HP OMEN 16 2024 Review: The best FHD gaming experience

Name: HP OMEN 16 2024 Review: The best FHD gaming experience
Item: HP Omen Gaming Laptop (16-wf1025TX)
Rating: 8.1
Author: Manish Rajesh

By Manish Rajesh | Updated on 25-Mar-2024

Digit Rating 8.1

Performance

7.9

Features and Spec:

8.1

Build

7.4

Value for Money

9.1

PROS:

Exceptional Performance
High-speed RAM and Storage
Good 16.1-inch 165 Hz display

CONS:

Surface Heat
Cramped Keyboard Layout

Manish Rajesh

25 Mar 2024 14:50

VERDICT:

The HP Omen 16 2024 is a formidable contender in the gaming laptop arena, boasting impressive performance and premium features. Powered by a 14th gen Intel Core i7-14700HX processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, it delivers exceptional gaming prowess and productivity, outperforming even higher-tier models in its price segment. Despite its premium price tag of INR 1,49,999, the Omen 16 justifies its cost with its fantastic performance. Its 16.1-inch FHD display offers a smooth gaming experience, complemented by a respectable colour gamut coverage for content creation.

Of course, there are still things to keep in mind before considering the HP Omen 16. The laptop features a subtle design so if you want a laptop that features “gamer aesthetics”, this isn’t it. There’s also the cramped keyboard layout which takes some getting used to and the high surface temps. Nonetheless, the HP Omen 16 2024 is a solid choice for gamers who want performance, and possibly offers the best gaming performance at this price for now.

The OMEN lineup is HP’s premium gaming laptop lineup, featuring the latest hardware and a more premium build quality compared to the more budget HP Victus lineup. The HP Omen 16 2024 is their latest addition to the OMEN lineup, featuring either an NVIDIA RTX 4060 or an NVIDIA RTX 4070 paired with a 14th gen Intel Core i7-14700HX.

Priced at INR 1,60,999, the HP Omen 16 leans towards being more expensive for an RTX 4060 laptop. However, the HP Omen 16 managed to thoroughly impress us with its performance, so it actually could be worth the cost. It’s currently going for INR 1,49,999 on HPs website, and after our testing, we can confidently say that this is one of the best performing laptops we’ve seen in this price segment. To find out how exactly the Omen 16 impressed us, read on!

HP Omen 16 2024 Specs at a glance

CPU: Intel Core i7-14700HX ( 20C | 28T )
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060
TGP: 140 W
RAM: 16 GB DDR5-5600
Storage: 1 TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe TLC M.2 SSD
Display: 16.1-inch, FHD (1920 x 1080), 165 Hz, IPS panel
Price: INR 1,49,999 (As of writing this review)

HP Omen 16 2024 Gaming Performance

Let’s dive into the performance right away. The 14th gen Intel Core i7-14700HX processor on the HP Omen 16 is the best in the price segment. We saw great productivity and processor performance across all of our benchmarks, including PCMark 10, Cinebench and Geekbench.

The RAM and the SSD on-board the HP Omen 16 is also great, offering great read, write and copy speeds across the board that’s on par with other premium gaming laptop offerings.

What we were really interested in though, was the GPU performance. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU in the HP Omen comes with a TGP of 140 W. This is the highest TGP allowed by NVIDIA for this GPU. However, we have tested other 140 W RTX 4060s in the past, but none of them have given us scores this high.

The RTX 4060 in the HP Omen 16 also managed to surpass the RTX 4070 in some older models. In real-world gaming performance, the HP Omen 16 was far ahead of any other RTX 4060 gaming laptop we’ve tested to date, offering impressive FPS scores at FHD (1920 x 1080p) resolution. We can confidently say that as far as 1080p gaming is concerned, this laptop will absolutely crush it.

HP has managed to squeeze the RTX 4060 for all its got, and the numbers speak for themselves. The newer 14th gen processor definitely had a role to play as well, with CPU intensive titles like Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Civilization VI, among others, showing impressive benchmark results. As far as gaming performance is concerned, the HP Omen 16 2024 gets two thumbs up.

Heat and Noise

The HP Omen 16 comes with HP’s advanced OMEN Tempest Cooling which does a good job keeping the internals running cool. We saw peak CPU temps of 86 degrees Celsius, and peak GPU temps of 76 degrees Celsius during our CPU and GPU stress testing. Those are well within normal limits. However, the laptop surface can get a bit toasty, with the hottest spot, which is around the centre of the laptop, hitting the 43-44 degree Celsius mark which is uncomfortably hot. Fortunately, performance doesn’t throttle too much as the internals still maintain decent temps.

Display

The HP Omen 16 comes with a 16.1-inch FHD (1920 x 1080p) display with a refresh rate of 165 Hz. FHD resolution is ideal for the specs on the laptop, allowing you to easily play the latest AAA games at high or even ultra settings with the performance this laptop is offering. The display itself is also pretty good, with a slightly above average tested peak brightness of 349 nits. You also get 99.9 percent sRGB colour gamut coverage and 78 percent DCI-P3 coverage making it a decent creator laptop and a great display overall for content consumption.

HP Omen 16 2024 Build and Design

In terms of build and design, the HP Omen 16 2024 maintains the same looks and aesthetics as its predecessors with a mix of smooth and matte-black surfaces. The plastic and metal build feels fairly sturdy and premium. The overall design is very subtle with the keyboard being the only source of lighting on the whole device.

Coming to ports, the HP Omen 16 has ports on both sides and the rear of the laptop. The right side features just one USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port. On the rear, you have the charging port, another USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port, an ethernet port, and an HDMI port. Finally, you have 2 Thunderbolt 4 ports and the 3.5 combo audio port on the left side.

Coming to the keyboard, the HP Omen 16 comes with a full-sized backlit RGB keyboard. The chiclet keys offer decent travel and typing experience, but the spacing does feel a bit cramped. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve accidentally pressed the num lock key instead of the backspace key at this point. It does take some getting used to. The touchpad is pretty large, it’s smooth and responsive for when you need it, but like us most will probably opt for a mouse.