Verdict
For the cost , the HP Omen 16 is one of the best - balanced gambling laptop computer on the market place , but the absence seizure of a connector for a second SSD and a dated 16:9 scene proportion could give some possible buyer intermit .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
If you have around over a yard to spend on a gaming laptop , you have a lot of choices . An awful caboodle of choices . The HP Omen 16 ( 2023 ) is one you should look at very closely , aim to offer a equipoise between execution , style and a fair cost .
By manner of instance , the show is a good up - to - escort affair , while the Nvidia GPU has a usefully gamey TGP of 120W , shooting for firm Full HD performance . For this price , you might expect the manufacturer to skimp on features like 6GHz Wi - Fi , a decent webcam and a unspoilt audio system , but the Omen 16 does n’t plan to leave you short change . Here ’s my full revaluation .
Design and Keyboard
The HP Omen 16 is a very smart laptop . The all - black legal transfer and insidious badging means it does n’t search excessively adolescent , which is ready to hand if you want a laptop for task other than gaming . As is often the subject with pure - pitch-black colourways the bodywork is a bit of a fingermark magnet .
The keyboard pack of cards is made from a metal metal , but everything else , let in the lid , is plastic . This does n’t pose any problems because the Omen 16 find well screwed together . The chapeau could be a piddling besotted : If you give it a really good twist , there is some chromatic shift key to be seen , but the cure for that is not to bend the chapeau .
At 369 x 259.5 x 24 mm and weigh just under 2.4 kg the Omen 16 is usefully clear and compact for a 16 - in gamer , and the lid fold up back through 180 degrees which is ready to hand if you need to prop it up on your lick while slouch on the sofa .
All the Omen 16 ’s I / O ports are placed on the position . On the left wing , you ’ll notice a Gigabit Ethernet port , a single USB - A larboard and a 3.5 mm audio jack . On the right are two more USB - A interface , a Type - C port , anHDMI 2.1video outturn and a DC - in barrel connective .
The USB port are only rated to 5Gpbs data rates , which is disappointingly tiresome , though the Type - C porthole does handle stateless person Alt Mode television . The specification sheet state the Type - C larboard also patronize PD charging , but it would n’t play nut with my 65W USB - degree centigrade battery charger even when switched off . The 230W accuse brick the Omen 16 ships with is n’t very big or heavy , so the absence seizure of Type - C charging is not the end of the humankind .
make the base off the Omen 16 is sensibly easy , and once inside , you’re able to reach the two DDR5 SODIMM RAM slots and the RealTek wireless circuit board , but there are no connexion for a 2d SSD even though the distance is vacant .
The absence of a 2d SSD mount is just about venial on sub-£1,000 gaming laptops like the Medion Erazer Crawler E40 and some of HP ’s cheaper Victus machines , but on something costing as much as the HP Omen 16 ? I ’m not so sure .
The keyboard lack a numeric keyboard but , other than that , it ’s hard to fault being more solid than most , well lay out , and with full - sized cursor keys . The key action at law is ideally weight and precise , and the 1.5 mm locomotion is ideal .
Above the pointer keys is a handy – and again full - sized – 3 x 3 array of buttons , including Page Up , Page Down , Print Screen and the Omen ascendence panel . Unless you must have a numeric computer keyboard the Omen 16 ’s layout is of more use to a gamer .
Rather than per - central RGB backlighting , there ’s a four - geographical zone agreement , with one of the zones being the WASD keys . It ’s a flexible and easy - to - manage system which should n’t leave you lose a per - key choice .
The trackpad , meanwhile is usefully large size of it at 125 x 80 mm and has a uninfected and pleasant click - natural process in the miserable corners .
HP makes no claim for the Omen 16 ’s environmental bloodline other the presence of ocean - reclaim plastic in the verbaliser enclosure and some recycle atomic number 13 in the chassis , but play laptops tend not to be the most eco - conscious of widget , so that came as no surprise . The promotion does better thanks to it being made entirely of cardboard which can well be recycled as domesticated waste .
Display and Sound
The Omen 16 ’s 1,920 x 1,080165HzIPS display is a substantial performer , though peculiarly , the 16.1 - inch covert has an aspect proportion of 16:9 rather than the 16:10 , more typical of 16 - inchers with a 1,920 x 1,200 resolution . That ’s why there are rather all-encompassing and cheap - seem charge plate bezels above and below the display .
We can fence the merits of a 1440p vs 1080p showing until the cows do home . A 16.1 - column inch 2,560 x 1,440 sieve should look sharper when looking at schoolbook thanks to higher ( 182dpi ) pixel tightness , but the difference is hard to detect with the defenseless heart , while the departure between 16.1 - column inch and 15.6 - inch Full HD is so minuscule ( 137dpi vs 141dpi ) as to be genuinely invisible . When gaming , the remainder between Full HD and 2.5 K is , in my judgement , impossible to observe with the defenseless eye , so I ’ll take the extra build and battery lifetime at the expense of a mostly irrelevant high pixel density .
Peak light was memorialize at 299nits , which is good rather than olympian and our colorimeter detected 93.7 % sRGB gamut coverage , which again is acceptable for a laptop in this toll bracket . With only 66.6 % Adobe RGB and 68.5 % DCI - P3 , and no local sphere dimming , the Omen 16 has nothing in the way of HDR reenforcement , but at the price , that ’s hardly a impact .
The Delta E coloration accuracy was an impressively low 1.57 , well under 2 , at which even a extremely - train optic will shinny to notice any issues with the colour map . Out of the boxwood , the panel ’s Vasco da Gamma registered at a near - deal 2.23 , while the ocular daytime temperature was just a small bit on the nerveless side at 6100 K , but not by enough to worry about .
Where the Omen 16 ’s show land household the Sir Francis Bacon is with motion handling . There is an impressive lack of obsess for a 165Hz gore , produce gaming a wholly liquid and stain - free experience .
My only issue with the video display is the amount of light-colored bleed at the bottom bound . This is only really noticeable when looking at a dark screen in a dark surround with the venire luminousness turn up , for representative when playing Returnal at 2 am , when it is just a minuscule too seeming .
Sitting above the display is a 1080p webcam which it not the beneficial good example of the breed is a cutting above the usual 720p unit you tend to find in sub-£1,500 play laptops . In dear light , it captures a sharp and colorful image though the quality falls off when thing get dim . The television camera does n’t support Windows Hello IR facial credit nor is there a fingerprint reviewer which rules out biometric access .
The B&O - tune verbaliser system is splendid , both loud and melodious . Maximum bulk recorded from a pinkish noise reservoir averaged an telling 79dBA while there ’s a solid amount of sea bass to corroborate sonic proceedings . euphony sound deep and sonorous while gaming sound effects boom and holloa impressively .
Performance
start the Omen 16 is anAMD Ryzen 77840HS CPU and an Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU . The former is an 8 - core , 16 - thread affair with a maximum clock speed of 5.1GHz , while the latter has a total artwork ability context of 120W , not quite the highest about ( the RTX 4060 can fly the coop at up to 140W with dynamical Boost , as it does in theMedion Erazer Deputy P50 ) but thoroughly enough .
The Ryzen 7 chipset does n’t want for performance , returning a PCMark 10 score of 7,218 and a Cinebench R23 multi - core musical score of 15,578 . Those numbers may not quite couple the high - end13th coevals Intel Core i7processors like the 16 - core Intel Core i7 - 13700HX in theAcer Predator Helios 16but the difference is bordering on the irrelevant in the tangible worldly concern .
The Omen 16 offer a CPU / GPU combo that provides useful levels of efficiency and dominance . The Omen 16 sure enough does n’t miss for gaming chops , running the Metro Exodus bench mark at the highest Extreme setting withDLSS 2set to Balanced at 71.5fps . The Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark ran at 82fps on the Ray Tracing Ultra setting withDLSS 3set to Balanced and Frame Generation engaged .
Thanks to the latest upscaling algorithms from Nvidia and AMD , the bare-ass power of modern GPU is becoming almost irrelevant . As long as they suffer DLSS 3 , the Omen 16 can dally the most demanding game with all the previous ignition burden at well over 60fps .
The Omen 16 lack anything in the style of a impudent art switcher like Nvidia ’s Advanced Optimus or AMD ’s SmartAccess Graphics , so if you want to pull the work load onto the Nvidia GPU , you necessitate to use the conventionalMUX switchand reboot Windows . This is not really a asperity and means you do n’t have to put up with the annoying screen pause , a feature of both Nvidia and AMD ’s automatic GPU switcher .
While the Omen 16 consort cool – the in high spirits external temperature we meet was 36 ° degree centigrade – the fans are a little on the noisy side . Not excessively so , but the Omen 16 certainly no quiter than the competitor .
Software
The Omen 16 comes preloaded with the four slice of software you need : HP Omen Gaming Hub to manage the MUX switch , kindling system and functioning configurations , AMD ’s Adrenalin control panel and from Nvidia the ncreasingly archaic basic graphics ascendency board and the GeForce Experience gaming suite .
Beyond that , there is a fair amount of bloat including offers from Dropbox , a VPN provider , a password managing director , McAfee anti - computer virus and no less than 8 HP ascendance panels and connection . The good news is that removing this filth is the body of work of a few minute .
Battery Life
When it comes to performance Intel and AMD may be at each other ’s throats but when it come to efficiency AMD has a clear lead . The PCMark 10 office test drained the Omen 16 ’s capacious 83Wh battery is just under 7 and a one-half hours which is a hearty termination for a Windows play laptop .
In less demanding circumstances like ascertain a video with the exhibit brightness sour down to 50 % the Omen 16 can get very close to 10 hour from a full charge .
Of of course , those test were acquit in Hybrid graphic way with the work being done by the AMD Radeon 780 M iGPU . If you depart the MUX replacement in dGPU mode , the battery run time drops by around 60 % . This is where having Advanced Optimus or AMD SmartAccess Graphics pay dividend .
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Should you buy it?
As a blend of performance , calibre and Mary Leontyne Price the HP Omen 16 ( 2023 ) really does take some beating . you’re able to get better , but you ask to pay more or you’re able to ante up less and have to put up with a shoddier display or less powerful GPU .
If you have a large games library then the lack of an alternative to add together a second SSD is a big vault for the HP Omen 16 ( 2023 ) . All serious gaming laptop computer should be able to house two SSDs impart the size of mod games . While a 16:9 aspect proportion feel out of date in 2024 .
Final Thoughts
If you have HP Omen 16 - money burn a hole in your pouch , you may choose from a host of vie machines . Acer ’s Nitro 5is a stalwart of the sector and can be picked up with a 140W RTX 4060 for a little less , but the 144Hz show is rather down rent , and the assault and battery life is poor . Lenovo ’s LOQ 15iis another choice which can be picked up with an RTX 4060 GPU for £ 1,250 , though it ’s often on sale for under £ 1,000 but again , the 144Hz video display is olive-drab and barrage fire life piteous .
This bring us to the Omen 16 ’s main selling point : No part of it is really bad . That may seem like faint kudos , but in the lower - mid - price gaming laptop computer market , it ’s really not . Yes , a 16:10 panel would be preferable , and a 2nd SSD saddle horse would be utilitarian , but the display , good system , battery sprightliness , performance , intention and work up caliber are all among the very best you’re able to get for the price . If you take to something with unlike capability in any of these areas , we ’ve get down a clump more options featured in ourbest gaming laptopguide .
It ’s all about the Libra . No part of the Omen 16 has been pushed to the prow at the disbursement of another which means it all puzzle out with an impressive level of harmony . For the price , it ’s very hard not to like the Omen 16 .
Trusted Score
How we test
Every laptop computer we review goes through a serial of unvarying check design to approximate key things , including human body quality , carrying into action , silver screen quality and battery life .
These admit schematic celluloid benchmark and written tests , plus a series of real - world impediment , such as how well it scat popular apps .
FAQs
you could up the memory to 64 GB of DDR5 RAM but storage is limited to a individual 2280 SSD of 2 TB content .
Yes . The canonic specification is solid for a £ 1,249 gaming laptop with no weak or subpar compontents permit the side down
Test Data
Full Specs
