A good Omen
HP’s refreshed version of this gaming workhorse offers a well-balanced combination of power and portability, writes Balqis Lim
OMEN by HP was introduced in 2015 as the company’s main laptop for the gaming market. Since then, it has been getting a few updates to meet the ever-challenging demands of gamers. This 2018 refreshed version is the fourth generation of this gaming laptop.
According to HP, It meets all the needs of gamers — with improved hardware and features that they want.
The Omen now has a slimmed-down design which is the newest gaming laptop trend. It bosts thinner bezels and the NVIDIA Max-Q that allows for the support of powerful graphics processing units.
DESIGN
I really like the look of the top of the case. It sports brushed metal in the middle while on the side it has a cool graphite texture. The black-and-red aesthetics screams gaming!
The laptop is made of mostly premium plastic and it feels sturdy. It is also light and portable.
The way HP positions the ports on this laptop is interesting and practical. The Omen has ports on the right, left and at its rear.
On the left side of the laptop are the USB Type-A port, microphone, headset jack and an SD card reader which makes transferring files a breeze.
On the right, there is another Type-A USB port and a power connector.
Meanwhile, at the back, you’ll see the majority of the ports — Ethernet, a USB Type-A port, HDMI 2.0, mini display and USB Type-C. Their location at the back makes for good cable management.
The ventilation parts are placed at the bottom of the laptop. There are two big intake fans on the left and right side. The air is vented out to the back of the laptop so the heat is pushed away from you, and this is especially good for a gaming laptop because you do not want hot air hitting your hands.
PERFORMANCE
Sporting a 15.6-inch Full HD IPS with antiglare screen, the Omen features a narrow bezel 1080p display as well as a G-SYNC option.
I have no complaints on the colour composition — it’s really impressive whether in dim or brightly-lit environments.
Another great feature is the full keyboard with numeric keypad. It feels very comfortable to type or even for work.
The backlit keyboard features four zones of RGB lighting which can bey customised from 18 colours.
Under the hood is an Intel Core i7-8750H processor, coupled with a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti that’s powerful enough for content creators and high gaming settings.
Along with 8GB of RAM, this machine is capable for playing mainstream games such as DotA2 and Overwatch without breaking a sweat.
There are so many options when it comes to the configuration for the laptop.
You can customise the RAM and graphics card options upon purchase. It can also be easily upgraded using a Philips-head screw on the base to access the memory and storage bays.
The Bang & Olufson speakers make music sound good. It delivers both volume and quality — sounding great for music, movies and definitely gaming.
In terms of battery life, the Omen has a standard gaming laptop performance with up to five hours of normal use.
As for sound, this is not the most quiet of laptops. It also gets a little bit hot after a while.
CONCLUSION
For a mid-tier gaming laptop, I am impressed with the laptop. It feels great — not only for gaming but also work — as it has a full keyboard.
With prices starting from below RM5,000 depending on specifications, it’s value for money.