Planning a Vanquish level 4 Purchase

Budget:
About 1600. This does not include my monitor, though that is the only thing not included. I'll be buying that locally as it will be easier for me to do so. I already have a Logitech g600 gaming mouse as well so no need for a purchase of that.

Expectations:

Looking to play most games around 60 fps at full ultra, med/high mixed settings is even fine with me as games get more advanced. I will be playing on a 1920x1080p 60hz monitor anyways. I'm a long time WoW player (started in the first year of Vanillas release) and looking to play the game to its full potential. I've never even played the game on even a 1920x1080 monitor. SO to put it lightly, i've never truly experienced WoW. I understand shadows and such may need to be tweaked, but as i said, im not worried about minor things like that.
My current setup is a old HP notebook...
Specs? They are as follows:
AMD A4-3305M APU with Radeon(tm) HD Graphics @ 1.90Ghz
4GB ram
Windows 7

Needless to say it is very out of date. On WoW i would have to lower all the graphical settings to Low or OFF if it was a possibility, running skype in the background was not a possibility. This laptop also has poor cooling so it over heats extremely easy. To fix this i bought plastic knobs i had to mount to the bottom of the pc.. And a cheap fan to blow right on the PC. Alas the fan has since died and i've not had the heart to set up something so ghetto just to be able to game again...

So in the end, I've decided to start saving some cash and buy a PC. It has been about three months of saving so its gonna be glorious when it all comes together!
I had considered building a PC but tossed the idea as i figured with work and everything else going on i don't want to have to deal with RMAing parts or troubleshooting problems. I wanted to buy a PC that is ready to go with great performance.

I did contemplate using many other PC companies which I will leave nameless here. But in the end, Digital Storm's Vanquish 2 Level 4 looked the most promising to me. At first i was a little skeptical as most the reviews i read had stated it had limited upgradeability due to the motherboard. After further research I realized the level 4 system was recently changed to carry the gigabyte z97x-SLI. This is great news for me as one day i may want to toss another 970 in there.

One concern I have is the PSU, I've heard some horror stories about it but honestly just think its the few bad cases. I plan to upgrade the psu in the next few months to a more powerful EVGA Supernova 750w or 850w. For the meantime the 600CX should be alright, Aye?

Usage:
Mainly will be playing WoW. But i am a big time gamer and will be browsing through steam a a lot. I'm into all types of games from MMORPG to FPS. Anything and everything.

Special Needs:
Don't really have any special needs, just want my system to come in great condition and not take too long! ;)

I'm ordering my PC this coming Friday on March 6th. I live in Arizona so as long as processing is quick im assuming it could come as quick as next friday or maybe sometime during the week after that. Either way i'll be extremely excited waiting for days... :)

Buying my monitor the week after the pc, On March 12th locally so hoping my PC comes within a few days of that purchase! :)

Also finally getting my girlfriend into some heavy PC gaming so she will be exploring lots as well, i'll need to teach her some ropes and get her in the game!



MY only other concerns are which shipping company will be used. I'm ordering my PC over the internet. (calling my bank before to warn them of said purchase). Using ground shipping. Wondering if this comes through UPS or FedEx. Also, i work mon-sun usually during the daytime, 1015-415 (the normal time for deliveries). My girlfriend should be here, but if the case happens that she is not what happens? UPS/FedEx Under no circumstances would leave a PC at the doorstep right? IF worst comes to worst i could always pick it up from the post office i just have no idea how i go about that.


Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Pre-built Digital Storm VANQUISH II - Level 4
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i5 4690K 3.50 GHz (Codename Devils Canyon) (Unlocked CPU) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: GIGABYTE Z97X-SLI (Intel Z97 Chipset)
System Memory: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series
Power Supply: 600W Corsair CX
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (120GB Samsung 850 EVO)
Storage Set 2: 1x (1TB Seagate (7200 RPM) (64MB Cache)
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): 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB (Includes PhysX)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
HPC Processor: - No Thanks
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: High Performance Cooler with Large Fan and Copper Pipes
H20 Tube Color: - Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Fans: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Airflow Control: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: - No Thanks
CPU Boost: Stage 1: Overclock CPU 4.0GHz to 4.4GHz
Graphics Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Memory Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
OS Boost: - 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: Logitech 2 Piece (Black Edition) Amplified Speaker Set
Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K70 (Mechanical Gaming Keyboard) (Black/Metal Finish)
Mouse: - No Thanks
NVIDIA SHIELD: - No Thanks
Branded Gear: - No Thanks
Priority Build: Ship Within 5 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty (3 Year Labor & 1 Year Part Replacement)


Total Cost: 1540
Discount : 25
Subtotal : 1515
+Shipping: 65
Grand Total: 1580



TL:DR My old PC is extremely outdated and needs an upgrade.
How is your vanquish holding up? How was your shipping process? Did you use pick up at the post office? Is there any tax on DS computers? Any hidden fees?

Hi Ashrilex,

Thank you for choosing Digital Storm, we would love to have you as a customer!

1. The 600W units we use are quality units, they can power a GTX 980 with no issues, there's plenty of headroom with the unit the VANQUISH comes with.

2. We mostly ship with UPS right now. The VANQUISH is a fairly easy system compared to the custom, exotic liquid cooled beasts we build, so you should have no worries about any possibility of shipping damage. It's very rare. If it does occur, we're here to help. We do take many precautions to protect every system that leaves our facility from shipping abuse.

3. If no one is there to sign for the package, UPS/FedEx will leave a notice, and try 3 times. If they have no luck on the 3rd time, they will let you pick up the package at their local facility.

Hope this helps!

Grats on the upcoming purchase.

for your questions about WoW. I have 2 accounts and play at high/ultra settings boosted with Nvidia Gforce experience. With DSR I play at 2715x1697 applied to my 1920x1200 monitor without problems and beautiful graphics. I usually get 80-120 FPS and have seen 230 in the faraway buildings. The lowest I have seen in PVP and raids is about 60.

Along with WoW I play several other games and beta test (paid) several others. The ones I beta test change but so far I haven't had problems with anything I throw at it.

For your concerns about the p/s I have the 600W and have seen no problems. I think it would handle SLI 970s but agree with you in that I would kick it up to 750W to be on the safe side.

I have the ASUS Z97E MB and it will quite capably handle SLI 970s. The slots are placed 4 rails apart so spacing isn't a problem and the case cooling is super.

I think DS only charges tax if you live in Ca.

I'll leave the shipping to DS but mine came with FedX and arrived with no damage to the box or computer. Took 5 days to get to me in Ohio during the after Christmas rush and blizzards.

I think I hit on everything but if not just post back.

Glad to hear all the reassuring posts about my concerns. Can't wait to order it and start downloading some games.
Thanks a lot pace! hit a lot of the bases there. I'm not too concerned about shipping someone should be at my place to receive it! Then it will just be a matter of setting it up.
Thanks for the gratz, truly it has been too long. Can't wait to play as many games as I can. Lots of good looking titles out right now.

Confirmed, Had some trouble finding it for a second but I got it all figured out. :)

Extremely excited. I'll update you guys with some stages and when it ships ect.


Edited by Ashrilex - 06 Mar 2015 at 2:38pm

Originally posted by bprat22 Congrats.

Thank you!

Looks like I'm still in stage 1 for the weekend. All settled in at least. I expect on Monday that I will find some new updates as well.

Hey Ash,

Congrats on the purchase. I have a vanquish lvl 4 that i purchased in Jan. im absolutely loving the system. i play a variety of games at 1080p and have never bogged the system down down. the system is a beast for the price and i couldn't be happier with my purchase.
Let me know if i can help with anything.

Originally posted by zerofunction Originally posted by Ashrilex How is your vanquish holding up? How was your shipping process? Did you use pick up at the post office? Is there any tax on DS computers? Any hidden fees? Just realized you had questions. System (understand that some games just aren't optimized, like day z and Planetside. If you want specific fps's, just let me know.) Playing/Played @ 1080p on a 144hz monitor Planetside 2: Settings on ultra with no problems Day Z : Settings on high with no problems Skyrim: settings on Ultra with no problems Guild Wars 2: settings on max with no problems CIV 5 : settings on max with no problem Dead Island : settings on max with no problem Shipping: I picked the system up at the local office. I was amazed at how sound the packaging was. nothing was out of place. it worked out of the box. was a great moment. Conclusion. 10/10 would do it again.

Update - 3/9/15

No worries on missing the questions first time around. Looks like your loving your system.

Its finally monday folks. I'm sure i'll be eagerly checking back after work. Hopefully there is some updates by then because DS will be closed. (fingers crossed)


Update - 3/10/15

So, Still on stage one. DS opens in a couple hours. Maybe ill hear something from them today.


Payment was taken from my acc on friday but its finally showing up in my statement as of yesterday.. Although still as "pending" not sure what that means or if it will halt DS from proceeding.. If so hopefully payment clears soon so we can get a move on!

Edited by Ashrilex - 10 Mar 2015 at 8:25am

Looks like my PC shipped. Says it should be here by the end of the day on 3/12/15. Also reached out to Digital storm about a few questions and they replied pretty dang fast!

So far extremely pleased with DS and their Customer Service. Really excited about receiving my system. I get off early that day so i should be here to receive it and unpack it.

Edited by Ashrilex - 10 Mar 2015 at 5:34pm

I'm expecting pictures and video documentation...

So, i have received my computer.

Needless to say its been running quite well.

First impressions : Its gorgeous! I took it out of the box and setup everything including my new monitor as well as my new keyboard.

Aesthetically my setup is looking amazing.

As I got further into the build I noticed some small problems/concerns.

1. Upon boot up the second fan down below was not running or emitting any light. I left it for a while as I toyed with my PC. Down below in the hard drive cage where the fan cables were there was a nice tight bundle of cables. Luckily i could unwrap them myself and plug in the fan cord the needed to be plugged in. Oversight? Maybe..
(works perfectly now btw)

2. Graphics Card is PNY. I was not incredibly dissapointed when i saw the system came with a PNY card. I knew coming into this it was possible it could ship with just about any 970 model.
My only concerns with PNY's model of the 970 is it is truly cheap feeling. Luckily warranties exist. The shroud is completely plastic and just feels like you could snap it in half if you tried. Now, This hardly affects performance.. But from a aesthetic view.. It is pretty awful looking. I've also heard it doesn't overclock well, But then again I have yet to test it myself. We shall see in the long run.

3. Major Screen Flickering. This mainly happens when i boot up WoW. No matter what settings i toy with it does it. It also will cause my browser windows to start flickering/tearing.
I bought a BenQ GL2460 monitor. I've done some research and from what i can find no one has reported anything to this large extent. It is very frequent. Today it didnt flicker all day.. Then started back up. Well when I got my Monitor it came with a VGA? cable. The PNY card came with a PNY adapter VGA>DVI?
This is how my monitor is connected.
I have checked the graphics card to make sure it is fully seated as well as both cables. No temps look alarming at all.
I'm currently downloading another game to see if i can replicate the problem...

Just want to figure this out! I've been reading around and maybe its possible the cable or adapter is shot? I'm going to go out and buy an HDMI cable as soon as i can. The only thing is the PNY card comes with mini HDMI ports so I will have to use the adapter they provided. HDMI>MINI HDMI.


Thoughts anyone?



Pics will come when i've resolved my problems. :/

Originally posted by Ashrilex The only thing is the PNY card comes with mini HDMI ports so I will have to use the adapter they provided. HDMI>MINI HDMI.

The PNY GTX GeForce 970 comes with a DVI Port. And, IIRC, HDMI is only DVI with audio... So, DVI > DVI would be best.

Edited by Snaike - 14 Mar 2015 at 2:32am

Alright I will take note of the DVI cable, just in case if I run into any more problems. As of right now its working perfectly. Right after I posted I was getting impatient.

Long story short I ran to Walmart and picked up a nice HDMI cable and plugged that bad boy in a long with the adapter. And wala! Not a single screen flicker/tear yet.

The computer is glorious! I'm now using it to its full potential with some tribes ascend and wow. It runs flawlessly.
90-130ish fps on tribes.
Capped at 60 on wow with vsync

Question - is vSync okay to use? I figure it kind of helps the components because its not constantly pushing the gpu/cpu to preform at higher then 60. Also since I have a 60hz monitor isn't it ideal to have vSync enabled?
Ill be sure to post some pics later tonight. At work right now but dang I cant wait to get home and mess around with it some more.

Question 2 - The key right under the escape button, the ~ sign on my corsair k70 hardly works. I've inspected the key and everything seems fine. It takes a VERY hard press to get the key to work. Which makes no sense as the other keys are so dang responsive I'm accidently clicking them 24/7. Any ideas on this? Its so bad I've changed my autorun/mount hotkeys in WoW as that's what ~ is assigned to.
This is only a temporary fix obviously. I would still like to be able to use that key in the future

Thanks all and most of all thank you digital storm!!


P.S - Thank you for touching down about the PNY card. I know its just fine just thought i would state my honest opinion. Though I'm glad to hear someone else has some good experience as well.

Edited by Ashrilex - 14 Mar 2015 at 7:24am

check out Planetside 2. Reach out to me on Steam if you would like to play a few games.

Steam Name; zerofunction

Edited by zerofunction - 14 Mar 2015 at 8:40am

Booyah!!