HP’s Omen Transcend 16 gaming laptop computer (begins at $1,249.99; $3,009.99 as examined) is a slimmed-down model of its mainstay Omen 16 mannequin. Although we admire its gorgeous OLED display screen and trendy seems, it’s too steeply priced and shortly outclassed in efficiency subsequent to way more inexpensive high-end machines, even in battery life. Look to the Alienware m16 R2 and the Editors’ Selection-award-holding Lenovo Legion Professional 7i Gen 9 for superior worth and efficiency.Configuration and Design: Slimmed Down Exterior, Some Compromises InsideOur configured-to-order mannequin has each improve, together with an Intel Core i9-14900HX CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 graphics card (130 watts whole graphics energy), 32GB of reminiscence, a 2TB solid-state drive, Home windows 11 Professional, an OLED display screen, a per-key RGB keyboard, and Intel Wi-Fi 7. It greater than doubles the value of the bottom mannequin, which has a Core i7-14700HX CPU, a GeForce RTX 4050, a 1,920-by-1,200-pixel IPS display screen with a 165Hz refresh fee, and a four-zone keyboard. Contemplating almost each gaming laptop computer round this value homes a GeForce RTX 4080 or higher, this Omen actually must do effectively elsewhere to justify the value.
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(Credit score: Joseph Maldonado)
Dimension-wise, the Omen’s 0.78 by 14.1 by 10.6 inches (HWD) chassis and 4.82-pound beginning weight make the Alienware m16 R2 (0.93 by 14.3 by 9.8 inches, 5.75 kilos) and the Lenovo Legion Professional 7i Gen 9 (1 by 14.3 by 10.3 inches, 6.17 kilos) seem chunky. Nonetheless, the Omen solely loses 0.15 inch of thickness and a half-pound of weight in contrast with the common HP Omen 16 (0.93 by 14.5 by 10.2 inches, 5.4 kilos).
(Credit score: Joseph Maldonado)
Selecting up the Omen Transcend 16 is a straightforward technique to admire how effectively it’s constructed. The magnesium-alloy chassis is sturdy and neither flexes nor makes any sounds—irrespective of the way it’s dealt with. It’s not a lot to take a look at, with solely reflective Omen lettering on the lid and huge exhaust vents giving freely its gaming nature. HP’s various, flashier Ceramic White chassis model of this mannequin can not, sadly, be configured with the OLED display screen.
(Credit score: Joseph Maldonado)
The port choice begins on the left, with a pair of Thunderbolt 4 USB Kind-C ports and a 3.5mm audio jack. The appropriate edge has just one port, a USB Kind-A. The remainder of the ports are on the again, together with an AC energy barrel connector, an Ethernet jack, an HDMI 2.1 video output, and one other USB Kind-A port.
(Credit score: Joseph Maldonado)
(Credit score: Joseph Maldonado)
The Omen Transcend has a normal Intel Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 card, however like our overview unit, you may configure it with the brand new Intel BE200 card supporting Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4. Some parts, together with two SO-DIMM RAM slots, an M.2 2280 solid-state storage drive, the M.2 2230 wi-fi card, and the battery, are upgradable by eradicating the underside panel. HP’s commonplace guarantee is one 12 months.
(Credit score: Joseph Maldonado)
Utilizing the HP Omen Transcend 16 (2024): Fairly the Fairly Pixel PusherThe Omen Transcend’s most important generational change is its swap from a mini-LED display screen to an OLED mannequin. Why HP made the swap isn’t clear—we had zero complaints about mini-LED after we final reviewed it—however I am not complaining. This 2,560-by-1,600-pixel display screen brings every thing I take a look at to life, from net browsing to the most recent video games. Its blacks are inky, whites are stark, and colours dazzle. The 240Hz refresh fee creates a clean image, although Nvidia G-Sync help is sadly not current.
(Credit score: Joseph Maldonado)
I’m much less of a fan of the Omen’s keyboard. Although I managed 107 phrases per minute with 99% accuracy within the MonkeyType on-line typing take a look at, which is fairly quick for me, I discovered the dearth of cushioning tiring for lengthy typing periods. No less than its per-key RGB backlighting seems first rate; it’s configurable within the included Omen Gaming Hub app. In the meantime, the large touchpad is correct however may have extra satisfying bodily clicking motion.The Omen’s audio system have ample quantity and an inexpensive soundstage for solo leisure, although they lack bass. Above the show, the 1080p webcam has a sliding privateness shutter and infrared to help Home windows Howdy facial recognition logins. The video high quality suffices for informal use, however I discover I’ve to tilt the show extra upright than appears pure to maintain my face in view.
(Credit score: Joseph Maldonado)
The fan noise in my testing is common for a laptop computer on this class; it’s noticeable throughout a medium-size room however not more likely to distract you or others. The steel chassis above the keyboard deck will get sizzling, however you don’t have any motive to place your fingers there, and the remainder of the laptop computer stays cool sufficient.Testing the HP Omen Transcend 16 (2024): Wants Extra Efficiency for the MoneyOur absolutely outfitted Omen Transcend 16 prices a reasonably penny, contemplating it solely has a GeForce RTX 4070 GPU for $3,009.99. A comparable Alienware m16 R2 is simply $2,049.99, whereas the Lenovo Legion Professional 7i Gen 9 and HP’s Omen 16 ship a GeForce RTX 4080 for tons of much less. Neither mannequin consists of OLED, however their IPS screens are hardly second-rate. The one OLED competitor seems to be the a lot pricier Razer Blade 16.A lot of our unit’s value comes from the $620 upcharge between the Core i7-14700HX and the Core i9-14900HX, chips that aren’t too completely different in sensible use. Our unit would nonetheless have been expensive at $2,319.99 with the Core i7 and Home windows House version, however not excessively.The Omen Transcend 16 will face the Alienware m16 R2 ($1,849 as examined), the Lenovo Legion Professional 7i Gen 9 ($2,441 as examined), and the Razer Blade 16 ($4,199 as examined) in our efficiency charts. We additionally included the 14-inch Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 ($1,999 as examined) to indicate what a extra transportable laptop computer can do.
Productiveness and Content material Creation TestsWe run the identical normal productiveness benchmarks throughout each cellular and desktop methods. Our first take a look at is UL’s PCMark 10, which simulates a wide range of real-world productiveness and workplace workflows to measure general system efficiency and features a storage subtest for the first drive.Our different three benchmarks deal with the CPU, utilizing all obtainable cores and threads, to fee a PC’s suitability for processor-intensive workloads. Maxon’s Cinebench R23 makes use of that firm’s Cinema 4D engine to render a posh scene, whereas Geekbench 5.4 Professional from Primate Labs simulates in style apps starting from PDF rendering and speech recognition to machine studying. Lastly, we use the open-source video transcoder HandBrake 1.4 to transform a 12-minute video clip from 4K to 1080p decision (decrease occasions are higher).Lastly, we run PugetBench for Photoshop by workstation maker Puget Methods, which makes use of the Inventive Cloud model 22 of Adobe’s well-known picture editor to fee a PC’s efficiency for content material creation and multimedia purposes. It is an automatic extension that executes a wide range of normal and GPU-accelerated Photoshop duties starting from opening, rotating, resizing, and saving a picture to making use of masks, gradient fills, and filters.
The Omen Transcend was effectively off the tempo set by Lenovo and Razer, the opposite two items outfitted with a Core HX-class CPU. In reality, it carried out extra just like the Alienware’s theoretically much less highly effective Core H-class chip and wasn’t considerably quicker than the 14-inch Asus. It additionally had the bottom PCMark storage rating. We anticipated extra right here.Graphics and Gaming TestsFor gaming laptops and different cellular gaming {hardware}, we run each artificial and real-world gaming benchmarks. The previous consists of two DirectX 12 gaming simulations from UL’s 3DMark, Night time Raid (extra modest, appropriate for methods with built-in graphics) and Time Spy (extra demanding, appropriate for gaming rigs with discrete GPUs). Moreover, we use the cross-platform GPU benchmark GFXBench 5, which gauges OpenGL efficiency. These GFXBench checks are rendered offscreen to accommodate completely different native show resolutions; extra frames per second (fps) means greater efficiency.Our real-world gaming testing comes from the in-game benchmarks of F1 2021, Murderer’s Creed Valhalla, and Rainbow Six Siege. These three video games—all benchmarked at 1080p decision—signify simulation, open-world action-adventure, and aggressive/esports shooter video games, respectively. Valhalla and Siege are run twice (Valhalla at Medium and Extremely high quality, Siege at Low and Extremely high quality), whereas F1 2021 is run twice at Extremely high quality settings with and with out AMD and Nvidia’s performance-boosting FSR and DLSS options turned on.
The Alienware and even the Asus outperformed the Omen Transcend throughout the board. It could by no means hope to catch the RTX 4080 Lenovo, however that laptop computer exhibits the form of efficiency that’s obtainable for related or much less cash.We additionally ran the sport benchmarks on the Omen’s native 1600p decision, the place it scored 96fps in F1 2021 (Extremely Excessive, DLSS on), 73fps in Murderer’s Creed (Extremely Excessive), and 137fps in Rainbow Six (Extremely). These numbers recommend ample oomph for 1600p gaming. The Omen Gaming Hub app has a Efficiency mode that may squeeze extra energy out of this laptop computer, however the fan noise will get prohibitive. (We did all our testing within the default mode.)Battery and Show TestsWe take a look at every laptop computer and pill’s battery life by taking part in a domestically saved 720p video file (the open-source Blender film Tears of Metal) with show brightness at 50% and audio quantity at 100%. We make sure that the battery is absolutely charged earlier than the take a look at, with Wi-Fi and keyboard backlighting turned off.To gauge show efficiency, we additionally use a Datacolor SpyderX Elite monitor calibration sensor and its Home windows software program to measure a laptop computer display screen’s shade saturation—what share of the sRGB, Adobe RGB, and DCI-P3 shade gamuts or palettes the show can present—and its 50% and peak brightness in nits (candelas per sq. meter).
OLED shows are identified for glorious shade, and the Omen Transcend’s is not any exception. Nonetheless, the Legion’s IPS display screen had simply as large shade protection. Regardless, an IPS panel can’t match the inky blacks of OLED, so the Omen nonetheless has a visible edge.Even with its lagging GPU speeds, which could make you count on higher battery life, the Omen didn’t make a comeback within the battery division, having the bottom runtime on this group. Not that you just come to a gaming laptop computer for longevity off the outlet, however that is simply one other dent on this laptop computer’s armor.Verdict: OLED Opulence, However the Relaxation Is Ho-HumHP’s knack for delivering a profitable worth appears to have faltered with the Omen Transcend 16. Whereas we admire its thinned-down chassis and exquisite OLED display screen, it is wholly outclassed in efficiency and merely meets expectations elsewhere. Additionally delivering subpar battery life, the Omen Transcend 16 even disappoints in its transportable aspirations. In need of a giant sale, we’ll cross. You may seize the Editors’ Selection-award-winning Lenovo Legion Professional 7i Gen 9 and have extra cash for equipment and video games leftover for the value of this HP mannequin.
HP Omen Transcend 16 (2024)
The Backside Line
Regardless of its dazzling 240Hz OLED display screen, HP’s Omen Transcend 16, as examined, simply is not highly effective sufficient to justify its elite value.
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