With new Intel and AMD laptop CPUs to use, HP is now overhauling its gaming laptop lineup with three new notebooks, an updated gaming hub, and a refreshed gaming monitor to boot.
The Omen 16 is HP’s new all-purpose gaming notebook, offering a 16.1-inch 2560 x 1440 display in a chassis that’s barely bigger than the outgoing Omen 15. The Omen 16’s screen also features a new three-sided design to help reduce the size of its bezels, in addition to a 165Hz refresh rate and built-in blue light and flicker reduction.
Inside, the Omen 16 (starting at $US1,050 ($1,347)) can accommodate up to an 11th-gen Intel Core i7-11800H or AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX CPU, though sadly when it comes to graphics cards, you only choose from a range of Nvidia GPUs topping out at an RTX 3070.
On top of a sleeker refreshed design, the Omen 16 comes with a larger fan with 200% more blades for better cooling, plus a healthy selection of ports, including one USB-C port, three USB-A ports, Ethernet, headphone jack, Mini DisplayPort, and even a full-sized HDMI 2.1 port. And powering all of this is a range of batteries from 52.5Whr to 83Whr that HP claims should deliver up to nine hours of battery life.
For people looking for a slightly bigger and faster gaming notebook to replace their desktops,, there’s the Omen 17 (starting at $US1,370 ($1,757)) which can accommodate up to an Intel Core i9-11900H processor and a beefier Nvidia RTX 3080 GPU. Like its smaller sibling, the Omen 17’s display features a 165HZ refresh rate, and the bigger machines gets new per-key RGB optical switches for its mechanical keyboard, support for Wi-Fi 6E, HDMI 2.1, and more. However, with the Omen 17 topping out with a 83Whr battery, be prepared to get a bit less life than the Omen 16 if you’re using it unplugged.
But perhaps the biggest change to HP’s gaming portfolio is the introduction of the new Victus gaming line, headlined by the somewhat clunkily named Victus by HP 16. HP says that its current, more affordable Pavilion Gaming systems felt somewhat detached from the rest of its gaming lineup, so in an attempt to better separate its affordable gaming notebooks from HP’s general productivity laptops and tie more closely to the Omen line, HP is creating the new Victus brand.
Starting at just $US800 ($1,026), the Victus 16 is certainly a smaller hit to your wallet, though its specs do cap out with an 165Hz QHD display, up to an Intel Core i7-11800H or an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H CPU, and an Nvidia RTX 3060 GPU (though the base model gets a much less impressive Nvidia GeForce MX350 graphics card).
Finally, to round out HP’s new products, HP is also upgrading the Omen Gaming Hub with Omen Oasis, which is meant to help optimise performance, capture and livestream gameplay, or even create lobbies for multiplayer games.
And for those looking to boost their home gaming setups, there’s also the new $US350 ($449) Omen 25i gaming monitor, which features a 1920 x 1080 resolution, 165Hz refresh rate, AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync support, and VESA HDR 400 certification.
HP even switched from the TN panel on the previous model to a new IPS panel to deliver richer colours that HP claims covers 90% of the DCI-P3 colour spectrum. However, the Omen 25i’s real secret weapon is new Dynamic Crosshair tech that uses software to automatically change the colour of your crosshairs in-game for better contrast, so you never lose sight of where you’re aiming regardless of the environment.
All told, between their specs, design, and range of prices, HP’s new gaming notebooks look to have something for almost every gaming need and budget.
The Omen 16, Omen 17, and Victus 16 will be available sometime next month in the U.S., with the Omen 25i monitor arriving shortly after in July. And for people already using the Omen Gaming Hub, Omen Oasis is available for free today in beta before rolling out globally later this winter.
Editor’s Note: Stay tuned for local Australian pricing and availability.