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Is this a "Super" supermarket PC?
Saturday, 30 April, 2005
(I just noticed that Brian has written in. See his post below)
Was ,,,
Flour
Eggs
Fish Fingers
Toilet Paper
Tinned Salmon
Milk
Chocolate biscuits.
Oh yes
I see that Aldi, has a Medion PC for sale from time to time.
Aldi.
- Wireless LAN 54 MBit/s IEEE 802.11g
- Remote control
- Wireless keyboard
- Wireless mouse
- Medion Titanium MD 8083 with IntelŪ PentiumŪ 4 Processor with Hyper-Threading-Technology real 3.0 GHz
- 8 x Multi Format (+/-) DVD/CD Re-Writer DVD-R DVD+R CD-R • CD-RW
- Graphics Card ATi Radeon 9800 XXL 256M Memory Interface
- DVD-ROM 16x
- 200G Hard disk super fast 7,200 rpm
- 512M Memory DDR 400MHz 64 Bit dual channel memory (one bank free for upgrading memory)
- Stereo TV FM Radio Card
- 6 x USB 2.0 2 x front, 4 x rear
- 2 x FireWire IEEE 1394
- 1 x front, 1 x rear
- 8 Channel Audiofor Digital Home Movie Entertainment and optimised sound
- 10/100 MBit Network LAN
- 56K V.9x PCI Data/Fax modem including telephone cable
- SmartCard Reader Reads and writes all standard memory cards including Memory Stick (Pro), IBM Micro Drive, Multimedia Card (MMC), Compact Flash Card, SmartMedia Card, XD Card
- and SD Card. Also reads mobile phone SIM cards and Credit/Debit Cards using the SmartCard Reader.
- To connect two analog monitors, a DVI to D-Sub adaptor is required. Work with two different application windows at the same time with the dualscreen/monitor capability. The Latest Excellent 2D & 3D Graphics Work with two different application windows at the same time with the dualscreen/monitor capability
- Plus a whole pile of software
- $1699 cash and EFTPOS only
(Originally posted July 2004)
Dorothea Dix, Blacktown, NSW
 Yes, it's on again. (I spotted one today at my local Aldi store.m -Paul Zucker)
.
.
Here are the other Aldi computer specials starting on 8/7/2004.. These are Aldi's words, not ours. -Paul Zucker
- Monitor 19" CRT Flat Monitor: Pure flat 19" 0.24mm dot pitch. Maximum resolution 1600 x 1200 @ 75Hz with on screen display controls. $ 249
- Memory Card: Choose from a secure digital 256MB or compact flash card 256MB. Each $ 99.
- USB Graphics Pad: Suitable for graphic applications or for drawing. Insert hand written notices in all office applications. Includes cordless mouse and pen. $ 69
- Wireless Mini Optical Mouse: RF 3 button optical mouse. Operating distance 1.5m. Ideal for laptops. $ 29.99
- Microporous Photo Paper A4 25pk: 25pk glossy A4 photo paper. 206gsm suitable for inkjet printers. Suitable for high resolution up to 5760 dpi. Per Pack $ 9.99
- 3 Metre Multimedia Connection Cable: Select from USB cable A-B, USB extension cable A-A, network cable, RS-232 printer cable (parallel). Firewire IEEE-1394 cable. Each $ 4.99
The Aldi Medion Titanium MD8083 doesn't include a monitor. Nor would I expect it to. I’d suggest our readers have a look at the product information sheet linked above if they’re considering getting a new PC their PC at the moment.
There’s features aplenty, enough ‘grunt’ to please just about anybody, and a fine bundle of Software thrown in for good measure. About the only ‘minus’ I could put against it would be the absence of 1G of RAM, but 512M should meet
most people’s needs anyway. And it looks really, really nice!
Even without a monitor included in the price, that is one of the best computers I’ve seen available for purchase at a comparable price for quite some time. Oh how I wish I had the spare funds available to enable me to join that queue
myself.
Those are about the best prices to be found at present for the components included, so it’s easy to see what a good deal that is assembled and installed and warranted!
UPDATE
The mention of Warranty considerations by a couple of our readers raises an interesting point or two.
I’m not sure just how the Warranty service is handled by Aldi, but I’d imagine that the Supermarket chain would deal with the issue in a manner no different to how such issues are dealt with for any other product – replace or refund items which slip through the ‘net’ and are distributed to customers in a defective state.
It’s been my experience with computers (and with most other products) that they are either defective straight out of the box, (DOA) or they don’t develop problems until well after the Warranty period has expired. I see no reason why this should be different for this PC. The system simply isn’t constructed from dodgy, cheap components!
A purchasing option such as this is a rather ‘new’ innovation in the Computer marketplace. Previously, purchasers have generally had the option to buy computers direct from the manufacturer, from specialist PC dealers, or from Department chains who provide a Computer Department. The provision of occasional ‘special offer’ PCs by a retail chain who doesn’t generally stock them is rather novel, and potentially beneficial to purchasers. The purchasing power of such a chain allows the systems to be built on ‘special order’. The volumes involved mean that the quality components used can be purchased initially at a much reduced price, and the subsequent savings passed on to the customer. If other retail chains start to follow the lead of Aldi, we may see a situation develop where quality PCs can be purchased at a considerably lower price than they currently retail for.
But perhaps, in relation to Warranty and Service issues, we need to get our heads around a rather different outlook to that which many people have followed previously.
Systems such as this are absolutely ideal for the experienced PC user. The size of the retail chain selling them most likely means there will be little argument if you return the unit as ‘faulty’. But I wouldn’t expect much at all in the way of ongoing service support. If it turns out that Aldi’s approach to the issue is of the form that “or job is to sell it in working order – your job is to know how to use it” then I’d say that’s a fair approach for hat it is. (That was a supposition of my own, not a statement from Aldi by the way!)
Is the prospective purchaser wants ongoing support with setting up and using the Software on their system, making hardware changes to it and the like, then perhaps he or she should avoid such an alternative. After all, PCs from the ‘Brand Name’ companies such as HP, Dell and the like have that support factored into the purchase price of their systems. This one is a better system than most, at a ‘Bargain Basement’ price, but it may not be the best choice for an inexperienced beginner.
(The computer supplier Medion is represented in Australia, You should visit that website if you're thinking of buying the PC because the service and support are discussed, We'll also ask the company to look at this Q&A and comment if it wants to. -Paul Zucker)
Cheers, Terry O'Shanassy
 Reader solutions
Pranesh PalPosted: 04/01/2008 re: Is this a I've had cooling problems with VGA card - had Zalman VF700Cu installed.
Donald APosted: 16/12/2007 Size of original partitions on the 200 gig drive WE HAVE A 2004 MODEL & i WAS IMPRESSED FOR 3 years of bliss then a crashed hard-drive. put in a new 320 gig with bigger partitions but I find out that the restore program won't work hence WITH MODIFIED PARTITIONS HENCE I need to put another drive in with partitions the same size as original,
any help appreciated WITH THE CORRECT SIZES, HELP PLEASE,
CHEERS dONALD
(Sounds like you need to contact the manufacturer Donald. -PZ) Experienced Medion UserPosted: 27/09/2007 Medion PC support forums and my MD8080XL The new VGA cooler name that I posted a few months earlier is actually a Zalman VF700Cu. Sorry. Experienced Medion UserPosted: 29/07/2007 Medion PC support forums and my MD8080XL I purchased a Medion 8080XL about 3 years ago. It was fine during the warranty period, but after that all hell broke loose. It developed a loud and strange) whirring noise and at around the same time the PC would randomly freeze/crash (including BSODs). Sent it to telefix, and they said it was a faulty graphics card fan and replaced it. After another one year or so, the same problem emerged. Then I decided to do something about it. I searched the net for any info about this PC and luckily found two very helpful support forums:
>http://www.medionsupport.com (used to be http://medion.adslweb.co.uk) - registration required for this site
>http://md8083.hertsinternet.com
From these sites i discovered that the noise and crashes were a common problem with the 9800XXL graphics card in stock Medion PCs. When i opened the case to find the culprit, i was surprised :D . the fan was about the size of a 20c coin and it makes such a huge racket?! The forum gave suggestion to replace the fan with a Zalman VF600Cu VGA cooler (It features copper heatsink, larger fan, and silent mode). After about 8 months, the md8080XL works a treat - no crashes, no noise, and has become the silent beast its intended to be.
I hope this helps anyone with a troubling Medion. Cheers.
(Thanks for sharing that. -PZ) peelyPosted: 02/05/2006 re: md8386 problems For a start it,s not a bad computer but when i went to the medion site to see if there was any up dates thats when it all came to light,bios update was needed so i could just press restart button and not freeze.
So i followed instructions up until
"restart your pc with the Application-/support-cd" then try to boot from cd-rom, but no?? key board does not work so computer starts the normal way then the key board works but to late. Please help this poor man
radiogoldPosted: 04/11/2005 reboot, reboot, reboot, I've got the reboot blues. Hey, everyone,
Anyone got any suggestions for this one. Have been all excited about having a new Medion MD 8383 PC, I can now finally do some good video capturing.
Just followed all the directions, that are given in many forums, and video guides, which is to wipe your computer, (total format, and removal of all partitions, using partition magic version 8.0). Fresh install of Win XP. And just install the one program you use for Video Capture. In my case it is Sony Vegas 6 with Boris Graffiti Pro for Titling.
All that out of the way. I now switch on my Medion MD 8383 Desktop. I get the normal dos command flash, then the windows XP Splash, and then, all hell breaks loose.
Just as Windows is about to show the desktop, I get half a second of a blue screen, (blue screen of death), I hear a loud click from the CPU, like someone tapping the bottom of a water boiling kettle with a spoon, then the fan goes up to full throddle, and the reboot starts again from scratch. (pentium 4 Logo keeps popping up)
This just keeps happening and happening, and there is nothing I can do.
I have placed the computer right next to a balcony door which is open most of the time. I thought it may of been heat building up.
I have done a number of system checks, when I boot from the CD ROM, but once I get into windows, just at that particular point again, the system shows a blue screen for half a second, and the system again, just reboots with that clicking sound. I actually noticed the dos system checks freezing up to.
I don't know, but it sounds serious. Is this just a windows problem, because I've wiped the D-Recovery drive, or is it a physical part like the processor, or hard-drives overheating.
I can't imagine it being the D-Recovery, because even with that deleted, I managed to do a fresh install of windows without any problems, and Sony Vegas. Galaxy RoomPosted: 04/11/2005 Medion MD 8383 Youl'beauty, just bought a MD 8383 computer, brand new off ebay the other week for a AU$1,000. With all that stuff above, I thought I was getting a good deal. It seemed over three grand of stuff for one grand, :( :(, S**t hell, am I wrong. I did a fresh install of win xp, and wiped the hard-drive, as I "WAS" going to use it for a dedicated video capture 'puter. Blast, this thing just reboots, and reboots, and reboots, and yeah you get the message, 1000 dollars sitting on my new Office-works desk now collecting dust, thanks the money didn't come out of my account. May be the folks I got it from should have done their research a little better, perhaps a dell would have been better, then this SUPER-MARKET Blast.
If anyone knows how to get this MD 8383 out of it's rebooting blues, please help. The computer starts up fine, I get the Windows XP Splash, then just before the desktop appears, I get a blue screen, then the computer powers off, then on again with a new reboot. I left it on from 8:00 one morning, went out, and coming back 4:00 in the afternoon, and the thing was still going nuts. My radio station studio must of been about 10 degrees hotter then the outside of the radio station, bloody great heater mate! Bill RogersPosted: 05/09/2005 re: Is this a I was all fired up to buy a Medion Titanium MD8386 PC whch is currently advertised by Aldi $1599. Does this particular machine any of the problems of the previous models. i/e. is it in any way user friendly or must one be expected to be among the technically minded. I must admit that my enthusiasm has been dampenef by the comments of the DIY enthusiasts. Has anyone any helpful comments on this model please...........To Buy or Not To?
(Probably depends where you are. If you're near the service depot it could be good. -PZ) Noel CarterPosted: 17/08/2005 re: Is this a Hi All
OUR MD8386 is a terrific computer - so long as it's not switched off! It hates to boot up from cold and generally locks up so badly, the Task Manager can't be fired-up. So it has to be powered off (has no reset button) and re-booted, after which it's usually a fight to get it connected to the Net. It then performs excellently- fast, quiet like I've never experienced before and generally great to use. But, don't switch it off overnight.
The machine has had nothing installed that hadn't run satisfactorily on our other computers, one also running XP Home. And getting any sense out of the Help Desk (available 8.30am-5.00pm Mon-Friday by the way) is an achievement: after listening to my troubles, they said they couldn't help any further, without offering to send out a service guy from the outfit that does their warranty work.
So, after two weeks of Medion ownership, it's back to Aldi tomorrow for a refund.
To end on a positive note, the $1599 price tag was great value!
Cheers
Noel
noel.c@ozemail.com.au
BenPosted: 15/08/2005 Re: Medion 8383 check out www.ministryblue.com. I just bought one of these beasts through this website andit screams! Plus, it was less than $999. Bargain! JonathanPosted: 12/08/2005 Aldi/Medion Warranty Aldi splash in huge writing across their brochures "12 Months Warranty" but neglect to mention that even though you are retired and bought the PC at their regional store - you have to take the PC to Sydney for the warranty. After a few glitches requiring resetting the frequency, the wireless mouse simply stopped working. Aldi required the mouse to be sent in - and expect us to be without a mouse for several weeks while they tested it. We simply bought a corded mouse and put it down to life experience. Unfortunately now that the warranty has expired, we have been having increasing problems. The unit would turn on but would refuse to display anything (we did check cabling and loose cards). The next day it worked again without doing anything. Yesterday the power button got stuck in. We pried it out - fine. Now today the unit won't turn on at all. Can only assume the button inside that the outside cap pushes on is broken or dislodged.
So much for the quality "you won't have the problem of it lasting 12 months plus 1 day" statement.
From all the feedback here - it seems that the unit was terrific value for money - and if you got a unit that didn't fail - you are extremely happy with it. However it sounds a bit like Russian Roulette - for ever 5 people who are exstatic, 1 person got the short straw. Unfortunately for those people - the warranty service is practically non-existant.
I heard the new models have the option of upgrading to a 2-year onsite warranty. If I was buying a new Aldi PC - I would take that option. But I bet it will ONLY apply to metro areas.
If you want all the bells & whistles, it is a great deal, but if you just want a simple quality PC with Internet and email and also Microsoft Office Basic and a monitor, there are terrific deals at the moment with quality brands like HP/Compaq including 3 years parts warranty and 1 year onsite labour. For only $79 you can upgrade it to a full 3 years onsite warranty. Now THAT is saying something about their faith in their products. RattyPosted: 11/07/2005 re: Is this a Sorry to hear some people have had problems with their 8383XL, but I bought mine in Nov'04 as well as the 19" medion LCD screen. For the price the Aldi gear seemed too good to be true, so I consulted several PC mag experts to be told that the stuff was indeed a good buy which confirmed my own thoughts.
My dining room is now a home entertainment room - the TV screen fed with digital Foxtel, inputs to the front PC audio and video inputs. The back PC a&v outputs to AV3 on the TV. The PC audio also outputs to a 300W AWA 5.1 Surround sound system ($265 ex BigW).
So what I now have is a system where anything showing on the TV screen (from Foxtel, Free To Air, VCR or DVD) can be captured to hard disc by Power Cinema and also displayed on the LCD Monitor with 5.1 amplified sound. In reverse, any DVD in the PC rom drive or on the hard disc or captured video (mpeg-2), as well as jpegs, slide shows etc can be also viewed on the TV set on AV3 (AV1 is Foxtel). (The TV is set as the secondary monitor in XP Display setup).
The TV will NOT display normal computer program screens - this doesn't really worry me but if anyone knows how to do this, I'd like to know!
The fan is quite noisy when capturing or rendering video, but otherwise is not a problem and there are coolers available but I haven't got 'round to them yet. I've never got the PC's TV gear to work but it's not connected to any decent aerial and I really don't have the need.
The only problems I've had are those associated with XP - so far everything works pretty well and it's living up to the expectation of it being the system it was advertised to be.
I'm happy as hell!
gruntbushpigPosted: 13/06/2005 re: Is this a install BELARC ADVISOR on your machine and you will be suprised what info you will get about your machine.hardwareinfo op key nos and os info . its great. JeffPosted: 13/06/2005 re: Is this a in regard to warranty with aldi's medion computers, models such as the MD8080, 8083 and 8383 did come with a 12 mth warranty and service hotline back-up... the newest model
MD8386 has an upgraded 24 mth on-site warranty (as do all notebook models) and service hotline. This is the model most recently on sale and will reappear in stores shortly (possibly at a lower price??). In regards to faulty units and/or repairs, the stores will usually gladly exchange for a new unit (providing they have them in stock) or fully refund (with receipt and all components). The stores DO NOT arrange for repairs, or ship them to medion on your behalf, as is clearly stated on the warranty card. In the event that you have problems with you medion, it is preferred by aldi that you contact medion warranty support as a first port of call, contacting the store where you purchased it from being your last. Ultimately, aldi wants to sell quality products (they put their name on everything they sell, why wouldnt they?) These are not cheap and nasty units, designed to fail 12 mths and a day after purchase as some people would have you believe. Kerry RaynerPosted: 05/06/2005 Taking it back!!!! We bought a Medion 8383XL in December 04 & for three months, apart from being incredibly noisy is seemed fine. Then one day it wouldnt boot up & the hard drive appeared to be buggered.
It has taken us 2 months to get the PC fixed under warranty & this involved countless phone calls to Medion & United Electrical to arrange for someone to repair it. The help desk didnt return calls when promised & really gave us the run around.
The hard drive that stopped working had photos of our newborn son on it & they made us pay $200 to keep it even though we have been told it is is useless & would cost another $800 to retrieve the data from it.
We finally got the PC back this week & connected it up only to find - it still doesnt work!!!!
On Monday I am taking it back to Aldi to try & get a refund - fingers crossed.
The lesson I have learned - if it seems to good to be true - it probably is! SteveDPosted: 26/05/2005 re: Is this a I bought a Medion 2Gig P4 with my eggs in Apr 2002, over 3 years ago.
After 11 monthes it blew a ram chip.
Aldi told me to call Medion, they would deal.
I called Medion on a Saterday, Tech diagnosied it and said I would be called back to fix an appointment.
They called Monday, an engineer came and change the chip on Wednesday. Cool.
That was a long while back now and it's still going, with some extra ram & disks.
CD/DVD are getting a bit touchy but they have had a fair life.
Never got the TV out quite right, but who has a perfect PC!
Can't grumble for ■600.
Hope they as still as good. jezPosted: 25/05/2005 Aldi-Medion Support Site UK Based Aldi-Medion Support Forum can be found at:
http://medion.adslweb.co.uk Posted: 21/05/2005 re: Is this a I have never purchased a pc from aldi but i have purchased pc devices like card readers, usb hubs, Tv Tuner Cards( you dod need to tune them in just like a normal tv. I have tried other tv software and the software supplied with the tv tuner works best, the reseption is only slightly lesser quality of a normal tv, howerver my outside antenna is split up between 3 TVs and this generally lowers tv reception) All of these products have worked great and never failed and i am a high pc user Terry SteenPosted: 20/05/2005 re: Is this a Super Market PC? Bought my Medion 8080 Dec 03 been a good machine for video editing although I dont use the Power producer or director Software, Instead prefer Adobe premiere and DVD workshop Authoring Software.
Few problems were - Flimsy mouse broke, Medion replaced but I purchased rechageable Optical in place of it also Wireless Keyboard lettering started to chip off, Medion refused to replace as they said I was out of Warranty, I think thats not acceptable as the Lettering should be impressed into the keys not just painted on.
The Card reader packed in withing 6 months but I bought a USB add on thats been OK.
But for the price i suppose its good value overall.
Terry Ray ToussaintPosted: 17/05/2005 re: Titanium 8386 I bought a medion titanium 8386 PC from Aldi UK.I am having a problem with my monitor,I get a message ' not supported V30OKhz- H 50HKz' I cannot get rid of this message. I have problem with video capture. I was interested to read that XP and capture card aren't compatible. JamesPosted: 12/05/2005 Aldi UK I bought the latest aldi/medion PC just before christmas, i would say its amazing but its let down on 1 fact. Its very very noisy, i prop a magazine against the side when i play games because otherwise theres no way i can hear anything even with my surround sound. I tryed to buy a new fan and heatsink but the medoin uses a custom retention clip and i am yet to find a fan and heatsink that will fit.
Apart from that its great. Wayne.RPosted: 06/05/2005 re: Is this a "Super" supermarket PC I bought my Aldi PC on 4th dec 2003,
It is the 8080XL with 3.0GHZ, 160GB hard drive & 512MB of ram. Overall I am still very happy with the system. ( fingers crossed nothing now happens to change my view)
I also bought the Medion 15" lcd monitor & the the Medion 5.1 sound "flat panel" speakers & amplifier, all of which match each other very well, and were easy to install, and have had no problem with them at all.
Just a few points about my experiance with it.
-I have had one problem with the machine so far. On 1/7/04 I took it to Telefix, because it was randomly shutting itself down, Telefix replaced the Power Supply & the Radeon 9800XL graphics card,(but took 2 months to do it).
-(I am still happy in the knowledge that Aldi have a return policy where you can get your money back, not to many questions asked. )
-Since then I have had no problems.
-I have the analogue TV card & it is working just fine.(I have found that with Digital TV you need to have near perfect reception before the set top boxes will start to work without fault, & so I think Digital TV needs more developement)
-I have had no problems with the keyboard & mouse except to change the batteries.
-Someone asked about using the PC though their TV, I have found it to be unsatisfactory though a 68cm crt normal tv ,but with a high definition monitor of say 1024x768 resolution it may be quite good.
-The Mainboard in my machine is a:MICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL CO.,LTD MS7012. Bus Clock:200megahertz.BIOS:Phoenix Technologies,LTD 6.00PG 09/29/2003
-Every thing else is working fine, its a very quiet running machine ,very responsive & has lots of software (although I would have liked separate software discs for eTrust Antivirus, & Pinnacle Instant Copy 8, & Medion Home Cinema, & Medion Power Cinema 2.0 & Power Director 2.5SE, & Power Producer 2, & Power DVD 5, & Video Live Mail, & Music Match, for reinstalling purposes, instead of the one Application & Support-CD supplied for rebooting)
Larry JentzPosted: 03/05/2005 re: Is this a These stories about the Aldi system remind me of a friend who had an old Holden. Fantastic car and the most reliable he had ever had. Only had to rebuild the motor twice and gearbox once. Snapped 3 rear axles Burnt out some wireing and had the ignition fixed 6 times. Great reliable unit and has owned it for 5 years.
Seems most owners have had problems with mice, keyboards or the tv/video card setups. I would think more reliable systems are on offer. Julianne StilesPosted: 30/04/2005 re: Is this a Jas
Not a solution but.............
I bought my "adli" computer for xmas 04. Have had no problems - touch wood - but don't understand the tv side of it. I have tried to use it but the reception is bad! Very BAD!
Should I able to just start the program and it work? Or is there something else I need to buy?
I have only used the aerial that came with the system.
I live in Wollongong and get both local and Sydney stations on my main normal tv with an outdoor antenna. I also have a small tv in my home office that uses an indoor antenna and it gets better reception for the local stations but can't get Sydney stations.
I would like to use my computer to record, to dvd, a program that is only on a Sydney station. Any hints? K.I.S.S please!
Jas
PS: Just been reminded that occassionally this computer gets very noisy especially if I am playing games on the internet - is this normal?
( Noisy? You'll have to explain what you mean. And as for the antenna, split the main coax lead with a powered splitter, They're about $50 at electronics stores. You'll need a suitable lead too. Explain to the salesperson. -Paul Zucker Stephen StolkPosted: 18/03/2005 Aldi PC At my home I am currently running 6 to 7 PCs on a network. Two of these are Aldi PCs. My own Aldi PC I bought during the 2nd time they released them, so it is a bit old but I have updated it by adding more ram and also add a addtional HDD of 200Gb as well as replaceing the original 160Gb HDD drive with a 250Gb drive. The system works fine actually it works even better with the new HDD drive. I have also upgrade to XP pro. (This is because of the number of PCs on my network)
The second Aldi PC, belongs to my brother. It is one of the recent release so is only about 4 months old. It still has XP home but it still works fine. The only problem I have had is with the wireless mouse, which stop working after awhile. My uncle had the same problem so we both just bought usb mice.
All in all I would have to say that the Aldi PCs are a great buy and a PC that sould be looked at when thinking of purchasing a new PC. PaulinePosted: 13/01/2005 Ok.. summary please? So overall a lot of people are loving their "perfect" Medion PCs and a lot of other people are having endless problems with them. correct?
Well, I've been thinking about getting one and hooking it up to my tv (to eliminate buying a separate monitor for the damn thing). I will also want to connect it (broadband perhaps?) to the internet before too long - what problems, if any, have people been experiencing with internet connections? I'm somewhat confused about which people are talking about the Medion PC/HomeTheatre/everything-you-could-want-in-one system and which people are talking about other Medion products (that they may or may not have had problems with).
I also checked out the Aus Medion home page - wow.. they really pack it full of useful information don't they? (sarcasm -for anyone unsure)
So, Paul, what's the go with this Medion PC thing overall... yay or nay?
(Yay or Nay is your choice Pauline. Joh Hilvert seems to like his. -Paul Zucker) TomPosted: 13/12/2004 Medion 8383XL I have just purchased the new Medion 8383XL computer. I wish to install my 160g HDD from my old computer into the Medion but I can't get the BIOS to pick it up. Has anyone else had this problem, and if so, is there a solution to it????
Thanks,
Tom. ShanePosted: 12/12/2004 Titanium MD 8383XL Has anybody purchased one of the new Medion computers from aldi. Are they any good
Anthony ScundiPosted: 07/12/2004 I bought it I bought the P.C and seems to run really great.
The Warranty is sufficient and the Service Line is good to have too. 1st time Medion UserPosted: 06/12/2004 re: TV Tuner experience I bought notebook 2 weeks before. Everything looks great. This is the first time I used Medion.
I experience TV receiving problem when I use it in my office which is near the beach.
But the receiving problem does not turn out as I use in my highrise apartment.
azzarhodesPosted: 06/12/2004 The lot I am bought the medion Titamium MD 8083 3.0Ghz Pentium 4 HT about 6 months ago and i have had little problems.
One problem is that when you buy it a monitor and speakers are not included. The wireless keyboard and mouse are fairly good but they can become quite doggy. The graphics is the only turn down as it says its a radeon 9800 XXL which lead many people to believe it to be a radeon 9800XT (the latest graphics card out atm)
Recently i have had major problems with the included video capture card. it is extremly hard to use and many errors have occured. the computer cannot detect it because apparently it isnt compatible with Windows XP
Also the support is quite lame. you ring them up and they act very casual as if they had no idea about the product you were talking about. They only work very restricting hours so there hard to get on too. Also the locations of Telefix the company which repairs the computer are dispersed and rare in numbers.
Besides all this it is a great computer for its pricem just dont be fooled by the graphics card and also the 200gb storage cause you will only have round 160gb afta XP is installed MZPosted: 03/12/2004 re: Is this a I bought a medion notebook in aldi two weeks ago. Everything is working properly except the TV tuner. Cannot receive any channel on it. Support is helpful but I still have a problem. The last advice is to remove the tv tuner driver then install it again (I will try to do this in the weekend). Wish I don't have to do these things cause I just like to enjoy my newly bought computer.
Any advice. Brian YatesPosted: 04/11/2004 Notebook next week! I notice that Aldi supermarkets are selling a Medion Notebook with Pentium M 1.7GHz Processor from 11 Nov 04. The specs of the machine appear good, and a summary is as follows:
- Pioneer 8x multiformat DVD burner (dual layer)
- 512Mb DDR RAM
- 80Gb HD
- 1024x768 TFT XGA 15'' screen
- 802.11g wireless LAN
- ATI Mobility Radeon 9650 video (64mb)
- Digital & analogue TV tuner
- Multi card reader
- Bundled multi-media software
- USB scroll mouse and carrybag
- claimed battery time up to 4 hours
- slimline device approximately 35mm thick
- weighs only 2.7kg
The link to the specs is:
http://www.australia.aldi.com/images/data_product/15250893241885f8be0d8b.pdf
They are selling the machine for $2299. Does this represent reasonable value for this machine? I own a Medion desktop, and I have been absolutely impressed with it, so I am not sure whether this same quality exists in their notebooks.
(I think it's probably a good machine for the money Brian. Perhaps some readers can comment. And a little bird tells me that it might be worth checking out OfficeWorks for the same beastie. http://www.officeworks.com.au -Paul Zucker) John Posted: 13/10/2004 videocard problem is because the mini ATX case is too small, the cards heatsink gets so hot I burnt my fingers on it investigateing why the video system kept crashing ,I fixed the issue by adding two case fans and a larger heatsink and fan to the card, I had earlier added an extra 160gig hd ,and that seems to have pushed the internal case temperature too far, I had to mount the new drive in the floppy bay, since the hardrives would overheat and shut down if placed next to one another, and the case is so cramped you can`t squeeze HD coolers in there, the modem died after two weeks as well, just replaced it with a better one and left the old card in since it has the tv decoder on it, the videocard and the motherboard seem to be made by Medion themselves. CoryPosted: 06/09/2004 re: Is this a Everything you need to know about this computer can be found at
http://md8083.hertsinternet.com/
look in the forum, solutions to everything is in there, even though my MD 8083 has been PERFECT since i got it, some need some help. Hope the site helps ChrisPosted: 05/09/2004 What are the exact specs of this PC Hey
I have been considering to by the medion 8083 PC, but the ony thing that is stoppping me is that i dont no what motherboard it has in it, and who has made the graphics card. Soo can anybody tell me what the exact specs of the PC are???
(Contact Medion and ask them. And ... it on again on September 9 2004. -PZ)
CameronPosted: 10/08/2004 re: Is this a got it
love it
no problems ChrisPosted: 15/07/2004 re: Aldi Medion Following on from my DHCP IP address problems. Reloading the system did not work. I did discover that the Powerquest restore software that comes with the computer is really good.It rebuilds your system to "as it left the factory" i.e. with all the software loaded, in about 10 mins.
Back to the dhcp problem, I installed another network card and disabled the on board card and it worked. The on board card was working according to every possible test but would not allow anything to communicate with it. I found this solution on a web forum where others mentioned the same problem with an on board network card. Some comments along the line of the MAC address on the card disassociating itself with the network card. Sounds strange but is exactly the situation I had.
I have now returned my computer to Telefix for a new Motherboard. A bit inconvenient having to drive to Silverwater then back again to pick it up in a few days. While I was at Telefix there was someone else dropping a Medion off with an apparent hard disk problem. KJAPosted: 13/07/2004 Aldi warranty In Australia, Telefix does repairs for Aldi/Medion things. I have an 8080XL PC and the video card has died. I am in Canberra and there is no Telefix here, so Aldi says it is my decision to return the entire box for a refund or to send the system to Sydney for repairs at MY expense. They say I cannot take it to the shop I bought it from and have them send it off - they won't do that. I am tempted to speak to the NSW Office of Fair Trading (bought in Queanbeyan) as I am thing that Aldi cannot opt out of me returning it to the store for repairs, but I'm not sure.
Oh, and the memory slot readers stopped working a few weeks before the video card died...
Until then, I loved it.
(We'll attempt to get a store comment on that KJA. It doesn't sound good. -Paul Zucker)
WendyPosted: 13/07/2004 re: UPDATED: Is this a Bought one of these computer when they had them in May. Best computer I have had. Have not had any problem at all. Wasn't sure about the remote so sent an email to medion australia and was answered in less the half an hour. Also bought the 19inch monitor. No problem with that either Bob WalkerPosted: 12/07/2004 Is it buggy? I purchased a Medion about 6 months ago. It went ok for a couple of weeks but than I found that the memory card reader slops stopped functioning. At around the same time the PC would randomly shutdown. I sent it back for repair and the repair agent couldn't find anything wrong. Over the next couple of months the PC was back 2 times with the same fault. Finally the repair agent replaced the power supply. The PC has operated faultlessly since. A friend purchased a unit a few days ago and when it was switched on the modem would not operate. In fact while it was plugged into the phone system no other phone in the house could be used.. The service agent advised that this was a fault that he had seen in Medion a number of times in the past.
I am a bit concerned that Medion is supplying a badly tested PC?? chrisPosted: 12/07/2004 re: Aldi Medion computer I purchased the Medion last week. Everything looked great, watching TV, recording TV, radio and then I tried to connect to the internet using my cable connection and my fun stopped there.
It refuses to pick up an IP address from DHCP. Won't even work with hard coded IP. I tried everything for the last 3 days. Looks like some sort of corruption with IP.
Will have to reload system from the disk supplied and see what happens.
If this works ok I will still think it''s a great value system.
(Hi Chris. Leave an email address and we'll try to help you. I wouldn't think you should need to reload the system. -Paul Zucker)
FunchiePosted: 11/07/2004 re: UPDATED: Is this a My video card broke down after about 5 weeks, and I am now in a (long) queue to wait for an engineer to come out and put a new card in.
I'm in the UK, by the way...
F
(That's a worry. -Paul Zucker)
Pranesh PalPosted: 11/07/2004 re: UPDATED: Is this a Few Obsevations with the PC
1. The IDE cables are short for additional drive new cable may be needed and comes with 2 free PCI slots. 2 banks are free for Memory as 2 x 256 are used. The Board can support 4MB according to the manual.
2. TV Tuner and Modem are on 1 card that Runs off a "Special" PCI slot coloured blue. Modem only has "line" connection so the phone cannot be piggy backed off the card. So i have installed an off the shelf PCI modem card. PC manual warns not to connect this TV tuner card to the other PCI slot or the PC may not boot.
3. There is Bios and chipset driver updates available on the medion website.
4. Flashing the BIOS can be bit of a worry. The downloaded file (biomd8088.exe) has to be run in windows and the files then extract to C:\Medion by default.I suggest you change it to C:\BIOS. From here copy all the files to RECOVERY drive E: ROOT Drive. (Don't delete things here as this is all the restore files in case of a system crash). Then boot the PC into DOS using the supplied boot CD. Choose boot to DOS and then Go to the RECOVERY area using DOS commands. When you run the BIOS update program (md8088.bat) it runs AWFL826B.EXE and the BIOS data is in W7048im7.10a.
When you run the batch file some instructions come up in German and nothing happens and you just sit there wondering if you have wrecked the PC.
Thankfully it is somewhat equivalent to : "Press any Key to Continue". The BIOS update is smooth after that. I suggest that you do a BIOS update with the system hooked to a UPS if you have it. !!!
The instructions on the MEDION site are not helpful for the Update.
I've also tried to update the XP home to XP professional - lost the wireless networking so did't bother anymore with it. Did a full restore from the E: drive. This was not smooth either as the system crashed while restoring. But recovered with a restart.
PP
(Thanks Pranesh. -Paul Zucker)
alPosted: 06/07/2004 Graphics Pad I know this isn't about the coputer, but anyway,
Does anyone have the graphics tablet? (see above, $69) Because I want to know whether it is worth the money, and whether or no it works well.
Thanks.
John HilvertPosted: 04/07/2004 The Medion box is well worth it I've had few issues with it.
Most of its bundled apps have been cool and its dual DVD drive and TV tuner rock when I attach my DGTEC HDTV digital tuner. I'll shell out for a new display as my six year old Gateway Sony clone does not really do justice to the digital TV on full display.
It's like having a PVR. I'll upgrade the Nero SE to Roxio or full version of Nero down the track. Its Innoculate antivirus is OK - but updates for its virus database seem good for just 3 months.
Its wireless mouse is not optical, so I have to return to using a mouse mat for easy tracking and I had to clean it of desk gunk the other day. I suspect I'll get a cheapo optical USB mouse in the next month or so.
If you want a full-tilt current desktop system with the works for under $1700, the Aldi Medion is hard to go past. MichaelPosted: 04/07/2004 re: UPDATED: Is this a does this computer allow me to plug in my TV home theatre surround system?
And in solving the bighard disk spce what about partionitioning?
and one other thing, whats the remote for?
(Can anyone who has one answer Michael's questions? -Paul Zucker)
DarioPosted: 03/07/2004 Is this a reliable system? Obviously from what i read earlier the inside cables are short and hard to add on another HDD. Also the bad thing about this deal is that the current HDD is of 200 gb which would make the system run slower, would be good to put a 37 gb 10000 rpm HDD with a 160 gb slave. Also some say that RAM cannot be upgraded as much as experts would like and the graphics card goes off after few weeks. I'm not worried about the HDD that can be done, but is the issue with the graphics card true?
(Let's hope we get some feedback on the card - and the other things. By now some buyers should have struck problems if there are any. -Paul Zucker)
CoryPosted: 03/07/2004 Should I get it When i first looked at it, i couldn't believe the price. I already have a pretty decent computer but i think i want to line up on thursday to get it. Do you think this is a good decision? I play games a fair bit but mostly use my comp for media purposes. What do you think? TonyPosted: 03/07/2004 Is this a paid ad? Paul,
Is this a paid advertisement for Aldi? Does your alter ego Dorothea have some sort of commercial relationship with Aldi? Should you not have some sort of disclaimer to advise your less intelligent readers that D. Dix is not a real person?
(Hi Tony. No, Dorothea isn't a real person. A Dorothy Dix question is one you place yourself so you can make a point - like the politicians do sometimes in parliament. We use that name so it's obvious what it is. We honestly felt that the Medion PC was well worth bringing to the attention of HelpStation readers. And since so many people missed out in May 2004, we're letting you know that it's on again. This certainly isn't a paid ad - in money or anything else. But I will tell you that HelpStation's John Hilvert queued up to buy one like everyone else. -Paul Zucker)
Chris BrettPosted: 22/06/2004 re: UPDATED: Is this a In the UK some people, myself included, are having problems with the graphics cards. I have read some reports that they have failed within 6 weeks and they waited 10 weeks for a replacement card from Germany.
I am awaiting a reply back from their helpdesk.
Medion UK have had a bit of bad press on their after sales service in the past but that was improving but this problem may cause them a few sales headaches.
One thing I have noticed that you over-clockers might wish to note is that the HD does get very hot and my attempts to bolt a twin fan cooler to it failed due to the drive bay design.
Also the IDE cables are a little short. I use mine for video editing and I was forced to put my 120 Gb slave HD in the 'external' drive bay due to the length of the supplied cable.
ALDI UK will attempt to get you to deal with Medion direct but if you do have problems here we, under UK law, can go back to ALDI.
(Thanks for that Chris. It's useful to know what's happening woth these systems overseas. -Paul Zucker)
Dennis GullanPosted: 11/06/2004 WOW! I bought the PC - WOW how well was it not only packaged & presented but came with a 90 pages ALL ENGLISH user manual!! Best pc I have ever had, it was specifically made just for the Aus mkt, even the boxes & manuals all have Australian idetification.
The loaded bios & system layout is exceptional, they have even created a USER guides folder in Programs, placing all the software loaded systems help guides into the one nice easy find folder.
Well done ALDI, bad luck for those that missed out - I saved at min $1000 on a comparable system I could get in the marketplace. That help me get a nice Samsung 17" 172X TFT, thanks you.
PS: Living in Tassie has many plusses, just wish ALDI were down here & it would be perfect & would have saved me freight costs from Syd!!
Allan MillsPosted: 20/05/2004 re: UPDATED: Is this a I noticed Aldi are also selling 17" monitors seperately. It makes sense not to bundle them with the PC since many people already have monitors.
About the only thing stopping me from getting one of these is that the CPU is an Intel Pentium 4 rather than an AMD Athlon 64 which is faster for gaming.
bdfPosted: 19/05/2004 Queue! this story from the enquirer may shed some light.
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=14927
Marcel DoustPosted: 19/05/2004 re: UPDATED: Is this a The 9800XL (from the link provided by John) appears to be a fully functioning 9800 (all 8 pipelines enabled and 256-bit RAM) with lower clockspeeds than a standard Pro. However, it is faster (and with higher clockspeeds) than the (now rare) 9800 non pro and consequently the older 9700 Pro. Still makes it an excellent card for such a cheap system!
Quick summary in English:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/video/display/20031120092217.html
JohnPosted: 18/05/2004 re: Video card solved I've been looking up the radeon 9800 xxl on the net and to my dissapointment, found it's closer to an overclocked 9600 XT! or an underclocked 9800. here is a link http://216.239.37.104/translate_c?hl=en&u=http://www.pcinpact.com/actu/news/11875.htm&prev=/search%3Fq%3D9800%2BXXL%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8 any comments on the card?! Kim NguyenPosted: 18/05/2004 Motherboard? Hi there,
I can't seem to find out what motherboard this PC uses; but there have been rumours that it uses a modified MSI one. Without knowing what motherboard it is, you can't expect to upgrade the bios; your overclocking might be limited as well.
I find the best things about PC's is the part where you build it. Planning is also a big part. If you custom build your own PC, you won't have things that you don't need and it will be proficient at what you intended to use it for.
In my opinion, you should ditch the 200gb hdd and buy a 36gb raptor and a normal 120gb. Install your OS and important applications on the raptor and Windows and programs should load in no time.
Also, rumours had said that the Radeon 9800XXL is between a 9800SE and 9800np, which is not too bad, but can be misleading to many people.
I think that if you tried, you can build a better PC for cheaper.
-9800pro= 350
-A64 3000+= 320
-Motherboard= 250
-512mb DDR400= 130
-120gb SATA= 140
-36gb raptor= 180
-Logitech MX700 duo= 130
-Pioneer 107= 150
-Antec 1080AMG= 220
Total = ~$1855
Thats just a quick example with very rough pricing, but it gives you an idea of what type of system you can get for 1800. The above example included only the highest quality components, not skimping out on anything too much. You can get better if you spend more (obviously) but that is a decent system (but no monitor!).
Anyhoo, what was just my 2c and i think that building your own computer is where all the excitement lies; unless you need very high reliability (maybe then go Dell, Acer? etc...).
Thanks for listening to me :-)
(Thanks for writing in Kim. -Paul Zucker)
Cheers,
bdfPosted: 17/05/2004 re: HOT - Is this a In Australia this is offered with only a one year warranty, but in England when it went on sale in april, it came with a 3 year warranty (with in home support, whatever that means) for 749.99 UK pounds.
Maybe they've had problems? or is Australia still regarded as a backwater?
see http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/tm_objectid=14093605&method=full&siteid=50143&headline=win-a-brilliant-scanner-name_page.html
ashPosted: 17/05/2004 re: HOT - Is this a the flyer at aldi claims 1 yr warranty and "service hotline"
i don't know what their warranty includes, but my only prior experience was in buying 2 sets of audiovisual cables for computer dvd - tv, one of which i returned (unwanted by a friend) and they refunded instantly with no questions
Len SamuelPosted: 17/05/2004 re: HOT - Is this a Is this a dorothy dixer or advertising?
(Hi Len. I know it looks like an ad, but it's a genuine attempt to pass on what looks like a bargain, to HelpStation readers. Perhaps we;ll get some feedback from readers later in the week. -Paul Zucker)
someguyPosted: 16/05/2004 What about warranty? What about their warrenty service?
(Good question -- does anyone have experience with Medion? -Paul Zucker)
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