New HP Omen X gaming laptop wants to win with eSports players

HP wants to win with competitive gamers, or eSports players, with its line of Omen PC gaming products. The firm’s biggest salvo yet in that direction is the latest HP Omen X gaming laptop.

Shown off during Gamescom 2017 in Cologne, Germany, the new 17-inch Omen X is – totally unsurprisingly – HP’s most powerful gaming laptop to date.

And, for $2,299 (about £1,791, AU$2,905) when it goes on sale this November, it dang well better be. But, as we mentioned before, the laptop is aimed directly at eSports players, who historically don’t require the most absolutely powerful rig, but rather one tuned for their craft.

The HP Omen X laptop offers plenty of lighting.

The HP Omen X laptop offers plenty of lighting.

Honed to an edge

HP has smartly outfitted the new Omen X with the capacity for RAM as fast as 2,800MHz and graphics as strong as Nvidia GTX 1080, with 7th-generation Intel Core i7 processor options.

As for the crucial display element, HP will have both 120Hz, 1080p – the eSports standard – and straight 4K resolution options for the 17-inch panel. Better yet, every display option comes with G-Sync technology to reduce screen tearing.

PCIe SSDs available in various RAID configurations are also on offer, keeping up the speed as well. Meanwhile, keeping the whole operation from blowing up is a cooling system consisting of safe overclocking options paired with high-performance fans with an integrated vapor chamber connected to 3.5mm heat pipes. (Though, the latter is for models packing either K-series Intel processors or Nvidia GTX 1080 GPUs.)

The Omen Command Center app by HP lets players customize the performance of this hardware with those safe overclocking options as well network bandwidth priority tools.

Rounding out the package are an RGB-backlit keyboard with 2.5mm of key travel and mechanical switches, an easy-access panel to core components for simpler upgrades as well as two Thunderbolt 3 ports and HDMI 2.0a with HDR support, and a lot more.

Stay tuned for our full review of the Omen X later this autumn.

  • Gamescom is Europe's largest annual gaming event, stuffed full of the latest and greatest games, consoles, and gaming hardware. TechRadar is reporting live from Cologne to bring you the very latest from the show floor. Head to our dedicated Gamescom 2017 hub to see all the latest news, along with TechRadar's world-class analysis and buying advice about the next year in gaming
Joe Osborne

Joe Osborne is the Senior Technology Editor at Insider Inc. His role is to leads the technology coverage team for the Business Insider Shopping team, facilitating expert reviews, comprehensive buying guides, snap deals news and more. Previously, Joe was TechRadar's US computing editor, leading reviews of everything from gaming PCs to internal components and accessories. In his spare time, Joe is a renowned Dungeons and Dragons dungeon master – and arguably the nicest man in tech.