The HP Omen 15 Review – A Gaming Laptop 2017


HP Omen 15 Review

HP’s latest gaming laptop has been re-designed.  The body of the laptop is eye-catching, the keyboard is responsive and it is bright and colorful.  The battery life is quite short and some parts are plastic, but overall it is a great new version.

See also: 4K Gaming PC

HP Omen 15 Design

Most gaming laptops have the black and red aesthetic, and the new Omen is no exception.  The lid color is black and four red lines form an X-shaped pattern.  This creates four quadrants – two are covered in carbon fiber, and the other two in plastic that has been made to look like brushed aluminum.  There are narrow vents on the back which resemble jet exhaust ports, and there are beveled cuts anywhere they are possible.

The Omen logo is a shiny red and is in one of the top quadrants.

Under the Lid

Once you open the lid you will find a 15.6-inch screen with a 4k display.  It is surrounded by a thick bezel with the Omen logo.  The keyboard is a full island-style and there is a number pad.  WASD keys are bright red, and the others are black with red letters and sides.

The deck is aluminum, and seems to be strong and durable.  Unfortunately, the bottom is plastic with more logos.  A small port, which was on the bottom has been removed and that has made it easier to access both the hard drive and RAM.

Thermal Upgrades

Most of the upgrades relate to the thermals.  There is a dual fan system, the vents have been relocated, and a 22% increase in airflow comes from the additional heat pipes.  This does a great job of keeping the laptop cool.

The HP Omen 15 Specifications

The device has a 15.6-inch display and it has 3,840 x2,169 pixel resolution, as well as an NVidia GeForce CTX 1060 GPU.  The processor has a 2.8GHz Core i7 chip, 126 GB of RAM and dual drives.  The results are quite impressive.  Connectivity isn’t a problem.  There is a USB-C port, three standard USB 3.0 ports, an SD card reader, HDMI output, a mini-DisplayPort and a full-sized Ethernet jack. One reason this is possible is due to the size of the laptop.  It is 29mm thick and weighs 5.8 pounds, which makes it a little heavy if you are using it on your lap.

As well as this, it is packed with software.  Some may seem unnecessary, particularly if you have purchased the Omen specifically for gaming purposes.  As well as that, it has most of the programs you can find on a laptop that is focused on your average consumer.

Also See: Top Guide to Buy Gaming PC UK

The HP Omen 15 Display

The display is bright enough and shows vibrant colors.  It is good for both movies and gaming.

Keyboard

The keys are responsive, making them especially good for gaming.

Audio

The speakers are good and loud.  There is an Omen Audio Control app, which allows you to balance the bass, treble and vocal clarity, giving you a more balanced sound. 

Battery

If you are gaming, you will probably need to be plugged in the entire time, as the battery only has a short life.

The HP Omen 15 Cost

It isn’t a budget laptop at $1,500.  However, to keep prices reasonable there are some drawbacks.  The screen is a bit dim, the battery life is short but worse than all this is that you need the keyboard to be backlit so you can see the letters on the keys.

Conclusion

Overall, it is better than expected and the price is reasonable.  It is one of their best gaming laptops, with a solid performance.  There are cheaper gaming laptops around, but the Omen is good value for the money. If you are looking for some cheaper ones you may choose some older ones. Get the best desktop for gaming in 2016.

 

HP Omen 15 Review – image source:notebookcheck.net

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