REVIEW: Scan 3XS GW-HT10 workstation

An excellent choice for those looking for a powerful mainstream workstation for 3D CAD or BIM workflows

Scan should be given a lot of credit for bringing overclocking into the mainstream. What used to be a specialist treatment for custom workstations is now done as a matter of course by the Bolton-based manufacturer. And it does it very well.

The Intel Core i7 4790K is the latest chip to get the overclocking treatment. This quad core CPU already runs at an impressive 4.0GHz (a first for Intel) but with some tinkering Scan has pushed it up to a permanent 4.4GHz.

To keep things running cool, Scan uses a Corsair Hydro H80, a sealed, closed loop water CPU cooler, which is very efficient at extracting the heat generated by this 88W CPU. Working together with a 120mm Corsair Air Series SP120 PWM Quiet Edition fan, noise is kept to an absolute minimum, even at peak load.

This latest incarnation of the 3XS GW-HT10 workstation is targeted directly at users of CAD or BIM software. With a brand new Nvidia Quadro K4200 GPU, there is plenty of 3D graphics power for working with large 3D, particularly in more graphics intensive applications like 3ds Max. For those whose graphics demands are more modest for an application like Revit, scale down to a K2200 and shave £304 off the cost of the machine.

Storage is fast, courtesy of a Samsung SSD 840 EVO, but it could be improved on if you are a heavy user. Upgrading to a Samsung SSD 850 PRO for an additional £46 will not only offer faster sustained write speeds but give you peace of mind thanks to a ten year warranty.

It will come as little surprise that the 3XS GW-HT10 excels in terms of performance. For CAD, it delivered exceptional scores in our graphics tests and when number crunching in single threaded applications.

Overall, the Scan 3XS GW-HT10 is an excellent choice if you are looking for a powerful mainstream CAD workstation. With a few tweaks here and there you can fine-tune the spec but the impressive performer that is the Intel Core i7 4790K looks to be the current processor to beat for CAD.

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