Fujitsu LifeBook A530

Fujitsu LifeBook A530 review

If you're looking for a recession-busting laptop, the Fujitsu LifeBook A530 will certainly catch your eye. The price tag is pretty tempting and, at just £364, there's really not many cheaper options on the market. If your laptop-buying decision is based purely on price, then the LifeBook A530 is a no brainer, but it goes without saying that there's no such thing as a free lunch and the A530 makes huge sacrifices. These come in the form of processing power, which is key to the amount of tasks your laptop can perform, and the amount it can do simultaneously. At the helm is a dated 2GHz Intel Celeron P4600 processor, which will struggle with anything more taxing than basic web surfing and emailing. This is backed up with a meagre 2048MB of memory, which is quite low by modern standards. Couple this with the 250GB hard drive and appalling lack of video memory and the £40 saving over the Samsung R540 is looking less appealing. TFT screen While we're talking about shortcomings, we might as well bring up the screen. It's a basic TFT panel, which is extremely dull and lifeless, and totally unsuited to films and media.