanks Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty

marccody Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 11 Aug 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 47	Quote Reply Posted: 11 Sep 2012 at 3:43pm
	Hey Avalon. I own a ode level 1. It is a fantastic machine. It has a ton of usb ports (4 on the front, 4 from what I think i can see on the back. not including usb 3.0). In terms of the wireless card. You can always buy one and install it yourself. It is rather easy. In terms of gaming, I play guild wars 2 on my ode level 1 and it plays it very well. I can run the game on max settings and i always maintain 60+ frames during solo pveing or small groups. During larger groups, dragon battles, or wvwvw It can slow down to the mid 20s in terms of frames (but that will happen on any machine from what ive read)but it generally stays in the 30s or 40s.

New Customer - Shopping Around for a New Computer

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