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hp Omen X 2S: the complete Review
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HP arrived quite late on the segment of PCs for player. But the American has caught up well, with an Omen range now composed of several machines both portable and desktop. And who knew how to find his audience. The Omen X 2S is a 15.6-inch high-end laptop that is both a spearhead and a technology showcase for HP. It condenses all the know-how of the brand, from the point of view of design as functions and technologies. That's why the version we tested (hp 15-dg0008nf) costs around 4000 euros in the trade. It's very expensive, we agree.
Note that Paris gamers can go to admire the FNAC Saint-Lazare where HP has taken up residence a few weeks to promote its new gaming solutions. Go, we pass the Review of this laptop for player characterized by its two screens.
When we arrived at the lab, we had the opportunity to listen to it from every angle and deliver our first impressions in hot and in pictures. Also, we will not return to the many points discussed when we had just discovered the machine. Let's get right to the point.
A second handy screen for everything … except the game
We spent a lot of time using the Omen X 2S, working, watching movies and playing of course. We tried to make the most of the second 6-inch screen on the top of the keyboard to see if it was a real asset or a simple gadget.
We mainly used it as a second screen when we were working, for example, to display our mailbox. This allows us to keep an eye on what is happening while we are busy with something else.
But in full play, especially in multiplayer mode, we quickly abandoned the idea of turning this second screen into ally of shock. As the small 6-inch slab is not oriented towards the player, it is indeed difficult to consult without taking your eyes off the 15.6-inch screen for at least one or two seconds. However, to look away even a course instant can be enough to scoop a shot in the head in Counter-Strike or miss important information on the mini-map of DoTA 2… and fall into an ambush.
At least we thought of using it as a control screen on Discord so we could drag and drop the players into the right channels in the middle of the game, with a simple swipe of the slab. But, again, we have abandoned this idea: it is not practical and it forces you, once again, to look away from the main screen.
One can therefore legitimately ask questions about the interest of such equipment. If by accident the dual-screen laptops were to become democratized and developers think their interfaces to exploit, it could change the situation. HP could also possibly ally with creators for them to develop specific interface elements, to display on the small slab of his Omen, via the Omen Command Center, the home software.
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Because after several hours spent using the machine, one thing is clear: it is this homemade software that has been displayed on this secondary screen most of the time and – in particular – the information on the behavior of the components.Remember, however, that some Command Center options and menus are not accessible when it is displayed on the small screen. To change the colors of the keys of the very good keyboard for example, it is necessary that the software is displayed on the big screen. Bizarre.
Review requires, we measured the quality of this touch screen of 6 inches. We found a brightness of 497 cd / m2 in average maximum, and a contrast ratio of 842: 1. It's not bad at all. Whether you are in the dark or in a well-lit room, the quality of the image is satisfactory and the colors, relatively accurate. As we said during our first tour of the owner, adjust the brightness of the small skylight is possible via the interface of the Omen Command Center. Or by pressing one of the buttons located just above the touchpad. This is also where you will find the commands to turn it off completely, to move a window from one screen to another or to display the virtual keypad.
In summary, there is potential. The idea of integrating a second screen is good but needs to be improved to become a strong argument and, a fortiori, of sale.
144 Hz main screen not convincing enough
To close the chapter on the display, let's talk now about the main screen of this Omen. HP has the good idea to bet on a matt slab refreshed at 144 Hz and compatible with Nvidia G-Sync technology. As a reminder, if you enable it, the refresh rate of the screen matches the frame rate (ips) generated by the graphics card (up to 144 fps here). If a sharp drop in ips occurs, the screen then lowers its frequency and the effects of image tearing or slowing are partly limited or even dimmed.
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After analysis by our probe, the 15.6-inch Full HD panel is moderately bright (297 cd / m2 average) and its contrast ratio is only 835: 1. A rather disappointing value, well below the 1000: 1 average found on the latest machines received at the editorial office. In fact, the homogeneity of blacks is in median values. As for the fidelity of the colors, it is not the strong one of this screen either. Graphic designers and purists of colorimetry, go your way. Finally, the plastic frame is really too massive, especially as the design says "without edge" is spreading at high speed.
Excellent firepower
On the other hand, if the hardcore player you are is ready to make concessions on the display (4000 euros, it's still a bit bad), the configuration housed in the end case – 2.6 cm thick for 2.37 kilos – is quite capable of turning everything. Yes all.
With an eight-core / 16-thread Intel Core i9-9880H processor, 16GB of memory, 1 TB SSD, and a GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q, the opposite would have been amazing. This is evidenced by the excellent results of the machine in the PC Mark 10 analytical Review, represented by the blue bar at the bottom of the graph.
The Max-Q version of the RTX 2080 manages to run all games of our Review protocol thoroughly, or not far, while staying above the 80 frames per second. In older titles, we even exceed 250 frames per second. If you still have the power of the latest chips Nvidia, you're reassured.
Reassured, we, we have been in our most advanced tests. We checked the processor activity to be sure that no phenomenon of throttling did not touch the Core i9. The latter displays a base frequency of 2.3 GHz and can go up to 4.8 GHz in Turbo mode. If this speed is very rarely achieved separately on very old games or in office use, the cruising frequency is maintained at 2.3 GHz when all the processing channels are saturated with data. Good point, no throttle on the horizon.
Noise pollution and mercury variations under control
Another positive point, ventilation knows how to contain itself, even when push the machinery in its entrenchments. We found a maximum of 43 dB at the peak of our Review sessions and as the noise emitted by the fans is quite dull, it is not too disturbing. However, do not plan to play with the Omen X on your lap. The temperature can quickly reach 50 ° C below the housing.
To power the Omen X 2S, HP provides a charger whose size is relatively reasonable. The latter must deliver between 200 and 220 watts peak and it will be difficult to dispense with its services. The battery in this laptop offers services quite … symbolic. Judge instead: 2:30 in the best of its form, streaming video, with a fairly low screen brightness. We turned off the second screen because we expected to recover some endurance. But we only won a few minutes. Fortunately, autonomy is not an important criterion for gaming machines, however portable they may be.
The verdict of the Review
hp Omen X 2S
The Omen X 2S epitomizes HP's ambition to make a name for itself in the gaming world with a 15.6-inch notebook that's powerful, slim, relatively lightweight … and – more original – equipped with a second screen. True demonstration of strength of the American, this computer perfectly fulfills its mission in terms of firepower. The balance is more mixed at the two screens (quality of display of the disappointing principal and usefulness of the second little probative in the game). For a machine sold around 4000 euros, it's unfortunate.
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