XBC Deluxe review

Affordability is the XBC Deluxe's middle name, so don't expect it to run the latest PC titles in all their splendor. It'll run them alright, but you're looking at taking the graphics settings down to 'Medium' or 'Low' to get hold of silky-smooth performance.

As Battlefield 4 showed, the XBC Deluxe will run 3-year-old games with stable frame rates without sacrificing too much visual fidelity. Anything more modern and the gameplay experience will suffer.

We liked

Even with the graphics detail lowered, games such as Battlefield and Battlefront still look better than they do on the current crop of consoles. And, if you're the sort of gamer who doesn't mind taking a hit in frame rates, leaving them on 'High' graphics settings means they'll look far superior.

Housed in an attractive case with smart port placement, the XBC runs nice and quiet and certainly looks the part. Its 1TB hard disk also provides more than enough space to install a decent number of games. At its price, the Deluxe is a good, but not great value machine.

We disliked

If you want to play PC games in pristine detail with the graphics settings dialed up, the XBC Deluxe isn't for you, even at its reasonable price. Even at 1080p, AMD's low-performing graphics card can't pump out enough frames to keep gameplay smooth once settings move beyond 'Medium'.

For more modern titles, its 2GB of video memory simply isn't enough. Truly enthusiast PC gamers need not apply here.

Final verdict

If you seek a PC that is suitable for browsing the web, productivity work and playing the occasional game at middling settings, the XBC is a fine-looking choice that won't whirr away loudly in the background.

Frankly, it's a much better value than the over-priced Acer Predator G3. But, if you're more bothered about getting a hold of strong performance in games than you are about a flashy case, then the identically-priced (and Nvidia-equipped) Zoostorm Gaming PC is more worthy of your attention.