The HP Omen is a popular gaming laptop series. HP has recently introduced a new design for the Omen and some improvements for the 15 and 17-inch models. If you are looking for a no-compromise desktop replacement for gaming, the HP Omen 17 can be a good option to consider.

Below we will take a detailed look at the HP Omen 17.

HP Omen 17: Design

The design of the HP Omen 17 has improved and as the company itself states, it is inspired by the design of fighter jets and spacecraft! The fiber-like texturing and the angled air vents give a definitive look to the laptop. The new design is not only about the looks but also works well in enhancing the performance of the laptop.

The new air vents increase the maximum airflow by 20% which prevents the laptop from over-heating during extended gaming sessions. Despite the bigger vents, the thickness of the laptop is only 1.3 inches, which is less than other gaming laptops. However, it is a bit heavier than its predecessor and weighs around 8.1lbs.

The laptop features two cold-swappable hard drive slots on the front, and unlike earlier models, the HP Omen 17 can also be configured with dual graphics cards.

HP Omen 17: Screen

Gamers have two options in terms of the laptop screen for their HP Omen 17. They can either go for 17.3 inches Full HD IPS W-LED backlit display with antiglare coat offering a resolution 1920X1080 pixels or a 17.3 inch 4K IPS W-LED backlit display offering a higher resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels.

HP Omen 17: Processor and Graphics

The HP Omen 17 is powered by an Intel iCore i7 processor with a clock frequency of 2.8GHZ which can be throttled to 3.8GHz by some CPU overclocking. The lower configuration of HP Omen 17 features NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 106 graphics chips with 6GB dedicated DDR5 memory while the higher configuration of HP Omen 17 features NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1070 graphics chip with 8GB DDR5 dedicated memory.

The powerful graphics card with more than sufficient graphics RAM gives the laptop the ability to play the latest games seamlessly.

HP Omen 17: Hard Drive and Memory

The HP Omen 17 features 1TB 7200rpm SATA hard drive and a 256GB PCIe SSD. The presence of the SSD drive makes the laptop more responsive, leading to a superior gaming experience. The laptop is fitted with 32GB DDR4 RAM which is plenty for most demanding games.

HP Omen 17: Ports

The HP Omen 17 has a wide variety of ports and in good numbers. The majority of the ports are located on the left side. You get Ethernet, HDMI, Mini DisplayPort, USB 3.1 (Gen 1) Type C, SD card reader, microphone and a headset port as well.

The Type C port also supports Thunderbolt 3, which was missing in the earlier model. If that’s not enough, the laptop also includes a pair of Type A, USB 3.1 (Gen 1) connectors, in addition to the power connector on the right side.

Though the design of the laptop is good, performing an upgrade is not so easy. You have to remove at least 10 screws to get access to important parts like RAM, and the Hard drive, this could be considered a flaw in the design.

HP Omen 17: Keyboard & Touchpad

This laptop features a full-sized backlit keyboard with red backlighting. You get a full 10-keypad and a row of macro keys on the left. The touchpad has not changed much but there is scope for improvement. Though the touchpad is sensitive and works well, it falls short in performance when you compare it with those on the Surface laptop or Surface Book.

HP Omen 17: Battery life

The new Omen laptop is powered by an 8-cell 86 Wh Lithium-ion Battery that offers a backup of 8 hours and 15 minutes with FHD panel and up to 6 hours and 45 minutes with UHD 4K panel. That’s a pretty good battery life for a gaming laptop.

HP Omen 17: Other features

You have two options in the Windows operating system: Windows 10 Home 64-bit or Windows 10 Pro 64-bit. Though it is a gaming laptop, there are several discount offers for Office suite and antivirus products. The laptop is fitted with an HP Wide Vision HD Camera with a dual array digital microphone and Bang & Olufsen, dual speakers.

HP Omen 17: Gaming Performance

If you are looking for a gaming laptop, it is useful to get an idea of the performance of the HP Omen 17 in 3DMark Fire Strike Extreme. Gaming experts who put the laptop through the gaming performance tests were satisfied with the results.

The graphics chip GTX 1070 performs well and the scores are better than GTX 1060 but below GTX 1080. In comparison to its predecessor, the new HP Omen 17 is 3% faster.

The Rise of the Tomb Raider is an ultimate game to test your laptop’s graphics card’s capability. The HP Omen 17 with 120 Hz, 1080 display can crank a 100fps in The Rise of the Tomb Raider game at the highest resolution (1080)—a quite impressive feat, indeed.

HP Omen 17: Non-gaming performance

If you are looking to use the HP Omen 17 for occasional video editing, you will not be disappointed. The laptop powered by Intel i-core i7 processor and 32GB RAM is able to handle the encoding of Handbrake video with ease.

HP Omen 17: Conclusion

The HP Omen 17 is a few steps ahead of its predecessors on many fronts. However, the ordinary touchpad and nothing-too-special audio might make the deal less sweet for some buyers.

The laptop has great aesthetics and the lack of Thunderbolt 3 has been corrected in this model. The laptop is good looking enough and fast enough. It also includes some great features. So overall, it gives you great value for money.

The aggressive pricing of the HP Omen 17 makes it difficult for gamers to ignore this model. If you are seriously looking for “value” in a high-end gaming laptop, the HP Omen 17 could be the right candidate.