Finding a reliable laptop with decent specs without breaking the bank is becoming increasingly difficult as systems get more powerful and manufacturers continue to charge a premium. Previously, you’d have to spend at least a few thousand dollars for a premium laptop with matching specs—until I experienced the new Asus Expertbook P5. It sports top-notch specs with a build that rivals high-end laptops such as the Apple MacBook or Microsoft Surface on the Windows side.
The Asus Expertbook is Asus’s affordable business-class line, designed for workers constantly on the go, with long battery life and a premium build in mind. Starting at just $1,299.99 (CAD), my review unit came in at a still-affordable $1,699.99. The Asus Expertbook P5 is priced low enough that even students could consider it as a back-to-school laptop when comparing prices against Apple, Microsoft, Dell, or other competitors.
The unboxing experience is fairly standard, containing just the laptop, a 65-watt USB-C charging adapter, and some warranty paperwork. Asus has adopted a more eco-friendly approach, making all packaging recyclable—something more companies are doing these days, which is nice to see. That said, I do miss the days when higher-priced devices came with a sleeve to store the laptop when on the go, as it made the purchase feel like you were getting even more for your hard-earned money.
Design/IO
Looking around the Asus Expertbook P5, you’ll immediately notice the all-aluminum build, which provides a cool-to-the-touch feeling when picking it up or handling it. Branding on the laptop is minimal, something I appreciate more these days, as I’m not one to show off all the brands of gear I use daily. I did find the edges of the Asus Expertbook a little sharp compared to the HP Elitebook I recently checked out, which has rounded edges all around, but we’ll dive into that more later on.
“Boasting a sleek all-aluminum design and impressive I/O options, the Expertbook P5 provides excellent connectivity without relying on dongles.”
Asus has opted to run most of the ports along the left side of the laptop this year to minimize obstruction when using a mouse. The laptop features two Thunderbolt 4 Type-C ports, HDMI 2.1, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, and an audio combo jack. Compared to many other manufacturers that expect you to carry a dongle to have more than a USB-C port, it’s nice to see Asus still making it easy for users to connect whatever they need.
The right side of the Asus Expertbook P5 features only a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port and a Kensington lock for security purposes. Personally, I would have preferred an additional USB Type-C port here, or even swapping the Type-A for it, to add the convenience of charging from either side of the laptop. But that’s a minor gripe.
While I do wish Asus and other manufacturers would include either an SD card or MicroSD card slot on their business-class laptops for added flexibility, allowing users to keep extra ports free, I don’t find this omission to be too much of a hindrance in most cases.
Display
Opening the lid, which can easily be done with a single finger, reveals a few more features Asus has packed into the Expertbook P5. Starting from the top, there’s a feature I found myself using consistently: the manual webcam shutter, which prevents hackers or others from peeping through your camera.
The screen also boasts specs I didn’t expect to see on a business-class laptop, especially at this price point. Not only is it a matte 14” display—my personal favourite size and type—but it also offers 2.5K resolution (2560 x 1600 for the pixel count fans) and a 144Hz refresh rate! While most users might not notice this in everyday use, we’ll cover its benefits a bit later. The display also covers 100% of the sRGB colour gamut, which is great for photo and video editing sessions.
Keyboard/Touchpad
Moving to the keyboard and trackpad, Asus has increased the size of the keycaps by nearly 13% and given them a 1.5mm keystroke, making typing a delight and very comfortable during longer sessions. The keycaps have excellent stabilization and provide a satisfying press, regardless of where each key is hit. For the clumsy or those prone to occasional mishaps, the keyboard is also spill-proof, though I wasn’t about to test that myself. The power button doubles as a fingerprint reader for added security and can be set to ignore accidental keystrokes while typing.
“Typing on the Asus Expertbook P5 is a delight, thanks to larger keycaps and a comfortable 1.5mm keystroke, though its sharp edges can be a bit uncomfortable during longer sessions.”
These are features I constantly wish more gaming laptops would offer, as we gamers rely heavily on our keyboards when we’re not using external peripherals.
One minor complaint I had during longer typing sessions was the lower edge of the laptop. While Asus has chamfered and polished the inside deck edges, they still felt noticeably sharper on my wrists compared to the rounded edges of the HP Elitebook I tested recently. These edges also tended to dig into my hand slightly when carrying the Expertbook single-handedly, despite its lighter weight.
The touchpad is made of glass and feels super smooth when gliding my fingers over it while I am using it. Like most laptops, it uses a diving board style actuation for left and right clicking when desired instead of haptic feedback like some companies have been starting to roll out. The touchpad itself is additionally quite large for this size of laptop, even when compared to other laptops I have tested over the years.
Speakers/Audio
One area where many laptops struggle is with speaker performance. Asus has incorporated two Dolby speakers into the Expertbook P5, but they are both bottom-firing. I always prefer top-firing speakers, as they’re less likely to be obstructed when using the laptop on a bed, couch, or lap. In my testing, the Expertbook P5’s speakers weren’t the worst I’ve encountered, but they weren’t the best either.
The speakers could get adequately loud when needed, which is great for conference calls in a boardroom. Voices sounded clear without noticeable distortion, and lectures or calls were as expected.
However, when it came to listening to music or watching videos, the speakers didn’t deliver the immersive experience I had hoped for. They lacked clarity and detail and sounded muddy compared to the HP Elitebook I recently reviewed or a friend’s MacBook. While they get the job done and don’t sound tinny like some cheap laptops, they’re not suitable for audio editing.
Performance
Where the Asus Expertbook really shined was in its performance. My review unit came packed with an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V 2nd gen processor, paired with 32GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 2TB of SSD storage. This level of power is nearly unheard of in a laptop costing only $1,699.99 (CAD), unless you’re lucky enough to find a bargain during sales. The Asus Expertbook P5 also features an Intel Arc 140V GPU for more graphically intensive tasks. While you may not notice all this power in basic tasks, it truly stands out when running more demanding programs, and I was amazed at what I could accomplish on an ultrabook.
“The Asus Expertbook P5 handled AAA games like Cyberpunk 2077 and GTA 5 surprisingly well, delivering solid frame rates for a business-class ultrabook.”
In my usual set of benchmarks, I achieved a score of 2674 points in Single Core and 10,743 in Multi-Core on Geekbench. While it didn’t quite top the multi-core score of my HP, the single-core score was about 25% higher. Cinebench also delivered a respectable 10,596 points. All these scores were achieved using the high-performance setting, so expect lower scores in regular modes.
While gaming is not something I would generally recommend on an ultrabook, as it’s not their primary use case, I was surprised by how well the Asus Expertbook P5 handled. In AAA titles like Cyberpunk 2077, even on the high setting preset, I was able to play comfortably at 50fps in 1080p resolution. GTA 5 averaged over 60fps in 1080p on max settings.
Each time I played, the fan wasn’t overly loud, and the overall temperatures felt only slightly warm at best. For the first time, I find myself saying that gaming isn’t completely out of the question for a laptop in this class. A dedicated gaming laptop in this price range will almost always outperform a laptop like this, but then you’re lugging around a much larger, heavier, and louder system that won’t look as professional in an office setting, and you’ll sacrifice greatly when it comes to battery life.
Battery Life
So, how is the battery life with all that power and performance packed inside? Well, it’s quite impressive. In my daily use, I had no trouble getting through 10–12-hour days before even considering reaching for a charger. On days when I limited my media consumption and stuck to web browsing and light tasks, I could easily get 14–18 hours, making this one of the best laptops I’ve used in terms of endurance.
When it eventually came time to charge, despite only having a 65-watt USB-C charger, I could top up the Asus Expertbook in well under two hours. In a time crunch, I could go from 5% to 60% in around 40 minutes, which I found quite handy on some days.
Wrapping Up
Overall, I found the Asus Expertbook P5 to be quite a bargain considering all it offers. Not only does it pack in the latest and most impressive specs, but it also delivers exceptionally well in areas where most business users would expect it to. While I do wish Asus would improve the speakers in the next generation to match the quality of more expensive laptops, it still manages to handle everything most users need.
Considering that this business-class laptop starts at a modest $1,299.99 CAD ($1,699.99 for my unit), it’s easily affordable for students, business workers, and even some casual users who want a premium laptop but don’t want to pay the price of a Microsoft Surface Laptop or Apple MacBook. Asus manages to undercut nearly all of its competitors with this offering, making it well worth a look for anyone trying to save a few bucks on a new laptop while getting as much as possible out of it.