HP Omen 15 (2018) evaluation: palms on

Out of all of the gaming laptops I’ve examined to this point, there have been only a few which have justified their usually extortionate costs. In reality, the one one I’d contemplate shopping for myself proper now could be Dell’s Alienware 13 – and even that’s not fully freed from flaws. But after seeing the brand new HP Omen 15 laptop computer within the flesh, it seems like we’d lastly have a contender for finest gaming laptop computer of the yr – nay, of ALL TIME. It’s small, dinky and has some severely beefy innards, however the very best factor about it’s that you simply would possibly by no means want to purchase one other one ever once more because of HP’s intriguing new Game Stream characteristic. Let’s have a look.

Compared to final yr’s Omen 15, this new mannequin has a a lot, a lot smaller footprint, making it extra transportable and simpler to lug spherical in a again pack. It’s not fairly Razer Blade ranges of svelte slimness, however it’s instantly extra interesting (to not point out considerably lighter) than Dell’s Inspiron G5 15, for instance. HP’s new ‘micro-edge’ bezels additionally imply you don’t have such chunky swathes of plastic surrounding its 15.6in 1920×1080 show, both, making the entire display screen really feel larger and extra upmarket.

Speaking of that show, all however one of many 4 2018 fashions now comes with a fairly beautiful 144Hz refresh fee, whereas the highest Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 configuration additionally has Nvidia G-Sync assist for clean, tear and stutter-free gaming. The latter naturally provides fairly a big chunk of additional change onto the Omen 15’s general value (£1599 in comparison with the non-G-Sync £929, £999 and £1249 specifications – US pricing to be confirmed), however offered the standard of its IPS display screen is as much as snuff, it might properly be value it if you happen to fancy the thought of tremendous clean 144fps gaming on the go.

The Omen 15’s actual social gathering trick, nonetheless, is that tantalising Game Stream characteristic. Activated by way of its Omen Command Centre software program, this basically allows you to stream video games out of your desktop PC at dwelling to your new Omen 15 wherever you occur to be. None of this ‘you must be on the same Wi-Fi network’ nonsense. As lengthy as you’re related to the web (and your PC at house is turned on), you may stream no matter recreation you need from your own home library – useful, say, if you happen to’re brief on cupboard space or need to play one thing the bottom mannequin’s Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 or 1050Ti chips aren’t fairly able to dealing with at full velocity utilizing the very best graphics settings.

That’s fairly a game-changing piece of expertise when you concentrate on it, because it not solely provides the Omen 15 a brand new diploma of future-proofing that no different gaming laptop computer can provide proper now, however it additionally means you not must go for probably the most highly effective graphics specification to technically get the very best quality gameplay, permitting you to save lots of your self a bit of cash within the course of.

Of course, a big a part of Game Stream’s enchantment will rely on what sort of graphics card your PC has already. It in all probability received’t be a lot use if, say, you don’t have already got an Nvidia GTX 10-series card that’s extra highly effective than the Omen 15 mannequin you’re pondering of shopping for, for example. But consider it like this: as a substitute of shopping for a complete new laptop computer when the Omen 15 begins to really feel a bit creaky (or, certainly, take into consideration investing in an exterior GPU that can basically tie you to your desk always), you possibly can simply improve the graphics card in your PC and reap the profit throughout two machines as a substitute of 1.

Now, I realise the phrase ‘cloud gaming’ should still make a few of you get away in a chilly sweat after its fairly rocky makes an attempt at changing into a mainstream gaming service through the years, however primarily based on different PC companies I’ve seen and examined during the last yr or so, akin to Nvidia GeForce Now and Blade’s tiny Shadow cloud PC box, I can safely say that issues are undoubtedly beginning to get lots higher on this entrance.

Indeed, HP’s Game Stream service is constructed on the identical tech utilized by cloud gaming firm Parsec, who boast extremely low latency occasions and compatibility with Nvidia and AMD graphics playing cards alike. Unfortunately, HP’s demo session wasn’t set as much as present Game Stream off in particular person, however relaxation assured that that is undoubtedly one thing I’ll be placing to the take a look at as soon as evaluation samples of the Omen 15 arrive within the subsequent week or so.

Another piece of excellent information is that Game Stream will probably be coming to all HP Omen laptops as a free replace quickly if it hasn’t accomplished so already, so that you don’t even essentially must stump up the money for a brand new Omen 15 with the intention to make the most of it. If you’ve already splashed out on HP Omen X 17, for instance, you then’ll be getting Game Stream on that, too.

Another new characteristic on the Omen 15 is its RGB keyboard. Now earlier than you begin groaning about extra pointless RGB gubbins, you’ll be happy to listen to it’s not massively noticeable at first look. You can nearly see it if you happen to squint laborious sufficient from the correct angle, however it’s undoubtedly not going to distract you from enjoying video games.

All of the brand new Omen 15 fashions include certainly one of Intel’s 8th Gen Coffee Lake CPUs as properly, beginning on the quad-core Intel Core i5-8300H and going all the best way as much as the six-core Intel Core i7-8750H. There will even be a Core i7+ 8750H Intel Optane Memory configuration as properly, simply in case the remainder of its numerous NVMe SSD and conventional HDD storage choices aren’t fast sufficient for you. Just keep in mind that this explicit mannequin – the £1249 one – doesn’t include the 144Hz refresh fee show.

Sensibly, a lot of the HP Omen 15’s ports have additionally been relocated to the again of the chassis, serving to to maintain your cables good and tidy in your desk if you find yourself connecting it to an exterior show or Ethernet cable. You’ll nonetheless discover two USB3 ports on the facet, in addition to separate headphone and microphone jacks, however the remaining are all squeezed in between its rear vents. These embrace a full-sized HDMI port, mini DisplayPort, a 3rd USB3 port and a USB Type-C port, plus your Gigabit Ethernet.

All in all, I’m very a lot trying ahead to placing the Omen 15 by way of its paces when it will definitely rocks up within the subsequent couple of weeks. Let’s simply hope its display screen isn’t as diabolical as nearly each different gaming laptop computer I’ve examined not too long ago, and that its tempting Game Stream tech is nearly as good because it sounds.