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A powerful computer with a very impressive processor
NOTE: since Computeractive published this review we have been informed by Aldi that this computer will be going on sale on MAY 31, not MAY 28 as previously advertised. Apologies.
This is a powerful computer, there’s no doubt about that. Aside from hardcore gaming rigs which cost upwards of £1,500 there is little we’ve seen that can top the Medion Akoya P7700D in terms of processing power, and certainly not at this price.
One catch, as ever, is that it’s an Aldi special offer, available from May 28, so you will need to get down to your local store early if you want to get your hands on one.
The computer, built around the Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 processor, is very impressive. The processor has four so-called ‘cores’ which means it can, roughly, do four tasks at once where a standard processor can only do one (although most modern computers are dual-core meaning they have two cores rather than one).
This will help with tasks such as video editing and games. Also good for games is the Nvidia Geforce GT 230 graphics card with 512MB of memory, which can handle all modern titles well.
Memory-wise there’s 4GB, which is as much as any user will need at the moment. For storage the hard disk has 1TB (1000GB) of space, which again is far more than most users will need, able to store hundreds of videos, thousands of songs or millions of pictures without breaking a sweat.
The icing on the cake is the Blu-ray reader which allows the computer to play back the latest Hollywood movies in high definition. It can’t create Blu-ray discs so it’s not much use for backup (though it can create and read CDs and DVDs).
There’s no screen – you will need to plug it into a monitor over the DVI or VGA connections or a flat-panel TV through the HDMI socket – and it comes with a so-so wireless keyboard and mouse.
There are also eight USB ports (two on the front panel beneath a flap), Firewire, sound outputs and a wired network connection.
The P7700D is not the best-looking computer - its plastic front is perhaps a little tacky - but its sheer power makes it a great choice for game-players and its excellent value makes it worthwhile for everyone else.
Lots of power, lots of storage space, and Blu-ray make this a winner Good points Plenty of power; lots of storage space; good for games Bad points Doesn’t look great; no screen; keyboard and mouse unimpressive
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Akoya p7700d (the one I've been waiting for)
Since December 2008, I have been waiting for Medion to produce the next entertainment pc package. Jus before Christmas, they launched the P6600, and I duly went down to the shops for mine, only to find they had sold out almost immediately, leaving me disappointed. You can be sure I will be first in the queue at my local Aldi on Sunday morning for my pc. How do they do it, pack all this power into a pc and sell it for only £600, amazing. Show me a pc with the same spec at this price, with a three year warranty thrown in and I will buy it today.
Posted by Kevin Marsden, 28 May 2009
Lack of information
Does this computer include a digital T/V card?
Posted by Dennis Leefarr, 28 May 2009
Not many about
I bought one on Sunday and luckily was second in the queue as the shop only had two in stock.
Posted by Tony, 04 Jun 2009
Medion Akoya P7700D
Operating System-or is that not included?
Posted by D.Griffith, 09 Jun 2009
Akoya P7700D lacks important element - a TV card
I have upgraded three times with Aldi and so the inclusion of a Blu-ray player tipped the balance and I upgraded again, handing on my three year old version to my student son. Now I find there is no TV-card on the newer version! I read the reviews and no-one, including Computeractive, mentioned the lack of a TV-card, which I only found out about when going through the setup process of Windows Media Centre. What a let down. The 1TB is great, as is the 4GB of RAM. But having no TV-card is like buying a car only to find no radio.
Posted by StaffordSteve, 22 Jun 2009
Beware
I was delighted with my new compuer purchased last year. There was a smal problem with communication betwen the P700D and the 2 GO external hard dive, which sits neatly into a well on the top of the case. This 2 GO was collected promptly and returned a few days later but still not working properly. Evenually it was decied that it was the computer that had a fault and that it would need to go back to Germany for repair and would take 10 days. When it returned it didn't work at all and the front panel was srcatched and smeared. An engineer was despatched a few days later to our office and fitted new front (different style to the original), a new power source and mother board; still it didn't work. Next they aplogised for all of the inconvenience and promised a repalcement, days later I was then told they were replairing the old one again. In the mean time I was still without my computer. It is impossible to speak to or even e-mail anyone senior at Medion UK, they seem to hide behind their call centre staff. I can understand this for normal day to day problems but after five weeks without our computer it's causing major problems and simply not good enough. I have now resorted to contacting the manufacturers in Germany directly, where I was able to speak with someone more senior, who was mos helpful and who has promised to resolve the problem; I wait in anticipation. It's a great shame because the P7700D seemed to represent excellent value for money and it was recommended to me by a person who repaires computers. Perhaps Medion need to review the way their UK operation operates. That said all of the people with whom I have spoken to at Medion have been most helpful and polite but when things go wrong and it is beyond their remit then your in trouble!
Posted by Clive Griffiths, 07 Jan 2010
One big disaster
When i bought my medion P7700D last year i was amazed by the price. i could play any game with ease, in the beginning i had some problems with the WIFI connections. after that my northbridge got to hot and everything went way to slow i figured it was time to give a call to MEDION the Netherlands. they said if i put it on the mail they would repair it for me. so after a few days i got it back in even a more worse state. scratches on the frontpanel,big scratch on the sidepanel and a CPU cooler which was laying loose in the computercase. so i called Medion again the same day, they told me to send it back again. pissed of as i was i sent the computer back again the sameday. after two weeks i got sick of waiting and called medion again. they said it was waiting for spare parts and that they probably would be there in a few days. it eventualy took them eight weeks to repair my frontpanel, when i got the computer back the sidepanel was just as scratched. and it looked like they only put a new sticker on my frontpanel. the onlything they did repair was the CPU cooler. when i called medion they blew me of by telling me that they couldn't help me in any other way than to let me send it back to germany again... so i told them i didn't want that because i would probably lose it for another few weeks. and i simply can't afford to do that because of school, so i bought a new PC case myselfe and i will never ever buy a medion again If you ever think of buying a MEDION. Sit down and wait till its over
Posted by David, 18 May 2010