Scan 3XS-Intel P45 Core 2 Quad review

With Intel announcing its new Core i7 processor range, you'd be forgiven for thinking that now was the wrong time to buy a high-spec PC.

However, new technology often has a serious price premium, and so this deluxe Intel Core 2 Quad PC from Scan is a better bet right now.

Every component in this PC looks to have been carefully selected, and it includes a number of our favourites. One of these is the Cooler Master CM 690 case, which is both stylish and well ventilated. Only one optical drive is fitted, but it's the LG GGW-H20L, our preferred DVD and Blu-ray writer.

Inside the chassis is an Asus P5Q Premium, a deluxe version of the fastest motherboard in our last group test. This board isn't just quick, it also has excellent overclocking options, which Scan has taken full advantage of. The Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 processor is designed to run at 2.83GHz, but Scan has overclocked it to 3.62GHz. This has pushed its overall PCMark Vantage score up by around 1,000 points to an incredible 6,988. That makes it the fastest PC we've ever tested. A massive Thermalright Ultra-120 heatsink makes sure the processor stays cool, and the one-year onsite warranty means that Scan's tinkering is fully covered.

The EVGA GTX260 graphics card tore through our gaming benchmarks. It's one of the few cards we've seen to produce a playable frame rate in Crysis at our demanding high-detail settings, and in Call of Duty 4 it managed 59fps even at a resolution of 1,920x1,080.

There's plenty more impressive hardware here. Two hard disks, one 1TB and one 750GB, provide ample storage for all your applications and data. The 64-bit edition of Windows Vista Home Premium is installed, which means you can get the most from the 4GB of RAM. There's also a dual Freeview tuner, which is compatible with Media Center. The Draft-N WiFi card and USB Bluetooth 2.0 dongle make it easy to connect to other devices. All this hardware is powered by an impressive 520W Corsair HX Series modular power supply. The inside of the case is immaculately arranged, with every cable neatly routed.

This PC hasn't been built from the most expensive parts available, but there's certainly been no cost-cutting either. At £1,528 including VAT, it's not cheap - especially as there's no monitor, input devices or speakers. Most users will be happy with a more affordable quad-core model, such as Gladiator's PCS6600. However, if you need a very powerful PC and want lots of features, too, then this will be money well spent.

Author: Seth Barton