HP Omen 14 (2024) Review: Slim Design, but What’s the Trade-off?
The HP Omen 14 (2024) gaming laptop enters the competitive 14-inch gaming laptop market with a bold claim of delivering high performance in a slim and lightweight design. While it boasts impressive portability and aesthetics, it comes with some compromises that may affect its appeal to gamers and power users. In this review, we’ll explore the features, performance, and drawbacks of the HP Omen 14 to determine if it’s worth the investment.
HP Omen 14 Design and Build Quality
Aesthetic and Feel
The HP Omen 14 comes in two finishes: Shadow Black and Ceramic White. Its all-aluminum chassis gives it a premium feel and a sturdy build quality, with only minor flex in the lid and keyboard deck. This metal construction not only adds to the laptop’s durability but also contributes to its lightweight nature, making it highly portable at just under 1.7 kg (3.7 lbs).
Portability and Size
The Omen 14 is remarkably compact for a gaming laptop, making it easy to carry around. The small 140-watt Type-C charger adds to its portability, making it convenient for on-the-go gaming or work. Despite its compact size, the laptop’s screen hinge has a bit of wobble, which might be noticeable during travel or if the laptop is on an unstable surface.
HP Omen 14 Display
OLED Panel
One of the standout features of the HP Omen 14 is its 14-inch OLED display, boasting a 120Hz refresh rate. The OLED technology offers a high color gamut, making it ideal for both content creation and gaming. It delivers deep blacks and vibrant colors, enhancing the visual experience for games and media consumption.
Brightness and Reflectivity
The screen’s brightness reaches up to 400 nits in SDR mode and 450 nits with HDR enabled, which is decent for indoor use but may struggle under direct sunlight or brightly lit environments due to its glossy finish. The glossy surface can lead to noticeable reflections, which may be distracting in some lighting conditions.
Keyboard and Input Devices
RGB Keyboard
The keyboard features per-key RGB backlighting, allowing for extensive customization through the Omen Gaming Hub software. The HyperX-branded keyboard, a result of HP’s acquisition of the company, offers a satisfying typing experience with clicky keys and good feedback. The unique “pudding” keycap design allows the lighting to shine through the translucent edges, creating an eye-catching effect.
Touchpad
The touchpad is responsive and utilizes most of the available space on the palm rest, providing accurate tracking for day-to-day tasks. It complements the keyboard well, making the overall input experience quite satisfactory.
HP Omen 14 Connectivity and Ports
Port Selection
The HP Omen 14 offers a reasonable selection of ports for a gaming laptop of its size. On the left side, you’ll find a Thunderbolt 4 Type-C port and a 3.5mm audio combo jack. The right side houses two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, although they are positioned a bit too close together, potentially causing issues when connecting bulkier devices. The rear features a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port and an HDMI 2.1 output.
Charging and Display Output
Both Type-C ports support charging, but HP recommends using the rear port for optimal performance. The Type-C ports also support DisplayPort 1.4 for external displays, although they are connected to the Intel integrated graphics. The HDMI port connects directly to the NVIDIA GPU, allowing for full performance when gaming on an external monitor.
HP Omen 14 Performance
Specifications
The reviewed configuration of the HP Omen 14 includes Intel’s Core Ultra 9 185H Meteor Lake processor, NVIDIA’s RTX 4070 graphics, 32GB of RAM, and a 14-inch 120Hz OLED screen. This setup promises solid gaming performance and multitasking capabilities.
Gaming Performance
While the Omen 14 aims to deliver strong gaming performance, it struggles to fully utilize its hardware potential due to thermal and power limitations. In tests with demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Red Dead Redemption 2, the RTX 4070’s performance was comparable to or slightly better than lower-tier GPUs like the RTX 4050 in HP’s Victus series. ASUS’s Zephyrus G14, a direct competitor, consistently outperformed the Omen 14 despite having the same GPU, thanks to better thermal management.
Thermals and Noise
The Omen 14’s cooling system includes two fans and a design that exhausts air out the back, avoiding hot air blowing onto your hand while using a mouse. The laptop remains relatively quiet even under heavy loads, a trade-off for lower GPU power limits. While the keyboard area remains comfortable to the touch during gaming, the lower noise levels come at the cost of reduced gaming performance compared to other laptops in its class.
Battery Life
Battery life is another strong point for the Omen 14, lasting approximately 8 hours and 48 minutes in a YouTube video playback test, a commendable feat for an Intel-based gaming laptop. The dynamic refresh rate feature, which lowers the screen refresh rate to 60Hz when unplugged, helps extend battery life, automatically reverting to 120Hz when plugged back in.
HP Omen 14 Upgradeability and Future-Proofing
Upgrade Limitations
The HP Omen 14 faces some limitations when it comes to upgradeability. The RAM and Wi-Fi are soldered to the motherboard, preventing future upgrades. The single M.2 slot allows for storage upgrades, but this restricts expansion options compared to some competitors like Lenovo’s Slim 5, which offers two M.2 slots.
Wi-Fi 7 Readiness
Despite supporting Wi-Fi 7, the Omen 14 currently operates at Wi-Fi 6 speeds, with drivers for Wi-Fi 7 expected in future updates. This is a minor setback but indicates potential for future wireless performance improvements.
HP Omen 14 Price and Value
Pricing Considerations
At the time of review, the HP Omen 14 is priced at $1,700 for the RTX 4070 model, with occasional sales dropping it to $1,300. This price point puts it in direct competition with similarly equipped laptops like the ASUS Zephyrus G14. While the Omen 14 offers a sleek design and impressive OLED display, its limited gaming performance and upgradeability may not justify the premium price tag for some users.
The HP Omen 14 (2024) is a well-designed and portable gaming laptop that excels in aesthetics, display quality, and battery life. However, it falls short in gaming performance compared to competitors with similar hardware, primarily due to power and thermal constraints. While it offers a quieter and cooler experience, this comes at the cost of lower frame rates in demanding games. If portability, design, and display quality are your primary concerns, the Omen 14 is worth considering. However, for gamers prioritizing maximum performance, other options like the ASUS Zephyrus G14 might offer better value.
Pros:
- Sleek and lightweight design
- Excellent OLED display with vibrant colors
- Quiet operation under load
- Good battery life
Cons:
- Limited gaming performance for its class
- Soldered RAM and Wi-Fi limit upgradeability
- Premium price compared to performance
In summary, the HP Omen 14 (2024) is a compelling choice for users seeking a stylish and portable gaming laptop with a beautiful display, provided they are willing to accept some trade-offs in raw gaming performance.