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[Closed] Computer people - Aldi PC, any good?

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http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/special_buys3_14867.htm

Need to look at replacing my aging PC, did consider upgrading but figure will just as well upgrade the lot
Is this Aldi model on sale from tomorrow any good?
Want it for internet, video watching and editing (have a cheap HD vid camera), itunes and music/photo storage etc and general use, not really into games, have a ps3 for that

Anyone any experience of Medion PC's?


 
Posted : 21/07/2010 12:28 pm
 nbt
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I've got a targa PC at home which is the lidl equivalent. It's been fine for the three years I've had it


 
Posted : 21/07/2010 12:29 pm
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for that amount of money just get a dell


 
Posted : 21/07/2010 12:30 pm
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Have you looked on Dell Outlet? Reconditioned Dell kit with warranty and you can save 10% - 20% on regular prices.

http://www1.euro.dell.com/uk/en/dfo/df.aspx?refid=df&s=dfo


 
Posted : 21/07/2010 12:34 pm
 MSP
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medion are an established brand in Germany, the aldi deals are hard to beat IMO.


 
Posted : 21/07/2010 12:35 pm
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I have one. Been using it for 7 years or so!

Edit- as above the spec was amazing for the price at the time


 
Posted : 21/07/2010 12:35 pm
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I have one of the Connect XL models which hasn't been particularly good, fan broke, graphics card broke, monitor broke but the biggest annoyance is that the fan runs all the time and is very noisy. Interested to know if Retros one is similar as it makes watching or listening to anything a pita.


 
Posted : 21/07/2010 12:40 pm
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I have one of the Connect XL models which hasn't been particularly good, fan broke, graphics card broke, monitor broke but the biggest annoyance is that the fan runs all the time and is very noisy. Interested to know if Retros one is similar as it makes watching or listening to anything a pita.

I've replaced fans, but they're wear & tear items IMVHO (same as any moving part with bearings or bushings).

I think my folks have a connect XL model (about 5 years old I think). The reason it is noisy is because it has a Prescott 3.4 and they were notoriously hot running chips. Again though, having replaced the fan with an Xilence fan from ebay (around £5 IIRC) it is back to being very quiet. They use it as a media centre and it is quiet enough not be be audible when watching films.


 
Posted : 21/07/2010 1:09 pm
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reason it is noisy is because it has a Prescott 3.4 and they were notoriously hot running chips.

yeah my current machine has a Prescott chip, and it is quite noisy, got used to it now though


 
Posted : 21/07/2010 2:18 pm
 cp
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Medion are a good company - their computers get very good reviews in the press and Medion UK apparently do a good warranty back up so I wouldn't worry about that!

having said that, I'd prob go with something like this - 4gb memory and 64bit Windows will make future memory upgrades much easier & the processor is slightly better.


 
Posted : 21/07/2010 2:47 pm
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think this reconditioned Dell might be a bit better?

BASE,MNTW,CTO,570

HARD DRIVE, 1TB,7.2K

Inspiron 570 MT : AMD Phenom II X4 820(2.8GHz,6MB)

English Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64 BIT)

16X DVD+/-RW Drive

English Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64 BIT)

Media Card Reader : 19-in-1

O/S MOD

1 Yr Collect & Return Warranty

1 GB ATI Radeon HD 5450

Memory : 6144MB (2x2048 + 2x1024) DDR3 Dual Channel

Certified Refurbished

£418 incl VAT, free delivery uyntil end month

At least I hope its better, cause I just bought it 😆
Same spec was about £670 new


 
Posted : 21/07/2010 3:08 pm
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Yep looks alright to me!


 
Posted : 21/07/2010 3:24 pm
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Same spec was about £670 new

correct that I just actually built it up properly rather than trying to compare on website and it would have been £534
Still £120 saving is good


 
Posted : 21/07/2010 3:26 pm
 cp
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That's a great spec!! Apologies, I missed the link out of my post!!


 
Posted : 21/07/2010 3:32 pm
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glad to hear it sounds like I made a decent choice, considering all I know about computers is how to turn them on and what I learnt from the IT guys at work (CTRL,ALT,DELETE) 🙄
Anyone with experience of refurbed Dells?
Do they normally look like new or can they have scratches or marks on the case etc?
Also what could - "O/S MOD" mean, it wasnt detailed on the site spec, until I got the email confirmation with spec list??

Now how best to transfer my settings etc from old computer to new one? (files arnt too much of a problem, I have most of them on an external drive already)


 
Posted : 21/07/2010 3:40 pm
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Anyone with experience of refurbed Dells?

If they're anything like the new ones, I'd avoid them. 😉


 
Posted : 21/07/2010 3:43 pm
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I have a medion at home that is 13 years old (IIRC) and is running as a server and NEVER gets switched off.

The only parts EVER replaced was the ram due to the machine only having 2 slots and accepting a max of 256MB ram.


 
Posted : 21/07/2010 3:50 pm
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jon1973 - bit late for that advise now 🙄


 
Posted : 21/07/2010 3:51 pm
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bit late for that advise now

you only asked the question 12 minutes ago 😉 normal practice is to ask first, buy later.

+1 for the Medion. I've had my for about 5 years, fault free.


 
Posted : 21/07/2010 3:55 pm
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The processor is a bit "cheap". I'm watching http://www.hotukdeals.com/computers/deals/hot and waiting for a Dell Vostro i7 deal to appear 🙂


 
Posted : 21/07/2010 3:58 pm
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My dad got the Medion.

Has been running great. Stopped him ring me up every 5 mins to tell me the computers broke and can i come and fix it like he used to do with his old one.


 
Posted : 21/07/2010 6:58 pm
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my Dell was crap it lasted less than 3 years


 
Posted : 21/07/2010 7:03 pm