Released near the end of August of 2018, the ‘new’ Omen 15 by HP laptop is one of the best Omens to date. Packed with a 6-core Intel 8th generation i7-8750H processor, The Omen 15 by HP makes a great option if it’s time to upgrade your old laptop.

Before we go into further details, here are the specifications along with its pros and cons for Omen 15 by HP:

Specifications

• 8th Generation Intel Core i7-8750H
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti *4 GB GDDR5)
• 15.6” FHD IPS display (60 Hz, 1920 x 1080)
• 8 GB DDR4-2666 SDRAM (1 x 8 GB)
• 1 TB 7200 rpm SATA HDD
• 128 GB PCIe NVME M.2 SSD
• Windows 10 Home Single Language 64

Pros

• Design
• Speakers
• Solid build
• Smaller form factor

Cons

• Generic Design
• Price Point in Malaysia
• Fans are a little bit louder than other gaming laptops

Design

The Omen by HP lineup of computers has maintained its signature design of brushed aluminum, carbon fiber-like panels, and their red logo. The carbon fiber-like panels are made from durable plastic with a matte finish, meaning your laptop will continue to look great without any fingerprints and smudges.

The keyboard feels much sturdier, noticeably missing the flex you would feel on previous years’ models. They now also have four separate zones for RGB customization for the keyboard – which is nice. The trackpad, powered by Synaptics drivers instead of the new Windows Precision drivers, feels a little bit off in general – but who actually uses a trackpad on a gaming machine anyways? You’d probably be using a mouse 99% of the time.

Portability

With smaller bezels around the screen and a smaller form factor overall, this iteration of the Omen is probably the best designed so far. The laptop is not as bulky as their previous models but is still comparable in size to other gaming laptops of similar class.

A big surprise about the Omen 15 is that it’s actually somewhat portable as a gaming laptop, boasting a max battery life of about 5-6 hours, and a 0-100% charging time of 2 hours. As for heavy gaming, like any gaming laptop, don’t expect to get more than one and a half to two hours of game time.

Gaming

Nothing spectacular here with this specific model of Omen 15, and very much standard specs for a gaming laptop of this class (GTX 1050Ti and a 60 Hz screen). The Omen 15 is considered very much an entry-level machine for gamers and will serve most casual gamers well for the duration of its lifespan. If you’re a more hardcore gamer (or just want more power), look into getting a machine with at least a GTX 1060 (or preferably a GTX 1070) with at least a 120hz monitor. HP Malaysia does offer a higher-specced model of the Omen with both the GTX 1060 and 144hz monitor on their site.

Coming back to actual performance, Fortnite averaged 65 FPS on high settings during our tests, which is more than adequate and respectable enough for the general casual gamer – especially since the screen is only 60Hz anyways.

Also, it should be added that this laptop comes with a ton of different ports (1x USB 3.1 Type-C,3 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A, Mini DisplayPort, HDMI 2.0, 2.5mm Microphone and Headphone Jack) Full Size SD card Reader), so you should be able to connect all your accessories to the Omen with ease. It’s also nice that the Omen 15 still comes equipped with a Bang & Olufsen-designed sound system – one of the best that you can get on an entry-level gaming laptop.

Bottom Line

The 2018 model of the Omen 15 is the best iteration of HP’s gaming laptops so far. Unlike the previous model, there are no real issues to highlight – and we can confidently put this on our recommendation list.

The only catch is that for those on a very tight budget, you can easily find similar specced entry-level gaming laptops for slightly cheaper in Malaysia – but those other machines don’t come with that awesome-sounding B&O sound system.

Retail price for the Omen by HP 15-dc0093TX on their site is RM 5,284.00, but you can probably find it for about 4.9k if you talk to other HP vendors as of the time of writing this article.

Shoutout to the folks at HP Malaysia who loaned us the Omen by HP 15-dc0093TX for the review!

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Good news, OMEN owners. You are free to own PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) and Special In Game Content: Exclusive Intel Jacket worth RM209.45. Plus, stand a chance to win a Customised OMEN by HP Gaming Chair worth RM800!

All you have to do submit your proof of purchase via this website and complete the slogan to earn that sweet gaming chair!

The campaign runs from 14 December 2018 to 25 January 2019. 

All Redemption entries must be submitted by 5PM (Malaysian time) on 27 January 2019.