Aldi Vista multimedia PC

Saruman

http://www.aldi.ie/special_buys/product_72.html

Not much of a bargain in terms of raw power etc... however for what it is... a Mediacentre its grand. You will not be playing High res games on it.

Oracle

....and no monitor! You definitely won't be playing games on it so! Fine as a music centre, sorry no, there's no speakers either! :eek: Specs here: http://www.aldi.ie/images/data_product/165101174645c0bf7452007.pdf

Fnz

Anyone else remember the days when Aldi had decently specced machines at bargain prices? :rolleyes:

I got my current one there 4 years ago... back before people would automatically presume that Aldi PC offers must be good.

Iristxo

Excuse my ignorance, what's the GFX?

Have gone to the DELL website and configured a similar system (except I can not choose VISTA premium bacause it says it is not compatible with the processor - ???!!!). A similar system with a 17 inches flat panel monitor works out at 865 aprox, including modem which I pressume the ALDI computer has and not including the TV tuner (How important is that?).

You could buy the ALDI computer and a similar monitor in DELL would cost you about 230 yoyos. A saving of 35 euros and no TV tuner or VISTA premium but you would have a DELL instead of a MEDION (who the h*ll heard of that brand before?)

Alter-Ego

Iristxo wrote:

Excuse my ignorance, what's the GFX?

Have gone to the DELL website and configured a similar system (except I can not choose VISTA premium bacause it says it is not compatible with the processor - ???!!!). A similar system with a 17 inches flat panel monitor works out at 865 aprox, including modem which I pressume the ALDI computer has and not including the TV tuner (How important is that?).

You could buy the ALDI computer and a similar monitor in DELL would cost you about 230 yoyos. A saving of 35 euros and no TV tuner or VISTA premium but you would have a DELL instead of a MEDION (who the h*ll heard of that brand before?)

Medion's are good machines, if not better than dells. Components make a good pc, not the name on the case.

Just curious, what processor is on the dell machine you configured?

Sponge Bob

On the same day aldi are also doing a 17" TFT for either €160 or €170 and with built in speakers .

Oracle

This Dell one is still available at €548 (reduce hardware support to 1 yr. collect and return): http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b=&c=ie&cs=ieepp1&kc=DRSC5211&l=en&oc=D02C17i&rbc=D02C17i&s=dhs&sbc=iedhsrsdimen_c521_1

* AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3800+
* 19" Flat Screen Monitor
* 1 Gb Memory
* Vista Premium
* 80Gb Hard Drive
* DVD Re-writer Drive
* Add basic speakers for an extra €11 (Total €559)

Frederico

I just checked dell outlet right now, can get exact same specced pc for 450euro!



for 540 inc delivery I got this dell recently..

core2duo e6400
2 gigs ddr2 ram
256 mb x1300 card
320 gig drive
etc etc

Light years better than this aldi pc, and still cheaper!

Iristxo

Jezzz am I missing something here? This is the spec of the one I did in DELL, worked out 865aprox.

PROCESSOR Intel® Pentium® D 915 Dual Core Processor (2.80GHz, 800MHz, 2x2MB)
OPERATING SYSTEM English Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Basic
SUPPORT SERVICES Collect & Return, 1 Year Service only
MONITOR Dell™ 17" Value Flat Panel (E177FP) - UK/Irish
MEMORY 1024MB Dual Channel DDR2 533MHz [2x512] Memory
HARD DRIVE 250GB (7200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive with 8MB DataBurst™ cache
OPTICAL DRIVE 16x DVD+/-RW & 16x DVD Drives
GRAPHICS CARD 256MB nVidia® GeForce® 7300 Turbocache graphics card
Accessories
SOUND CARD Integrated Audio with Dolby Digital 7.1 capability
SPEAKERS No Speakers
KEYBOARD Dell™ Black Entry Quietkey USB Keyboard - UK/Ire (QWERTY)
MOUSE Dell 2 Button USB Wheel Mouse - Black
FLOPPY/MEDIA DRIVES No Floppy Drive
MODEMS Dell™ v92 Data/Fax Modem
Services & Software
SECURITY SOFTWARE No Security/Anti-Virus Protection
MICROSOFT SOFTWARE Microsoft® Works 8 - English
PHOTOGRAPHY SOFTWARE No digital photo sharing or editing software selected.
Also included with your system
Gedis Bundle Reference List D02E06 Dimension E520
Shipping Documents E520 Documentation with UK Power Cord
Adobe Reader Adobe Reader 7.0.8 - English
Order Information Dimension Order - Ireland
Standard Warranty Collect & Return, 1 Year Service only
Dell Internet Order Dell Internet Order.
Promotions Hidden Option Class Memory - Upgrade to 1024MB
SYSTEM MEDIA Dimension Resource DVD for Vista (Diagnostics & Drivers)

So, is the e6400 or the AMD Athlon 3800+ just as good as the Intel 915? Oracle, you only have 80gb ram.

Oracle

Iristxo, you asked: "So, is the e6400 or the AMD Athlon 3800+ just as good as the Intel 915? Oracle, you only have 80gb ram."

The answer is it could be, but there's uncertainty over whether this particular computer (E-Value code: D02C17i) includes the AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processor. It is listed here as included, under that E-value code: http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/dimen_c521?c=ie&cs=iedhs1&l=en&s=dhs but not on the Customise and Buy screen.

If the X2 is part of the deal it would be just as good, if not better, than the other processors you've mentioned. You can have a look at AMD's own benchmark comparisons here: http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/DownloadableAssets/AMD_v_Intel_Performance_Comp_Q2-2006.pdf As you can see according to AMD, even it's standard single core processor out performs the Intel Pentium D processor. The product spec for AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processor is here: http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/white_papers_and_tech_docs/33425.pdf

Regarding the hard drive size, I'm not putting forward this Dell PC as directly comparable to the Aldi one, I'm just saying it's available. The Dell PC also has no separate graphics card, but is substantial cheaper. Bear in mind hard drives are now one of the cheapest items to upgrade on a PC: http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=330161 Also consider the fact that affordable high capacity external hard drives are now making internal HD size less of an issue, as well as being a lot more flexible and convenient.

god's toy

Iristxo wrote:

you only have 80gb ram.

Wow thats a lot of RAM for a single PC... me thinks you mean Hard Drive.

Iristxo

Yep, Hard Drive, my mistake. Although it'd be cool, a pc with 80GB ram... I guess we'll see that in the next few years

Oracle, thanks for the clarification... will have a look at that link

Frederico

Iristxo wrote:

Jezzz am I missing something here? This is the spec of the one I did in DELL, worked out 865aprox.

PROCESSOR Intel® Pentium® D 915 Dual Core Processor (2.80GHz, 800MHz, 2x2MB)
OPERATING SYSTEM English Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Basic
SUPPORT SERVICES Collect & Return, 1 Year Service only
MONITOR Dell™ 17" Value Flat Panel (E177FP) - UK/Irish
MEMORY 1024MB Dual Channel DDR2 533MHz [2x512] Memory
HARD DRIVE 250GB (7200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive with 8MB DataBurst™ cache
OPTICAL DRIVE 16x DVD+/-RW & 16x DVD Drives
GRAPHICS CARD 256MB nVidia® GeForce® 7300 Turbocache graphics card
Accessories
SOUND CARD Integrated Audio with Dolby Digital 7.1 capability
SPEAKERS No Speakers
KEYBOARD Dell™ Black Entry Quietkey USB Keyboard - UK/Ire (QWERTY)
MOUSE Dell 2 Button USB Wheel Mouse - Black
FLOPPY/MEDIA DRIVES No Floppy Drive
MODEMS Dell™ v92 Data/Fax Modem
Services & Software
SECURITY SOFTWARE No Security/Anti-Virus Protection
MICROSOFT SOFTWARE Microsoft® Works 8 - English
PHOTOGRAPHY SOFTWARE No digital photo sharing or editing software selected.
Also included with your system
Gedis Bundle Reference List D02E06 Dimension E520
Shipping Documents E520 Documentation with UK Power Cord
Adobe Reader Adobe Reader 7.0.8 - English
Order Information Dimension Order - Ireland
Standard Warranty Collect & Return, 1 Year Service only
Dell Internet Order Dell Internet Order.
Promotions Hidden Option Class Memory - Upgrade to 1024MB
SYSTEM MEDIA Dimension Resource DVD for Vista (Diagnostics & Drivers)

So, is the e6400 or the AMD Athlon 3800+ just as good as the Intel 915? Oracle, you only have 80gb ram.

I am talking about the dell outlet site, which has 140e off at the moment.

Many people get confused between dual-core and core2duo.

For instance the bottom spec core2duo (e6300, 1.86 ghz) is generally faster than one of the highest spec dual-cores (a 3.4ghz)

As I said before.. the medion pc is 600 euro, from the dell outlet site that same pc is about 450, and from the ebay dell outlet vendor, probably even cheaper.

Actually you can build a cheaper yet faster pc on www.ankermann-pc.com

Saruman

I think a lot of people are missing the point. As a PC this is rubbish.. but as a multimedia centre.. this is not so bad! you do not need a monitor, anyone who buys this as a MMC will be hooking it up to an LCD or plasma TV.
They will be using it like a sky+ box and record their fave programs on it. Watch downloaded movies. Playing their Music. You do not need speakers or a monitor as you hook up to your TV and sound system.

ecodub

I configured a similar machine on the Dell website with AMD Chip & 17" monitor and came up with €1,132 and thats without the TV card, Remote control and Multi format CD/DVD Burner.

The Aldi unit with 17" LCD costs €760 this is excellent value. I have 2 previous Aldi machines, one is 4 years old and the other 3 years old both are excellent and still performing perfectly. When I decide to upgrade, it will be with another Aldi unit.

If your not interested in the multimedia features, The Dell may be a better option.

Saruman

And remember the warranty... unless this one is different... their computers and screens have always had a 3 year warranty....
Whats the standard Dell warranty these days? 90 days or something stupid??

Kristopherus

see www.medion.co.uk to see the range of stuff they do.Have one of their pcs for over 3yrs and its a great servant as both a pc & media centre.

Frederico

ecodub wrote:

I configured a similar machine on the Dell website with AMD Chip & 17" monitor and came up with €1,132 and thats without the TV card, Remote control and Multi format CD/DVD Burner.

I am talking about the dell outlet site, I just found one, same spec as the aldi one, with a 17 inch monitor, 160 euro less.

BostonB

Saruman wrote:

And remember the warranty... unless this one is different... their computers and screens have always had a 3 year warranty....
Whats the standard Dell warranty these days? 90 days or something stupid??

The main DELL site is 90 days, though I think EU law is that it as to be 1yr for electronic so I dunno how that works. The Dell Outlet machines are all 1yr. Go figure?

BostonB

Alter-Ego wrote:

Medion's are good machines, if not better than dells. Components make a good pc, not the name on the case...

Most PC's of all brands, Sony, Dell, Apple use the same components.

So if they all use the same components...;)