Medion Akoya E14304 in the test: Aldi notebook for only 429 euros

Aldi notebook Medion Akoya E14304 in the test: compact, cheap? and also fast?

Medion Akoya E14304 in the test: 14 inches, 1,440 grams

The format is unusual: The Medion notebook is not a large 15.6-inch device and not a measly 12- or 13-inch device ?? With its 14-inch display, it’s a good compromise and, at 1,440 grams, it’s also nice and light. This is made possible by a mix of materials: the display lid is made of high-quality aluminum, the base assembly with keyboard and technology are encased by the manufacturer in lightweight plastic. The processing is absolutely fine? There are no sharp edges, large gaps or creaking noises from the case.

In the Medion Akoya E14304, the webcam is located on the upper edge of the screen, despite the narrow display frame, and not on the lower edge of the screen, as is the case with some other Aldi notebooks. So there are no involuntarily comical recordings of your own likeness.

Matt but pale display

On top of that, the display doesn’t annoy with reflections, but the matt surface of the anti-glare screen swallows the brilliance. The Aldi notebook shows photos and videos with pale colors. In addition, the Medion is not so accurate with the color representation, the color fidelity was only 90 percent in the test. That doesn’t bother when working with Office programs or on the Internet, but it does when editing photos and videos. After all, the Aldi notebook can display image content with a very high contrast (1,327: 1) if required, but the maximum brightness of 297 candelas per square meter is a bit low for outdoor use in lots of sunshine.

On the right, the Medion Akoya E14304 has a headset connection, a USB type A socket and a switch for deactivating the webcam.

AMD instead of Intel

On the left, the Aldi notebook Medion Akoya E14304 has the socket for charging the battery, an HDMI connection for separate monitors, a USB-C socket for external SSDs and a memory card reader.

SSD with little memory

The SSD of the Medion Akoya E14304 can easily be exchanged for a copy with more storage thanks to the maintenance cover.

Quiet, but not a cross-country skier

Great: Even under full load, the built-in fan doesn’t have to protect the CPU from burning out with high and annoyingly loud speeds? the Medion works nice and quiet and stays pleasantly cool on the underside and back. In the battery life test, however, the Medion did not stain itself with fame: When working it managed four hours and 44 minutes without a socket, while video playback was a good five hours ?? these are only acceptable values. And despite the comparatively strong 65-watt power adapter, it takes more than three hours for the 45-watt-hour battery to be full again.

Test results
processor	AMD Ryzen 3 4300U
Graphics chip	AMD Radeon RX Vega 5
Display	14 inches (1920×1080 pixels)
Dimensions	32.3 x 22.1.4 x 2.2 centimeters
Weight	1,440 grams, power supply: 383 grams
Tempo with Office / Tempo in video editing	fast (76.3%) / fast (60.8%)
Game speed (1920×1080 pixels / 3840×2160 pixels)	very choppy (17/7 frames per second)
Accuracy of color representation / Contrast / Brightness distribution (deviation) / Image change (reaction time)	very low (90.1%) / very high (1,327: 1) / somewhat high (8.7%) / somewhat long (16.9 ms)
Image quality (visual test on the display)	high (pale colors)
Battery life (work / video) / charging time	acceptable (4:44 / 5:11) / 3:11 hours
Noises (office / video / full load / games)	quiet (0.6 sone / 0.2 sone / 1.9 sone / 1.9 sone)
RAM (built-in / expandable to a maximum)	8 GB / not possible
Storage (size, type)	238 GB / Phison S11-256G-PHISON-SSD-B27
connections	1x headphone / microphone combo socket, 1x HDMI, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 type C, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 type A
Radio links	WLAN-ac (2.4 and 5 GHz), Bluetooth 4.2
Using the keyboard / of the touchpad	comfortable (quite good pressure point, layout takes some getting used to) / comfortable (comfortably large, slightly rough surface)
Operation of the touch screen	unavailable

Medion Akoya E14304 in the test: conclusion

Plan an extra hour for battery charging? Whining at a high level. Okay, the display could be more brilliant, but it doesn’t reflect. And a fast WLAN-ax would be great, as would an SSD with more storage. But the new Aldi notebook costs only 429 euros. And in this price range, the Medion Akoya E14304 is one of the best notebooks currently available: It is beautifully compact and light, it works quickly, and it remains pleasantly quiet and cool.