The HP Omen 15 is a gaming laptop with a great 15.6-inch display, which is delivered to the customer with good calibration out of the box. We were even able to get a bit more out of it in the test through our own calibration, so that the color-space deviations could be reduced even further. The gaming aspect also includes the 144 Hz option, which further underlines the device’s application scope. Plastic is the predominant material in the case, which doesn’t feel very high quality in our opinion. In addition, the matte surfaces provide for clearly visible fingerprints.
Being a gaming device, the performance of the CPU and GPU is naturally of extreme importance. However, considering the purchase price, HP has found a good middle ground here. An Intel Core i5-10300H runs in our test configuration along with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti. Even the newest titles can be played with them. The RAM is large enough at 16 GB, but with 512 GB of storage space, the SSD is only enough for the entry level, because it’s not possible to store many games on this SSD next to the operating system. Installing a second storage drive can aid with this, and the HP Omen 15 offers two M.2 slots.
The big advantage of the HP Omen 15 is its large battery with a capacity of almost 71 Wh; it convinced in the WLAN test with long battery life. Had HP optimized the energy management in idle usage, even a longer runtime would have been possible here. The Omen 15 scored further plus points with its connectivity. The variety of connections leaves almost nothing to be desired, and Thunderbolt 3 is also on board. In regard to wireless communication, there’s even the latest Wi-Fi 6 standard.
The cooling unit, which was always audible even in idle usage, is worthy of improvement. In addition, the two fans turned up quite a bit under load, and due to the high-frequency fan noise, the measured noise level seemed even louder from a subjective standpoint.
If you choose the Omen 15 with the Core i5-10300H and the GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, you’ll get a fast system that is completely sufficient for the most common games. But if your focus is more on CPU performance, you should take a closer look at the Omen 15 with the stronger SoCs. The manufacturer also has native hexa-core devices in its portfolio here. The same applies to the built-in graphics card.