Digital Storm or Custom?

[cytoSiN]

I've been looking at this recently. I've been building PCs for nearly 2 decades, but I've got limited time these days, and I'm not sure I want the hassle of jamming all that power into such a small space. The form factor is very important, as I want something small to mount to the underside of my electric standing desk.

So my question for you all is this: Should I just get the Digital Storm as is, or should I build something nearly identical myself? If the latter, what parts would I need to get everything in such a small case, with similar cooling?

Thanks!

 

[mnewsham]

You'd probably save ~$500 doing it yourself, but you're then spending several hours doing the work getting it all put together, and unless you do this regularly, it wiil likely take a decent bit of time, especially if you want your interior cable management in a particular fashion.

You also need to ask yourself how much you value having a warranty from the builder vs. using just the manufacturers warranty on the individual parts.


At the end of the day, both options are fine, it really just depends how much you value your time, and if you really want to do this build yourself or not.

 

[cytoSiN]

Thanks for the quick response. I'm a pro at cable management, and I've built in small spaces before. I've never done water cooling in such a small space, but I'm confident I could figure it out. The time is what kills me. I'd happily spend $500 to get 2ish days of my time back. If you really think that's the difference here, then I'm inclined to go Digital Storm. I'm also having trouble finding the exact same parts to go custom since I'm not sure what water cooling I'd use. Any additional thoughts are much appreciated!

 

[mnewsham]

I'm also having trouble finding the exact same parts to go custom since I'm not sure what water cooling I'd use. Any additional thoughts are much appreciated!

It's gonna depend on the case you decide to go with really.

I have seen some very nice exotic custom loop mITX setups, and I have also seen it done using off the shelf AIO water coolers. AIO will be cheaper, but less robust cooling. Custom loop will cost you more and take more time and effort to get set up, but will provide more cooling performance.

That build is an Ncase M1 with a mITX 5820k, 2x16GB DDR4, and a GTX 980ti with a custom water loop. VERY compact, SUPER high performance. But it is a real pain in the ass to work on a build this small, and takes extreme patience.


If you want something EXACTLY like the digital storm model you posted in the OP, you're probably better off buying from them.

 

[EliteRetard]

I've been looking at this recently.

That price is terrible, and it's not just $500 over cost, it's at least $900 over cost. Absolutely unreasonable for the labor.

Without shopping around I was able to configure a slim ITX system with water cooled CPU AND GPU (theirs is CPU only) for $1870 at Newegg.
That's with 16GB low profile 2800MHz CAS 17 1.2v (what crap 2600 will they give you?) with the 500GB 850 EVO and a 2TB 7200RPM HDD.
I'm using a Corsair Bulldog 2 ($400) with included 600w SFX PSU and MSI Z270 MOBO. Oh, also Win 10 home 32/64bit on USB.

http://www.corsair.com/en-us/bulldog-2-0-high-performance-pc-barebone-kit-na

Bulldog 2 $400
7700k $350
G.Skill Aegis 2x8GB Model F4-2800C17D-16GIS $100
MSI GTX1080 Seahawk X Water $660 (AR $20)
500GB 850 EVO $180
Seagate 2TB 7200RPM $50
Win 10 USB $130

Total = $1870

And I know prices can be had lower by shopping around.

 

[Murloc]

that PC is likely massively overpriced but doing water cooling on your own from scratch probably takes quite a bit of time and research.

On the other hand that bulldog barebones suggested by Elite Retard basically gives you the recipe with a bunch of stuff preinstalled, it even has a list of suggested video cards with liquid cooling, if it's a good product then it's kind of a no-brainer, it's water cooling and small form factor without having to think about clearances and stuff.

 

[mnewsham]

That price is terrible, and it's not just $500 over cost, it's at least $900 over cost. Absolutely unreasonable for the labor.

Sorry but no, just no.

If you want to break it down to barebone costs you have to consider the form factor, good luck building that specific form factor for $900 under the OP build cost.

 

[EliteRetard]

Sorry but no, just no.

If you want to break it down to barebone costs you have to consider the form factor, good luck building that specific form factor for $900 under the OP build cost.

Uh, I did.

Digital Storm - 19.5 x 15.1 x 5.8
vs
Bulldog 2 ------ 17.6 x 15.9 x 5.7

So not only is my build at least $900 cheaper, and includes extra water cooling for the GPU, it looks like it's actually a bit smaller as well.

Edit: Dimensions pulled directly from Digital Storm and Corsair webpages for their respective products.

 

[cytoSiN]

Thanks for the input guys. I hadn't considered something like the Bulldog, so that's somewhat eye opening. One thing I should mention is that form factor is important. I need to mount this under a standing desk, so tall as opposed to horizontal is important. Is there something like the Bulldog that could be stood up with a flat bottom to be mounted as such?

 

[mnewsham]

With those aesthetics? Nope

If you just want an aluminum black box that stands up straight, sure. But if you want something with a nice glass side panel and attractive like the Digital storm, you're left custom fabricating, or going with one of the new Lian Li cases which will run you $300+ just for the case, $400 for the white version.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16811112465

 

[cytoSiN]

Thanks (again). You guys have reminded me of why I started building my own PCs in the first place. I'm probably going to just custom build again...I'll have to go AIO if I want water, and I'll need to use a mid tower instead of a slightly smaller "SFF" like DS uses (which is huge for "SFF"), but so be it. I can get a stupid deal on a 7700k and an Asus Code IX at MC, so I'll grab those and go from there. Hoping for a white, super clean build. As of now, thinking of 1080 FTW Hybrid, Cryorig A80 on the CPU, Black Noctua fans with white Chromax pads, silver/white G.Skill ram (16GB 3200 @ 14cas), and white sleeved PSU cables. Case is a bit tricky, but considering the NZXT elite s340 (white) or the Phanteks Eclipse Silent (white) -- I want something with a tempered glass side panel that will match the aesthetic I'm going for. But I definitely don't want a ton of flashing lights and needless bling. I'm not wed to any of this, but it's what I've thrown together so far.

 

[Alienware Gamer ALX]

custom, it s way cheaper and you have no benefits from the other

 

[cytoSiN]

custom, it s way cheaper and you have no benefits from the other

Well, I do. Warranty, and more importantly, my time. But as discussed above, I'll be building custom.

 

[Alienware Gamer ALX]

Well, I do. Warranty, and more importantly, my time. But as discussed above, I'll be building custom.

for a good warranty and less time i buy dell/hp workstations (but not for gaming)
branded ws actually have something more than custom builds