HP is renowned for its gaming-specific kit.
The company's Omen-branded notebooks and PCs are among the best pre-built gaming computers you can buy.
I’ve been testing out the beautifully crafted high-spec HP Omen 16 and it’s a dream machine.
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Omen 16 design and build
As the name suggests, it’s a 16in laptop and I’m a big fan of the extra screen real estate you get with a notebook this size.
It’s a superb matte IPS display panel too, with a 165HZ maximum refresh rate that allows you to play all the latest games smoothly in high detail.
The graphics are incredible thanks to the hugely capable dedicated chip, a GeForce RTX 3070 Ti GPU which has 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM.
The bright and sharp QHD resolution screen has great colour accuracy, 300 nits of peak brightness with great viewing angles and a high 1196:1 contrast ratio.
Performance
It’s got a blazing fast CPU – the latest 12th gen Intel Core i7 processor coupled with 16GB of RAM – along with a zippy 1TB solid state drive (SSD).
The processor, from Intel's Alder Lake series, houses six performance cores and eight efficiency cores.
In a range of benchmark tests, the scores were all above the average for gaming notebooks.
But benchmark scores never tell the full story, and it is real-world use that counts. In that regard, the Omen 16 is one of the fastest Windows machines that I have tested.
Omen 16 gaming
The GPU benchmarks are equally impressive and in a practical sense this means that Omen 16 can run many modern AAA games smoothly with more than 50fps at the highest graphics settings.
The strong performance which results from the effective cooling system means that the fans are audible when they kick in but not in any frustrating way.
During all my testing, the machine remained pleasingly cool.
One of the best features is the Omen Gaming Hub which allows you to adjust many aspects of the system to your liking.
The Power Control menu offers Balanced and Performance modes, and I did most of my testing with the latter switched on.
The Gaming Hub also automatically overclocks your CPU and GPU, monitors your hardware and synchronises RGB lighting across your devices.
It measures your skill level in games and perhaps best of all collates your library of titles from a variety of sources such as Steam, Epic Games Store, Ubisoft Connect into one central location.
Omen 16 other features
It’s a fantastic machine for working on too. There’s a full-sized spacious RGB backlit keyboard and generously sized responsive trackpad.
The screen’s 16:9 aspect ratio is ideal for running two programs side-by-side for productivity tasks.
And you get decent Bang & Olufsen speakers too make watching movies and TV shows and movies on the brilliant screen more enjoyable as well as adding to the immersive nature of your gaming experiences.
Connectivity options are ample: Thunderbolt 4 supporting USB-C port with 40Gbps, three USB-A ports with 5Gbps, ethernet, SD card, audio jack, DisplayPort and HDMI 2.1.
Battery life
Battery life from the 83W power pack is superb. I got up to six hours of continuous productivity use, but the stamina obviously depends on what you are engaged in.
Intensive gaming sessions with high brightness levels will run the battery down quicker than that. But this is not an issue if you are primarily using the Omen 16 at home with the machine plugged in.
And the accompanying 135w power adapter will refuel the notebook speedily if you are mobile and do run out of juice.
On top of this, it’s a super stylish machine which looks great and is robustly made and slim and light enough to carry around if needed.
Omen 16 verdict
This high-performance machine will breeze through everything you throw at it and its specs mean it should last you for several years.
Omen 16 is well worth the asking price as it’s a fast and powerful gaming laptop and so much more besides.
Pricing
HP Omen 16 (reviewed model with 12th gen Core i7 chip, RTX 3070 GPU, 165Hz monitor) costs €1999.99
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