Choosing between the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) and the HP Victus 15 boils down to your priorities. The MacBook Pro offers higher build quality, a better display, longer battery life, and more robust sound. It is suited for creative professionals due to its powerful processor and graphics suited for tasks like video editing and design. However, it's significantly pricier. The HP Victus 15 offers good gaming performance and is more affordable, with decent build quality and a fast refresh rate screen for gaming, but has shorter battery life and a less impressive display compared to the MacBook. If your work involves engineering or resource-heavy computing and you need MacOS, the MacBook Pro is better suited, but for gaming or general use on a budget, the HP Victus 15 is a sensible choice. 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 14 (2021)
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Excellent overall display quality
Best in class overall build quality
Very good portability
Excellent battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the HP Victus 15
The HP Victus 15 has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021).
Key differences
General Use
8.4/10
7.3/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
479.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
262.0 nits
13.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.5 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
8.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is very good for general use, while the HP Victus 15 is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) offers superior screen quality, more RAM for smoother multitasking, and a high-performing CPU, all in a compact and lightweight design with a longer battery life, making it very good for general use. In contrast, the HP Victus 15, while it still provides a satisfactory general use experience, has less RAM which could affect multitasking, and a standard quality screen, but it compensates with a dedicated graphics card which is great for gaming, albeit with a bulkier build and shorter battery life.
Engineering and Design
8.2/10
6.7/10
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.3/10
4.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.0/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is very good for engineering and design, while the HP Victus 15 is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) excels in engineering and design due to its superior CPU and GPU performance, with the Apple M1 Pro chip offering robust processing and graphical capabilities, accompanied by a high-quality Mini LED screen. Meanwhile, the HP Victus 15 offers good CPU power with its Intel processor and a solid Nvidia RTX GPU, but with less RAM and a lower resolution screen, it may fall short in more demanding tasks, although it may gain points for being more affordable.
Content Creation
8.4/10
7.2/10
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.3/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is very good for content creation, while the HP Victus 15 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
8.3/10
7.0/10
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.3/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is very good for software development, while the HP Victus 15 is good.
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.
Screen Quality
9.2/10
6.9/10
14.2in
SIZE
15.6in
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
479.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
262.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has a better screen than the HP Victus 15 for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) boasts a high-resolution Retina display with bright and vibrant colors, making it excellent for activities like web browsing, document editing, and video watching. For engineering and design, its wide color gamut support ensures accurate color reproduction which is crucial for tasks requiring color precision. However, for 3D applications and gaming, its standard refresh rate limits the smoothness of motion which can be a downside compared to laptops with high-refresh-rate displays.
Battery
13.5 Hours
5.5 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has 13.5 hours of battery life. The HP Victus 15 has 5.5 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
Good
14.2in
SIZE
15.6in
3.5 lbs
WEIGHT
5.0 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) has very good portability, while the HP Victus 15 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.4/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) has best in class build quality, while the HP Victus 15 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,905
$677
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) has a price of $1,905 and the HP Victus 15 costs $677.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) and HP Victus 15 are both only fair for gaming and AI.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has a strong GPU that's suitable for 3D work and a high-quality Mini LED screen with a 120 Hz refresh rate, making it good for 3D applications, while the Windows-based HP Victus 15 has a higher refresh rate of 144 Hz and a capable Nvidia RTX 3050 GPU, which makes it fair for gaming, despite its lower screen quality; however, the MacBook's MacOS limits its compatibility with many popular games.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) and the HP Victus 15 compare to other laptops
"In the Apple MacBook Pro 14 2023, the M2 Pro is slowed down. From the improved 5nm process, the new M2 Pro is a very solid upgrade. Graphics performance has increased by about 25% in tandem with a clear improvement in efficiency. The processor has also seen a performance leap of up to 20%, but this is accompanied by an increase in consumption of up to 25%. Fundamentally, Apple its maintaining its advantage over AMD and Intel, particularly in optimized applications where the results are very good in view of the comparatively low power consumption."
Olivier Martin, Ryan Lim, and Yannick Khong | March 2023
"The HP Victus 15 is great for gaming. It's available with Intel 12th Gen. CPUs and NVIDIA discrete graphics, which are powerful enough to provide a smooth gaming experience in demanding AAA titles at 1080p. It has a nice keyboard and a fast SSD, as well as Wi-Fi 6 and Ethernet connectivity for low-latency online gaming. Unfortunately, its 144Hz display has a slow response time causing noticeable ghosting, and it doesn't support variable refresh rate to reduce screen tearing."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) or the HP Victus 15
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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