The 2x2x2 rectangular prism has 6 faces of equal area. The area of each face is 2x2=4, so the total surface area is 6x4=24 squared units.

The 1x2x4 rectangular prism has 2 faces of 1x2=2 squared units, 2 faces of 2x4=8 squared units, and 2 faces of 1x4=4 squared units, totaling 2x2+2x8+2x4 = 2x(2+8+4) = 2x14 = 28 squared units.

Thus, the two recangular prisms have different surface areas.