HP’s HyperX Omen 15 isn’t quite the budget-friendly gaming laptop its predecessor was

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The HP HyperX Omen 15, which I first saw at CES, replaces the HP Victus 15, a longtime bestselling budget gaming laptop. The Victus cost just $800, or less when on sale, and was a good entry point to decent laptop gaming.

The Omen 15 has nice little upgrades over the Victus. Its RTX 5050 Laptop GPU can play 2026’s latest games, albeit on low-ish settings. But it’s also got a brighter 16:10 aspect ratio display with higher refresh rate, and a 1080p webcam to make it a little better for non-gaming stuff.

I’d call it a working-class gaming laptop, but thanks to RAMageddon, the Omen 15 starts at $1,200 — a far cry from the $800 that made its predecessor so appealing. But laptop prices are way up across the board, and if you want current-gen gaming hardware, this is about as cheap as you’re going...

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