The legendary ThinkPad at last has a worthy opponent in the form of ExpertBook that comes with similar features and even more. Two of the most popular laptops among the Windows community, ThinkPad and ExpertBook has taken mobile computing to new heights.
The models we compare here are Asus Expertbook B9 (B9400) and the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 laptops. We will discuss other available models too. Both computers have 11th Gen Intel processors. “Carbon Gen 9” is the model name, not the processor generation.
Who is ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 for?
- Business and office users
- Users who need long battery life for a whole day’s work
- Students
Who is Expertbook B9 (B9400) for?
- Those who travel regularly for business or office purposes
- Those who need extra-long battery life
- Travel bloggers and Youtubers who want to publish their work on location.
Pros and Cons
- ThinkPad Pro: Rapid Charging 5G (LTE CAT20)1 NFC Better display Nano SIM slot
- ThinkPad Con: Expensive No dedicated graphic card Less storage options
- ExpertBook Pro: MS Office pre-installed Cheaper Very light weight Dedicated graphics option More storage capacity options
- ExpertBook Con: No rapid charging No SIM slot Delete button too close to the power button
Price Comparison
ThinkPad ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 (14″) prices start at $1,439.50 with coupon applied, whereas Expertbook B9 (B9400) prices start at $1699.00. However, ThinkPad price is much higher than the ExpertBook for a model with comparable specs. You can find Think Pad prices and ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 prices on their official webpages.
Spec Comparison
| Processor | ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 | Expertbook B9 (B9400) |
| Intel® Core™ i5-1135G7 (8M Cache) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Intel® Core™ i7-1165G7 (12M Cache) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Intel® Core™ i7-1185G7 vPro® (12M Cache) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Intel® Core™ i5-1145G7 vPro® (8M Cache) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Graphics | ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 | Expertbook B9 (B9400) |
| Intel® Iris Xe Graphics, | ✓ | ✓ |
| NVIDIA® GeForce® MX350 | ✓ |
| Display – 14.0-inch,FHD Anti-glare | ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 | Expertbook B9 (B9400) |
| 16:9,IPS-level Panel, LED Backlit,400nits,sRGB: 100% (1920 x 1200) | ✓ | |
| LCD FHD16:9,Wide view, LED Backlit,400nits,sRGB: 100%, (1920 x 1080) | ✓ | |
| LCD FHD 16:9, (1920 x 1080), LED Backlit,400nits,sRGB: 100% | ✓ |
| Memory (RAM) | ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 | Expertbook B9 (B9400) |
| 8GB DDR4 on board, Soldered | ✓ | |
| 16GB DDR4 on board, Soldered | ✓ | |
| 32G LPDDR4X on board, Memory Max Up to:32GB | ✓ | ✓ |
| 16G LPDDR4X on board, Memory Max Up to:32GB | ✓ | |
| 8GB LPDDR4X on board,Memory Max Up to:32GB | ✓ |
| Keyboard | ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 | Expertbook B9 (B9400) |
| Backlit Keyboard | ✓ | ✓ |
| Support NumberPad | ✓ | |
| Spill-resistant Keyboard | ✓ |
| Ports | ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 | Expertbook B9 (B9400) |
| USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A | ✓ | ✓ |
| Thunderbolt™ 4 | ✓ | ✓ |
| HDMI 2.0b | ✓ | ✓ |
| 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack | ✓ | ✓ |
| Nano SIM slot (optional with WWAN) | ✓ |
| Battery | ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 | Expertbook B9 (B9400) |
| 57WHrs, 3S1P, 3-cell Li-ion | ✓ | |
| 66WHrs, 4S1P, 4-cell Li-ion | ✓ | |
| 33WHrs, 2S1P, 2-cell Li-ion | ✓ | |
| Type C charging | ✓ | ✓ |
| Weight | ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 | Expertbook B9 (B9400) |
| Starting at 1.12kg (2.49lbs) | ✓ | |
| 1.01 kg (2.23 lbs) | ✓ | |
| 0.88 kg (1.94 lbs) | ✓ |
| Dimensions | ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 | Expertbook B9 (B9400) |
| (W x D x H) 32.40 x 21.30 x 1.59 ~ 1.59 cm (12.76″ x 8.39″ x 0.63″ ~ 0.63″) | ✓ | |
| (W x D x H) 314.5mm x 221.6mm x 14.9mm (12.38in x 8.72in x 0.59in) | ✓ |
| Microsoft Office | ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 | Expertbook B9 (B9400) |
| 1-month trial for new Microsoft 365 customers. Credit card required. | ✓ | |
| Microsoft Office Home & Business 2019 | ✓ | |
| Office Home and Student 2019 included | ✓ | |
| WPS Office 30 days trial version | ✓ |
Storage Comparison
ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9
- 256 GB PCIe SSD
- 512 GB PCIe SSD
- 1 TB PCIe SSD
- Maximum capacity 2TB
Expertbook B9 (B9400)
- 512 GB – 2TB M.2 NVMe™ PCIe® 3.0 Performance SSD
- 2TB + 2TB M.2 NVMe™ PCIe® 3.0 Performance RAID0 SSD
- 512GB + 512GB M.2 NVMe™ PCIe® 3.0 Performance RAID1 SSD
- 1TB + 1TB M.2 NVMe™ PCIe® 3.0 Performance RAID1 SSD
- 2TB + 2TB M.2 NVMe™ PCIe® 3.0 Performance RAID1 SSD
Noteworthy: Expertbook B9 (B9400) offers more capacity options. Please check their official specifications for more.
It should also be noted that Expertbook’s maximum capacity option, with the hybrid disk systems, is double that of ThinkPad.
Our advice is to not be carried away by numbers but to consider the purpose of the purchase. If a mid-level capacity is all you need, then the best decision is to save your money without going for much higher and unnecessary capacities.
Security Comparison
EXpertBook and ThinkPad offer sophisticated security options for a business and office user who needs data protection. We compared the main security features to see which product has the edge.
Expertbook
- HDD User Password Protection and Security
- BIOS Booting User Password Protection
- Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0
- Kensington Lock
- IR webcam with Windows Hello support
- Fingerprint sensor
- US MIL-STD 810H military-grade build
ThinkPad
- Fingerprint Reader
- Kensington Lock
- Human-presence detection for screen locking
- PrivacyGuard display
- US MIL-STD 810G military-grade build
Both computers stand shoulder to shoulder in security features. From a physically lockable Kensington lock slot, to biometrics they have considered the protection at multiple levels in the designing of these machines.
With the convenience and protection of locking and unlocking with fingerprint, both these laptops would help you safeguard you valuable data and work from unauthorized access.
