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Hewlett Packard (HP) has evolved as a PC brand and with the growing demand for gaming laptops it has created a new lineup called the Omen and Victus for many years now. The Omen lineup is interesting as it not only improvises on the concept of a gaming laptop but caters to the basic needs of a gamer as well. One would say that gaming laptops are nothing but a powerful machine with a built-in graphics card and hardware that can let you play all the popular AAA titles and do a lot more.

But with changing times, we are seeing the definition of a gaming laptop evolve, and now they are not just bulky piece of machine, and well versatile to handle other tasks. The HP Omen 16 slots in between all these changes and for Rs 2,44,900 you are getting a 13 Gen Intel Core i7 processor with premium hardware features. But does the Omen 16 have enough power and meat to be recognised as the top-choice for gamers? We decided to find out over the past few weeks and here’s the answer.

HP Omen 16 Review: What’s Cool?

The moment you take out the Omen 16 out of the box (which is big itself) you notice the large footprint and screen estate on offer. The name itself explains the reason but having a 16-inch screen on a large but relatively comfortable form factor makes for an interesting read. Make no mistake, the laptop is on the heavier side at over 2.35 kg but we’ve seen the figures go higher for gaming laptops in the past.

The 16-inch display offers QHD resolution at 1440 pixels which gives you a refresh rate of up to 240Hz. The screen quality is crisp and the size gives you an immersive gaming experience, or even watching movies can be fun.

Once you are done oggling at the screen, the Omen 16 catches your eye with its RGB-coloured keyboard layout. The multi-coloured keys have their own appeal and the big, chunky keys with adequate feedback give you the ideal typing experience, and also give enough thump to handle gaming controls.

The Omen 16 unit we got had the 13gen Intel Core i7 processor with 32GB RAM and 1TB SSD storage. You also have NVIDIA RTX 4080 GPU that powers the gaming performance at different frame rates without any hiccups. It was easy to push the needle of the laptop with various games that are hardware-intensive which the Omen 16 was able to handle with ease.

HP is offering the Bang & Olufsen speakers that would be fine in general but gamers usually like to use their headphones or speakers to power the sound. The software gives you some customisation features, including the option to change the keyboard backlight.

There are a lot of ports on the Omen 16 for connectivity, and by that we mean a lot. You get USB C, USB 3.0, multiple ThunderBolt 4.0, HDMI 2.1, headphone jack and even the ethernet port to use wired internet service. It is good to see that HP is using the dimensions to its fullest and not depriving you of the ports.

The power-IN port at the back which means you don’t have to plug in on the side. HP has bundled the laptop with a giant 280W charging adapter which should easily help you juice up the laptop in quick time.

HP Omen 16 Review: What’s Not So Cool

While the dimensions make the Omen 16 a ideal powerful machine, we would have liked better use of materials to build the laptop. The front part, especially, caught smudges easily and even the dust settles down quickly which is a big concern if you live in a dusty area.

We had to clean the body frequently but we’re not sure everyone wants that hassle after spending so much on a laptop. The trackpad on the Omen 16 was kind of a mixed bag as it generally picked up the movements but we did notice some wayward tracking which shouldn’t be the case.

While the Omen 16 has a powerful setup we still feel that other brands give you a little more for a similar price tag. You also realise that the more you push the machine to its limit, the body starts heating aggressively, and the blame mostly lies on the thermals of the Omen 16 which has a direct impact on the battery life.

We could barely get 4-5 hours on a single charge with this laptop which is lower even for a gaming machine. Also, the 280W charging adapter is huge, I mean, look at the image below, and you will realise that carrying this with the Omen 16 will get you worked up.

The market continues to grow and brands realise that people are willing to spend big if you give them the right armoury and tools.

HP Omen 16 Review: Should You Buy?

HP Omen 16 has all the attributes you would seek in a gaming laptop. It has a 16-inch QHD screen which other brands might not offer and that makes it unique on its own. It uses the latest Intel chipset which has solid performance but when you compare it with the rivals, the numbers show that it is not the best out there.

You have a solid body machine that could have used better materials at this price. There are a lot of ports which will keep everyone happy. But the battery life and thermal management definitely needs to improve especially if people push the machine to its limit. For the price HP is asking, it is a reliable machine but there is heavy competition and some even give you better bang for the buck.