For everyday tasks like web browsing, email, and office applications, 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 or engineering capabilities are limited.
On the other hand, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" is a more premium option with a high-resolution touchscreen, superior color accuracy, and a higher refresh rate, making it ideal for those who need a vibrant display for content creation or consumption. Its powerful processor and dedicated graphics card provide better performance for more demanding tasks like gaming, 3D rendering, and machine learning. It also offers a more robust build quality, a backlit keyboard, and advanced security features like facial recognition.
If you prioritize portability and budget, the HP Stream 14" is the way to go. But if you're looking for a laptop with a superior display, stronger performance for specialized tasks, and a more premium overall experience, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" is worth the extra investment. 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 Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15"
Good for general use
Good for engineering and design
Good for software development
Good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Good overall build quality
Very good speakers
Good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.5/10
7.7/10
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
2496 x 1664
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
220.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
7.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
9.0 Hours
6.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
8.1/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.9/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" is 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
6.6/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
2496 x 1664
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" is only fair 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
7.8/10
3.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.7/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" is good 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
7.8/10
3.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.7/10
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
2496 x 1664
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" is good 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
7.8/10
3.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.7/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
2496 x 1664
6.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" is 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
8.1/10
14.0in
SIZE
15.0in
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
2496 x 1664
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
220.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" 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 Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" 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.
Build Quality
5.5/10
7.4/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" 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
$1,200
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The HP Stream 14" has a price of $299 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" costs $1,200.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers HP Stream 14" to have very good portability, while the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the HP Stream 14" and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" compare to other laptops
"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 Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15"
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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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
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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Chandradeep Chowdhury
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.
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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.