Scan 3XS Z170 Performance GTK4 Review

Performance Analysis

The Z170 Performance GTK4 is the first system to be tested with our new games benchmarks so we've embedded its results in the standard GPU graphs instead. Unsurprisingly, performance is on par with the results we have for a reference RX 480 8GB – that is, after all, exactly what this system uses. This means the system can deliver smooth frame rates at 1080p regardless of settings but at 1440p you'll need to dial down the image quality a little in some games.

Scan's system demonstrates plenty of grunt in the PCMark 8 video editing test, although in the photo editing workload it doesn't score as impressively. Its four cores and high clock speed mean that in the rendering tests, especially Terragen 3, it does very well. Ultimately, in all but the most heavily threaded workloads, the CPU grunt of this system will be just fine, and it certainly won't hold you back in games.


The Z170 Performance GTK4 impresses when it comes to power consumption as well, with a very low idle reading of just 54W. The peak consumption of 339W means the 550W PSU shouldn't ever be under too much stress.

The storage benchmarks reveal slightly mediocre results – the differences between most SATA SSDs is admittedly slim, and the system still has all the responsiveness you'd expect in the operating system, but the PCMark 8 results are a little on the slow side.

Under full load, the CPU rose to a maximum temperature of 83°C and the RX 480 GPU peaked at its usual limit of around 80°C, with average clock speeds hovering around 1,200MHz and the fan hitting 2,150 RPM. This was all in a labs with an ambient temperature of 21°C, giving you leeway for hot summer days as well. In terms of noise, the system is audible even when idle, and under load all the fans do get a little louder, although the Silent setting in the BIOS helps to limit them and we didn't find the Z170 Performance GTK4 to be too loud for normal use.

Conclusion

On balance, this is a pretty decent system. It delivers solid frame rates at 1080p and respectable ones at 1440p. It will also churn through most video and photo editing tasks pretty quickly without eating massively into your power bill.

Still, there are areas that could do with tweaking. A more efficient, quieter PSU and a slightly faster SSD wouldn't go amiss, for example. Both were present in the FreshTech Solutions Ultimate Collection 6600K Falcon R, for example, although that was a £1,049 system at pre-Brexit prices so a direct comparison isn't easy or necessarily fair. Also, upgrades in both areas are easily available through Scan's configurator.

Where Scan definitely has an upper hand over most of the competition is in the overall service it offers. The build tracking, fast turnaround, solid warranty terms, USB recovery stick and seven-day technical support, for example, are all great little extras for anyone choosing to go the pre-built route over the DIY one we're all more familiar with. We can't really fault the quality of the build here either – your system is certainly in safe hands, and you get a solid, stable overclock to boot too. Tallied up on their own, the components and OS come to around £975, meaning Scan is charging roughly a £115 premium for all the extras. There are better value systems out there, but for peace of mind Scan's package is hard to argue with.