For general use, the HP 14" Laptop offers excellent value with a budget-friendly price, solid performance, and good battery life, making it a practical choice for everyday tasks. However, it lacks the premium features and high-resolution touchscreen of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15". The Surface Laptop, while pricier, boasts a stunning high-resolution display with touchscreen capabilities, a more comfortable 3:2 aspect ratio, and better color accuracy, which is ideal for creative work. It also has a more powerful processor and a sleek, premium design. If portability is a priority, the Surface Laptop is thinner and lighter despite its larger screen. For engineering tasks, the Surface Laptop's superior screen and additional RAM will serve you better, though it comes at a higher cost. Consider the HP for budget-conscious general use and the Surface Laptop for a more premium experience with better performance for creative and engineering tasks. 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 HP 14" Laptop
Very good portability
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15"
Good for general use
Good for engineering and design
Good for software development
Very good overall display quality
Good overall build quality
Very good speakers
Good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.7/10
7.7/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2496 x 1664
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
265.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
8.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
9.0 Hours
6.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
8.3/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.9/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" is good for general use, while the HP 14" Laptop is only fair.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
5.8/10
6.6/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2496 x 1664
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" is only fair for gaming and AI, while the HP 14" Laptop is poor.
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
6.0/10
7.8/10
4.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.7/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" is good for engineering and design, while the HP 14" Laptop is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Content Creation
7.0/10
7.8/10
4.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.7/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2496 x 1664
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" and HP 14" Laptop are both good for content creation, though the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" is somewhat better.
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
6.8/10
7.8/10
4.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.7/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2496 x 1664
6.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" is good for software development, while the HP 14" Laptop is only fair.
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
6.3/10
8.1/10
14.0in
SIZE
15.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2496 x 1664
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
265.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" has a better screen than the HP 14" Laptop for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Build Quality
6.0/10
7.4/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" has good build quality, while the HP 14" Laptop has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$418
$1,200
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The HP 14" Laptop has a price of $418 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" costs $1,200.
The HP 14" Laptop has 8.5 hours of battery life. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" has 9 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
14.0in
SIZE
15.0in
3.2 lbs
WEIGHT
3.7 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.6in
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers HP 14" Laptop to have very good portability, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Give feedback
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How the HP 14" Laptop and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" compare to other laptops
"This feels like an ideal laptop for someone who doesn’t want to spend a lot of money on a laptop and isn’t too bothered by things like build quality or construction. It’s a laptop that will be used to pay bills, keep track of expenses, do some online shopping, and will be tucked away in a spare bedroom/home office. It’s an appliance designed to do a job without fuss. It’s not a premium experience—the materials do feel a little cheap, the display won’t exactly wow you, and the battery life is nothing to write home about, especially if you’ve used more expensive devices. But overall it’s not too shabby, especially for the price."
Get a great deal on the HP 14" Laptop or the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15"
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.
About Microsoft
Microsoft is an American technology corporation. Microsoft is best known for their Windows operating system and Surface laptop series. The Surface Laptop is their standard notebook offering, while their Surface Go, Surface Pro, and Surface Studio are their 2-in-1/tablet offerings in order of increasing capability. Although Microsoft charges a premium price tag for their laptops, buyers can expect a well integrated and packaged device since Microsoft develops the Windows operating system.
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 Golden, Ph.D
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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
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
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Laptops Expert
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