HP Omen 15 Laptop with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M Goes on Sale for $1,499 / €1,198 ~ The World is Mine

Nov 4, 2014

HP Omen 15 Laptop with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M Goes on Sale for $1,499 / €1,198

11/04/2014 06:31:00 PM

dannzfay

Do you remember that we told you HP was preparing to enter the gaming notebook market too? As it is, more and more device manufacturers are looking to do exactly that, encouraged by the success of companies like MSI.

Well, this week HP is resurrecting the sleeping Voodoo line of gaming PCs by unleashing a new gaming laptop, called the Omen 15 (as seen at Digital Trends). HP is widely known for its professional and business solutions, but back in 2006 when the device maker acquired the Voodoo PC subsidiary, it attempted to penetrate the gaming environment, as well. But the idea didn't really take off and by 2009 HP already abandoned the Voodoo PC project altogether and continued to focus on what it did best.

HP is not giving up on gaming

A few years later and things are quite different in the gaming world, as the demand for dedicated gaming systems continues to rise. So HP rolled out its 15-inch Omen laptop, meant to compete head-to-head with the likes of Alienware, Razer, MSI, Lenovo and MAINGEAR. The laptop packs a black machined aluminum chassis, a backlit keyboard and speakers with an extra-wide touchpad. The touchpad is the result of countless polls HP performed with consumers trying to figure out what they wanted. In the end, the company decided against adding Windows 8.1-friendly Control Zones because they might hinder gaming.

HP has setup a nice system to maintain temperature levels at optimal conditions. It had the bottom of the notebook outfitted with rubber feet to make sure fans suck in the cold air, while the vents in the rear breathe out the hot air. There’s also a hinge for the display that elevates the panel in order to protect it from a constant barrage of hot air.

HP Omen 15 is not exactly the most powerful gaming laptop out there

Moving on to the technical specifications, the base Omen model will get you a 15.6-inch notebook with 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution. Under the hood lives an Intel Core i7 quad-core processor (obviously) fitted with 8GB of RAM and supported by 128GB SSD. In the GPU department, we find the previous-generation NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M GPU with 2GB of RAM, which is exactly what the new Acer Aspire V Nitro Black Edition with 4K packs too. The Omen is also equipped with 4 USB 3.0 ports, HDMI, a mini DisplayPort, a headphone/microphone jack combo plus a battery that will sustain up to 4.5 hours of regular use.

This configuration can be yours for $1,499 / €1,198, but if you want to the 256GB PCle SSD and 4GB of VRAM treatment, you’ll need to pay an extra $100 / €79 and $200 / €160 respectively. Later on, HP will be offering a model with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage, but pricing for this version hasn't been announced yet. For those worried about portability, the HP Omen 15 breaks the scales at 4.7 lbs / 2.13 kg and is 0.78 thick. That’s a bit heavier than the MAINGEAR Pulse 15 that has 4.6 lbs / 2.08 kg, the MSI GS60 Ghost which is 4.2 lbs / 1.9 kg and the Razer Blade 14 with its 4.4 lbs / 1.9 kg. So choose wisely!