When HP first started their operation in 1939, they were focused on the printer industry. HP made a commitment to provide affordable computers for average consumers as home computing increased the popularity. This has been proven to be successful, as HP has grown to become one of the largest technology companies.
HP began producing portable computers as an extension of their home computer development business. Gaming laptops represent their latest area of development. The gaming class of the brand is represented by the names like Pavilion, Omen, and Victus.
In this article, you will find the recommendation of HP gaming laptops that you might want to consider if the budget fits to your choice. It should be understood that the price may differ from the official stores and the retailers. You should be able to determine which retailer is offering the best deal on this item.
Now without further ado, let’s begin the list of the top 5 HP gaming laptops, start with the budget first!
Standingdesktopper's pick
HP Victus 15 FA0116TX
HP Victus 15 Gaming Laptop 15.6
Specification details:
Intel Core i5 12500H (4.5GHz, 12 cores, 16 threads), Nvidia GTX 1650 4GB GDDR6, 8GB DDR4 RAM, 512GB NVMe M.2 SSD, FHD 144Hz IPS display
The budget gaming laptop with a decent GPU is put first on the list. If you want to play games on your system but have a tight budget, the HP Victus 15 FA0116TX is a good option. With its Nvidia GTX 1650 and Intel Core i5 12500H, this laptop is perfect for casual gamers who prioritize gameplay over graphics quality. Despite being a budget laptop, the GTX 1650 is sufficient to run the majority of games in various settings, mostly best at low to medium.
Every cheap laptop has a downside, which is unable to run games or render 3D images really well due to their limited power. The gaming performance cannot be buffed since the GPU does not support the DLSS that helps to boost framerates in the game.
However, enabling dual channel RAM allows you to get a better performance in all applications. By doing this, it is possible to get around 30% additional performance compared to running in single channel.
Several games are tested in order to demonstrate the performance of the laptop. Depending on what the games recommend, graphics settings need to be adjusted accordingly. Valorant is played for the initial test. The game runs at an average frame rate of 139 frames per second at a maximum graphics fidelity of 1080p resolution, with a temperature of about 65 degrees Celsius. Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered is another game that is tested. More GPU power is required for this game than for Valorant, and it still runs flawlessly at the average of 57 frames per second on medium settings. Many modern titles, including God of War, Forza Horizon 5, Far Cry 6, and Horizon Zero Dawn, run at playable framerates with adjusted graphic quality settings to get the most frames per second.
Talking about the price, for a laptop that is capable of running the majority of games is not a bad deal, especially since this GPU is among the best in terms of performance for the budget.
HP Victus 15 FA0161TX
HP Victus Gaming Laptop, 15.6'' FHD NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050
Specification details:
Intel Core i5 12450H, Nvidia RTX 3050 4GB GDDR6, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 512GB NVMe M.2 SSD, FHD 144Hz IPS display
One more HP laptop that is highly recommended is the HP Victus 15 FA0161TX. With Nvidia RTX 3050 GPU, this model has more power than the previous one. You can now take advantage of the features that are present in the RTX series GPU. The most useful feature for performance boost in games is DLSS. The performance will be greatly improved with the increase of the framerates, letting you play games with more enjoyable experience.
The Intel Core i5 12450H processor that powers the HP Victus 15 has 8 cores and 12 threads, performing reasonably well in most programs. A fantastic choice for video editing is the CPU, since the H-type of the series offers excellent performance on all tasks. Even though this Intel CPU offers better power, battery life is not as great as the other models, forcing you to always have a charger nearby because this processor uses a lot more power. You will not be able to use the laptop for extended periods of time without charging it.
This laptop has DDR4 RAM installed, giving you advantages and disadvantages at the same time. Good news for those on a tight budget looking for a gaming laptop, DDR4 RAM sticks are generally less expensive than DDR5 models, so it makes more sense to add another RAM stick to run in dual channel. Adding more RAM does not seem like a waste of money because dual-channel model offers better performance for the price you have to pay. The only disadvantage of DDR4 RAM is the speed which is not as fast as DDR5.
The most crucial aspect of a laptop gaming is the performance in demanding tasks such as gaming and 3D modelling. Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the most GPU-demanding games. At medium settings and 1080p resolution, it runs on an average of 41 frames per second. This provides you with a respectable benchmark for the RTX 3050 performance. The performance of this GPU is again tested with a Rockstar Game, Red Dead Redemption 2, and it is not bad at all. The game runs smoothly, averaging 51 frames per second in most scenes and 44 frames per second at 1% low. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is the modern game selected to show off the performance as the test concludes. The outcome is surprisingly good, achieving 60 frames per second on average and 50 frames per second on 1% low.
If you wish to have a gaming setup at home without having to spend thousands of dollars, this might be a good option for you. Better framerates from the DLSS feature in many games can be obtained with an RTX graphics card.
HP Victus 16.1″
Hp Victus 16.1" 16Gb DDR5 Ram, RTX 4060 8GB
Specification details:
Intel Core i7 13700H, Nvidia RTX 4060 8GB, 16GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD, FHD 144Hz IPS display
Since graphics cards are improving recently, some GPU types have become very popular because they offer performance equally to the price they set. One of them is the Nvidia RTX 4060. This graphics card is used by the HP Victus 16 to render any graphics tasks, making the laptop installed with it is suggested for you. The high-performing Intel Core i7 13700H processor in this laptop is ideal for demanding workloads like gaming and video editing.
You can run software faster, thanks to the support for DDR5 RAM, increasing performance in overall. Since the laptop is pre-installed with two 8GB RAM sticks, the dual channel mode is already active in order to optimize system performance.
One more benefit of this gaming laptop is the 144Hz display. Depending on the visual settings of each game, the screen can display at a maximum frame rate of 144 frames per second. This will make the gameplay more fluid and reduce lags and stutters. The monitor refresh rate works well with any competitive game, including Dota 2, Valorant, and CS:GO.
Popular games are tested to see how well the games run. One of them, Red Dead Redemption 2, runs at an average of 50 frames per second on ultra settings. You can also play Cyberpunk 2077 ultra settings with DLSS quality and still able to reach 45 frames per second on average and 35 frames per second on the most demanding scenes in the game. FPS games, such as Call of Duty Warzone, require constant and high framerates to be competitive in the game. This laptop is not disappointing, running at 100 frames per second on average with the recommended graphics settings.
Despite costing a little more than a grand, HP Victus 16.1″ is still a good investment for a gaming laptop. Despite having a low-end graphics card, the RTX 3060 delivers a decent 1080p performance for modern games.
HP OMEN 16
HP OMEN 16 (16.1" FHD 165Hz, AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS
Specification details:
AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS, Nvidia RTX 4070 8GB GDDR6, 64GB DDR5 RAM, 2TB NVMe M.2 SSD, QHD 165Hz IPS display
HP OMEN 16 is a clear favorite among mid-range laptops from HP. If this laptop fits within your budget, there are plenty of reasons to buy it. The RTX 4070 graphics card is a beast for any task demanding high performance. The AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS processor paired with the GPU creates a powerful machine that can run most applications extremely well.
The battery life is something you may want to reconsider before buying it. It is a common knowledge that gaming laptops need more power for the components than office laptops. This impacts on the battery which drains more quickly when the CPU and GPU are used more intensively than when using general software. It should not be an issue for gamers since you just need to plug in the power cable to run games in better performance. The battery life is not great for portability, so you will need to always have a charger with you wherever you go.
The RTX 4070 delivers excellent 1080p or 1440p gaming performance. Please be aware that the games tested on this laptop are on 1440p which requires more power than running on 1080p. At their highest graphics settings, God of War and Shadow of the Tomb Raider both run at an average frame rate of between 70 and 100 frames per second. One of the most GPU-demanding games, Hogwarts Legacy, runs at 60 frames per second stable, which is pretty good considering it needs a good graphics card to run at decent framerate.
Given that this pricey laptop costs, a lot of people would prefer to save more money in order to purchase the best laptop available in the market. This laptop is still a beast and will allow you to enjoy every game you play, despite costing more expensive price compared to other laptops with similar specs.
HP Omen 17
HP Omen 17.3" Intel i9-13900HX 24-Core | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 16GB
Specification details:
Intel Core i9 13900HX, Nvidia RTX 4090 16GB GDDR6, 64GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD, QHD 165Hz IPS display
Note: This is a base version we recommend, you can see more pro models in the market!
Finally, the best available gaming laptop from HP is HP Omen 17. This laptop is the realization of every gamer’s dream. The high-end CPU that offers enormous power for all demanding tasks is the Intel Core i9 13900HX. Even though it is not the greatest on the market, this chipset can run any application without any issues.
In the graphics department, HP implanted the most powerful GPU series in RTX 4090. To see how powerful the graphics card is, it is a piece of cake to run most games in the highest graphics fidelity, even on 4K resolution. With this performance, testing how good you can run games in the laptop feels wrong since everything you play will be running flawlessly.
However, this is not a laptop model for casual people. The only massive wall to break for this incredible machine is the price. Comparing to the model that has RTX 4070, it costs almost double the price. Though the price is a sky high, the downside is noticeable from the display. This laptop only has QHD monitor, meaning you cannot get the maximum output from the GPU. Adding external monitor with 4K resolution is the wisest choice to get the best out of this laptop.
Your turn
After looking at above available options, you can select which one that suits best of your needs based on your budget. You can choose between a high-end laptop and one that is affordable. The purpose of the laptop you will be buying is something to consider. HP Victus 15 may be a suitable option for you if you would prefer to have a decent performance at the expense of graphics quality rather than paying extra for improved image quality. However, the RTX 4090 is an excellent option if you are a content creator who is after a very particular about the quality of the performance from the laptop.
