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Fujitsu LifeBook A514 Notebook Review

Inconsistent office turbo. The LifeBook A514 wants to stand out from the typical budget office notebooks with an i3 CPU as well as an SSD. This works pretty well in terms of general performance, but other areas – starting with the display up to the temperature development – leave mixed impressions: Some results are great, some reveal serious drawbacks.

For the original German review, see here.

Fujitsu’s LifeBook A514 is a model revision on a very high level. The successor of the A512, which we reviewed two-and-a-half years ago, got a current Core i3 from the Haswell generation as well as a new chassis including new display and three USB 3.0 ports. Our review configuration also uses a 128 GB SSD from Samsung instead of a conventional hard drive.

The other features are pretty much what you would expect from a current and inexpensive 15.6-inch office notebook. This segment is filled with rivals from almost every well-known manufacturer – like HP with the 350 G1, Acer with the Extensa 2510-34Z4 or Asus with the X555LD-XX283H, so there are more than enough comparison devices.

Fujitsu Lifebook A514 (LifeBook A Series)
Processor
Intel Core i3-4005U 2 x 1.7 GHz, Haswell
Graphics adapter
Intel HD Graphics 4400, Core: 950 MHz, DDR3
Memory
4 GB 
, DDR3-1600
Display
15.60 inch 16:9, 1366 x 768 pixel, LCD, Chi Mei CMN15B8, glossy: no
Mainboard
Intel Lynx Point-LP
Storage
Samsung SSD PM871 MZ7LN128HCHP, 128 GB 
, Samsung MZ7LN128HCHP
Soundcard
Realtek ALC255 @ Intel Lynx Point-LP PCH - High Definition Audio Controller
Connections
1 USB 2.0, 3 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 VGA, 1 HDMI, 1 Kensington Lock, Audio Connections: 2x mini-stereo jack (microphone, line-out), Card Reader: SD card reader (SD/SDHC/SDXC)
Networking
Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller (10/100/1000MBit/s), Intel Wireless-N 7260 (b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/), Bluetooth 4.0
Optical drive
TSSTcorp CDDVDW SU-208FB
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 30.9 x 378 x 252 ( = 1.22 x 14.88 x 9.92 in)
Battery
48 Wh Lithium-Ion
Operating System
Windows 8.1 Professional (64 Bit) + Windows 7 Professional (64 Bit)
Camera
Webcam: Cyberlink Webcam, 1200x768
Additional features
Speakers: Stereo, Keyboard: Chicklet, Keyboard Light: no, separate numpad, CorelDraw Essentials X6
Weight
2.2 kg ( = 77.6 oz / 4.85 pounds), Power Supply: 310 g ( = 10.93 oz / 0.68 pounds)
Price
549.9 Euro
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Case & Connectivity

It is easy to identify the A514 as an office notebook with its completely matte black and slightly roughened plastic surfaces. Slightly angled edges result in a pretty angular design, which is a visual contrast to the more rounded mainstream design.

Despite the changed appearance, the chassis quality of the A514 is actually similar to the predecessor A512, which includes the same pros and cons. The build quality is very good in general and the base unit convinces with a high torsion resistance. It is the opposite for the display: You don’t need a lot of force to twist the cover and even slight pressure on the back will create picture distortions. The hinges can keep the display in position, but they are still very smooth and it is no problem to open the lid with one hand, even though the base unit only weighs around 2 kilograms.

4 GB RAM is standard – which cannot be said about a multi-DVD burner nowadays anymore. It is therefore almost a small highlight of the A514. The connections are not very surprising; you get one USB 2.0 port as well as three USB 3.0 ports. One of them can be used to charge external devices when the device is turned off. All USB ports are located pretty far to the front, which could limit the usability in some cases. The multimedia section consists of a VGA and an HDMI port as well as two stereo jacks. The physical connectivity is completed by the SD-card reader at the front as well as a slot for Kensington locks. The Internet can either be accessed via Gigabit-LAN or Wi-Fi according to the 802.11n standard.

You only have to remove one single bottom cover to access the internals of the device. It is secured by six screws and it is therefore no problem to replace the SSD or clean the fans. Even simpler is the access to the two memory slots (one occupied) – the bottom cover has a hatch at the corresponding position, which is only secured by one single screw.

Remarkable is the fact that Fujitsu ships the A514 with Windows 7 Professional besides Windows 8.1 Professional, both in the 64-bit versions. Our review unit was preloaded with Windows 7. The scope of delivery also includes a full version of the picture editing application Corel Draw Essentials X6.

Left side: Kensington lock, Gigabit-LAN, VGA, HDMI, 3x USB 3.0
Left side: Kensington lock, Gigabit-LAN, VGA, HDMI, 3x USB 3.0
Right side: combined audio, USB 2.0, DVD multi-burner, power
Right side: combined audio, USB 2.0, DVD multi-burner, power
Front: SD-card reader
Front: SD-card reader

Input Devices

The spill-water resistant keyboard with a dedicated numeric keypad leaves a pretty mixed impression. The main keys (15 x 16 millimeters) and the slightly smaller arrow and function keys seem to be sufficient in practice and the travel is pretty standard as well. Frequent writers, however, will not be very happy with the weak feedback and the hardly perceptible pressure point.

The situation is similar for the touchpad with multi-touch support. It is pretty big at 10.9 x 7.0 centimeters and provides good gliding capabilities for the fingers. The travel of the two buttons is well-defined and the pressure point is firm. Less convenient is the position of the pad on the left side. While right-handers can enjoy an increased area for the palms, the hand has to stay in the air or move around the (at least blunt) edge of the case when you use the left hand.

The input devices of the LifeBook A514.

Display

The anti-reflective display of the A514 measures 15.6-inches with a resolution of 1366x768 pixels. This is not a lot, but it seems that this resolution is still the standard for budget devices – office notebooks with Full HD panels carry a significant premium, which is evident when you look at the similarly equipped Acer TravelMate P256-M-39NG.

223
cd/m²
223
cd/m²
232
cd/m²
194
cd/m²
231
cd/m²
203
cd/m²
198
cd/m²
230
cd/m²
214
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 232 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 216.4 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 84 %
Center on Battery: 231 cd/m²
Contrast: 592:1 (Black: 0.39 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 8.08 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 9.05 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
45.24% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
65.1% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
43.77% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.44

The mixed impression continues in the display section. We like the good contrast of 524:1 and the black value of 0.39 cd/m². For comparison: The best budget office notebook, the ProBook 450 G2 from HP, only manages 353:1 and 0.72 cd/m², respectively.

However, the average display brightness is pretty disappointing. We can only measure 216.4 cd/m², which not only clearly falls behind all the rivals but also the direct successor A512 that still managed 246.1 cd/m². At least the brightness distribution remains on the same (mediocre) level. The average DeltaE-2000 deviation of 8.08 is positive amongst the budget competition; a value under 3 is recommended, but the immediate rivals have deviations of 10 or higher. The display also suffers from a clear blue cast ex-works, which could be reduced by calibration.

CalMAN - ColorChecker
CalMAN - ColorChecker
CalMAN - Grayscale
CalMAN - Grayscale
CalMAN - Saturation Sweeps
CalMAN - Saturation Sweeps
Fujitsu LifeBook A514 vs. sRGB
Fujitsu LifeBook A514 vs. sRGB
Fujitsu LifeBook A514 vs. AdobeRGB
Fujitsu LifeBook A514 vs. AdobeRGB
Viewing-angle stability
Viewing-angle stability

It is not easy to work with the A514 under sunlight or in bright environments. The matte display surface does at least prevent annoying reflections, and the luminance is not reduced on battery power.

Working under direct sunlight is no pleasure with the LifeBook A514.

Performance

A look at the specifications already suggests that the tested LifeBook wants to be more than "just" another slow office device. Thanks to the combination of a current i3 CPU and SDD, it is more of a versatile all-rounder, which can also be used for HD video playback besides working. Still, it is not enough for a multimedia notebook because of the missing dedicated GPU. The otherwise similarly equipped Asus X555LD-XX283H with its GeForce 820M has a clear advantage in this respect.

Processor

The i3-4005U with a clock of 1.7 GHz inside the A514 is pretty fast for an office notebook – inexpensive devices usually only use Pentium or Celeron chips. Contrary to those chips, the Haswell i3 supports Hyper-Threading, so the two native processor cores can execute up to four threads simultaneously.

This has a big effect on the benchmark results, which are on the expected level for this CPU but clearly ahead of all comparable systems.

Cinebench R11.5
CPU Single 64Bit (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Samsung SSD PM871 MZ7LN128HCHP
0.75 Points
HP 350 G1 F7Z01EA
HD Graphics (Haswell), 3558U, Toshiba MQ01ABF050
0.74 Points -1%
Acer Extensa 2510-34Z4
HD Graphics 4400, 4030U, Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000LPVX
0.79 Points +5%
Asus X555LD-XX283H
GeForce 820M, 4010U, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680
0.69 Points -8%
CPU Multi 64Bit (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Samsung SSD PM871 MZ7LN128HCHP
1.84 Points
HP 350 G1 F7Z01EA
HD Graphics (Haswell), 3558U, Toshiba MQ01ABF050
1.45 Points -21%
Acer Extensa 2510-34Z4
HD Graphics 4400, 4030U, Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000LPVX
2.01 Points +9%
Asus X555LD-XX283H
GeForce 820M, 4010U, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680
1.76 Points -4%
Cinebench R15
CPU Single 64Bit (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Samsung SSD PM871 MZ7LN128HCHP
39 Points
HP 350 G1 F7Z01EA
HD Graphics (Haswell), 3558U, Toshiba MQ01ABF050
67 Points +72%
Acer Extensa 2510-34Z4
HD Graphics 4400, 4030U, Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000LPVX
70 Points +79%
Asus X555LD-XX283H
GeForce 820M, 4010U, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680
65 Points +67%
CPU Multi 64Bit (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Samsung SSD PM871 MZ7LN128HCHP
171 Points
HP 350 G1 F7Z01EA
HD Graphics (Haswell), 3558U, Toshiba MQ01ABF050
129 Points -25%
Acer Extensa 2510-34Z4
HD Graphics 4400, 4030U, Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000LPVX
187 Points +9%
Asus X555LD-XX283H
GeForce 820M, 4010U, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680
163 Points -5%
Cinebench R10 Shading 64Bit
4994 Points
Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 64Bit
7469 Points
Cinebench R10 Rendering Single CPUs 64Bit
3327 Points
Cinebench R10 Shading 32Bit
4776
Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
5730
Cinebench R10 Rendering Single 32Bit
2528
Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64Bit
15.68 fps
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64Bit
1.84 Points
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64Bit
0.75 Points
Cinebench R15 Ref. Match 64Bit
98 %
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit
12.87 fps
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit
171 Points
Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit
39 Points
Help

System Performance

Our system benchmarks show that the hardware of the A514 is well-balanced. The LifeBook can beat many of its direct competitors: The Asus X555LD-XX283H falls behind by one-third, despite the dedicated GPU. But even devices that also have a faster CPU besides an SSD fall behind the A514 in the PCMarks. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch 20A8-003UGE from Lenovo, for example, is 10% slower despite the Core i7 (Haswell).

PCMark 7
Score (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
3367 Points
Asus X555LD-XX283H
2148 Points -36%
HP 350 G1 F7Z01EA
2113 Points -37%
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch 20A8-003UGE
3015 Points -10%
Medion Akoya S4217T MD98599
3412 Points +1%
Productivity (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
2982 Points
Asus X555LD-XX283H
1121 Points -62%
HP 350 G1 F7Z01EA
1098 Points -63%
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch 20A8-003UGE
1220 Points -59%
Medion Akoya S4217T MD98599
1421 Points -52%
Entertainment (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
2539 Points
Asus X555LD-XX283H
2171 Points -14%
HP 350 G1 F7Z01EA
2055 Points -19%
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch 20A8-003UGE
2463 Points -3%
Medion Akoya S4217T MD98599
2986 Points +18%
Creativity (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
6195 Points
Asus X555LD-XX283H
4547 Points -27%
HP 350 G1 F7Z01EA
4698 Points -24%
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch 20A8-003UGE
6267 Points +1%
Medion Akoya S4217T MD98599
6291 Points +2%

Legend

 
Fujitsu Lifebook A514 Intel Core i3-4005U, Intel HD Graphics 4400, Samsung SSD PM871 MZ7LN128HCHP
 
Asus X555LD-XX283H Intel Core i3-4010U, NVIDIA GeForce 820M, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680
 
HP 350 G1 F7Z01EA Intel Pentium 3558U, Intel HD Graphics (Haswell), Toshiba MQ01ABF050
 
Acer Extensa 2510-34Z4 Intel Core i3-4030U, Intel HD Graphics 4400, Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000LPVX
 
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch 20A8-003UGE Intel Core i7-4600U, Intel HD Graphics 4400, Intel SSD Pro 1500 Series SSDSCKHF240A4
 
Medion Akoya S4217T MD98599 Intel Core i3-4010U, Intel HD Graphics 4400, Seagate ST1000LM014 Solid State Hybrid Drive
PCMark 7 Score
3367 points
Help

Storage Devices

You might think that the SSD is a high-end drive considering such good scores. The numbers that we determine with AS SSD and CrystalDiskMark, however, do not support this. It actually seems that the Samsung drive with the slightly confusing designation MZ7LN128HCHP is average at best, and the performance is between eMMC drives and the familiar SSDs like Samsung’s 840 models, for instance. But the performance is obviously good enough to ensure a fast working device in practice, and the difference to conventional hard drives is still big enough.

CrystalDiskMark 3.0
Read Seq (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
274.9 MB/s
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2015
524 MB/s +91%
HP Probook 430 G2
511 MB/s +86%
HP Stream 14-z050ng
165.1 MB/s -40%
Medion Akoya P2211T MD98602
86.4 MB/s -69%
Write Seq (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
155 MB/s
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2015
246 MB/s +59%
HP Probook 430 G2
431.3 MB/s +178%
HP Stream 14-z050ng
66.4 MB/s -57%
Medion Akoya P2211T MD98602
40.52 MB/s -74%
Read 4k (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
35.64 MB/s
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2015
36.17 MB/s +1%
HP Probook 430 G2
37.17 MB/s +4%
HP Stream 14-z050ng
8.998 MB/s -75%
Medion Akoya P2211T MD98602
6.615 MB/s -81%
Write 4k (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
95.6 MB/s
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2015
103.1 MB/s +8%
HP Probook 430 G2
95.7 MB/s 0%
HP Stream 14-z050ng
2.866 MB/s -97%
Medion Akoya P2211T MD98602
1.504 MB/s -98%
AS SSD
Seq Read (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
262.5 MB/s
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2015
512 MB/s +95%
HP Probook 430 G2
517 MB/s +97%
HP Stream 14-z050ng
152.4 MB/s -42%
Medion Akoya P2211T MD98602
82.5 MB/s -69%
4K Read (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
31.35 MB/s
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2015
32.41 MB/s +3%
HP Probook 430 G2
33.3 MB/s +6%
HP Stream 14-z050ng
8.68 MB/s -72%
Medion Akoya P2211T MD98602
6.14 MB/s -80%
4K Write (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
77 MB/s
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2015
89.9 MB/s +17%
HP Probook 430 G2
85.4 MB/s +11%
HP Stream 14-z050ng
3.35 MB/s -96%
Medion Akoya P2211T MD98602
1.31 MB/s -98%
Access Time Read (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
0.092 ms *
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2015
0.067 ms * +27%
HP Probook 430 G2
0.083 ms * +10%
HP Stream 14-z050ng
0.424 ms * -361%
Access Time Write (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
0.04 ms *
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2015
0.038 ms * +5%
HP Probook 430 G2
0.04 ms * -0%
HP Stream 14-z050ng
1.399 ms * -3398%
Medion Akoya P2211T MD98602
3.331 ms * -8228%

Legend

 
Fujitsu Lifebook A514 Intel Core i3-4005U, Intel HD Graphics 4400, Samsung SSD PM871 MZ7LN128HCHP
 
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2015 Intel Core i5-5300U, Intel HD Graphics 5500, Samsung SSD PM851 256 GB MZNTE256HMHP
 
HP Probook 430 G2 Intel Core i5-4210U, Intel HD Graphics 4400, Samsung SSD 840 PRO MZ7PD128HCFV-000H1
 
HP Stream 14-z050ng AMD A4 Micro-6400T, AMD Radeon R3 (Mullins/Beema), 32 GB eMMC Flash
 
Medion Akoya P2211T MD98602 Intel Celeron N2910, Intel HD Graphics (Bay Trail), 64 GB eMMC Flash

* ... smaller is better

Samsung SSD PM871 MZ7LN128HCHP
Sequential Read: 274.9 MB/s
Sequential Write: 155 MB/s
512K Read: 257.6 MB/s
512K Write: 154.5 MB/s
4K Read: 35.64 MB/s
4K Write: 95.6 MB/s
4K QD32 Read: 208.7 MB/s
4K QD32 Write: 154.5 MB/s

GPU Performance

There is one perfect phrase for the integrated HD 4400 graphics card of the Haswell processor: It gets the job done. The GPU performance is more than sufficient for office and less demanding entertainment applications (like the playback of HD videos), which are the main usage scenarios of the A514. The benchmark results are not surprising; the Acer TravelMate P256-M-39NG with the identical processor is on par. Higher clocked i3 CPUs like the 4030U inside the HP Pavilion 13-a000ng x360 perform slightly better in 3DMark, and even an entry-level dedicated GPU like the GT820M in the Asus X555LD-XX283H is faster than the HD 4400.

3DMark 11
1280x720 Performance Combined (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Samsung SSD PM871 MZ7LN128HCHP
612 Points
HP Pavilion 13-a000ng x360
HD Graphics 4400, 4030U, Seagate ST500LM000 Solid State Hybrid Drive
657 Points +7%
Acer TravelMate P256-M-39NG
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT012-1DG142
673 Points +10%
Asus X555LD-XX283H
GeForce 820M, 4010U, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680
1209 Points +98%
Acer Aspire E5-573G-5785
GeForce 940M, 5200U, Seagate ST500LM000 Solid State Hybrid Drive
1955 Points +219%
1280x720 Performance Physics (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Samsung SSD PM871 MZ7LN128HCHP
1944 Points
HP Pavilion 13-a000ng x360
HD Graphics 4400, 4030U, Seagate ST500LM000 Solid State Hybrid Drive
2594 Points +33%
Acer TravelMate P256-M-39NG
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT012-1DG142
2507 Points +29%
Asus X555LD-XX283H
GeForce 820M, 4010U, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680
2268 Points +17%
Acer Aspire E5-573G-5785
GeForce 940M, 5200U, Seagate ST500LM000 Solid State Hybrid Drive
3387 Points +74%
1280x720 Performance GPU (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Samsung SSD PM871 MZ7LN128HCHP
689 Points
HP Pavilion 13-a000ng x360
HD Graphics 4400, 4030U, Seagate ST500LM000 Solid State Hybrid Drive
735 Points +7%
Acer TravelMate P256-M-39NG
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT012-1DG142
723 Points +5%
Asus X555LD-XX283H
GeForce 820M, 4010U, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680
1266 Points +84%
Acer Aspire E5-573G-5785
GeForce 940M, 5200U, Seagate ST500LM000 Solid State Hybrid Drive
2514 Points +265%
1280x720 Performance (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Samsung SSD PM871 MZ7LN128HCHP
752 Points
HP Pavilion 13-a000ng x360
HD Graphics 4400, 4030U, Seagate ST500LM000 Solid State Hybrid Drive
812 Points +8%
Acer TravelMate P256-M-39NG
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT012-1DG142
802 Points +7%
Asus X555LD-XX283H
GeForce 820M, 4010U, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680
1349 Points +79%
Acer Aspire E5-573G-5785
GeForce 940M, 5200U, Seagate ST500LM000 Solid State Hybrid Drive
2539 Points +238%
3DMark
1920x1080 Fire Strike Combined (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Samsung SSD PM871 MZ7LN128HCHP
165 Points
Asus X555LD-XX283H
GeForce 820M, 4010U, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680
323 Points +96%
Acer Aspire E5-573G-5785
GeForce 940M, 5200U, Seagate ST500LM000 Solid State Hybrid Drive
507 Points +207%
1920x1080 Fire Strike Physics (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Samsung SSD PM871 MZ7LN128HCHP
2291 Points
Asus X555LD-XX283H
GeForce 820M, 4010U, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680
2449 Points +7%
Acer Aspire E5-573G-5785
GeForce 940M, 5200U, Seagate ST500LM000 Solid State Hybrid Drive
4200 Points +83%
1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Samsung SSD PM871 MZ7LN128HCHP
478 Points
Asus X555LD-XX283H
GeForce 820M, 4010U, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680
898 Points +88%
Acer Aspire E5-573G-5785
GeForce 940M, 5200U, Seagate ST500LM000 Solid State Hybrid Drive
1729 Points +262%
1920x1080 Fire Strike Score (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Samsung SSD PM871 MZ7LN128HCHP
446 Points
Asus X555LD-XX283H
GeForce 820M, 4010U, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680
829 Points +86%
Acer Aspire E5-573G-5785
GeForce 940M, 5200U, Seagate ST500LM000 Solid State Hybrid Drive
1499 Points +236%
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Physics (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Samsung SSD PM871 MZ7LN128HCHP
1634 Points
HP Pavilion 13-a000ng x360
HD Graphics 4400, 4030U, Seagate ST500LM000 Solid State Hybrid Drive
1958 Points +20%
Acer TravelMate P256-M-39NG
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT012-1DG142
1672 Points +2%
Asus X555LD-XX283H
GeForce 820M, 4010U, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680
1777 Points +9%
Acer Aspire E5-573G-5785
GeForce 940M, 5200U, Seagate ST500LM000 Solid State Hybrid Drive
2974 Points +82%
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Graphics (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Samsung SSD PM871 MZ7LN128HCHP
4597 Points
HP Pavilion 13-a000ng x360
HD Graphics 4400, 4030U, Seagate ST500LM000 Solid State Hybrid Drive
4987 Points +8%
Acer TravelMate P256-M-39NG
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT012-1DG142
4738 Points +3%
Asus X555LD-XX283H
GeForce 820M, 4010U, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680
6086 Points +32%
Acer Aspire E5-573G-5785
GeForce 940M, 5200U, Seagate ST500LM000 Solid State Hybrid Drive
9807 Points +113%
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Score (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Samsung SSD PM871 MZ7LN128HCHP
3276 Points
HP Pavilion 13-a000ng x360
HD Graphics 4400, 4030U, Seagate ST500LM000 Solid State Hybrid Drive
3711 Points +13%
Acer TravelMate P256-M-39NG
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT012-1DG142
3366 Points +3%
Asus X555LD-XX283H
GeForce 820M, 4010U, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680
3954 Points +21%
Acer Aspire E5-573G-5785
GeForce 940M, 5200U, Seagate ST500LM000 Solid State Hybrid Drive
6492 Points +98%
1280x720 Ice Storm Standard Physics (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Samsung SSD PM871 MZ7LN128HCHP
19183 Points
HP Pavilion 13-a000ng x360
HD Graphics 4400, 4030U, Seagate ST500LM000 Solid State Hybrid Drive
21738 Points +13%
Acer TravelMate P256-M-39NG
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT012-1DG142
19209 Points 0%
Asus X555LD-XX283H
GeForce 820M, 4010U, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680
20057 Points +5%
Acer Aspire E5-573G-5785
GeForce 940M, 5200U, Seagate ST500LM000 Solid State Hybrid Drive
34282 Points +79%
1280x720 Ice Storm Standard Graphics (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Samsung SSD PM871 MZ7LN128HCHP
35928 Points
HP Pavilion 13-a000ng x360
HD Graphics 4400, 4030U, Seagate ST500LM000 Solid State Hybrid Drive
38053 Points +6%
Acer TravelMate P256-M-39NG
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT012-1DG142
34940 Points -3%
Asus X555LD-XX283H
GeForce 820M, 4010U, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680
63645 Points +77%
Acer Aspire E5-573G-5785
GeForce 940M, 5200U, Seagate ST500LM000 Solid State Hybrid Drive
75406 Points +110%
1280x720 Ice Storm Standard Score (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Samsung SSD PM871 MZ7LN128HCHP
30090 Points
HP Pavilion 13-a000ng x360
HD Graphics 4400, 4030U, Seagate ST500LM000 Solid State Hybrid Drive
32613 Points +8%
Acer TravelMate P256-M-39NG
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT012-1DG142
29560 Points -2%
Asus X555LD-XX283H
GeForce 820M, 4010U, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680
42918 Points +43%
Acer Aspire E5-573G-5785
GeForce 940M, 5200U, Seagate ST500LM000 Solid State Hybrid Drive
59535 Points +98%
3DMark 11 Performance
752 points
3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score
30090 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score
3276 points
3DMark Fire Strike Score
446 points
3DMark Fire Strike Extreme Score
202 points
Help

Gaming Performance

There are obviously limitations if you want to play some games to relax from work. Less demanding titles like The Sims 4 just run smoothly with medium details, and the display resolution of 1366x768 pixels is a sensible limit. The graphics performance of the Intel HD 4400 is, however, sufficient for casual gaming or classics that are already a couple of years old.

low med. high ultra
Sims 4 (2014) 121 27
Sims 4
1024x768 Low Preset (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Samsung SSD PM871 MZ7LN128HCHP
121 fps
Acer Aspire V 15 Nitro VN7-571G-56NX
HD Graphics 4400, 4210U, Kingston RBU-SNS8100S3128GD
152.8 fps +26%
Lenovo ThinkPad T440s 20AQ-0069GE
HD Graphics 4400, 4600U
180 fps +49%
Dell Inspiron 15-5558
GeForce 920M, 5200U, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
179.2 fps +48%
1366x768 Medium Preset (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Samsung SSD PM871 MZ7LN128HCHP
27 fps
Acer Aspire V 15 Nitro VN7-571G-56NX
HD Graphics 4400, 4210U, Kingston RBU-SNS8100S3128GD
29.9 fps +11%
Lenovo ThinkPad T440s 20AQ-0069GE
HD Graphics 4400, 4600U
33 fps +22%
Dell Inspiron 15-5558
GeForce 920M, 5200U, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
74 fps +174%

Emissions & Energy Management

System Noise

All in all, the LifeBook A514 is a really quiet system. You cannot really hear the 29.6 dB(A) on average while idling – except when the fan suddenly spins up (without a load increase, for example), where it can reach 35 dB(A) for short periods. This almost corresponds with the maximum value of 35.1 dB(A) under full load. However, this does not affect the good overall impression: The HP 350 G1 reaches almost 39 dB(A) under load (values higher than 40 dB(A) are clearly audible for a user with average hearing), despite the slower CPU.

Noise Level

Idle
29.6 / 29.6 / 35 dB(A)
DVD
34.7 / dB(A)
Load
34.2 / 35.1 dB(A)
  red to green bar
 
 
30 dB
silent
40 dB(A)
audible
50 dB(A)
loud
 
min: dark, med: mid, max: light   Voltcraft sl-320 (15 cm distance)

Temperature

The results of our temperature measurements are a bit surprising at first: The values only surpass 30 °C at one spot during idling (at the front center of the bottom), so nobody will start to sweat. But the temperatures increase significantly under load. Up to 46.5 °C (at the bottom around the fan) is definitely too much for use on the lap – just like the maximum temperature of the power adaptor (45 °C). For comparison: The Asus X555LD-XX283H never reaches the 40 °C mark, despite the similar CPU and the additional dedicated GeForce 820M.

Such high temperatures were not only the result of long benchmark sessions; one hour with The Sims (see below) was already enough to reach a bottom temperature of 40 °C. This is the price for the virtually silent fan under load.

Max. Load
 39.2 °C
103 F
36 °C
97 F
31 °C
88 F
 
 38.8 °C
102 F
40.4 °C
105 F
30.6 °C
87 F
 
 34.5 °C
94 F
37.6 °C
100 F
33.8 °C
93 F
 
Maximum: 40.4 °C = 105 F
Average: 35.8 °C = 96 F
46.5 °C
116 F
31.5 °C
89 F
31.6 °C
89 F
42.5 °C
109 F
34.6 °C
94 F
32.5 °C
91 F
38.5 °C
101 F
37.8 °C
100 F
33.8 °C
93 F
Maximum: 46.5 °C = 116 F
Average: 36.6 °C = 98 F
Power Supply (max.)  45 °C = 113 F | Room Temperature 25 °C = 77 F | Voltcraft IR-360
(±) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 35.8 °C / 96 F, compared to the average of 29.5 °C / 85 F for the devices in the class Office.
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 40.4 °C / 105 F, compared to the average of 34.2 °C / 94 F, ranging from 21.2 to 62.5 °C for the class Office.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 46.5 °C / 116 F, compared to the average of 36.7 °C / 98 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 28 °C / 82 F, compared to the device average of 29.5 °C / 85 F.
(±) The palmrests and touchpad can get very hot to the touch with a maximum of 37.6 °C / 99.7 F.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 27.7 °C / 81.9 F (-9.9 °C / -17.8 F).

Speakers

The internal stereo speakers of the LifeBook sound – independent of the volume – pretty dull over the whole frequency range. In combination with the (as expected) missing bass, you get an inconveniently tinny sound characteristic. The sound chip from Realtek does offer some improvements via "DTS Sound" that can reduce the rattling a bit, but the result is still not satisfying, particularly during music playback. Even clever equalizer settings in the media player did not really help.

Power Consumption

The results of the A514 are better in this section. While idling at the highest luminance and with the activated High-Performance profile, the review unit hardly consumes more power than the majority of comparison devices at the most frugal setting (energy-saving mode and minimum luminance) – we measured up to 6.4 Watts with a minimum consumption of just 3.8 Watts. The maximum value under load is also quite low at 27.9 Watts, but the LifeBook is on par with other devices like HP 350 G1, which basically consumes the same amount of power.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0 / 0.2 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 3.8 / 6.3 / 6.4 Watt
Load midlight 22.9 / 27.3 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Voltcraft VC 940
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.

Battery Runtime

The A514 manages 350 minutes in our Wi-Fi test with its very compact 48-Wh battery. This test uses a script that changes the website every 40 seconds, while the energy-profile "Balanced" is active and the display brightness is adjusted to around 150 cd/m². Based on the assumption that no one just clicks through websites, the determined runtime should be sufficient for a whole business day. Other low-cost office laptops like the HP 350 G1 are not as enduring, despite the weaker CPU. The result of the LifeBook is therefore very good compared to the rivals.

Battery Runtime - WiFi Websurfing (sort by value)
Fujitsu Lifebook A514
HD Graphics 4400, 4005U, Samsung SSD PM871 MZ7LN128HCHP
350 min
Fujitsu Lifebook A555
HD Graphics 5500, 5200U, Toshiba HG6 THNSNJ128GCSU
340 min -3%
Toshiba Satellite Z30-B-100
HD Graphics 5500, 5200U, Toshiba THNSNJ256GMCU
722 min +106%
HP 350 G1 F7Z01EA
HD Graphics (Haswell), 3558U, Toshiba MQ01ABF050
290 min -17%
Battery Runtime
WiFi Surfing
5h 50min
WiFi Websurfing
5h 50min

Pros

+ combination of i3 CPU and SSD ensures smooth operation
+ solid software equipment
+ above-average display contrast

Cons

- ...with below-average luminance
- suboptimal price-performance ratio

Verdict

In review: Fujitsu LifeBook A514. Test model courtesy of Cyberport.
In review: Fujitsu LifeBook A514. Test model courtesy of Cyberport.

Working with the LifeBook A514 is a smooth experience: No question, the combination of a current Haswell i3 and Samsung SSD can actually convince, and the power consumption as well as the noise development are great. But there are also some details where the Fujitsu is not that convincing, which affect the overall impression a bit.

The (decently built) case with the ports that meet the current standard is neither good nor bad. The input devices are generally decent as well, but won’t be sufficient for frequent writers. Left-handers will also have a problem with the position of the touchpad on the left side of the palm rest. 

All in all, the Fujitsu LifeBook A514 is a solid office notebook, but it still wants to retail slightly above value, despite its strengths. The fast hardware cannot completely compensate for the drawbacks in the individual ratings. 

The display of the A514 illustrates the inconsistency of the system in some areas. While the contrast and the black value are above-average, the maximum luminance is too low. This means you can only use it outdoors on a cloudy day. Real issues are the high temperature development under load as well as the pretty bad internal speakers.

Then there is the price, which is pretty high at 530 Euros (~$581, RRP) for the SSD version (489 Euros, ~$536, with 500 GB hard drive). The very similar Asus X555LD-XX283H is already available for 410 Euros (~$449). It does not have an SSD, but it has a dedicated GPU in return and is also a bit more versatile (also suited for some light gaming).

Fujitsu Lifebook A514 - 02/25/2016 v5(old)
Oliver Moebel

Chassis
79 / 98 → 81%
Keyboard
77%
Pointing Device
73 / 20-67 → 100%
Connectivity
40%
Weight
62%
Battery
87 / 92 → 94%
Display
78%
Games Performance
52%
Application Performance
66%
Temperature
85%
Noise
95%
Audio
40%
Average
70%
79%
Office - Weighted Average

Pricecompare

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Oliver Moebel, 2015-08- 6 (Update: 2018-05-15)