# Is this a good "Under £500" pc? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 20, 2010, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-good-under-500-pc/547329 "2010-07-20T10:31:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-good-under-500-pc/547329/1 "2010-07-20T10:31:12Z")
I’m thinking of treating myself to a new pc for my birthday. I’m not going to be playing games on it, just using it as a fancy media centre, so will [this](http://aldi.medion.com/md8345/uk/) fulfill my foreseeable needs for say, the next 5 years or so? Here’s the specs if clicking on links is not your cup of tea. > [@](#): > > # AMD Athlon™ II X4 620 quad core processor 2.60GHz, 2MB L2 Cache > > # ATI Radeon™ HD 4200 graphics > > # 3GB (3,072MB) DDR3 SDRAM > > # Multiformat DVD/CD burner1 supports all the usual DVD/CD standards, including dual layer DVD-R and DVD+R > > # Wireless LAN IEEE 802.11n-standard technology with up to 300Mbit/s., 802.11b/g compatible2 > > # 1TB (1,000GB) hard disk for more than 200,000 songs or photos3 > > # Network controller Ethernet LAN (10/100/1,000MBit/s.) > > # Integrated flash memory card reader, reads and writes all current flash memory cards4 > > # eSATA connection for connecting external SATA devices > > # 8 channel high definition audio5 > > # Connections: > > Front: 2x USB 2.0, 1x Microphone, 1x Headphone, 1x eSATA > Rear: 2x PS/2, 4x USB 2.0, 1x FireWire, 1x LAN (RJ-45), > 1x Front line out, 1x Back surround line out, 1x Centre/subwoofer line out, > 1x Side surround line out, 1x Line in, 1 x SPDIF optical out, 1x VGA, 1x HDMI > > # Comprehensive software package with original Windows® 7 Home Premium (OEM versions) Opinions, Dopers? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-good-under-500-pc/547329/2 "2010-07-20T15:11:00Z")
I think the worst thing on there is the video card, and it supports Blu-ray quality playback, so you’re good enough for what you want to do. I think it likely you’re going to have a to buy a Blu-ray drive eventually, but they’re still rather expensive (around £100), and dropping fast, so you may want to wait a little bit. Still, if you can find one in your budget with similar specs and a Blu-ray drive, that would technically be better. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-good-under-500-pc/547329/3 "2010-07-20T15:35:54Z")
Is there anything you can find about how many expansion bays it has? **BigT** ’s point about blue-ray is a good one if you find that appealing, but if you can’t find on with a player in your price range with one, a computer with an empty expansion bay might be a good solution because you can always have one put in later if you pick it up at a pre-Christmas sale or what have you. Or, you could tackle it yourself, I managed to install a secondary DVD writer (and RAM, and a video card, and a sound card) on my own and saved about $100 in install fees that I’d have been charged at a computer shop. I don’t like the fact that it only comes with 3GB of RAM, but that’s usually pretty cheap to add. Actually, I’m a bit confused that it comes with 3GB of RAM because I thought RAM needed to be in equal pairs, but… ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-good-under-500-pc/547329/4 "2010-07-20T15:42:37Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I don’t like the fact that it only comes with 3GB of RAM, but that’s usually pretty cheap to add. Actually, I’m a bit confused that it comes with 3GB of RAM because I thought RAM needed to be in equal pairs, but… Some of the newest motherboards support RAM in triple channel configurations.