Review: Scan 3XS Z170 Vengeance

Conclusion

Itching to get your hands on the latest and greatest Intel CPU? Scan Computers has you covered and is primed and ready on day one with a base unit flaunting everything that's good about Core i7-6700K.

Overclocked to 4.6GHz and accompanied by ultra-fast DDR4 memory as well as an insanely quick PCIe SSD, the 3XS Z170 Vengeance is an immediate showcase of what Skylake can do.

Performance is indeed impressive, but we'd add a cautionary note in that Skylake raises the bar without necessarily pushing the boat out. The i7-6700K takes the mantle of quickest quad-core consumer CPU, yet the chip's make-up is such that it lacks the capacity to dethrone hexa-core Haswell-E on the existing X99 platform.

And that leaves enthusiasts in a bit of a quandary. Do you pay a little more for X99, knowing that the platform is quicker in multi-threaded scenarios but ultimately based on older technology? Or do you sacrifice the utility of hexa/octo-core processing in favour of Skylake's latest-generation microarchitecture? That's a tough call, but in order for Skylake to stand out it may need to be priced aggressively, and at £1,500 the 3XS Z170 Vengeance is cutting it close.

Bottom line: we see little reason for users of fifth-, fourth- or even third-generation Intel processor technology to rush out and upgrade, but if you happen to be in the market for a powerful new gaming rig, Skylake and Z170 is without a doubt the best alternative to Haswell and X99.

Scan 3XS Z170 Vengeance

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The 3XS Z170 Vengeance base unit is available to purchase from Scan Computers.

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