[Originally posted on 07/17/17.]
HP recently released their newest Omen 17 gaming laptop, and it’s packing the power of Radeon RX 580 graphics for maxed-out 1080p visuals and memorable VR experiences. Radeon FreeSync is also on board for smooth, tear-free gaming. Let’s take a closer look!
BEST FOR:
- Smooth, High Quality 1080p/60Hz Gaming
- VR Premium Gaming & Experiences on Oculus Rift and HTC Vive
- HD Media Consumption
- Desktop replacement
KEY HARDWARE SPECS
- Radeon RX 580 8GB GPU
- 17.3” 1080p IPS display
- Intel Core-i7 7700HQ Processor
- 1TB 7200 RPM Hard Drive
- 12GB DDR4 RAM
- Bang & Olufsen Speaker System
- Weight: 8.3 pounds
BUILD AND PHYSICAL FEATURES
The HP Omen 17 makes an attractive first impression with its red and black Omen logo etched onto the brushed aluminum lid (we may be a little biased about that color choice). It’s just the right aesthetic to suggest a hint of luxury beneath its enthusiast gaming exterior.
Opening the lid reveals a full-size keyboard with both red accents and red backlighting, along with WASD keys that have a splash of white to immediately draw your fingers to the right place, even in low-lit environments. It’s a keyboard that’s great to look at, with satisfying travel and responsiveness.
Moving to the sides of the laptop, you realize HP isn’t skimping on connectivity. With USB C, USB 3.0, SD card slot, miniDP + HDMI out, and Ethernet, it has enough ports to double as a suitable desktop replacement.
DISPLAY
The 1080p IPS display is bright and crisp, and it brings FreeSync along for the ride, giving you smooth framerates, no screen tearing, and reduced input lag compared to screens without variable refresh rates enabled. It’s a transformative technology and a real value-add for any Radeon-based system, so it’s great to see it on a flagship HP system like this. Bonus points for the anti-glare screen, which means you can use the Omen 17 outside without any nasty interference from the pesky summer sun.
GAMING PERFORMANCE
But let’s get to the big question: what about gaming performance? Since the Omen 17 rides the line between portable and desktop replacement, a 1080p/60fps experience is a must. Good news, then, that it handles the most visually demanding AAA games effortlessly.
The Radeon RX 580 spits out an average 66FPS on Rise of the Tomb Raider’s Very High setting and an astounding 73FPS average on HITMAN’s Ultra quality setting with AFx8. Dirt Rally turns in more than 80FPS on the racer’s Ultra setting.1
DOOM fans will be thrilled to know that thanks to Vulkan® optimizations, iD’s latest shooter kicks out a blistering 120+ FPS. And that’s running on Ultra, the highest quality setting available.1
Overall, it’s an attractive package for gamers looking for a desktop replacement or a reasonably priced notebook that can handle anything you throw at it.
Jason Evangelho, Sr. Technical Marketing Specialist for the Radeon Technologies Group at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies, or opinions. Links to third party sites and references to third party trademarks are provided for convenience and illustrative purposes only. Unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such links, and no third party endorsement of AMD or any of its products is implied.
- Testing conducted by AMD Performance Labs as of 7/03/2017 on the 2017 HP Omen 17 Laptop, i7-7700HQ, Radeon™ RX 580, Windows 10, Radeon Driver 17.4.4. PC manufacturers may vary configurations, yielding different results. Using DOOM, Dirt Rally, HITMAN on Ultra quality settings at 1080p. Using Rise of the Tomb Raider on Very High quality settings at 1080p. The HP Omen 17 Laptop scored 120, 80, 73, and 66 fps respectively. RX-139
