SCANZONE
04.11.16 | ISSUE 45
This October has seen a massive variety of new products launch onto the market, including new graphics cards, VR headsets, gaming keyboards, living room gaming PCs and Scan’s first All in One Gaming PC, the 3XS Mirage which is built onto the back of a stunning 34in curved monitor. Read on to find out more.
1. Scan wins big at the PC Pro Awards
The annual PC Pro awards which are voted for by thousands of readers of the magazine have just been announced with Scan winning two awards. The first award was for Best Online Retailer, with Scan taking pole position, being ranked top for Custom Service, Delivery and Customer Support. We’d like to thank all our customers who voted for Scan, we really appreciate your business and look forward to providing a great service into the future.
Scan’s Pro Graphics division also won big at the PC Pro Awards, winning Workstation of the Year. Visit our website to check out the full range of our award-winning 3XS graphics workstations.
2. 3XS Mirage All-in-One Gaming PC
An All in One PC is a system mounted inside the monitor, saving lots of space and reducing cable clutter. However, most AIO PCs are built from proprietary or laptop components so don’t offer the same performance as a full-size desktop PC and aren’t upgradable.
All of these limitations are a thing of the past with the 3XS Mirage 34. Featuring a stunning 34in curved PVA panel with an ultra-wide 21:9 aspect ratio and a resolution of 3440 x 1440, games look gorgeous on the Mirage 34. You’ll also be able to enjoy smooth frame rates as the Mirage 34 supports full-size graphics cards, all the way up to the mighty NVIDIA Titan X.
You even have a choice of mini-ITX motherboard, plus a variety of Intel Core i5 and i7 CPUs, which we can overclock thanks to a whisper quiet water-cooling system. The 3XS Mirage 34 truly is the world’s first no-compromise All in One PC.
3. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 and GTX 1050 Ti review
NVIDIA has killed off the last few models of the GeForce 900-series, replacing them with two new 10-series GPUs based on the latest Pascal architecture. Priced between £120 and £140 the GTX 1050 has 640 cores and 2GB of GDDR5 memory giving about a 60% performance boost over similarly priced previous generation cards such as the GTX 750 Ti. In real world terms this means the GTX 1050 can play games smoothly at 1920 x 1080 at medium to high quality settings. For instance, you can expect to play Battlefield 1 at around 40-50fps on the GTX 1050. Click here to check out the range of GTX 1050 cards, alternatively we have designed a range of GTX 1050 gaming PCs which start from as little as £519.99.
The GTX 1050 Ti which retails from £150 to £190 is a noticeable step up from the GTX 1050, having 768 cores and 4GB of GDDR5 memory. In practical terms this means you’re still limited to a resolution of 1920 x 1080, but can now turn all the eye candy on and enjoy games looking at their best while still getting a smooth frame rate. For instance, you can expect to play Battlefield 1 at around 50-60fps on the GTX 1050 Ti, about 20% faster than the GTX 1050. Visit the Scan website to check out the range of GTX 1050 Ti cards available or our GTX 1050 Ti gaming PCs which start from £649.99.
4. Corsair Bulldog Living Room Gaming PC
While the smart TV has pretty much killed off the need or desire for a media PC in your living room, there’s still not really a good solution for playing PC games on your TV as most gaming PCs are simply too big or the wrong shape to maintain domestic bliss.
The Corsair Bulldog seeks to fill this gap in the market. It’s a desktop case that crams in full-scale PC components such as the latest NVIDIA GeForce GTX 10-series graphics cards and overclocked Intel Core i5 and i7 processors. All this is made possible by a compact H5 SF hydrocooler that keeps the CPU cool plus a whisper quiet 600W 80PLUS Gold PSU.
Corsair has also thought of a solution to the problem of using a keyboard and mouse while sat on the sofa. The Lapdog is a foam lined tray for your keyboard and mouse, allowing you to sit comfortably and play games at the same time. The Lapdog is compatible with Corsair’s K65 and K70 mechanical gaming keyboards and includes space for a 280 x 280mm mouse mat.
We’ve built a number of pre-configured Bulldog living room gaming PCs which are available to click and buy for next-day delivery or you can customise a Corsair Bulldog . Alternatively, the Bulldog is available as a bundle with a pre-installed motherboard. Don’t forget to check out the Lapdog while you’re at it, which is available standalone or bundled with a keyboard.
5. Kingston HyperX Alloy review
Kingston has been massively expanding its range of HyperX branded gaming products over the last year and has now introduced its first keyboard. The Alloy, features mechanical keys based on the popular Cherry MX Blue switch which have a medium activation force of 50cN, high pre-travel and high noise. As such, Cherry MX Blue keyboards are popular with touch typists and gamers who favour RTS, MMOs and MOBAs as they provide a tactile click at bottom out.
As its name suggests the top of the Alloy is made from metal, so it has a very substantial feel, helped along by its 1.09kg weight that stops it sliding about. Design wise it’s pretty minimalist for a gaming keyboard with a simple red backlight which has five brightness settings and textured replacement keys for the all-important WASD keys. Despite being quite compact, all the keys are present including a full number pad which is must have for simmers who need every key they can get. The only thing that is noticeably missing is a wrist rest.
Selling for £99.99 the HyperX Alloy is commendable debut mechanical keyboard. The real question is whether the Cherry MX Blue keys are to your liking or not. Having spent several days with the Alloy I can say that while it feels great for typing the switches were a bit too loud for me personally. Still, for gamers who enjoy RTS, MMOs and MOBAs and do a lot of typing the HyperX Alloy keyboard is well worth checking out alongside all our other mechanical gaming keyboards.
6. Free Gears of War 4 with GeForce
For a limited time we’re giving away free copies of Gears of War 4 with select NVIDIA GeForce graphics cards. You can check out the game for yourself in this action packed trailer. This offer is open to customers buying a GeForce GTX 1080 or 1070 standalone or in a 3XS gaming PC or in a 3XS gaming laptop.
7. DGX-1 Deep Learning server
In recent years Deep Learning has become the most successful approach to pattern recognition for perceptual tasks. When you speak to Siri, Cortana, or Google Voice, your speech is being interpreted by a Deep Neural Network. And in the Large Scale Vision Recognition Challenge, Deep Neural Networks are outperforming humans at visual recognition tasks.
The training of Deep Neural Networks is incredibly computationally expensive, not only are the networks themselves very large but huge data sets are required to train them well. Until recently we simply didn’t have the computational power, or access to the data required for Deep Learning to showcase what it can do.
Deep Learning solutions such as the DGX-1 server provide unparalleled processing power. Featuring eight NVIDIA Tesla P100 GPU accelerators it provides up to 170 teraFLOPs of compute performance.
We want you to be sure that DGX-1 is right for you, so provide a free trial to try your own data on one of our deep learning servers as a Proof of Concept. Alternatively, DGX-1 deep learning servers are available for rental in the cloud to business and education customers on a flexible basis with a minimum 1 day rental agreement depending on the size of your data. At the end of the rental period you have the option of buying the server at a discount or can upgrade to a new server to take advantage of the latest technology.
You can apply for a free proof of concept and learn more on our Deep Learning website.
8. HTC Vive Business Edition
Up till now the main market for VR (virtual reality) has been gaming and films, but there are massive opportunities for VR in business too such as simulation, training, healthcare, education and real estate to name just a few.
To cater to this market HTC has developed a Business Edition of its hot selling Vive VR headset. While featuring the same hardware as the consumer Vive, the Business Edition has several key benefits including a commerical license, dedicated support phone line, additional face cushions and an extension cable so you can run the cables through the ceiling rather than drapped across the floor.
In addition, unlike the consumer Vive which requires Steam, the Business Edition has a standalone installer so you don’t need to worry about unblocking Steam on your corporate network. The HTC Vive Business Edition VR headset is available now along with a range of 3XS VR-Ready graphics workstations.
9. NVIDIA Quadro P5000 & P6000 now available
After launching a flurry of GeForce gaming graphics cards based on the new Pascal architecture, NVIDIA has now started to upgrade its Quadro professional graphics cards too. The first new Pascal-based Quadros are the P5000, which replaces the existing M5000, and the P6000 which replaces the current M6000.
The new P5000 has 2560 cores delivering 8.9 teraFLOPs of single-precision performance and 16GB of GDDR5X memory so is a massive upgrade over the older M5000 which has 2048 cores delivering 4.3 teraFLOPs of single-precision performance and 8GB of GDDR5 memory. The Quadro P5000 is designed for high-end 3D visualisation, rendering and VR.
The new P6000 has 3840 cores delivering 12 teraFLOPs of single-precision performance and 24GB of GDDR5X memory so is also a massive upgrade over the older M6000 which has 3072 cores delivering 7 teraFLOPs of single-precision performance and 24GB of GDDR5 memory. With so much processing power and memory on tap the Quadro P6000 is designed to handle extremely complex models and simulations and life-life VR experiences.
The new NVIDIA Quadro P5000 and P6000 are available standalone or integrated into one of our award-winning 3XS graphics workstations, which are fully configurable to your requirements.
10. Join Scan Pro Video at KitPlus
If you’re attending the KitPlus show in Manchester on 8th November don’t forget to check out the Scan Pro Video stand. Once again held at The Open Centre MediaCityUK, the venue is bordered by the BBC and ITV alongside more than 300 production companies.
The show has expanded this year and come up with a brand new floor plan for 2016. The space will be brimming with new kit, much of it launched at the recent IBC show in Amsterdam, together with industry-leading seminar and workshop sessions.
Alongside the highly-anticipated RED EPIC-W 8K and Blackmagic Design URSA Mini 4.6K cameras, Schneider FF-Prime and SLR Magic Anamorphic CINE lenses and accessories our dedicated Pro Video team will be on hand to discuss a wide range of on-camera, studio and location tools. Show promotions for visitors will include incredible special offers available from AJA, Anton Bauer, ATOMOS, BirdDog, Blackmagic Design, G-Technology, INOGENI, Manfrotto, NewTek, Panasonic, RODE, Schneider, SLR Magic, SmallHD, Sonnet, Teradek, Timecode Systems, Zoom and more.
Working closely with our Platinum partners Intel and PNY, the Scan Pro Video stand will showcase immersive 360 degrees and panoramic video and audio solutions. Plus, you can get hands on with 3XS Evolve Studio RackStation; our range of customisable mobile workstations featuring powerful on-set tools for DPs, editors, DITs & colourists.
Visitors are automatically entered into the TV Bay prize pot draw! We look forward to seeing you in November. Visit the KitPlus website to book your free tickets now.
11. World's Fastest Portable Storage Device
With the expanding range of Pro Video laptops that now feature Thunderbolt 3, one of the latest and most exciting product launches demonstrated at the recent IBC show in Amsterdam was Sonnet Technologies Fusion PCIe Flash Drive.
The Fusion PCIe Flash Drive is a rugged, pocket-size SSD storage device with a Thunderbolt 3 interface. Equipped with 512GB of flash storage, the Fusion Drive leverages the 40Gbps bandwidth of the bus to deliver data transfer speeds up to 2100MB/sec.
Sonnet designed the Fusion Drive around a M.2 PCI-E SSD, the fastest standard SSD type now available. It connects directly to any Windows PC with a Thunderbolt 3 port, or at the end of a Thunderbolt 3 daisy chain.
Billed as the external bus that does it all, Thunderbolt 3 is the fastest, most versatile connection for a dock, display or peripheral device. Networking is simple with peer-to-peer connection at 10GbE speeds, but the great promise of Thunderbolt 3 is the ability to dock and charge your laptop with a single cable, connect two 4K 60Hz displays, add plug and play external GPUs and connect lightning fast storage for true workstation class performance on your laptop. The Sonnet Fusion PCIe Flash Drive is available now.
12. Win a free Scan 3XS Pro Video workstation
Scan in partnership with Adobe, Canon and BenQ are supporting the great work of The Prince’s Trust through the free-to-enter Adobe Creative Cause competition. How do you get involved? Simple - respond to the brief by creating a photograph, design or illustration focused on the key themes that the work of the charity inspires.
Share your work on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram using #AdobeCreativeCause before Dec 1st for a chance to win some great prices including a Scan 3XS workstation plus LogicKeyboard Photoshop keyboard, one year subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud, BenQ 4K professional monitor, Canon EOS 5D Mk IV camera, Manfrotto RedBee 210 Camera Backpack & MVH500 tripod.
Join the Creative Cause or simply donate on the Just Giving website.
13. SCANZONE TV
Love the latest technology and trends? Then you’ll be interested to hear we’re now producing a monthly Scanzone TV show, featuring news on the latest products and trends plus interviews with technical experts. You can check our Episode of Scanzone TV on YouTube.
Without a doubt the fastest PC we've ever tested
HEXUS reviewed our ultra-high end gaming PC, the 3XS X99 Carbon Fluid Extreme SLI PC which has two NVIDIA TITAN X cards, a 10-core Intel Core i7 processor and custom watercooling.
HEXUS gave the system a coveted Wish List Award and wrote that ‘Scan's rig is a custom-built showcase of 2016's best PC components. Better still, Scan's engineers have applied custom fan profiles in BIOS to ensure noise levels are kept down to a minimum. Scan's 3XS X99 Carbon Fluid Extreme SLI is the first system to ever score over 30,000 3DMarks in the HEXUS labs and there's frankly a ludicrous amount of firepower available to the user. Scan's powerhouse raises the bar with a score of 16,828 and it didn't flinch in the Time Spy Stress Test with a pass rate of 97.6 per cent. Bragging rights aplenty. There's a lot to like and performance, in most benchmarks, is in a league of its own.’
You can customise your own 3XS X99 Carbon Fluid Extreme SLI here.
Jack Frags Review - An insane PC
Jack Frags also took a look at the 3XS X99 Carbon Fluid Extreme SLI gaming PC, describing it as an insane PC as it can play Battlefield 1 smoothly at 8K. The full video review of the system can be watched on Jack’s channel on Youtube.
An exceptional gaming PC
Custom PC reviewed our 3XS X99 Carbon X SLI gaming PC which is armed with a pair of NVIDIA TITAN X graphics cards, an overclocked Intel Core i7 6850K CPU, 32GB of Corsair DDR4, an Asus RoG Strix X99 Gaming motherboard, 512GB PCI-E NVME SSD and programmable RGB lighting system.
Winning the rarely given Extreme Ultra award Custom PC wrote that ‘The Titan X cards destroyed our 4K benchmarks. These phenomenal results clearly indicate that this machine can handle any game at 4K with every option maximised, while also offering enough power for multi-monitor rigs and VR headsets. Monstrous dual-GPU power and excellence in every key department make for an exceptional gaming PC. The Scan was admirably quiet when idle. The inclusion of two Titan X GPUs means Scan’s latest machine offers an unprecedented amount of gaming power. Excellence in every key department make for an exceptional gaming PC.’
You can configure your own 3XS X99 Carbon X SLI on our website.
Exceptional gaming performance and excellent components
Custom PC also reviewed our 3XS LG17 Carbon Extreme G-Sync. This high-end desktop replacement gaming laptop features GeForce GTX 1080 graphics, Core i7 6700K CPU, 16GB of Corsair DDR4 RAM with a 256GB PCI-E NVME SSD and 2TB HDD plus a 4K screen with NVIDIA G-Sync that reduces tearing and stuttering in games.
Scoring 90% and winning a Premium Grade award Custom PC wrote that ‘The GTX 1080 delivers desktop-level performance. G-Sync also makes games look great, removing any stuttering and tearing. The 4K screen is a good-quality unit beyond its pixel count, the sRGB coverage of 100 per cent means every shade in this gamut can be reproduced. The Carbon Extreme delivers on its promise of all-out performance, managing playable frame rates in our test games at its native 3480 x 2160 resolution. It also has a good keyboard, exceptional build quality, smart design and a decent screen. It delivers the goods if you want the absolute best kit for gaming on the go.’
The 3XS LG17 Carbon Extreme G-Sync is available pre-built for next-day delivery or can be fully configured on our website.
