HP Omen 30L review: A sleek 4K gaming tower with a modern design

Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central

When it comes to tower PCs, y'all have two camps: those who insist on the superiority of building your own and those who want something out of the box that works.

The new HP Omen 30L falls into the latter category, only HP, like other PC makers, borrows from the DIY oversupply with success. Aye, it's a pre-made system, but its new i-button toolless entry, pre-wiring for expansion, and multiple RGB lighting zones brand it feel a fleck more custom.

I use the Omen Obelisk myself, so stepping up to the Omen 30L with new RTX 3080 graphics and tenth Gen Core i9 has me a bit jealous. And if you don't similar Intel, don't worry, as you can go a system with AMD instead.

Mainstream 4K Gaming

HP Omen 30L

From $950 at All-time Buy From $1,069 at HP

Bottom line: The HP Omen 30L, when appropriately configured, is a serious 4K gaming mainstream rig with pleasant aesthetics that lean more mod than hardcore gamer. With the ability to hands expand or upgrade components later, there's an incentive to buy this on the cheap and upgrade equally you go if you're on a budget. Fan noise and some mediocre cabling proceed it from excellence, only these are pocket-size quibbles.

Pros:

• Tempered glass front and sides look sleek
• Nice RGB lighting options
• One-button access to the motherboard
• Tons of configuration options including Intel or AMD
• Nice front ports

Cons:

• Cabling is but OK
• Fans can get noisy nether heavy load
• Performance is adept, but non not bad

Jump to:

• Specs and features
• Performance
• Should you buy?

What you get

Intel or AMD, your selection

HP Omen 30L specs and features

Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central

When ownership the Omen 30L, y'all accept multiple options. You tin can purchase pre-fabricated machines at All-time Buy with AMD Ryzen 5 or 7 processors and up to an RTX 2060 graphics carte for around $1,250.

At HP.com, you can go a fleck crazier past building your own organization, including upward to a Core i9-10900K , up to 64GB of HyperX RAM, RAID, Intel Optane, and more than. But like every other manufacturer, sourcing an RTX 3000 series card is hard to find due to tight supply correct now.

The unit of measurement reviewed here is a elevation-tier model with that Core i9-10900K , RTX 3080, 1TB SSD + 2TB HDD, and 32GB of RAM. The total cost is $3,100. HP sources components from Kingston (HyperX RAM), Western Digital Black SN750 (SSD), and Cooler Master (fans).

The 30L gets its name due to its size (17.7 by 6.5 by sixteen.six inches), and information technology is a more modern look over last year's Obelisk. Information technology's hard to miss the gorgeous tempered glass front panel that features the Omen logo in RGB with a similarly lit RGB 120mm Cooler Chief fan. Standing back in a nighttime room and the expect is modest but absurd. HP has veered more towards a contemporary design than a pure gamer await. That was the correct choice, especially for adults who may desire this PC.

For additional cooling, a 92mm rear fan does a decent job of removing estrus and the pinnacle fan for the CPU's liquid cooling radiator. These fans sound similar to final year'southward Obelisk, which is pretty repose but non the best.

Front port access is excellent on the Omen 30L. Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central

Similar the Obelisk, HP continues to utilise its angled and recessed front port area. On top, you become 2 USB 3.ii Gen 1 Blazon-A ports, an audio combo (headphone/microphone) jack, and a separate microphone jack. The design is excellent, letting you easily guide peripherals into the port with little fuss, making it perfect for thumb drives or a security key.

To the rear and you go the usual assortment of ports, including ane USB 3.2 Gen two Type-C, six USB Type-A ports (2 version 3.2 Gen 1, two iii.2 Gen two, and two legacy 2.0). There is as well a microphone, line-in, and line-out jacks.

The GeForce RTX 3080 in this review unit of measurement includes three DisplayPort video outputs and one HDMI. That monstrous GPU, thankfully, is bolted to the front to foreclose card "sag."

There's non much room for expansion, by and large due to the size of the RTX 3080. But at that place is an M.ii Type-2280 slot is just under the graphics card. HP also has pre-run power and SATA cables for the boosted for the 3.five-inch bays.

The Omen 30L's rear ports are typical. Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central

However, the real story is HP's new single-button mechanism to pop off that tempered glass left console. No more thumb screws, no more aligning the door panel to slide into place awkwardly. You press, and the panel releases. It'due south neat.

The reason HP is doing a toolless pattern is apparent: the company encourages you to buy this PC at a lower price, and you lot can upgrade the Intel Z490-based ATX motherboard when your upkeep is right. Sure, you lot can purchase the model I have for $iii,109, merely you can also start at $1,200 and work your manner upwards by swapping out GPUs, processor, storage options, and RAM yourself. That's a significant shift from years ago where these towers were one and washed.

The existent story of the Omen 30L is the ability to open up the glass panel with a single button press and no tools.

That RAM is besides Kingston HyperX DDR4-3200 RGB. While this review unit is 32GB (8GB x 4), you tin buy 64GB through HP. The RGB doesn't quite sync with the residual of the 30L'south RGB lighting, simply it still looks absurd.

Cabling is OK. Yes, information technology'south tied together, and some tape holds it to the case. But the Omen 30L won't win awards for cleanest (or nicest looking) cabling, and perhaps that glass panel shows besides much. On the other hand, if y'all're new to tower gaming PCs and don't know any better, it's just fine. Like me, you'll be wowed by the pulsing RGB.

Last year, HP used some crimson cables for the liquid cooling radiator. This yr, they went with but black. I think reddish looked better, only the Omen 30L seems to be consciously moving abroad from "Omen cerise," which has been the brand's color for ages. Instead, the whole system is more colour-neutral, with users configuring RGB colors to their liking.

Press here and you accept instant admission to the motherboard. Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Cardinal

Permit'southward non forget the tower's 4 feet. Gone are the flat nubs of Obelisk, and instead, we take iv, much taller feet that give more clearance to the lesser of the case. Those anxiety also piece of work well on a rug.

Powering it all is a prominent, powerful, and not great looking Cooler Master 750-watt power supply. It works and should be plenty for the almost demanding gamer, but information technology could employ either a smaller design or a flake more flair.

It's worth noting that HP has a whole assortment of matching accessories and peripherals. Those include the OMEN 27i gaming monitor, Photon Wireless Mouse, and my favorite, HP Omen Mindframe headphones, which actively cool your ears (it'southward wild).

Respectible, not astonishing

HP Omen 30L operation

Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Fundamental

The Intel Core i9-10900K is a powerful ten-core chip that can peak at 5.3GHz. Y'all can also get an AMD Ryzen vii 3700X, which is cheaper and yet a good performer.

Being a "Thousand" processor, it is overclockable. Overclocking is non for the faint of heart, merely HP makes it easy via its Omen Gaming Hub software. With a mouse click, the system reboots and does its own stress tests for around twenty minutes. It then finds the range of acceptable overclocking while keeping system stability. It'southward impressive stuff that any novice volition feel confident in using. The performance heave isn't massive – maybe around v percent overall – but hey, it's a free few extra frames in that video game.

That Omen Gaming Hub app does a lot of heavy lifting on the Omen 30L. You tin can too command the three zones of RGB lighting (logo, front fan, internal low-cal) and the HyperX RAM. Lighting ranges from reactive, multi-colors, and the usual fare. It pales adjacent to Razer'southward Blush, only it'southward slap-up either. You tin can enable "Dual Force," which combines your Wi-Fi vi and Ethernet connections, giving Ethernet priority for specified apps and games. HP likewise combines all your games on your system into ane place regardless of the stores you bought them from. It's an excellent app and fun to use.

If you get a "G" series processor, you lot can still overclock your system with HP's app.

Turning to raw benchmarks 3DMark, regardless of the examination (Fire Strike, Fire Strike Extreme, Fourth dimension Spy), the Omen 30L gets rated as "great." That means information technology'southward speedy and holds its ain against more than expensive systems. It likewise means it never really leads in any unmarried category, coming in but shy of the boilerplate.

Real-globe usage (not overclocked), playing something like Cerise Dead Redemption 2 at 1440P at ultra yields over 65 frames-per-second (FPS). Grand Theft Auto V gets 85 FPS and Fortnite, too at 1440P on ultra, brings in a respectable 165+ FPS. None of that should be also surprising as the 3080 is an impressive GPU, which is why we chosen the RTX 3080 the best for 4K gaming.

Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Primal

PCMark 10, which combines CPU and GPU usage, gives some amend results with a score of 7,898, making it "better than 99 percent of all results" and blowing laissez passer the boilerplate for a premium gaming PC in 2022 (7,163).

The Western Digital SSD is also a solid performer. On sequential read, it brought in three,315 MB/s while write was just over 3,000 MB/s.

Fans tin can whirl up under load, and they are non the worst, but things could also be a bit quieter. Of course, if you wear over-the-ear gaming headphones, the point is mostly moot. During regular productivity usage, there is more a slight hum than any constant whirring.

Go it and forget it

HP Omen 30L: Should y'all buy?

HP has a complete Omen ecosystem to get it all to match. Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central

Back in the day, I would build my own gaming towers. It was fashion earlier RGB everything, merely it was nevertheless fun and rewarding. Simply when you hitting a certain age, you just want to 2K game at 160FPS (or 4K game at lx) and not have to carp spending hours researching every top-tier component in the world.

The Omen 30L is an splendid pick for mainstream audiences who want 4K gaming and no fuss.

The Omen 30L is a squeamish improvement over the Obelisk. The look is more mature and certainly less gamer-red. The glossy glass front console looks sophisticated and minimal (though watch the fingerprints). Upgrading is straightforward with that single-button design. The RGB lighting likewise looks precipitous without being overwhelming.

For performance, the Omen 30L does not smash records, but I'k not sure it needs to either – non for this demographic. Nosotros all know that if yous want extreme functioning, yous DIY (and spend a fortune). But if y'all merely want to game and let HP exercise all the work, I can't say I'g disappointed. It's bang-up.

Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Fundamental

Pricing is too in the range of similar systems from Dell (east.g., Alienware Aurora R11), which has a whole different vibe if this is too tame.

For more ideas, check our Best Gaming Desktop PC for additional recommendations.

Overall, the Omen 30L is an splendid pick for mainstream audiences who either want a tower to build up or get top-tier gaming right now. The range of options for configurations, design, and pricing all make it a competitive pick backed by HP'due south name.

Mainstream 4K Gaming

HP Omen 30L

Bottom line: The HP Omen 30L, when appropriately configured, is a serious 4K gaming mainstream rig with pleasant aesthetics that lean more modern than hardcore gamer. With the power to easily aggrandize or upgrade components afterward, there'due south an incentive to buy this on the cheap and upgrade-equally-you-go if you're on a upkeep. Fan noise and some mediocre cabling proceed information technology from luminescence, only these are minor quibbles.

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Buyer's guide

The Dell XPS 15 is our option for all-time xv-inch laptop

For a lot of people, a fifteen-inch laptop is a perfect size that offers enough screen for multitasking, and in a lot of cases, some extra operation from powerful hardware. We've rounded upward the best of the all-time at this size.

Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/hp-omen-30l-review-2020

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