HP Omen 17 (2024) review: RTX 4070 and Ryzen 7 show their size in the gaming laptop

Well-equipped for all the current games at a high level with an RTX 4070 and AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS, the HP Omen 17 (2024) is at the starting blocks into the elevated midrange. In addition, there is a QHD display with a suitable resolution that also offers a 240 Hertz refresh rate. With this, all the basics for a good gaming laptop are covered.

With so much space, particularly inside, we can also expect some stable performance values that should turn out better compared to those of smaller laptops. We evaluate this in numerous benchmarks and gaming tests.

The fact that our test unit remains below the 2,000 Euro (~$2,172) price mark despite its elevated equipment level is not a given anymore at this point. To achieve that, you also have to accept several compromises, some of which are unnecessary. Our test will show whether it is still sufficient to stay ahead of the competitors such as the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 with an Intel processor or the Asus TUF Gaming A17 with the previous generation of the AMD Ryzen 9.

Note that we recently updated our rating system and that the results of version 8 are not comparable anymore with those of version 7. You can find additional information on this here.

The case looks almost nondescript. Black plastic, which also feels like it, dominates all around. There are no visual highlights, small details, or even light effects to admire.

But once you try to lift the laptop - or when you take it directly out of the box in our case - it becomes clear that HP definitely didn't save on using massive components inside. The weight isn't far from the 3-kg mark (~6.6 lb), although the base remains unaffected if you lift it on only a single front corner. Everything remains stiff and tight.

The display hinges offer a similar impression, but the display lid could have used a little more stability, remaining fairly bendable without any additional metal frame.

In terms of overall size, there only few models that are even larger. A 40-cm (~15.7 in) width and 3-cm (~1.2 in) height even without the feet really don't sound like a lot of mobility. On the other hand, this ensures plenty of space for hardware and cooling, although it might turn out too large for some laptop bags or backpacks.  

Even though there would have been plenty of space, the connection ports are limited. And not only that, but they are also the slower versions. All the USB connections in the back only reach 10 Gbit/s and the one on the side even only 5 Gbit/s. USB4 or TB4 would have been four or eight times as fast. But at least the ports in the back should still allow you to play many games from an external SSD.

Likewise, the LAN port also only reaches 1 Gbit/s, while the better equipped competitors such as the Acer Predator Helios Neo go more with the times offering 2.5 Gbit/s. The position of the port on the left side is also less than optimal and would have been better in the back. In addition, there is neither a third video port nor a card reader.

At least, the HDMI and USB-C video outputs support displaying 4K@120Hz, allowing those who have a suitable TV to make good use of it.

The packaging consists mostly of cardboard and paper. Even the protective cover of the laptop and keyboard are made of paper. Only charger is wrapped in a protective plastic foil. In addition, there is also the easy maintenance of the laptop, which will surely benefit the longevity of the Omen 17. From the working memory up to the battery, everything can be replaced.

Then there is the moderate power consumption with everyday tasks that is mostly ranging below 10 watts. A typical desktop PC clearly has a disadvantage here.

And finally, HP publishes a yearly sustainability report that shows the initiatives by the manufacturer, which start from power generation from renewable sources and go up to the goal of equal treatment of all employees across all levels of the company structure. You can find out about the details here.

While HP grants a two-year warranty, it doesn't offer any extras such as onsite repair. Depending on the vendor, you might also be able to book some additional warranty options there.

In terms of performance capabilities, our test unit with the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 places in the middle of the field of our comparison devices. However, both the CPU and GPU perform slightly below their maximum potential.

The Ryzen 7 runs constantly at 65 watts instead of 70 or even 80 watts as in the Schenker XMG Core 15, for example. The GPU is also slightly throttled and is only able to use 120 instead of the maximum possible 140 watts. Comparable gaming laptops such as the Asus TUF Gaming A17 FA707 are able to get a slightly higher performance from the graphics card, although that not only has advantages and won't necessarily lead to noticeably higher framerates.

With 32 Gigabytes of DDR5-5600, the RAM equipment is also solid. Since the memory can be replaced easily, it is also possible to expand it later. At this level, we don't expect a limiting effect from the fact that it is only 5,600 MHz.

A smaller version of the HP Omen 17 with the RTX 4060 is also available.

Three power profiles allow you to adjust the Omen 17 to most of the typical scenarios. You can find out the exact effect on the power consumption, fan behavior, and gaming performance from the table below.

We use the "Performance" profile for our benchmarks. In addition, you can make numerous adjustments that have a strong influence on the fan behavior. For example, the fan levels can be adjusted to be more powerful, or they could be reduced significantly even at the highest performance level, which would have an effect on the maximum performance.

The AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS is a fast processor from the Hawk Point series that uses the Zen 4 architecture and almost reaches the performance of the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS of the previous generation. It also performs at about eye level with the Intel Core i7-13700H.

However, the eight identical cores in the Ryzen 7 are repeatedly able to gain a small advantage ahead of the six performance cores in the i7-13700H, particularly while gaming.

While we can almost always observe a slight drop in the constant performance with the competitors, the CPU is able to perform constantly at a good level here.

You can find additional measurements and test results of various processors in our CPU benchmark list.