Thoughts, awards, right2reply, where2buy
There's no denying the pedigree behind the SCAN 3XS Triad system. SCAN has taken the enthusiast's approach and included only the components that constitute the very best on offer. Intel's Core 2 Extreme QX6700 CPU, SilverStone's TEMJIM TJ09S chassis, Corsair Dominator PC8500 RAM, Galaxy 1kW PSU, and Seagate's 750GB hard drive being obvious cases in point.
To differentiate the SKU further from a number of system integrators that could put together a similar PC, SCAN has added in a watercooling kit from Alphacool that's situated on top of the chassis and in the prototype model we received it solely cools the CPU.
We'd like to, and expect to, see SCAN ship full-production models with concurrent GPU/CPU cooling with both components overclocked. SCAN's assured us that the non-overclocked nature of the prototype lies with the engineering sample mainboard and processor, and once retail editions have been procured and tested, the Triad will ship with elevated clocks. We'll take another look at it then, dear reader.
£3,099 is a helluva price to pay for a base unit, no matter how pretty the specification. We'd expect perfection at that price, with attention to detail that normal S.I.s simply cannot factor into their lower prices. We'd urge SCAN to list the final price of the SKU with a 3-year on-site warranty absorbed into the price, simply for peace of mind. We'd also like the full-production models to be a little quieter (even though the E.S. uses rheobus-controlled fans), and, finally, we'd add in some noise-reducing material to the chassis' innards.
In summary, SCAN has taken the very best bits of hardware currently available, headlined by Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 and NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX and sprinkled in some other enthusiast-class componentry to create, arguably, the fastest base unit we've seen thus far. We'll be eager to see a full-production edition, complete with a few minor changes and some serious overclocking on both the CPU and GPU fronts.
Got three grand in your pocket and want a dream PC in exchange? SCAN's 3XS Triad should definitely be put on your shortlist. It may even go to the top once you've read our full-production take, so stay tuned.
HEXUS Awards
The SCAN 3XS Triad is awarded the HEXUS Extreme Speed gong for being, on balance, the fastest and most feature-rich PC we've come across.
SCAN 3XS Triad
SCAN 3XS Triad
HEXUS Where2Buy
You can access the online configurator here.HEXUS Right2Reply
At HEXUS.net, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any of SCAN's representatives choose to do so, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.HEXUS.links
The SCAN 3XS Triad G80 PC technical evaluation makes up only one-quarter of our G80 coverage today. Please head on over to the links below for more in-depth coverage.HEXUS' comprehensive, in-depth GeForce 8800 GTX analysis
ASUS GeForce 8800 GTX retail graphics card review
XFX GeForce 8800 GTX retail graphics card review
You may also be interested in some of the latest hardware used in reviewing the GeForce 8800 GTX.
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 quad-core CPU review
Corsair Dominator TWIN2X2048-PC8888 DDR2 RAM review
Cooler Master Real Power Pro 850W G80-approved PSU
