PC World - USA (2019-12)

48 PCWorld DECEMBER 2019

REVIEWS HP OMEN 17-CB0040NR

HP’s implementation isn’t quite as zippy

as the one for MSI’s GE65 Raider, a

shortcoming we can likely put down to heat

again. It handily beats out the 2070 Max-Q

though, and comes damn close to matching

the 2080 Max-Q as well. Lest we forget, this

laptop to encode a

30GB MKV file down to

the “Android Tablet”

preset, using the free

HandBrake utility. Here,

the Omen 17 falls well

outside the margin of

error, taking nearly five

minutes longer than the

competition. That’s

pretty shocking,

considering the Omen

17 is both larger and

heavier than laptops like

the MSI GS65 Stealth. You’d expect the

Omen 17 to have better cooling.

Does it matter for gaming? Probably not.

Most games are still constrained by the GPU,

not the CPU. Still, there’s cause for concern.

Heat dispersion is one of the biggest

challenges laptops face,

and the Omen 17 isn’t

doing a great job

combating it.

Let’s get into GPU

performance. Here, HP

does have an advantage,

if only because of that

full-size RTX 2070. Sure,

it’s bulky. Sure, it’s hot.

Check out these

numbers for 3DMark’s

TimeSpy 1.1 benchmark,

though.

Alienw(Core i9-9900K)are Area-51m R1

MSI GE 65 Raider-51

(Core i9-9880H)

HP Omen 17

(Core i7-9750H)

Alienware M15 R2

(Core i7-9750H)

Lenovo Legion Y740(Core i7-8750H)

Dell G7 (Core i7-9750H)

Rise of the Tomb Raider

(Frames per second)

LONGER BARS INDICATE BETTER PERFORMANCE

162.5

89.01

98.83

112

82.34

91.1

Alienware Area-51m R1

(Core i9-9900K)

Alienware M15 R2

(Core i7-9750H)

M(Core i9-9880H)SI GE 65 Raider-51

HP Om(Core i7-9750H)en 17

Lenovo Legion Y740(Core i7-8750H)

Dell G7 (Core i7-9750H)

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

(Frames per second)

LONGER BARS INDICATE BETTER PERFORMANCE

197.2

122.16

153.73

162.85

116.63

134.92