Asus ExpertBook B3404 Review: Taking Care Of Business
The laptop offers a concoction of features like a 13th Gen Intel Core i7 1355U CPU, Intel Iris Xe GPU, 16GB RAM, Windows 11 Pro OS and the Intel vPro platform
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The build quality is solid and light for its price, weighing just a little over 1.5 kilograms. The design language is unlike most of the laptops out there. While it bears some resemblance to other professional laptops in the ExpertBook series, most laptops have this slight incline to the hinge, which gives them an aesthetically sleek design that is reminiscent of the MacBook Air before it got redesigned. This laptop, however, unlike the other ASUS laptops from their other lineups, has a more uniform almost symmetrical approach to it and is closer to the design of the ASUS Zephyrus series. There’s nothing wrong with it whatsoever. It’s just that Asus’ inclined design really grew on users and it would have been cool to have it in the ExpertBook B3404 as well. Also, do not forget the coveted Copilot key.
This can be seen all the way from the symmetry of the laptop's side profile to the hinge of the laptop, which lifts the back ever so slightly due to the monitor hinge pushing against the flat surface. Most ASUS laptops, from my experience, even in the gaming sub-lineups, are different and do not resemble the Zephyrus line more than this one. I did some checks, and it turns out this is the only line-up in the last few years by Asus, which reflects a similar design language to Zephyrus, which is cool because there aren't many designs out there in the Windows department which have this kind of style language. I loved it, to be honest.
The keyboard received special attention from us for sure. It was a delight to use and gave an overall good typing experience. With ample key travel and feedback, the keyboard in the ExpertBook B3404 just clicks. Furthermore, the backlit keyboard, although a huge bonus, is a tad bit dull.
There’s also the absence of the touch screen. Thought I should mention that.
There are enough I/O ports for all types of accessories out there. Starting from the good old USB Type A (two of those, USB 3.2) to the modern-day USB Type C ports (two of those). There is an RJ45 ethernet port, an HDMI port, a Kensington Nano Security Slot and even a 3.5mm audio port. One of the USB Type C ports is Thunderbolt 4.0 which means it is capable of acting as a display outlet and supports power delivery and high-speed data transfers.
This might just be one of the most underrated attributes of a laptop. “How tough is the laptop?,” asked no one ever while buying a laptop and that too for professional work.
Asus has made the ExpertBook B3404 near-indestructible by regular office professionals and executives. Tests done on this laptop (claimed by Asus) include –
While reviewing the product, we merely tested the laptop with a drop test from approximately 4 feet in height which it passed with flying colours.
The first thing I did was update the drivers and that’s what you should do as well. The specifications are as follows. To be honest, it is pretty standard for a 13th Gen i7-1355U (base frequency of 1.7 GHz) with a maximum clock speed of 5 GHz and 16GB DDR5 memory. Additionally, as expected, this laptop is equipped with a 128 MB integrated Iris Xe Graphics card with shared memory.
This is the Cinebench score for both Single-core and Multi-core with 10 min test for throttling.
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Geekbench CPU and GPU Score
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Superposition Benchmark results (free alternative to 3Dmark)
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Business laptops have no business running games but then, why not test it out? I put my Xbox Game Pass subscription to good use and ran some games to test out the integrated graphics card in the ExpertBook B3404.
All in all, this laptop can run something like Football Manager, Civilisations, Pal World or any simulator game as long as it does not push for fidelity due to its strengths relying on the CPU performance. It also ran Valorant but then again, Valorant was never a graphics-hungry game to begin with. This is a work laptop through and through and can run games that do not require any form of heavy rendering.
Also, the camera is interesting and by interesting, I mean it's disappointing. It is a 720p camera. For a business laptop which is a huge lack of foresight from Asus. Zoom calls are normal but the lack of at least a 1080p video conferencing camera sticks out like an eyesore. Definitely doesn't help the B3’s case. There are many places companies cut corners but considering the product category and the target customer, this seems like an odd choice.
The speakers seem fine. The voice is clear enough to be audible and there is no static or reverb as such. It is a bit low in volume. Earphones or headphones are recommended in all scenarios whether it is for a better video calling experience or consuming media.
The in-built mic is good. The AI noise suppression works well. I’d even go further and state that it performs marvellously. It does impact the sharpness of the voice a bit too much for my liking, but considering the end result, it is still acceptable.
The Asus ExpertBook B3 houses a 3-cell 50Wh battery back with up to 10 hours of claimed battery run time. During usage I found this to be true. As long as you engage in generic office work such as Word documents, presentations, spreadsheets, emails, video calls and light content streaming, the laptop can run all day without the need to plug into a power source.
As mentioned earlier, this is not a touch panel and neither is it an OLED panel. The ExpertBook B3404 offers a 16:10 WQXGA display with a 60Hz refresh rate. This is by no means the brightest display you’ll see on a laptop but this will get the job done. The display is not the most vibrant either. Colours are a bit on the flatter side but given that this is a professional laptop, this should not be a total deal breaker.
The laptop’s strong suit lies in its toughness, performance and security features. So, what’s the verdict? Let’s find out.
The answer might surprise you because it is a big fat yes. AI PC or not, there are sets of tasks that a high-functioning professional needs to get done and the Asus ExpertBook B3404 is a powerhouse in that regard. The 13th Gen Intel Core i7 is a formidable machine that is more than enough for professional office work. With a Geekbench multi-core score of over 10,000, the processor is exceptionally powerful at multitasking. In Cinebench R23, the 10-core 12-thread 13th Gen Intel Core i7 CPU reaches a multi-core score of over 5,300 which is more than decent.
The form factor, the build quality and the touch and feel of the Asus ExpertBook B3404 laptop are phenomenal, as expected from all Asus products. The laptop is military grade, as claimed by the manufacturer. We did not try a drop test, per se, but we did use the laptop in multiple conditions and in different locations. Not to our surprise, the device worked fine and was convenient to use.
Other features such as a spill-resistant keyboard, a large trackpad, one-key switch for AI noise cancellation, Windows Hello facial recognition, BIOS/HDD password, fingerprint sensor, secure file shredder and of course the Intel VPro platform all together make this one of the best machines for working professionals.
And of course, do not forget that this laptop is ultra-durable which not only makes it really well suited for high-stakes situations but also ensures that important data won’t get lost or damaged when it matters the most.
There are a few things I would like to mention in this review given the fact that this is indeed a business laptop. There are lots of customization options available in the Asus ExpertBook B3404. The camera, for instance, comes with a 1080p option as well. The display has an IPS touchscreen option available. The 50Wh battery has a higher 63Wh variant too. For additional security, there is a discrete TPM 2.0 chip that securely stores authentication information. Furthermore, for graphics-heavy tasks, there is a variant with a dedicated RTX2050 GPU with a 4GB GDDR6 VRAM for mid-management personnel and officers. The dedicated GPU will be beneficial for officials who deal in software such as CAD and Premiere Pro (light editing).
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