I Tested HP’s Midrange Omen 16 Gaming Laptop and Like Its Good Looks and 1080p Performance

The show is merely common, and the design is an all-plastic affair, however the HP Omen 16’s duo of an AMD Ryzen 7 processor and Nvidia RTX 5060 graphics delivers aggressive 1080p framerates for the worth. And whereas the plastic shell is disappointing, it is pretty inflexible and coated with a soft-touch end that lends it a feel and look higher than true funds gaming laptops. Moreover, its gaming enchantment is enhanced by RGB keyboard backlighting that highlights the WASD keys and inner growth for RAM and storage, permitting you to increase the laptop computer’s helpful lifespan.

As a lot as I just like the Omen 16 as a midrange gaming laptop computer, I would not pay the total value of $1,800 for it when the Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 10 is on the market at Newegg forNewegg at $1,569. Each the Omen 16 and Legion 5i Gen 10 supply stable 3D efficiency from an RTX 5060 GPU working at a full 115 watts, however the Legion 5i has a greater, if barely smaller, show: a 15.1-inch OLED with the next decision and higher coloration and distinction. The Omen 16’s show is a primary 16-inch, 1,920×1,200-pixel IPS LCD that’s adequate for 1080p gaming however much less interesting for basic use. 

If you happen to just like the look of the Omen 16, then this can be a laptop computer to observe earlier than buying as a result of I’ve seen its value drop by as a lot as $650. And at a sale value of $1,150, it turns into a way more engaging proposition when considered in opposition to funds fashions such because the Alienware 16 Aurora, Acer Nitro V 16S AI and MSI Katana 15 HX B14W.

HP provides each Intel — and AMD-based Omen 16 fashions and as much as RTX 5070 graphics. The sequence begins at $1,400 for an AMD Ryzen AI 5 340 CPU, 16GB of RAM, RTX 5050 graphics and a 512GB SSD. My check system prices $1,800 and bumps you as much as a Ryzen AI 7 350 CPU, an RTX 5060 GPU and a 1TB SSD. 

Except yow will discover my check mannequin on sale with a great low cost, it makes extra sense to stretch for the $2,000 flagship mannequin that upgrades you to an Intel Core i7-14650HX, 32GB of RAM, RTX 5070 graphics and a higher-res 2.5K show. These upgrades are nicely value the additional $200.

My Omen 16 check system prices £1,600 within the UK and was on sale on the time of this overview for £1,499. A mannequin much like the one I examined is on sale for AU$2,649 in Australia (it has 24GB of RAM however is in any other case the identical configuration HP despatched me).

HP Omen 16 efficiency

The Omen 16 carried out competently in benchmarking, however its multicore outcomes on Geekbench 6 and Cinebench 2024 had been a bit lackluster. Its framerates, too, on our Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Guardians of the Galaxy benchmarks had been additionally a bit decrease than I anticipated, but it surely rebounded properly with very aggressive outcomes on our two latest gaming exams, Murderer’s Creed Shadows and F1 24. 

The most important shock in testing was its incredible consequence on our YouTube streaming battery drain check. It lasted practically 16 hours on this check, which is fairly exceptional for a high-powered, big-screen gaming laptop computer. Given its measurement and weight, you are not more likely to journey with any nice frequency with the Omen 16, but it surely’s good to know which you can transfer it round your private home or lug it right down to your espresso store and know that you simply will not quickly be on the lookout for a wall outlet to cost the battery. 

Dressed-up, all-plastic design

The Omen 16 seems thinner and lighter than it truly is, due to the angled sides that slope steeply away from the highest of the keyboard deck. It offers the phantasm of slimness, however this can be a gaming laptop computer that’s each cumbersome and heavy. It is about an inch thick at its entrance edge and widens to roughly 1.5 inches thick on the again. It weighs 5.3 kilos, which is common for a 16-inch gaming laptop computer. It is lighter than the 5.5-pound Alienware 16X Aurora and 5.6-pound MSI Katana 15 HX however heavier than the 4.6-pound Acer Nitro V 16S AI.

Not like the Alienware 16X Aurora and Acer Nitro V, every of which options an aluminum high cowl, the Omen 16 has an all-plastic design. However HP clothes it up with a soft-touch end over a inflexible body that makes it look extra luxurious with a firmer really feel than a typical all-plastic funds mannequin just like the MSI Katana 15 HX. The black chassis is a little bit of a fingerprint magnet, but it surely offers the Omen 16 an understated but imposing look.

Getting four-zone RGB keyboard backlighting is not unusual on a gaming laptop computer at this value, however the Omen 16’s four-zone therapy is exclusive. Sometimes, the 4 zones are divided equally throughout a keyboard, with every zone receiving 1 / 4 of the house. Not so with the Omen 16! Its RGB lighting divides the keyboard into thirds, allocating the fourth zone to the WASD keys, which highlights the 4 keys players use most often. I favor the Omen 16’s new spin on four-zone RGB backlighting to the largely ineffective 24 zones you get with the Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 10.

The keyboard’s really feel is sweet, however not nice. The keys supply a satisfyingly snappy response, however that snappiness is lessened by the flex of the plastic keyboard deck. And I felt much more flex when clicking on the touchpad. Whereas there are not any shortened keys that you will must be taught to make use of, the 4 arrow keys are all half-height when there would appear to be greater than sufficient room for 4 full-size keys, even when they would wish to dip beneath the underside of the keyboard a bit. 

Common AV

There’s nothing particular in regards to the 16-inch show, however there’s additionally nothing inherently flawed with it for those who’re merely on the lookout for a gaming laptop computer for 1080p play. The 1,920×1,200-pixel decision presents a reasonably sharp image for video games, exhibits and films, however the 2,560×1,600 panels discovered on the Alienware 16X Aurora and Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 10 permit for crisper textual content. Letters seemed a bit pixelated on the Omen 16, making it a greater match purely as a gaming machine than an all-purpose laptop computer. 

The show proved to be brilliant sufficient for any indoor lighting situation, however coloration efficiency was solely so-so. On my exams with a Spyder X colorimeter, it hit a peak brightness of 400 nits, matching precisely its rated brightness from HP. It lined 100% of the sRGB gamut however struggled with the bigger coloration areas, with simply 75% of AdobeRGB and 77% of P3. Once more, this can be a show higher fitted to gaming than for different functions, together with color-accurate graphics work.

The Omen 16’s pair of stereo audio system and 1080p webcam are additionally merely standard-issue laptop computer options. The audio system produce weak, muddied sound that can have you ever reaching in your headphones. The webcam produces a considerably sharp image however is not as crisp, clear and well-balanced because the Legion 5i Gen 10’s 1440p cam. For biometrics, the Omen 16 provides facial recognition by way of the IR webcam however would not have a fingerprint reader.

The Omen 16 provides a big selection of ports, however as with most gaming laptops at this value, it lacks the quick 40Gbps velocity of Thunderbolt 4 or USB4. Its USB ports high out at a switch price of simply 10Gbps.

You additionally get some inside growth with the Omen 16. It provides a second M.2 slot for including one other SSD to develop the laptop computer’s storage, and the reminiscence is not soldered onto the motherboard however comes as two detachable sticks, so you possibly can exchange the present allotment (16GB in two 8GB DIMMS within the case of my check system) with extra RAM sooner or later.

Is the HP Omen 16 gaming laptop computer value shopping for?

If you happen to’re affected person and look forward to it to go on sale, sure, the HP Omen 16 is value it. I’ve seen it discounted by $600 to $1,200 with some regularity, and it even dropped as little as $1,150 for a day or two whereas I used to be monitoring the worth. At $1,200, its shortcomings of an all-plastic chassis and common 1200p IPS show turn into extra palatable. Nevertheless, my two favourite RTX 5060-based midrange gaming laptops stay the Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 10 and Alienware 16X Aurora.