DigitalStorm Bolt Gaming System Review: It's Little But It's Fierce
by Dustin Sklavos on October 24, 2012 1:54 AM EST- Posted in
- DigitalStorm
- Systems
- Mini ITX
- Ivy Bridge
- Kepler
Build Quality and Noise
While I don't find the Bolt flimsy or chintzy by any stretch of the imagination, I do feel it's somewhat lacking both in aesthetics and in serviceability compared to Alienware's X51. The red stand and black shell are appropriate to DigitalStorm's styling, but the hard angles make the unit feel more boxy than anything. Aesthetics are going to be largely up to the individual user, though. I don't think it's unattractive, but I do think the glossy black finish was a poor choice.
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Where I feel like the Bolt may have gotten away from DigitalStorm, however, is in serviceability. The shroud can be removed via four screws on the back, but the way everything is crammed into the case to hit that 3.6" width doesn't feel especially elegant or practical. You'll see cooling isn't a major issue for the CPU, but the GPU struggles a bit more. The RAM slots are completely covered by the CPU cooler, which would be a bigger problem if 8GB wasn't already plenty.
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Interestingly I feel like the biggest problem child isn't the GTX 660 Ti (though it does get loud), it's the rackmount PSU. Server power supplies don't exactly need to be quiet, and the two small fans in the PSU are killers. That PSU is responsible for both the mess of cabling and part of the constant idle noise. It already idles at an uncomfortable ~38dB, start pushing it and it breaks 40dB.
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Personally I feel like a redesign that tended towards an SFX power supply instead of using a rackmount would be the smarter play. SFX PSUs are going to be engineered more for consumers and by extension will tend towards being on the quieter side, though that kind of design decision would run the risk of robbing the Bolt of its "world's thinnest" moniker. Is marketing really worth the noise, though?
Heat and Power Consumption
As I mentioned before, if nothing else the Bolt at least does offer decent thermal performance. Intel and NVIDIA's advances with Ivy Bridge and Kepler benefit us all (the Scythe CPU cooler doesn't hurt); thermals in the Bolt stay within a comfortable range on the GTX 660 Ti and downright reasonable on the i5-3570K. You could probably argue for a little more voltage on the CPU to get an extra 100MHz or so, but try to remember that it really doesn't take much for Ivy Bridge to run face first into heat issues.
You can see from HWMonitor that if nothing else, the Bolt really doesn't have any trouble keeping the CPU cool. The GeForce GTX 660 Ti also runs relatively cool, but the fan speed is a little more problematic, topping out at 54% and essentially doubling under load.
Boy, it sure saves face when you look at power consumption, though, doesn't it? At both idle and load the Bolt is one of the most efficient systems we've tested, impressive given the substantial performance on tap. This stems from using a more power friendly GPU and opting for a moderate overclock on the i5-3570K. The Bolt also benefits from using an offset voltage, allowing the i5-3570K to undervolt comfortably low at idle.
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ImSpartacus - Wednesday, October 24, 2012 - link
Are there off-the-shelf watercooled PSUs that could fit in this machine? I wonder if DigitalStorm would've been forced to make a custom PSU if they wanted to watercool it. That would've increased the price considerably.FEAST - Wednesday, October 24, 2012 - link
I would never, ever, ever buy this system because the standard versions dont have an SSD and you have to spend 2,000$ to get just a 120GB SSD. SSD's are by far the MOST IMPORTANT part.Icehawk - Wednesday, October 24, 2012 - link
First, any new PC not aimed at pure budget users should have a 120gb+ SSD as the primary HD - and for a SFF machine like this I would definitely skip mechanical. Heck, I'm mATX and have case room but I have zero mech drives, don't want the heat or sound. If I need mass storage I've got that external. Going SSD would relieve some additional thermals, give some space back potentially, and be silent.My new rig uses a fanless PSU... surely they could do better than what they are using? Heck at least go custom cabled or modular so there is the minimum clutter used.
Watercooling could open some space but then you need to find room for the radiator so I don't know if that is realistic without seeing the chassis in person.
I guess it all depends on just how much you value a tiny desktop box but I think a few tweaks to this rig would definitely make it more attractive by at changing to SSD and a better setup on the PSU.
sulu1977 - Wednesday, October 24, 2012 - link
Wouldn't it be better to use the 60GB SATA just for the C-drive, and the 1TB for data?trimspababy - Wednesday, October 24, 2012 - link
How does this ($1500 build) stack up against the Origin Chronos, another small form-factor gaming system that was reviewed back in July? Seems like the Origin Chronos was better in terms of price for what you get, or am I comparing apples to oranges?trimspababy - Wednesday, October 24, 2012 - link
How does this ($1500 build) stack up against the Origin Chronos, another small form-factor gaming system that was reviewed back in July? Seems like the Origin Chronos was better in terms of price for what you get, or am I comparing apples to oranges?creed3020 - Thursday, October 25, 2012 - link
Just wanted to say thank you Dustin for keeping so many reviews quality reviews coming out. I was very curious to see if AT would have a review of this unit after reading about it elsewhere.I totally agree that the 1U PSU needs to go. Having worked with many HP ProLiant 1U servers from their G5 generation I can comfortably say these PSU's are loud, hot, and certain models are prone to failure. I can see how Digital Storm was trying to achieve thinness, but if you aren't blowing away the competition in this minor increments battle of thinness then give up already and make the product better in other ways.
Silverstone's ST45SF-G (SFX) is only 63.5mm wide so it would have worked well in this chassis in a front mounted configuration like many of the Silverstone cases.
theNiZer - Thursday, October 25, 2012 - link
Hi Dustin,great review (meaning a good and critical assessment) of the 'Bolt' system - will we see a review of the Tiki unit from Falcon which should run much quieter and allow greater hardware?
/Casper
seylonclinton - Tuesday, December 25, 2012 - link
An amazing review of DigitalStrom Bolt gaming system! I think to complete with other major gaming devices in the market (Xbox-360, PS3 and Wii U) this gaming system is vastly capable. All the included hardware of this gaming device is perfect to play modern time games. I'm looking forward to purchase one for top quality gaming experience. Thanks.