The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is known for its sleek design, good battery life, and high-quality display, making it suitable for general use, media consumption, and productivity tasks; its portability is a strong advantage if you move around a lot. However, it may fall short in heavy-duty tasks like gaming or intensive engineering work. In contrast, the HP Omen 17, which is built for gaming and performance-intensive tasks, might be the better choice if you plan to do 3D modeling, machine learning, or gaming. This laptop typically offers more powerful hardware but is heavier and may have shorter battery life, making it less portable. Consider what you prioritize more: performance for demanding tasks or the ease of carrying the device for daily use. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020)
Best in class overall build quality
Very good portability
Best in class battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the HP Omen 17
Very good for engineering and design
Excellent for gaming and AI
Very good for content creation
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.3/10
9.0/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.8/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The HP Omen 17 is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
7.3/10
8.8/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.8/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The HP Omen 17 is very good for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is good.
The HP Omen 17 offers superior performance for engineering and design tasks with a more powerful CPU and GPU, double the RAM, and a larger, high-refresh-rate screen, which is beneficial for detailed and intensive work. However, the MacBook Pro 13's strengths lie in its higher screen resolution and color accuracy, lighter weight, and longer battery life, benefiting users in need of portability and looking for a high-quality display for design tasks.
Screen Quality
7.6/10
7.9/10
13.3in
SIZE
17.3in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
491.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
350.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 has a better screen than the HP Omen 17 for engineering and design, while the HP Omen 17 has a better screen for gaming and AI, and software development.
The MacBook Pro 13's high-resolution Retina display and exceptional brightness make for a vivid, clear image, enhancing everyday tasks and contributing to its very good screen quality for general use and engineering where color accuracy is critical. However, its refresh rate isn't designed for 3D applications, where faster screen updates are crucial for smooth visuals. Meanwhile, the HP Omen 17 offers generous screen real estate and respectable color reproduction, which benefits general use and engineering tasks, but its screen lags behind in refresh rate for gaming and 3D applications, leading to less fluid motion.
Battery
20.0 Hours
3.5 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 has 20 hours of battery life. The HP Omen 17 has 3.5 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Portability
Very Good
Fair
13.3in
SIZE
17.3in
3.0 lbs
WEIGHT
6.1 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has very good portability, while the HP Omen 17 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.4/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has best in class build quality, while the HP Omen 17 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,249
$1,700
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has a price of $1,249 and the HP Omen 17 costs $1,700.
The HP Omen 17 and Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) are both good for general use.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is favored for general use due to its high-quality screen, excellent battery life, and superior portability, which are very important for everyday tasks, along with a fanless design that provides silent operation. The HP Omen 17, while larger and heavier thus less portable, offers powerful performance with a larger screen, more RAM, and better graphics capabilities, making it better suited for tasks requiring heavy processing like gaming but has a shorter battery life.
Content Creation
7.8/10
8.0/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers HP Omen 17 to be very good for content creation, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is good.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
7.8/10
7.7/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) and HP Omen 17 are both good for software development.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) and the HP Omen 17 compare to other laptops
"The MacBook Pro 13 is still a very good subnotebook. The 2022 MacBook Pro 13 might look like recycling at first, because the device is completely identical to the old model expect for the new M2 SoC. We have to admit that we were surprised to see another iteration of the MBP 13 as well. The laptop is obviously familiar, but this does not change the fact that it is still a very good subnotebook. You get an excellent chassis with good stability, a very good display, good input devices and the new M2 chip is very powerful and efficient."
"The HP Omen 17 (2022) gaming laptop has a stylish case and hardware with lots of potential. The HP Omen 17 is a fairly unobtrusive gaming laptop. A material combination of plastic and metal gives the case a high stability and a quality surface feel. The unspectacular design is pleasing and is hardly indicative of the laptop's high performance potential. The Intel Core i7-12700H in particular is able to perform well once again. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti is also strong in the gaming notebook. Demanding games run smoothly in Full HD resolution. The HP Omen 17 is a good gaming laptop that delivers partly excellent performance. But even at this performance level, cheaper alternatives are available."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) or the HP Omen 17
About Apple
Apple, an American technology company, is one of the world’s largest company in terms of market capitalization. Their MacBook laptops feature a slim, minimalistic design, class-leading battery life, and premium display and speaker quality. In 2020 Apple switched from using Intel processors to their own silicon chips which have excellent performance and efficiency. The macOS operating system is the second most widely used OS, after Windows.
About HP
HP, also known as Hewlett-Packard, is an American technology company that develops personal computers and computer peripherals. In the laptop industry, HP is known for its entry level Essential series laptops, its mid-range Pavilion, Envy, and Victus series, and high-end Omen and Spectre series, in addition to its business-oriented EliteBook, ProBook, and Dragonfly series laptops. HP laptops generally undercut other mainstream competitors in terms of price, placing itself as the value-oriented mainstream brand.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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