HP Omen 15 Gaming Notebook Review, A Bit Of Mojo And Voodoo
Introduction and Specifications
HP acquired VoodooPC back in 2006, bringing the creative genius of owner Rahul Sood into its fold and ensuring that its gaming lineup of desktop PCs and Laptops would get a lot more style and attitude. Sood and HP eventually parted ways, but the ghost of VoodooPC, its DNA and swank logo stayed on, giving HP a unique gaming line.
The HP Omen 15 is the latest gaming laptop in this series and it has Voodoo personality from the moment you take it out of the box.
The HP Omen 15 is a semi-affordable gamer. It carries a base MSRP of $1,499.99 (though currently you can find it for less) and tops off with the model we tested, which rings in at $2099.99 and includes the best hardware available to the series. Although you’re locked into the Intel Core i7-4710HQ processor at any price point, you have some flexibility when it comes to the graphics card, memory and storage drive.
The 15.6-inch display is a nice choice, even with its more standard 1920x1080 resolution. Built with IPS technology and LED backlighting, the display is strong from a wide viewing angle. It also supports multi-touch, which is the same for all models of the Omen 15. With 304 nits of brightness, the Omen 15's panel also offers good contrast and saturation. It's not the brightest panel we've ever seen but it gets the job done nicely.
HP scratches the Core i7-4710HQ’s built-in Intel HD Graphics 4600 in favor of discrete graphics, which is a must for a gaming notebook. The base model has an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M with 2GB of graphics memory, which HP bumped in favor of the 4GB version of the GTX 860M for our test system. HP also opted for 16GB of DDR3 memory in the model we tested, over the standard 8GB option.
PCIe SSD storage is a good choice for a thin notebook like the HP Omen (which is comfortably under an inch thick), but it accounts for a sizeable chunk of the Omen’s price tag, particularly if you pass over the 128GB drive and go straight to 512GB for a $300 add.
The Omen 15 doesn’t have an optical drive option, which isn’t unusual for slim gamers like the Omen, but it’s worth mentioning. Interestingly, it doesn’t have a built-in Ethernet port, either. That’s also typical for skinny ultrabooks, but it’s an important feature to some gamers. HP makes up for the missing port with a USB-to-Ethernet adapter, and there’s always the built-in 802.11 ac wireless connectivity to get you online. The Omen has Bluetooth 4 and USB 3.0 too, for additional connectivity.
The HP Omen 15 is the latest gaming laptop in this series and it has Voodoo personality from the moment you take it out of the box.
Before you dive into the nitty-gritty, let's give you a walk-around and demo of the Omen 15 in action...
 |
|
| OS | Windows 8.1 64-bit |
| Display |
15.6-inch IPS FHD 1920x1080 multi-touch display |
| CPU |
Intel Core i7-4710HQ Quad-Core 2.5GHz (Turbo 3.5GHz) |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M GDDR5 4GB |
| RAM | 16GB 1600MHz DDR3 |
| Storage |
512GB PCIe SSD |
| Optical |
None |
| Networking |
Intel 802.11 ac WLAN USB-to-Ethernet adapter Bluetooth 4.0 |
| Webcam |
1080p HP TrueVision |
| Ports |
4xUSB 3.0 Mini Display Port HDMI v1.4b Port Headphone/Mic jack SD card reader |
| Dimensions | 15.07 x 9.74 x 0.78 (W x D x H Inches) |
| Weight | 4.68 pounds |
| Battery | 4-cell Li-Ion 58Wph |
| Software | HP Omen Control & Central Operations, HP Connected Drive, HP Recovery Manager, HP Performance Advisor, McAfee Central, Microsoft Office Trial, Unigine Heaven and Valley |
| Warranty | 1 Year HP Total Care Limited Hardware Warranty |
| Price | $2099.99 as tested. As low as $1295 on Amazon |
The HP Omen 15 is a semi-affordable gamer. It carries a base MSRP of $1,499.99 (though currently you can find it for less) and tops off with the model we tested, which rings in at $2099.99 and includes the best hardware available to the series. Although you’re locked into the Intel Core i7-4710HQ processor at any price point, you have some flexibility when it comes to the graphics card, memory and storage drive.
The 15.6-inch display is a nice choice, even with its more standard 1920x1080 resolution. Built with IPS technology and LED backlighting, the display is strong from a wide viewing angle. It also supports multi-touch, which is the same for all models of the Omen 15. With 304 nits of brightness, the Omen 15's panel also offers good contrast and saturation. It's not the brightest panel we've ever seen but it gets the job done nicely.
HP scratches the Core i7-4710HQ’s built-in Intel HD Graphics 4600 in favor of discrete graphics, which is a must for a gaming notebook. The base model has an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M with 2GB of graphics memory, which HP bumped in favor of the 4GB version of the GTX 860M for our test system. HP also opted for 16GB of DDR3 memory in the model we tested, over the standard 8GB option.
PCIe SSD storage is a good choice for a thin notebook like the HP Omen (which is comfortably under an inch thick), but it accounts for a sizeable chunk of the Omen’s price tag, particularly if you pass over the 128GB drive and go straight to 512GB for a $300 add.
The Omen 15 doesn’t have an optical drive option, which isn’t unusual for slim gamers like the Omen, but it’s worth mentioning. Interestingly, it doesn’t have a built-in Ethernet port, either. That’s also typical for skinny ultrabooks, but it’s an important feature to some gamers. HP makes up for the missing port with a USB-to-Ethernet adapter, and there’s always the built-in 802.11 ac wireless connectivity to get you online. The Omen has Bluetooth 4 and USB 3.0 too, for additional connectivity.
