ASUS ExpertBook 14" P5405CSA-DH76 2024, Core Ultra 7 258V, 32GB, 1TB SSD, Misty Grey

The ASUS ExpertBook P5 is a featherweight business laptop with a standout 14-inch 144Hz display, 32GB of RAM, and excellent port selection. It's built for productivity and travel, not gaming, with a weak 23.1/100 gaming score. US pricing ranges from USD 1,350 to USD 1,600, so shop around. If you need a portable Windows workhorse and don't care about gaming, this is a strong pick.

The Core Ultra 7 258V is an 8-core chip running at 1.8GHz base, and it lands in the 64th percentile for CPU performance in our database. That's solid but not spectacular. For everyday productivity, email, document editing, and even some light photo work, you won't feel held back. The 32GB of RAM is the real star here, sitting in the 92nd percentile. That's more memory than most people need, and it means you can keep dozens of browser tabs, Slack, Zoom, and a few heavy apps open without the system breaking a sweat.

The Intel Arc 140V integrated GPU with 16GB of shared VRAM sits at the 65th percentile. It's fine for display output and light creative tasks, but gaming is not this machine's purpose. Our gaming fit score is 23.1/100, which is about as blunt as it gets. The 144Hz display might tempt you into thinking this is a gaming laptop in disguise. It's not. That refresh rate is for smooth scrolling and crisp motion in productivity apps, not for hitting high frame rates in Cyberpunk.

Storage performance is strong, with the 1TB NVMe SSD landing in the 80th percentile. Boot times will be quick, file transfers snappy, and you'll have plenty of room for local files without immediately needing an external drive.

The MacBook Pro M4 Max is the obvious elephant in the room. Apple's machine will absolutely crush this ASUS in raw performance, especially GPU-heavy tasks. But it also costs significantly more and weighs more. If you're deep in the Apple ecosystem and need maximum power, the MacBook is the better tool. If you want Windows, a lighter chassis, and a more practical port selection, the ExpertBook makes a strong case.

The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 and HP OMEN Transcend 14 are gaming machines. They'll run circles around the ExpertBook in any game or GPU-accelerated workload. But they're heavier, bulkier, and their batteries won't last as long under load. The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro is closer in spirit, another thin and light productivity machine, but it doesn't match the ExpertBook's port selection or RAM capacity at this price. The MSI Prestige is a wildcard, similar target audience but with a different design philosophy and typically weaker displays.

For pure business travel, the ExpertBook's combination of weight, ports, and battery capacity is hard to beat. For anything involving gaming or heavy creative work, look elsewhere.

Pricing on this thing is all over the place. US listings range from USD 1,350 to USD 1,600 across four vendors. That's a USD 250 spread for the exact same laptop, which is annoying. If you're in the US, you'll want to check Newegg first, since their listings tend to sit at the lower end of that range. European buyers are looking at EUR 1,822 to EUR 1,867, and Brazil gets a single listing at BRL 18,448.

At the low end of the US range, this is a genuinely good deal for what you get. 32GB of RAM, a 144Hz 2.5K display, and a 1TB SSD in a 1.29kg chassis is a combination that usually costs more. At the high end, it starts to feel less special. The lack of a dedicated GPU means you're paying for portability and build quality, not raw performance. If you can snag it near USD 1,350, it's a strong value. At USD 1,600, you should think harder about whether you need the portability or could get more power elsewhere.

The ASUS ExpertBook P5 is one of those machines that makes you wonder why more business laptops can't be this sensible. You get a 14-inch 2560x1600 display running at 144Hz, 32GB of LPDDR5X RAM, a 1TB NVMe SSD, and Intel's new Core Ultra 7 258V chip, all in a chassis that weighs 1.29kg. That's a spec sheet that would have been called a gaming laptop five years ago, now wrapped in a military-grade aluminum shell aimed at people who live in spreadsheets and video calls.

Who's this for? Mostly professionals who want a portable workhorse that doesn't scream "corporate issued." The 144Hz panel is a nice touch for anyone who scrolls through long documents or just appreciates smooth window dragging. Students get a solid 79/100 fit score in our database, and business users land at 77.4/100. Compactness is where this thing really shines, scoring 85.3/100 and sitting in the 87th percentile for portability.

What makes it interesting is the balance. ASUS didn't chase the thinnest possible frame or the biggest possible battery. They built something practical. Two USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, HDMI 2.1, Ethernet, and Thunderbolt support. That's a port selection most thin laptops abandoned years ago. The 63Wh battery paired with Intel's efficiency-focused Core Ultra 7 suggests this thing is built for all-day work, not just benchmark bragging rights.

Gamers should absolutely skip this. The 23.1/100 gaming score isn't a fluke. The integrated Arc 140V GPU will choke on anything more demanding than indie titles or very old games. If you want to play modern games, the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i or HP OMEN Transcend 14 are far better choices, even if they're heavier and pricier.

Creative professionals working with heavy video editing, 3D rendering, or GPU-accelerated design work should also look elsewhere. The lack of a dedicated GPU is a real limitation. A MacBook Pro M4 Max will absolutely demolish this machine in those workloads, though you'll pay for the privilege. If you need Windows and GPU power, the Legion Pro line is the better bet. The ExpertBook is for people who live in browsers, documents, and spreadsheets, not timelines and render queues.

If you're a business traveler or student who needs a reliable Windows laptop that won't weigh down your bag, the ExpertBook P5 is an easy recommendation. The 1.29kg weight, excellent port selection, and 32GB of RAM make it a productivity machine first and foremost. The 144Hz display is a genuine bonus that makes everyday use feel smoother than most business laptops.

But if you're hoping to game or do serious creative work, this isn't your machine. The integrated Arc 140V GPU simply can't keep up with dedicated graphics, and the gaming fit score of 23.1/100 tells the story. For those users, a Legion Pro or OMEN Transcend makes more sense, even if you sacrifice portability. For everyone else, especially at the lower end of the US price range, the ExpertBook P5 is a smart, practical buy.