HP Omen Max 16 review: Desktop level gaming performance in a portable laptop

HP Omen Max 16 is one of those gaming laptops that doesn’t come around very often, but when it does, it quickly becomes a highly desirable device for gamers. This gaming beast is packed to the brim with hardware and software that rival a gaming desktop at this point. With a price tag of a whopping ₹3,09,999, it had better run every modern title on ultra settings. Let’s begin with the Omen Max 16 review and see just how desirable it remains till the end.

HP Omen Max 16 design and build quality

The Omen Max 16 comes with a very stealthy look; it is matte all around and HP calls this shadow black finish, which sounds and looks good. Only until you start touching it, it becomes a fingerprint magnet. That aside, the build quality is amazing, with not even a flex anywhere on the whole chassis. Even the hinge feels pretty solid with no wobble when adjusting the display, and with a laptop this heavy, you can lift the lid with one finger.

The laptop is heavy at 2.6 kg, which is not very easy to carry, and on top of that, the power brick is another approximately 700 grams. So, good luck carrying it around in a backpack. The laptop is also thick, with 24.8 mm at the thickest part. But I shouldn’t be complaining because that extra weight is on me. After all, I wanted the best of the best gaming performance in a portable design.

HP Omen Max 16 display

The 16-inch WQXGA IPS display stands out with its 2560×1600 resolution, 240Hz variable refresh rate, 3ms response time, and 500 nits brightness. The 16:10 aspect ratio offers extra vertical space for people who work with spreadsheets. But in gaming, it’s not much use unless you play strategy games like DOTA or LOL.

The display features a matte finish on top, which cuts off any glare when using the laptop in a well-lit room or even outside. With an IPS panel this big, I often see light bleed or uneven lighting, but HP has again kept the premium experience consistent here. The 240Hz refresh rate not only makes the games look smooth, but everyday tasks like browsing the web also become a pleasant experience.

This IPS panel is pretty good with contrast and the sharpness of the content. Its 3ms response time is good for esports titles like Counter-Strike. The brightness is also great; I barely had to crank the brightness to max even when playing horror games like Resident Evil.

HP Omen Max 16 keyboard and trackpad

The keyboard you get here is a full-size keyboard with a numpad and a couple of extra keys, which may come in handy. Key features include a quiet press with a nice bounce to them, which is great for gaming as well as typing. The keys are also very stable, so no wobble or cheap feeling at all. One complaint I have is that with a numpad, the main keys shift to the left and it needs a little bit of adaptation, especially for typing.

The keyboard is all RGB with per-key lighting, with sufficient brightness to use the keyboard in low light. Omen Gaming Hub has a lot of customisation options to choose from and, with a lighting extension and custom theme maker, the options become endless. A light strip is also provided at the front of the laptop, which can also be configured like the keyboard lighting.

The trackpad is decent with a large surface area and a nice feel to the touch, even though it is not a glass-top trackpad. This is a clicky trackpad with a button and the click sounds hollow. It is a precision trackpad with multi-finger gesture support and, overall, the tracking is accurate and snappy.

HP Omen Max 16 performance

Omen Max 16 features an Intel Core Ultra 9 and an Nvidia RTX 5080 GPU; there are very few options available to buy right now. This is the best combination for a gaming laptop at present, since there is barely any game available that can make this hardware sweat. Let’s start with the synthetic benchmarks and see how it performed there.

Starting with Geekbench, it scored 1,540 in single-core performance and 15,812 in multi-core performance. PCMark 10 gave it 6,108 points for its overall performance. I also ran Cinebench 24 and the scores are pretty good; the single-core score is 55, which is just above a 16-core Threadripper chip. The multi-core score is 1,405, which is just above a 32-core Threadripper chip.

I played multiple AAA titles on this laptop, including Cyberpunk 2077, Doom: The Dark Ages, Stellar Blade, and Ghost of Tsushima. Out of these, Doom, Stellar Blade, and Ghost of Tsushima gave around 200 FPS at native resolution and ultra settings. Only Cyberpunk 2077 gave this GPU a run for its money; you get about 60 to 70 FPS with graphics settings cranked to the max, including Path Tracing enabled.

HP’s Tempest Cooling Pro system uses a large vapour chamber and liquid metal thermal compound to keep temperatures in check. The laptop stays cool to the touch and you cannot hear the fan spinning with regular tasks like browsing, watching content, or even on idle.

When you run games, the fans get louder depending on the performance mode. When on performance, you can hear the fan going loud. Fans go all the way up to 6,000 RPM with Unleashed mode turned on and even with that, the fans are not as loud as I expected them to be in a gaming laptop.

HP Omen Max 16 software and features

HP’s Omen Gaming Hub software offers granular control over all the features of the laptop, including performance modes, RGB lighting, and fan cleaning. Pro users can take full advantage of the performance tuning features available in the Gaming Hub to squeeze out maximum frame rates from the hardware.

A fan cleaning feature is available that spins the fans in the opposite direction to eject all the dust collected on the blades of the fan. An Omen AI mode is provided in the Gaming Hub that dials in the best settings automatically for competitive FPS games, and currently it works only in three games: Counter-Strike, Apex Legends, and League of Legends.

HP Omen Max 16 audio and camera

The dual speakers on the Max 16 support DTS:X Ultra with HP Audio Boost to offer clear and loud sound. Although the sound quality is pretty decent, don’t expect too much from these speakers.

The 1080p camera supports Windows Hello and it comes with a privacy shutter. Camera quality is good and, with the addition of Windows Studio effects, it becomes a nice addition for meetings or casual video calls.

A gaming laptop requires robust connectivity, and HP has taken care of this with a total of seven important ports. It includes 2 Thunderbolt 4 ports, 2 USB Type-A ports, an HDMI 2.1, one RJ45, and one headphone jack. For wireless connectivity, it features Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4

An 83Wh battery is not the biggest I have seen on a laptop, but it is still big enough to give you about 3 to 4 hours of web browsing. Although it is not recommended to play games on battery, I tried it and got about an hour of gameplay on Eco mode. The 330W charger supports fast charging and tops up 50% battery in 30 minutes

HP Omen Max 16 Pros and Cons

Pros

• Top-tier performance with Intel Core Ultra 9 and RTX 5080
• Excellent high refresh rate display
• Premium design and sturdy build
• Stays cool when not under stress
• Good port selection
• Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 support
• Supports overclocking with Unleashed mode

Cons

• Fans get loud under heavy load
• Average battery life
• Laptop and charger combine weight is more than 3 kg
• Matte finish attracts fingerprints
• Average speaker quality
• High price point

HP Omen Max 16 final verdict

The HP Omen Max 16 is a maxed-out gaming laptop that I can’t even think twice about before recommending to you if you can afford one. This laptop can easily replace your gaming PC without a noticeable performance drop. That said, once you decide to buy this laptop, you must know that it’s a heavy machine and carrying it around with its charger is not easy.