HP OmniBook X 14" X1E-78-100 Silver Review

The HP OmniBook X delivers best-in-class CPU speed and all-day battery in a featherweight 2.9-pound chassis, with a sharp 2.2K touchscreen. Its integrated GPU is weak, so forget gaming or heavy 3D work. At $899, it's a phenomenal value for web-first users, but at $1600, it's overpriced. If your workflow fits inside a browser and Office, this is a gem.

The HP OmniBook X is HP's swing at the ARM-powered Windows laptop, and it lands some serious punches. You're getting the Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100, a 12-core chip that, in our benchmarks, sits at the absolute top of the CPU charts right now, tied with a few exotic desktop replacements. This 14-inch ultraportable stuffs that silicon into a 1.35kg body with a 2.2K IPS touchscreen, 16GB of LPDDR5X, and a 512GB SSD. It's aimed squarely at students, road warriors, and anyone who wants all-day battery in a premium-feeling machine without paying MacBook money. Prices skim from $899 up to $1600 depending on the retailer, and that low-end price puts some serious value on the table.

But a killer CPU doesn't tell the whole story. The integrated Adreno GPU is the compromise here, pulling a disappointing 37th percentile in our graphics tests. That means no serious gaming, and even GPU-accelerated creative work will feel sluggish. The 14-inch IPS display covers 100% sRGB with a sharp 2240x1400 resolution, a strong performer for color work, though 300 nits of brightness keeps it firmly indoors. Ports are sparse: two USB-C, one USB-A, and that's it. You'll want a dongle for HDMI or an SD card reader.

Where the OmniBook X really shines is battery life and thermals. The Snapdragon X Elite sips power, and combined with a 59Wh battery, you can expect well over 12 hours of real-world mixed use, often stretching into a second workday. The chassis stays cool and quiet under light loads, a perk of that ARM efficiency. For students taking notes, workers in browser-heavy jobs, or anyone tired of hunting for outlets, this thing is a breath of fresh air. Just know that the moment you step outside the ARM native app ecosystem, you're rolling the dice on emulation compatibility.

The Snapdragon X Elite here is an absolute monster for CPU-bound tasks. Our benchmark suite sees it trading blows with high-end Intel and AMD chips, and it outpaces every other sub-$1600 laptop we've tested, landing among the best on the market. Multi-core rendering, code compilation, and heavy multitasking fly. The 16GB of soldered RAM is adequate, falling in the solid middle of the pack, and while the 512GB NVMe SSD is nothing special about average in throughput, it doesn't feel like a bottleneck in daily use.

But the Adreno GPU tells a different story. It's a weak spot that lags behind most integrated solutions in 2024, let alone discrete graphics. Light photo editing and video playback are fine, but you'll see stuttering in anything 3D, and our gaming benchmarks were brutally low a 17.3 out of 100 score tells you that this isn't for even casual gaming. On the software side, Windows on ARM has matured, but you will run into apps that either refuse to install or feel sluggish under Prism emulation. Things like Adobe's entire Creative Cloud and most Office apps are native, but niche tools and older games remain a mixed bag.

Pricing here is a rollercoaster. At $899, the OmniBook X is frankly a bargain for the CPU muscle and battery life you're getting. You'd be hard-pressed to find another ultrabook that can match this processor's speed without spending hundreds more. However, some vendors list it at $1600, and at that price, the value collapses. For that kind of cash, you're stepping into the territory of a MacBook Pro or a high-end OLED ultrabook with a brighter screen and better GPU.

We've seen the best deal at Newegg at the lower end of that spread, and if you can snag it there, it's a compelling buy. Just double-check the vendor before clicking purchase, and stick to the sub-$1,000 range. Above that, the compromises in display brightness and graphics start to hurt.

Stacked against the Apple MacBook Pro M4, the OmniBook X looks like a budget imitator. The MacBook's GPU is in a different league, its Mini-LED screen smokes the HP's 300 nits, and the build quality is flawless, but you'll pay at least $1,600 for the privilege. For pure CPU grunt in thin spreadsheets or browser tabs, the HP gets close for a lot less money. On the Windows side, the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro often packs an Intel Core Ultra with a vastly superior integrated GPU and a stunning AMOLED display, though it's heavier and pricier. You'd pick the Samsung if screen quality matters above all else.

Then there's the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14. That machine is a tiny gaming powerhouse with an RTX 4060 or 4070, proper cooling, and a 165Hz display. It weighs a bit more and battery life isn't as epic, but if you want to game on the go, the OmniBook X isn't even in the same conversation. For pure productivity and portability, the HP holds its own, and the one USB-A port is a nice touch that's disappearing from many rivals. If your workflow lives inside a browser and Office 365, the OmniBook X is a smarter, cheaper pick than a gaming laptop.

If you play any games beyond Solitaire or need to run GPU-accelerated workloads like 3D modeling, video editing with effects, or CAD, the OmniBook X will disappoint deeply. The integrated Adreno GPU is simply not built for that, and you'll get a frustratingly choppy experience. Likewise, if your workflow depends on a very specific Windows app that hasn't been ported to ARM and doesn't emulate well, this isn't the machine for you. Instead, look at the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 for a compact gaming laptop with a real GPU, or the Dell XPS 13 with Intel Core Ultra for a bright, traditional x86 alternative. For a dead-simple ARM experience without compatibility drama, Apple's MacBook Air M3 or M4 is a safer bet, though you'll pay more for it.

For students, note-takers, and professionals who live in Microsoft Edge and Outlook, the OmniBook X is a quiet, cool, long-lasting companion that won't break the bank at $899. The Snapdragon X Elite feels genuinely snappy, and the 2.2K touchscreen is crisp and color-accurate. It's a laptop that disappears into your bag and doesn't scream for a charger by lunchtime. If your digital life is mostly SaaS apps and you don't tinker with legacy software, you'll love it.

On the flip side, if you even dabble in Minecraft or need to run an older CAD application, this machine will frustrate you. The GPU is a dealbreaker for anything beyond video streaming. And if you work outside a lot, that 300-nit screen simply isn't up to the task. Spend a little more on a Galaxy Book5 Pro for a better display and graphics, or grab a MacBook Air if you want a seamless ARM experience with zero compatibility guesswork. The OmniBook X is a specialist, not a generalist.