After I consider gaming laptops (even the finest gaming laptops) I nonetheless can not help however consider colourful lighting and crimson stripes. Regardless of years of refinement, it is arduous to shake a popularity,
However the HP Omen 16 is probably the nail within the coffin for that look. Certain, it is highly effective sufficient to play video games with its Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti and Intel Core i7-12700H, however the Omen may as nicely be carrying a tux. It is elegant wanting, the grownup’s gaming laptop computer.
A few of these refinements are skin-deep. The huge touchpad is mushy, and the webcam — extra essential than ever today — continues to be caught at 720p. However if you would like a gaming PC with loads of ports and wonder to match its energy, the Omen 16 is a worthy competitor.
Design of the HP Omen 16
You could not instantly understand it by it, however HP’s design for the Omen 16 is rooted in airflow. From afar, actually, it does not stand out a lot in any respect. The 16-inch Omen is a simplistic, black pocket book with plastic development and a small reflective diamond brand within the middle. I respect the plain design; it suits my style greater than the red-and-black laptops of yesteryear.
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With the lid up, there is a bit extra flare. There is a small “16” on the palm relaxation, simply in case you forgot how massive your display screen is. It is tone-on-tone, so it is not crying for consideration. The RGB keyboard permits you to add as a lot or as little persona as you need (the default is a four-zone keyboard, however our assessment unit got here with per-key RGB, which requires an $80 upcharge).
The 16.1-inch show has a thick bezel on the underside; a taller 16:10 display screen might have helped remove that. On the keyboard, the arrow keys are separated from the usual QWERTY keys, as is the batch of keys that features print display screen, house, finish and web page up and web page down.
So why airflow? Whenever you go to make use of the laptop computer, you will see that HP has some ports on the edges, however has moved some to the again. This enables for consumption on the edges and exhaust out the again. Beforehand, HP did not have these additional consumption followers, although we have seen them on different gaming laptops earlier than.
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On the left facet, these fan inlets are surrounded by a USB Sort-A port, Ethernet and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. The fitting facet has one other pair of USB-A ports. The rear options two Thunderbolt 4 ports (these will likely be common USB-C on AMD variations) in addition to an HDMI output and an influence jack.
Generally, the ports HP selected to placed on the again make sense. HDMI and energy are prone to keep hooked up if you happen to’re leaving the laptop computer at a desk long-term. I do want HP had put the Ethernet port again there, maybe switching it with one of many two Thunderbolt 4 ports.
The Omen 16 weighs 5.29 kilos and is 14.54 x 9.76 x 0.89 inches. It is heavier than the Razer Blade 15, a 4.4-pound gaming pocket book that is 0.67 inches thick. The Lenovo Legion 5i Professional, one other 16-inch laptop computer, is heavier at 5.49 kilos and is 1.05 inches thick. In the meantime, the Alienware x15 R2 is 5.18 kilos and 0.52 inches thick, coming in even slimmer than the Razer.
HP Omen 16 Specs
| CPU | Intel Core i7-12700H |
| Graphics | Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti (8GB GDDR6, 150W max graphics energy, 1,035 GHz enhance clock) |
| Reminiscence | 16GB DDR5-4800 |
| Storage | 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD |
| Show | 16.1-inch, IPS 2560 x 1440, 165 Hz |
| Networking | Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211, Bluetooth 5.2 |
| Ports | 2x Thunderbolt 4, 3x USB Sort-A (5 Gbps), HDMI 2.1, Ethernet, 3.5mm headphone jack, SD card slot |
| Digital camera | 720p, IR |
| Battery | 83 WHr |
| Energy Adapter | 280 W |
| Working System | Home windows 11 Professional |
| Dimensions (WxDxH) | 14.53 x 9.76 x 0.89 inches / 369.32 mm x 247.90 x 22.61 mm |
| Weight | 5.29 kilos (2.4 kg) |
| Worth (as configured) | $2,139.99 |
Gaming and Graphics on the HP Omen 16
Our assessment unit of the HP Omen 16 got here armed with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti GPU (8GB GDDR6, 150W max graphics energy, 1,035 GHz enhance clock) in addition to Intel’s Core i7-12700H.
I examined the Omen 16 by enjoying Management on the laptop computer’s native 1440p at excessive settings with medium ray tracing. It usually ran between 40 and 55 frames per second, together with in fight with Hiss-controlled safety guards within the Oldest Home.
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On the Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark’s highest settings, the Omen hit 90 fps at 1080p and 60 fps at its native 2560 x 1440 decision. That is successfully tied with the Razer Blade 15. The Legion 5i Professional led the pack at 110 fps at 1080p and 69 fps at native decision, whereas the Alienware x15 R2 fell behind the Omen by just a few frames in each resolutions. All the Omen’s rivals in our testing are additionally utilizing the RTX 3070 Ti for laptops.
The Omen took the highest spot in Grand Theft Auto V‘s benchmark (very excessive settings) hitting 104 fps at 1080p and 72 fps at 1440p. That’s means forward of the Blade 16 and Legion 5i Professional, which got here shut in the course of the pack at 1080p, however at native decision the place CPU efficiency issues much less, the distinction was minimal.
We noticed comparable efficiency in Far Cry 6 (extremely settings), with the Omen reaching 104 fps at 1080p and 72 fps at 1440p. The Legion 5i Professional got here in second at 88 fps at 1080p and 70 fps in its native 2560 x 1600. Variations at 1080p had been once more greater than at greater resolutions.
The order modified on Pink Useless Redemption 2‘s benchmark at medium settings, the place the Omen reached 66 fps at FHD and 45 fps at QHD. The Legion outperformed right here at 81 fps at 1080p and 43 fps at 1600p, whereas the Alienware x14 R2 got here inside one body of the Omen.
On Borderlands 3‘s benchmark at “badass” settings, the Omen reached 79 fps at 1080p and 58 fps at 1440p, coming in very near the Razer Blade 15. Right here, each the Alienware and Legion 5i Professional received out in 1080p (with the Legion taking the clear lead at 99 fps at 1080p and 57 fps in 1600p),
We use Metro Exodus to emphasize check gaming laptops. Operating the benchmark for 15 loops simulates about half an hour of gaming. On the RTX preset at 1080p, the Omen ran the sport at a mean of 64.45 fps, and was largely constant all through.
Throughout that gauntlet, the Core i7-12700H’s efficiency cores ran at a mean of two.8 GHz, whereas the effectivity cores reached 2.15 GHz. The CPU bundle measured 82.12 levels Celsius. The RTX 3070 Ti GPU ran at 1,121.88 MHz and measured 75.68 levels Celsius.
Productiveness Efficiency on the HP Omen 16
Between the Omen’s Intel Core i7-12700H, 16GB of DDR5 RAM and a roomy 1TB SSD, it also needs to work as a stable productiveness machine.
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On Geekbench 5, a CPU-focused system benchmark, the Omen 16 achieved a single-core rating of 1,746 and a multi-core rating of 12,712. The Alienware x15 R2, with the identical CPU however twice as a lot RAM, outperformed in each single-core (1,751) and multi-core (13,749) checks. The Legion 5i Professional (once more, the identical CPU) fell behind the Omen in single-core, whereas doing higher at multi-core (13,008). The Razer Blade 15 with its Core i7-12800H was higher on single-core (1,765) however faltered on multi-core.
The Omen 15 was quick on our file switch check, copying 25GB of information at a fee of 1,123.18 MBps. Solely the Alienware x15 R2 was sooner at 1,353.66 MBps.
We use Handbrake to make laptops convert 4K video to 1080p. The Omen 16 transformed our check video in 5 minutes and 37 seconds, beating the Razer Blade 15 (7:25). The Legion 5i and Alienware x15 R2 tied in first at precisely 4:29.
Show on the HP Omen 16
The HP Omen 16’s show affords some flexibility. The 16.1-inch, 2560 x 1440 panel has a 165 Hz refresh fee. You can select to decrease some settings (or drop all the way down to 1080p) and play at excessive speeds, or use the RTX 3070 Ti to its fullest and sport in a extra cinematic vogue at 1440p.
After I watched the trailer for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the colourful quantum realm was vivid and spectacular. A pink wormhole popped subsequent to purple clouds, a blue sky and crimson lava streams seemingly pouring from the sky.
In Management, the Omen made the colour crimson look good (there’s lots of crimson in that sport.) I used to be shocked by the reflections in a pool of blood that I had by some means missed earlier than. Different colours did appear considerably washed out.
The Omen is not fairly as vivid as its rivals, however it’s shut. HP’s show covers 77.3% of the DCI-P3 shade gamut and 109% of the sRGB gamut. The Alienware was a bit behind, whereas the Blade 15 had the very best colours: 80% DCI-P3 and 113% sRGB.
At 321 nits of brightness, the Omen was mid-pack, although I discovered it to be completely usable. The Legion 5i Professional topped this group at 474 nits, whereas the Blade 15 was the dimmest at 232 nits.
Keyboard and Touchpad on the HP Omen 16
HP’s keyboard has a full QWERTY format, however breaks out the arrow keys and a batch of others, together with House, Finish, an Omen key and web page up and web page down.
On the monkeytype typing check, I reached 112 phrases per minute with a 98% accuracy fee, which is first rate for me. I do assume some typos might have been as a result of small keycaps. There’s deep journey, so the expertise was snug, on the very least.
The 5.2 x 3.4-inch touchpad is huge by gaming laptop computer requirements, which makes it good for utilizing as a productiveness machine on the go, whenever you aren’t utilizing a gaming mouse. It is easy and responsive, although the click mechanism has a hole really feel to it that I do not love.
Audio on the HP Omen 16
HP’s partnership with Bang & Olufsen has produced fruitful audio system for just a few years now, and the Omen 16 continues the custom.
I tapped my toes to Anna of the North’s “Meteorite” as a gradual drumbeat permeated by way of the keys and the ethereal vocals. The bass wasn’t terribly noticeable, a fault in most laptops.
The audio system had been combined in gaming. In Management, Jesse’s inside monologue was crystal clear, however the sounds of glass crashing and gunshots had a hole really feel to them as compared. It did get good and loud although, even overpowering the noise of the followers (and stunning some workplace colleagues once I forgot to show the quantity down).
HP’s audio software, Omen Audio Management, has music, film and voice presets, in addition to an equalizer. I could not do a lot to make the system sound higher, although boosting the bass did assist barely.
Whereas I feel the default music profile is ok for most individuals, I used to be shocked to see that there are film and voice presets, however no gaming possibility!
Upgradeability on the HP Omen 16
To achieve the HP Omen 16’s internals, that you must take away eight Phillps-head screws. They’re tiny, however all the identical measurement.
You will want endurance to get inside. There are lots of clips holding the bottom on. However with a guitar decide and an previous bank card, all of them got here off.
Inside, there’s a lot to improve if that you must, together with the RAM and SSD. Our unit had a second, empty M.2 SSD slot, so you might add way more storage for video games down the road. The battery can be replaceable, although the Wi-Fi card, which is partially tucked beneath the cooling, could possibly be a problem.
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There have been a few objects that would have used extra care contained in the laptop computer, robust. The skinny thermal strip on the SSD was utilized barely off-angle. I doubt this affected efficiency, however at over $2,000, it needs to be finished proper. Moreover, a ribbon connector on the motherboard appeared to be soldered at an odd angle. This connector wasn’t in use (neither was the one subsequent to it), and admittedly I do not know what it is for, so this did not seem to be an enormous deal both. However ideally, all the things on the within would look as good because the Omen does on the skin.
Battery Life on the HP Omen 16
Not that gaming laptops are identified for award-winning battery life, however the Omen fell in the course of the pack when it got here to longevity. On our check, which includes internet searching, mild graphics work and video streaming with the show set to 150 nits, the Omen ran for five hours and 41 minutes.
The Legion lasted longest at 7:30, whereas the Razer Blade (4:54) and Alienware x15 R2 (3:27) wanted to be plugged in sooner.
Warmth on the HP Omen 16
All gaming laptops get heat, however you don’t need them to be too sizzling to the touch. That is why we take pores and skin temperature measurements throughout our Metro Exodus gauntlet to get an thought of simply how toasty gaming laptops get.
On the middle of the keyboard between the G and H keys, the Omen measured 35.2 levels Celsius (95.36 levels Fahrenheit), which is fairly customary. It was even cooler on the touchpad, a 31 C (87.8 F).
On the underside of the laptop computer, the toastiest level measured 65.9 C (a really heat 150.62 F), so hold this in your desk whereas gaming.
Webcam on the HP Omen 16
Sadly, HP has caught with a 720p webcam on the Omen 16 as increasingly flagship notebooks soar to 1080p lenses. Larger decision does not all the time imply higher picture high quality, however it normally helps.
The Omen 16’s webcam is nice with colours. It caught the assorted orange and navy tones in a flannel I wore on a wet day. However the ensuing picture was grainer than I would really like, and lacked element on my face.
Software program and Guarantee on the HP Omen 16
An important software program pre-loaded on the Omen is HP’s Omen Gaming Hub, which serves as a sport launcher, a spot to see element temperature and utilization and regulate energy modes. It can also launch a number of different apps, together with Mild Studio to manage the RGB lighting on the keyboard and Oasis, an HP-proprietary streaming app.
That is to not say HP does not be part of different OEMs in overloading. It additionally contains HP Quickdrop to switch information between your PC and cellphone; HP PC {Hardware} Diagnostics Home windows (sure,that is the total identify), for troubleshooting and system info; devoted apps for privateness settings and organising a printer; a free trial of ExpressVPN and a promotion for Dropbox, amongst just a few different extras.
HP’s attain additionally extends into the bookmarks within the Edge Browser, together with hyperlinks to Amazon (with an HP affiliate hyperlink, ExpressVPN, McAfee Safety and LastPass. That is all a bit a lot, particularly for a premium machine.
That is all on high of the standard Home windows bloat, together with Whatsapp, TikTok, Disney Plus, Spotify, Kindle, Prime Video and extra.
HP sells the Omen 16 with a 1-year guarantee.
HP Omen 16 Configurations
We examined the HP Omen 16 with an Intel Core i7-12700H, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, 16GB of RAM, 1TB of SSD storage, a 1440p, 165 Hz show, per-key RGB (an additional $80) and Home windows 11 Professional (an additional $70). As of this writing, that totals $2,139.99.
HP’s web site affords a configurator in addition to a bunch of ready-to-ship choices.
The most affordable Intel-based model is $1,299.99 with an Intel Core i5-12500H, 16GB of RAM, a 1080p, 144 Hz display screen, 512GB of storage, Home windows 11 House and four-zone lighting, and goes up from there. Upgrades within the configurator embrace as much as a 2TB SSD, 32GB of RAM and Intel Core i9-12900H.
There are additionally AMD configurations, beginning at $999.99 with a Ryzen 5 6600H, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, although there are additionally fashions with greater finish Nvidia and AMD GPUs. (Word that the AMD variations include 10 GBps USB-C ports as a substitute of 40 GBps Thunderbolt 4 ports on the Intel fashions.)
Backside Line
The HP Omen 16 has lots of polish. It seems nice — even perhaps typical, however I respect that as an grownup who performs video games. There is a stable number of ports across the pocket book’s sides, and also you get sturdy efficiency and a good display screen.
However I additionally hope this Omen, if I’ll, is a harbinger of enhancements to return. The touchpad is massive, which is nice for utilizing it as a productiveness machine, but additionally mushy. The webcam suits within the display screen’s bezel, however it’s nonetheless at a grainy 720p. There’s all the time room for a bit extra shine. The design is among the many better of premium gaming laptops in my eyes, even when it is a bit chunky. In the event you’re on the lookout for one thing thinner, the Alienware x15 R2 or Razer Blade 15 may suit your wants, however you will hand over display screen house. Maybe its greater competitor is the Lenovo Legion 5i Professional (Gen 7), which beat it in some video games and has a brighter show, albeit barely smaller at 15.6-inches.
If you’d like a gaming PC that is approaching desktop alternative measurement, however with a little bit of portability, tons of ports, and a classy design, the Omen is value trying out.
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