Medion Akoya P6625 (MD97409) review

Many of Intel’s current range of mobile processors have integrated graphics chips. Despite this, many manufacturers are adding a dedicated graphics card in addition, as is the case here with the Akoya P6625. It can switch between the two graphics chips depending on whether the laptop needs the extra graphics power of the dedicated chip, or the power-saving benefits of the integrated chip.

Using the dedicated chip, the P6625 managed a playable 35.5fps in our Call of Duty 4 benchmark, which is a decent score for a laptop. This means it will be able to play most games, as long as you’re prepared to turn down detail settings. Switching to the integrated graphics chip, the P6625 lasted 3h39m in our light usage battery test – enough for the commute or an afternoon at an internet cafe.

Regular readers will notice that the P6625 is very similar in appearance to the £529 Akoya E6215 reviewed in last month’s Labs, though it has a faster Core i5 processor. While the step up to a Core i5-430M from the Core i3-350M used in the E6215 translates into a useful gain of six points overall, the Core i5’s support for Turbo Boost means it scored a rapid 112 in our single-threaded image-editing test. It’s impressively quick for a laptop at this price.

The glossy black lid opens to reveal a glossy black wrist rest and matt black bezel. It’s OK looking, but the P6625 certainly won’t win any awards for design. Above the keyboard is a row of touch-sensitive music playback controls, plus small buttons that toggle WiFi and switch between the two graphics chips. Next is a plastic grille hiding the stereo speakers. These are surprisingly clear, with some bass, but the sound feels rather compressed at the top end.

You can output digital sound to an AV amplifier via the HDMI port, but there’s no S/PDIF output. There are only three USB ports, and though it’s good to see an eSATA port, for connecting fast external drives, an eSATA/USB shared port would have been more useful. In addition there’s an ExpressCard/34 slot for adding peripherals like TV tuners or 3G mobile broadband. Inside there’s a big 500GB hard disk for storing your files.

The screen has a matt finish that’s meant to cut out reflections from bright overhead lights, but we found it made vertical viewing angles extremely fussy, and dulled colours somewhat. The backlight is bright and even, however, and colours were natural. The 1,366×768 resolution is typical for laptops at this price, and you can connect a larger monitor via HDMI or VGA.

At first glance the P6625 isn’t terribly exciting, but then there aren’t many laptops capable of playing games at this price, and you do get a lot for your money. If you want to play the occasional game, it’s worth a look; however, serious gamers won’t want to play on a laptop, and the P6625 looks a little dull compared to more stylish designs from the likes of Samsung.

If you really want to play games and need a long battery life, you should seriously consider Acer’s Aspire (see page XXX), which managed nearly 40fps in Call of Duty 4, and lasted for eight hours away from the mains. However, at £853 it’s considerably more expensive.