Gaming laptops look both cool and aggressive. The best example of this is the Dell Alienware series—the benchmark gaming laptops. But the likes of Asus and HP are snapping at Dell’s heels—they are bringing more powerful versions to the market.
Design: DISTINCT personalities
The two laptops have distinct personalities. The Asus ROG Strix’s (Rs1,36,990) matte black chassis has orange colour accents, particularly on the lid, giving it a youthful persona. There are, however, some shortcomings in build quality—you can hear occasional, audible creaks from the chassis when you pick up the Strix. It weighs 2.5kg, and that sort of heft is to be expected from a gaming laptop that packs in powerful hardware.
The footprint of the HP Omen (Rs1,69,990) is large owing to its 17.3-inch display. It weighs more too, 3.3kg, for the same reason.
It is quite well built, with a matte finish on the lid and a patterned design on the keyboard deck. Compared to some of its rivals, it does look understated. HP has sacrificed the optical drive, which shouldn’t be much of a problem at a time when most games are downloaded off the Internet.
Display: A different canvas
There is still a big debate on whether gaming laptops genuinely need a 4K screen, or whether this just has a negative impact on graphics performance. If you don’t want the higher-resolution screen, the Asus ROG Strix has a 15.6-inch screen with Full HD (1,920x1,080) resolution. The display is crisp, the colours look vibrant and the finer details reproduce well while gaming.
Though quite bright, it does fall a bit short of the Dell Alienware series. It is, however, still slightly ahead of the HP Omen 17. With the extra space that a 17.3-inch display (3,840 x 2,160 resolution) affords in terms of screen space, the Omen 17 offers a more immersive experience. The sharpness, brightness and viewing angles are all adequate, and the colours look good too.
Performance: It doesn’t get more powerful
The ROG Strix runs the latest-generation Intel Core i7-7700HQ processor, with 16 GB RAM and the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (4 GB) graphics. As a gamer, you will be able to play most games at the normal visual settings. In fact, the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti also meets the basic requirements for the Oculus Rift virtual reality (VR) headset, one of the very few that do.
The HP Omen 17 laptop which we tested runs an Intel Core i7-6700HQ processor with 16 GB RAM and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 (8 GB) graphics. There is no doubt that the Omen will let you enhance the visual effects on games. Heating, however, does become apparent on the underside of the Omen.
Battery life isn’t a strong point of gaming laptops. The ROG Strix barely lasts 2 hours on a single charge, and the HP Omen, close to 3 hours.
Keyboard: A GOOD LAYOUT
The Strix’s keys are spaced out generously, and this takes some getting used to. Once you do, typing can be fun. Our only problem is that the keys occasionally offer a spongy response that can dull an in-game experience.
We have often praised HP laptop keyboards, and the Omen is no different, with excellent layout and response.
Which one to buy?
While the Asus ROG Strix and the HP Omen 17 are both gaming laptops, they will appeal to very different audiences. The Strix does a stellar job in terms of specifications and performance and comes with a cool quotient; it also costs significantly less.
For a higher price tag, HP gives you a much higher-resolution screen that is tremendously immersive. Add to this a sharper design and slightly more powerful graphics, and the Omen 17 pulls ahead in the race—if your budget allows.
