General Analysis

Overall performance is quite good with the optional ability to squeeze out a bit more via overclocking if potential buyers wish. The Intel i7-9700K performs similarly to an 8700K even though it lacks Hyper-Threading. Instead, even with less threads (8 vs. 12), the i7-9700K still ekes out a minor win because of its two extra cores. It delivers solid performance for gaming and rendering tasks while still being affordable compared to HEDT systems. System memory is adequate with 16 GB of 3200 MHz DDR4 installed in dual-channel, which is ample memory for typical multi-tasking by users and for gaming especially. In general, it is of far better value than the i9-9900K, and its good to see Digital Storm taking a more bang for the buck approach.


The motherboard uses the Z390 chipset and of course supports overclocking. While not something I directly test, I do check to see what options are available, and in this case, the ASUS motherboard offers everything needed to push an Intel 9000 series processor. The system is configured to run at 4.7 GHz on all cores under load, which means performance will be a touch higher than what Intel specifies. However, with temperatures in check, it's not a problem and gives consumers a little extra performance out of the box. Digital Storm has also manually set the CPU voltage on this rig while selecting the necessary XMP profile for proper memory speeds.


In regards to graphics card performance, the ASUS GeForce RTX 2070 Turbo the system comes with does an admirable job, easily delivering solid framerates at up to 1440p. Gaming at 4K is possible with some titles hitting 60 FPS. However, the next generation of AAA games will likely require reduced settings for a solid 60 FPS experience. While features like DLSS can help, it isn't quite the same as running native 4K. As such, the feature remains useful, but it is ultimately up to the buyer if they want to use it or not. With that said, it doesn't change the fact that the system as a whole manages to deliver a stable, enjoyable gaming experience at both 1080p and 1440p. With an OC scanner tool like GPU-Tweak, getting extra performance out of the graphics card is a bit easier as it takes some of the guesswork out of the equation.

In terms of the system build quality, you could say Digital Storm excels. While the included components may not be enthusiast-tier parts, they are more than adequate and function perfectly. Partly responsible for this are the partners Digital Storm works with, companies like ASUS and Samsung whose products are trustworthy and reliable off-the-shelf components, which directly contributes to system stability as corner cutting is not the primary goal. As such, I can say Digital Storm deserves credit for assembling a clean and well laid out system. Cable routing is typically top notch as well, with an RGB LED/fan hub keeping the cable mess that comes from RGB-equipped components and LED strips in check. Speaking of the RGB LED functionality, it works perfectly—the remote is one I have seen a hundred times. The main draw here is that it controls everything in the system, which means all the colors on all the parts match, except for the GPU. ASUS, in their infinite wisdom, added a light bar to the RTX 2070 Turbo, but there is no way to control the color, meaning what you see is what you get, which is a bit of a disappointment.


Temperatures are quite good. Pushing the CPU to the limit with AIDA64 FPU only loads produced temperatures which peaked at 83°C. Meanwhile, gaming loads had the GPU peak at 82°C. Overall noise levels with both the CPU and GPU resulted in a reading of 45 dBA. With the system idle or doing light tasks, overall noise levels remained alright with readings of 40 dBA at 30 cm from the side panel. These reading can be improved by tweaking various fan profile curves, but I tested the system as it arrived from Digital Storm. Finally, power draw was quite low with the performance on offer, peaking at 347 watts at the wall under heavy loads. Typical games used between 290–310 watts.