For everyday tasks like web browsing, email, and streaming, the HP Stream 14" is a cost-effective choice, offering decent performance and excellent portability due to its lightweight design. However, its screen quality and gaming capabilities are limited.
On the other hand, the MSI Creator 16 AI Studio is a powerhouse designed for demanding tasks such as 3D rendering, machine learning, and engineering workloads, with its high-performance CPU and GPU, ample RAM, and a stunning high-resolution touchscreen with superior color accuracy. It's also suitable for intensive gaming and can handle fast-motion content smoothly.
While the MSI is significantly more expensive and less portable due to its larger size and weight, it offers a far superior display, build quality, and performance across the board, including general use. If you need a laptop for professional creative work or high-end gaming, and portability isn't your primary concern, the MSI Creator 16 AI Studio is the clear choice. 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 Stream 14"
Very good portability
Advantages of the MSI Creator 16 AI Studio
Very good for general use
Best in class for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Excellent for content creation
Best in class overall display quality
Good overall build quality
Very good speakers
Good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.5/10
8.8/10
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
220.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
1000.0 nits
7.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
9.0 Hours
6.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
8.1/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.3/10
The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio is very good for general use, while the HP Stream 14" 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
5.7/10
8.9/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.5/10
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio is very good for gaming and AI, while the HP Stream 14" 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
5.7/10
9.5/10
3.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio is best in class for engineering and design, while the HP Stream 14" is poor.
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
6.7/10
9.1/10
3.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio is excellent for content creation, while the HP Stream 14" 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
6.5/10
8.9/10
3.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
6.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio is very good for software development, while the HP Stream 14" 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
5.2/10
9.7/10
14.0in
SIZE
16.0in
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
220.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
1000.0 nits
The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio has a better screen than the HP Stream 14" 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.
Battery
7.5 Hours
9.0 Hours
The HP Stream 14" has 7.5 hours of battery life. The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio 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
16.0in
3.5 lbs
WEIGHT
4.3 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The HP Stream 14" has very good portability, while the MSI Creator 16 AI Studio has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
5.5/10
7.4/10
The MSI Creator 16 AI Studio has good build quality, while the HP Stream 14" has poor build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$299
$2,999
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The HP Stream 14" has a price of $299 and the MSI Creator 16 AI Studio costs $2,999.
"With half of the main system memory and a fraction of the storage that we recommend in any budget Windows laptop, the HP Stream 14 does not impress. Perhaps it doesn't need to, depending on your reference point. For the price, you're getting a functional laptop with Windows 10, which already places the HP Stream 14 above most Chromebooks on that merit alone. Still, in this price range, you can't do much worse, but you can do better. In fact, for just $100 more, you can grab the much superior budget option, the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 14."
Get a great deal on the HP Stream 14" or the MSI Creator 16 AI 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 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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About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
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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.
Craig Russell
Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.