Arbico Stealth 9550 Pro review

On the outside, the front houses three USB ports, headphone and microphone jacks and an extensive card reader, and the rear is positively brimming with USB sockets - the backplate houses eight more. There are also more audio ports, two Gigabit Ethernet sockets, both mini-FireWire and full-size FireWire ports as well as S/PDIF and PS/2 outputs. It's not often we see a PC that's as well-equipped as this one, although a building and shipping charge of ?65 exc. VAT is the price you'll have to pay.

The monitor, a GNR TB2200W, is a 22in TFT with a native resolution of 1,680 x 1,050. The panel offers reasonable quality, with sharp detail and hardly any backlight bleeding, although the slightly dim display and lack of high and low-end colour definition is symptomatic of its budget status. If we were undertaking professional image work, we'd want to search elsewhere for a better-quality model. The keyboard and mouse follow suit - Microsoft's Comfort Curve is a decent set, but not spectacular.

One consistent theme with the Arbico is that, while the core components are good, they're bettered by rival offerings. More processing power and gaming grunt is available in the previously mentioned systems that are all slightly cheaper. Factor in the better peripherals you'll get with those machines - such as the Samsung SM-223BW monitor packaged with the Chillblast - and the Stealth 9550 Pro is a solid first step for Arbico with plenty of room for improvement.

Author: Mike Jennings