ASUS ExpertBook 14" B5404CMA-P73-CA Star Black

The ASUS ExpertBook B5404CMA-P73-CA is a lightweight 14-inch business laptop with a standout 32GB of RAM, 1TB SSD, and best-in-class port selection including Thunderbolt and Ethernet. The Core Ultra 7 155H handles multitasking well, but the Intel Arc Graphics is weak and the 300-nit display is mediocre. At CAD 1,900, it's a fair price for office work, but skip it if you care about screen quality or gaming.

The Core Ultra 7 155H sits at the 76th percentile for CPUs in our database. That's solid, well above average, and it means this laptop will chew through everyday business tasks without complaint. The 16 cores are a mix of performance and efficiency cores, so you get good burst speed when you need it and decent battery behavior when you don't. In real terms, you're looking at a machine that can handle large Excel files, multiple virtual meetings, and background updates all at once without the fan sounding like a jet engine.

The Intel Arc Graphics is where things get less exciting. It lands at the 13th percentile for GPUs, which is a weak spot. This isn't a gaming laptop, and the 15.3 out of 100 gaming score confirms that. You can play older titles or indie games at low settings, but anything modern will struggle. The 32GB of DDR5 RAM is at the 80th percentile, which is a genuine strength. Combined with the 1TB SSD at the same percentile, you get fast load times and plenty of room for local files. The 63Wh battery is reasonable for a 14-inch machine, though the 300-nit display means you'll want to stay indoors or in shade for comfortable viewing.

Stacked against the Apple MacBook Pro M4 Max, this ExpertBook looks like a budget option, and in some ways it is. The MacBook Pro has a vastly better display, a much faster GPU, and Apple's silicon is in another league for efficiency. But the MacBook also costs significantly more, and you lose the Ethernet port and the easy RAM upgrade path. If you're in a Windows-centric office, the ExpertBook's port selection and Windows 11 Pro might actually be more practical.

The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 and MSI Raider are gaming machines first. They'll crush this ASUS in GPU performance, but they're heavier, louder, and their batteries drain faster under load. The HP OMEN Transcend 14 is a closer competitor in size, but it also leans gaming with a discrete GPU. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition is probably the most direct rival for business users. It has a better screen and a more premium feel, but you'll pay more for similar RAM and storage, and you lose the Ethernet port. For pure office work, the ExpertBook holds its own. For anything creative or gaming, look elsewhere.

The price situation is a bit odd here. We have one listing at CAD 1,900, but no official MSRP to compare against. That's roughly the going rate for a well-equipped business laptop with 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, but it's not a screaming deal either. The port selection and RAM are the main value drivers. You'd pay more for a MacBook Pro or a high-end Lenovo Legion, but those machines also give you dramatically better screens and graphics.

If you're buying this for work, the value depends on how much you care about the display. The 300-nit panel with 45% NTSC is the kind of screen that gets the job done but won't impress anyone. For CAD 1,900, you might expect a brighter, more colorful panel. But the Thunderbolt and Ethernet ports are genuinely useful, and the 32GB of RAM future-proofs you for years of software bloat. It's a fair price for the specs, just not a bargain.

The ASUS ExpertBook B5404CMA-P73-CA is one of those machines that doesn't try to be flashy. It's a 14-inch business laptop with a Core Ultra 7 155H, 32GB of DDR5, and a 1TB NVMe SSD. The spec sheet reads like a sensible workhorse, and that's exactly what it is. At 1.46kg, it's light enough to toss in a bag without thinking twice, and the port selection is genuinely impressive for something this compact. You get Thunderbolt, two USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, HDMI 2.1, and even Ethernet. That's rare these days, and it's a big deal if you spend time in offices with wired networks or older peripherals.

Who's this for? Mostly people who need a dependable machine for spreadsheets, documents, video calls, and the occasional light photo edit. The 32GB of RAM is a standout at this price point, and it means you can keep a ridiculous number of browser tabs open while running Slack, Outlook, and whatever else your IT department forces on you. The Core Ultra 7 155H is a 16-core chip that handles multitasking without breaking a sweat, even if it's not going to win any gaming awards.

What makes this interesting is the balance. ASUS didn't chase a 4K OLED panel or a discrete GPU here. Instead, they focused on practical things: a 63Wh battery, a backlit keyboard, Windows 11 Pro, and a chassis that feels built for travel. The display is a 1920x1200 panel at 300 nits with 45% NTSC color coverage, which tells you this is a productivity screen, not a creative professional's dream. And that's fine, as long as you know what you're getting.

Skip this if you care about screen quality. The 300-nit display with 45% NTSC is mediocre, and it'll feel dim in bright rooms or outdoors. Creative professionals who need accurate colors should look at the MacBook Pro M4 Max or a laptop with a better panel. Gamers should also steer clear. The Intel Arc Graphics is at the 13th percentile, and the gaming score of 15.3 out of 100 is a clear signal this isn't built for play. If you want a 14-inch machine that can game, the HP OMEN Transcend 14 is a better fit.

Also skip it if you're on a tight budget and don't need 32GB of RAM. The CAD 1,900 price is fair for the specs, but you can find cheaper business laptops with 16GB of RAM and similar CPUs if you don't need the extra memory. The reliability score of 60th percentile is just average, so if long-term durability is your top concern, you might want to look at brands with stronger reliability track records.

If you're a business user who needs a reliable, portable Windows machine with tons of RAM and every port you could ask for, the ExpertBook B5404CMA-P73-CA is a strong choice. The 32GB of DDR5 and 1TB SSD mean you won't be upgrading for a while, and the Core Ultra 7 155H handles multitasking with ease. The port selection is genuinely best-in-class, and that matters more than most people realize until they're in a conference room with a wired connection and an old projector.

But if you care about screen quality, this isn't the laptop for you. The 300-nit display with 45% NTSC is mediocre, and the Intel Arc Graphics means you're not doing any serious gaming or GPU-accelerated creative work. Students might find it adequate, but the screen will feel dim in bright rooms. For the price, it's a fair deal for the right buyer, but make sure you're buying it for the ports and RAM, not the display or graphics.