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Scorptec Hulk 970

Scorptec Hulk 970 Review – Built by Aussie company Scorptec, this machine is aptly named thanks to the striking (and, unfortunately, unprintable – art) green colour scheme used throughout. As well as the beautiful case NZXT 440 case which has green highlights, the builders have installed a couple of strips of green LEDs around the large Perspex window. Scorptec has even gone to the trouble of using green BitFenix sleeved power and SATA cables, a small touch that we appreciate tremendously. It’s obvious that a lot of thought has been put into this build, more so than machines twice its price. The net result is one of the most beautifully put together cases in our roundup, with not a single stray wire contaminating the immaculate interior.

Scorptec-Hulk-970 Scorptec Hulk 970

Scorptec Hulk 970, A beautiful green gaming machine

Heading inside the case reveals a range of products that are well balanced. MSI’s Z97S Krait Edition motherboard allows for easy overclocking of the CPU, and its clean design fits well with the overall aesthetic of the case. It’s got room for dual GPUs if you decide to upgrade in future, as well as an M.2 slot for the time when these drives drop in price. If there’s one flaw, it’s the use of the older Realtek ALC892 codec for onboard audio, which has been surpassed by newer onboard solutions from both Realtek and Creative. After mentioning this to Scorptec, they went to the trouble to add the ability to add a custom soundcard to the build via their website – we think the ASUS Xonar DSX for $69 is a good bet. Now that’s what we call a responsive retailer.

Residing in this motherboard is Intel’s speedy Core i5 4690K processor. This quad cored CPU foregoes Hyperthreading to keep the price down, but it’s a feature that is basically irrelevant for gaming. With a top speed of 3.9GHz, overclocking it to 4.5GHz shouldn’t be too hard, especially as Scorptec has endowed the CPU with a NZXT Kraken X41 All-in-one liquid cooler. Eight gigabytes of DDR4 1866MHz is the bare minimum we’d accept in a gaming rig, but upgrading it to 16GB shouldn’t be an issue.

Graphics duties are handled by the excellent Galax GeForce GTX 970 Hall of Fame Edition. This is a premium version of the GTX 970, and based on prior Galax samples we’ve tested should easily be overclockable to speeds approaching a GTX 980. Meanwhile Samsung’s excellent 850 Pro handles the OS install. It’s only a 250GB model, which is getting a little on the small side compared to today’s 500GB SSDs, but there’s still around 211GB of spare space for your favourite games. A huge 2TB Seagate Barracuda is also included for your less demanding storage needs. It’s all powered by a Corsair CX750M power supply.

As well as the included water cooler, Scorptec has equipped the case with three Thermaltake Riing case fans, all with green LED lighting, to help keep the interior cool. We’re happy to report that the machine stayed whisper quiet during testing.

When it came to performance, the components within proved this machine has ample power to run today’s hottest games at 1080p with all of the details cranked. It basically performed neck and neck with the PLE system, but we think the Hulk is the slightly better buy thanks to its stunning design. Either of these systems are excellent value for money, but if you want a PC that looks far more expensive than it really is, the attention to detail in the Hulk’s build makes it our preferred option, but only just.

Pros

  • Brilliant build quality
  • Aesthetically stunning
  • Balanced components

Cons

  • Dated onboard audio
  • Small SSD
  • No optical drive

Scorptec Hulk 970 Specifications

  • CPU: Intel Core i7 4790
  • MOTHERBOARD: Gigabyte GA-Z97-HD3 Motherboard
  • GRAPHICS: GIGABYTE GeForce GTX970 Windforce OC, 4GB
  • MEMORY: GeIL 8GB (2x4GB) 1600MHz DDR3
  • SSD: Samsung 850 EVO 250GB SSD
  • CASE: Corsair Carbide 200R Black ATX Case, Window

One thought on “Scorptec Hulk 970

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