Digital Storm Unleashes Hailstorm II Gaming PC

[btarunr]

Enthusiasts looking to quench their thirst for a benchmark crushing components and bone chilling liquid cooling need look no further than the Digital Storm Hailstorm II. With space for up to four radiators (ranging from 140mm to 480mm sizes) and a quadruple GPU and dual CPU configuration, enthusiasts can achieve the ultimate level of performance and customization with the Hailstorm II.The Hailstorm II pairs an advanced liquid cooling system with a blustery current of cold air driven by three front intake fans and a large rear exhaust fan. With the ability to include up to 15 fans total, the Hailstorm II encompasses one of the most powerful airflow designs available, providing prolonged stability and ensuring every component operates at peak performance with zero heat related bottlenecks.



"When we (Digital Storm) set out to redesign Hailstorm we knew it would be a challenging to improve on a system capable of handling nearly any high-end configuration an enthusiast could dream up" said Rajeev Kuruppu, Digital Storm's Director of Product Development. "This meant the search was on for the biggest and baddest chassis available. When we saw the Corsair 900D at CES we knew we had the enclosure we needed to make the original Hailstorm look like a small mid-tower system and not the bad ass high performance system it really was." The sleek brushed aluminum front panel peels back to reveal a vast interior with room for ten expansion slots, up to nine hard drives or SSD with three hot-swap mounts, four 5.25" optical drive bays, and both 2x USB 3.0 ports and 4x USB 2.0 ports for maximum expandability. Themost impressive feature of the massive system is its ability to install two power supplies, giving enthusiasts an unlimited level of power to handle the most intense hardware configurations.

Prior to shipping to the customer, each Digital Storm system undergoes a rigorous 72-Hour Stress-Test. Digital Storm technicians stress-test and benchmark the system via industry standard testing software coupled with a proprietary testing process that detects components which can be prone to future failure.

For more information, visit the product page.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[digibucc]

why do cases still have so many optical drive bays? I would think they could be made more efficient and smaller by dropping them, how much are they really used anymore?

 

[tokyoduong]

because the blue print is already there and they don't know what to replace it with. There are also many things you can plug in there besides an optical bay. Eg.. Card readers, Audio ports, Fan controllers, Watercooling systems, etc...

It's legacy, it's easy to just put it in, it helps with chassis rigidity, it may upset some customers if they replace it with something else. Until there's a clear standard to replace it, case makers won't replace it.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Ok.... they have a tripple rad just to cool the CPU VRMs while directly below that are what im guessing are 680s or even Titans in 3way SLi - two of which will run retardedly hot due to the cards being so close together.

what kind of fucking logic is this??? even a dual rad would have been plenty sufficient just for cooling VRMs and CPU


:EDIT:

Ok, Its at tripple rad at the top and also a tripple rad down at the bottom and all their cooling is the CPU & VRMs. what a great idea.....

 

[XL-R8R]

Ok.... they have a tripple rad just to cool the CPU VRMs while directly below that are what im guessing are 680s or even Titans in 3way SLi - two of which will run retardedly hot due to the cards being so close together.

what kind of fucking logic is this??? even a dual rad would have been plenty sufficient just for cooling VRMs and CPU


:EDIT:

Ok, Its at tripple rad at the top and also a tripple rad down at the bottom and all their cooling is the CPU & VRMs. what a great idea.....

That'd be 3 Titans, Sir.


And I do agree; most retarded WC setup I've seen in some time in its current config.


But, I'll assume its not just a demo and the final build (if you chose so) will include full cover blocks too.... lets hope huh?

 

[de.das.dude]

why do cases still have so many optical drive bays? I would think they could be made more efficient and smaller by dropping them, how much are they really used anymore?

i still buy games in DVD since my net is slow.. so its really useful.

 

[nickbaldwin86]

agreed not cooling the cards is kinda pointless. I hope the cpu is running at 4.5+ with that cooling.

still a sick setup, and the 900D is a pretty HUGE case, but very nice too

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Ok.... they have a tripple rad just to cool the CPU VRMs while directly below that are what im guessing are 680s or even Titans in 3way SLi - two of which will run retardedly hot due to the cards being so close together.

what kind of fucking logic is this??? even a dual rad would have been plenty sufficient just for cooling VRMs and CPU


:EDIT:

Ok, Its at tripple rad at the top and also a tripple rad down at the bottom and all their cooling is the CPU & VRMs. what a great idea.....

Definitely Titans. GTX680s even the reference ones do not have the titanium/aluminum cooler shroud.

 

[digibucc]

i still buy games in DVD since my net is slow.. so its really useful.

you need four disc drives to install games? don't they come on dvds now? I didn't mean to sound elitist and I guess it kind of did, sorry for that. But I still question the necessity for so many.

using it for other things yes makes sense, but still four just seems excessive to me. small gripe I know but I made it so i'll defend it

 

[FreedomEclipse]

you need four disc drives to install games? don't they come on dvds now? I didn't mean to sound elitist and I guess it kind of did, sorry for that. But I still question the necessity for so many.

using it for other things yes makes sense, but still four just seems excessive to me. small gripe I know but I made it so i'll defend it

I guess some people still like the idea of having 1 optical drive to read discs and the other to burn them. Just like in the earlier days before dvd reader/burner combo drives became all the rage

 

[MxPhenom 216]

you need four disc drives to install games? don't they come on dvds now? I didn't mean to sound elitist and I guess it kind of did, sorry for that. But I still question the necessity for so many.

using it for other things yes makes sense, but still four just seems excessive to me. small gripe I know but I made it so i'll defend it

They put that many 5.25" slots because a lot of people run bay reservoirs that are dual, fan controllers, card readers/more USB, etc. I know I don't use a DVD drive or anything but there are other uses for the 5.25" bays.

 

[nickbaldwin86]

you need four disc drives to install games? don't they come on dvds now? I didn't mean to sound elitist and I guess it kind of did, sorry for that. But I still question the necessity for so many.

using it for other things yes makes sense, but still four just seems excessive to me. small gripe I know but I made it so i'll defend it

I can think of a ton of reasons... and being a case maker you can not hit ever market 100%.... everyone is going to want a little bit different this or that, you just have to make sure you make it in the middle and do what most case makers are doing, make it modular make it flexible.

Anyways...
1 - blu-ray burner
1 - blu-ray player
2x5.25" bay reservoir with or without pump

or
1 - blu-ray burner
1 - blu-ray player
2x5.25 fan controller/temps etc

list of combos go on and on and on....

I am completely with you, the last 2 builds I didn't have a single 5.25 bay item and the last 4 builds didn't have a optical drive of any kind. I have a external for the rare case I need one, wipe the dust off and use it.

That being said I still think the 900D is an amazing case but it isn't for me, for more reasons then just the 5.25" bays

 

[HumanSmoke]

agreed not cooling the cards is kinda pointless

Depends what you're paying for the luxury of waterblocking the cards.
I used to run WC'ed cards, but the latest series (and probably all others from now on) don't benefit hugely- benchmarking aside- from overclocking now we have dynamic boost.
I've also found that since I upgrade ~twice a year, that reselling waterblocked graphics card(s) is harder work with more depreciation involved than reselling air cooled cards. Definitely a smaller market.

As someone that used to have a tri-SLI WC'd 8800 Ultra setup, I also have less than fond memories trying to troubleshoot a cards failing vRAM (Thanks BFG- rot in hell for putting out the H2OC)

 

[nickbaldwin86]

I had 3x580s and i hated it.. not because I was overclocking and need that 2 extra frames... but because of how HOT and loud they got...after I water cooled them all that went away, and I was also able to push a little more from them without heating issues and mainly greatly dropped db

and I am sure 3 Titans would get hot and loud too, though likely not as hot or loud.

oh and water blocks just look cool

 

[HumanSmoke]

oh and water blocks just look cool

Yup, they do look the goods, and with a bridge connector it makes for a very clean build as well.
Heat dissipation and noise might be a little harder to quantify with the Titan. Close proximity in tri-SLI is definitely going to keep the fan profile engaged at a higher point, but the Titan also throttles at a GPU temp of 85C. Noise didn't seem to be a huge consideration for Hilbert or the guys at HardwareLUXX though.

 

[bogami]

It when you look at this product I was pleasantly surprised by the volume available for the cooling with fluid. But I can not overlook the fact that the buyer is willing to pay $ 8000 and does not add a meager $ 300 for 3 blocks.Of course should be enhanced even radiators. A most bode lack of dust filters!! because it will matter very much changed in three months in reservoir dust and will no longer be what was the proud holder of the many problems that follow. superficial upgrade will be very expensive reminder for inexperienced buyers when they started undesirable blue screens after a few weeks so imperfect product. nor any regulator to speed on the fans did not seem as loud a run even when it's not necessary, 140 mm fans, of course, are much less noisy. could have counted a lot I will not continue because readers often do not understand what I'm saying. But to learn the lessons by experience. saddle not essential to: the cow.

 

[Novulux]

why do cases still have so many optical drive bays? I would think they could be made more efficient and smaller by dropping them, how much are they really used anymore?

I use them for additions besides optical drives.

 

[HumanSmoke]

A most bode lack of dust filters!! because it will matter very much changed in three months in reservoir dust and will no longer be what was the proud holder of the many problems that follow.

Most inbuilt dust filters are a PITA anyway. DEMCiflex are the way to go- especially if you are in a dusty environment. If the 900D is anything like the 800D, the machining tolerances aren't great anyway, so there are plenty of gaps for dust to penetrate. DEMCiflex will also build to order.

Personally, I pull my system down every six months for maintenance - blow out the rad w/ compressed air, flush with deionized water, clean/replace lines, check over O-rings etc., as well as general cleaning. Watercooled rigs are generally configured as negative pressure systems, so they tend to draw in dust fairly easily.

 

[bogami]

Most inbuilt dust filters are a PITA anyway. DEMCiflex are the way to go- especially if you are in a dusty environment. If the 900D is anything like the 800D, the machining tolerances aren't great anyway, so there are plenty of gaps for dust to penetrate. DEMCiflex will also build to order.

Personally, I pull my system down every six months for maintenance - blow out the rad w/ compressed air, flush with deionized water, clean/replace lines, check over O-rings etc., as well as general cleaning. Watercooled rigs are generally configured as negative pressure systems, so they tend to draw in dust fairly easily.

na trgu se je v zadnjem času pojavilo mnogo več izdelkov za zaščito pred prahom,in to sem omenil ker ni podano v osnovno ponudbo tudi na najdražjem sistemu .jaz svoj sistem do sedaj redno čistim vsake tri mesece .sem tudi močan kadilec in nikotin se zalepi na vse okoli .pred kratkom sem nabavil switch 810 . in vanj ugradil 3x140mm,2x140mm in 1x140mm EK radiatore.kako dougo bo zdrzal brez čišcenja bomo pa še videli .... 900$ je dober zaslužek za golo montažo .Stres test pa bo zdržal če je sestavljalec ve kaj dela .Možnosti nadgradnje so odprte a mnogi niti ne vedo kaj vse je potrebno dodati .pa brez zamere

 

[bogami]

market has recently become much more products for protection against dust, and this I mention because it is not specified in the original bid on more expensive system.'m your system up to date regularly cleaned every three months.'m a strong smoker and nicotine sticking all around.'m the recently purchased switch 810th and ugrade it 3x140mm, 2x140mm and 1x140mm EK radiatore.kako dougo will be gone without cleaning, we'll see .... $ 900 is a good income for a plain installation. Stress test will endure if the compiler knows what he's doing. Upgrade options are open but many do not even know what all should be added. While no offense. sory i mestup slovenian for eng .

 

[HammerON]

I would like to see this rig with water cooled GPU's, or at least be an option for the buyer.

bogami - please do not double post

why do cases still have so many optical drive bays? I would think they could be made more efficient and smaller by dropping them, how much are they really used anymore?

Let's see...
In my main rig in System Specs I have a fan controller taking one bay and a dual res w/pump taking two more. This leaves me two bays in my Corsair 800D

 

[HumanSmoke]

I would like to see this rig with water cooled GPU's, or at least be an option for the buyer.

If you follow the link in the story, click on the Level 4 "view details" (to this page), click the "Customize/Specs" tab and scroll down to "Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 6: Digital Storm Exotic Custom Cooling System"...

viola !

 

[XL-R8R]

That's much better with blocks all around.... but, I'm still not sure about this loop:

Looks kinda.. awkward?

 

[de.das.dude]

you need four disc drives to install games? don't they come on dvds now? I didn't mean to sound elitist and I guess it kind of did, sorry for that. But I still question the necessity for so many.

using it for other things yes makes sense, but still four just seems excessive to me. small gripe I know but I made it so i'll defend it

the NZXT sentry comes in to dual bays.
you need a DVD drive..
plus an additional eSATA/USB3, card reader will occupy one more slot.

if not that, then its always nice to have two DVD drives, because i think changing the discs everytime i want to play a different game is such a chore...

you just need to be "imaginative"

 

[KoRnMaN]

one of the plugs on the power supply looks like its come out