With desktop sales on a downward spiral, even the run up to Christmas can yield some unexpected bargains.
Not least this particular box which we reckon could well be one of the best value-for-money deals we've ever seen. It's a £630 Medion MD8828 PC available from supermarket chain Aldi as of this Sunday. And it's an absolutely blistering deal for the cash.
Stunning specification
As if the combination of a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, Nvidia GeForce 8600 graphics, 500GB hard drive and 2GB RAM weren't enough reason to buy a Medion MD8828, it's one of the first machines to feature LG's Super Multi Blue multi-format Blu-Ray and HD DVD optical drive.
There are even SCART and HDMI outputs on the back, integrated Draft 802.11n Wi-Fi, a DVB-T TV tuner card and a flash card reader. The price incorporates a copy of Windows Vista Home Premium, meaning it can be used as a Media Center.
We've looked at the Super Multi Blue drive before. Guess what the drive cost when we looked at it back in September? A whopping £510.
The downside? There's no monitor. And, given such tempting offers in the past, you'll need to find out whether your local Aldi will be getting some in. If they are, simply go and wait outside for the store to open. Take a tent. And a stool. The Aldi will have the other camping essentials.
Too good to be true? We've just been sent one, so we'll be poring over it and giving you our thoughts very soon...
