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The gorgeous new HP Omen 16 gaming laptop is bigger, better, and faster

Luke Larsen
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HP

HP has announced several products in its Omen gaming line, including the brand new HP Omen 16 gaming laptop. It’s a redesign of the HP Omen 15, updated now with a larger, better screen, the latest hardware under the hood, and some tweaks to the overall look.

Other announcements include an updated Omen 17, a new midrange gaming laptop brand called HP Victus, and a new 25-inch Omen gaming monitor.

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HP Omen 16 and 17

The primary feature of the HP Omen 16 is the larger 16.1-inch screen, which HP says it has fit into the size of a standard 15-inch chassis. It has up to a QHD (2560 x 1440) 165Hz screen with a 3ms response time, matching some of the very best gaming screens from laptops like the Razer Blade 15 and MSI GS66 Stealth. Of course, 1080p panels are also available in the more affordable configurations.

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Surrounding the display are some fairly thin bezels, though the bottom chin is still rather larger. Under that bottom bezel is a new hinge, which HP calls a “floating display.”

Other aspects of the laptop, such as the per-key RGB keyboard, full-sized arrow keys, and large touchpad, are unchanged from the previous Omen 15.

HP offers either an Intel or AMD processor, paired with your choice from the Nvidia RTX 30-series, up to an RTX 3070 for a total of 115-watts. On the Intel side, you’ll get up to an 11th-gen Core i7-11800H, while the AMD configurations can be scaled up to the Ryzen 9 5900HX.

HP is also offering a mysterious RDNA 2-based AMD graphics card on the Omen 15, though the company hasn’t provided any details yet.

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The Omen 17, on the other hand, is what HP calls its “desktop-like” gaming laptop. It’s bigger and larger, obviously, though the chassis has been slimmed down slightly from last year’s model. It is 8% smaller in overall volume and 10.7% thinner this time around.

The Omen 17 otherwise looks very similar to the Omen 16, using a lot of the same design features and stylings. The keyboard is different though. Whereas the Omen 16 features standard rubber dome keys, the Omen 17 opts for optical switches, which give it a 0.2ms response time and 1.7mm of key travel. The result should be a far more tactile keyboard.

Inside, the Omen 17 has options for up to an Nvidia RTX 3080. Reserving the high-end GPU for the larger laptop is a simple way of distinguishing the two, but it also ensures that HP can give that power-hungry graphics card as much airflow as possible.

Both systems have made some changes to feature a new thermal system under the hood, known as Omen Tempest Cooling Technology. They both use a new fan that’s two and a half times thinner than the Omen 15, allowing for twice as many fan blades. Between the new fans and the increased ventilation, HP says the Omen 16 will run 3.2 degrees Celsius cooler than before, while the Omen 17 is 5 degrees cooler.

That’s important when you consider the maximum of 165 watts of total power that can be delivered to the RTX 3080.

The AMD version of the Omen 16 starts at $1,050, and the Intel model starts at $100 more. Meanwhile, the Omen 17 starts at $1,370. All the new Omen laptops will be available starting in June.

HP Victus

HP also announced an entirely new line of gaming laptops, under the brand name “Victus.” It sits in between the budget-level HP Pavilion gaming systems and the flagship HP Omen, in terms of pricing, performance, and design.

These Victus laptops have an entirely new industrial design and brand, which will undoubtedly be confusing for gamers trying to choose between this and Omen. The design isn’t quite as clean or sleek, and the system is a bit clunkier as well. Not as bad as the Pavilion laptops, of course, but again, these Victus laptops sit somewhere in between.

The first laptop to launch in the Victus line is a 16-inch gaming laptop.

It features a large touchpad, plenty of ports, and a number pad off to the right.

It’ll also be confusing to know which of these laptops to buy based on performance too, as the Victus laptops can be configured up to an Nvidia RTX 3060, which crosses into Omen territory in terms of performance. It can also go down as low as the MX450, which is almost not enough graphics power to be considered a gaming laptop. Although HP says the Pavilion laptops will continue to be supported, the Victus laptops certainly seem to tread in similar territory.

Of course, the Victus 16 gaming laptop comes with options for a Core i5 or Core i7 11th-gen Intel processor. However, you can also go all-in on AMD, offering both Ryzen 5000 processors and up to an RX 5500M graphics card.

You can even opt for a 1440p display with up to a 165Hz refresh rate.

The AMD version of the Victus 16 will start at just $800 and will launch in June. Meanwhile, the Intel version will start at $850.

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Luke Larsen
Luke Larsen
Senior Editor, Computing
Luke Larsen is the Senior editor of computing, managing all content covering laptops, monitors, PC hardware, Macs, and more.
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