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Medion is a brand more commonly associated with reasonably priced products rather than high performance ones, but that could be set to change with its newest Akoya laptop. The P6624 packs in some impressively powerful components, but won’t break the bank either.
Running at 2.53GHz, the Intel Core i5-460m processor can easily handle most everyday tasks. Turbo Boost can increase the clock speed up to 2.8Ghz for even greater performance, while its Hyper-threading can provide a boost to multi-threaded applications. Scoring an impressive 96 overall in our multimedia benchmarks, almost every program should run smoothly. To make the most of the 4GB of installed memory, you’ll need to use the recovery CDs to install the 64-bit version of Windows; the 32-bit version is installed by default and can only use just over 3GB.
Surprisingly for a mid-range laptop, the Akoya P6624 is capable of gaming at reasonable levels of detail. Our Call of Duty test proved no problem for its dedicated Nvidia GeForce 425m graphics chipset, managing an impressive 30.8fps. With a few tweaks, we even managed to get the ultra-demanding Crysis up to a playable frame-rate. Of course it’s capable of playing high definition video, either in 720p on the laptop itself or in 1080p on an external display using the HDMI port.
At 2.7kg it’s not particularly lightweight, but as it managed five hours in our light-use battery test using it on the move shouldn’t be ruled out completely. Nvidia’s Optimus is put to good effect, disabling the dedicated graphics when they aren’t being used to extend battery life. When away from the mains and running light tasks, the Akoya was very quiet, but after an hour of running intensive applications it got warm to the touch and the fan spun up to an audible level.
Although connectivity isn’t outstanding, we were happy to find a USB3 port, as very few of the mid-range laptops we’ve seen recently include one. Three regular USB ports and a multi-format card reader are also present. The DVD re-writer is handy for watching movies or burning discs, but you can swap it out for a Medion hard disk module if you run out of space on the 640GB primary disk – though the module costs a steep £100 for a 500GB disk.
Vertical viewing angles on the 15.6in screen aren’t fantastic, but this shouldn’t be a problem as the lid has a wide degree of movement. The matt finish diffuses screen reflections well, but also diminishes image quality. Colours weren’t particularly vibrant, contrast was low and images that should be bright white looked as touch grey. Motion during video playback looked smooth, but it was difficult to pick out details when watching darker scenes. The two downward-facing speakers sport a Dolby advanced audio sticker, but we weren’t impressed with their quality. High-end notes sounded sharp and there was no real bass. Volume was low at any angle other than directly in front of the laptop.
During everyday use, we appreciated the large, flat keys for typing. The QWERTY keyboard is full-size, and although grouping is rather tight we didn’t find it a big problem. All the punctuation keys are where you would expect and there’s even a separate number pad, but the keys here have been reduced in size to squeeze it in. The touchpad is smaller than we would have preferred for the screen size, but it was very responsive and the default sensitivity is sensibly configured for precision cursor movement. It supports multi-touch gestures, although they have been implemented differently to most other manufacturers. In particular the rotation action is difficult to consistently activate, which can be frustrating. The rocker-style touchpad buttons are also very responsive, and although there is a dead spot in the centre, it’s a very small one.
Needing to reinstall Windows in order to benefit from the full 4GB of memory is irritating, as is the fan noise that comes with running intensive programs, but despite these issues the Akoya P6624 is still very impressive. Performance in both desktop applications and games is great, battery life is reasonable and there are welcome extras like USB3. It should also be pointed out that the laptop comes with very few pre-installed programs, a refreshing change from other manufacturers that load their systems up with rubbish and trials. It might not be the most stylish laptop available in this price range, but it’s certainly one of the most powerful.
The price listed in this review is valid from the 23rd of December.
