HyperX Omen 15 Review: A Comfy Budget Gamer Sunk by Nerfed Graphics

Our Walmart test unit sits near the bottom of the Omen 15 stack: an Intel Core 5 210H processor (eight cores, 4.8GHz boost), an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050 graphics processor, 16GB of single-channel DDR5-5200 memory, a 512GB PCI Express 4.0 NVMe M.2 solid-state drive, and a 1,920-by-1,200-pixel (1200p) 165Hz display for $1,199. While Walmart lists an original price of more than $1,600, that might be a buffer for anticipated price hikes amid today's memory shortage.

The least expensive Omen 15 model comes with the same GPU and SSD, but an older Intel Core i5-14500HX chip and just 8GB of single-channel RAM.

HP, Walmart, and Best Buy sell many other versions, with AMD Ryzen, Intel Core HX, and Intel Core Ultra CPUs, plus Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 and RTX 5070 graphics. Several models also step up to 2,560-by-1,600-pixel panels with 180Hz refresh rates, while the priciest versions—ranging up to $2,799.99—include a 2,880-by-1,800 OLED display. Upper-end models also upgrade to four-zone RGB keyboard backlighting.

Pricing is the problem. At times, I found Walmart and HP selling RTX 5060 models with faster CPUs, 1TB of storage, and sharper screens for roughly the same price as our RTX 5050 tester. That makes the base GPU models hard to recommend without a sale. Looking across the market, the sweet spot for RTX 5050 laptops in mid-2026 is right around $1,000.

The Omen 15 looks like a gaming laptop without trying too hard. Its thick chassis, rear cooling shelf, and vent-heavy design signal its performance ambition, while the HyperX lid logo and “O15” decals provide the only real flair. HP included no external lighting. The plastic build is sturdy if not top-end, with no obvious flex or creaking. Measuring 0.93 inch thick and weighing 5.4 pounds, it’s par for the course for a 15-inch gaming laptop.

HP's port placement is well thought out. The side connections sit far enough back to preserve mouse space, and the rear edge adds 10Gbps USB-C and HDMI 2.1. You also receive two 10Gbps USB-A ports, an Ethernet jack, an audio port, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 5.4 for your purchase.

As for software tweaks, HP’s Omen Gaming Hub app handles game organization, system vital monitoring, power profiles, macro-key controls, and light GPU overclocking controls, while the HP app covers updates and support. The laptop carries a one-year warranty.

Those performance-boosting controls are known as "Unleashed Mode," but they're only supported by certain HyperX Omen products, namely the Omen Max series. HP also has an Omen AI tool available that's said to boost frame rates in supported games, but HP isn't specific as to how, and it's a short support list.

The Omen 15 is easy to live with. Its keyboard is comfortable, with well-spaced lattice keys, deep travel, bright white backlighting, and a full number pad. The touchpad is spacious, too.

HP's 15.3-inch display is a weak spot. Brightness and contrast are fine, but its cool color temperature and muted reds and greens prevent games and movies from looking their best. On the plus side, its 165Hz refresh rate ensures smooth frame rates and scrolling, and its 1200p resolution gives more vertical room than a typical 1080p panel without overtaxing the RTX 5050.

The Omen’s speakers are loud and clear, with audio presets and a graphic equalizer included in the HP app. The 1080p webcam is a pleasant surprise, delivering a sharp and well-lit image.

To recap, I tested Walmart’s entry-level Omen 15, which pairs a Core 5 210H CPU with an RTX 5050 GPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. In daily use, I appreciated the Omen’s rear-based port placement, long battery life, responsive performance, and restrained thermals; the laptop remained lukewarm with modest fan noise even while gaming. Let's see how it compares on paper.

Our budget laptop mashup includes Acer's Nitro V 16 AI ($899 when tested), our $1,299 Asus TUF Gaming F16 review configuration, the MSI Cyborg 15 ($1,199.99 as tested), and MSI’s $999 Katana 15 HX. While you might think that the Cyborg will run away with these graphics tests, given its advanced RTX 5060 GPU, it might find better company with the Omen after the dust settles.

Our primary overall benchmark, UL's PCMark 10, puts a system through its paces in productivity apps ranging from web browsing to word processing and spreadsheet work. Its Full System Drive subtest measures a PC's storage throughput. Three more tests we rely on are CPU-centric or processor-intensive: Maxon's Cinebench 2024 uses that company's Cinema 4D engine to render a complex scene; Primate Labs' Geekbench 6.3 Pro simulates popular apps ranging from PDF rendering and speech recognition to machine learning; and we see how long it takes the video transcoder HandBrake 1.8 to convert a 12-minute clip from 4K to 1080p resolution. Finally, workstation maker Puget Systems' PugetBench for Creators rates a PC's image-editing prowess through a variety of automated operations in the seminal photo editor Adobe Photoshop 25.

PCMark's main test placed the Omen 15 in the middle of the pack, unexpectedly ahead of the TUF and Katana but shy of the Nitro V and Cyborg. Regardless, this result leaves little doubt that it can power through everyday tasks with ease. The Omen also posted the highest score in the PCMark storage test.

It was less impressive in the CPU-centric Cinebench and HandBrake tests, where its Core 5 210H struggled across the board. While it wasn’t too far off the Ryzen-powered Acer, the others were quicker, like the Core HX-powered TUF Gaming F16 and Katana 15 HX. These are heartening results regardless of the Omen's placement, showing effective basic productivity speeds, which you want if you're using a gaming laptop as your only PC.

We challenge all systems’ graphics with a quintet of animations or gaming simulations from UL's 3DMark test suite. The first pair, Wild Life (1440p) and Wild Life Extreme (4K), use the Vulkan graphics API to measure GPU speeds. The second two, Steel Nomad's regular and Light subtests, focus on APIs more commonly used for game development, like Metal and DirectX 12, to assess gaming geometry and particle effects. Last, we turn to Solar Bay to measure ray tracing performance.

Our real-world gaming testing is based on in-game benchmarks for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Cyberpunk 2077, and F1 2024. These three games—all benchmarked at the system’s full HD (1080p or 1200p native) resolution—represent competitive shooters, open-world games, and simulations, respectively. If the screen supports a higher resolution, we rerun the tests at the QHD equivalent of 1440p or 1600p. Each game runs at two sets of graphics settings per resolution, for up to four runs total on each game.

We run the Call of Duty benchmark at the Minimum graphics preset—aimed at maximizing frame rates to test display refresh rates—and again at the Extreme preset. Our Cyberpunk 2077 test settings aim to push PCs to their limits, so we run it on the Ultra graphics preset and again on the all-out Ray Tracing Overdrive preset, without DLSS or FSR. Finally, F1 2024 serves as our DLSS effectiveness (or FSR on AMD systems) test, demonstrating a GPU’s capabilities with and without frame-boosting upscaling technologies.

The Omen 15 took a back seat in this group. The differences versus the Katana 15 HX were particularly stark. For instance, in 3DMark Wild Life, the Omen scored less than half the Katana’s more than 45,000 points. Another example: In F1 2024 with DLSS enabled, the Omen was 30% slower. Save for a closer contest in Call of Duty, this dynamic held throughout.

What drove the Omen’s lower performance? HP capped the RTX 5050's graphics power at 55 watts (W), lowering its performance ceiling. (The RTX 5050 can traditionally pull up to 100W, according to Nvidia.) That cuts this laptop's graphics rendering potential by quite a bit, so these results are no surprise. For a closer to full-fat budget gaming experience, the Katana can run its RTX 5050 at up to 115W—pushing beyond Nvidia's own standard rating by temporarily borrowing some of the CPU's unused power share via Nvidia's Dynamic Boost technique.

We test every laptop's battery life by playing a locally stored 720p video file (the open-source Blender movie Tears of Steel) with display brightness at 50% and audio volume at 100%. We make sure the battery is fully charged before the test, with Wi-Fi and keyboard backlighting turned off.

To gauge display performance, we also use a Datacolor SpyderX Elite monitor calibration sensor and its software to measure a laptop screen's color saturation—what percentage of the sRGB, Adobe RGB, and DCI-P3 color gamuts or palettes the display can show—and its 50% and peak brightness in nits (candelas per square meter).

Lasting 11 hours and 22 minutes, the Omen 15 is well-suited for a day off the plug, provided you’re not gaming. Only the Nitro V lasted longer, though not by enough to sway a buying decision. Meanwhile, the Katana 15 HX just scooted past the eight-hour mark.

Display quality is often a weak point for entry-level gaming laptops, and the Omen 15 doesn't buck the trend, covering just 68% of the sRGB gamut with moderate brightness. The Nitro V was slightly less colorful but produced higher brightness. Only the TUF Gaming F16 stood out in color coverage—then again, it costs a bit more.