The HP Envy 17 offers a lower midrange price, robust performance for general and engineering tasks, and is a solid choice if you're okay with a laptop that's not very portable and lacks a high refresh rate display, which may not be ideal for gaming or creative work requiring smooth visuals. Alternatively, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is priced midrange and is better suited to intensive gaming, creative tasks, and those seeking a high refresh rate screen, with the tradeoff being a slightly higher price and potentially shorter battery life during heavy usage. 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 Envy 17
The HP Envy 17 has no clear advantages over the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio.
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Very good speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
Screen Quality
6.8/10
8.0/10
17.3in
SIZE
14.4in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
329.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
491.0 nits
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio has a better screen than the HP Envy 17 for general use, gaming and AI, and engineering and design.
The HP Envy 17 has a high-resolution display with substantial brightness, making it suitable for general use and detailed engineering work; however, its modest refresh rate limits its appeal for gamers and 3D designers who need smoother visuals. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio also boasts a high-resolution screen and high brightness, with the added advantage of excellent color reproduction, highly valuable for engineering and professional design where color precision is paramount. Both laptops fall short for gaming and 3D because they lack the higher refresh rates that provide fluid motion necessary for those applications.
Portability
Good
Good
17.3in
SIZE
14.4in
5.4 lbs
WEIGHT
4.0 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio and HP Envy 17 both have good portability, though the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio has somewhat better portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.2/10
8.5/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio has very good build quality, while the HP Envy 17 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,000
$1,700
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The HP Envy 17 has a price of $1,000 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio costs $1,700.
The HP Envy 17 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio are both good for general use.
The HP Envy 17, with its larger screen and robust CPU, offers plenty of power and a comfortable visual experience for everyday tasks, but its larger size and heavier weight can hinder portability compared to the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio, which provides flexibility with a touchscreen and a design that doubles as a drawing tablet, a dedicated GPU for creative work, and a higher resolution display, albeit at the cost of being slightly less powerful in terms of processor performance.
Gaming and AI
6.4/10
6.6/10
3.8/10
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
7.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.7/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio and HP Envy 17 are both only fair for gaming and AI.
The HP Envy 17 offers modest gaming and 3D performance with an integrated GPU and a screen refresh rate suitable for casual and mainstream use, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio delivers more robust performance with a dedicated Nvidia GPU and a higher refresh rate which could appeal to more demanding gaming and 3D tasks. Both laptops have capable CPUs and high-quality displays, but the Surface Laptop Studio's higher screen refresh rate and better GPU make it better suited for gaming and 3D applications despite its higher cost and smaller screen size.
Engineering and Design
7.4/10
7.3/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.5/10
3.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The HP Envy 17 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio are both good for engineering and design.
The HP Envy 17's Intel i7 processor, integrated graphics, and large 17.3-inch screen make it well-suited for demanding engineering and design tasks, but its size can be a disadvantage for portability. On the other hand, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio offers a more portable form factor with a versatile display hinge, and its discrete Nvidia RTX graphics card alongside a high-resolution screen caters well to intensive visual tasks despite its smaller 14.4-inch size.
Content Creation
7.5/10
7.4/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.5/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The HP Envy 17 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio are both good for content creation.
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
7.5/10
7.3/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2400 x 1600
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The HP Envy 17 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 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.
Battery
8.0 Hours
8.0 Hours
The HP Envy 17 has 8 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.
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How the HP Envy 17 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio compare to other laptops
"In our test, the HP Envy 17-cr0079ng presents itself as a balanced multimedia laptop. Thanks to its solid CPU performance and dedicated entry-level GeForce, it can also be used for playing video games, as long as the demands aren't too high. Those looking for more can find it in the Dell XPS 17 for example."
"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 Envy 17 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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