HP Omen 15: Gaming Laptop With Powerful Hardware That Runs Any Game Easily

Today, gaming laptops are a dime a dozen. We have offerings that can fit everyone¡¯s budgets and ones that many can only dream of. However, amidst all this, finding a gaming laptop that can do it all and doesn¡¯t disappoint on performance is easier said than done.

However, HP¡¯s Omen 15 is trying to be this machine with cut-throat hardware and minimal aesthetics that tries to stand out in the crowd. We got to play with the machine for a while and here¡¯s what we liked and disliked about HP¡¯s Omen 15.

What I Liked

Clean and minimal looks

When you first think of gaming laptops, the image that comes to mind of many is the really loud and edgy design that laptop makers adopt, with flashy RGBs that many gamers adore. However, if you¡¯re someone who likes keeping things a bit on the low key, you¡¯ll really love the Omen 15.

HP

The body is sleek and has none of the edgy design language of conventional gaming laptops. The lid has the subtle yet eye-catchy OMEN logo. Open the lid and you¡¯re greeted with an all matte body with an aluminium wrist rest. Looking at every angle, this machine screams premium.

300Hz Butter Smoothness

The variant we got our hands on was loaded with a 15.6-inch panel with 300Hz refresh rate, sporting a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. We¡¯ve already tried 300Hz on the Asus Zephyrus 15 previously and the Omen 15¡¯s panel is no different.

HP

Vibrant colours, with a clean matte finish and wide viewing angles, this is a fine panel. The panel wasn¡¯t the brightest, however, it still was a fun panel to game or watch movies on.

Loaded to the teeth

The HP Omen 15 we got our hands on featured the powerful 10th generation Intel Core i7 paired with 16GB of DDR4 memory as well as Nvidia¡¯s RTX 2070 MaxQ GPU. These specs mean that the machine could run almost anything you¡¯d throw at it.

I tested out a bunch of games like Forza Horizon 4 (70-75 fps on ultra), Death Stranding (72-73fps on ultra settings), NFS Heat (68-70fps on ultra) and even Flight Simulator, one of the most demanding titles on this list managed to offer a decent 48-50fps on ultra settings.

Moreover, while gaming or under extreme loads, the machine didn¡¯t get as hot as I¡¯d expected it to. The entire back of the laptop has gotten a perforated layer to allow for air to ventilate and cool down components -- a better implementation compared to the Zephyrus 15 where the base opened up and raised the machine. Although make sure you don¡¯t game with this laptop on a bed or surface that could block its ventilation.

HP

Talking about the battery, HP Omen 15 gets a 6-cell, 70.9 Wh Li-ion battery. On a single charge, the machine allowed me to do basic tasks like browsing the web or streaming movies easily for 3 hours and 30 minutes, which isn¡¯t the best, but then again, it's a gaming laptop, so you can¡¯t really expect much.

What I disliked

Keyboard layout

While the laptop doesn¡¯t have heavy gamer-themed elements in its aesthetics, it does offer a cool full-layout RGB backlit keyboard. And while the RGB lighting is fine, the layout of the laptop was a little cramped in my opinion, making it a nightmare to type on.

HP

It doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s a terrible keyboard -- it had decent key travel, and maybe in some time you could get used to it, however, it definitely didn¡¯t tempt me to type on it.

Omen software

Gaming laptops allow gamers to tweak the performance to balance between better performance and battery life, among a ton of other features to enhance the overall gaming experience. HP Omen¡¯s software, however, was one of the most cluttered and confusing. Although reading up about it online or some trial and error might get you used to it, I¡¯d prefer apps that rather simplified the process.

Average onboard speakers

Very rarely are laptop speakers good enough, and sadly the HP Omen 15 didn¡¯t sound as impressive as we¡¯d want them to. They did get fairly loud however but lacked a wide soundstage. While gaming or even watching movies, the experience didn¡¯t seem immersive enough. If you¡¯re expecting it to completely blow your mind (considering the Bangen Olufsen branding you see on the laptop) they¡¯ll definitely leave you wanting a lot more.

HP

Should you buy HP Omen 15?

HP Omen 15 is a beast of a machine in the garb of something you¡¯d carry to work every day. Its clean and minimalistic looks surely is a breath of fresh air in the gaming laptop segment today. Despite it¡¯s crammed keyboard layout and complicated onboard software, Omen 15 shines where it must -- performance. And for that, at a price tag of Rs 1,55,999, it is definitely an option worth considering.