HP OMEN - 15.6" Gaming Laptop - AMD Ryzen 7 - 16GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti - 1TB SSD

I have been looking for a laptop that could compete with my Helios 300 for the price, and man have I found it! It's slightly more expensive, however, it's also an 8core/16 thread CPU. Here are my thoughts: Packaging- Pretty standard box, laptop comes wrapped in a plastic sheet with the power supply in a small compartment next to it and the usual manuals and warranty card. Nothing exciting or flashy here. Thermals- This laptop's cooling system is phenomenal. I have been playing Far Cry 5, max settings, 60fps+ and the highest temp it reached was 90c on the CPU, and 74c on the GPU. Dying Light max settings 75c on CPU and 72c on GPU. I am absolutely shocked by these temps, my Helios which has the 9750h/1660ti configuration AFTER repasting with coolermaster maker pro, STILL reaches 97c-99c on CPU playing just World of Warcraft(which by the way stays at high 70s on CPU on this laptop) I did run AIDA64 on max fan settings and the CPU did hit 103c, which was rather scary, after much digging around, I found out that it's an AMD boost clock issue, and can be easily fixed by disabling the boost clock. There are plenty of videos on youtube on how to do this. Now I understand most people want something that works out of the box and trust me, this does perfectly. You'll never reach those high temps under normal circumstances unless you buy a laptop just for stress testing 24/7 ;p . By the way, the fans are whisper quiet, max fan settings are a little loud but not distracting. Screen- The screen is 144hz, not sure about the ms because HP does not disclose it. This particular model has Freesync(40-60hz range), you need to enable it as it's disabled by default. My panel doesn't have backlight bleed or glow but that varies from panel to panel. Battery- I use it plugged in as it doesn't make much sense to game on battery. Keyboard- The keyboard is phenomenal. It has 4 zone RGB. They keys feel nice when pressed and there's a satisfying feedback. They don't feel mushy at all like a certain competitor with the G and a number 14. >_> The lighting is also perfect and uniform. It doesn't have a side numeral keypad, but that's not a huge deal for me. It has a dedicated key for the Omen Command Center software which is pretty neat. The power button is interestingly located next to the F12 key and in between a delete key. There's a little section on the side with the insert key/home/pg up/down/pause/end/print etc.(one key for a calculator shortcut o.O I actually like this one) Software- It doesn't come with a ton of bloatware, just the usual suspect, vpn, mcafee(dear God), dropbox and some HP software. I normally get rid of the OEM software but these are pretty useful, you can update the drivers/bios etc. It also comes with OMEN Command Center, this thing is pretty neat. You can control the RGB keyboard through here, manage fan profiles. Overclock the system, keep an eye on vitals such as temps/utilization etc. It also has a pretty neat rewards tab that gives you rewards for literally just playing games. Think sweepstakes or $5 BK gift cards etc for things such as playing Call of Duty for 30mins. Speakers- The speakers on this thing are beastly. Uses Bang & Olufsen speakers, the sound is perfect. It's pretty loud and fills a small room. Upgradeability- 8 screws to remove bottom panel, (4 big screws on the back, 4 small on the front). You can use a guitar pick to undo the latches on the edges and remove the bottom panel. Here you have 2 sticks of DDR4 3200mhz RAM. Not soldered from what I saw(yay:D) Your wifi 6 module, battery and 2 nvme slots(which by the way, they each come with their shields to prevent overheating!) Port Selection- 4 USB ports in total. 3 USB Type 3.1 type A ports(1 on left side, 2 on right side towards the side of the screen) 1 USB Type 3.1 type C port 1 HDMI Port 1 Headphone jack 1 Mini display port 1 SD card reader Overall build quality- Build quality is pretty good. It's a budget laptop and that reflects on the material. Not that it looks cheap or anything, but it uses a lot of plastic. Lid, bottom cover, palm rest are plastic, keyboard area is aluminum. You're not getting CNC aluminum for the price here. It looks and feels very nice. Speaking of the lid the logo is different and more subtle now. Very minimalist. By the way, the color is supposed to be Mica Silver, but it's closer to a light shade of black than silver. -Conclusion This year there's plenty of good laptops out there, there are several offerings from intel and AMD. This one's a pretty solid one, I'm surprised it's not getting more press. I've already went through several other mainstream brands and they've been nothing but trouble, whether it's a mushy keyboard with pretty bad back light and a screen that randomly goes black, or a device that you could fry an egg on top because the temps are outrageous and the fans sound like jet engines. I think this one is a pretty good compromise between price and performance. The 1660ti is a very capable GPU, please don't think that because it's not some 2070 super or 2080 you won't be getting awesome frames because it's simply not true. You're missing out on raytracing which is honestly overrated, that's it. Thanks for reading and if you do buy this one, I hope you enjoy it!

Impressed so far with this laptop's performance both for work, media consumption and most specially for gaming. Now this isn't a top-end tier performance beast by any means but it does comes close. This is a no brainer at its price point...basically your per-dollar to performance/specs ratio pans out better with this laptop. And having gotten it myself on-sale at $950+tax, it makes my MBPro look like a massive ripoff lol! I'm slowly rediscovering my 11 year old Steam library and adding more as I browse along...all while waiting for PS5 to be firmly in stock. Would I recommend this? Heck yeah! But...PS: be prepared managing a giant grill that may suck in more than just dust, expect to maybe get hurt by the corners that are a tad too sharp for a modern laptop and bear in mind that battery life on the go could be better(abt 2-3 hours with high settings/graphics galore gaming, abt 5-6 hours watching or maybe 7-8 hrs working with it)...I don't mind that part as I don't game on the go, not that we can normally go anywhere these days I know, but I use it while constantly plugged in the way computers are meant to be to begin with...also be ready to be confounded with a weird design choice by HP werein they either forgot to put rubber or plastic lips where the screen touches body when the lid is closed or they just wanted to have the design and construction the way it is as aforementioned(shrug).

I loved my time with this laptop. This is the first time I have had a GPU substantial for heavy games. The fans offer minimal control, with a max and auto setting but it is still very noisy. In the Omen Control Center, there are also "Casual" "Balanced" and "Performance" options to choose from. Choosing the causal tasks settings with the auto fan option, and only doing minimal tasks such as Microsoft Word and Adobe, the fan is still quite noisy. However the temperatures do stay low and this computer is really fast. Nonetheless, I cannot give this an in-depth review, as I have encountered a Smart Disk Error after using this for about 2 weeks. I then had to send my laptop back. I am not sure how common this may be but it came at a very inconvenient time with classes starting back up. Despite my short time with it and this error, I would recommend it (if this error had not occurred).

Just look at that keyboard! The home and page up page down delete and insert are exactly like a full size keyboard. Perfect if you like gaming but also want to be productive on it during the day! I also Shrunk the main drive down by 100 GB and was effortlessly able to install Ubuntu 20.04 without any issue whatsoever, worked first try so awesome. So now have a full dual boot system for gaming and productivity

I had been hooked on Apple computers since 2000. I went to college for media productions and editing. No doubt Apple delivers a seamless experience between the user and the software. A year and a half ago I went to Best Buy to purchase a new Apple desktop for video editing and with an open mind and spec comparisons I saw just how much more computing power you get for you’re dollar. So I bought the Omen desk top with a sweet Samsung 32 inch 4K monitor and for fun the Oculus Vr cause I could.. Most amazing, I still saved $$! So given it was the end of summer, I really wanted to edit my videos on my porch in the mornings. So It was the easiest decision I have ever made. I knew this was the laptop for me. It delivers power, fun custom lit up keys and a great battery life. I can not recommend this laptop enough! It dose not look like a typical gaming laptop, and packs a slim look. If you are even considering this laptop then consider no more! This is right for you!

I absolutely love this laptop! Had been addicted to the Google ecosystem for the longest so I stepped away from "traditional" PCs. All that changed as I recently dove back into gaming. I didn't want to lose the itch so I searched for a nice entry level to mid range gaming laptop. Most gaming laptops were too pricey, too gamer looking, and not for me as I was looking for something right there in the middle. The Omen has not let me down. It has ports for all my plug-ins(even an SD card slot), speakers aren't terrible, and runs all the games I need. Thought I would need something with the latest and greatest GPU(2080, 3060) to get max enjoyment, but this one(1660 Ti) serves just fine. I'm sure I watched every spec and comparison video before deciding to purchase. There are plenty of them and most gave this setup great reviews. Some will mention flimsy laptop screen as a con, but it hasn't been an issue for me because I don't sit encyclopedias on top of my laptops. Fan seems to blow hardest during intense gaming with charger plugged in, nice and calm during regular usage or light gaming with no charger. I really love the subdued look of the laptop as I travel for work and would need to use it in professional settings. Did I mention upgradability?! On top of whats provided, you can add more RAM and storage when you feel its necessary. I can honestly say I'm satisfied with my purchase and happy to be a part of the HP family again.

Operational User Test of HP OMEN Model:15-EN0023DX Summary report: Product meets or exceeds described functions. Detailed results: This unit was able to display 4K video through the mini DP, HDMI, and USB C ports as well as play 4K games that required advanced processors and Video cards. Noticed that when I set my display to full 4K with an external monitor for both displays I still had a display on the Omen. Interesting! Could be an auto default setting. No lag time in playing mode sequences was observed. XBOX controller in BT mode worked perfect. With PC games, you may have to open Task Manager to close the game. This is a windows game issue and not any hardware issue. BT 5.0 worked as advertised as well as the intel AX200 WIFI-6. The 1 GB NVME M.2 2230 long stick is a high end quality German designed/made in Korea SSD (specs in the follow on section). 1080P display was clear and had no lags in fast action sequences. Programs ran without issues and transfer speeds were significantly faster than the other units tested. Be advised that advertised transfer speeds are only for specially designed hardware to accommodate those speeds in the appropriate environment. Most transfer speeds were in the range of 117-200 MBPS for connected equipment with correct specifications. Internet download speeds were checked and clocked 117 MBPS which is past the limit of my paid service. BT 5.0 will only transfer files if you have the proper files and equipment to do the transfer. Testing BT 5.0 transfer file rates are observed only with no specific measurements. Music files played without issue. Also, iPhone will not transfer files via BT direct to a Windows computer. Discovered that the Microsoft Edge app for iPhone will sync and download your files over the internet. Range of BT 5.0 is around 120 feet through two concrete walls and 250 feet line of site. Lossless music files, two BT 5.0 headphones, and a remote speaker were used for test (5.0 can connect to more than one BT device at a time). Observed program usage of this unit in only one area is very slightly slower than on my other HP and significantly faster in all other areas (games and Office programs the Omen was the leader hands down). Build quality is a significant factor in overall performance of this unit as transfer speeds from external USB drives are significantly faster. 8 core functionalities may be an important feature for setups that required above 6 core setups (virtual servers). I read all the CPU test results and they all say that the 4800H is faster in most areas than almost all the CPUs on the market. I ran the Linksys router speed check and is was faster running the actual program on another HP than the Omen. Even connected the Omen to a Lan cable and got the same results (download and upload speeds were the same). BTW all Microsoft Office programs were significantly faster on the Omen. This is not a scientific observation but just one user observation. Lots of variables in testing actual program processing speed in a real word environment. Bottom line is the quality of the Omen is outstanding in every area (and obviously built to excel in gamming with the dedicated gaming video card. Battery life was around 4.3 hours of heavy use, 8 hours of mixed use, and several days of occasional use with auto sleep and shutdown enabled. 2 hours or less for a full recharge from a 0% battery. Case was aluminum with a plastic display mount. Case was removed. 8 screws on the bottom with snaps holding it in place. Small plastic case separator and micro flat tip screwdriver were used to remove the case. Videos are in the links for tear downs on YouTube. The Wi-Fi M.2 card will be a little harder to R&R due to location under a cooling vent tube. NVME M.2 drives and memory sticks should be easy to do for most experienced users. Battery is user replaceable! Display plastic surround need to be stiffer (flexing could be an issue). Test process: Computer was set up with all Windows 10 and HP updates completed (only Defender activated). Version 2 of the FW was installed. HP update software that came with the unit was used for scans and updates (Very useful tool-be sure to install this one). Driver/software updates: https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/omen-15-en0000-laptop-pc-series/32827270/model/34667933 Antivirus scans were done with both the internal and remote links to be sure the computer was clean. Additional software (other than authorized games) was not installed until test was completed. Drive was cloned before testing began on an ADATA 1 TB 800 with EZ GIG cable, adapter, and software. In the process of acquiring a second M.2 NVME 2280 drive. This unit does not have slots for the old 2.5” SSD format. Two M.2 NVME long drive slots (PCIe 3.0 x 4 NVME high speed interface) are used with one empty slot. PCIe 4.0 is only available for desktop MOBOs. This unit is configured robustly out of the box. Full clean of C: drive was done before start of test as well as defrag completely disabled. Microsoft full office was installed after the test. Then game software was downloaded from a secure site at XBOX and Microsoft to finish the game part of the test (disks were used from my stack that were dual mode capable). Test equipment: 4K Computer monitor, high end 4K Sony TVs, HDMI cables, USB C video cables and adapters, Mini DP cables and adapters, HP wireless mouse and keyboard, 88 page MX manual, 79 page user guide, external DVD drives, Micro SD cards and adapters, USB C/3.1/3.0 adapters, USB memory sticks, Games purchased from XBOX that play on both platforms, XBOX ultimate game pass, XBOX Windows controller, one borrowed grand kid to stress test the unit, 15.6” executive case with strap, Linksys - MX10 Velop AX5300 Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System (2-Pack) - White, Mapped drives on both Velop nodes, Sony BT 5.0 headphones, Generic 5.0 headphones, Belkin BT 5.0 speaker, BT 5.0 mouse, Ethernet cable, game pass+paid games Games installed and played: Age of empires (Def Ed), Forza 4, Zoo Tycoon, Rush, Gears of War 4 and 5/Tactics, State of Decay 2, and Goat simulator for fun. Specifications: https://cdn.cnetcontent.com/syndication/mediaserverredirect/9b0974a3c9b5bd3c4dc4ff6fc2db2794/original.pdf https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c06657657#AbT0 https://www8.hp.com/us/en/laptops/product-details/34667941 http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c06593496 Key specifications • Operating system: Windows 10 Home(1) • Processor: AMD Ryzen™ 7 4800H(2a) • Display: 15.6-inch diagonal FHD, 144 Hz, IPS, anti-glare, micro-edge, WLED-backlit(39) • Memory: 16 GB DDR4-3200 SDRAM (2 x 8 GB) • Internal storage: 1 TB PCIe® NVMe™ M.2 SSD ( PCI Express 3.0 x4 NVMe M.2 drives) • Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1660 Ti (6 GB GDDR6 dedicated)(13) • Sound: Audio by Bang & Olufsen with dual speakers • Wireless: Intel® Wi-Fi 6 AX 200 (2x2) and Bluetooth® 5 combo (Supporting Gigabit file transfer speeds)• Camera: HP Wide Vision HD SSD Link: https://www.skhynix.com/products.do?ct1=50&ct2=52&lang=eng HFS001TD9TNG-L2A0A PC601 PCIe Gen3 1024GB M.2 2280 S2 CS PC601 (M.2 2280 S2) Physical Features Physical FeaturesPhysical Features의 Form Factor, Width Length, Thickness, Weight를 나타낸 표 입니다. Form Factor Width Length Thickness Weight M.2 2280 S2 22mm 80mm Max. 2.23mm 7g Target Estimation Target EstimationTarget Estimation의 Interface, Form Factor, Density를 나타낸 표 입니다. Interface PCIe Gen3 Form Factor M.2 2280 S2 Density 1TB Performance1) (Up to) Sequential Read2) 3400MB/s Sequential Write2) 2500MB/s Random Read3) 510K IOPS Random Write3) 440K IOPS Power Consumption4) (Typical) Active Read5) 5.3W Active Write5) 6.3W Idle(Slumber) 50mW L1.2 4mW Camera with integrated dual array digital microphone(89) • Product weight: 5.43 lb(76) • Keyboard: Full-size, island-style, 4-zone RGB backlit, mica silver keyboard and 26-Key Rollover Anti-Ghosting Key technology. USB Type-C SuperSpeed port with HP Sleep and Charge Connects a USB device, provides high-speed data transfer, and charges small devices, even when the computer is off. – and – Connects a display device that has a USB Type-C connector, providing mini DisplayPort™ output. NOTE: Cables, adapters, or both (purchased separately). Multi model manuals: http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c02876562 http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c06638088 http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c02876562 http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c03939658.pdf http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c04490930 http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c06638241 https://www.nvidia.com/en-me/geforce/graphics-cards/gtx-1660-ti/ Best Buy link https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-omen-gaming-15-6-laptop-amd-ryzen-7-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1660-ti-1tb-ssd-mica-silver/6407752.p?skuId=6407752 Support links https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/omen-15-en0000-laptop-pc-series/32827270/model/34667933/manuals?jumpid=reg_r1002_usen_s-001_title_r0001 https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/omen-15-en0000-laptop-pc-series/32827270/model/34667933/more-options?jumpid=reg_r1002_usen_s-001_title_r0001 Customer replaceable options: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5ZmlLrMDjA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I9wOBXscoQ 2 m.2 SSD long slots 2 memory slots M.2 AX 200 /2230 wifi slot (intel) 70 Watt hour Battery Final suggestions: Be careful using the one-drive online storage as it will auto load everything from you HD until it fills up. You can go into settings and customize this but to me it easier to disable it during set up. You can always turn it on later and only upload select files if you need that function. Run a clean mean machine when you can. Don't run 2 antivirus.

Bought this laptop to scratch that itch I had for pc gaming and to replace a very dated MacBook Air from 2015. This thing is a BEAST. Runs most of the games I’ve thrown at it amazingly. It does get pretty loud at times when gaming but I always use headphones so it hasn’t taken away from the experience at all. Cyberpunk, warzone, you name it. This Omen can run it. Build quality is top notch. Premium materials were used and it shows. 2 things though. -Keyboard is great in terms of feel although the RGB bleeds through the side of a few keys on mine. Could’ve just gotten unlucky there. -Sound quality out of the built in speakers have virtually no bass. Treble is okay. All in all I do recommend this system. It’s a sleek looking laptop that you can use for work, school, writing reviews and more!