HP Omen 17 review: Great gaming performance at a great price

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We reviewed the Omen gaming laptop range from HP a couple of weeks ago, and we liked them. In fact, at the price, we liked them a lot. And we think them far from bland to be perfectly honest and in our opinion, we would rather have value for money than expensive ‘bling’ or flash that does nothing to add to the performance!

That’s the HP Omen 17 in a nutshell. Sure, it carries the famous Omen brand and a couple of cues that it’s a gaming laptop, but next to just about all the other flashy gaming laptops, it’s downright bland. HP Omen 17 review: Great gaming performance at a great price

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Hands-on with the new HP Omen gaming series

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hp omen 17 review

If your a laptop manufacturer and you don’t have a hardcore gaming rig in your lineup then you’re missing out on what looks to be the industries fastest growing sector. Enter the new and uprated HP Omen gaming notebooks in 15′ and 17″ form factors.

With 4K display options and Intel Real Sense 3D in the 17″, the Omen range is aimed more at the home gamer rather than the full on competition crowd of esports gamers.

Having said the design elements are all there with the Voodoo logo on the lid and red accent lighting. Perhaps not the top performing gaming rig out there but sure to satisfy most of us with up to a GeForce GTX 965M with 4GB of VRAM.

Gamers are typically more likely to spend money on new and more powerful hardware than the average consumer and have thus become a target demographic for major manufacturers. Companies like Acer, Lenovo, Dell, Asus, and MSI have entire lineups dedicated to gaming and now HP will be joining the fray by expanding upon its existing Omen series.

The new SKUs currently span two notebooks (15.6-inch and 17.3-inch sizes) and a desktop tower with added accessories for a launch in the next few weeks. The devices made an appearance at Computex in the 1200 to 1600 Euro price range. Both notebook sizes can be outfitted with matte FHD or 4K displays while the larger size gets optional Intel Real Sense 3D.

Check this Topic at notebookcheck.net

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HP Spectre 13 Review, HP Stuns With Worlds Thinnest Laptop

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hp spectre 13 review 2016

HP is definitely out to beat Apple at their own game by announcing a notebook that is just 10.4 millimeters thick beating the Apple MacBook 12 by close to 3 mm.

One look and we were besotted.

Despite its ultra ‘thinness’ however the diminutive HP Spectre 13 boats up to an i7 processor, 8gb RAM and a really nice screen with HD resolution. We love it, and the slick new HP logo? Pretty cool. Likes like HP is innovating again.

Notebook manufacturers are continuing to explore the limits of design in terms of reducing the thickness. The new HP Spectre 13 is currently the benchmark. With a “thickness” of just 10.4 millimetres, HP even clearly beats other thin laptops like the Apple MacBook 12 (up to 13 mm). That the diet was not an easy tasks is supported by some clever details. While the use of CNC machined aluminum and carbon is pretty much standard in this class of this devices by now, HP had to find a special solution for hinge because of the extremely thin display (2 millimetres) as well as the edge-to-edge design of the panel. The result is a so-called “Piston Hinge”, which folds into the base unit and is then guided or absorbed, respectively, by a special mechanism.

Check this Topic at notebookcheck.net

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HP Envy 15.6, 17.3 and Envy x360 Overview 2016

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hp envy 17.3 review 2016

The HP Envy range of Applesque premium designed laptops has certainly been a hit with buyers since the introduction of the range in 2009 followed by the rebranding of the Pavilion range into the Envy range in 2012.

So 4 years on, how has the Envy range stood up to the test of time and how do they look for 2016 and the 2017 models years? Well, the consensus has to be pretty good with refreshed designs in keeping with the premium look and feel, updated Skylake processors, slimmer overall and HP fast Charge for the 15″ and 17″ models.

The stunning x360 Convertable is 21% thinner, features Bang and Olufson speakers and the option of a 15.6″ 4K UHD Touchscreen. Mouth watering specifications indeed!

Outside of the headline-grabbing Spectre 13.3 as the “thinnest notebook ever”, HP also unveiled a new lineup of notebooks and convertibles as part of the manufacturer’s luxury Envy series for consumers.

The first of the three is the Envy x360 convertible, which has taken a more Spectre-like approach in design with its all-metal chassis and sharp edges. The refreshed chassis will be 21 percent thinner than the previous generation with 1080p and 4K UHD display options and longer battery life. Other features include keyboard keys with 1.5 mm travel (compared to 1.3 mm on the new Spectre 13.3) and an optional HD IR camera for Windows Hello.

Next are the Envy 15.6 and Envy 17.3 notebooks with a similar all-metal design philosophy. Like their immediate predecessors, both systems will have a hooked bottom edge on their respective lids to lift the base at a slight angle during use. While this can potentially improve ergonomics and airflow, the feature prevents having any ports on the rear of the notebook. Touchscreen options are also available on these models despite the fact that they include no 2-in-1 features. An HD IR camera is again optional on the 15.6-inch model while Intel RealSense will be available on the larger 17.3-inch model. Both will support HP Fast Charge Technology to charge from empty to 90 percent in 90 minutes.

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HP Pavilion 15 Gaming Laptop – Full Review & Benchmarks

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HP’s Budget entry level gaming laptop has plenty of power and graphics performance but has a below par display and a short battery life. Not perhaps the best value buy gaming laptop and an alternative would certainly be the new Lenovo Y700 in it’s 15″ iteration. Take a look what Sherri Smith of Laptop Mag has to say.

Strong overall and graphics performance; Runs cool when gaming; Slick design

The HP Pavilion 15 Gaming Laptop offers an impressive amount of power at an affordable price but is saddled with a dim display and slow transfer speeds.

Gaming laptops aren’t typically considered value buys, but HP is hoping to change that perception with the HP Pavilion 15 Gaming Laptop. This $899 notebook ($999 as configured) pairs an Intel Core i7 processor with a midlevel Nvidia GPU for a surprising show of graphics performance. However, slow transfer speeds, a dim display and relatively short battery life lessen the notebook’s value.

At first glance, the HP Pavilion 15 looks like a bootleg Razer Blade procured in some shady back alley. The lid is made of a matte plastic with a chalky smooth finish and a dark gray, chrome HP logo. When I placed my hand on the lid to feel the texture, I was dismayed to discover that the black surface flexed downward at the slightest hint of pressure.

Check this Topic at laptopmag.com

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HP Envy 13 (2016) review

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There’s an absolute plethora of Mac-a-likes hitting the market and the HP Envy is the latest to try and seduce us with a classy aluminium finish and a thin and light format. And why not? The industry is renowned for copying success and lets face it, MacBooks as a product have been incredibly successful for Apple. Josh Miller at CNET however seems to think that whilst the Envy 13 has a lot to recomend it, just isnt good enough to stack up against the competition. Check out why below.

Last year, something wonderful happened in the world of Windows laptops. Quality became affordable. Companies like Dell, HP and Asus started selling sleek notebooks made of strong aluminum and carbon fiber for less than $1,000.

The HP Envy 13 is the latest of those computers to enter the ring. It starts at just $800 (£699) for a no-compromise configuration that comes with a 2.3GHz 15-watt Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of memory, 128GB of speedy solid-state storage, and a crisp 1080p screen — all in a chassis that weighs just 2.8 pounds and measures 12.9mm thick. It’s one of the thinnest laptops ever made.

But after spending a week with the HP Envy 13, I can’t quite recommend it. It’s just not as good as the competition. (Skip to the conclusion to find out what to buy instead.)

There’s no one giant glaring deal breaker that ruins the Envy 13. In fact, there’s a lot to love.My favorite feature: a fingerprint sensor that lets me swipe my way into Windows instead of typing a password. It’s one of the most responsive I’ve used on a consumer PC.

Check this Topic at cnet.com

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HP EliteBook Folio G1 – Full Review and Benchmarks

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Most tech pundits are calling the HP EliteBook Folio a MacBook with Windows. Why? It’s not difficult to understand why they would. The Folio is every bit as sleek and beautiful as the MacBook.
Incredibly, thin, outstanding keyboard and superb screen with good performance.

Where the EliteBook Folio does differ is in having more ports than it’s Apple competitor, and battery life comes nowhere near close this class of Ultraportable laptop

Great keyboard; Superthin and light; Durable design; Accurate face login; Colorful 4K screen option; Solid performance

Below-average battery life; No full-size USB port

The groundbreakingly-thin EliteBook Folio G1 provides a first-class design, comfortable keyboard, and more ports than the MacBook.

In the race to make the thinnest laptop on the block, manufacturers often sacrifice usability, slapping on uncomfortable keyboards, eschewing key ports or providing mediocre performance. Though it’s even slimmer than the MacBook (12-inch), HP’s EliteBook Folio G1 ($999 to start, $1,429 as reviewed) is a productivity powerhouse, complete with a sharp 12.5-inch screen, a sleek but durable design that survives serious drops and one of the best keyboards I’ve used on a laptop. With strong speakers, fanless cooling and an infrared camera for face logins, the EliteBook Folio G1 gets almost everything right, but its battery life could be better.

Check this Topic at laptopmag.com

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