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.

The computer I bought from Digital Storm has been back at the factory twice for total CPU crashes. Has spent > 2 of the 7 months I have owned it back at the factory for service. They will charge you hundreds of dollars in shipping costs for warranty service. Their customer service staff doesn't return phone calls or reply to emails. Buying from Digital Storm is a BIG MISTAKE.

First, I'll go through my history with Digital Storm. I purchased this system in mid August. I received my system about a week after ordering. The system ran fine for about 2 weeks when the PSU died. I tried replacing the PSU with my old PSU, but couldn't get any power.  
 
CS Problem # 1:  
 
I then tried and call DS customer service, but they ended up with a answering machine. I left a message, but never received a call. I decided to call them back about 10minutes before closing, and got ahold of a rep, who told me that all the techs have gone home. I was instructed to attempt to jump a couple pins on the PSU, but since I could not find anything to jump it, I was told to look online for it. It would have been nice to be instructed, but I was never told nor asked. I was told I'll get a call tomorrow from a rep. Meanwhile, I looked at my wiring, and found out that I forgot to plug in the 12V pins. Presto, system up. This is also the time where I realized that the PSU I received was a refurbed whitebox PSU. Very disappointing.  
 
The next day, I got a call from a tech, and I told her that it was the PSU as I had the system running on a lower powered PSU. I was asked if I wanted to return the PSU. I told her I'll call back later (as I had to go to work.)  
 
CS Problem #2:  
I called a few days later and spoke with a CS rep. I told him that I needed to return a PSU. I gave the rep all the requested information, and we ended our call with myself assuming that I'll get a PSU in a few days.  
 
However, I never received the PSU. I let a week (or maybe more) pass by and no PSU.  
 
Customer Problem #3:  
 
Frustrated, I called DS to see that status. If I recall correctly, I was told that I'll get a call back. I waited a couple hours, and never received a call. I called again and after spending over an hour on the phone on hold, I got a hold of a rep. After some more hassles, which include my cell battery dying, I finally got another order put in for my PSU. It was unknown why my previous order did not go through. At the time, I did not care because I was on the phone for a good portion of the day, and wanted to go home. A few days later, I finally receive my PSU after about a 2-3weeks of waiting. This time, I received a quality PSU.  
 
Now for the traditional review scores:  
 
Ordering (5/5): Since I picked a preconfigured system specials, there wasn't much ordering hassle. However, the website looked average. I tried it just to price some systems out, and it was easy to navigate through.  
 
Packaging (5/5): Great packaging. I got the system unscathed from shipping hazards.  
 
Quality of build/wiring (5/5): Superb. A lot better than I could ever do. Everything was tied down nicely, and doors could be opened closed with ease.  
 
Customer Service (1/5): Read my experience above.  
 
Parts (3/5): whitebox PSU and dvd. Everything else was good quality, so I'm not sure why DS insists on using lower quality parts.  
 
Lasting impression: The parts have a good warranty, so that's a good thing. However, my experience with the customer service has left a foul taste in my mouth.  
 
Am I overall satisfied with my system? Yes.  
 
Would I recommend DS to someone that can't put together their own system? Yes.  
 
Would I recommend it to a tech-savvy person, who can build their own system? Unless you absolutely  
hate putting systems together, then no.  
 
Would I buy from DS again? I originally purchased from them because I didn't have the stomach to build another system. However, I ended up rewiring most of the system anyways since the PSU died. I'm not certain if I would try DS again. We'll see after another three years.  
 
With that said, with customer service, YMMV. What may be my experience may not be yours.  
---  
 
Update:  
 
I looked up again on Newegg, and found the cooler and found out it's part of OCZ. So, I'm not sure why I had the impression thaat PC Power and Cooling was generic/whitebox. However, the PSU was labeled with a white stick in black letters as "REFURB".  
 
Secondly, I don't know what kind of upgraded PSU you gave me. I had a 750W, and I ended up with a 750W. Your reply proves the fact that your customer service is still poor and still has a long way to go. Good luck with that.

This review was modified by its author, retropunk, on 11/17/09 9:37 AM.

I am very happy with the customer support I have received.

I had been looking to buy a high end gaming desktop for a while and there are really a lot of retailers that you can go to online. However, Digital Storm has been the only one that has taken a "customer first" approach. Here are some of the examples that I found set them apart from their competition. Through their videos, they show you exactly what goes into each and every system that they produce. They undergo a 72-hr rigorous testing of your pc's core components. Those being Memory, CPU and GPU. (kind of misleading as my testing phase did not last 72-hrs) Their packaging was VERY secure and they show that they care that their shipment gets to you in perfect condition instead of just throwing it out the door. All of the parts that were used to build my machine were brand name, high quality parts that you can find off the shelf. Their professional wiring job is out of this world with the BARE minimum of wires visible to block airflow. In fact, the only thing "blocking" airflow inside my case was the pipes for liquid cooling and there's not much that can/should be done about that. I also like that they include a 3 year warranty which is nice in case something goes wrong. Although Digital Storm was generally a bit more expensive that some other retailers I found online, if you take into account the 3 year warranty (which is always included in the price at other retailers, the professional wiring job and the overall quality control and care put into building your one of a kind system, it's very much worth every dollar. Since I'm in Canada, my shipment had to cross through customs to be prepared for at least a one week delay from the estimated time shown by your shipping company if you're in my position. During the build process, it was kind of detrimental that they did not have a 24-hr customer service line since I'm in different time zones then they are. I had to coordinate when they started and ended work to make sure that someone answered my call. (and sometimes no-one did even during business hours) Also, it seemed like their toll free number did not work and I had to call them long distance instead. Overall, the company is professional and passionate about what they do. They care about your system and getting your system to you in perfect condition. I would recommend buying from them since you're most likely not going to find a better mix of price, quality and after purchase care.

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.