The HP Omen Max 16 gaming laptop has made me an RTX 5090 believer — here’s why

The HP Omen Max 16 ($2,499 to start) is the first gaming laptop I’ve reviewed packing an RTX 50-series mobile GPU, and I’m absolutely smitten.

This machine has almost everything I want from one of the best gaming laptops. The Nvidia RTX 5090 GPU and 32GB of RAM in my review unit can easily run the most graphically demanding games at high frame rates, especially with DLSS 4 enabled. And said games look phenomenal too, thanks to the vibrant 16-inch 240Hz OLED display.

HP’s notebook isn’t just for gaming; that same RTX 50-series performance also ensures I can get work done without a hitch. The roomy keyboard with its thick keys also helps in this regard. You also get plenty of ports for connecting vital peripherals like the best gaming keyboards and best gaming mice to maximize your productivity.

I’m a fan of the elegant design, which is similar to last year’s HP Omen Transcend 14. With its RGB lighting disabled, it’s hard to tell this is even a gaming laptop, which can be beneficial if you want to maintain a low profile in public. But while I love this machine’s design, I’m not enamored with its hefty weight.

Though I wish this laptop’s heft and price tag were lighter, its strengths far outweigh its deficiencies. Find out more in my full review!

HP Omen Max 16 review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? The HP Omen Max 16 is a high-end gaming laptop featuring the latest Intel CPU and Nvidia GPU.
• Who is it for? It’s for folks with deep pockets who want a 16-inch gaming laptop powerful enough to play graphically demanding games.
• What does it cost? The HP Omen Max 16 starts at $2,499, which is expensive but still significantly less than the $4,299 configuration I reviewed.
• What do we like? I like the powerful RTX 5090 performance, vivid 16-inch OLED display and sleek design.
• What don’t we like? Though relatively thin, this laptop is very heavy to carry around. It’s also pretty expensive.

HP Omen Max 16 review: Specs

HP Omen Max 16 review: The ups

The HP Omen Max 16 is a phenomenal gaming laptop thanks to its incredible Nvidia RTX 50-series-driven gaming performance, vivid 16-inch OLED display and tasteful design.

Stellar RTX 5090 gaming performance

Let’s get right to the fun part, the HP Omen Max 16’s gaming performance. Thanks to our review unit’s RTX 5090 laptop GPU, Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU and 32GB of RAM, I had an absolute blast playing games on high to max settings at 60+ frames per second with DLSS 4 enabled.

For example, Cyberpunk 2077 ran between 65 to 70 FPS on the ray tracing ultra graphics setting and at 1440p resolution with DLSS 4 enabled. Without DLSS 4, the frame rate plummeted to 35 FPS. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle ran at 80 FPS on ultra graphical settings and 1600p resolution without DLSS 4. With DLSS x4 toggled on, the game jumped to an astonishing 240 FPS!

In our lab tests, we run several titles through their respective built-in benchmark tool. As you can see in the table above, the Omen Max 16 can run games like Assassin’s Creed: Shadows and Black Myth: Wukong at nearly 60 frames per second without DLSS. Performance is comparable to the Asus ROG Strix Scar 16, which also packs an RTX 5090 laptop GPU.

From my testing, it’s clear that DLSS 4 lets you squeeze as many frames as possible from whatever you’re playing. But even with DLSS 4 disabled, our lab tests demonstrate you’ll still generally enjoy smooth frame rates.

Gorgeous 16-inch display

Games look as good as they run thanks to our review unit’s 16-inch OLED display. Opting for an OLED panel raises this laptop’s price, but your eyes will thank you. Forgive the cliche, but it’s a sight to behold.

In Cyberpunk 2077, the OLED panel does a great job of delivering excellent contrasts between dark and lighter elements. Combined with the display’s generally oversaturated color reproduction, the game’s colorful neon signs and holograms appear very convincing. Conversely, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, with its more naturalistic hues, also looks fantastic.

Our lab testing corroborates my eyes-on experience, as the Omen Max 16 delivers generally oversaturated color reproduction (sRGB and DCI-P3). Color accuracy (Delta-E) isn’t on par with competing laptops like the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i, but it’s not a major concern. Also, both the Omen Max 16 and Lenovo Legion Pro 7i cover 100% of both sRGB and DCI-P3 color gamuts, which is something we rarely see outside of pro-grade displays.

The panel gets decently bright, but displays on other laptops (like the best MacBooks) can get significantly brighter. That said, the HP Omen’s brightness hit my personal sweet spot of being bright enough to help certain elements pop off the screen but without burning my retinas.

Games run smoothly to my eyes thanks to the 240Hz refresh rate, and I didn’t notice any input lag since the response time is 0.2ms. The high refresh rate is especially helpful given how you can get some games’ FPS to nearly match the display’s refresh rate.

Elegant design

At 14.04 x 10.59 x 0.9 inches and 6.1 pounds, the HP Omen Max 16 is certainly big and heavy. While that makes it somewhat unwieldy to carry around, there’s no denying that it’s one big, beautiful laptop.

Aside from a glossy Omen logo etched on the lid and some small lettering, the laptop’s Shadow Black chassis is free of adornments. The aluminum lid and bottom help this machine feel sturdy, which makes it difficult to bend or flex. Though rigid and firm, the lid smoothly opens and closes. I also appreciate how easily I can open the laptop with just my thumb.

I have big hands, so I’m fond of the roomy keyboard deck that gives me plenty of space to move. The thick and bouncy keys are quite nice, especially for a laptop. And though I don’t use them, I like that there’s a number pad, which you don’t often see on laptops. The relatively large touchpad is also nice and responsive.

The Omen Max 16 has a relatively subdued design that doesn’t immediately signal it as a gaming laptop. But if you want to (literally) brighten up your day, you can enable its per-key RGB lighting. The way the colors spill across the keyboard deck is mesmerizing and shows that this laptop knows how to have fun.

One complaint I have is that the lid picks up smudges and fingerprints too easily. So if you want the Omen Max 16 to look pristine, you’ll need to keep a cleaning cloth around.

Runs cool and quiet

Gaming laptops can run very loud and hot when you’re taxing them. Thankfully, this isn’t as prominent on the Omen Max 16. It’s one of the quietest and coolest-running notebooks I’ve tested yet.

I’ll spare you the particulars of how the Omen Max was designed to keep its components cool, but suffice it to say that you won’t have to deal with a machine that gets as loud or hot as a rocket engine. That’s not to say you won’t hear its fans whirring, but they’re much quieter than I’m used to from a gaming laptop.

For laptops, we generally regard anything over 96 degrees as uncomfortably hot to keep on one’s laptop. Thankfully, the Omen Max’s underside peaked at 90 degrees while running Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition, which isn’t bad at all.

HP Omen Hub

I praised the Omen Gaming Hub in my HP Omen 35L review, and I’m doing so again with the Omen Max 16. This app lets you optimize the laptop’s performance, customize the RGB lighting and organize your game library. The intuitive user interface allows you to quickly and seamlessly tailor things to your liking.

As before, one of my favorite Omen Gaming Hub features is the ability to connect other Omen products, such as headsets and monitors. If you had the HP Omen Transcend 32 gaming monitor connected to the Omen Max, for instance, you’d be able to control the monitor’s lighting via the hub.

Game launchers on gaming PCs can be hit or miss, but the Omen Gaming Hub stands out due to its ease of use and robust customization options.

HP Omen Max 16 review: The downs

The Omen Max 16 has almost everything you’d want from a gaming laptop, but it’s not exactly easy on the wallet or the shoulders.

Hefty weight

The Omen Max 16 is one heavy laptop. Though monsters like the Razer Blade 18 weigh significantly more, lugging the Omen Max around still isn’t fun.

Every time I took the Omen Max 16 home or to the office, I was always very aware it was in my backpack. If you account for the two-pound power brick, you’re carrying a little over eight pounds! Carrying the laptop to one of our meeting rooms or around my studio apartment isn’t fun either.

I consider myself pretty strong, so if I’m not happy lugging the Omen Max 16 around, I’m sure others won’t be either.

Poor battery life

Since the Omen Max 16 is a gaming laptop, don’t expect stellar battery life. In our testing, HP’s machine lasted a little under 90 minutes when running the PCMark 10 gaming benchmark test and nearly three and a half hours while web browsing.

As you can see, the Omen Max 16 has battery life comparable to other gaming notebooks. In my own testing, HP’s machine lasted a little over an hour when playing Cyberpunk 2077 before I got the 10% battery life warning. It lasted longer when I watched YouTube videos, but its battery still drained faster than I was comfortable with.

Battery life might not be an issue if you keep the laptop plugged in, which you’ll want to do to get the best gaming performance. However, if you plan to take the Omen Max 16 to your favorite outdoor spot to get some work done, don’t forget to bring its power brick along!

Beefy price

Games look great and run like a dream on the Omen Max 16. Unfortunately, that killer experience comes with a steep price tag.

With a starting price of $2,499, this is not a cheap laptop. And that’s for the entry-level configuration. If you want a machine with our review unit’s configuration, it’ll set you back $4,299! While this might be an unfair comparison, the Omen 35L desktop I reviewed costs over $1,000 less than the Omen Max 16’s starting configuration and delivers far better performance.

HP Omen Max 16 review: Verdict

While the HP Omen Max 16 is very heavy and very expensive, it’s still one of the finest gaming laptops I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing. I was somewhat skeptical about the RTX 50-series, but this brilliant notebook and the RTX 5090-powered Alienware Area-51 PC have shown me how amazing Nvidia’s latest laptop and desktop GPUs are.

The Omen Max 16 delivers a brilliant gaming experience thanks to its powerful performance and gorgeous OLED display. Price aside, if this is what we can expect from other RTX 50 laptops (and PCs) in 2025, then I’m all onboard.