Gaming PC Buyers Guide

How to choose a gaming PC

Unlike consoles which are available in just a handful of different models, PCs are available in a huge variety of configurations. This is a strength, in that you have a lot of choice over things such as performance, appearance and budget, but having so many choices can seem overwhelming. This guide highlights the main things you need to consider, broken down into three main topics, by the end of which you’ll know how to pick the perfect gaming PC.

Our Credentials

There are dozens of brands of gaming PC advertised on the Internet, so how do you know which brand to choose? It’s a crucial decision to get right, to make sure you receive a professionally assembled system, built from high quality branded components, it’s competitively priced, and most importantly of all is provided with excellent customer service in case anything does go wrong.

Scan’s own in-house brand, 3XS Systems, has been designing and building PCs for more than 20 years, so we have a huge wealth of experience and deep understanding of how to build amazing gaming PCs.

Great reasons to buy a Gaming PC from Scan

7 Days Support

Our engineers are available 7 days a week to help with any queries.

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Trusted by you

3XS Gaming PCs have won hundreds of awards in the media.

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3 years warranty

3XS Gaming PCs include a three-year warranty, so if anything goes faulty we’ll repair or replace it.

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30 Day return Policy

If you’re not totally satisfied with your 3XS Gaming PC you can return it up to 30 days after delivery.

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Quality from the Ground Up

We believe quality components build a quality gaming PC. We’re proud to partner with the world’s leading brands, and on every product page you can see the make and model of every component that goes into our gaming PCs.

User Experience

To save you scouring through thousands of possible combinations of components, we’ve created five distinct ranges of gaming PC, 3XS Fluid, 3XS Vengeance, 3XS Gamer, Scan Performance and Scan Gamer, each designed to appeal at different price points.

3XS FLUID 3XS VENGEANCE 3XS GAMER SCAN PERFORMANCE SCAN GAMER
EXPERIENCE ULTIMATE PREMIUM DELUXE BETTER GOOD
PRICE POINT £££££ ££££ £££ ££ £
COOLING WATER-COOLED PREMIUM HYDRO-COOLER HYDRO-COOLER PREMIUM AIR COOLER AIR-COOLED
RGB LIGHTING
NOISE VERY LOW LOW LOW LOW MEDIUM
WARRANTY 3 YEARS 3 YEARS 3 YEARS 2 YEARS 2 YEARS

3XS Fluid PCs

3XS Fluid PCs are the ultimate gaming PCs, featuring state-of-the-art water-cooling for the CPU and graphics card, and premium components. Fluid Gaming PCs provide the ultimate user experience, with custom fan profiles and finely tuned overclocks for maximum performance.

Key Features

WATER-COOLING

The ultimate cooling system for a gaming PC.

PREMIUM COMPONENTS

Built from the finest components for a refined gaming experience.

OVERCLOCKED

The CPU and graphics card tuned for maximum performance.

RGB LIGHTING

AURA programmable RGB lighting illuminates your PC.

3 YEAR WARRANTY

If anything goes faulty we’ll repair or replace it.

3XS Vengeance PCs

3XS Vengeance PCs are premium gaming PCs, featuring best-in-class components that are overclocked for superior performance, and quiet hydrocooling for the CPU.

HYDRO-COOLING

Quiet and stylish cooling for your gaming PC.

PREMIUM COMPONENTS

Built from the finest components for a refined gaming experience.

OVERCLOCKED

The CPU and graphics card tuned for maximum performance.

RGB LIGHTING

AURA programmable RGB lighting illuminates your PC.

3 YEAR WARRANTY

If anything goes faulty we’ll repair or replace it.

3XS Gamer PCs

3XS Gamer PCs are competitively priced gaming PCs, featuring high quality components such as a hydrocooler for the processor. 3XS Gamer PCs are available in two styles, the standard models which are built in aluminium cases with a side window and RGB lighting, and the iCUE models which are built in glass cases and have even more RGB lighting for a more distinctive look.

HYDRO-COOLING

Quiet and stylish cooling for your gaming PC.

PREMIUM COMPONENTS

Built from the finest components for a refined gaming experience.

RGB LIGHTING

AURA programmable RGB lighting illuminates your PC.

3 YEAR WARRANTY

If anything goes faulty we’ll repair or replace it.

Scan Performance PCs

Scan Performance PCs are a real crowd pleaser, providing a step up from our entry-level Scan Gamer PCs with even more RGB lighting and higher-grade components such as quieter coolers.

AIR-COOLING

Quiet and stylish cooling for your gaming PC.

PREMIUM COMPONENTS

Built from the finest components for a refined gaming experience.

RGB LIGHTING

AURA programmable RGB lighting illuminates your PC.

2 YEAR WARRANTY

If anything goes faulty we’ll repair or replace it.

Scan Gamer PCs

Scan Gamer PCs provide a cost-effective entry in the world of PC gaming. These gaming PCs are built using branded components and have a two year warranty.

AIR-COOLING

Quiet and stylish cooling for your gaming PC.

PREMIUM COMPONENTS

Built from the finest components for a refined gaming experience.

RGB LIGHTING

AURA programmable RGB lighting illuminates your PC.

2 YEAR WARRANTY

If anything goes faulty we’ll repair or replace it.

PC Performance

While every component in a PC has an important role to play, the GPU or graphics card is by far the most critical. This is because the graphics card does all the heavy lifting when it comes to gaming, with more powerful models delivering smoother frame rates for a better gaming experience. More capable graphics cards will also enable you to increase the quality settings and up the resolution for greater fidelity.

The graphics card is also the most expensive component, so it has the biggest effect on the cost of a gaming PC. The most popular graphics cards are NVIDIA GeForce, but we also offer AMD Radeon graphics cards in our gaming PCs. The two tables below show all the latest graphics cards, indicating their performance level and other capabilities such as ray tracing and VR. We also recommend optimum resolutions for each graphics card so you can match your PC with the right monitor. All you need to do is browse across to the graphics card that best meets your requirements and click the link to view the range of 3XS gaming PCs with that card.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX Graphics Cards

RTX
4090 		RTX
4080 Super 		RTX
4080 		RTX
4070 Ti Super 		RTX
4070 Ti 		RTX
4070 Super 		RTX
4070 		RTX
4060 Ti 		RTX
4060 		RTX
3050
Gaming 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 1
Ray Tracing
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
VR Ready
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Optimum Resolution 8K/4K
UW-QHD 		4K
UW-QHD 		4K
UW-QHD 		4K
UW-QHD 		4K
UW-QHD 		1440p 1440p 1080p 1080p 1080p
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AMD Radeon RX Graphics Cards

RX 7900 XTX RX 7900 XT RX 7800 XT RX 7700 XT RX 7600 Vega
Gaming 10 10 7 6 5 2
RAY TRACING
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
VR READY
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
OPTIMUM RESOLUTIONY 4K / UW-QHD 4K / UW-QHD 1440p 1440p 1080p 1080p
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Custom Gaming PCs

If you can’t find the perfect PC from among our range of pre-built systems we also offer a custom build service where you pick the components and we’ll build your perfect PC.

Visit our PC configurator to find out more.