Although HP really isn’t known for its gaming products, there’s one solution provided by the company that does speak directly to the PC gaming crowd. Its Omen brand. HP’s first Omen laptop launched back in November 2014, packed with a quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, a discrete Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M GPU, up to 16GB of DDR3 memory, and a 15.6-inch screen. Now the company has updated its Omen line with three new gaming laptops, a desktop, and a monitor.
For starters, HP introduced the Omen 17laptop, a model sporting a 17.3-inch WLED-backlit IPS screen with a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution. The screen is backed by a quad-core Intel Core i7-6700HQ processor (2.6GHz, 3.5GHz), a discrete Nvidia GeForce GTX 965M GPU with 4GB of GDDR5 VRAM, 12GB of DDR4 memory, and a 1TB hybrid drive with 8GB of NAND flash.
Other features include a full-size island-style backlit keyboard with a numeric keypad, a SuperMulti DVD burner, an HD Wide Vision HD Webcam, two speakers powered by Bang & Olufsen, and a battery promising up to eight hours and 15 minutes on a single charge.
Next up is the HP Omen 15-ax033dx notebook sporting a 15.6-inch WLED-backlit IPS screen with a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution. This model packs a quad-core Intel Core i7-6700HQ processor, a discrete Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M GPU with 4GB of GDDR5 VRAM, 8GB of DDR4 memory, a mechanical 1TB hard drive and a 128GB SSD. This laptop also provides a full-size island-style backlit keyboard with a numeric keypad, an HP Wide Vision HD Webcam, dual speakers powered by Bang & Olufsen, and a battery promising up to six hours and 30 minutes on a single charge.
HP has also launched an upgraded 15-incher, the Omen 15-ax039nr, with the headline feature of full 4K resolution. The main ingredients of this notebook are a quad-core Intel Core i7-6700HQ processor, a discrete Nvidia GeForce GTX 965M graphics chip with 4GB of GDDR5 VRAM, 16GB of DDR4 memory, a 2TB mechanical hard drive and a 128GB SSD. There’s also a full-size island-style backlit keyboard with a numeric keypad, an HP Wide Vision HD Webcam, dual speakers powered by Bang & Olufsen, and a battery promising up to six hours on a single charge.
All three models include dual-band Wireless AC and Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity, a gigabit Ethernet port, an SD card reader, two USB 3.0 ports, one USB 2.0 port, an HDMI port, and a headphone/microphone combo jack. Intel’s RealSense Camera is available as an option.
Moving away from laptops, HP has teased an upcoming Omen desktop. HP says it sports a brushed-metal chassis with HP LED lighting that reacts to performance levels. There’s also three lighting effects – Single Color, Color Show, and CPU Temperature – and a selection of predefined colors along with a hue selector.
As for what’s inside the desktop, the Omen has an Intel Core i7-6700K that can be overclocked in select models. It also has Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 graphics, or an AMD Radeon R9 390X, depending on the customer’s preference. Optional liquid cooling is available for both.
Other goodies found within HP’s new gaming desktop include memory up to 32GB, storage options such as a 512GB SSD and a 3TB hard drive, four USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, a 7-in-1 SD card reader, two HDMI ports, and a USB 3.1 Type-C port.
Those who pay careful attention to the HP Omen desktop will notice that it looks almost identical to the current HP Envy Phoenix. The company stopped short of saying Phoenix is dead, but it does appear Omen is the company’s new gaming headliner, at the least.
The desktop is expected in August.
Finally, we have HP’s new Omen display, also slated for an August arrival. The screen measures 32-inches diagonally and provides 2,560 x 1,440 resolution. Other bells and whistles include wide viewing angles, brilliant visuals, a standard 100-percent sRGB color space, and a number of ports such as two HDMI ports, one DisplayPort connector, and a USB hub.
The new HP Omen monitor has support for AMD FreeSync technology, making it an awesome companion to the Omen desktop with AMD Radeon R9 390X card crammed inside. In a typical PC gaming setup, screen tearing can stem from the refresh rate of the monitor not syncing with the output framerate of the graphics chip. With FreeSync, both the monitor and graphics chip are on the same page, making the framerate fluid and without visual tearing.
“We created Omen by HP for gamers who need their PC to deliver a great experience while also allowing them the flexibility to choose the level of performance and design that fits their needs,” said Kevin Frost, vice president and general manager, consumer personal systems, HP Inc. “The new Omen platform offers the features gamers rely on – power for battling on the go, graphics for smooth gameplay and advanced thermal cooling to tackle the latest AAA games. The Omen by HP delivers gamers what they need to strike first, and last.”
On the pricing front, HP doesn’t say how much the upcoming monitor will cost late this summer, nor do we know the starting price of the Omen desktop. However, the two 15.6-inch notebooks will be made available through HP and BestBuy on July 10 with a starting price of $900, which isn’t too bad given what’s packed inside. The 17.3-inch model will be made available from HP on July 10 as well with a starting price of $1,030, or a starting price of $980 at Best Buy.
