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A complete PC system gives you everything you need, but if you already have a monitor you’re happy with, then it makes sense to opt for a computer that comes without one – such as the Medion Akoya P7220 D. Last month, we asked for monitor-free prices on all our labs PCs, and by comparison the Akoya is well positioned. Its key features are a fast processor and plenty of memory. The quad-core Core i5 750 processor and 6GB of RAM sailed through our demanding Windows applications with an overall score of 137. Most media-editing applications will take full advantage of the two extra cores these days, though you won’t see any advantage when browsing the web. The 6GB of memory should be more than enough for running complex programs for some time to come. Despite its fast applications performance, it was impressively quiet. The Akoya is very quiet because surprisingly there aren’t any case fans, with the only mounting point on the rear of the case lying empty. It’s fine for now, but you’ll almost certainly want to add a fan if you decide to make certain upgrades later – such as additional hard disks or a powerful graphics card, both of which could cause overheating otherwise. If you’re a gamer then you’ll want to avoid the P7220 D anyway; as its 3D performance out of the box is far from impressive. The 512MB GeForce 310 graphics card struggled with our 3D graphics tests, managing only single digit scores. It’s sufficient for smooth HD movie playback, but then any decent integrated chipset can manage that these days. The motherboard has a second PCI Express x16 expansion card slot, but it doesn’t support CrossFire or SLI for pairing two graphics cards together to boost 3D performance. It does have other uses, like adding a second graphics card to run more than two monitors. Or it can accommodate other kinds of PCI Express peripherals, such as a TV tuner, if the two PCI Express x1 slots aren’t already enough. You won’t need to add 802.11b/g/n wireless networking though, as an adaptor is already built-in. There are only two spare drive bays, one each of 3.5in and 5.25in, but it’s enough to add an extra hard disk and optical drive. We’ve seen PCs with more drive bays, but most people won’t need more than this. If you do need more storage, there are eight USB ports and a six-pin FireWire 400 port for adding external storage. You won’t need to add a memory card reader though as an internal model is already fitted. No speakers are included, but surround sound speakers can be plugged into the analogue 7.1 outputs or you can connect a surround sound amplifier using the optical S/PDIF connector. The included optical scroll mouse is comfortable enough, but the keyboard feels a touch too springy for our tastes.
The Medion Akoya P7220 D is fast in Windows and has a good selection of ports, plus wireless networking. Sure, it’s not suitable gamers, and doesn’t have lots of expansion potential, but that won’t bother many people. Most people don’t honestly need this much computing power, admittedly, but if you want a fast but inexpensive PC without a monitor then we haven’t seen anything that comes cheaper than this.
