HP Omen HP Omen 16-AP000 Gaming Laptop, 2025, 16.0" Review

The HP Omen with the Ryzen 9 8940HX and RTX 5060 is a powerful laptop that's been saddled with some truly baffling compromises. The one thing you need to know is that this is a CPU powerhouse trapped in a mid-range body, and the screen is a major letdown for the price. It's got the engine of a sports car but the tires of a budget sedan.

The raw CPU performance is the star here, landing in the 92nd percentile. That 16-core Ryzen 9 is a beast for CPU-heavy tasks and makes this thing feel incredibly snappy. The surprise is how that power feels mismatched with the rest of the package. The RTX 5060 is solid (83rd percentile), but the 8GB of VRAM is already looking tight for new games at high settings. And that 512GB SSD? It's in the bottom third for storage, so you'll be managing space from day one.

Worth it? Only if you find it on the very low end of that $1429 to $1969 price spread. At $1429, it's a decent deal for the CPU and GPU combo. At anything close to $1969, it's a hard pass because you're paying for power you can't fully utilize due to the mediocre screen and tiny SSD. Shop around aggressively.

Compared to something like the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i, you're trading better build quality, a superior screen, and often more storage for a lower price with this Omen. The Legion is the more complete package. Against an ASUS Zenbook Duo, this Omen has way more gaming power, but the Zenbook destroys it in portability and innovative design for creators. You're choosing between raw, slightly clumsy power and polished, versatile machines.

This is a niche pick. I can only recommend it to someone who needs that specific Ryzen 9 CPU horsepower for work like rendering or coding, plans to use an external monitor 100% of the time to bypass the bad screen, and is willing to immediately upgrade the SSD. For a general gaming or creator laptop, there are better-balanced options. It's powerful but deeply flawed.