CES 2023 | HP Omen 17 gaming laptop refreshed with new Intel/Nvidia hardware, an optical mechanical keyboard and plenty of I/O

HP has also refreshed its gaming laptops with new hardware from Intel and Nvidia. Our in-depth review of last year's model (HP Omen 17 2022) deemed the laptop quite bland, and it'll be interesting to see if HP remedies it this time. Perhaps its optical mechanical keyboard will be sufficient to set it apart from the competition with its US$1,699 starting price.

Unlike many high-end offerings from MSI and Acer that offer a 16:10 screen, the HP Omen 17 sticks with a tried and tested 17.3-inch 16:9 panel with the following resolutions and framerates- QHD (2,560 x 1,440) 240 Hz, QHD 165 Hz and FHD (1,920 x 1,080) 144 Hz. Both QHD variants have a response time of 3 ms, while the FHD model is slower at 7 ms. Peak brightness tops out at 300 nits for each variant.

For the processor, the HP Omen 17 users can pick an Intel Core i9-13900HX or Core i7-13700HX. HP hasn't specified the models of graphics cards, but one can expect to spec the machine out with at least a GeForce RTX 4080, if not an RTX 4090. A leaked store listing from earlier also hinted at the existence of an SKU with a GeForce RTX 4060.

Memory configurations on the HP Omen 17 are a tad confusing. The Core i9 variant supports up to 32 GB of DDR5 5,600 memory, while the Core i7 version scales its speed down to 4,800 MT/s. Both models can be configured with up to a 2 TB NVMe SSD. HP claims the materials used on the Omen 17 are sourced from ocean-bound and post-consumer recycled plastics. Gaming laptops often skip a webcam altogether, but HP has thrown in a 720p unit for basic video calls.

HP has decked out the Omen 17 with plenty of I/O, including one Thunderbolt 4.0 port (40 Gbps), one Thunderbolt 3.0 port, three USB Type-A ports, an HDMI 2.1 port, a 3.5 mm audio jack, a mini DP port and an RJ45 Ethernet jack. Unlike other high-end gaming laptops out there that use a beefy 99.9 Wh battery, HP opts for a more compact 6-cell 83 Wh unit that supports up to 330 W fast charging. A Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 module is also included, but the make depends on the model.