Some laptops are pint-sized and travel-friendly. This is not one of those.
HP’s Omen range is all about power and speed. And that’s why it’s so bloody massive. But next-gen gaming smarts ain’t cheap. So does HP’s Omen range worth the empty wallet (and the back pain that comes along with lugging it about)?
BUILD QUALITY
The Omen should come with a manual on how to lift it. This big ruddy machine (especially the 17-inch monster) is huge, often requiring you to bring an additional bag if you need to cart it around.
So too is the laptop’s power brick. Unlike other laptops which have embraced the minimalism of USB-C charging, this gargantuan gaming laptop still requires a beast of a power cable.
That said, all that heft translates in to one solidly-built laptop. While it’s made of plastic – with cool carbon-fibre effect detailing on the lid – everything from the screen hinges to the light-up keyboard feels like they have been designed with heavy usage in mind.
In other words, this laptop isn’t going to break if it receives the odd bump.
SCREEN
Turn the X on, and you’ll won’t be checking out the case design for very long. HP has stuck a 4K-ready screen in its new Omen, for Ultra-HD gaming. You can also choose a 1080p display, with a rapid 120HZ refresh rate (which is handy, if FPS gaming is more your thing).
Under the hood, you get a factory overclocked NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080. If you’re a bit behind on your graphics card knowledge, rest assured that the GTX 1080 will handle just about anything you throw at it.
Video editing is a doddle (especially with the additional 32GB of DDR4 RAM), and the setup can also handle VR – with additional help from NVidia’s own VRWorks tech.
PERFORMANCE
The HP Omen X was built for overclocking in mind. As such, there are two large fans that pull air from a number of small vents in the body of the laptop. In theory, this means you can push the laptop further than you would a traditional machine. In practice, it gets quite hot and very loud.
But that’s not a bad thing.
We installed a bevy of games, and cranked them all to their highest settings. The HP Omen X worked a treat, rendering just about everything in fluid fashion.
VERDICT
The HP Omen X is big and bulky and a bit of a pain in that regard. One might consider picking up a gaming-friendly desktop over the Omen X – it would be better specced, and come in at a slightly cheaper price.
That said, while it is a chore to lug around with you (and that power brick is borderline unforgivable), all that is forgotten the moment you load up your first game. This thing is a beast when it comes to gaming, and it’ll handle just about any task thrown at it – whether that’s editing video or a next-gen game.
Ultimately, it really is a go-anywhere gaming machine (you might just need to invest in a laptop carrier with wheels on).
