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Review: Scan 3XS Z170 Vengeance Q

by Parm Mann on 28 June 2016, 15:30

Tags: SCAN, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA)

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qac3xg

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Conclusion

...Scan demonstrates its expertise by striking an optimum balance between speed, efficiency and minimal noise.

The Scan Computers 3XS Z170 Vengeance Q is very much in line with our expectations of a modern-day enthusiast build. Championing some of the best hardware currently available to PC gamers, it combines an overclocked Core i7-6700K with class-leading GeForce GTX 1080 graphics, DDR4 memory and a swift NVMe M.2 SSD.

Putting together such hardware is child's play for any experienced builder, yet Scan demonstrates its expertise by striking an optimum balance between speed, efficiency and minimal noise. Gaming rigs at this end of the performance spectrum quite often sacrifice refinement in favour of gaudy aesthetics and a few extra megahertz here or there, so it's good to see Scan looking at the bigger picture.

Component selection is good throughout, performance is excellent in all meaningful areas, 4K/VR gaming potential is readily available, and all this is delivered in a sleek, well-built package that barely makes a whisper.

A lack of competition and a weakening pound means that high-end PC gaming is becoming a playground for the deep-pocketed enthusiast. Willing to splash the best part of £2,000 on your next machine? Scan's 3XS Z170 Vengeance Q is a fine choice and a prime candidate for VR gaming.

The Good
  
The Bad
Geared for quiet computing aficionados
Armed with the world's fastest GPU
Guaranteed 4.4GHz CPU overclock
Well-suited to VR/4K gaming
Tidy build quality throughout
Fast M.2 storage and DDR4 memory
Backed by a three-year warranty
  
GTX 1080 pushes up cost considerably



Scan 3XS Z170 Vengeance Q

HEXUS.where2buy

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

HEXUS.right2reply

At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.


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HEXUS Forums :: 9 Comments

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Posted by Tunnah - Tue 28 Jun 2016 16:45
Now that a card is out that can comfortably do 4K, what I think would be nice is a review that instead of max settings used, telling users what settings are needed to get 60fps average.

My thinking is AA wouldn't be needed much at all in 4K, and it's the most demanding single graphics setting, so maybe a test of which AA settings still allow smooth gameplay.

Although I guess it's more suited to a gaming website, still would be nice to see.
Posted by aidanjt - Tue 28 Jun 2016 17:57
Tunnah
My thinking is AA wouldn't be needed much at all in 4K

Not just much at all, at all at all unless it's a panel size of a TV or something ridiculous.
Posted by Nifl - Tue 28 Jun 2016 18:51
Tunnah
Now that a card is out that can comfortably do 4K, what I think would be nice is a review that instead of max settings used, telling users what settings are needed to get 60fps average.

My thinking is AA wouldn't be needed much at all in 4K, and it's the most demanding single graphics setting, so maybe a test of which AA settings still allow smooth gameplay.

Although I guess it's more suited to a gaming website, still would be nice to see.

The 1080 works fine for 4k 30 fps, but stable 60 fps is not doable in current AAA titles, even without anti-aliasing (which doesn't make much sense at that resolution anyway). The point of getting such a card is to play at maximum settings, reducing settings to get 60 fps at a higher resolution kinda beats the point.
Posted by QuorTek - Tue 28 Jun 2016 19:46
4K gaming is still averaging at below 60 FPS on a single card, will be quite a while before it get stable enough to have a min FPS of 60+.
Posted by Otherhand - Tue 28 Jun 2016 19:51
Tunnah
Now that a card is out that can comfortably do 4K, what I think would be nice is a review that instead of max settings used, telling users what settings are needed to get 60fps average.

My thinking is AA wouldn't be needed much at all in 4K, and it's the most demanding single graphics setting, so maybe a test of which AA settings still allow smooth gameplay.

Although I guess it's more suited to a gaming website, still would be nice to see.

I've wondered that as well but unless we get a 1080Ti with considerably more power then I don't think there's any point (yet). Maybe a 2x1080 system would make it worthwhile, but the price would be exorbitant.

I think people are wrong to be impatient about the allegedly “slow” improvement in 4k rates, given that every frame of improvement is a big step with regard to the demands of 4k rendering, but equally the pressure at the lower end of technology will make progress slower still. This year we're looking at Rise Of The Tomb Raider as one of the 2016 performance yardsticks, but we expect next year's equivalent game to be a tougher job for the PCs of today. Therefore, next year's game at 4k is going to be tougher yet, and cards fight an uphill battle to show improvement there.

If it could be shown that a PC could just about scrape 60fps @4k on ROTR, would you really want to buy it?

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