Aldi Laptop

tagoona

I've had a look at the new Aldi laptop coming out...
http://ireland.aldi.com/ie/html/offers/2827_10001.htm

It seems fairly future proof with the windows 7 upgrade.
Graphics card as well, makes me think it would make a grand replacement for the current family laptop (Not for gaming I know, but at least for web games etc.)

It's not used hecticly at the moment - download movies, email etc, but I'd like it to last a couple of years. If it's not middle of the pack now, it probably won't last any amount of time.

I was wondering if there's anything I'm missing.
Or should I just stay clear?

mehmeh12

It seems like an ok deal..the only thing is i'm not sure about the graphics card.

lmcomputer

Spec looks decent but I would never buy Medion. From my experience quality of those laptops is bad.

Dubh Geannain

Just spotted the advertisement for this today and thought it looked pretty good.

Any more thoughts on this?

Imcomputer, when you say the quality of Medion Laptops is bad are you talking about the build quality? The 3 year warranty is always a nice cushion with Aldi.

Sephiroth_dude

lmcomputer wrote: »

Spec looks decent but I would never buy Medion. From my experience quality of those laptops is bad.

Yup personally I would'nt buy from aldi.

gerrymadden1

I waited about 3 months for this product to come back on line. From all the research that I'd done, they are a super laptop. My son's girlfriend has had one for 2 years without problem.

The spec is very high and great value for the average user.

In the meantime I've bought a Toshiba Satellite A350-20s from PC World which I'm very happy with but if only I'd waited...

majiktripp

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

Yup personally I would'nt buy from aldi.

I agree, had terrible experience with a targa laptop from lidl. However, having said that the specs are decent for the price so would tempt me alright had I not more laptops than I need..

missingtime

I bought a laptop from lidl and its still going; (typing this on it) 5 years later. Sure it overheats and the screen flickers from time to time but without it i would be driven mad!

Ciaran500

Bought this earlier and have a bit of a problem with it. Formatted it as soon as I took it out of the box and installed Vista 64bit, got all the drivers off the medion site and everything went perfectly except the display driver.

When I start the install program the only option that comes up is to install a "Nvidia HD audio driver", so I went to the nvidia site and downloaded the latest drivers from there and it would only let me install the HD audio driver. Used the automatic tool on the nvidia site and it told me I had to get the drivers from Medion. If I run the display driver specific setup it says that there are no drivers compatible with my current hardware.

So what do I do now?

EDIT: Had to get a custom inf file to install a beta nvidia driver. Ridiculous setup.

Secoundrow

gerrymadden1 wrote: »

In the meantime I've bought a Toshiba Satellite A350-20s from PC World which I'm very happy with but if only I'd waited...

Hey sorry to go off topic but Im planning on getting that exact laptop from pc world im bit nervous bout toshiba though no expearance with them

whats the build quality like?

lmcomputer

quality of toshiba laptops is ok but they seem to break more often than other brands.And the warranty service is terrible. i have sent one toshiba laptop 4 times to fix the same problem. each time i got it back it worked only for few weeks and then i had to send it back. they also lost my laptop charger and won't refund it.

TerrorFirmer

Ciaran500 wrote: »

EDIT: Had to get a custom inf file to install a beta nvidia driver. Ridiculous setup.

Same for every laptop, not just this one.

(Not for gaming I know, but at least for web games etc.)

Graphics card in this one is excellent - especially for the price. A really amazing deal. This is a gaming laptop - the GT220M is a re-branded 9650GS as far as I'm aware. I have the slower 9600GS in my laptop and I can play Far Cry 2, Dawn of War 2 and World at War at high-ish settings pretty well.

mehmeh12

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Same for every laptop, not just this one.



Graphics card in this one is excellent - especially for the price. A really amazing deal. This is a gaming laptop - the GT220M is a re-branded 9650GS as far as I'm aware. I have the slower 9600GS in my laptop and I can play Far Cry 2, Dawn of War 2 and World at War at high-ish settings pretty well.

But if this is the case the 9650GS is still only a middle of the range graphics card yes? Not top end?

TerrorFirmer

mehmeh12 wrote: »

But if this is the case the 9650GS is still only a middle of the range graphics card yes? Not top end?

If you expect a top end graphics card in a 599 euro you seriously need to get back to reality. To buy a laptop capable of rivaling 'top end' machines would set you back about a grand and a half - and even then you'd have a machine with similar performance to a 500 or 600 euro desktop. As far as laptop cards go, a card of the GT220 class would feature in laptops up to the 900 euro range, covering 'budget performance'. (as apposed to low end cards, which can run new games but at settings that sacrifice great visual detail. Budget Performance usually refers to a good balance between looks and gameplay)

If you want to just play modern games at all high settings on a laptop....you need a serious amount of money. As an example, to play the latest FPS and action games at 1680x1050 max settings, you'd be looking at about 1,200-1,500 euro budget.

Voodu Child

GT220M isn't on Nvidias page, but it scores ~6000 3DMark 06 with the T6500. Which puts it into nice mid-level territory. Remember the screen is 1366x768, which wont be too taxing for the card. You could max COD4 (no AA) and still have framerates averaging 45.

You won't do better for €600 at the moment, and in that sense it is good value.

Greenman

lmcomputer wrote: »

quality of toshiba laptops is ok but they seem to break more often than other brands.

How do you know that?

Have 2, both never missed a beat.

Sometimes its the user who is at fault.

Thargor

Ciaran500 wrote: »

Bought this earlier and have a bit of a problem with it. Formatted it as soon as I took it out of the box and installed Vista 64bit, got all the drivers off the medion site and everything went perfectly except the display driver.

When I start the install program the only option that comes up is to install a "Nvidia HD audio driver", so I went to the nvidia site and downloaded the latest drivers from there and it would only let me install the HD audio driver. Used the automatic tool on the nvidia site and it told me I had to get the drivers from Medion. If I run the display driver specific setup it says that there are no drivers compatible with my current hardware.

So what do I do now?

EDIT: Had to get a custom inf file to install a beta nvidia driver. Ridiculous setup.

Am I missing some drivers then? The only driver I installed after reformatting and installing 64 bit Vista was the WLAN one for the Wi-Fi from the Medion website, can I get a link to any other drivers I need please? thanks.

Voodu Child

Can one of the guys who has gotten this download GPU-Z LINK (latest version 0.3.4, very small download, 400KB) and post a screenshot of the main 'Graphics card' tab?
Thanks

regi

attached

Voodu Child

regi wrote: »

attached

Thanks a lot.

Although it's strange that it doesnt know the amount of shaders, must be the old drivers. Im assuming it's 32 based on the other cards it fits in around.

gerrymadden1

Secoundrow wrote: »

Hey sorry to go off topic but Im planning on getting that exact laptop from pc world im bit nervous bout toshiba though no expearance with them

whats the build quality like?

I've only had it for a month but I really like it. The screen resolution is crystal clear. I had to update a lot of drivers when I got it first but, other than that, its a dream.

One extra little thing is the quality of the speakers. The semi external Harman / Kardon and produce a really decent sound.

I went for the Toshiba on the recommendation of some friends who are business users of Satellite laptops and the staff at PC World who further endorsed those recommendations.

Secoundrow

Thanks for the info guys

well im considering now that toshiba or a HP pavillion DV6 < Just saw these this evening :eek: There really high spec for fairly low budget about €550 gets a amd 2.1Ghz x2 dual core and nvidia graphics card + lots of nice features

J_E

Call me snobby, but I wouldn't buy a lesser-known brand for making laptops like Medion or Targa.

Ciaran500

Cydoniac wrote: »

Call me snobby, but I wouldn't buy a lesser-known brand for making laptops like Medion or Targa.

Why not? Loads of good experiences from other people and it impressed me with its build quality when I took it out of the box. Feels well put together.

Thargor wrote: »

Am I missing some drivers then? The only driver I installed after reformatting and installing 64 bit Vista was the WLAN one for the Wi-Fi from the Medion website, can I get a link to any other drivers I need please? thanks.

If everything is working fine, you can display your native resolution and 3D games are working ok then maybe everything has installed.

But all the drivers are on here: http://www.medion.co.uk/ (can't link directly to them) and follow the instructions in here if you want the video driver I got http://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/topic/24673-v19040-windows-7vista-64bit-nvidia-oem/

I didn't upgrade to the Vista 64bit that came with the laptop, so everything might already be setup for you if you did.

Thargor

Thanks Ciarain, I didnt upgrade either, I did a complete format and reinstall of 64 bit Vista, glad you posted that as Im buying Dawn of War II after work and would have spent the night banging my head off the keyboard otherwise.

lmcomputer

How do you know that?

Have 2, both never missed a beat.

Sometimes its the user who is at fault.

I run laptop repair shop so I know that they break more often.

Greenman

lmcomputer wrote: »

I run laptop repair shop so I know that they break more often.

Or maybe a more popular brand.

From what I read HP are not that great.

Anyway I hear what you say, its like I would never buy a Ford.

TerrorFirmer

Thargor wrote: »

Thanks Ciarain, I didnt upgrade either, I did a complete format and reinstall of 64 bit Vista, glad you posted that as Im buying Dawn of War II after work and would have spent the night banging my head off the keyboard otherwise.

Got Dawn of War II yesterday. As a rabid fan of the first game and its expansions to the extent of thousands of online games and still play lan to this day, Dawn of War II is utter tripe.

Thargor

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Got Dawn of War II yesterday. As a rabid fan of the first game and its expansions to the extent of thousands of online games and still play lan to this day, Dawn of War II is utter tripe.

Aw really? I was hoping for just more of the same, if theres any improvement at all Ill be happy, if they've made it worse though then I dont know what Ill do, havent been able to play a new RTS in years.

BTW, I was in the Headford Road Aldi in Galway today and the poster for this laptop was still up so I asked if they still had them and the manager said no but they're getting more in around the end of the week. You have to go in and put your name and details down to reserve one, he said other Aldis are probably doing this aswell.

Personally I dont know much about laptops but I could not be happier with this purchase, its lightening fast, looks great, feels great to use, completely silent and I know if anything happens I have the 3 year waranty, best money Ive spent in ages.

Tim M-U

go with dell ireland, because you can customise what you want and you pay for what you want! www.dell.ie

TerrorFirmer

Thargor wrote: »

Aw really? I was hoping for just more of the same, if theres any improvement at all Ill be happy, if they've made it worse though then I dont know what Ill do, havent been able to play a new RTS in years.

BTW, I was in the Headford Road Aldi in Galway today and the poster for this laptop was still up so I asked if they still had them and the manager said no but they're getting more in around the end of the week. You have to go in and put your name and details down to reserve one, he said other Aldis are probably doing this aswell.

Personally I dont know much about laptops but I could not be happier with this purchase, its lightening fast, looks great, feels great to use, completely silent and I know if anything happens I have the 3 year waranty, best money Ive spent in ages.

If you're a staunch fan of the mechanics of the first game then II is a major dis improvement. I hate it. There's no base building at all, it basically revolves around squads and personal tactics. Nothing like the first game, where you'd send 100's of guys off to die and gleefully build the ultimate fortress base...just not my type of game at all. The only thing going for it are the beautiful visuals, but I won't be bothering with it again - back to Winter Assault for me.