I ordered a customized desktop gaming system from DS on 11/2/09. This system was to replace an aging gaming PC that I had purchased from a somewhat similar online gaming "boutique" almost 4 years (!) ago. For this new purchase I was also looking at comparable configurations from Velocity Micro and CyberPower, but was drawn to Digital Storm because of their mix of competitive (decent) pricing and excellent product (also looked at reviews here as well for all vendors).  
 
Breaking my down my experience into a few different categories (with a perceived "grade" for each):  
 
> Website experience (A) - great site and configurator, with videos of what the cases look like and plenty of specs. Options are pretty well laid out and described.  
 
> Communication experience (B-) - I am torn here because DS is one of the rare companies nowadays that actually takes/returns phone calls, but I had somewhat mixed results when asking questions about my intended purchase. I found that if I sent questions via their site (with options to send to either "sales", "customer service", or "technical support") I would only get a reponse about half the time (via email). However if I called their toll-free phone # (which I did 3-4 times) I actually get a live person one time in sales, and the other times my voicemails (to sales) were promptly returned. When speaking to sales ("James") they were always courteous, well versed, and happy to accommodate when possible.  
 
Ordering experience (A) - Given that I wanted to deviate somewhat from what the online configurator had to offer (online the configuration I wanted was capped at 4GB for memory and I wanted 8GB), I placed my order via the phone with "James". Process was great and again he was very helpful.  
 
Post-ordering experience (B+) - Again a somewhat mixed experience - immediately after ordering over the phone I received the obligatory confirmation email(s), but also received a nifty one that laid out the "Six stages of development" my new gaming PC would undertake before being sent to me. I thought was pretty cool... Then these "Stage Updates" emails started arriving fast & furious (went thru 3 stages the very next day) and I thought - AWESOME! - this unit is gonna ship out before I know it!  
 
The something weird happened - I received one of the "Stage Update" emails out of order, which I thought was odd, and then I received a voicemail from their tech dept ("Eric") who informed me that the GPU that I had selected was backordered, and to call them for details. The backorder was not entirely their fault (this particular video card is brand new and was constrained pretty much everywhere), but what made it confusing was that I had already received an email stating that my system had "passed the inventory stage" and the "integration phase" and was on to the "Phase 1 stress test". How my system could be stressed tested without a GPU was beyond me, so it made me have less confidence in their automated update emails.  
 
Regardless - what did shine thru was the actual person to person experience - I called them back and told them I was ok with waiting on the videocard, and the system then proceeded to ship out a few days ahead of when that estimated due to the backorder, which was fantastic.  
 
Shipping/Receiving (A) - I live in MA and the unit shipped from CA, so it had to travel pretty much as far you can go in the U.S. The unit arrived in exactly one week and was packaged so well I was stunned - tons of foam and packing materials and nothing was out of place. Great job here on making sure the unit arrives in one piece and in working order.  
 
Product (A+) - I could not be happier with the end product - the system is top notch in every regard - cabling is so neat/tidy, configuration was spot on and as ordered, OS updated to current and running mean & lean, motherbaord BIOS was current, drivers, etc. I played games until 2am the first night it arrived and I am absolutely thrilled with its performance.  
 
Bottom Line: Would (happily) buy from Digital Storm again.  

I did a lot of research into several online custom-computer companies, and there is no doubt in my mind that Digital Storm was the absolute best, hands down. Not only did they offer the best parts and highest level of customization, but for what I wanted they were very reasonable in price compared to a few other big-name companies. Nobody else offered the amount of choices of components that DS did, and I was able to configure my system exactly the way I wanted it with no hassle. They even take special requests if the online customizer doesn't have what you need.  
 
As for customer service, all it took was a look around their forums to see that they genuinely care about their customers' satisfaction in every aspect. I had a question about something during my planning stages, and sent an email through their support system. I received a reply in less than an hour with my question answered in a thorough, knowledgeable way. All through the build process, I received emails regarding which stage it was in, and a description of what was happening in that stage. This was definitely a plus.  
 
As for the system itself? It was built and shipped faster than expected, with great care taken in the packaging department to ensure that it made it here safely. The build quality is excellent, with a top-notch wiring job and high-quality components. It's been running without a hitch and is very quiet and powerful. Oh, and another great plus is that they send you the full original Windows disk for your system, as well as a custom-made restore disk. They also give you the CD's for several components and all the extra parts/cables for the motherboard and psu. You just can't go wrong with these guys :)  
 

This review was modified by its author, Optimystic, on 11/18/09 12:44 AM.

I was looking into buying a gaming PC. I had seen many adds in PC Gamer magazine. I looked into Digital Storm and saw that they had great reviews. I bought a PC from them and it was the best online purchase I have ever made. Digital Storm is with you every step of the process. I have the PC and I love it. Digital Storm has made me feel like I have something unique and special. My friends are jealous. A++

Purchased a $1,900 "Special Deal" system in September for myself.  
 
I've had no problems with the system or the service. Everything was perfect. I was contacted about some changes that I needed to make on my order, and also received order status update emails as well.  
 
My new DS computer definitely throws my old Alienware out of the water. In addition, Windows 7 is a major plus!  
 
I just had to come here and share my experience with this company because they truly do deserve every bit of it.  
 
I just played "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" on my new system and I am speechless! This system played the game on max visuals fluid smooth.

This review was modified by its author, oberworldldy, on 11/17/09 6:38 PM.

My experience with Digital Storm has been very good.  
 
I have purchased two computers from them (I just recently bought my Son a gaming desktop for school).  
 
Overall, both experiences have been very good. Every time I call to speak to Digital Storm I am treated professionally and the staff is very helpful.  
 
The quality of their product, testing, packaging, and service is top notch and I highly recommend anyone considering their services to buy from here.  
 
Sure, no company is perfect, but, these guys are the creme of the crop when it comes down to what they do.  
 
Sincerely,  
Joshua  
A Very Happy Customer

This company definitely sets their foot in the right direction.  
 
I have purchased computers previously from other companies such as Alienware and other boutiques like Maingear and I have to say these guys are doing it right.  
 
I spent about $3,300 with this company and I am very happy with my computer. The unit shipped quickly, it arrived packaged very well and speaking with them was a breeze.  
 
They had a delay of replaces for a week which I believe was because of their promotion, but, ever since then they have been either easy to call, or if I leave a message I get a call back the same day rather quickly.  
 
Above all, the quality of the build is an art piece, I opened the other side panel and saw how they routed all the cables carefully. The operating system was optimized, no bloat ware, etc...  
 
In conclusion, this is a very good company to work with. A Digital Storm customer for life.

To date, I would rate Digital Storm as the best computer and computer buying experience I have ever had, and I learned computing on a TRS-80 and the first computer I owned was an Apple-II Plus. Both of those experiences were before I bought a Macintosh in 1984.  
I was informed of the progress of my machine's construction through emails. I received the computer on time and in perfect working shape. It was far superior to an identically priced machine bought 3 years earlier. I foolishly ran a commercial registry cleaner which wiped out an entry from my registry. I did not discover this until a few days later after I had gone through a long process of deactivating/installing/activating several expensive programs. I called technical support. My call was returned within one hour and my problem was fixed in a few minutes in a very pleasant manner.  
So, I have been very pleased in every manner.

I had a great experience buying from digital storm. The PC is fantastic and the service great. The packaging was superb. The best PC builders around.

Several years ago, I built my own custom PC from components. While the finished product was a joy to use and I was thrilled at the amount of money I had saved, I recall spending significant time and frustration during the setup and configuration process. Setting jumpers on motherboards, downloading and installing drivers, and about five hundred reboots of Windows was not an enjoyable experience.  
 
So when I decided it was time for a new PC I decided to look around and see what the options were. I was leaning towards building my own PC, though dreading the setup process. At first I checked out Alienware, but after reading many reviews I concluded that my chances of having at least a few low-quality parts in the machine were fairly high (low-quality = headache at some point). I was pleased to find Digital Storm, which appears to be doing what I remembered Alienware doing before they became part of the Dell corporate machine. That these guys have a good Better Business Bureau rating was a plus, and their detailed website and buying guide told me that these guys were interested in making sure that their customers made the right choice and that they did a good job of meeting expectations.  
 
But what about cost... years ago I had saved a lot of money by assembling my own PC. Could it be that I could save money again? I looked at one of the mid-range preconfigured systems at Digital Storm's website, and then set up a wishlist on Newegg and added substantially all the same components. I was amazed to see that the Digital Storm price (which included overclocking and all their extensive quality checking) was within about $300 of the price I'd be paying to buy the components and put the whole thing together myself. To be fair, I need to state that I did the same comparison for fully-customized rigs (I think DS calls this their "Black Ops" option when customizing), and it seems to me that DS charges a bit more of a premium for the higher-end rigs or those made from the fully-customizable route. Your mileage may vary, but if you're on the fence about the decision based on price, I recommend doing a DS/Newegg side-by-side comparison. Then ask yourself "is a couple or three hundred bucks worth avoiding the headache of setup (and possibly setbacks) if I do this myself?"  
 
In my case, it was well worth it. I purchased a preconfigured system, which arrived carefully packaged. Like others have stated, I simply unpacked according to their easy instructions, plugged in my peripherals and monitor, and fired it up. No reboots, no reinstalls, no cryptic instruction manuals, no preinstalled crapware, no worries about device conflicts... I couldn't have been more pleased.  
 
Gaming experience is through the roof, 3DS Max rendering times are way down. I'm already scheming on how to upgrade the wife's computer with DS so she'll leave mine in peace!  
 
One word of caution, or recommendation - when your system arrives, make sure you open it up completely and snug up all the connections. I apparently had a loose one from shipping that didn't become apparent until about five days after I received the system... once I checked all the connections it was all good!

I was searching for a new computer and used bing.com. I preferred an Intel processor and an Nvidia video card and the search used those criteria. My friend over-clocks and builds computers from scratch so when I read that Digital Storm would be able to complement the system with a stable burnt in over-clock I was interested.  
 
I’m a recreational XBOX360 game builder coming from the XNA Creators Club and needed a better system for Auto Desks Softimage Mod Tool Pro, ZBrush, the C# Microsoft XNA Game Studio 3.1 and Torque X game engine.  
 
For me it’s about pricing, and convenience of a completed product. So if someone really wants to try to build and over-clock there own system, there’s some links to make sure they are getting the best competitive price. For me the best place to ensure stability of the finished system when over-clocked was Digital Storms’ factory specs.  
 
My computer arrived, I unpacked it, read the manuals that they gave me, gave it the once over, plugged it in and got back to working on my game.  
 
Digital Storm has made my hardware transition worth the effort, and now I know why they enjoy providing there systems. They do there homework so I can do mine.  
 
(1979) I started out with a Z-8080 Tandy TRS 64k, which included a 32k expansion interface, and had two music-cassette recorder players as sequential non-volatile memory to store and recall my programs, black and white monitor with one font output, and a keyboard which needed to have loaded a keyboard-debounce utility, at every computer boot, to verify what was sent was what was received. That was before the mouse was an incorporated add-on.  
 
(2009) Thirty years later it’s not just a product, it’s the added value that’s worth the investment, the service and the product price.  
 
Good work and thanks for delivering. ILI – I Love It!  
 
I must go back to work now. G’day.  

The machine works really great. It looks amazing. I love that I was able to customize the machine to exactly what I wanted. It has the components I wanted and is red and black, my favorite colors. Having priced other companies, Digital Storm is extremely competitive. I even looked into building the machine myself and could not have done it much cheaper than what I paid getting it built by Digital Storm. The only complaint I have is because Digital Storm was in a backlog it took a little longer than expected. I was e-mailed multiple times letting me know of the delay and that they were working on it. Other than the delay I have been extremely happy and would purchase from them again, as I already have, as this is the second machine I have bought from them.

On-line ordering was fast and easy. I received numerous confirmation e-mails on the status of my system. It came as promised, no damage, and booted right up. They even sent videos of how to unpack and set up. Couldn't be happier. It has run extremely well since the day it arrived. I can't comment on their customer support because I have not had to use it, and hopefully never will, until I'm ready to upgrade. I highly recommend purchasing a gaming system from Digital Storm.

I had a great experience with DS. I had been looking for a new computer for a few months and stumbled upon DS in a magazine. They had some pre-configured rigs on sale and I took a chance on one. What a great machine! It's well built and runs well. DS has great customer service and everthing went according to plan. I feel very fortunate to have ordered from them, and I saved a few bucks! As a person who looked at over 15 online computer companies, I can tell you this is your best option.

I purchased a pre-built gaming rig from this company and could not be happier. Here was my experience:  
 
-First, bought a rig from a competitor (ibuypower) it was shipped with components disconnected, a video card was actually hanging b/c they didn't secure it with a screw, no special packing etc. I had to return it b/c of hardware errors 2x and finally got a partial refund.  
 
-Second- I was referred to www.digitalstormonline.com by a friend, I selected a prebuilt computer that would easily meet my needs of 2 boxing World of Warcraft, on highest graphic settings with no lag  
 
Third, because I had asked that the PC be shipped to my office and not mailing address...they actually called and wanted to verify my credit card information. This was my first inclination I was not just dealing with a chop shop, instead a firm that was more interested in security for the consumer.  
 
Fourth, I was able to log in daily and take a look at where my PC was in production. From the OS being installed, to the testing of the hardware. The status was updated daily and I was able to know where my PC was in the process at every step.  
 
Fifth- The PC shipped and promptly arrived. The PC, and a few accessories were packed snugly in the box, no rattling, nothing shaking around. When i uppacked the box, and opened up the case of the machine I found expandable foram packing as well as some extra foam in other areas of the case. This was JUST as i had seen on their websites videos describing their packaging..(this was night and day different from the shit ibuypower company that had sent my PC totally unprotected)  
 
Also in the box was a 3 ring binder, with all my systems DVD's neatly organized, a certificate signed by 4 employees verifying different stages of production and testing and even packaging!  
 
Sixth-(almost done) When unpacking and setting up the rig i realized one of the case's fans was unplugged (because of the foam packing the wiring was just neatly bound but not hooked up). I rifled off an email to digital storm's tech support line just to see if it needed to be hooked up. TBH putting my hand over the top of the machine after it had been running for an hour felt like I had my hand over an airconditioner it was so cool...so I didn't even know if the 4th fan was required. Anyway, i emailed them at around 3pm..fully expecting to hear back va email within 48 hours. Instead, 15 mins later my cell phone rang. A technician walked me through where to hook it up immediately. Obviously, this was such incredible customer service I was floored.  
 
Summary: This is the best online retailer I have ever dealt with. I will be upgrading my wife's machine in another year and this is the only place I will be looking for options. I have told all of my friends about Digital Storm and my positive experience with them. At least 3 are buying from them in the next couple of months. If you are looking for a new PC, look no further!

Digital Storm is always on top of their game. I am extremely satisfied with the high quality customer service, tech support, and computers. If you want a high quality custom built computer then Digital Storm is where you need to look.  
 
It's also great to know if a problem does arise that I can talk to someone that is actually in the US and not someone that I can barely understand that is in another country.  
 
Everything about Digital Storm blows their competition out of the water.