HP Omen 15 Gaming Notebook Review, A Bit Of Mojo And Voodoo
Performance Summary and Conclusion
Performance Summary: The HP Omen 15 built a strong track record in our tests. It consistently produced the framerates we expected from its Intel Core i7-4710HQ CPU and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M combination in games and it rocked the PCMark 7 test. There’s no question that the HP Omen offers solid performance for the premium notebook category – and that’s important – but it’s not just the graphics power that makes the Omen so attractive to gamers. It also has killer looks for a system in this price range and a well-planned keyboard layout for gaming.
Whether you’re a CS:GO type or a WarCraft junkie, having a few programmable keys by your left hand is a feature you’re going to miss the next time you play on different machine. As we mentioned earlier, we're less impressed by the Omen 15's extra-wide trackpad, as we're not likely to use it, but we can see the appeal for various applications and usage models. And since I never had problems with my palm triggering the trackpad while I typed, I’m not complaining. Finally, the lack of a built-in Ethernet port is going to annoy some gamers, perhaps, though the option dongle will get the job done none-the-less.
As for its appearance, the HP Omen is one of the best-looking notebooks I’ve seen. HP clearly put a ton of effort into designing a sleek, unusual notebook chassis that sacrifices little in the way of functionality. We're not wild about all of the ports being at the back of the system and we hope it doesn’t end up starting a trend for the slim-and-light gaming category, but it works for the HP Omen rather well.
Considering what you get for a reasonable price premium, both in terms of performance and features, the HP Omen is a solid, mainstream gaming notebook with just the right amount of attitude.
Whether you’re a CS:GO type or a WarCraft junkie, having a few programmable keys by your left hand is a feature you’re going to miss the next time you play on different machine. As we mentioned earlier, we're less impressed by the Omen 15's extra-wide trackpad, as we're not likely to use it, but we can see the appeal for various applications and usage models. And since I never had problems with my palm triggering the trackpad while I typed, I’m not complaining. Finally, the lack of a built-in Ethernet port is going to annoy some gamers, perhaps, though the option dongle will get the job done none-the-less.
Find the HP Omen 15's mojo at Amazon
As for its appearance, the HP Omen is one of the best-looking notebooks I’ve seen. HP clearly put a ton of effort into designing a sleek, unusual notebook chassis that sacrifices little in the way of functionality. We're not wild about all of the ports being at the back of the system and we hope it doesn’t end up starting a trend for the slim-and-light gaming category, but it works for the HP Omen rather well.
Considering what you get for a reasonable price premium, both in terms of performance and features, the HP Omen is a solid, mainstream gaming notebook with just the right amount of attitude.
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