The HP Omen 16 is an unlucky pricing mishap

HP needs the Omen 16 to develop up. The storied laptop computer is maybe greatest recognized for its discount bin pricing, and though that tier of machine can’t compete with the most effective gaming laptops, earlier variations of the Omen 16 have struck the correct chord on worth. The 2023 Omen 16 is a unique beast, packing in rather more highly effective parts to try to push right into a premium tier of gaming laptops.

The Omen 16 2023 succeeds at being a extra highly effective model of the beforehand finances gaming laptop computer, but it surely stumbles an excessive amount of alongside the best way. A excessive worth mixed with selections that appear rooted within the Omen 16’s finances previous make it a tricky promote for avid gamers in search of a premium laptop computer. It’s a laptop computer with one foot in finances laptops and the opposite stepping towards premium, and it doesn’t appear to search out its spot in both camp.

HP Omen 16 (2023) specs

I reviewed the highest spec for the Omen 16, packing an AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS and an Nvidia RTX 4070. This configuration is available in at $1,620 on HP’s web site, however you’ll discover it for rather more at retailers. At Greatest Purchase, for instance, it runs $1,850 for the very same configuration.

That’s slightly dear for an RTX 4070 laptop computer, but it surely’s not the GPU or CPU that’s the issue right here. At retailers, you’re spending $1,850 for a 1080p display screen and solely 512GB of storage. That’s exceptional for any laptop computer over $1,500. It’s not an awesome display screen, both, as I’ll dig into later on this assessment.

You’ve extra choices for configuration. The laptop computer begins at $1,200, and also you’ll get a Ryzen 7 7840HS and RTX 4060 for that worth, together with the identical storage, reminiscence, and show. You possibly can trick the laptop computer out for $2,090 with the Ryzen 9 7940HS and RTX 4070, together with 32GB of reminiscence, 2TB of storage, and a 1440p show with a 240Hz refresh price.

HP Omen 16: design

The HP Omen 16 is modest in the correct manner. There aren’t any gaudy badges that scream “this can be a gaming laptop computer,” no off-putting translucent keys, and positively no RGB underglow such as you’d discover on the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17. It’s a reserved design that appears good, even when the ultimate product finally ends up slightly boring.

It’s black throughout, solely damaged up by a silver Omen brand on the lid. Just like a laptop computer just like the Lenovo Legion 9, you could have rounded corners across the physique, in addition to a small little bit of the physique that juts out past the display screen within the again. It appears to be like premium throughout, and you may even have interaction the RGB lighting on the keyboard everytime you’ve lastly sat right down to play some video games.

I simply want it felt as premium because it appears to be like. The shell is fully plastic. That’s fantastic for a laptop computer packing the specs the HP Omen 16 presents at its asking worth, but it surely’s that kind of plastic that sounds hole while you drum your fingernails on it. Alongside these strains, there’s the 16:9 show and vary of display screen flex, which make the laptop computer really feel cheaper than it appears to be like.

It’s potential HP reduce to realize a sure weight and dimension, although. This laptop computer clocks in at 5.23 kilos, which is a couple of quarter of a pound lighter than comparable laptops. It’s nonetheless pretty thick, nevertheless, coming in at 0.93 inches. That’s even thicker than the RTX 4090-packing MSI GT77 Titan, so regardless of the low weight, you received’t be carrying the Omen 16 round in a backpack.

HP Omen 16: ports

Probably the greatest areas of the Omen 16 is its port choice. It has a strong vary of ports, they usually’re cut up up well round all edges of the machine. On the again, you may get entry to full-size HDMI 2.1, Ethernet, the facility jack, and a single USB-A port. That retains the biggest cables coming into the laptop computer out of the best way.

HP doesn’t stuff all the cables again there, although. On the left aspect, you could have two USB-C ports, one in all which helps USB energy supply, together with a 3.5mm headphone jack. And there’s a single USB-A port on the correct aspect towards the again, maintaining it out of the best way when you use an exterior mouse.

HP Omen 16: keyboard and trackpad

The Omen 16’s keyboard is firmly in the midst of the pack. It’s not offensive with its strong quantity of key journey, however bottoming out the keys feels extra mushy than I’d like. It’s about the identical quantity of journey as you’ll discover on the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16, simply with out the snappier response of that keyboard.

It’s definitely snug sufficient to kind on. My essential concern is the structure. HP separates out the arrow keys and block of keys together with Insert, Finish, Residence, and the like. It feels just like the house isn’t getting used as successfully because it could possibly be, contemplating this can be a 16-inch laptop computer with none devoted media controls (they’re restricted to the perform keys) or a quantity pad.

The trackpad isn’t any totally different. It’s massive sufficient as to not develop into uncomfortable, however once more, HP might’ve taken benefit of extra space just like the Razer Blade 15 OLED does.

HP Omen 16: show

It’s onerous settling for the HP Omen 16’s Full HD show in 2023. HP presents a 1,440p choice, however decision isn’t the principle concern right here. It’s that HP put a 16:9 display screen right into a physique that feels designed for a 16:10 display screen.

There are thick plastic bezels across the display screen, with a very noticeable one on the backside sporting an Omen brand. It jogs my memory of the Origin EON14-S, which has a display screen that appears prefer it was put right into a inventory physique, quite than the extra premium-looking shows on machines just like the Alienware x16.

The HP Omen 16 isn’t a premium tier of laptops just like the Alienware x16, however even its direct opponents have it beat on worth whereas delivering a nicer display screen. A equally configured Lenovo Legion Professional 5, for instance, prices round $400 much less on the time of writing and features a 16:10 show. There’s actually no excuse for a 16:9 show in a chassis constructed for 16:10 from a significant PC model in 2023.

Exterior of the side ratio, the Full HD choice comes with a 165Hz refresh and peaked at simply 312 nits of brightness in my testing. HP additionally claims a 7ms response time on the IPS panel, which isn’t what you need to see out of a gaming laptop computer, even with the excessive refresh price.

It’s clear that HP intends most customers to improve to the 1440p show, which comes with a 240Hz refresh price and 3ms response time for an additional $40. I’m all for having a less expensive show choice for these on a strict finances when shopping for a gaming laptop computer, however the 1440p panel needs to be the default choice when the laptop computer runs for greater than $1,500 for many configurations.

HP Omen 16: CPU efficiency

The Omen 16 displayed some unusual conduct throughout my testing, throughout each my CPU and GPU benchmarks. It was by no means actually dangerous, in contrast to an inconsistent machine just like the MSI Studio 16, however I by no means trusted I used to be actually getting the most effective efficiency potential out of the laptop computer.

That primarily comes right down to the efficiency modes. As ordinary, I ran the benchmarks on the Balanced and Efficiency presets, however to various levels of success. In Cinebench R23 and R24, the outcomes fell according to the Efficiency mode providing a slight bump in efficiency. The Omen 16 truly managed to outpace the Razer Blade 14 in uncooked CPU efficiency with the identical processor, although it fell behind in Cinebench R24’s GPU benchmark.

The identical wasn’t true in Geekbench 6. The Omen 16 truly carried out measurably worse in its Efficiency mode in comparison with the Balanced preset. Worse, the weaker Core i7-13620H contained in the Alienware x14 R2 managed to beat the Omen 16. And in Geekbench 5, the Lenovo Legion Professional 5 was in a position to beat the Omen 16 as properly with its HX-class AMD processor. That is smart, however there’s no purpose a laptop computer as massive because the Omen 16 couldn’t pack a extra power-hungry processor.

The worst showcase was in PugetBench for Premiere Professional, nevertheless. Weaker laptops straight-up beat the Omen 16 right here, with even the Dell Inspiron 16 Plus, sporting an RTX 4060, placing up a better outcome.

A touch about this efficiency comes from the fan noise (as I’ll get to within the subsequent part, there’s a ton of fan noise). Within the benchmarks the place the Omen 16 confirmed efficiency enhancements in its Efficiency mode, the followers would ramp up, and in benchmarks the place it didn’t, the followers would keep quiet. This was repeatable, too.

As a reviewer, that tells me there’s one thing mistaken with how the parts and thermals are tuned. Once more, the CPU efficiency right here isn’t dangerous, but it surely positively doesn’t really feel like HP is taking advantage of the {hardware} contained in the Omen 16. That’s very true as soon as we begin taking a look at gaming efficiency.

HP Omen 16: gaming efficiency

The Omen 16 is definitely no slouch on the subject of gaming efficiency with the RTX 4070 on the helm, but it surely nonetheless managed to fall in need of equally configured rigs. Beneath, you may see a breakdown of video games I examined at 1080p with maxed-out settings that compares the HP Omen 16 to the Lenovo Legion Professional 5 and the Razer Blade 14, each of which had been packing an RTX 4070.

It’s virtually universally outperformed by the Lenovo Legion Professional 5. The Blade 14 falls brief, but it surely’s additionally a skinny and light-weight gaming laptop computer that’s a lot smaller than the Omen 16. As you may see under, the identical was true in an artificial benchmark like 3DMark Time Spy, with the Omen 16 trailing the Legion Professional 5 regardless of each packing very comparable parts.

That is the ceiling for efficiency on the Omen 16 as properly. I additionally ran benchmarks on the Balanced mode, which yielded decrease outcomes throughout the board. These aren’t dangerous, as soon as once more, however equally configured laptops at an analogous dimension submit greater numbers.

It’s not simply the upper numbers right here, both. It’s the fan noise. Laptops just like the Legion Professional 5 or Blade 14 are a lot quieter than the Omen 16, even when posting greater efficiency. The Omen 16 is among the loudest laptops I’ve examined, and is correct up there with a machine that includes an RTX 4090 just like the MSI GT77 Titan. Uncomfortably loud fan noise is smart for a laptop computer just like the GT77 Titan than can rival most high-end desktops. It doesn’t make sense when the Omen 16 can’t even submit the identical outcomes as its closest competitor, the Legion Professional 5.

It will be simpler to jot down off barely decrease efficiency on the Omen 16 if it got here in on the similar budget-focused worth as earlier fashions, but it surely doesn’t. At $1,850 for the configuration I reviewed, the Omen 16 begins to compete with extra premium choices just like the Alienware m16 and Asus ROG Zephyrus M16. It’s additionally a couple of hundred {dollars} greater than the Legion Professional 5 and Asus ROG Strix G17.

HP Omen 16: battery life

The Omen 16 doesn’t have nice battery life, which it’s best to by no means anticipate out of a gaming laptop computer. What’s disappointing is that we’ve seen laptops with equivalent configurations submit a lot greater battery life, and it appears that evidently principally comes right down to software program.

In our web-browsing take a look at, the laptop computer lasted 4 hours and 54 minutes. That’s not dangerous for a gaming laptop computer, particularly in comparison with Intel-based machines just like the Lenovo Legion Professional 7i that may’t crack 4 hours. On the opposite finish, the Razer Blade 14, which comes with equivalent specs to the Omen 16 I reviewed, managed to final over eight hours, largely because of the truth that it will probably scale back the refresh price of the display screen when away from a charger.

The Omen 16 isn’t the worst we’ve seen on the subject of battery life, however HP might do extra to increase the lifetime of the machine when it’s away from the charger. Fortunately, there’s a setting within the Omen Gaming Hub that means that you can swap to Eco mode routinely while you disconnect the charger, which might seemingly prolong battery life.

HP Omen 16: bloatware

Each laptop computer comes with some bloatware. You possibly can’t keep away from it, and I usually don’t contact on the bundled software program in a assessment. The Omen 16 simply comes with manner an excessive amount of bloatware to disregard. Right here’s every little thing that comes put in:

• Dropbox
• ExpressVPN
• HP Connection Optimizer
• HP Documentation
• HP PC {Hardware} Diagnostics
• HP Privacy Settings
• HP QuickDrop
• HP Sensible
• HP Help Assistant
• HyperX Ngenuinity
• McAfee
• MyHP
• Omen Gaming Hub

There’s manner an excessive amount of right here to justify. The triple risk of Dropbox, ExpressVPN, and McAfee — all on restricted promotions supposed to get you improve — are already irritating, popping up at inopportune moments to tug your pant leg for cash. However the HP apps pose some points, too.

They’re too unfold out, so it’s by no means clear the place you’re presupposed to go for issues like updates or help. Others serve no objective. HyperX Ngenuinity, for instance, solely works if in case you have HyperX peripherals (HP owns HyperX, for the report).

You’ll spend most of your time in Omen Gaming Hub, however even this app has issues. Your crucial system settings are actually buried (they’re on the backside of the record) underneath an integration with sport retailer Fanatical and a listing of offers on video games. It will be one factor if these offers had been truly offers, however they’re not. The highest of the web page is full of free-to-play titles I’ve by no means heard of and look of doubtful high quality, to say the least.

The Omen 16 consists of an excessive amount of bloatware, and even then, that software program isn’t all too useful. In the event you plan on selecting up the Omen 16, be ready to dedicate some setup time to eradicating at the very least a few of the apps that come put in.

HP Omen 16: verdict

It’s onerous to suggest the Omen 16, not as a result of it’s dangerous, however simply because it’s not notably good. At its new premium worth, the laptop computer is competing with machines from Alienware, Asus, Lenovo, and Razer, all with out ditching a few of the budget-focused concepts that continued all through earlier variations.

There are upsides right here, notably with the port choice and general design. The efficiency isn’t dangerous both, although you may get higher efficiency out of cheaper machines with comparable parts. These upsides sadly aren’t sufficient to counteract the problems with the laptop computer, particularly at its excessive record worth.

The Omen 16 could possibly be purchase when you discover one on sale for a steep low cost, nevertheless. In the event you handle to search out the laptop computer round $1,400 for the same configuration, it’s an awesome deal. At $1,850, it’s too costly for what’s on supply.