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.