Asus ExpertBook B9 450F: Enterprise-grade notebook that's thin, lightweight

The Asus ExpertBook B9 450F is one of the notebooks Asus recently launched in India as it forayed into the commercial PC market. This thin and light notebook weighs merely 995 g, which makes it the lightest among notebooks in the segment – and even otherwise. Besides, it is also one of the thinnest notebooks, with a waistline of just 14.9 mm.

Despite being a true thin and light notebook, the ExpertBook B9 450F does not compromise on any aspect that one looks for in an enterprise-grade notebook. It is powered by the 10th-Gen Intel Core i7 processor, paired with 16 GB of RAM. It boots the Windows 10 Pro operating system and supports fingerprint and face recognition-based biometrics for Windows Hello login.

In terms of design, this notebook’s lightweight build makes it a portable computing device that is easy and convenient to carry around. Moreover, its compact form factor does not take much space either on your desk or inside a backpack. The notebook has a sturdy body and Asus claims it has a military-grade endurance. The textured finish on the body gives it a premium character without compromising on practical usage. Speaking of practicality, the notebook boasts most of the I/O ports that one needs for connectivity; 2 x Thunderbolt 3 USB-C, 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A, 1 x HDMI, 1 x RJ45 LAN through a micro HDMI port (dongle included in box), 1 x Kensington lock slot and 1 x audio combo jack.

As for display, the Asus ExpertBook B9 450F sports a 14-inch screen of fullHD+ resolution. The display stretches across borders, leaving minimal bezels on the sides. Despite featuring thin bezels, Asus has included a webcam with a privacy shutter on the top side. The display is good but seems wanting in brightness. It has an anti-glare film that makes it easy on eyes but hampers sunlight legibility. I wish there were better speakers, as the one available on the notebook sounds muted and hampers its digital conferencing, video calling, and other utilities that require good audio support.

The Asus ExpertBook B9 450F has a backlit keyboard. It is a full-sized keyboard with dual-purpose function keys. The keyboard is well spaced out and features a spill-proof design for protection against minor liquid spills. The keys have a good tactile feedback and the travel is satisfactory. Complementing the keyboard is a glass trackpad, which doubles up as a capacitive numerical keypad. It is an LED-illuminated trackpad which goes well with the notebook’s overall design. The trackpad is powered by Windows precision drivers and supports gestures operations.

With regard to performance, the Asus ExpertBook B9 450F has no issue except thermals. It handles most tasks well, but its bottom warms up significantly when it is tasked with processor- and graphic intensive jobs. Moreover, despite featuring a Samsung-sourced M.2 NVMe SSD of 1TB capacity, the notebook takes some time to boot. It is certainly quicker than HDD-based notebooks but not on mark if you compare it with notebooks that have SSD storage. Nonetheless, these minor issues are made up for by an excellent on-battery and charging time. On regular usage with intermittent use of video conferencing, the notebook easily lasts around three days. Even on intensive usage, the battery manages to keep going for at least a day. Charging time is quick and the supplied USB-C charger takes around two hours to replenish the completely drained-out battery.

Verdict

Priced Rs 1,02,228 onwards, the Asus ExpertBook B9 450F is an obvious choice if you need an enterprise-grade thin and light notebook for everyday work. Despite featuring a thin and light form factor, the notebook is quite a performer and has an impressive on-battery time. There is nothing missing here: it has a sturdy build, decent screen, practical spill-resistant backlit keyboard and touchpad, and a host of I/O ports for connectivity. And not to forget, the notebook has Wi-Fi 6 for wireless internet connectivity.