If you're looking for a laptop that's easier on the wallet and offers greater portability for everyday tasks and general use, the HP Dragonfly Pro 14" can be a good choice due to its likely lower price and smaller size. However, if your work involves more demanding tasks like 3D rendering, machine learning, gaming, or engineering software, the MSI Stealth 17, despite being more expensive and possibly less portable due to its larger size, should deliver better performance suited for these intensive applications. So, evaluate your primary use case and decide whether performance or price and portability are more important to your needs. 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 Dragonfly Pro 14"
Very good overall build quality
Very good portability
Very good battery life
Advantages of the MSI Stealth 17
Excellent for engineering and design
Excellent for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Excellent keyboard
Key differences
General Use
8.0/10
8.7/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
405.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
10.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.5 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
8.2/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.4/10
The MSI Stealth 17 and HP Dragonfly Pro 14" are both very good for general use, though the MSI Stealth 17 is somewhat better.
The HP Dragonfly Pro 14" is preferred for general use due to its lightweight and portable design, combined with a respectable battery life and a high-quality, touch-enabled screen, making it suitable for various general tasks. In contrast, while the MSI Stealth 17 has a larger, higher-resolution screen and substantially more RAM and storage, indicating powerful performance for heavy-duty tasks, its heavier weight and shorter battery life may make it less ideal for on-the-go usage.
Gaming and AI
6.5/10
9.1/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.7/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The MSI Stealth 17 is excellent for gaming and AI, while the HP Dragonfly Pro 14" 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
7.6/10
9.4/10
7.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.7/10
16.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
The MSI Stealth 17 is excellent for engineering and design, while the HP Dragonfly Pro 14" is good.
The HP Dragonfly Pro 14 is commended for engineering and design because of its solid CPU and GPU combination, high screen brightness, and generous screen resolution, factors that are key to such tasks, and its comparatively lower weight makes it more portable. On the other hand, the MSI Stealth 17 provides exceptional performance for these fields with a higher-end CPU and GPU, more RAM for complex multitasking, a higher resolution and larger screen for detailed work, but this comes with less portability due to increased weight and size.
Content Creation
7.9/10
8.8/10
7.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
16.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The MSI Stealth 17 is very good for content creation, while the HP Dragonfly Pro 14" 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
8.5/10
7.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The MSI Stealth 17 is very good for software development, while the HP Dragonfly Pro 14" 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
7.1/10
8.6/10
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
405.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
The MSI Stealth 17 has a better screen than the HP Dragonfly Pro 14" for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
When selecting a laptop, consider that the HP Dragonfly Pro offers clear visuals for typical tasks and detailed work, thanks to its resolution and brightness, but it's less suitable for fast-paced games because it lacks a high refresh rate. The MSI Stealth, on the other hand, provides both a vibrant and precise display for professional tasks with its wider color range and high resolution, but similarly to the HP, it doesn't cater well to gaming demands due to a lower refresh rate. For design work where color accuracy matters, the MSI might be the better pick, while both may fall short for immersive 3D gaming experiences.
Battery
10.0 Hours
5.5 Hours
The HP Dragonfly Pro 14" has 10 hours of battery life. The MSI Stealth 17 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
Fair
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
3.4 lbs
WEIGHT
6.1 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The HP Dragonfly Pro 14" has very good portability, while the MSI Stealth 17 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
8.5/10
7.8/10
The HP Dragonfly Pro 14" has very good build quality, while the MSI Stealth 17 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,400
$3,899
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The HP Dragonfly Pro 14" has a price of $1,400 and the MSI Stealth 17 costs $3,899.
"I’d say that the HP Dragonfly Pro checks off most of the boxes for this freelancer. It feels nice to use, is zippy and responsive, has great speakers, and even has a relatively sane price. Although it’s an unorthodox choice to pick AMD for this kind of machine, it’s clear that when Ryzen is given a chance to shine, it can kick a lot of butt."
"The MSI Stealth 17 Studio is a laptop with a quiet RTX 4080 for almost every occasion. The MSI Stealth 17 Studio is equally capable of high-level media processing and playing current games. It remains pleasantly quiet, even if a few percentage points of power have had to be sacrificed in the process. But, it is not quite perfect: To some extent, the Stealth 17 is well thought out. It packs tons of graphics power and high-end components in a slim case. The laptop's cooling system can be set such that, noise-wise, it doesn't even reach low volume. However, small flaws cloud otherwise exceptionally positive impressions."
Get a great deal on the HP Dragonfly Pro 14" or the MSI Stealth 17
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 MSI
MSI, also known as Micro-Star International, is a Taiwanese technology corporation. MSI is known for their wide range of gaming devices. Their series include the entry-level Cyborg/Thin and Sword/Katana series, the mid-range Bravo/Delta and Crosshair/Pulse series, and their high-end Vector, Raider, Stealth, and Titan GT series. At every performance level, MSI offers a variety of devices with varying balances between performance, battery life, weight, and price, making them a solid option to consider at every price point.
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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