The Best HP Gaming Laptop Brands: HP OMEN vs Pavilion
Want to learn the key differences between HP’s best gaming laptop brands, the HP OMEN and HP Pavilion gaming PC lines? Find out which is best suited to pro versus casual gamers, what price points will get you all the core gaming features that you require to level up and win, and which accessories can help you complete your gaming arsenal.
Best HP gaming laptop brands: HP Pavilion and HP OMEN
The two leading contenders for best HP gaming laptop brands are, hands down, HP Pavilion and HP OMEN. Many of the models of these brands are built for gaming, with gamers in mind, even though they each have distinct differences and advantages.
HP Pavilion
A trusted brand, the HP Pavilion line supports mainstream platforms and performance features. The laptops, familiar and versatile with a hint of “edge,” are a perfect fit for any gamer who needs a PC that can provide exceptional performance under pressure. The HP Pavilion is the quintessential budget gaming laptop - offering a versatile design that can handle both gaming and content creation.
HP OMEN
A truly groundbreaking gaming brand, the HP OMEN line offers an assortment of elite gaming laptops and PCs along with an ecosystem of products, accessories, software, and services. The models, which offer maximum gaming performance such as overclockable options, are modern, cutting-edge, ergonomically optimized, and feature-loaded. The HP OMEN brand is always innovating, and it’s aimed at leading the pack.
HP Pavilion gaming laptops: Stand-out features
Powerful graphics
HP Pavilion gaming laptops offer the choice of up to NVIDIA GeForce® GTX 1060 graphics with Max-Q design or AMD Radeon™ RX 560X graphics. With either one, you’ll enjoy full desktop performance in the latest high-definition games, where lag and slowdowns will be a thing of the past.
Striking displays
Stunning narrow bezel displays let you see more of your game, and optional 4K displays give you cinematic-quality video. You can choose a 1080p display that gives you a 144 Hz refresh rate for effortless gameplay.
Advanced gaming technologies
The latest Intel® Core™ processors help you easily keep pace with the fastest games, streaming video, and serious multi-tasking. And you’ll experience a performance boost with up to 16GB of fast, upgradeable high-bandwidth DDR4 RAM. A PCIe® SSD helps you boot up and load games quickly, and you can store more with optional dual storage, which combines a PCIe SSD and traditional HDD.
Aesthetics
The HP Pavilion is ideal if you’re shopping for a gaming laptop that provides unique yet familiar designs. While hardware is obviously incredibly important, if you can own a laptop that looks as nice as it performs, then why not go for it? The HP Pavilion brand features bold, standout designs and colors - available in Acid Green, Ghost White, or Ultra Violet - with distinct LED lighting and matching accents.
HP Pavilion gaming laptop deals
Playing the latest triple-A (AAA) titles? It probably comes as no surprise to you that they demand a lot of hardware. And that can get pretty expensive. The good news is that with HP Pavilion gaming laptops, you don’t need to spend your entire paycheck on a powerful system. Here are a few that will more than meet your needs.
HP Pavilion 15t gaming laptop
The HP Pavilion 15t Quad gaming laptop is one of the best gaming laptops under $1,000 in the HP Pavilion line.
An ideal baseline laptop to satisfy all of your gaming needs, it’s equipped with a solid, responsive 8th Generation Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 1TB hard drive.
With a 15.6-inch display and a 2GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 graphics card, you’ll be seeing your gaming action in sharp detail. The graphics card is not integrated, so you can easily swap it out in the future.
You can enjoy rich and authentic audio with HP Audio Boost, tuning by B&O Play, and front-firing speakers. And connectivity and battery life will not be issues thanks to fast throughput from WiFi supporting gigabit speeds on select models and a battery life of up to 10 hours and 15 minutes.
HP Pavilion 15t Hexa Core gaming laptop
Another under-$1,000 model is the HP Pavilion 15t Hexa Core gaming laptop, which is designed to help you excel at gaming and more. It’s got a powerful Hexa-Core 8th Generation Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM, 128GB PCIe NVMe™ M.2 SSD, and 1TB HDD of storage so you don’t need to worry about lagging in the middle of your game.
Play the latest power and resource-demanding triple-A (AAA) titles with fantastic picture quality. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 discrete graphics, an FHD display, and 1080p resolution with a 144 Hz refresh rate all work together to give you the visual quality that your games demand.
HP OMEN gaming laptops: The proof is in the details
Maximum gaming performance
With HP OMEN, you get all the performance of a desktop in a mobile form factor. The latest Intel Core processors provide a fast and effective gaming experience, and an optional PCIe SSD gives you insane speeds while optimizing your storage.
If you’re looking for fast boot-up times, game loading, and massive storage, you can choose a dual storage configuration. And you can enjoy up to 32GB of fast, high-bandwidth DDR4 memory.
Cutting-edge graphics
You’ll love the crisp gameplay with your choice of either NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 or AMD Radeon RX 580 Graphics. Created with high-speed FinFET technology, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 GPU supports DirectX 12 features to deliver fast, smooth, power-efficient gaming notebook experiences.
On select models, the 4K IPS display is available to bring your gaming experience to life with exceptional quality.
The latest gaming technologies
HP OMEN features next-generation displays that include VR, ultra-high-resolution, and multiple monitors. NVIDIA GameWorks technologies deliver a truly cinematic experience, and the new NVIDIA Ansel enables 360-degree in-game captures that you can view in VR.
Ready for VR
With NVIDIA VRWorks technologies, you’ll discover next-generation VR performance, low-latency, and plug-and-play compatibility with leading headsets. And you’ll hear and feel every moment with VR audio, physics, and haptics.
Enhanced thermal solutions
High-performance cooling is built in. Inspired by the intake of a high-performance race car, the grids and vents of HP OMEN laptops are strategically located on the bottom and sides to provide continual airflow to the internal components.
Packed with ports
All HP OMEN gaming laptops are built for your connectivity needs, offering a generous port selection, including external ports (HDMI, Thunderbolt™, USB, and Mini DisplayPort™) to plug in gaming peripherals and monitors.
Single-panel access
Upgrade and expand to the next tier of gaming with convenient single panel access to the HDD, SSD, and RAM.
Backlit keyboards
HP OMEN laptops feature a Dragon Red backlit keyboard with illuminated WASD keys so that you can precisely command every keystroke. Thanks to 26-key rollover anti-ghosting, your every keystroke is detected, even when you’re executing several commands simultaneously.
Command Center
Performance isn’t just about hardware in the laptop gaming computer. Software optimizations can make a huge difference in your overall gaming experience. With HP OMEN Command Center software, you can fine-tune and customize your laptop, which lets you get the most out of your devices.
Network Booster
Network Booster lets you select which applications you want to prioritize over network traffic. Dual Force functionality actually lets you split network traffic over two simultaneous connections, so you can set your gaming traffic to go over the faster connection available (typically wired).
A unique sound experience
DTS Headphone:X® technology is built-in for a surround sound experience that places you in the heart of the action. Simply plug your headset into the DTS Headphone:X jack and hear every sound that you need to while playing your game.
HP OMEN gaming laptop deals
One of the best laptop brands for gaming, HP OMEN gaming laptops help you stand out and rise above the competition. Equipped with powerful hardware and an aggressive design, the HP OMEN laptop takes mobile performance seriously, so you can conquer any challenge in-game from just about anywhere. Here are a few deals on several models that won’t drain your holiday gaming budget.
HP OMEN 15t gaming laptop
The HP OMEN 15t gaming laptop is a great deal at less than $1,000. It features an 8th Generation Intel Core i7 processor, one of Intel’s fastest family of processors, as well as a 1TB hard drive and 8GB of RAM.
To accelerate system responsiveness and performance without sacrificing your hard drive’s storage, you can get Intel Optane™ memory, at 16GB PCIe NVMe, Intel’s game-changing memory upgrade for system and RAM speed improvement.
The graphics card is an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050, part of the high-performing GeForce GTX 10 series.
The 15.6-inch diagonal display has Full High Definition (FHD) at 1080p or optional 4K resolution and is anti-glare, micro-edge, and energy-efficient WLED-backlit.
You’ll also enjoy a zoned backlit keyboard with a 26-key rollover that’s strategically designed to accelerate your gaming reflexes.
HP OMEN 17t gaming laptop
To move up to the Intel Core i7 processor, try the HP OMEN 17t gaming laptop with 8GB of memory, 1TB hard drive, and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 graphics. The 17.3-inch FHD display gets you a larger viewing area and 120 Hz refresh rate to play, fight, and explore without experiencing frustrating lag and image ghosting.
Just like the 15.6-inch model, you’ll get a backlit keyboard with customizable macros, and 26-key rollover, ensuring that your every keystroke is detected. Like the other HP OMEN laptops, you’ll experience rich audio for your gameplay with Bang & Olufsen dual speakers and HP Audio Boost. And with an integrated optical drive, you can enjoy DVDs, legacy game support, and alternate data storage.
HP OMEN 17-inch gaming laptop
One of the best gaming laptops under $1,500, the HP OMEN 17-inch gaming laptop is a larger and more powerful version of the HP OMEN 15t. It features a 6-core Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of memory, and a 1TB hard drive. And 16GB of Intel Optane memory for storage acceleration gives you near SSD performance without losing the storage of your traditional hard drive.
A larger 17.3-inch diagonal FHD IPS anti-glare WLED-backlit display with a 1080p resolution and NVIDIA G-SYNC™ technology lets you enjoy the details to successfully sail through your game. A Dragon Red backlit keyboard not only looks cool, but it also detects your keystrokes to help you fight lag and image ghosting.
HP gaming laptop accessories: Working seamlessly together
Both the HP Pavilion and HP OMEN family of laptops are built to work seamlessly with a wide range of the latest gaming accessories to take your gaming to new levels. From displays, headsets, and mice to backpacks, cases, keyboards, and more, HP gaming accessories let you expand your gaming universe.
