HP’s Omen Transcend 16 gaming laptop (starts at $1,249.99; $3,009.99 as tested) is a slimmed-down version of its mainstay Omen 16 model. Though we appreciate its stunning OLED screen and modern looks, it’s too steeply priced and quickly outclassed in performance next to much more affordable high-end machines, even in battery life. Look to the Alienware m16 R2 and the Editors’ Choice-award-holding Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 9 for superior value and performance.Configuration and Design: Slimmed Down Outside, Some Compromises InsideOur configured-to-order model has every upgrade, including an Intel Core i9-14900HX CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 graphics card (130 watts total graphics power), 32GB of memory, a 2TB solid-state drive, Windows 11 Pro, an OLED screen, a per-key RGB keyboard, and Intel Wi-Fi 7. It more than doubles the price of the base model, which has a Core i7-14700HX CPU, a GeForce RTX 4050, a 1,920-by-1,200-pixel IPS screen with a 165Hz refresh rate, and a four-zone keyboard. Considering nearly every gaming laptop around this price houses a GeForce RTX 4080 or better, this Omen really needs to do well elsewhere to justify the price.
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(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Size-wise, the Omen’s 0.78 by 14.1 by 10.6 inches (HWD) chassis and 4.82-pound starting weight make the Alienware m16 R2 (0.93 by 14.3 by 9.8 inches, 5.75 pounds) and the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 9 (1 by 14.3 by 10.3 inches, 6.17 pounds) appear chunky. However, the Omen only loses 0.15 inch of thickness and a half-pound of weight compared with the regular HP Omen 16 (0.93 by 14.5 by 10.2 inches, 5.4 pounds).
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Picking up the Omen Transcend 16 is an easy way to appreciate how well it’s built. The magnesium-alloy chassis is sturdy and neither flexes nor makes any sounds—no matter how it’s handled. It’s not much to look at, with only reflective Omen lettering on the lid and large exhaust vents giving away its gaming nature. HP’s alternative, flashier Ceramic White chassis version of this model cannot, unfortunately, be configured with the OLED screen.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
The port selection begins on the left, with a pair of Thunderbolt 4 USB Type-C ports and a 3.5mm audio jack. The right edge has only one port, a USB Type-A. The rest of the ports are on the back, including an AC power barrel connector, an Ethernet jack, an HDMI 2.1 video output, and another USB Type-A port.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
The Omen Transcend has a standard Intel Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 card, but like our review unit, you can configure it with the new Intel BE200 card supporting Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4. Some components, including two SO-DIMM RAM slots, an M.2 2280 solid-state storage drive, the M.2 2230 wireless card, and the battery, are upgradable by removing the bottom panel. HP’s standard warranty is one year.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Using the HP Omen Transcend 16 (2024): Quite the Pretty Pixel PusherThe Omen Transcend’s most significant generational change is its switch from a mini-LED screen to an OLED model. Why HP made the switch isn’t clear—we had zero complaints about mini-LED when we last reviewed it—but I’m not complaining. This 2,560-by-1,600-pixel screen brings everything I look at to life, from web surfing to the latest games. Its blacks are inky, whites are stark, and colors dazzle. The 240Hz refresh rate creates a smooth picture, though Nvidia G-Sync support is unfortunately not present.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
I’m less of a fan of the Omen’s keyboard. Though I managed 107 words per minute with 99% accuracy in the MonkeyType online typing test, which is pretty fast for me, I found the lack of cushioning tiring for long typing sessions. At least its per-key RGB backlighting looks decent; it’s configurable in the included Omen Gaming Hub app. Meanwhile, the big touchpad is accurate but could have more satisfying physical clicking action.The Omen’s speakers have sufficient volume and a reasonable soundstage for solo entertainment, though they lack bass. Above the display, the 1080p webcam has a sliding privacy shutter and infrared to support Windows Hello facial recognition logins. The video quality suffices for casual use, but I find I have to tilt the display more upright than seems natural to keep my face in view.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
The fan noise in my testing is average for a laptop in this class; it’s noticeable across a medium-size room but not likely to distract you or others. The metal chassis above the keyboard deck gets hot, but you have no reason to put your fingers there, and the rest of the laptop remains cool enough.Testing the HP Omen Transcend 16 (2024): Needs More Performance for the MoneyOur fully equipped Omen Transcend 16 costs a pretty penny, considering it only has a GeForce RTX 4070 GPU for $3,009.99. A comparable Alienware m16 R2 is only $2,049.99, while the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 9 and HP’s Omen 16 deliver a GeForce RTX 4080 for hundreds less. Neither model includes OLED, but their IPS screens are hardly second-rate. The only OLED competitor appears to be the much pricier Razer Blade 16.Much of our unit’s cost comes from the $620 upcharge between the Core i7-14700HX and the Core i9-14900HX, chips that aren’t too different in practical use. Our unit would still have been pricey at $2,319.99 with the Core i7 and Windows Home edition, but not excessively.The Omen Transcend 16 will face the Alienware m16 R2 ($1,849 as tested), the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 9 ($2,441 as tested), and the Razer Blade 16 ($4,199 as tested) in our performance charts. We also included the 14-inch Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 ($1,999 as tested) to show what a more portable laptop can do.
Productivity and Content Creation TestsWe run the same general productivity benchmarks across both mobile and desktop systems. Our first test is UL’s PCMark 10, which simulates a variety of real-world productivity and office workflows to measure overall system performance and includes a storage subtest for the primary drive.Our other three benchmarks focus on the CPU, using all available cores and threads, to rate a PC’s suitability for processor-intensive workloads. Maxon’s Cinebench R23 uses that company’s Cinema 4D engine to render a complex scene, while Geekbench 5.4 Pro from Primate Labs simulates popular apps ranging from PDF rendering and speech recognition to machine learning. Finally, we use the open-source video transcoder HandBrake 1.4 to convert a 12-minute video clip from 4K to 1080p resolution (lower times are better).Finally, we run PugetBench for Photoshop by workstation maker Puget Systems, which uses the Creative Cloud version 22 of Adobe’s famous image editor to rate a PC’s performance for content creation and multimedia applications. It’s an automated extension that executes a variety of general and GPU-accelerated Photoshop tasks ranging from opening, rotating, resizing, and saving an image to applying masks, gradient fills, and filters.
The Omen Transcend was well off the pace set by Lenovo and Razer, the other two units equipped with a Core HX-class CPU. In fact, it performed more like the Alienware’s theoretically less powerful Core H-class chip and wasn’t substantially faster than the 14-inch Asus. It also had the lowest PCMark storage score. We expected more here.Graphics and Gaming TestsFor gaming laptops and other mobile gaming hardware, we run both synthetic and real-world gaming benchmarks. The former includes two DirectX 12 gaming simulations from UL’s 3DMark, Night Raid (more modest, suitable for systems with integrated graphics) and Time Spy (more demanding, suitable for gaming rigs with discrete GPUs). Additionally, we use the cross-platform GPU benchmark GFXBench 5, which gauges OpenGL performance. These GFXBench tests are rendered offscreen to accommodate different native display resolutions; more frames per second (fps) means higher performance.Our real-world gaming testing comes from the in-game benchmarks of F1 2021, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and Rainbow Six Siege. These three games—all benchmarked at 1080p resolution—represent simulation, open-world action-adventure, and competitive/esports shooter games, respectively. Valhalla and Siege are run twice (Valhalla at Medium and Ultra quality, Siege at Low and Ultra quality), while F1 2021 is run twice at Ultra quality settings with and without AMD and Nvidia’s performance-boosting FSR and DLSS features turned on.
The Alienware and even the Asus outperformed the Omen Transcend across the board. It would never hope to catch the RTX 4080 Lenovo, but that laptop shows the kind of performance that is available for similar or less money.We also ran the game benchmarks at the Omen’s native 1600p resolution, where it scored 96fps in F1 2021 (Ultra High, DLSS on), 73fps in Assassin’s Creed (Ultra High), and 137fps in Rainbow Six (Ultra). Those numbers suggest ample oomph for 1600p gaming. The Omen Gaming Hub app has a Performance mode that can squeeze more power out of this laptop, but the fan noise gets prohibitive. (We did all our testing in the default mode.)Battery and Display TestsWe test each laptop and tablet’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 Windows 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).
OLED displays are known for excellent color, and the Omen Transcend’s is no exception. However, the Legion’s IPS screen had just as wide color coverage. Regardless, an IPS panel can’t match the inky blacks of OLED, so the Omen still has a visual edge.Even with its lagging GPU speeds, which might make you expect better battery life, the Omen didn’t make a comeback in the battery department, having the lowest runtime in this group. Not that you come to a gaming laptop for longevity off the outlet, but this is just another dent in this laptop’s armor.Verdict: OLED Opulence, But the Rest Is Ho-HumHP’s knack for delivering a lucrative value seems to have faltered with the Omen Transcend 16. While we admire its thinned-down chassis and beautiful OLED screen, it’s wholly outclassed in performance and merely meets expectations elsewhere. Also turning in subpar battery life, the Omen Transcend 16 even disappoints in its portable aspirations. Short of a big sale, we’ll pass. You can grab the Editors’ Choice-award-winning Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 9 and have extra money for accessories and games leftover for the price of this HP model.
HP Omen Transcend 16 (2024)
The Bottom Line
Despite its dazzling 240Hz OLED screen, HP’s Omen Transcend 16, as tested, just isn’t powerful enough to justify its elite price.
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