Concluding thoughts
A few hallmarks, we feel, of any pre-built, decent system is that it should a) use components that have proved themselves on an individual basis b) excellent workmanship in building a PC from the aforementioned components c) a decent BIOS that makes full use of the various bits and pieces. d) represent decent value e) have a decent warranty.
Scan's system, supplied to us for evaluation, isn't particularly cheap. A price tag of ~ £1300 for components that aren't the best in their respective classes is a little bemusing. However, that said, it does fulfill our most of our criteria. A decent PC begins with a decent case. The popularity of Cooler Master / Lian Li / Antec cases has shown that buyers are willing to part with hard earned cash for top quality housing. Scan have to be congratulated on this point. The rebadged Enermax case is top notch in most departments, and it's a far cry from some of the overly plastic cases used by other system integrators. Component housing and build quality was good, too.
Looking around the catalogues of various on-line PC vendor, it becomes clear that £1300 usually buys an XP3000 / XP3200 CPU and something along the lines of an ATi Radeon 9700 Pro video card. That's a couple of cases where we're not so enamoured with the specification. The XP2700 (256kb XP) and Gainward FX 5200 Ultra are a bit of a let-down in this respect. Scan may counter this by reminding us of the multi-format DVD ReWriter, excellent case, and 1GB of Corsair XMS2700 C2 memory, but basic processor speed and high-end graphics cards catch the buyers' eyes before these, we reckon. Thankfully, the buyer is able to specify almost any and every combination of components, all done through an easy-to-use Scan component table.
It's been an eye-opening experience to see just how far pre-built systems have come in the last few years. You may pay a little more than if you built it yourself, and the enjoyment of your personal creation may be missing, but the satisfaction of just switching on your new PC and the piece of mind that a warranty brings are a couple of reasons why OEM PCs are still selling well. Scan's systems may be a little pricey compared to some of the competition, but the build quality and workmanship is outstanding.
Highs
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Super case and PSU
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Excellent build quality
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More than powerful enough for most peoples' needs - all worked first time
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Multi-format DVD ReWriter is nice
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SATA hard drive and 1GB Corsair
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Warranty appears to be reasonable
Lows
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Kind of expensive for the specification
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Only a 15" TFT - others specify 17" or 18" TFTs at the asking price of £1300
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Graphics accelerator is a little weak for such a system
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No discrete sound card (Audigy 2, perhaps ?)
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A little loud with numerous fans spinning away
7.5/10
