They may look alike at first glance, but their displays and performance couldn't be more different. We go over the major differences between the pricier MateBook 14 and cheaper MateBook D 14 to show what both systems have to offer.
More details on each model can be found on our dedicated review pages here.
Huawei MateBook 14 | Huawei MateBook D 14 | |
---|---|---|
CPU | Core i5-8265U Core i7-8565U | Core i5-8250U Ryzen 5 2500U |
GPU | UHD Graphics 620 25 W GeForce MX250 | UHD Graphics 620 Radeon RX Vega 8 |
Display | 14-inch 3:2 | 14-inch 16:9 1920 x 1080 non-touch Matte IPS |
RAM | 8 or 16 GB Soldered | 8 or 16 GB Soldered |
Storage | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 |
Battery | 57 Wh | 57 Wh |
Ports | 2x USB Type-A | 2x USB Type-A 1x USB Type-C 1x HDMI 1x 3.5 mm combo audio |
Dimensions | 15.9 x 307.5 x 223.8 | 16 x 304 x 221 |
Weight | 1.53 kg | 1.47 kg |
MSRP | 1200 to 1500 Euros | ~1000 Euros |
Case
The MateBook 14 uses the same metal material for its chassis as does the MateBook X Pro for a stronger first impression than the MateBook D 14. Its base and edge-to-edge glass display are firmer and less flexible. Visually, however, both systems look similar even though one is clearly more rigid than the other.
The speaker grilles are positioned along the edges of the keyboard on the MateBook D 14 compared to the bottom base on the MateBook 14.
Ports
Port options are identical between the two laptops albeit positioned differently.
CPU Performance
The Whiskey Lake-U Core i7-8565U in the MateBook 14 is able to outperform the older Kaby Lake-R Core i5-8250U by 16 percent according to CineBench R15. Dig deeper, however, and the performance delta begins to shrink because of poor Turbo Boost performance on the MateBook 14. By running CineBench R15 Multi-Thread in a loop, we can observe that the i7-8565U drops quickly in performance to essentially match the i5-8250U.
GPU Performance
The 25 W GeForce MX250 offers up to 3x the graphics performance of the UHD Graphics 620 and about 50 to 60 percent better graphics performance than the Radeon RX Vega 8. This difference is crucial for video editors or casual gamers.
Display
The display on the MateBook D 14 is inferior to the MateBook 14 in almost every way. Brightness is dimmer, gamut is narrower, contrast is lower, response times are longer, and colors are less accurate.
Fan Noise
Both laptops are silent or very close to it during low loads like browsing or word processing. When gaming, the MateBook 14 can reach almost 45 dB(A) compared to just 33.6 dB(A) on the MateBook D 14.
Power Consumption
The MateBook 14 is more demanding overall by over 20 W when under high loads like gaming.
Webcam
Webcam placement is superior on the MateBook D 14. The very narrow top bezel of the MateBook 14 has forced Huawei to move the webcam to the keyboard for a poorer angle not unlike on the MateBook X Pro.
Battery Life
Internal battery capacities are identical between the two laptops at 57 Wh each. Runtimes are longer on the MateBook D 15 by 90 minutes on average since it carries a lower resolution display and no discrete GPU.
Verdict
The MateBook D 14 targets users on a budget who want a no-frills Ultrabook for day-to-day browsing and multimedia streaming. Meanwhile, the MateBook 14 targets users looking for a premium product with higher graphics performance and a more color accurate display. This comes at the cost of fan noise and battery life as one would expect given that their chassis designs are very similar.
CPU Turbo Boost performance is disappointing on the MateBook 14 much like what we discovered on the MateBook X Pro series. This is certainly one aspect that Huawei could improve upon for its future laptops to better distinguish between its flagship and budget laptop families.
Cinebench R15 | |
CPU Multi 64Bit | |
Huawei MateBook 14 KLV-W29 | |
Average Intel Core i7-8565U (452 - 815, n=52) | |
Huawei MateBook D 14 W50F | |
CPU Single 64Bit | |
Huawei MateBook 14 KLV-W29 | |
Average Intel Core i7-8565U (138.3 - 193, n=51) | |
Huawei MateBook D 14 W50F |
PCMark 10 | |
Score | |
Huawei MateBook 14 KLV-W29 | |
Huawei MateBook D 14 W50F | |
Digital Content Creation | |
Huawei MateBook 14 KLV-W29 | |
Huawei MateBook D 14 W50F | |
Productivity | |
Huawei MateBook 14 KLV-W29 | |
Huawei MateBook D 14 W50F | |
Essentials | |
Huawei MateBook 14 KLV-W29 | |
Huawei MateBook D 14 W50F |
PCMark 8 | |
Home Score Accelerated v2 | |
Huawei MateBook 14 KLV-W29 | |
Work Score Accelerated v2 | |
Huawei MateBook 14 KLV-W29 |
3DMark | |
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Graphics | |
Huawei MateBook 14 KLV-W29 | |
Huawei MateBook D 14 W50F | |
1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics | |
Huawei MateBook 14 KLV-W29 | |
Huawei MateBook D 14 W50F |
3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance GPU | |
Huawei MateBook 14 KLV-W29 | |
Huawei MateBook D 14 W50F |
Huawei MateBook 14 KLV-W29 Chi Mei CMN8C02, IPS, 2160x1440 | Huawei MateBook D 14 W50F BOE0764 / TV140FHM-NH0, IPS, 1920x1080 | |
---|---|---|
Display | ||
Display P3 Coverage | 66.6 | 43.19 |
sRGB Coverage | 97.8 | 64 |
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 68.1 | 44.62 |
Response Times | ||
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 38 ? | 41 ? |
Response Time Black / White * | 27.2 ? | 37 ? |
PWM Frequency | 200 ? | |
Screen | ||
Brightness middle | 401.7 | 291 |
Brightness | 386 | 276 |
Brightness Distribution | 95 | 85 |
Black Level * | 0.42 | 0.46 |
Contrast | 956 | 633 |
Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 4.11 | 4.3 |
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 8.93 | 10.01 |
Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 1.36 | 3.18 |
Greyscale dE 2000 * | 6.1 | 4.21 |
Gamma | 2.19 100% | 2.46 89% |
CCT | 7222 90% | 6867 95% |
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 62.7 | 41 |
Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 98.6 | 64 |
Total Average (Program / Settings) |
* ... smaller is better
Huawei MateBook 14 KLV-W29 Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ | Huawei MateBook D 14 W50F SanDisk SD9SN8W256G1027 | |
---|---|---|
CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6 | ||
Write 4K | 165.9 | 60.5 |
Read 4K | 28.04 | 21.63 |
Write Seq | 1009 | 450.9 |
Read Seq | 962 | 482.3 |
Write 4K Q32T1 | 572 | 248.9 |
Read 4K Q32T1 | 611 | 267.6 |
Write Seq Q32T1 | 1720 | 534 |
Read Seq Q32T1 | 1775 | 563 |
Huawei MateBook 14 KLV-W29 i7-8565U, GeForce MX250 | Huawei MateBook D 14 W50F i5-8250U, UHD Graphics 620 | |
---|---|---|
Noise | ||
off / environment * | 28.1 | 30.5 |
Idle Minimum * | 28.1 | 30.5 |
Idle Average * | 28.1 | 30.5 |
Idle Maximum * | 29.7 | 30.5 |
Load Average * | 31.2 | 33.6 |
Witcher 3 ultra * | 44.5 | |
Load Maximum * | 47.5 | 32.6 |
* ... smaller is better
Huawei MateBook 14 KLV-W29 i7-8565U, GeForce MX250, 57.4 Wh | Huawei MateBook D 14 W50F i5-8250U, UHD Graphics 620, 57 Wh | |
---|---|---|
Battery Runtime | ||
Reader / Idle | 1435 | 1414 |
WiFi v1.3 | 503 | 597 |
Load | 109 | 129 |
H.264 | 725 |
Huawei MateBook 14 KLV-W29 i7-8565U, GeForce MX250 | Huawei MateBook D 14 W50F i5-8250U, UHD Graphics 620 | |
---|---|---|
Power Consumption | ||
Idle Minimum * | 3.7 | 3.7 |
Idle Average * | 9.3 | 6.9 |
Idle Maximum * | 12.8 | 8.4 |
Load Average * | 58.8 | 32 |
Witcher 3 ultra * | 55.8 | |
Load Maximum * | 65 | 32.6 |
* ... smaller is better