Arbico i7619 PRO review

Arbico's machine wades into the Labs containing an Intel Core i5-760 processor. On paper, it’s one of the best processors we’ve recently seen in a budget machine, outstripping systems containing the more common Core i3-530 thanks to Hyper-Threading, Turbo Boost and a solid 2.8GHz clock speed.

That's not enough for Arbico, though. It has also overclocked the i5-760 from 2.8GHz to 3.6GHz. It’s not the most ambitious overclock we’ve seen – several systems have taken the Core i3-530 to a mighty 4.4GHz – but it’s still enough to guide the Arbico to a benchmark score of 2.57. That’s phenomenal speed for a system this cheap, and not far away from systems that cost twice as much.

Unlike the Core i3 chips, the Core i5-760 doesn't include integrated graphics. Instead, Arbico has fitted the i7619 PRO with an AMD Radeon HD 5450 graphics card. We're pleased to see a discrete GPU, but it’s one of the slowest that AMD produces: a score of 31fps in our 1,366 x 768 Low quality Crysis test isn't much better than Intel's integrated chips manage.

Still, it's powerful enough to handle 1080p video without breaking sweat, and the rest of the specification is decent. There's four gigabytes of RAM, a 500GB hard disk and DVD writer.

It's all packed into a dependable Cooler Master Elite 330 chassis. Build quality is fine and the unfussy interior is reasonably tidy despite the lack of a motherboard tray, with cables lashed to the 330's various surfaces. There's tool-free entry, and the low-profile GPU cooler ensures that the pair of spare DIMM slots are accessible. Upgrade room is provided by vacant PCI Express x16, PCI-E x1 and plain PCI slots alongside empty 5.25in and hard disk bays, so there’s plenty of scope to expand in the future.

The 40mm fan on the graphics card proves slightly distracting thanks to its high-pitched whine, but the real problem was the low-profile Intel heatsink, which couldn't cope with the overclocked processor. The i5-760 quickly hit a dangerous 99 degrees during our stress tests – a temperature that’s bordering on dangerous levels and could see the system crashing or worse.

Our other major issue lies outside of the chassis. The BenQ G922HDL’s 19in diagonal looks mean when compared to the 22in screens we’re now seeing even with budget machines, and it can’t compete on resolution of quality either. The 1,366 x 768 panel pales in comparison to the 1080p screens elsewhere, and it’s both bright and grainy.

It’s an otherwise decent PC, with lightning-fast application performance, but these shortcomings – the poor screen and scorching CPU – mean we can’t recommend it.

Author: Mike Jennings