DigitalStorm Enix: Phenomenal Cosmic Power, Itty Bitty Living Space

Conclusion: Too Hot to Handle

If we take the contentious processor voltage issues off the table, what we're left with is a remarkably powerful machine in a tiny enclosure. That's a testament to all parties involved: SilverStone's engineers for producing a case this size that can support a pair of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580s, Intel's engineers for producing in Sandy Bridge a processor with a tremendously high overclock ceiling, and DigitalStorm's engineers for smartly assembling a system with these components that maximizes performance while being able to handle, however delicately, the incredible amount of power and heat generated by them.

That voltage is a bone of contention, though, that we really have to leave up to you, the reader. Common wisdom from browsing forums and looking at what other overclockers are doing suggests that 1.45-1.48V on the processor core is too high for long-term use, while DigitalStorm's engineers state that this is ideal for maintaining an overclock of this magnitude on a Sandy Bridge chip. Anand and I both felt that it was too high, but we don't have the data to really back that up (though DigitalStorm would have a hard time doing the same: Sandy Bridge has only been out for a few months, nowhere near long enough to produce long-term reliability data). But DigitalStorm is willing to warranty the unit for three years standard and stand behind their overclock for ten years, well beyond the useful life of an enthusiast processor. That's the best one can ask for.

Ultimately the Enix is in many ways an improvement over the last unit we reviewed from DigitalStorm, their BlackOps Assassin Edition. Using the SilverStone FT03, they're able to increase performance over that behemoth while cutting the form factor by nearly two-thirds. Noise levels and power consumption have gone up a bit, but performance is up with them. The Enix is the fastest machine we've tested yet and DigitalStorm's people seem genuinely interested in producing quality kit and backing it up with quality service. Given our point of contention, it would be difficult to recommend an award for the Enix, but if you're willing to take the risk—and DigitalStorm is—this tower could be a great choice for someone who wants a unique and powerful desktop machine.