Specifications

Digital Storm Core i7-965
Processor Intel Core i7-965 @ 4.00GHz OC
Motherboard EVGA X58 3X SLI
Memory 3x2GB Corsair DDR3-1600
Video Card Three (3) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 1GB
Power Supply PC Power and Cooling 1200W
Case Silverstone TJ09 (950Si)
Hard Drive Two (2) 300GB Western Digital Velociraptors in RAID 0
One (1) 1500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.11
OS Vista Ultimate 64-bit,
Other Memory Card Reader
DVD Burner LiteOn Blu-ray DVD-ROM SATA
LiteOn 22x DVDRW Lightscribe SATA
CPU Cooler Swiftech Apogee GTX Water-cooling

This component mix is the stuff of dreams, with very good choices all around here. An identical configuration on the website hovers around the $6000 mark ($6027 at the time of writing), so clearly this kind of system is an upper end purchase. At this price, the consumer expects blistering performance. The power supply is enormous, but the three GTX 285s require a lot of power, and you don't want to skimp on this area with a Triple SLI system.

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  • Matt Campbell - Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - link

    I agree with Alex and others here that the power supply may be a primary culprit, it was in the same vicinity as the video cards and the noise was hard to isolate. I'll see if I can further isolate it before I pack it up, but in that case going with an alternate PSU supplier (Christoph Katzer may have some views here) would of course help out.
  • DigitalStorm - Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - link

    I wanted to thank AnandTech for the review opportunity.

    I do wish to comment on system noise. From our experience, the PC Power and Cooling 1200W PSU is the main culprit. Under stress, the unit can become very loud.

    We are looking at ways to lower the noise from our high-end systems. No one wants a loud system, and we agree.

    Warm Regards,
    Alex
    Digital Storm
  • Clauzii - Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - link

    Might sound stupid, but is using Fanless impossible?
    I mean, say, 2(600W),3 or 4 PSUs depending on machine type?
  • yessir22 - Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - link

    There's no reason a liquid cooled system should be that loud.

    You guys should review a computer from Puget Systems. They're even higher rated than DSO, and are known for their quiet computers. I have a friend who bought a system there and he won't stop talking about them, lol
  • gamerk2 - Monday, May 25, 2009 - link

    Mainly because the case they used (assuming its the same as mine) comes with 2x top side fans, a front side fan, a underside fan, the radiator/pump, and the GPU fans.

    Hence, a lot of noise for a lot of cooling.
  • Matt Campbell - Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - link

    I just configured a system very close to this one on Puget's site (minus one GTX 285, they only offer SLI systems), and the cost was $6589. With another GTX 285, that would bump it up to just over $7000, about $1000 more than the system reviewed here. The option's always open for the future, but unless they could demonstrate a clear performance or warranty support advantage, it'd be a hard sell.
  • yessir22 - Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - link

    Apples and oranges, dude. Puget Systems liquid cools the video cards. Take that out and their $6500, I saved a quote on the website. Plus they have 2x the radiator size. If you use a smaller radiator, then Puget is $5400.
  • Matt Campbell - Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - link

    Actually, I did take out the liquid cooling on the video cards. It's still more. Doesn't mean it's bad, just pricier. Actually, I notice the prices have shifted just since I did the last config. a few hours ago, and changed $5 again between the time I configured this system and put it into a cart.

    Puget Deluge
    P6T Deluxe
    i7 965
    6GB DDR3-1600
    2x GTX 285
    2x 300 GB Velociraptor
    1x 1.5TB WD Green
    LiteOn Blu-ray, Pioneer DVDRW
    P183 w/liquid cooling
    Silverstone 1200W P/S
    Koolance 345AT
    Liquid cooling on video cards None
    Vista Ultimate
    3 Year Warranty parts
    Price: $6376.27 + $153 shipping = $6529.27

    Add the third GTX 285 to match this one, and you're at that $7000 number.
  • JarredWalton - Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - link

    I actually http://www.anandtech.com/systems/showdoc.aspx?i=29...">reviewed a PC from Puget Systems a while back and pretty much can echo what Matt said. They did provide excellent support in my experience and were very good at communicating what was happening. Pricing is more than I'd be willing to pay, but then I'm not their target audience.
  • aguilpa1 - Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - link

    They have good stuff but boy you PAY for it.

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