Based on the overclockable Intel Core i5-2500K processor, Arbico’s i5-2556 XL delivers a huge amount of processing power for the money. But so does the competition, and any plans you have for overclocking will be scuppered by Arbico’s selection of the Asus P8H67-M Pro motherboard.
While this motherboard is well suited to the Core i5-2500 chosen by Eclipse, its H67 chipset disables the overclocking capabilities of the i5-2500K. The more expensive chip is therefore wasted in the Arbico i5-2556 XL.
Overclocking issues aside, the Arbico i5-2556 XL's WorldBench 6 score of 159 points is still very fast. That it’s a single point behind most of the competition is within the range of experimental error.
An nVidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti provides the Arbico i5-2556 XL's graphics power. It’s a very good card, but slightly behind the Eclipse’s HD 6950.
Budget desktop PCs chart ranking
- Chillblast Fusion Delta
- Dino PC Elmisaur 2500K
- Eclipse Plasma P67i525r695
- Arbico i5-2556 XL
- Arbico i5-2568 Pro HD
The relatively thick bezel of the 23.6in AOC 2436VWA monitor houses a handy extra USB port. This screen looks and feels impressively large, but the Chillblast comes with an even bigger 25in display. The Arbico i5-2556 XL's AOC also lacks the height-adjustment capabilities of the Dino PC’s Iiyama, and isn’t supplemented with an external speaker set.
Like all our chart PCs at this price point, the Arbico i5-2556 XL is fitted with 4GB of DDR3 RAM and a 1TB hard disk. This machine also has a 500W Cooler Master power supply, which is adequate for the specification.
Arbico's i5-2556 XL PC is housed in a black Raidmax Galaxy system case. This is a smart model that puts its front-facing USB and audio ports on display, rather than behind a flap. Inside, we were pleased to find an all-black paint job and tool-free drive bays.
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