HP OMEN OMEN HP OMEN - 16" 2K 144Hz Gaming Laptop - AMD Ryzen 9 Review

The HP OMEN 16 packs one of the best mobile CPUs you can get, a 94th percentile performer, into a chassis with a best-in-class port selection. It's a desktop replacement powerhouse for gaming and creative work, but it's bulky and has worrying reliability data. Hunt for a deal near $2,200 and avoid the absurd $35k listings.

The HP OMEN 16 is a performance beast that doesn't mess around. It's built around the AMD Ryzen 9 8940HX, a 16-core CPU that lands in the 94th percentile of our database, and pairs it with 32GB of DDR5 RAM and NVIDIA's new RTX 5060 GPU. That's a spec sheet that screams 'workstation-grade muscle in a gaming laptop chassis.'

And it backs it up. Our scoring puts it in the high 80s for both gaming and creator tasks, which is rare. You're getting a machine that can tear through a 4K render and then dominate a competitive shooter without breaking a sweat. Just know that this power comes in a 2.46kg package, and our data shows its reliability scores are worryingly low.

Let's talk about where this thing shines. That Ryzen 9 8940HX is one of the best mobile CPUs on the market right now. In our benchmarks, it's a standout for multi-threaded workloads, making it a monster for video editing, coding, and heavy multitasking. The RTX 5060 is also a strong performer, sitting well above average for a laptop GPU. It's more than enough to push high frame rates at the laptop's native 1920x1200 resolution, especially with DLSS 4 in the mix.

You're backed by 32GB of DDR5 RAM, which is a leading amount for this category, and a 1TB SSD that's solid and fast. The real surprise is the port selection, which is best-in-class with four USB-A ports, HDMI, and Ethernet. It's a desktop replacement that actually lets you plug in all your desktop gear.

The value story here is all about finding the right price. At its lower end around $2,220, this OMEN 16 is a compelling package of top-tier CPU, great RAM, and a capable new GPU. At that point, it's a strong price-to-performance play. But be warned: our data shows the price varies wildly, all the way up to $35k from some vendors. That's not a typo. Always shop around, because paying anywhere near the high end would be a terrible deal for this config.

Stacked up against common rivals, the OMEN's strengths are clear. It demolishes something like a 14-inch MacBook Pro in raw CPU multi-core performance and gaming capability, though Apple's machine will run circles around it in battery life and compactness. Compared to a creator-focused laptop like the MSI Creator M14, the OMEN offers more ports and a much more powerful CPU, but gives up screen quality and portability. Against other gaming laptops, its killer combo is that Ryzen 9 and the exceptional port selection, which is rare to find together. You're trading some sleekness for sheer connectivity and processing grunt.

Skip this if portability and reliability are your top concerns. It ranks in the disappointing 12th percentile for compactness at 2.46kg, and our reliability data places it in the bottom 3 percent of laptops we track. That's a major red flag if you need a machine to last for years on the go. Also, if your work is all about a stunning, color-accurate display, the OMEN's about-average screen will feel like a compromise.

This is a data-backed recommendation for power users who prioritize performance and ports over everything else. If your workflow needs 16 fast CPU cores and 32GB of RAM, and you want a laptop that can also game very well, the OMEN 16 at a good price is a fantastic choice. Just go in with eyes wide open about its size and the concerning reliability scores we've observed. It's a beast of a machine, but it might not be a gentle one.