HP Omen

A 15.6-inch full high-definition touchscreen display, Quad Core 5th Generation Intel i7 processor, 8GB of RAM, 4 GB of dedicated graphics memory on its NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M board, a customisable back-lit keyboard and six programmable function keys, all encased in a 19.9 mm thick aluminium casing, the HP Omen is a purpose-built machine for people who want the ultimate gaming experience on their laptop.

Using CNC machined premium aluminium, HP has ensured that the Omen’s chassis is optimised for thermals so that its processor can run at full speed for a longer time. The aluminium body is anodised into a matte black finish, and all its ports— 4x USB 3.0, a full sized HDMI, 3.5 mm audio jack and a mini display port— are placed at the back of the laptop. The only port on the side is an SD card slot.

The touchscreen features fast refresh rates, resulting in game-play precision on the monitor. While the display puts out some crisp pictures, you can set multiple colours on the backlight of the keyboard to highlight specific keys and enjoy your games. There is even back-light illumination for the speaker grilles.

The speakers are Bang & Olufsen and offer a good sound experience. To ensure that the sound remains crisp and lossless, the speakers are located on a dedicated audio island that not only isolates the sensitive audio circuit from other circuits, but also ensures that you don’t cover them up with your hands while working on the machine. The Omen also includes an audio control panel that allows you to customise your audio experience based on preset configurations (or you can manually tune the sound to your liking).

Yes, the price is worthy of a debate, but given the attention to detail and overall experience, the HP Omen is a great machine.

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