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Review: Scan International's 3XS Cobra SLI Systems

by Ryszard Sommefeldt on 15 December 2004, 00:00

Tags: SCAN

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Scan 3XS Blue Cobra

The Blue Cobra is the system I used for pre-test and familiarisation with SLI, before the nForce4 SLI system came along. Initially equipped with a pair of GeForce 6800 GTs, the rest of the system was also to a high specification.

Configuration

  • 2 x Intel 3.4GHz 'Nocona' Xeon processors, 17 x 200, 1MB L2
  • 2 x NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT, PEG16X, 350/1000, 256MB
  • 2 x 1GB DDR-II 400MHz Registered DIMMs
  • Supermicro X6DA8-G2 mainboard, 16GB DDR-II max, 2 x PEG16, 2 x Socket 604
  • 160GB Maxtor MaxLine II ATA
  • 2 x 74GB Western Digital Raptor SATA
  • Silverstone TJ05-ST
  • Plextor PX-712A DVD Recorder
  • Tagan TG480-U01
  • Windows XP Professional w/ Service Pack 2
Quite the power house, sporting two graphics cards, two Xeon processors, 2GB (out of a staggering 16GB max) of DDR-II, two Raptors, a beefy Tagan PSU and 160GB boot disk, all wrapped up in a Silverstone TJ05-ST. And it's no ordinary TJ05-ST.

Exterior Appearance

Front of the 3XS Blue Cobra
Click for a larger version

With the stock Silverstone TJ05 a regular silver colour, the Blue Cobra is a tad different. Clad in a paintjob more expensive than the case it's attached to, the deep pearlescent blue goes a nice flip shade of lighter blue under certain lighting conditions. The 3XS, dual headed cobra motif and SLI logos are all tastefully done to my eyes. If you've seen a TJ05 before, you'll have seen the LCD in action. I'll show you it soon on the second system.

Front bottom of the 3XS Blue Cobra
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The worst thing about the gorgeous paint job would be its propensity for slight chipping along the leading edges of the case side panels, after you've removed it and replaced it a few times.

Battle scarring on the 3XS Blue Cobra
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However, help is at hand in the form of a supplied small pot of paint and a touch up brush, so you can do small detail work on the small sections that might chip off. If it gets really bad in places, for whatever reason, give Scan a ring and they'll see what they can do to help you restore the chassis to its former glory.

I'll refrain from showing you too many pictures of the Blue Cobra, since I'll just be repeating what you'll see on the second system, only in a different colour. What I will do though is show you a quick shot of the interior, before I move on to the second system to explain that one in more detail. The chassis' used are identical, just painted differently to differentiate between the two versions of the systems they build.

Interior Appearance

Inside the 3XS Blue Cobra
Click for a larger version