86 PCWorld MARCH 2020REVIEWS HP PAVILION GAMING L APTOP
Those huge glass panes at the airport, and
you squinting to see your screen.
HP does offer two additional display
options: 1080p at 144Hz, and 4K. Assuming
the 144Hz variant is the same used on the
Omen though, it’s probably worth the $100
upgrade. That alone would add a half-star to
our rating here.
Below the display, you’ll find a row of
upward-firing speakers. This, too, differs from
the Omen, and I don’t necessarily hate the
change in isolation. The Pavilion Gaming
Laptop gets loud, and the audio
output is reasonably clear. These
speakers are decent for watching
YouTube, fine for listening to
some slightly tinny music, and...
well, pretty unpleasant for
gaming. Use a headset.
The larger issue, though is
that the speakers came at the cost
of a larger trackpad and
dedicated mouse buttons.
I’ve said it again and again,but I think dedicated left- and right-click
buttons are a must for gaming laptops. Sure,
you’ll plug in a real mouse for anything
serious, but there are plenty of times when I’m
on the road without a mouse, or where a
mouse isn’t feasible (i.e., airplanes). In those
situations, having reliable left- and right-click
buttons is crucial to playing even simple
adventure games. Tap-to-click isn’t good
enough, and it’s a shame HP went that route
with the Pavilion Gaming Laptop. It’s the one
aspect where head-to-head the Omen