HP Omen 15 (5XXX series) Gaming Notebook

Sigh, this chip has so much potential if only it was able to be OCed further . I have it at +135/+650 and it runs like a champ. Highest temps I have seen is 76C. I need to learn how to vbios unlock lol

 

Great, I'll look into it!

Ah, thank you both for your suggestions.

 

960m as well as 4720hq are iterative improvements over 860m & 4710hq. As mentioned. Earlier, no one would be able to tell difference in performance in between these 2 versions. Better, get good discount on the earlier version Omen.

 

Due to almost everyone's input on the 960M being a rather not worthwhile upgrade to the 860M, for the increased price and everything, so I decided not to go for it..
So.... Just pulled the trigger on a HP refurbished maxxed out model of the 860M Omen (512GB SSD, 16GB RAM), which saved me a chunk (~ £400) from buying a new one.. This would be my first time buying a refurb anything, hope this is not a bad decision (?).. Done a lot of research about official HP refurbished models and a lot say they're not half bad due to it being legitimately re-tested and have bugs ironed out to ensure proper working condition, and the money saved etc etc.. Wish me luck guys.. !

 

Can't help, but this things kinda attracts me. Even though I don't like that missing ethernet port, the glossy touchscreen, the soldered RAM, the sharp edges, the useless buttons on the left.

Btw... how bad are the edges and corners? They look so sharp in the pictures. I can almost feel them cutting in my stomach when using on the couch.

This is clearly a one-time-product. You get what you buy and nothing else. Because nothing is upgradeable. Ever. As long as you possess this device. Take it or leave it.
But it has benefits. I believe the materials and robustness will stay good for a looong time. Maybe a decade if you take care. And it will still perform well after 5 years (except new games). Also it's lightweight and looks good. It could make one happy after several years. An interesting thought. An interesting laptop.

 

Edges/corners haven't ever bothered me. They're definitely not as sharp as some of the edges on my old MacBook Pro.

 

if you use ethernet port, it might be a hassle but I think the past 4 years I have used a hard connection like 3 times. Glossy screen actually doesn't effect me at all besides if you are sitting outside in direct sunlight. the buttons are pretty much useless (you can assign macros to them, I just put in F9/home/pgup/pgdn/end but I usually dont use them the touchscreen makes everything more convinient. The edges aren't all that sharp. It's just you need a cooling pad underneath or some space atleast for the fans otherwise they will speed up if blocked.

My only two main concerns are not being able to OC it more (ugh) and stupid ass Omen Control. If only that POS worked this machine would be a king. I have to install Omen Control to make it work and then it just stops working after two tries. Then, after the first standby/restart, the alternate function keys stop working (meaning I have to press function to get the media keys)

 

Check your BIOS for your alternate keys issue. I noticed the default option in mine was set to FN + key for an alternate function instead of just hitting the key for an alternate function.

 

My first Omen was overheating, so I returned it. The second one arrived in the mail today. Inside...I found a "Bang & Olufsen" sticker. The laptop itself still has the Beats Audio though.

Hmmm...this makes me wonder if it would have been better to order the Omen just a few weeks later.

In fact, I just spoke with an HP technician who informed me that within 1-2 week's time, all Omens will be shipping with the upgraded features. So I may very well end up returning this and re-purchasing from the HP Store.

I realize that the performance enhancements may be minimal, but on principle I find it ridiculous to buy a laptop, only to have an upgraded version shipping out just a week after I receive it...

 

If you do, let us know if you hear any difference in the sound systems.

 

Has anyone tried to run The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on the Omen yet?
Allthough I know the minimum requirements is higher than the Omens (GPU the bottleneck) specs, it would be nice to know if it would run or not, and how
bad it would run

 

No, but someone posted this in the Alienware 13 (ULV CPU & 860M) thread:

The Omen should handle it a little better.

 

Oh really? that sounds great!

 

I went ahead and ordered the Omen Touch Select (the version with the 4720 processors, 960M GPU and B&O speakers). It cost me a bit more (only because HP no longer has the same coupon I used when purchasing the original Omen - obviously a marketing tactic since they knew they'd be releasing the upgraded Omen), but considering I'll have this laptop for quite I while, I figured I should get the best possible processors. FYI, if you order the Omen from the HP Store now, you will be ordering the one with these processors. And there will probably be a price drop on the earlier models

Of course, my crazy mind starts thinking..."hmm, I wonder what the next upgrade will be? Will they integrate the GTX 970 and much faster processors? And when will this happen?"



I'll let you all know about the speakers. I'd be surprised if there's a dramatic difference.

 

Just installed The Witcher 3 and played about an hour.
Running it in 1080p, medium to high settings with all postprocessing settings enabled and SSAO.
I dont know the exact fps, but it runs damn smooth. My guess is about 50-60fps
Unfortunately my final exams is next week...damn impatient to play this game for real!

 

Good to know that Omen can play witcher 3 at high settings with good frame rate. I had read a lot of issues of the game on multiple forums. Amazed at how 860m is handling these games. ️
I believe that you have not over clocked your GPU & you are playing on stock frequency

 

I really like the Omen series. it's the true envy that worth it's price

and 860m is a legend specially on OC

 

Does anyone know when the omen will be available with the GTX 970M? If it is available, does anyone know a trusted site I can get one on? I just saw that the Omen pro was released with Quadro GPU so maybe there has been a refresh. When I go to the HP Store to look at the options, there are none to be seen.

http://store.hp.com/webapp/wcs/stor...ype=SimpleSearch&searchSource=Q&storeId=10151

Any alternative sites that offer the Omen with 970M?

 

Maybe in another 2 years
Omen has just been REFURBISHED with 960m. I don't think there are any plans to introduce a 970m version...

 

Yeah, I doubt that you will see Omens with a 970 anytime soon.

 

Oh, I am sure there are PLANS to. The question is...how soon? I swear...if HP comes out with an Omen with a 970 before this year is up...I will be MAD!

They'll have to re-engineer the Omen to accommodate for the significantly more powerful 970 (to maintain aesthetic profile, thermals, etc.). So it might take some time. But who knows...maybe the design is done and they are just holding off on releasing it, to squeeze the most out of the market. That wouldn't surprise me. But considering I just spent over $2K USD to purchase this laptop (with the 960)...I'd be stung if they came out with a much more powerful version in the coming few months.

Actually, I expect that the next iteration will have the 965. About 15% performance increase from the 960.

 

@amazer @Ishkash I meant the 960M. Do any of you know any working links that have the model with 960M available. It is not on the HP site. Thanks.

 

Hmm, as far as I know, that is the only Omen listed on the website as of now. At least, it was when I ordered it.

I am in the US so it may be specific to that.

http://store.hp.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/us/en/mdp/Laptops/omen-15-204076--1#!&TabName=vao

 

@Ishkash, thank you for the link. It looks like the RAM is soldered on. I am looking for 16 GB of RAM, but I do not see how I can justify $200 for the upgrade. Tough decision to make.

 

Has anyone tried replacing/upgrading the SSD? I'm trying to educate myself on the M.2 (NGFF) connector and SATA vs. PCIe protocol.

Would any SSD that connects through the M.2 interface work in the Omen? Does it have to be a specific physical size (22x80 mm, etc.)? What kind of SSD should I buy to take full advantage (or as much as possible) of the M.2 connection?

-Thanks-

 

Lol, I hear you. It was a tough decision for me as well. I use this laptop for gaming but more importantly audio production, which really requires all the computing power you can get. I figure it will be my workhorse for at least two years, so that justified the investment. But it's not cheap :-(

Then again, I think of those poor fools getting MBPs...so much more expensive for the same, or less amount of power!



It's just going to suck when, maybe 5-6 months down the line, i.e. holiday season this year, HP will release a newer version with a 965 or 970, which will be quite a bump.

But such is life as a tech consumer.

 

I don't think we'll see a new GPU in the Omen until Nvidia releases a 1060M, or whatever they decide to call it.

A 970M would have been nice though.

 

PCIe is faster so I would go with that. The Omen should support both types though since there are 128GB SATA and 256/512GB PCIe options straight from the factory.

I'm not sure about the size. If you go to my profile you should see a link to an Omen teardown guide which may list the size of the factory installed SSD.

 

What makes you say that? These companies will do anything to draw their brand out and keep making money and attracting new customers.

 

It would have to be redesigned to accommodate a larger chip and more heat. Plus I've never seen a company "upgrade" to a better chip of the same architecture unless it was an option to begin with.

Examples:
Razer Blade: 870M -> 970M
Clevo W230ST/S/D : 765M -> 860M -> 960M

Maybe they'll redesign it for a 1070M, but I highly doubt we'll ever see a 970M.

If the Omen was ever going to have a 970M, it'd be out right now. It wouldn't make sense to release it 6 months from now because everyone will already have machines with 970Ms or better and they wouldn't sell anywhere near as many.

 

@Ishkash

When you get your 960M version let us know if you can overclock or not. I'd like to know if it has a locked VBIOS.

 

HP is ridiculous...

So, apparently, after ordering an HP Omen 15 on 5/9/2015, I was told today (5/22/2015) that my order had been canceled on 5/21/2015. They debited my bank account on 5/11/2015 and have not received any refund nor email from HP (I called to check my order status and learned it had been canceled). At this point, I'm not receiving any product for the $1500 HP has taken from me. So, basically, HP has stolen my money.

Unless they can do something to rectify this situation, I'm done with HP.

 

Just call their sales line and explain your situation, they'll sort you out. There's no way they can get away with just stealing $1500 from you, lol.

Shouldn't take more than 10-15 minutes.

 

Did you order an 860M model?

 

Heya! What settings are you using? My Witcher 3 runs like a slide show...

 

All post processing settings on with SSAO
1920x1080
vSync off
NIDIA HairWorks off
Hardware cursor off
Everything on medium except:
Terrain Quality High
Grass Density High
Texture Quality High
Detail Level High

 

Thanks... I assume you are changeing the settings right from in-game?

 

That's right =)

 

Has anybody played around with the resolution in Civ 5 and solved the scaling problems? I'm trying to run at 1440x900, as 1080p is asking too much even at medium settings. The NVIDIA scaling options aren't available, as apparently they go by the Intel graphics settings. At native resolution the Intel settings don't give you any choice, only 'maintain display scaling', whatever that means. In-game at 900p this results in 1:1 mapping with big black borders.

There is a workaround, which is to lower the desktop resolution to 900p before starting the game (at which point the Intel settings give you a 'maintain aspect ratio' option), but this crude switching is obvs pretty irritating. Has anybody found a real solution?

Also, fun-fact - it's limited to the DX11 executable; DX9 scales no worries.

*sigh*. I bought this laptop today and at first I was absolutely thrilled by it. But not now. GRID Autosport also has an issue where it only runs windowed. I've tried three games and two of them have not-insignificant issues.

 

Is it unplayable at higher settings @ 1080p or are you just looking for 60 FPS?

Something doesn't sound right... I would think the 860M could handle Civ 5 on ultra settings @ 1080p. Are you sure the game is using the 860M and not the iGPU? Go to the Nvidia control panel and change the settings for Civ 5 to ensure it always uses the 860M.

As for scaling issues, you could try updating to the latest Intel HD Graphics driver to see if that fixes anything.

 

Has anyone encountered problems with playback of music?
In spotify, every now and then I get some really noticeable static interference with the music.
Havent noticed the problem when watching movies or while streaming videos etc, just music in spotify.

 

I was really hoping HP would have had some good coupons that would work on the Omen for Memorial Day weekend. When I called to inquire, the best they could offer for the configuration I wanted was $2000, which is a bit more than I wish to pay. Hopefully soon a coupon code will come out for it. I'm still debating mostly between the Omen, Asus UX501, and the MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 064. It's very tough to choose when each option has its pros/cons. Plus, no laptop has universally positive/negative reviews; it's always a mix.

 

You know which one we all prefer here, if I see a coupon anytime I'll try to remember to quote this post so you'll see it.

 

I very much appreciate that!

 

Thanks heaps for the suggestion. Turns out the NVIDIA control panel didn't know about touch-enabled Civ 5, aka CivilizationV_Tablet.exe, so the iGPU was being used. I manually added it and, sure enough, 100+ FPS at 1080p on High settings.

Still didn't fix the scaling issue though. I would rather play at 900p because I want to leverage the touch-screen and scaled-up 900p has a more practical UI. Still, I'll take what I can get. And I can always get the scaling sorted if I'm willing to muck around with the desktop res.

 

More than HP issues, this scaling issue is because of intel drivers ( it is existing in other OEM models which offer 2k, 4K etc screens). One can find multiple forums where this is listed

 

For those who consider to upgrade their Omens specs with larger SSD etc, here is some how to videos from HP themself on how to
remove and replace different components. May be usefull for someone
http://support.hp.com/us-en/search?q=hp omen&filter=
I wonder how difficult it will be to get original parts as a private customer though...if they were to be needed

 

Just wondering...has anyone tried putting a touchscreen-compatible screen cover on their Omen? As we all know, the display is quite a fingerprint magnet. Wanted to see if anyone had had any success avoiding prints with one of these covers.

 

I'm curious about this too, as I think the screen is way to glossy. Would be nice to have a filter that mattifies the screen a bit.
Even when in a relatively dark room, the tiniest lightsource maks the screen a mirror....If someone have tried any filters, please
tell us about fit, quality, make and whee to buy.

 

I bought mine eBay. It's quite a matte cover and does reduce a bit of reflections, but take some brightness away in the process as well. Also covers the bezel

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