Digital Storm, a custom PC Manufacturer founded in 2002 today revealed their latest system lineup. The new Aventum computers employ the company’s Cryo-TEC sub-zero cooling solution and the latest in PC hardware in a custom full tower chassis. The custom Aventum systems come in several tiers, including three systems with Intel Sandy Bridge-E processors, NVIDIA GTX 680 graphics cards, solid state drives, and at least 16 GB of RAM. Digital Storm further does not skimp on the power supplies. The Aventum computers are powered by either Corsair or Silverstone PSUs.
The hardware inside the chassis is impressive from a performance standpoint, and Digital Storm is including high end hardware as part of several tiers. The lowest tier is an Intel Sandy Bridge Core i7 2700K and a single EVGA NVIDIA GTX 680 graphics card on an Asus P8Z68-V Pro motherboard. On the other hand, the top tier system moves up to a dual socket EVGA SR-X motherboard, two Intel Xeon E5-2630 processors and three EVGA NVIDIA GTX 680 GPUs in a triple SLI configuration. The other hardware differences are less pronounced – like the upgrade to faster or more RAM and a bit more SSD capacity and PSU wattage. At launch, there will be four system configuration levels which you can see in the chart below.
Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 | |
Processor | Intel Core i7 2700K | Intel Core i7 3930K | Intel Core i7 3960X | 2x Dual Intel Xeon E5-2630 Six-Core |
Memory | 16 GB DDR3 1600 MHz | 16 GB DDR3 1600 MHz | 16 GB DDR3 2133 MHz Corsair GT | 32 GB DDR3 ECC REG 1333 MHz |
Graphics Card(s) | 1x EVGA GTX 680 | 2x Dual SLI GTX 680 | 3x Triple SLI GTX 680 | 3x Triple SLI GTX 680 |
Storage | 120 GB SSD & 1 TB HDD | 120 GB SSD & 1 TB HDD | 120 GB SSD & 1 TB HDD | 180 GB SSD & 1 TB HDD |
Motherboard | ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 |
ASUS Sabertooth X79 |
ASUS Rampage IV Extreme X79 |
EVGA Classified SR-X |
Power Supply | Corsair 1050W Pro Silver | Corsair 1200W Pro Gold | Silverstone 1500W SST-ST1500 | Silverstone 1500W SST-ST1500 |
Optical Drive | Slot Loading DVD Writer | Slot Loading DVD Writer | Slot Loading DVD Writer | Slot Loading DVD Writer |
OS | Windows 7 HP x64 | Windows 7 HP x64 | Windows 7 HP x64 | Windows 7 Pro x64 |
Price | $3,859 | $4,985 | $6,687 | $7,850 |
The hardware is nice, but it is not the only interesting aspect of the new Aventum PCs. Rather, it is the custom chassis that holds the Digital Storm hardware. The metal full tower ATX case is divided up into sections and supports three 420mm (3x140mm) radiators, and 13 case fans to keep the Cryo-TEC thermo-electric cooler from overheating. The cooler is placed directly on the CPU and then is itself cooled by a water cooling loop. There are two 420mm radiators in the bottom of the chassis along with the computer’s power supply.
The Digital Storm Cryo-TEC cooler installed in a system.
Digital Storm has designed it such that three 140mm fans draw cool air in from outside of the case, through the radiator, and then channels the heated air out of the back of the case via vent under the power supply. The 13 case fans provide cooling for five cooling “zones” and are monitored and controlled by temperature probes using Aventum software in Windows. System and temperature information is also displayed on a built in LCD on the right side of the case.
Another interesting aspect of the Aventum chassis is that the hardware is installed “backwards” in the case such that it can be viewed through a window on the right side of the case (instead of the left in the majority of cases). It also features a removable drive cage with four 3.5” drive bays. There is also support for two internal 2.5” drives and a slot loading DVD writer optical drive accessed on the top of the case. Power and reset buttons are located just under the DVD drive while four USB ports and two audio jacks (1 mic, 1 headphone) are located on the right side of the case near the DVD drive.
The case also features plenty of mesh patterned ventilation holes and cut out Digital Storm logos. Also, there is a Digital Storm logo on the front of the case that is back-lit by a customizable LED color. Digital Storm’s Director of Product Development Rajeev Kuruppu noted that their research department has worked for months with thermal imaging cameras to ensure that the high end components are cooled as efficiently as possible. ”Every integral component and every zone is constantly being monitored so our customers can ensure their dream machine is always delivering optimal performance.”
The Aventum systems are available now and range in price from $3,859 to $7,856 depending on the particular configuration. More information will be posted on the Digital Storm website later today.
Is there any mention anywhere
Is there any mention anywhere of what type of GPU blocks are used? I’ve never seen ones that interconnect with each other without using hoses. Are they custom made too?
Unfortunately no, they did
Unfortunately no, they did not say what GPU blocks they are using. There are fittings that are made to connect SLI setups and such though, that’s prolly what they are using to connect all the cards.
These systems seem like a
These systems seem like a terrible value. I understand that not everyone wants to build their own machine or learn how to do water cooling, but the premium you’re paying for having someone else do that for you is ridiculous
For example, the second level system is $5,000 and has $3,190 in parts. That’s at retail prices and with an allowance of $500 for water cooling parts and $200 for an equivalent chassis.
That’s an $1,800 premium And the next step up from that one has a $2,100 premium. Unless you travel around in a charter jet, it seems hard to justify spending that much to not learn how to build a system on your own.
Maybe some of us do travel
Maybe some of us do travel around in private charter jets 🙂 … only joking, my beat up Ford is on its last legs! I guess this price is a test of what people are willing to pay as a convenience premium for not having to learn the process themselves.