The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 14" is an excellent budget-friendly option for general use, such as web browsing, word processing, and video streaming. It's lightweight and has a long battery life, making it highly portable and suitable for everyday tasks. However, its performance is limited due to the lower-end processor and lack of dedicated graphics, which means it's not ideal for gaming, 3D rendering, or intensive engineering tasks. The screen quality is also basic, with a lower resolution and no touchscreen, which might not be the best for color-critical work or high-speed gaming.
On the other hand, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" is a more premium device with a high-resolution touchscreen display that offers vibrant colors and a high refresh rate, which is great for both productivity and entertainment. It's equipped with a powerful processor and dedicated graphics, making it suitable for more demanding tasks like gaming, 3D modeling, and machine learning. The larger screen with a 3:2 aspect ratio is also beneficial for productivity, especially for those in engineering or design fields. It's built with higher quality materials, has a better keyboard, and includes advanced features like facial recognition for security. However, it comes with a higher price tag and is less portable due to its larger size and weight.
In summary, if you need a laptop for basic tasks and prioritize portability and battery life on a budget, the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 14" is a solid choice. But if you're looking for a more versatile machine that can handle demanding applications and you're willing to pay more and carry a bit more weight, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" would be the better 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 Lenovo IdeaPad 1 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
6.1/10
7.7/10
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
2496 x 1664
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
239.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
9.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
9.0 Hours
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
8.3/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.9/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" is good for general use, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 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
5.5/10
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
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" is only fair for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 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
5.5/10
7.8/10
3.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.7/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
4.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" is good for engineering and design, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 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
6.2/10
7.8/10
3.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.7/10
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
2496 x 1664
4.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" is good for content creation, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 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
6.4/10
7.8/10
3.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.7/10
4.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
2496 x 1664
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" is good for software development, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 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
5.3/10
8.1/10
14.0in
SIZE
15.0in
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
2496 x 1664
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
239.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" has a better screen than the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 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.
Build Quality
6.0/10
7.4/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" has good build quality, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 14" has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$153
$1,200
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 14" has a price of $153 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" costs $1,200.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 14" has 9 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.
Portability
Very Good
Good
14.0in
SIZE
15.0in
3.0 lbs
WEIGHT
3.7 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.6in
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Lenovo IdeaPad 1 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 Lenovo IdeaPad 1 14" and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15" compare to other laptops
"The IdeaPad 1 14 is a simple machine, but it’s well-designed and has nearly everything you’d expect from a no-nonsense laptop that allows you to check emails and get schoolwork or other light tasks done with relative ease. A "true" 128GB SSD (as opposed to an eMMC drive) and a roomy 14-inch full HD display are arguably the star attractions, with the comfortable keyboard and reasonably modern styling playing important backup roles."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 14" or the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15"
About Lenovo
Lenovo is a Chinese technology company, and one of the largest personal computer vendor. They are well known for a variety of technology products, including laptops. Their consumer series include their entry level IdeaPad and LOQ series and mid-to-high-end Yoga and Legion series. On the business-oriented side, their series include their entry-level ThinkBook series and mid-to-high-end ThinkPad series. Lenovo laptops offer strong performance for reasonable prices, and are often on sale.
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.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
100,995
Recommendations made
21,883
Consumer hours saved
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
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.
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.
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.