Performance

The Scorpion-X tore through our Media Benchmark suite, scoring 2,168 in the image editing test, 4,066 in the video encoding test and 1,903 in the multi-tasking test. These scores are all slightly higher than what we’d expect from a system running a Core i7-2600K, and resulted in a superb overall score of 2,712 - the highest score we’ve ever recorded from a retail PC.


Game performance was even better, though. Aided by the hugely overclocked CPU, we saw an incredible minimum frame rate of 82fps in Arma II: Operation Arrowhead at 1,920 x 1,080 with 4x AA. This is a stupendously high frame rate – so much so that we had to re-check all the settings in the game and the graphics driver before re-running the test another three times to make sure. We also saw epic performance in Battlefield: Bad Company 2, with a minimum frame rate of 90fps at the same settings – an incredible level of speed.



However, all this performance comes at a price: heat, and lots of it. Running our standard 24 hour stress test of Prime95 and Unigine Heaven, we saw the CPU temperature reach 95°C in our 21°C labs, which is just 3°C shy of the CPU’s Tjmax thermal limit. We wonder how sensible it is to run a CPU so close to its thermal limits. The GPUs of the GTX 590 3GB were much better behaved though, and peaked at just 44°C above room temperature.

The Scorpion-X isn’t the quietest PC we’ve ever used, but it’s no wind-tunnel either. The five floor-mounted exhaust fans and the meshed side panels mean that the system is clearly audible when switched on, but the whole system is still notably quieter than the reference cooler of a GTX 590 3GB.

The fact that the Scorpion-X exhausts all of its heat out of the bottom of the case does have the knock on affect of making both the FT02’s floor plate, and any surrounding desk, hot to the touch, although neither get worrying toasty. While it’s a relief not to see yet another SilverStone TJ07 PC, the FT02 isn’t an ideal case for a water-cooled PC given the bottom-to-top airflow that it’s designed to deliver. We can’t argue with its gorgeous aesthetic, however.

Conclusion

At £3,700 the Scorpion-X has to work pretty hard to justify itself, but the incredible amount of performance on offer goes a long way toward that. Then there’s the excellent presentation of the Scorpion-X – the clean laser-cutting of the scorpion motif on the side panels and the drive bay blanking plate, plus the immaculate build inside. Add in the two year warranty, and the price is actually quite reasonable.

It’s not a perfect PC, however, as high CPU temperatures and the amount of heat kicked out of its base are both significant problems. To manage the heat of the CPU, the five fans of the radiator need to be kept at their maximum 12V speed, meaning that the Scan isn’t as whisper-quiet as we’d like either. The Scorpion-X still passed our punishing stress test, however, and with the amazing presentation and level of performance it’s hugely tempting. That said, if we bought a Scorpion-X we’d drop the CPU vcore to around 1.35V, even if that meant having to step down the overclock by 100-200MHz.

• Performance
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• 10/10

• Hardware
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• 9/10

• Design
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• 7/10

• Value
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• 7/10

• Overall
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• 8/10

Score Guide