The first HP Omen laptop debuted back in 2014 and since then the brand has come a long way thanks to the guidance of HP. Last year Hewlett Packard Inc. unveiled the HP Omen line of dedicated gaming PCs, a reboot of the existing line, featuring far more LED lighting. And now, a year later, HP is refreshing the line of gaming PCs. With E3 just around the corner, it’s a great time for HP to wow us and wow us they have, unveiling new gaming laptops, desktops, peripherals and even a VR-Ready backpack computer.
First up are the two new HP Omen laptops. The new 15-inch and 17-inch Omen laptops have been altered in design and now feature full-sized arrow keys thanks to a bigger keyboard layout. Meanwhile, tinkering with your laptop’s parts is now easier due to the single-access bottom panel that lifts away to give the user access to the HDD, SSD and RAM. The new HP Omen laptops also include multiple storage options such as PCIe SSD, HDD plus SSD, and HDD. Furthermore, the 17-inch model can also include an optical drive.
Consumers will not need to worry about the heat these laptops emit as both of the new models include larger fans, which will whisk hot air away from their new GPUs. The 15-inch Omen can support up to an Nvidia GTX 960 or an AMD RX500 GPU, and the 17-inch model can support up to an Nvidia GTX 1070 or an AMD RX580 GPU. When it comes to processing speed, both laptops will feature the latest Intel processors (but not the newly announced Intel Core X line), although there are sadly no AMD Ryzen CPUs included in the model options. However, it should be noted that HP has not ruled out the inclusion of Ryzen CPUs in the future. Augmenting the CPUs is a lot of RAM, specifically up to 16GB of RAM on the 15-inch model and 32GB of RAM on the 17-inch model.
When it comes to I/O, both of the refreshed Omen laptops will come with three USB Type-A ports, one USB Type-C port with optional Thunderbolt, an SD Card reader, an HDMI port, mini Display port, an Ethernet port, and an audio combo jack. The 15-inch starts at $999.99, and the 17-inch starts at $1,099.99.
The new HP Omen desktop has also been redesigned with a more intimidating look and a plethora of RGB lighting. However, the looks do server a purpose such as in the case of the angled, swappable hard drive bays that are at the top of the case as well as the edge vents for better heat distribution. Much like and gaming desktop, customisation is the big feature of this desktop and right off the bat you’re given total control.
The new HP Omen Desktop can support Intel Core i5 and i7 processors, as well as AMD Ryzen CPUs. When it comes to graphics, users are spoilt for choice and can include up to dual Nvidia GTX 1080Ti or AMD RX580, and some configurations will be VR-ready. You can have up to 32GB of DDR4 RAM, and a number of storage options include PCIe, HDD, and SSD.
To further augment your desktop experience, HP has also unveiled new peripherals. A new and improved Omen Mouse 600 has adjustable weights, a 12,000 DPI optical sensor, mechanical buttons, and an on-the-fly setting. Meanwhile, the new mechanical Omen Keyboard has anti-ghost technology, N-key rollover, individually backlit keys, and adjustable legs. For hearing, the new Omen Headset 800 features thicker earcups, boosted acoustic performance for clear high, low, and mid-tones, and a custom-tuned audio profile for clear speech. The Omen Keyboard will retail for $130, the Omen Mouse 600 for $60, and the Omen Headset 800 for a competitive $80. All three peripherals will be made available on June 6, 2017. Furthermore, HP Omen will also be this year’s PC for the Overwatch World Cup.
Lastly, HP has also unveiled two new displays, one a 25-inch and the other a 27-inch.The Omen 25-inch 1080p monitor, for instance, is designed for fast-twitch gamers who need lightning-fast response times. Overclockable to enable response times as low as 1ms, the 25-inch monitor features a 144Hz refresh rate and support for AMD FreeSync. It will cost $280 and will be available on June 26, 2017. Meanwhile, the 27-inch monitor has a TN QHD panel with Nvidia GSync, a 1ms response time, and a 165Hz refresh rate although it will set you back $800 once it’s made available on June 8, 2017.
HP have also revealed a device dubbed the Omen Graphics Accelerator. Intended for laptops with powerful processors that lack similarly powerful GPUs, it can come configured with a GPU, and features a 500W power supply, but also features a bay for an external SSD or hard disk. So you can keep your games and most of your gaming horsepower in one convenient little box. It will be available in August 2017 and will cost $300, although that does not include the price of the GPU.
Finally, the Omen Compact Desktop can be utilised for intense VR as well as for regular computer work thanks to the bundled docking station. HP hasn’t released how much the Compact Desktop and backpack package will cost, but the desktop with an Intel Core i7 processor, an 8GB GTX 1080 GPU, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, a 1TB PCIe SSD, and the included dock—is $2,499. Furthermore, the backpack accessory will cost an additional $599.
Source: HP
