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Medion Signium 27 S1: One-minute review
I’m a big fan of all-in-one (AIO) PCs, so I was pretty eager to get my hands on the Medion Signium 27 S1. I’ve long been a big proponent of the idea that we need more budget options in the PC hardware market, and with the current pricing crisis surrounding PC components like RAM and GPUs, reasonably priced systems are more important than ever.
Unfortunately, my excitement to review the Signium 27 S1 may have been somewhat misplaced. This certainly isn’t a bad AIO desktop, offering decent (if unspectacular) performance in a clean, compact design. But there are a few too many small flaws here that make it difficult for me to recommend it wholeheartedly; if you’re looking for one of the best all-in-one computers, this probably isn’t it, though I do still think it can fill a certain niche in the market.
For the uninitiated, Medion is a German electronics company that cut its teeth producing budget PCs and notebooks in the 2010s and was recently purchased by Lenovo (whose leadership appears content to let Medion keep doing what it was already doing). I’ve tested some of Medion’s gaming laptops in the past, and while they rarely wow, they’re typically pretty good in terms of value for money.
And to be fair, the Signium 27 S1 is indeed good value for money. Its design language (particularly of the bundled keyboard and mouse) is clearly meant to evoke the Apple iMac 24-inch M4, and if you’re only looking to do basic everyday tasks on your PC, it can offer a similar experience to Apple’s excellent AIO for a far lower price. But if you crave the high-end build quality of Apple hardware or want a PC that can handle more demanding workloads, this won’t be the right one for you.
Medion Signium 27 S1: Price & availability
- How much does it cost? Starting at $875 / £649 (around AU$1,250)
- When is it available? Available now
- Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK, and Australia
With a starting price of $875 / £649 (around AU$1,250), the Medion Signium 27 S1 is aggressively positioned in the all-in-one PC market, undercutting similar offerings from the likes of Lenovo and MSI.
There are a few different configurations available, which seem to vary greatly from region to region. My review unit uses an Intel Core 7 240H, while the cheapest configuration available uses the Core 5 210H. 1TB of storage comes as standard, which is very nice for the price, with 16GB of RAM in the lowest configuration and 32GB in my review model.
The closest comparison is the HP OmniStudio X, which costs $830 for the 27-inch 1080p configuration with an Intel Core Ultra 5 CPU. The HP AIO offers superior build quality and very marginally better performance, which makes it a more attractive option for US shoppers – but Medion wins in Europe and Australia, since that super-budget configuration of the OmniStudio X is only available in the US.
The only real problem with the Signium 27 S1 from a purchasing standpoint is availability. It’s available exclusively through Aldi (yes, that Aldi) in the US and Australia, which means the prices above are pretty much just guidelines since Aldi retains the power to adjust the price on a per-store basis – though of course, you may well find one for cheaper. Fortunately for UK consumers, you can get it through Amazon or directly from Medion’s website.
Medion Signium 27 S1: Specs
| Header Cell – Column 0 |
Base configuration |
Review configuration |
|---|---|---|
|
Price: |
$875 / £649 (around AU$1,250) |
$1,150 / £849 (around AU$1,635) |
|
CPU: |
Intel Core 5 210H |
Intel Core 7 240H |
|
Graphics: |
Integrated Intel Arc Graphics |
Integrated Intel Arc Graphics |
|
RAM: |
16 GB DDR5 |
32GB DDR5 |
|
Storage: |
1TB SSD M.2 |
1 TB SSD M.2 |
|
Display: |
27″ FHD (1920 x 1080), IPS, non-touch, 400 nits, 60Hz |
27″ FHD (1920 x 1080), IPS, non-touch, 400 nits, 60Hz |
|
Ports: |
Ethernet (RJ45), 2x USB-C, 4x USB-A, HDMI-in, HDMI-out, Combi audio jack |
Ethernet (RJ45), 2x USB-C, 4x USB-A, HDMI-in, HDMI-out, Combi audio jack |
|
Wireless: |
Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 |
Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 |
|
Camera: |
1080p webcam with privacy shutter |
1080p webcam with privacy shutter |
|
Weight: |
3.8kg / 8.38lbs |
3.8kg / 8.38lbs |
|
Dimensions (H x W x D): |
615 × 180 × 480mm |
615 × 180 × 480mm |
Medion Signium 27 S1: design
- Sleek design with easy assembly
- Limited range of screen movement
- Solid port selection
Gone are the days when AIO PCs were chunky, ugly devices. Now even a budget all-in-one can look good – and the Medion Signium 27 S1 certainly does look good.
Things do begin to fall apart a little once you actually touch it, though. The three buttons on the underside of the display are unsatisfyingly spongey, and although the base is solid metal and feels fairly durable, the rest of the device (including the keyboard and mouse) is made of cheap-feeling plastic. The mount is also very limited, only allowing for a small range of tilt with no height or rotation adjustment.
Still, there are several redeeming features here. The whole thing is very easy to assemble and start using, and the port selection is good for a PC in this price range, with a USB-C and USB-A on the side of the unit for easy access plus another USB-C, three more USB-As, Ethernet, and HDMI inputs and outputs – meaning you can either connect a second display for productivity, or use the whole device as a dumb monitor for a different system.
The webcam is merely passable, providing 1080p recording with pretty washed-out colors. It’ll work for Zoom meetings, but don’t expect to look good. On the bright side, there’s both a physical camera shutter and a kill switch (which is a little redundant) for privacy purposes.
The display is decent enough, more than capable of handling everyday office tasks, and built with nice slim bezels. With a resolution of 1080p, a 60Hz refresh rate, and decidedly average color reproduction, it’s not great for gaming or watching movies. The maximum brightness is fine, but again, it could definitely be better. Unsurprisingly, this monitor doesn’t support HDR.
The IPS panel used here has a good-quality anti-glare coating, which helps offset the lackluster brightness; I had no problems using it in a brightly-lit room in the middle of the day. Strangely, the display can actually be raised to a 73.5Hz refresh rate, but doing so immediately knocks the resolution down to a blurry 720p, so 60Hz is the effective maximum (as listed on the spec page for the Signium 27 S1).
Surprisingly, the Signium is upgradable, with the option to remove the back panel and swap out the RAM and SSD for higher-spec components should you so desire. My review unit wouldn’t really benefit from this kind of bump in performance terms, but being able to add more storage is definitely a plus.
Lastly, the Signium 27 S1 comes bundled with a keyboard and mouse, both of which are clearly meant to evoke the aesthetic of Apple’s Magic peripherals. They’re absolutely nowhere close to Apple’s hardware in terms of quality, immediately feeling cheap and tacky under the fingers.
They work, but they’re undeniably very far from any of the best keyboards and best mice, especially the keyboard, so you’ll most likely want to consider upgrading unless you have a high tolerance for poor-quality technology.
Medion Signium 27 S1: Performance
- Good performance for basic workloads
- Ill-suited for gaming and creative tasks
- Sound quality is poor
Here’s how the Medion Signium 27 S1 performed in our suite of benchmark tests:
GeekBench 6 (single-core) 2,409; (multi-core): 10,227
3DMark Fire Strike: 4,337; Time Spy: 1,617; Night Raid: 16,686
CrossMark Overall: 1,540; Productivity: 1,473; Responsiveness: 1,287; Creativity: 1,719
Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm (1080p, High): 16 fps
Without beating around the bush, the performance on offer here is merely alright. If you want a svelte all-in-one desktop for basic office tasks like web browsing, word processing, and video calls, then it can get the job done very competently. It comes with Windows 11 as standard and the usual free trial of Microsoft 365.
I found that for my straightforward work, the Signium 27 S1 was very responsive and effective, giving me no noticeable slowdown or issues with productivity. Once I swapped out the mouse and keyboard for something more amenable to my tastes, I actually quite liked working on it.
But for more demanding tasks, like gaming or creative workloads, the Intel Core 7 240H falls short. You can squeeze a bit of casual gaming out of it by tweaking down the graphical settings and using resolution upscaling tools like AMD FSR or Intel XeSS, but don’t expect to be playing Cyberpunk 2077 on this PC.
Creative tasks offer similarly lackluster performance. While the Signium is arguably capable of low- to mid-level 3D rendering, digital art, and video processing, it’s really not ideal for that sort of work. While not part of our standard benchmarking suite for AIO PCs, I fired up Canva and Photoshop during my testing period and found that it really started to struggle once numerous layers were involved.
Finally, you’ll want to get your hands on a decent headset or a set of the best computer speakers if you have any intention of playing audio via this PC. The integrated speakers are weak and tinny with poor noise cancelling, more or less hopeless for anything beyond very basic video playback.
Should you buy the Medion Signium 27 S1?
|
Attributes |
Notes |
Rating |
|---|---|---|
|
Value |
The pricing here is competitive, but availability issues and configuration confusion might turn off some potential buyers. |
4 / 5 |
|
Design |
It looks excellent and offers solid functionality, but the build quality is lackluster. |
3.5 / 5 |
|
Performance |
Performance in basic tasks is good, but don’t expect to run any demanding software or get good audio performance from the built-in speakers. |
3 / 5 |
|
Total score |
The Medion Signium 27 S1 offers an undeniably solid value proposition, but fails to impress in a few key areas. |
3.5 / 5 |
Buy the Medion Signium 27 S1 if…
Don’t buy it if…
Also consider
If my Medion Signium 27 S1 review has you considering other options, here are two other AIO PCs to consider…
How I tested the Medion Signium 27 S1
- Tested for one work week
- Used it for productivity and gaming
- Ran it through our standard benchmarking suite, plus some extra tests
I used the Medion Signium 27 S1 as my regular work system for one week, swapping it out for my everyday desktop at home and using it for the usual range of work I do for TechRadar: online research, video calls, and writing reviews like this one.
I also ran our usual selection of benchmark tests (which you can see in the Performance section of this review) as well as firing up some extra programs to do further testing, including Canva, Photoshop, and Cyberpunk 2077 (which ran very poorly, no surprise there).
I’ve been reviewing PC hardware for more than eight years, testing all kinds of products from desktop computers to individual peripherals. I put every bit of my industry experience into my review process, so you can trust that it’s both accurate and impartial.
Read the full article here
