The competition in the gaming laptop industry is growing day by day. Manufacturers like MSI, HP, Dell, and ASUS have been constantly working on peak performance, better heat dissipation, and design to meet the new demands of enthusiasts and gamers. These days, laptops are not judged solely by their raw specifications, but factors such as display quality, portability, heat dissipation efficiency, and acoustics now play an equally important role.
In this growing competition, HP has once again updated its HP OMEN gaming series by introducing the HyperX OMEN Max 16, aiming to deliver desktop-class performance in a 16-inch chassis with a newly designed cooling system and an upgraded internal architecture.
The laptop has been upgraded with the latest Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX CPU, along with a 175W NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 GPU, 6400MHz RAM, and a PCIe 5.0 SSD. The display features a 2.5K IPS panel with a 240Hz refresh rate for smooth graphics during gameplay. On the sides are Thunderbolt-enabled USB-C ports and other ports. Last but not least, the company has also provided a 460W power adapter to support the laptop’s impressive 300W combined CPU and GPU power output.
Specifications
| Screen | 16.0-inch, 2.5K (2560 x 1600), 240 Hz, 3 ms response time, IPS, micro-edge, antiglare, Low Blue Light, 500 nits, 100% sRGB |
| Processor | Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus (up to 5.5 GHz, 36 MB L3 cache, 24 cores, 24 threads) |
| Wireless Connection | Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 (2×2) and Bluetooth 5.4 wireless card |
| Graphics card | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 (16 GB GDDR7) |
| Memory | 32 GB DDR5-6400 MT/s (2 x 16 GB) |
| Storage | 1 TB PCIe Gen 5.0 x4 NVMe M.2 SSD |
| Ports | 2x Thunderbolt 4 with USB Type-C ports; 40 Gbps signaling rate 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2.0 Type-A ports; 10 Gbps signaling rate 1x RJ-45 Ethernet port 1x Headphone/microphone combo port 1x HDMI 2.1 port 1x AC Charging Port |
| Battery | 83 Wh 6-cell Li-ion Polymer battery, 460W AC adapter |
| OS | Windows 11 Home |
| Weight | 3.0 kg |
Body Design
HP has made significant changes in the design of this model compared to previous models. The main focus is on structural durability and thermal efficiency. Throughout the build, there is extensive use of metal and high-quality composite materials, providing a premium feel while ensuring rigidity at the same time.
On the back, the laptop features distinctive HyperX branding, replacing the traditional OMEN logo and refreshing the laptop’s identity while still staying within HP’s limits. On the bottom panel, there are intake vents, while on the sides, additional ventilation openings enhance the machine’s airflow. Despite its professional industrial look, the laptop retains a refined appearance that balances gaming design with a professional look. Overall, the laptop maintains a cleaner and more aggressive style. According to official sources, the laptop measures 356.5 x 269.0 x 28.7 mm and weighs approximately 3 kg.
Compared to previous models, the laptop feels significantly thicker and heavier. This increase in size is possibly due to the upgraded cooling system. The hinge mechanism is very sturdy and allows for one-handed opening. The display can open to a full 180 degrees, offering flexibility for different usage scenarios. The final verdict on build quality is that it is excellent, offering a durable and premium feel. The redesigned exterior reflects the laptop’s high-performance capabilities.
Display
The HP HyperX OMEN Max 16 comes in both IPS and OLED variants. The one we are reviewing is equipped with a 16-inch IPS LCD display, which has the following specifications:
- Resolution: 2.5K (2560 x1 600)
- Aspect Ratio: 16:10
- Refresh Rate: 240Hz
- Micro-Edge Anti-Glare Display
- Brightness: 500nits
- 3ms Response Time
- TUV with Eyesafe Certified for Low Blue Light
The higher 2.5K resolution provides noticeably sharper image quality while gaming (as well as for other tasks, including video editing, programming, and multitasking). Additionally, its 16:10 aspect ratio provides more vertical workspace than 1080p displays.
The screen covers 100% of the sRGB color gamut, delivering vivid and accurate colors that enhance the viewing experience, whether you are using it for gaming or other tasks. The screen supports a peak brightness of up to 500 nits, making it visible in 95% of indoor environments. Peak brightness is not a major factor for gaming laptops, as most users use them indoors.
Despite being an IPS LED screen (rather than OLED), the display still performs very well overall. The wide viewing angles and accurate colors were the standout features of the display, and no major weaknesses were found throughout testing. If the LED display still does not meet your needs, HP also offers an OLED panel variant that is slightly more expensive. The display has thinner bezels, which contribute significantly to a modern appearance and help maximize screen immersion. However, the lower bezel is larger than the others, though it does not significantly detract from the viewing experience.
Overall, the display on the HyperX OMEN Max 16 is one of the main aspects of the laptop. With its 2.5K resolution, high 240Hz refresh rate, excellent color coverage, and quick response times (i.e., 3ms), the screen delivers a premium viewing experience, ideal for both gamers and video editors.
Keyboard
The HP OMEN Max 16 comes with a full-size gaming keyboard and supports per-key RGB backlighting, allowing you to customize each key’s color and access a wide range of colors through the OMEN keyboard toolkit. The keycap design now feels more seamless and cleaner, while also improving light diffusion for more uniform illumination.
One of the most notable features of the keyboard is the full-sized arrow keys. Unlike previous models that used a compact arrow key arrangement, HP has made its best effort to provide a desktop-level experience by including these keys. The full-size keyboard layout is important for improved usability in gaming, coding, and navigating spreadsheets.
Moreover, the keyboard also supports a 1000Hz polling rate, which helps reduce input latency and ensures that keystrokes are registered almost instantly during competitive gaming sessions. The overall typing experience remains very comfortable and consistent during testing. The key travel distance is good, and the keys also have a responsive actuation feel, making them suitable for tasks such as gaming, long typing sessions, and productivity. The overall layout is well spaced, and the larger palm rest area also adds to the comfort factor during long usage sessions.
Under the keyboard, we have a standard precision touchpad with a glass-like surface that allows the user to move the cursor effortlessly. It also supports all the basic Windows multi-touch gestures, such as scrolling, zooming, and task switching without any issues. When clicked, the touchpad provides firm and consistent feedback. Compared with previous OMEN lineup models, both the keyboard and touchpad have been upgraded for better usability and a more precise usage experience.
Ports
The HP HyperX OMEN Max 16 offers a well-rounded selection of modern features for catering to the needs of both gamers and professional users. The laptop comes with the following ports:
- 2x Thunderbolt 4 USB Type-C ports with 40 Gbps signaling rate (USB PD 3.1, DP 2.1, HP Sleep and Charge)
- 2x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A ports with 10Gbps signaling rate
- 1x RJ45 Ethernet Port
- 1x 3.5mm Headphone jack
- 1x HDMI 2.1 Port (supports 8K @60Hz)
- 1x AC Charging Port
The wide portfolio of ports caters to almost every gamer’s needs. The inclusion of Thunderbolt-enabled ports enables high-speed data transfer and connects external displays (with higher resolution and refresh rates) and other accessories, making it perfect for gamers.
In addition, we have 10 Gbps USB-A ports, which are ideal for connecting external drives (for more storage) and gaming mice. The 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet LAN port provides a reliable and faster wired internet connection, which is essential for lag-free gaming. The HDMI ports are also available for connecting external monitors and larger screens, once again enhancing the gaming experience.
Overall, the port selection on the OMEN Max 16 is modern and well-suited to connecting almost every essential device.
Battery
The HyperX OMEN Max 16 comes with a high-capacity battery, specifically designed to support its high-power demanding hardware. As officials mentioned, the laptop comes with a 6-cell Li-ion Polymer battery (rated at 83 Wh), providing moderate runtime for everyday tasks such as web browsing, document editing, and media playback. Under heavy usage, we should not expect more from the battery.
For charging the 83Wh battery, the company has provided a 460W AC adapter that supplies ample power to sustain peak CPU and GPU power output while simultaneously charging the battery. The adapter is considerably heavier and bulkier than other chargers found in standard laptops. It also supports rapid charging and can charge 50% of the battery in just 30 minutes. The notion of portability and battery-only usage is very limited due to the laptop’s size, weight, and power requirements.
Overall, the battery is sufficient only for lighter tasks. For this laptop, which is designed for heavier tasks, make sure that your charger is plugged in so it can run at full capacity without compromise.
RAM and SSD
The variant we are reviewing comes with 32 GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage. The 32 GB RAM is a dual-channel (2×16 GB) DDR5 memory setup with 6400 MT/s speed, manufactured by SK Hynix. The high-speed memory provides excellent bandwidth for gaming and other heavy tasks.
RAM Benchmark
For performing the memory benchmark testing, we used the AIDA64 Memory and Cache application. Upon completion, we got the following results:
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- Read Speed: 97,813 MB/s
- Write Speed: 86,421 MB/s
- Copy Speed: 88,581 MB/s
- Latency: 99.1 ns
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The results demonstrate very fast data handling and low latency, suitable for high-performance workloads.
The 1TB storage is a 1TB PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD, providing fast transfers and quick application launches. Users can expand storage, as the company has provided an additional M.2 2280 SSD slot.
SSD Benchmark
For conducting SSD benchmark testing, we used the CrystalDiskMark application and got the following results:
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- Sequential Read Speed: 10,621.56 MB/s
- Sequential Write Speed: 9,291.06 MB/s
- Random 4K Read Speed: 94.02 MB/s
- Random 4K Write Speed: 336.8 MB/s
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CPU
The HyperX OMEN Max 16 comes in two CPU options: Intel Core Ultra 9 and Intel Core Ultra 7. The variant we are reviewing is powered by the Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus, a flagship-level processor designed specifically for gaming and productivity tasks. It features a hybrid architecture with 24 cores, including both performance and energy-efficient cores, enabling the user to handle multitasking and demanding computational tasks efficiently. The CPU’s specifications are mentioned below:
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- Processor: Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus
- Cores: 24 Cores (8 P-Cores with 5.5GHz Max Frequency, 16 E-Cores with 4.7GHz Max)
- Threads: 24 Threads
- Cache: 36MB L3 Cache
- Base TDP: 55W (can go 160+)
- Architecture: 3nm manufacturing, based on Arrow Lake
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Benchmark:
Cinebench R23: 2,382 on Single-Thread and 41,631 on Multi-Threads.
During the benchmark, we measured both the CPU temperature and power consumption. The peak temperature was 104°C, while the peak power consumption was 212W, indicating that the CPU’s maximum performance can be lethal for competitor models.
GPU
Just like the CPU, HP has also provided GPU options. This laptop comes in the following three options: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070, RTX 5080, and RTX 5090. The variant we have is equipped with the RTX 5080. The GPU has 16 GB of GDDR7 memory (175W) and is designed to deliver top-tier gaming performance. The GPU supports all the basic AI-enhanced features, such as DLSS 4 and high-resolution rendering, making it capable of handling the latest AAA games at high settings as well as demanding content creation workloads, such as 3D rendering and video editing.
Benchmark
We also did the GPU benchmark testing, which is mentioned as follows:
3DMark Time Spy: 23,091
3DMark Fire Strike Extreme: 30,052
3DMark Steel Nomad: 24,121
3DMark Superposition 1080p Extreme: 13,562
Gaming Test
After all these benchmark tests, this review may still look incomplete if the gaming test is not being mentioned, since the primary purpose of this laptop is gaming. The following are the games that we tested (along with their FPS scores): before proceeding, it is worth noting that all these tests were done at 2.5K resolution:
Assassin’s Creed Shadows: 97 FPS (DLSS enabled)
Black Myth Wukong: 112 FPS (DLSS enabled and snow quality was set to high)
Doom The Dark Ages: 121 FPS (DLSS enabled)
CyberPunk 2077: 94 FPS (no DLSS, High Image Quality)
Cooling System
The HyperX OMEN Max 16 uses the company’s redesigned cooling system. Inside the laptop, there is a large vapor chamber covering a substantial portion of the internal components, making it more effective than older copper heatsinks. Moreover, a liquid-material thermal compound is also used on CPU and GPU interfaces to improve heat transfer between components and the cooling system. The number of cooling fans has also been increased to three (two in older models), helping maintain better airflow through the ventilation channels. Finally, the coolest feature we found is the Fan Cleaner technology, a mechanism added by HP to reduce dust buildup.
During the benchmark testing, we also observed the temperature. The maximum temperature we observed was 48.6°C (at the top middle of the keyboard), and the average temperature was 40.4°C. It is also worth noting that the fan noise was very high throughout this scenario.
Summary
The HyperX OMEN Max is a 16-inch gaming laptop designed for those who want serious performance without compromise. It features an Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus CPU and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 GPU with 16 GB of GDDR7 memory, ensuring smooth gameplay and effortless handling of heavy workloads. With 32GB of DDR5‑6400 memory and a 1TB PCIe 5.0 SSD, everything from boot-up to loading games and large files feels fast and responsive.
The 16-inch 2.5K 240Hz display is sharp and smooth, while the per-key RGB keyboard with 1000Hz polling makes typing and gaming feel responsive and satisfying. The cooling system (including vapor chamber, heat pipes, and side vents) keeps everything running stable, though the fans can get loud under heavy use. The 83Wh battery is sufficient for light tasks, but the 460W charger is required for full performance. It’s ideal for anyone who values power and speed over portability or quiet operation.
Pros
350W Performance Release (175W CPU + 175W GPU)
Newly Designed Keyboard
460W Adapter (that doesn’t draw power from the battery)
Cons
High Fan Noise
Heavily Weighted Power Adapter (affecting the portability of the laptop)
