Digital Storm’s midsize tower Virtue delivers superior power

THE PRICEY ($2200) Digital Storm Virtue (go.pcworld.com/virtue)     packs an unlocked Intel Core i7-4770K CPU from Intel’s new Haswell processor family, 16GB of DDR3-1600 memory, and Nvidia’s GeForce

GTX 780 graphics card into a low-key steel-and-brushed-aluminum case. The result is a compact gaming rig with a Desktop WorldBench 8.1 score of 399—just shy of the 421 posted by the cheaper ($1599) Micro Express MicroFlex 47B (go.pcworld.com/micro flex47b). How to explain the performance difference? Though neither manufacturer overclocked its system, Micro Express splurged on a 512GB SSD, whereas Digital Storm opted for a 120GB SSD. As a result, the Micro-Flex performed much better on our productivity benchmarks.

At a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels, the Windows 8–based Virtue     delivered a 3DMark Cloud Gate score of 26214 versus the MicroFlex’s 24864. With real games (at 2560-by-1600-pixel resolution and visual
quality set to Ultra), the Virtue ran Dirt Showdown at 57.3 frames per second, versus the MicroFlex 47B’s 41.4 fps. On BioShock Infinite at the same settings, the Virtue sustained a frame rate of 55.4 fps as
against the 47B’s 46.9 fps.

Digital Storm achieves an impressive level of quietness, thanks to its Corsair H100i liquid-cooling system, which consists of a CPU water block and a 240mm radiator mounted to the top of the case.

Despite its unassuming dimensions (17.7 by 17.7 by 8.3 inches), the Virtue has plenty of room for expansion inside. If you want higher frame rates with games, throw in a second graphics card; the system’s 1050-watt power supply provides more than enough juice to support such a configuration.

Our test Virtue came with a 1TB, 7200-rpm WD Caviar Black hard drive and a 120GB Corsair Neutron GTX SSD, leaving room for one additional 3.5-inch drive and three more SSDs. A Blu-ray player/ DVD burner occupies one of the 5.25-inch drive bays. The radiator mounted on the top of the case partially blocks access to the second bay.

Digital Storm provides two USB 3.0 ports, along with microphone and headphone jacks, on the front of the machine. On the back you get four more USB 3.0 ports, four USB 2.0 ports, gigabit ethernet, S/PDIF out, and the usual analog audio ports. The video card’s mounting bracket has one port each for duallink DVI, single-link DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort. The Virtue’s high-quality components enable it to achieve a level of
performance typical of machines twice its size. Its dimensions and motherboard won’t let you go beyond two video cards, but it delivers solid performance on today’s games with the one card it has now. Gamers will love the Virtue, even if their wallets won’t.





Digital Storm Virtue

PROS:
• Water- and fan-cooled interior stays cool
• Powerful components
• Plenty of room to add more components

CONS:
• Boring, plain case
• Hefty price tag

BOTTOM LINE:
Powerful components and room to grow
make the Virtue a great gaming desktop if
the price tag doesn’t scare you away.

PRICE:
$ 2200

PC World USA October 2013