Asus has long been serving the enterprise market with its ExpertBook B-series laptops. And now, stepping into the spotlight is the Asus ExpertBook P5, designed for single-user businesses, small businesses, and demanding power users.
Design
The Asus ExpertBook P5 is remarkably slim and lightweight. Measuring 1.49 centimeters in thickness, it effortlessly occupies the smallest space in a laptop bag.
The laptop weighs only 1.29 kilograms, making it effortless to open with one hand, despite a slight amount of screen wobble. The review unit I tested was the Misty Grey colour, a muted silver gray that keeps away fingerprints over time.
The laptop’s aluminum construction is MIL-STD 810H certified which means it can take a bit of daily wear and tear and drop. The rounded edges ensure comfortable usage without causing wrist strain during extended typing sessions or while carrying around the office.
The keyboard was also a great experience to use while typing longform features, with 1.5 mm of key travel and large keycaps with firm enough tactility while writing content on this laptop. The three step keyboard backlight also makes for precise typing in dimly lit rooms.
Display
The Asus ExpertBook P5 boasts a 14-inch display with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels and a smooth 144Hz refresh rate, rendering it suitable for both productivity and multimedia tasks.
The display exhibited exceptional brightness and an anti-reflective coating, ensuring optimal viewing experience in well-lit environments. This consistency was observed both in professional settings and at home. The combination of a 144Hz refresh rate with a 2.8K display with excellent color reproduction elevates this laptop beyond its work-oriented capabilities, enabling enjoyable movie watching and gaming at home.
Wide viewing angles and precise colour reproduction and contrast were evident while viewing Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairy Tale on Netflix. The laptop’s 14-inch display, characterized by minimal bezels, facilitates multitasking, making it an ideal companion for work and leisure.
Sound
The sound from the side-facing, downward-firing speakers of the ExpertBook P5 was impressive. The Dolby Atmos tuning seemed more refined and effective compared to another ExpertBook model I reviewed recently.
Listening to ‘Agar Tum Saath Ho’ from Tamasha on Spotify, in Alka Yagnik’s voice, was delightful. The vocals and instruments had great depth, with a balanced bass and treble, making for an enjoyable musical experience.
Performance
The laptop I reviewed features with an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V processor and an Intel Arc 140V GPU. It comes with 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD for storage. These components are part of Intel’s 200 series processor and appear to be tailored for the upcoming AI-driven work environment.
In CineBench R24, the Asus ExpertBook P5 scored 112 on the single-core test and 302 on the multicore test. This positioning places it third on the single-core performance list but tenth on the multicore performance list, indicating that this laptop is more suitable for basic office tasks such as presentations and Excel spreadsheets rather than gaming.
The integration of Intel’s AI Boost NPU, capable of reaching 47 TOPS, along with Microsoft CoPilot makes the device ideal for executing rapid queries, such as writing a short video script about a motorbike, within 2-6 seconds by providing appropriate prompts.
The Asus ExpertBook P5 features an Intel Arc 140V GPU with 16 GB shared memory out of the 32 GB RAM. While gaming performance was mixed, frame rates for CounterStrike 2 ranged from approximately 40-120 FPS, with occasional stutters and frame drops below 30 FPS. This could be attributed to a driver issue. However, the laptop performed well in casual arcade games like MEGA MAN X DiVE offline, achieving frame rates of 350-500 FPS without noticeable performance degradation.
Additionally, the laptop incorporates AI-centric features that are beneficial for meetings, accessible through Asus’s ExpertPanel. These features include AI Meeting Minutes, AI-translated subtitles, a webcam, and screen watermarks. While the meeting minutes and subtitles demonstrated functionality while testing, further refinement is necessary for long-term business applications.
Verdict
A spacious keyboard and great balance between functionality, display, battery life, and port placement make the ExpertBook P5 ideal for small and medium business owners.
Despite a low multi-core performance,it comes across as a slim powerhorse without breaking the bank.
ExpertBook P5 Review
Price: 1,05,900 onwards.
Pros: Good performance,bright display, good battery life and excellent keyboard.
Cons: Average multi-core performance