The HP Omen 17 is suitable for intensive gaming and engineering tasks due to its high-performance processor and robust graphics card, but it is less portable because of its bigger size and heavier weight. In contrast, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 offers better portability due to its lighter weight and smaller size, making it a good fit for general use and tasks that benefit from a touchscreen. The Surface Laptop Go 2 also has a longer battery life, which is convenient for on-the-go use but has less storage space and lower specs, which may not be ideal for demanding software applications or gaming. Choose the HP Omen 17 for high-end tasks or the Surface Laptop Go 2 for everyday mobility and touchscreen capabilities. 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 Omen 17
Very good for engineering and design
Excellent for gaming and AI
Very good for content creation
Good overall display quality
Very good keyboard
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2
Excellent portability
Good battery life
Key differences
General Use
7.8/10
7.0/10
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
350.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
401.0 nits
3.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
8.0 Hours
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
6.0/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
9.2/10
The HP Omen 17 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 are both good for general use, though the HP Omen 17 is somewhat better.
The HP Omen 17, with its superior CPU and RAM, along with a high-quality screen, ranks higher for general use despite being less portable and having shorter battery life compared to lighter laptops. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2, while more portable and with longer battery life, offers fair performance for general use due to less powerful hardware and a lower-quality screen.
Gaming and AI
9.0/10
6.0/10
9.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The HP Omen 17 is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 is only fair.
The HP Omen 17 excels in gaming and 3D with its powerful Nvidia RTX 4080 graphics card and a high screen refresh rate of 165Hz, compared to the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2, which has less suited integrated graphics and a standard refresh rate of 60Hz. Additionally, the HP Omen’s superior CPU and screen quality lend to its better performance for intensive graphical tasks, even though the Surface Laptop Go 2 still offers good screen quality and a capable CPU for less demanding activities.
Engineering and Design
8.8/10
6.5/10
9.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.9/10
9.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The HP Omen 17 is very good for engineering and design, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 is only fair.
The HP Omen 17, with a high-performance CPU, ample RAM, and a powerful GPU, excels in engineering and design tasks due to its capability to handle intensive computations and graphics processing, paired with a high-quality screen. In contrast, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 offers modest performance with a lower-tier CPU and integrated graphics, less RAM, and a smaller, less pixel-dense screen, making it suitable for lighter tasks and prioritizing portability and lower operating noise.
Content Creation
8.0/10
7.1/10
9.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.9/10
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The HP Omen 17 is very good for content creation, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 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
7.7/10
7.0/10
9.6/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The HP Omen 17 and Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 are both good for software development, though the HP Omen 17 is somewhat better.
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
7.9/10
6.9/10
17.3in
SIZE
12.4in
2560 x 1440
RESOLUTION
1536 x 1024
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
350.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
401.0 nits
The HP Omen 17 has a better screen than the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The HP Omen 17, designed for gaming with a priority on high refresh rates, falls short in gaming due to lower refresh rates that are crucial for smooth visuals in fast-paced games, even though its resolution and panel type provide a crisp and vibrant display for general use and are adequate for engineering tasks, where color accuracy for design software is essential. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 offers enough resolution and brightness for everyday tasks and has a panel type that supports decent color reproduction for engineering and design work, but it doesn't have the high refresh rates needed for a superior gaming experience in 3D environments. Generally, while both laptops service common tasks and design well, they lack in gaming performance where the ability to quickly redraw the screen for fluid motion is key.
Battery
3.5 Hours
8.0 Hours
The HP Omen 17 has 3.5 hours of battery life. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 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.
Portability
Fair
Excellent
17.3in
SIZE
12.4in
6.1 lbs
WEIGHT
2.4 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 has excellent portability, while the HP Omen 17 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$1,700
$565
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The HP Omen 17 has a price of $1,700 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 costs $565.
"The HP Omen 17 (2022) gaming laptop has a stylish case and hardware with lots of potential. The HP Omen 17 is a fairly unobtrusive gaming laptop. A material combination of plastic and metal gives the case a high stability and a quality surface feel. The unspectacular design is pleasing and is hardly indicative of the laptop's high performance potential. The Intel Core i7-12700H in particular is able to perform well once again. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti is also strong in the gaming notebook. Demanding games run smoothly in Full HD resolution. The HP Omen 17 is a good gaming laptop that delivers partly excellent performance. But even at this performance level, cheaper alternatives are available."
"The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 review is a compact companion with old hardware. The Surface Laptop Go 2 shows some weaknesses. Microsoft didn't really develop the second generation of the Surface Laptop Go 2 any further but has only equipped it with a slightly more powerful Core i5 processor. However, the performance still remains at a fairly low level overall, but for many users, it definitely should still be sufficient for everyday tasks."
Get a great deal on the HP Omen 17 or the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2
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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