ASUS ExpertBook 14" P5405CSA-DH54 2024, Core Ultra 5 226V, 16GB, 512GB SSD, Misty Gray

The ASUS ExpertBook P5 is a lightweight 14-inch business laptop with a standout 2560x1600 144Hz display, excellent port selection, and Intel's new Core Ultra 5 chip with AI capabilities. It's a solid pick for productivity at the lower end of its USD 980 to USD 1,200 price range. The 512GB SSD and integrated graphics hold it back for creative or gaming work. If you need a portable work machine with real ports and a great screen, this is worth a look.

The Core Ultra 5 226V is an 8-core chip with a 1.6GHz base clock, and in our database it lands right around the middle of the pack for CPU performance. That's not a knock. For a thin business laptop, middle of the pack means it handles Outlook, Teams, Excel, and a dozen Chrome tabs without breaking a sweat. The 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM is also about average for this class, but it's the faster low-power variety, so memory bandwidth is solid. The integrated Arc 130V GPU sits at the same middle-of-the-pack level, which means light photo editing and the occasional 1080p video render are fine, but anything 3D-heavy will make this thing sweat.

The 512GB NVMe SSD is on the smaller side, landing just below average in our storage rankings. For a business laptop, that's workable if you lean on cloud storage, but it's worth knowing you'll probably want an external drive or a cloud subscription before long. The real performance story here is the display. The 144Hz refresh rate on a 2560x1600 panel is unusual for a business machine, and it makes everything from scrolling documents to moving windows feel noticeably smoother. The 400 nits of brightness means you can actually use this thing near a window without squinting.

The most obvious competitor is the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition. Both are thin, light, business-focused machines with ARM or x86 efficiency cores and AI features. The Surface has a better track record for build quality and a cleaner software experience, but the ExpertBook fights back with more ports, a higher refresh rate display, and a lower starting price. If you need Ethernet and HDMI without dongles, the ASUS wins. If you want the most polished Windows experience, the Surface is hard to beat.

The Apple MacBook Pro M4 Pro is in a completely different league on performance and price, but it's worth mentioning because some business buyers cross-shop these. The MacBook will absolutely destroy the ExpertBook in CPU and GPU tasks, and the battery life is legendary. But you're paying a lot more, and you lose the flexibility of Windows and all those ports. The Lenovo Legion 5i and MSI Raider are gaming laptops that happen to have business-friendly specs. They'll crush the ExpertBook in graphics performance, but they're heavier, bulkier, and have worse battery life. If you don't need gaming, the ASUS is the more sensible pick.

Pricing on this thing is all over the place. In the US, we're seeing listings from USD 980 to USD 1,200 across five different sellers. That's a USD 220 spread for the exact same laptop, which is wild. If you're buying, shop around. The lower end of that range makes this a genuinely good deal for what you get. At USD 1,200, it starts to feel less compelling, especially when you consider the 512GB SSD and average CPU performance.

For context, the Canadian listing sits at CAD 1,367, which is a different market with different taxes and import costs, so don't try to compare those numbers directly. The takeaway is that this laptop's value depends heavily on which seller you pick. At the low end, you're getting a premium display, excellent port selection, and a lightweight build for under a grand. At the high end, you're paying a premium for the AI branding and the ExpertBook name, and that's harder to justify.

The ASUS ExpertBook P5405CSA-DH54 is a business laptop that tries to do a little bit of everything, and mostly succeeds at the stuff that matters for work. You get a 14-inch 2560x1600 IPS display running at 144Hz, an Intel Core Ultra 5 226V chip, 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and a 512GB NVMe SSD packed into a 1.27kg aluminum chassis. That's a compelling spec sheet for anyone who lives in spreadsheets, video calls, and browser tabs all day.

What makes this interesting is the Intel Core Ultra 5 226V. It's part of Intel's newer Lunar Lake family, which means it has a dedicated NPU rated at 40 TOPS for AI workloads. That's the kind of thing that matters more for future-proofing than for anything you'll feel today, but it does mean Windows 11's Copilot features and any local AI tools will run without choking the CPU or GPU. The integrated Intel Arc 130V graphics share that 16GB of RAM, which is fine for productivity but tells you right away this isn't a gaming machine.

ASUS is positioning this as an AI PC for work, and the hardware mostly backs that up. The port selection is genuinely excellent for a thin laptop, with Thunderbolt 4, two USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, HDMI 2.1, and even Ethernet. That's rare in a 1.27kg machine. The display is also a standout, with 400 nits of brightness and full sRGB coverage, which means it'll hold up fine in bright offices and look good doing it.

If you do any kind of creative work that involves video editing, 3D rendering, or large photo batches, skip this. The integrated graphics and 512GB SSD will frustrate you within a week. Look at a MacBook Pro M4 Pro or a Windows workstation with a dedicated GPU instead. Gamers should also steer clear. The gaming score of 19.9 out of 100 is not a typo. This thing is built for spreadsheets, not ray tracing.

Also, if you're the type who keeps every file locally and never deletes anything, the 512GB drive will feel cramped fast. You'd be better off with a laptop that has a 1TB SSD or an easy upgrade path. And if you're buying this specifically for the AI features, temper your expectations. The 40 TOPS NPU is nice for future-proofing, but there aren't many everyday apps that take full advantage of it yet. You're paying for potential, not current utility.

For business users who travel a lot and need a reliable machine for email, documents, video calls, and web apps, the ExpertBook P5 is a strong choice. The lightweight build, excellent display, and full port selection make it a genuinely practical workhorse. The 144Hz screen is a nice bonus that makes daily use feel more responsive, and the backlit keyboard is comfortable for long typing sessions. At the lower end of the price range, this is an easy recommendation.

But if you're a creative professional working with large video files, 3D models, or heavy data processing, this isn't the laptop for you. The integrated graphics and 512GB SSD will hold you back, and the CPU is only average. You'd be better off with a MacBook Pro or a workstation-class Windows laptop. And if you're a gamer, just don't. The gaming score of 19.9 out of 100 in our database tells you everything you need to know.