The HP 15" Laptop is a budget-friendly option, offering essential features for general use with average performance for everyday tasks, an adequate screen, and modest battery life. It lacks touch support and has lower storage, but it is lighter and thus more portable. Conversely, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is a more premium device with a higher price, superior performance suitable for 3D rendering, machine learning, and engineering tasks, and it comes with a touchscreen and a flexible design. Its battery life is better, and it includes advanced features like facial recognition and a backlit keyboard, but it is less portable due to extra weight. 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 15" Laptop
The HP 15" Laptop has no clear advantages over the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio.
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio
Good for general use
Good for engineering and design
Good for software development
Good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Very good speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.7/10
7.4/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
250.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
491.0 nits
6.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
8.0 Hours
6.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
7.8/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.8/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is good for general use, while the HP 15" Laptop is only fair.
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is better for general use than the HP 15" Laptop due to its superior CPU and graphics card, which provide better performance, and its higher quality screen with touch capability and flexibility as both a laptop and a drawing tablet. Additionally, the Surface Laptop Studio has more RAM for multitasking, a larger battery for longer use, and better build quality; however, it is slightly less portable and more costly than the HP 15" that is still adequate for general tasks.
Gaming and AI
5.9/10
6.6/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.7/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is only fair for gaming and AI, while the HP 15" Laptop is poor.
The HP 15" Laptop, with integrated Intel UHD Graphics and a standard screen refresh rate, offers basic gaming and 3D capabilities, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio, equipped with a more powerful Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti GPU and a higher screen refresh rate, delivers better performance suitable for more serious gaming and 3D applications.
Engineering and Design
6.2/10
7.3/10
5.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.5/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is good for engineering and design, while the HP 15" Laptop is only fair.
The HP 15" Laptop has a more basic CPU and integrated graphics, which are sufficient for lighter engineering tasks, but its screen quality and RAM amount are lower, which may limit performance in demanding design applications. Conversely, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio offers a higher-end CPU with dedicated graphics, making it more suitable for intensive engineering and design work, along with better screen resolution and touch capability, but it is slightly heavier and less quiet, which could affect portability and use in noise-sensitive environments.
Content Creation
6.9/10
7.4/10
5.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.5/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is good for content creation, while the HP 15" Laptop is only fair.
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
6.7/10
7.3/10
5.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.5/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
6.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is good for software development, while the HP 15" 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
8.0/10
15.6in
SIZE
14.4in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
250.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
491.0 nits
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio has a better screen than the HP 15" Laptop for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The HP 15" Laptop's screen is adequate for everyday tasks with decent resolution and brightness, but it lacks the wider color gamuts engineering and design professionals need for color-accurate work. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio offers a high-resolution display with better brightness and color gamut coverage, making it a superior choice for engineering and design applications where visual accuracy is critical. However, for gaming and 3D applications, neither of these laptops is ideal as they don't have the high refresh rates necessary for smooth motion and fast-paced visuals.
Battery
6.0 Hours
8.0 Hours
The HP 15" Laptop has 6 hours of battery life. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio has 8 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.
Build Quality
6.0/10
8.5/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio has very good build quality, while the HP 15" Laptop has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$378
$1,700
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The HP 15" Laptop has a price of $378 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio costs $1,700.
"Chances are high that the HP 15 is one of the first laptops to pop up when you search for an inexpensive notebook. Indeed, its price tag is very tempting for many, and of course, this is the reason for its popularity. However, the HP 15" suffers from poor performance due to low power consumption. On the bright side, one of the good things about it is the port selection. On the inside, this includes two SODIMM slots for memory, an M.2 PCIe x4 slot for storage, and a SATA drive bay. However, the TN panel, and mediocre input devices are not ideal."
"There’s no doubt that the Surface Laptop Studio is groundbreaking. We’ve come to expect such things from the Surface lineup, so it’s always nice to see a product that exceeds our expectations. The pull-forward laptop-screen concept has been tried before, but never in a device that’s so stylish and packed with innovative features like a haptic touchpad and robust digital stylus support."
Get a great deal on the HP 15" Laptop or the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio
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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