Head into any company’s IT department and you’ll encounter a veritable graveyard of obsolete tech. But what if all those monitors were actually also computers? That’s what the Asus ExpertCenter P400 provides to companies, and to private users who really want to save on desk space.
The ExpertCenter P400 is a customisable (if you’re a company) desktop all-in-one running Windows 11 Pro. Orderable in bulk (and to spec) or as single units from Asus, this is what you want on your desk at an office job. It means that a) you don’t have to take your work home and b) you can if you have to. It also means more desk and leg space, since you don’t have a clunky old tower getting in the way. But is it for the regular user? That’s… kinda up to you, but we can think of a few instances of it being useful.
On the face of it
Anyone encountering the ExpertCenter P400 in an office setting would have a hard time telling that it was anything more than a standard office monitor. It hosts a 23.8in LED display with a native resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 and a brightness of 250 nits. If that were all we told you about this critter, you wouldn’t even question the somewhat thicker profile backing the screen. That’s just what the IT department buys, right?
Except that the extra space has a few extra goodies stuffed inside that make this an all-in-one. Our review model came with a 13th-gen Core i7-13620H, a 2.4GHz processor, backed with 16GB of RAM, but that can’t be taken as fully representative of the range. As we’ve mentioned, these can be made to spec, but you’ll need your people to speak to Asus’ people directly. Retail pricing won’t apply. Whether that’s a good or bad thing depends on IT’s negotiating skills, we suppose.
Working for it
The ExpertCenter P400 was always supposed to be for work, and you can expect strictly utilitarian performance from it. The 24in display offers enough space for spreadsheets or browser windows (whatever your boss lets you get away with). The picture is clear enough, though not up to the standard of Asus’ AMOLED laptop screens. It’s more likely to be used for email or data capture than design, so that’s not an issue.
Intel’s 13th-gen chipset is getting on a bit, but at R18,000 — the price of our review all-in-one — it’ll turn any computerless household into a computered (that’s totally a word) one simply by plonking it on the desk. It’s enough for basic tasks, and it’ll even handle a game or three if you stick to older titles that don’t demand an external GPU. It’s not like you’ll be cramming an install of Call of Duty onto the 500GB NVMe solid-state drive Asus has outfitted this desktop machine with anyway.
Just a note on peripherals — The Asus ExpertCenter P400 is supplied with a mouse and keyboard, but we’re told it isn’t the pair you see in our image here. Retail units will feature better quality gear, according to the folks at Asus in SA, but we found that the supplied items weren’t out of keeping with standard office gear. In fact, some companies’ staff would jump at the lightweight but sturdy mouse Stuff used. Even a few gamers might like the airy feel as it glides over a surface.
Another variable is the stand. Ours was mounted on a static column with basic vertical angle adjustments. Height-adjustable or VESA-mount versions are also options for the ExpertCenter P400. Again, you’ll need your IT procurement folks to sort that out.
Asus ExpertCenter P400 verdict
Asus’ enterprise all-in-one was never intended to be a commercial machine, but it would serve the role admirably for folks who don’t know how computers work. Your tech-impaired parents (or university students) will appreciate the simple setup, screen and PC integration, and peripheral options the Asus ExpertCenter P400 provides.
It’s even more attractive for companies, which can roll out cloned machines that are assembled in minutes and dumped on a desk for the new guy who will totally last the week.
It’s a harder sell for the dedicated tech nerd, but if that’s you, you’re not the target market here. That does mean you can see the benefits Asus’ machine provides, even if you have no desire to use it. It’s a work machine. One that… well, works.
