HP Omen 17 evaluate: This gaming laptop computer stays cool beneath stress

Desk of Contents

The HP Omen 17 is designed with minimalists in thoughts — and I’m right here for it. It’s good to generally go loopy with per-key RGB lighting and designs that scream “gaming laptop,” however the HP Omen 17 elicits smooth simplicity with simply sufficient customization to maintain issues enjoyable.

Granted, I want the chassis was aluminum, not plastic, however that might’ve made this large boy even heavier. Plus, thermal administration could be trickier. Its hefty weight is a good commerce for all of the scrumptious internals you’ll discover inside, able to tackling triple-A gaming with ease.

Is it the greatest gaming laptop computer Mashable has examined to this point? Most likely not. With its highly effective RTX 4070 GPU and unbelievable thermal design, it’s positively a strong contender. However there are some points I wasn’t enamored with. Learn on for all of the juicy particulars. 

HP Omen 17 value and specs 

The HP Omen 17 configuration I examined retails for $1,799 through B&H, although proper now, it’s discounted by $300. For that mid-range value, listed below are the specs you’ll get:

Or, if you wish to downgrade to an RTX 4050 GPU with 6GB of VRAM, however in any other case preserve the identical specs, there’s a configuration out there for $1,599 through Amazon.

HP Omen 17 design

At first look, the HP Omen 17 seems to be fairly polished, with a chassis that’s all black with an etched ‘Omen’ emblem on the lid. 

Once I regarded nearer, nevertheless, I found the whole chassis is fabricated from black plastic, which makes it really feel kinda low-cost. However I perceive that plastic is healthier for warmth administration.

Regardless of its plastic building, the hinges are pretty sturdy and the thermal design features properly.

That stated, if the chassis was something apart from plastic, like anodized aluminum, it could’ve been even heavier — and this laptop computer is already fairly dang heavy, beginning at 6.5 kilos.

The interior speaker design and one-zone, RGB-backlit keyboard are the one issues that scream ‘gaming laptop,’ which is nice in case you’re in search of a machine that may double as a piece laptop computer in public and a gaming laptop computer at dwelling.

Unscrewing the underside lid reveals swappable RAM sticks and a swappable WLAN module if you could improve down the road. There’s additionally an additional M2 SSD slot in case you needed so as to add extra storage or experiment with Linux OS.

HP Omen 17 show

The HP Omen 17 comes with a 17.3-inch, 2560 x 1440-pixel IPS show with a 240Hz max refresh charge and a 3ms response time.

I inspected the show by watching the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice trailer on YouTube. Its sharp decision helped me catch small particulars, like high quality face traces and flyaway hairs, however the colours had been a bit muted.

I had an analogous expertise with the show when enjoying Helldivers 2. Preventing bugs and bots is a straightforward feat with crisp decision and a easy refresh charge, however I want the show was just a bit bit brighter.

If HP provided an OLED or miniLED show panel (and even simply an LED panel with greater than 300 nits max brightness), that’d make this show a stunner.

HP Omen 17 ports

The HP Omen 17 has no scarcity of ports. You’ll discover ports adorning each the left and proper sides, in addition to alongside the again edge.

On the left:

• Headset jack

• Gigabit Ethernet port

On the appropriate: 

On the again:

• Two USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports (10 Gbps)

• USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port (10 Gbps, DisplayPort 1.4a)

• HDMI 2.1 output port

• DC-in energy port

The DC-in energy port is conveniently situated in the direction of the again edge heart, making it simpler to maneuver the charging cable (which is further lengthy, by the best way) regardless of the place your energy outlet is. And for connecting wired peripherals, I really like that there are three USB-A ports.

HP Omen 17 audio

Laptop computer audio system typically aren’t nice, particularly on gaming laptops, however I discovered the HP Omen 17’s audio setup to be under common.

To check the audio system, I fired up “dancing in the kitchen” by LANY on Spotify. The highs got here via tinny and the lows had been virtually nonexistent, leading to an entire lack of full-bodied sound. 

I bought the identical end result with Unprocessed’s “Real ft. Polyphia’s Tim Henson & Clay Gober,” a music I check on each set of audio system or headphones I’m reviewing. Bumping up the quantity to max made it clear the audio system are very quiet, the icing on a lackluster listening expertise.

You’ll positively wish to seize one of many greatest gaming headsets to pair with the HP Omen 17 if you’d like immersive, atmospheric sound.

HP Omen 17 keyboard and trackpad

The HP Omen 17’s keyboard isn’t what I’d need in a gaming laptop computer keyboard. I wouldn’t essentially name the keys ‘mushy,’ however they’re not as clicky as I’d like them to be (aside from the house bar) — and never as satisfying as most different HP keyboards. 

There’s not a lot journey or responsive suggestions with each key press, and the keys are fairly small — particularly the arrow keys. On a gaming laptop computer with a full-size keyboard, I’d like to see full-size arrow keys. Making an attempt to name in stratagems on Helldivers 2 missions with these tiny arrow keys was a ache.

The one slight win for the HP Omen 17’s keyboard is its RGB backlighting, however even that comes with a number of catches. There’s no per-key RGB lighting and it’s a must to perform all modifications within the Omen Mild Hub, even toggling backlighting on and off. Fortunately, there’s a quick-access key for the Omen Gaming Hub — and the Mild Hub inside options a whole lot of enjoyable results and colours to play with.

Should you’re pounding out some work, responding to emails, or researching one thing, the keyboard is completely acceptable. However for gaming, it’s disappointing. It’d positively be price investing in a separate mechanical keyboard to make use of with the HP Omen 17. Fortunately, this laptop computer options loads of USB ports to accommodate a wired choice.

Just like the keyboard, the trackpad is appropriate just for non-gaming duties. It’s fairly massive (though there seems to be to be a whole lot of wasted house above and under it), satisfying to click on, and really conscious of gestures. For gaming, nevertheless, you’ll positively wish to put money into a mouse.

HP Omen 17 benchmarks and efficiency

To refresh you, the HP Omen 17 is provided with an AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS CPU, a Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 with 8GB of VRAM, and 32GB of RAM. With these specs, it is a pretty highly effective gaming rig that may play most AAA video games at native decision with no less than 60 frames per second.

For a real-world check, I hopped into a number of degree 6 missions in Helldivers 2 and averaged round 70 frames per second, with the Medium graphics preset and native decision (2560 x 1440) with no upscaling and no framerate restrict. I had a wi-fi mouse related, and I in all probability would’ve performed higher with a special keyboard related — the HP Omen 17’s arrow keys are tiny.

In our Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark, which exams efficiency with DLSS off, the presets notched at Excessive, and the decision set to 1080p, the HP Omen delivered a mean of 98.8 frames per second. Turning DLSS on bumped up the typical to 128.9 frames per second. (At native decision, this benchmark returned body charge averages of 88.6 and 105.4, respectively.)

These outcomes pale barely compared to the Alienware m16 R2 — sporting an Intel Core Extremely 7 155H CPU and the identical 4070 GPU — which delivered 98.7 frames per second with DLSS off and 167.9 frames per second with DLSS on.

On 3DMark’s TimeSpy benchmark, which assesses graphical prowess, the Omen 17 earned a rating of 12,105, simply practically matching the m16 R2’s rating of 12,224. 

These two laptops additionally had related scores for Geekbench 6, which exams CPU efficiency. On Geekbench 6, the Omen 17 delivered a multi-core rating of 12,781, whereas the m16 R2 beat it barely with a multi-core rating of 12,842.

One factor the HP Omen 17 positively has going for it performance-wise is a stellar thermal design. The keys under my fingers by no means bought too scorching to the touch, and even the underside was solely a bit heat after enjoying an intense Helldivers 2 mission.

HP Omen 17 battery life

Battery life on gaming laptops is notoriously terrible — and the HP Omen 17’s battery life lived as much as that. The HP Omen 17 lasted a mere 1 hour and 4 minutes in PCMark10’s gaming battery life check.

That is marginally higher than the Alienware m16 R2’s battery lifetime of 59 minutes on the identical check, however in case you’re in search of a gaming laptop computer with first rate battery life, go for the HP Victus 16 with an RTX 4060 GPU as an alternative, which lasted 1 hour and 56 minutes.

Since most individuals in all probability gained’t be gaming unplugged, I additionally ran our video rundown battery check on this laptop computer, which includes looping a 1080p video at 50% brightness till it shuts down. The HP Omen 17 lasted 8 hours and 13 minutes on this check, making it no less than a viable choice to get some work finished exterior the house or not be tethered to an outlet whereas answering emails or streaming.

HP Omen 17 webcam

The HP Omen 17 includes a 1080p webcam, however I’d’ve guessed it had a 720p webcam solely by wanting on the selfie I took with it.

Whether or not I used to be sitting in entrance of a window for pure gentle or solely utilizing the overhead gentle, the digital camera couldn’t fairly decide up on my true complexion and majorly blurred the background. 

If you need a webcam that’s so fuzzy, it acts like a built-in blur filter, hiding blemishes and redness, then this simply is perhaps the webcam for you. Should you’re in search of a pointy, high-res webcam, you in all probability gained’t discover it on a gaming laptop computer. 

Is the HP Omen 17 price it?

The HP Omen 17 is greater than able to enjoying AAA titles at excessive settings with a easy refresh charge and virtually no retained warmth, due to an impressively efficient thermal design.

That stated, this isn’t the laptop computer you can purchase if high-quality, loud audio system or a satisfyingly clicky keyboard are essential to you. The Alienware m16 R2 we reviewed, which additionally sports activities an RTX 4070 GPU, produced fairly tinny sound, however its keyboard was a breath of recent air.

Its minor flaws and low battery life are simple to miss in case you’re the kind of gamer who is aware of they’ll be connecting headphones, a mouse, and different peripherals for a greater expertise and gained’t play unplugged as a result of it typically means sacrificing increased body charges. 

If all you care about is total efficiency and also you’d want a gaming laptop computer with a minimalist look (and also you don’t thoughts a plastic chassis), I’d say the HP Omen 17 is price it.