PC World - USA (2021-01)

48 PCWorld JANUARY 2022

REVIEWS HP VICTUS 16

emphasizes what you see on the screen more

than anything else. At 5.44 pounds and 0.93

inches thick, it doesn’t feel overly imposing.

The weight is slightly heavier than another

16-inch gaming notebook we reviewed, the

Acer Predator Triton 500 SE (fave.

co/3GPdYh2), which costs significantly more

but also includes a higher-resolution screen

with a faster refresh rate.

In my book, that’s a real

plus. We haven’t quite realized

a future where thin-and-light

laptops are docked into

external graphics enclosures to

mix and match productivity and

gaming, so PCs like the Victus

fill that niche instead. By

default, the laptop runs coolly

enough so that the system fans

suck air out of the bottom of the

laptop and push it out the sides

and back. Inside, the

Victus contains four heat

pipes, boasting what HP

says is a 54 percent larger

fin length, 33 percent

larger fan size, and 30

percent more airflow than

the prior Pavilion Gaming

notebook.

In the real world, this

translates into a very quiet

hiss as the fans spin during

office work like web

browsing, just barely louder than other

productivity notebooks I have around the

office. Naturally, the fans dial up considerably

during gaming. If you’d like, you can tap the

diamond key near the power button to open

the Omen Gaming Hub. There, you’ll find a

one-button Performance Control tab to

manually place the laptop in Quiet mode for

Vents surround the HP Victus 16 on the sides and rear, pushing out hot air.

There’s substantial venting at the bottom of the Victus, too.