View Full Version : Good value netbook in Aldi
Just bought a Medion Akoya E1312 netbook today from Aldi for £339.99.
Specs are below:
http://www.medion.com/ms/aldi/md97690/uk/
First impressions are very postive, nice size, good performance and clear bright screen.
I don't know how the AMD processor/ATI graphics compares with the Intel Atom/GPU setups on most netbooks.
Get them while they are hot!
On a different note, do Aldi still sell the desktop PCs?
This looked good except for the poor battery life which kills it for me.
Dick Long
13-07-2009, 09:16
This looked good except for the poor battery life which kills it for me.
Yep this really is the critical thing with netbooks - you don't want to lugging the mains adapter around and searching for a socket all the time.
I bought the previous Aldi Medion 10" Akoya which was (and still is) a great little machine, but the original battery only lasted about an hour which made it hopeless to use. Having bought the upgrade battery (£45) it now goes over 4 hours with ease and has transformed the useability.
I wonder if the AMD processor guzzles more juice than the Atom that was specifically designed for netbooks etc?
rbullivant
13-07-2009, 10:55
On a different note, do Aldi still sell the desktop PCs?
Yes, every so often they sell the desktops. Last time i specifically remember is before Christmas because I almost got one myself but they have had them since. Just keep an eye out
R
I don't know how the AMD processor/ATI graphics compares with the Intel Atom/GPU setups on most netbooks.
The AMD processor is much, much quicker than the Atom - don't forget, Atom broadly compares to a 900MHz Celeron circa 2001 :)
Wendelius
13-07-2009, 11:24
This looked good except for the poor battery life which kills it for me.
What's the battery life on this one? Because the specs in general are very nice for a netbook. Probably too nice.
Would it hold over the 3-4 hours some of my train trips take?
Wendelius
The AMD processor is much, much quicker than the Atom - don't forget, Atom broadly compares to a 900MHz Celeron circa 2001 :)
Yes it is quicker but at the expense of drinking the juice out of the battery like there's no tomorrow...the whole point of a netbook is long battery life so you can use it anywhere for browsing, email, using office etc without worrying it will run out of juice.
If you want something powerful as a desktop replacement you should consider a laptop rather than a netbook.
What's the battery life on this one? Because the specs in general are very nice for a netbook. Probably too nice.
Would it hold over the 3-4 hours some of my train trips take?
Wendelius
A review quoted it at around 2.5 hours which is **** compared to other netbooks which have over 6 hours on a standard 6 cell battery.
Well I was using it last night and it said approx 3 hours battery life at 65% so I would assume it to have a life of around 4-5 hours max. I am planning on taking it on trip down to London which should give it a good test on the 4 hour return journey I make.
Well that sounds a lot better than what the review quoted.
Sounds like the battery life is a lot better then what I've read, interesting.
It is a 6 cell battery which on an Atom powered Netbook should give 4-5 hours so I wouldn't expect this one to be that much different. Where is the review?
Bear in mind the larger screen and the battery is a relatively lowely 4,400mAh one which are going to impact run time a fair bit. However the larger dimensions do mean, closer to a full size keyboard plus hdmi /card bus upgrade slot can be considered a bonus along with a 3 year warranty on this model. The processor/graphics combination should give better video performance though abeit at the expense of battery life as well, so as always it's a bit of a trade-off.
Robert
Yes, every so often they sell the desktops. Last time i specifically remember is before Christmas because I almost got one myself but they have had them since. Just keep an eye out
R
ic. do you recall how much it was?
point blank
14-07-2009, 05:17
the previous desk top was this one http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/news.phtml/24375/medion-akoya-p7700-d-desktop-pc.phtml
Bear in mind the larger screen and the battery is a relatively lowely 4,400mAh one which are going to impact run time a fair bit. However the larger dimensions do mean, closer to a full size keyboard plus hdmi /card bus upgrade slot can be considered a bonus along with a 3 year warranty on this model. The processor/graphics combination should give better video performance though abeit at the expense of battery life as well, so as always it's a bit of a trade-off.
Robert
It's been said it struggles with HD material so the HDMI is a bit useless IMO.
I've confirmed with Medion that it can take up to 2GB but as there is only one socket a single 2gb stick would have to be used. The memory used is PC6400 at 800mhz. You can make the upgrade yourself without invalidating the warranty as long as other components are not damaged during the process.
the previous desk top was this one http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/news.phtml/24375/medion-akoya-p7700-d-desktop-pc.phtml
Wow, the specs look good. But that picture seems to show a shuttle sized case. :?:
point blank
15-07-2009, 05:04
Wow, the specs look good. But that picture seems to show a shuttle sized case. :?:
It was a close up of part of the case, see here for a full picture. http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/28/medions-akoya-p7700-d-pc-will-do-your-multimedia-right-on-a-bud/
I've confirmed with Medion that it can take up to 2GB but as there is only one socket a single 2gb stick would have to be used. The memory used is PC6400 at 800mhz. You can make the upgrade yourself without invalidating the warranty as long as other components are not damaged during the process.
Some links:
* Manufacturers site (http://www.medion.com/ms/aldi/md97690/uk/) (with annoying background music)
* Engadget (http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/06/medion-rolls-out-amd-based-akoya-mini-e1312-netbook/#comments)
The next three articles are some automated translations of articles that were written in German. You can get most of the meaning:
* review (http://ndevil.com/de/en/062703/test-medion-akoya-mini-e1312-md97690-mit-116-zoll/)
* first impressions (http://ndevil.com/de/en/062674/medion-mini-akoya-e1312-erster-eindruck/)
* Upgrading the memory (http://ndevil.com/de/en/072712/diy-aldi-medion-akoya-mini-e1312-arbeitsspeicher-aufrusten/)(it has one slot, so you can replace the original 1GB with a DDR2 2048MB PC667 SO-DIMM. You don't need to remove any stickers, so this should not affect the warranty).
It was a close up of part of the case, see here for a full picture. http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/28/medions-akoya-p7700-d-pc-will-do-your-multimedia-right-on-a-bud/
Ah, thanks. Seems as though they've not included a tv card in this model. That's a bit of a let down, considering the media centre capabilities. :suspect:
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