Despite being a somewhat large and heavy laptop with poor battery life, the Omen 15T Gaming Laptop nevertheless has a lot to offer. It compensates for this with strong gaming performance, superior audio design, and video quality, as well as a fantastic, clear, anti-glare display. Unfortunately, so often, less is more, especially if the alternative would be extremely costly. Nevertheless, HP managed to create a reasonably priced gaming laptop in the traditional feast or famine genre without making too many compromises.
According to HP, the new design repositions the Omen as a multipurpose PC, catering to those looking for laptops for work, surfing, and gaming. As a result, it’s a more refined and understated appearance than the Omens we’re accustomed to. Certainly, a more office-friendly look – it now resembles a Razer Blade more than a Helios 300.
What the Omen 15T Gaming Laptop Has Offered
The Omen 15T Gaming Laptop may be used for various purposes, including recreational gaming, competitive esports, streaming different video material from Disney+, Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon Prime, listening to music on Spotify, and playing AAA games. It is quite dependable and adaptable, and it performs well for productive activities. If you enjoy large-screen displays with a 144Hz refresh rate and are looking for a powerful gaming laptop, the HP Omen 15 may be right for you.
In addition, the HP Omen 15’s anti-glare display displays crisp images in stunning detail, and the laptop’s 1TB Solid State Drive provides ample storage space. After spending considerable time with the device, it’s clear that the Omen 15T Gaming Laptop has a lot to offer in terms of gaming performance. However, the battery life is subpar and is certainly one of the most common concerns we saw during our testing. Having to plug the item into charge can be inconvenient if you intend to use it for extended periods. However, with its 10th generation Intel processor, the HP Omen 15 can be speedy enough for many common chores.
Nonetheless, when it comes to battery life performance, it ranks at the bottom. However, it features a variety of ports for various purposes, like charging other devices and importing material from other devices. Additionally, there is a new modern-looking design on the palm rest, and the entire device is 11% slimmer than its predecessor, standing at 22.5mm tall. A revolutionary 180-degree hinge supports the 15.6-inch screen.
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Omen 15T Gaming Laptop: Specs and Design
The HP Omen 15 gaming laptop is a monstrous beast. Unfortunately, it is quite hefty and big, so if you’re looking for a gaming laptop that is significantly lighter and more compact, this may not be the laptop for you. The Omen 15 is both audacious and modest. The black metal cover is divided into four sections, resulting in two smooth triangles and two slightly elevated brushed aluminium rhombuses.
A gleaming silver Voodoo logo pays homage to the notebook’s history, while Omen’s message is discreetly engraved on the hinge. The machine is extremely tough to transport if you are a frequent traveller or commuter. However, it delivers a powerful punch in terms of gaming performance. When the laptop is opened, a black plastic deck imitates the striated areas of the lid. A very large touchpad is located in the palm rest’s centre, while a little power button is located in the deck’s top-left corner above the keyboard. If we talk about the keyboard, it is black with red accents and is recessed into a central recess in the centre of the deck.
Processor
While the Omen 15T Gaming Laptop is generally speedy and responsive due to its 1TB SSD and 10th generation Intel processor, it is not the most powerful laptop available. Other specifications include an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q and an Intel Core i7 H-series or AMD Ryzen 7 H-series processor. The Omen series consists of an AMD counterpart and is the first to provide two colour options; the Intel system is available in black, while the AMD system is available in silver. You will. Additionally, you’ll receive up to 32GB of RAM (DDR4) and a 1TB PCIe SSD or twin PCIe SSD capable of RAID 0. Additionally, you can pick between OLED, UHD 120 Hz, or FHD 300 Hz panels. However, one of the most interesting features of the HP Omen 15 is the inclusion of cutting-edge Nvidia hardware.
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Additionally, we discovered that it performed exceptionally well with modern games and could run even the most demanding AAA titles with confidence. For example, after several hours of playing Death Stranding on the PC, we discovered that the maximum settings with the battery plugged in delivered consistent and seamless performance, averaging between 80 and 90 frames per second and even reaching 100 frames per second. There were a few frame rate drops when not plugged in, but it maintained a frame rate of roughly 30fps, which is the benchmark for most AAA games on consoles and PC. Thankfully, the fan does not become excessively loud when the laptop runs, even though it produces quite a bit of noise.
The Omen 15 can handle its share of work thanks to a 2.6-GHz Intel Core i7-9750H processor and 16GB RAM. It streamed an episode of The Mandalorian flawlessly while simultaneously running 25 Google Chrome tabs. Even when we launched Red Dead Redemption 2, the laptop continued to function normally. While benchmarking Metro Exodus, one of the more graphically demanding games, we discovered that it operates at a maximum frame rate of 49fps at 1080p Ultra on a 1920×1080 resolution. When we benchmarked on Low at the same answer, we discovered a frame rate of 142fps. With a considerably less demanding game, Total War: Three Kingdoms, we achieved 12.0 frames per second on Ultra and 11.3 frames per second on Low during our benchmark tests.
Battery
Battery life is not a selling point for gaming laptops, and the Omen 15 will not change that storey. The laptop lasted only 3 hours and 5 minutes (continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits). It fell short of the 3:55 average for mainstream gaming laptops and the 6:41 and 4:48 times posted by the G3 15 and Zephyrus, respectively. We tested the battery life of the HP Omen 15 during movie playback by playing a video on a continuous loop in VLC with the screen set to 50% brightness. The Omen 15T Gaming Laptop ran for a total of three hours and forty minutes. The battery life was demonstrated to be inadequate, and hence it would be necessary to plug it in if you wanted to watch movies or use it for extended periods. USING THE SAME SETTINGS AS PREVIOUSLY, the PC Mark 10 Battery Life test ran for a total of 3 hours and 15 minutes on the HP Omen 15. Battery life was also somewhat disappointing compared to comparable gaming laptops on the market, most notably the ASUS Zephyrus G14.
Display
On Omen 15, watching movies and playing games offers warm, vibrant views. We were impressed by how effectively the 15.6-inch 1920 x 1080 panel handled darker complexion when we watched the 1080p promo for The Photograph. None of the performers appeared washed out or ashy, and the detail was sufficient for me to detect the small hairs in Jasmine Cephas Jones’ billowing afro.
Price and availability of the Omen 15T Gaming Laptop
The Omen 15’s entry-level model is $749 and comes equipped with an Intel Core i5-9300H processor, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 GPU with 4GB of VRAM. The $1,149 model we evaluated features a Core i7-9750H processor, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti GPU with 6GB of VRAM. The $1,299 model adds a 1TB hard drive to the 512GB SSD and includes a GeForce RTX 2060 GPU with 6GB of VRAM.
Cooling System Omen 15T
Even though we were battling our way through a freezing blizzard in Red Dead 2, the Omen stayed rather warm. After 15 minutes of gaming, our heat gun detected the touchpad at 84 degrees Fahrenheit, with the centre reaching 108 degrees. The temperature of the undercarriage hit 131 degrees, which is far higher than our 95-degree comfort standard. We reran the test after the laptop cooled down. This time, we played a 15-minute YouTube video in full-screen mode. Again, the touchpad, the centre, and the laptop’s bottom were all measured at 81, 90, and 95 degrees.
Port Options
The amazing thing about the Omen 15T Gaming Laptop is that it comes equipped with an impressive array of ports, depending on your needs and applications, whether it’s for connecting a games controller or a mouse or even for more mundane activities such as phone charging. While the Omen 15 is formidable in and of itself, the appropriate attachments may transform it into a true combat station. Fortunately, HP included a plethora of ports to facilitate this. A USB Gen.1 Type-A port and an SD card reader are located on the right. In addition, there are two USB 3.1 Gen. 1 Type-A ports on the left side of the machine, a USB Gen. 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port (with DisplayPort capability), an HDMI 1.4 port, and jacks for a headset and power.
Omen 15T Gaming Experience
HP equipped the Omen 15T Gaming Laptop with a GeForce GTX 1660 Ti GPU with 6GB of VRAM from Nvidia. I was pleasantly surprised to see that I could still play Red Dead 2 with a respectable frame rate. I drove into town and was immediately involved in a wild bar brawl. At 43 frames per second on Ultra settings, I unleashed a haymaker that connected squarely on my opponent’s jaw and knocked him down for the count. When we conducted the Shadow of the Tomb Raider test, the Omen 15 matched the 45 frames per second average and outperformed the Zephyrus’35 frames per second.
The Omen 15 averaged 68 frames per second on the Middle-Earth: Shadow of War benchmark. The Zephyrus and the G3 15 reached frame rates of 61 and 44 frames per second, respectively. The Omen 15 outperformed the Zephyrus 44 to 43 on the Rise of the Tomb Raider benchmark (Very High, 1080p). The G3 15’s GTX 1650 GPU managed barely 30 frames per second. All three devices fell short of the popular gaming laptop average of 47 frames per second.
Keyboard with touchpad
The main keyboard features a backlit RGB light-up display, which is quite handy in low and dark environments. Additionally, it features a separate number keypad adjacent to the main keyboard, which, while some may find confusing, maybe excellent and helpful for others. The Omen 15’s15 is a little mushy, but it still gives a comfortable typing experience. Additionally, I love having a fully functional numeric keypad. I averaged 65 words per minute, which is a little slower than my normal 70 wpm.
Nonetheless, the keys are lovely and large and evenly spaced. The 2.2 x 4-inch touchpad is silky smooth to the touch, and my fingertips glided easily across its surface. Pinch-zoom, two-finger scroll, and three-finger swipe were all snappy and responsive Windows 10 movements. While I appreciate distinct mouse buttons, I wish the Omen 15’s15’s had a bit more snap since the feedback was a little too soft for my liking. While the keyboard does include backlighting, the effect is considerably subdued by the red-tinted keys. Even so, it was bright enough to see in a gloomy room.
Audio
When watching internet video content, the sound quality is exceptional. The Omen 15T Gaming Laptop features state-of-the-art Bang and Olufsen audio, ensuring an enjoyable viewing experience for watching casual video material. Of course, external speakers or headphones/earphones may not be necessary when casually enjoying video on YouTube. However, when it comes to gaming, a pair of external speakers plus a good pair of headphones or earphones should enhance the experience. Nonetheless, as we played Red Dead Redemption 2, we were taken aback by how clear the whipping winds sounded as they ripped through my bedroom. A lone guitar punctuated the dying breath of a man. Later that evening, a shot from my pistol rang out, striking with a heavy thud in the chest of an adversary.
PROS
- Outstanding gaming performance
- Superb show
- AMD CPU with eight cores
- Affordability
- Luminous, vibrant display
- A productive keyboard
- Battery life is extended
- SSD with high performance
- Multitasking and streaming are a breeze with this device.
- Well-constructed
- It maintains a comfortable temperature while gaming.
- Pleasant speakers
CONS
- Massive and unwieldy design
- For a GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, this is an excessive choice.
- Battery performance is not particularly impressive.
- Backlighting for the keyboard that is entirely white
- It is limited to a single storage drive.
- Keyboard mushy
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