Arbico’s eXcel 2568HD is a good all-round PC with a nod towards the enthusiast gamer. It comes with a powerful Intel Core i5-2500 processor running at 3.3GHz and a factory-overclocked ATI Radeon HD 6870 graphics card – key to its stellar gaming performance. See also Group test: What's the best family PC.
The system is housed in a rather imposing all-black Revoltec 67 system case, incorporating meshed panels though which you can just make out four bright-red cooling fans. The black paint job is continued inside the case, where we find tool-free drive bays and that large powerful graphics card.
There’s no internal cable management, so the wiring is a little messy although Arbico has tidied it up with liberal use of cable-ties, so there’s ample space for any upgrades you may wish to add later.
In addition to the 1TB Samsung hard drive, a fast 60GB OCZ solid-state drive has been included which gives a significant performance boost, especially when booting up. Unfortunately, the plastic hard drive mountings did not survive being sent by courier, and the hard drive had broken free and was non-functional.
The system comes with 8GB of RAM, ample for the majority of home users. You also get a DVD writer/Blu-ray reader combo drive and a pair of Logitech S120 stereo speakers. Ahead Nero is included to help you burn DVDs plus CyberLink Power DVD to play back HD movies via the large Hanns-G display.
Note that the included speakers don’t come with a bass speaker. Also Logitech, the MK260 wireless combo comprises a wireless mouse and compact keyboard incorporating multimedia control buttons and hotkeys for launching frequently-used applications.
Performance is among the best of the group. While the WorldBench score of 175 is narrowly beaten by QuietPC’s fanless system and more convincingly by Chillblast’s Ivy Bridge-equipped Fusion Longbow, you’re likely to be impressed with the Arbico’s speed. Where it stands out is in its gaming performance which is the fastest available from this group.
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