ASUS ExpertBook B1 14" B1403CVA-XS54 Gentle Gray

The ASUS ExpertBook B1403CVA-XS54 is a heavy business laptop with a secret weapon: a discrete GPU that's great for light gaming. The port selection is fantastic, but the weight and mediocre battery life are major trade-offs. If you can find it at the lower end of its price range, it's a solid deal for a desk-bound power user.

The Intel Core i5-1335U is a solid, middle-of-the-pack performer for everyday tasks, but it's not going to set any speed records. Where this machine gets interesting is the discrete NVIDIA GPU, which lands in the 89th percentile for its class. That means it punches well above its weight for light gaming and GPU-accelerated work, even if the CPU and RAM are just average. The 512GB SSD is also just average in speed, so don't expect instant file transfers, but it's snappy enough for most.

Stacked against something like the Apple MacBook Pro 14", the ExpertBook gets absolutely crushed on battery life, screen quality, and portability. The Lenovo Legion 5i will run circles around it in raw gaming performance, but it's even heavier. The MSI Prestige and HP OmniBook X Flip are both significantly lighter and have better battery life, making them better travel companions. The ExpertBook's main edge is its port selection and that discrete GPU at a potentially lower price, but you're trading away a lot of modern niceties to get it.

Pricing is all over the place, ranging from $880 to $1199 across different vendors. At the lower end, you're getting a lot of laptop for the money, especially with that discrete GPU and the excellent port selection. But if you're paying near the top of that range, the value proposition crumbles fast. For $1199, you can get a machine with a better screen, longer battery life, and a much lighter build. Shop around and don't pay a premium for this one.

The ASUS ExpertBook B1403CVA-XS54 is a bit of an odd duck. It's marketed as a business laptop, but the spec sheet and the benchmarks tell a different story, one that leans more toward light gaming and general productivity. You get a solid port selection and a color-accurate screen, which is great, but the weight and some middling core specs hold it back from being a true ultraportable.

If you need all-day battery life or a lightweight machine for travel, look elsewhere. The 50Wh battery and 2.58kg weight make this a poor choice for anyone who works unplugged or commutes frequently. A modern ultrabook will serve you much better.

This laptop is for the practical buyer who needs a ton of ports and some extra graphics grunt without breaking the bank. It's a solid desktop replacement for a student or office worker who occasionally edits photos or plays less demanding games. Just don't expect to carry it around all day without the charger.