DigitalStorm BlackOps: Almost Too Fast
by Dustin Sklavos on December 29, 2010 12:45 AM ESTApplication and Futuremark Performance
It's not unreasonable to expect that given the blisteringly fast overclock on the Intel Core i7-950, the DigitalStorm BlackOps we have on hand should dominate our benchmarks. This is only made more apparent by the Corsair Force SSD (which PCMark Vantage is going to love) and the SLI'd GeForce GTX 580s. So just how much of a lead can the BlackOps pull?
And there it is. The BlackOps posts its only loss in Cinebench's multi-CPU test, but the score is so close to the i7-875K powering the CyberPower desktop that it's barely worth mentioning. To be fair, though, the CyberPower unit costs a little over half what the BlackOps does. Of course, when we move into 3DMark we can expect to see where that price difference really comes in.
While 3DMarks 06 and 05 seem to be almost CPU-limited, the BlackOps tears away from the pack in 03 and Vantage thanks to the massive performance of the SLI'd GeForce GTX 580s. The closest competition comes from the iBuyPower unit with the SLI GTX 470s, but it's nowhere near what the BlackOps is capable of. When we get into our gaming benchmarks on the next page, that's only going to be more apparent.
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Shinobi_III - Wednesday, December 29, 2010 - link
3600 bucks and you only get one SSD drive, one hard drive, a measly 6gb ram from a complete crap brand, noname DVD burner and one low end built in sound card?I don't mind built in sound, but there are better brands. Like Analog Devices.
transmitthis - Wednesday, December 29, 2010 - link
I was drawn in by the nice image of a good looking system with 3 GPU's and dedicated Water Cooling...But that's not what you reviewed at all, how about using a lead image that more closely reflects the article?
As for the system, well its always going to be FTL with these bespoke systems, esp with the audience you have here Jarred
JarredWalton - Wednesday, December 29, 2010 - link
Dustin didn't have a good 300x198 size picture that I could use for the top image, so I went to the DigitalStorm site and grabbed their picture of the BlackOps Assassin. Sorry if the actual system doesn't match up to that picture, but I figured that looked better than a taken-in-his-apartment photo. :-)Deleted - Wednesday, December 29, 2010 - link
Even considering the convenience tax of a prebuilt and pre-overclocked computer, There is simply no justification for this price tag. If you were to go to Newegg.com and buy every piece here without combos, you would "only" pay around $2,700, including the OS. That leaves plenty of room for a pair of ZR24w or VG236H monitors.And this is without even mentioning the fact that every single item on this thing (except for the CPU and memory) is overpriced and underperforming. Even the case, which is the best air cooling case on the market, is crippled. They removed the AP181 fans, which are arguably the best case fans in existence, and replaced them with those cheap-looking red fans. It even looks like the dust filters are missing, although they may have just been removed for the photo.
I could make a faster rig than this, with a better overclock and three high quality monitors, for a little bit less, and it would take less than half a day of actual work. I guess I should go into business.
mlambert890 - Wednesday, January 5, 2011 - link
Exactly... Not being a smart ass, but all of the "I can build this for HALF!!!!!!!" crowd should do it, go into business and show how it's done. Put the money where the mouth is.softdrinkviking - Wednesday, December 29, 2010 - link
this build could run you like ~2600 out of pocket.so you are paying ~1000 for a warranty that you can't be sure they will honor. (BFG going out of business and shafting their customers on RMA's comes to mind)
i can understand that some folks don't want to put the time and energy into a build, but those are exactly the kind of people that won't want to deal with shady small companies that can't necessarily deliver what they promise. I mean, an extra grand above parts is expensive for the consumer, but it doesn't even begin to cover the kind of tech support they are inviting with the "high end build" market. Unless they sell like a gabizillion (i didn't make that up, it's a real number) of these things, but i seriously doubt it.
jensend - Wednesday, December 29, 2010 - link
Today's $3600 machine will be outperformed by next year's $750 custom build, and likely is only appreciably faster than today's $1250 custom build in a small handful of uses.Is it worth it? NO.
Why bother wasting your time on it?
mlambert890 - Wednesday, January 5, 2011 - link
By this logic nothing is ever worth it. Eventually "next years" $750 build would be crushed by 5 years from nows $200 mini PC.The gap between a $1250, $2650, and $3650 build is "minor" to YOU, but the areas where higher end builds do differentiate on performance are objectively measurable. Just because you don't care about those use cases doesn't make them worthless.
It's always really odd how so many folks want to use their own personal budget and usage constraints and restrictions as the basis as absolute value judgments:
"a Ferrari is only for losers with no brain and too much money because no one can drive faster than a Honda Civic and a Honda Civic can be over clocked faster than a Ferrari anyway!"
That kind of thing..
I think boutique PCs have their place and are worth reviewing. Folks aren't idiots for buying them or for wanting premium performance. If someone wants to buy rather than build more power to them. If someone want to build full premium vs budget, more power to them. I can't afford a Ferrari, but I still love them. Some people look at a Civic with envy from the bus. Objectivity is generally better for everyone.
wingless - Wednesday, December 29, 2010 - link
This kind of power lends itself to the idea that it is perfect for multi-monitor 3D gaming. For that use, it would not be excessively fast.How about we get some Multi-monitor and/or 3D gaming tests out of Anandtech when they review multiple GPU setups?
Speedye1 - Wednesday, December 29, 2010 - link
So the picture on the home page has NOTHING to do with this system. Would it have been to much to ask for a couple pics of said system? No digital camera or cell phone anywhere around? You better get a grip on this Anand, been a reader for along time, this review is trash.