The business user who is always on the road has higher and different requirements than the average consumer. For that business audience, Asus has the ExpertBook B9450F, which has to combine a feather-light design with excellent battery life. We are curious and have tested this business ExpertBook.
Asus ExpertBook B9450FA-BM0367R
price € 2199, –
Processor Intel Core i7-10510U
Memory 16 GB
Screen 14 inch IPS (1920x1080p)
Storage 1 TB ssd (NVMe 3.0 x4 M.2)
Dimensions 32 x 20.3 x 1.49 cm
Weight 0.88 kilos
Battery 66 Wh
Connections 2x Thunderbolt 3, USB 3.2 (gen 2), HDMI, 3.5mm audio output, Network connection (via micro HDMI output)
Wireless Wifi 6, bluetooth 5
Extras Webcam Shield, Sleeve, Network Adapter, Fingerprint Scanner and Face Recognition
Website www.asus.com
8.5 Score 85 
- Pros
- Really impressive battery life
- Super light
- Solid and beautiful housing
- Connections
- Negatives
- Performance
- Price (limited target group)
As the name makes clear, the ExpertBook B9450F is intended for professional use, later we will indicate which type of professional Asus has in mind. This is also evident from the accompanying price tag of 2199 euros for the tested version.
When I got the Asus ExpertBook BF9450F out of the box, one thing immediately stood out: this laptop is palpably an absolute lightweight, it weighs only 880 grams and that is even compared to, for example, a ZenBook 14 which is also not heavy at 1.17 kilograms, a very clear difference. According to Asus, this is the lightest 14-inch laptop in the world. To achieve this, Asus uses something different for the housing than the aluminum that the manufacturer usually uses. The ExpertBook is made from a magnesium-lithium alloy with a black finish. If you didn’t know better, you would think that the somewhat coarse-feeling housing is made of plastic. I personally think it is a beautiful material that is also not sensitive to fingerprints due to its matte finish. It is also striking how far the screen can open, which can be completely flat. This way you can always see the screen well with the laptop on your lap. So the ExpertBook is certainly a laptop designed to always be on the go. And that can be protected, because a sleeve is included.
Striking network connection
In terms of connections, you get a very useful selection that fits a modern laptop. For example, Asus has provided two Thunderbolt3 connections and a USB-A connection has also been installed. Unlike almost every laptop I know, each of these three connections, including the a port, is suitable for the faster gen2 speed. To connect a screen you can choose from one of the Thunderbolt ports or the HDMI output that is also present. In addition to the HDMI output, you will also find a connection in the micro HDMI format. No fourth image output, but intended by Asus as a network connection. In the package you will find a matching adapter that turns it into a network connection. It is therefore not a USB network adapter, but an Intel network adapter integrated in the laptop. Many professional users prefer Intel network adapters and this adapter has no overhead of the USB connection. In theory, this solution therefore performs better. Unlike recent ZenBooks, a 3.5mm sound output is simply available.
The ExpertBook is equipped with both a webcam with Windows Hello and a fingerprint scanner. So you can log in to Windows in all possible ways, you don’t see that often. The image quality of the webcam is nothing special, Asus certainly does not use an extra good webcam for this business laptop. Handy: there is a built-in slider so you can be sure that you are not spying. A business detail that I would also like to see on consumer laptops.
Performance
The processor is an Intel i7-10510U, a quad-core processor with eight threads. The built-in GPU is a normal UHD graphics variant, not a somewhat faster Iris Plus. The CPU is combined with 16 GB of RAM and a Samsung PM981 NVME SSD. That’s an excellent SSD, something that illustrates the read and write speeds of 3478.28 and 2316.87 MB / s respectively. The ExperBook can handle two NVME SSDs, if you open the laptop you will find an empty slot.
In PCMark the combination scores 3824 points, which is a bit lower than you would expect. A tests with Cinebench and Intel Power gadget shows that Asus has lowered the TDP of the processor to the minimum 10 watts. This moderates performance, but lowers energy consumption. This is of course done for the best possible battery life. The ExpertBook is equipped with a 66Wh battery that lasts remarkably long. Asus promises 24 hours, but as usual that is a bit optimistic. In the PCMark 10 Modern Office battery test that simulates office work, this laptop can last up to 20 hours and 40 minutes. And in practice, 16 hours of work is certainly feasible. This is a laptop that can rightfully carry the Intel Project Athena certification. In any case, you can leave your charger at home and work for a long flight is no problem at all.
The screen is a 14-inch Full HD screen that has a matte finish, as I expect from a business laptop. In terms of image quality, it is an excellent screen. However, the brightness is not remarkably high. Perhaps a laptop that you want to use anywhere in the wild should have a slightly brighter screen.
The keyboard ticks excellent and has a slightly nicer click than, for example, a ZenBook. The keyboard has three-level illumination. The touchpad is equipped with Asus’ NumberPad, where you can also use the touchpad as a virtual numerical field.
Conclusion
And then the answer to the question for whom this laptop is intended. In any case, the Expert hinted by Asus is not a graphics professional who edits a lot of 4K videos. In terms of power, this laptop is certainly not very impressive for the price. The big plus of this laptop is mainly the super light housing in combination with the really excellent battery life. This is the laptop with the best battery life that I have personally tested. If you are always on the go, these are certainly features that you can use well. It is therefore a perfect laptop if you are always traveling by plane for work. Something that is of course less common at the moment.
For the average consumer, however, the compromise this laptop makes offers little added value. As a consumer (at home) you probably do not need that really impressive battery life and the feather-light design, while you clearly pay a lot for it. For much less money you get better performance in a somewhat heavier package. However, for the target group, the business user where every gram and minute counts, this is a very nice device.
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