Custom PC - UK (2020-02)

can’s 3 XSVe ngeanceGL 2070
looks prettyunderwhelming
comparedwithmostofthe
competitionthismonth.The exteriorisbuilt
fromplain,brushedmetalandthereare
feweye-catchingdesign touches.Build
qualityisfine,andtheScanisneithertoo
heavyorthick.Thespecissolidthough.
ScanmakesgooduseoftheCore
i7- 9750 H,andtheVengeanceGL 2070 is

SCAN 3XS VENGEANCE

GL 2070 /£1,849 inc VAT

SUPPLIER scan.co.uk

the fastest Core i7

laptop on test in terms of

application performance, easily beating

the HP Omen 15 and Chillblast machines

and only coming second to the PC

Specialist and its Core i9 CPU. The rest of

the specification is decent, with 16GB of

2666MHz memory, and the inclusion of a

1TB SSD and a 2TB hard disk gives the Scan

thebeststoragesetupontestthismonth.

It’salsotheonly15.6inmachineinthis

grouptohavea mechanicalkeyboard,along

withRGBLEDlightingandswitchesthat

mimicCherryMXBrownhardware.It’san

excellentkeyboard,withfastandrobust

action,andthekeyshavemoreweight

thanonanychicletunit.TheChillblast

is onlymarginallybetterinthisrespect.

Thetrackpadis reasonabletoo,although

you’llwanta propermouseforgaming.

Scan’smachinehasa GeForceRTX

2070 Max-QGPU,asalsofoundintheHP

Omen.It comfortablybeatsthatmachine

ingamingtests,butthePCSpecialistand

Chillblastmachinesbothhavefull-fatRTX

2070 GPUs.TheScanstillholdsitsownin

games,though,sittingwellaheadoftheHP,

AcerandRazermodelsinourgametests.

Screenqualityis underwhelmingthough.

TheScan’sbrightnesslevelof310cd/m²is

lowerthanmostmachinesontest,andits

mediocrecontrastratioof 861 meansthe

panellacksvibrancy.Coloursarefine,butthe

Chillblast and HP both have better screens.

The Scan’s speakers are poor too, sounding

muddy without any real high-end punch.

With the screen at full brightness,

the Vengeance’s battery lasted a little

more than an hour when gaming, but

only for one hour and 42 minutes during

our everyday work test. That latter

figure is behind every close rival.

Thermals aren’t great either. The CPU

and GPU both returned peak delta Ts of

72°C,andthatGPUtemperaturewasthe

highestintheLabs.Thefansalsosound

loudandhigh-pitchedwhenitscomponents

arestressed,makinganirritatingnoise.

Conclusion

Scan’smachinefeelsa littlelostamong

suchfiercecompetition.It offersdecent

performance,a well-balancedstorage

setupanda qualitykeyboard,butrivalsare

slightlyfasterandcooler– andtheChillblast

hasa largerscreen.TheScan’sbestresults

cameinapplicationbenchmarktestsbut,

eventhen,thePCSpecialist’sCorei9CPU

isfaster.It’snota badmachine,butit isn’t

muchcheaperthanrivals,andit needsa

betterscreenandcoolingsystem.

VERDICT

Great application performance, loads of storage

and a quality keyboard, but the Scan is let

down by a disappointing screen and noisy fans.

JUSTICE

• 
  

  Mechanical keyboard

  
  


• 
  

  Loads of storage

  
  


• 
  

  Great application
  performance

  
  

REPRISAL

• Noisy fans


• More CPU power
  available elsewhere


• Disappointing screen

PERFORMANCE

20 / 25

HARDWARE

18 / 25

DESIGN

20 / 25

VALUE

18 / 25

OVERALLSCORE

76 %

SPEC

CPU 2.6GHz Intel Core i7-9750H

Memory 16GB 2666MHz DDR4

Graphics Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q 8GB

Screen 15.6in 1,920 x 1,080 IPS 144Hz

Storage 1TB Samsung 970 Evo Plus SSD,

2TB Seagate Barracuda hard disk

Networking Gigabit Ethernet,

dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi

Weight 2.1kg

Ports 2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1, 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1

Type-C, 1 x USB 2, 2 x mini-DisplayPort, 1 x

HDMI 2, 1 x SDXC card reader, 2 x audio

Dimensions (mm) 359 x 244 x 24 (W x D x H)

Operating system Windows 10 Home 64-bit

Extras Bluetooth 5

Warranty Two years parts and labour. First year

collect and return, then return to base

LABS TEST / GAMING LAPTOPS