HP OMEN 15-AX250WM Review: A Power-packed Gaming Laptop

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HP OMEN 15-AX250WM: At First Glance

When it comes to gaming laptops, it is quite obvious that the competition is pretty high. So, for any gaming laptop to be among the best, a powerful CPU and a great dedicated graphics card are required.

Thus, HP was able to come up with a gaming laptop that meets these criteria. To be more specific, HP designed the OMEN 15-AX250WM, an excellent gaming laptop that offers great performance for hardcore gaming.

Obviously, this laptop comes with a long list of powerful specifications and features. Curious to know what these features and specs are?

Then, you have to read this review all the way through!

HP OMEN 15-AX250WM: Design, Dimension, and Weight

To begin with, the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM comes with a sleek design. To give more details, this laptop features an all-around plastic chassis.

Furthermore, this plastic chassis comes with a matte-black finish. Also, due to the fact that this plastic chassis is of high quality, this laptop is quite solid.

That said, the lid of the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM features a mesh-texture design pattern. This mesh-texture design gives off a thrilling rough feel when you run your hands through the laptop’s lid.

Apart from the mesh-texture design, this laptop’s lid also features an OMEN logo at the center. Moreover, this OMEN logo is beautifully highlighted in red color and further adds to the appealing design of the laptop.

Moving on to the interior, the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM features a 15.6-inch display with a resolution of FHD (1920 x 1080). This 15.6-inch FHD display renders colorful images and overall decent picture quality.

To make things more interesting, this display is made with an IPS panel which allows it to offer wide viewing angles. Hence, the colors and picture quality of the display will not lose accuracy even when viewing the display from the sides or off-center.

On the downside, this laptop’s 15.6-inch FHD display is surrounded by thick bezels. However, the bottom bezel features an “HP” logo at the center that is really appealing to look at.

Meanwhile, the top bezel features an HP Wide Vision HD webcam also at the center. Performance-wise, this webcam isn’t just ideal for video calls but it is also good for taking pictures.

That said, the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM comes with a chiclet-style keyboard. As with most gaming laptops nowadays, this keyboard has a red backlight.

As a result, gaming, typing, and performing other computing tasks on this laptop will be possible in dark areas or at night. However, this red-backlit keyboard isn’t particularly great due to its shallow keys.

Nevertheless, that shouldn’t be a major problem due to the fact that this is a gaming laptop. Basically, because it is a gaming laptop, you will be doing less typing.

In other words, you will most likely be using gamepads or only a few keys on the keyboard to play games.

Looking below the keyboard, you will notice that the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM features a sizable touchpad. This touchpad offers a smooth and responsive surface that enables easy and seamless navigation.

Also, due to the smoothness of the touchpad’s surface, multitouch gestures like swipe-to-zoom can be performed seamlessly.

When it comes to port selection, the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM offers a minimal amount of ports. Specifically, this laptop features a USB 3.0 port, an HDMI port, an Ethernet port, a power jack, and an SD card slot on its right side.

On the other hand, this laptop houses a Kensington lock, a USB 2.0 port, a USB 3.0, and an audio jack on its left side.

In terms of dimensions and weight, the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM measures 382 x 253 x 24.5 mm (W x D x H) and weighs 2240 g. Although this laptop is somewhat heavy, when compared to most gaming laptops in its category, it weighs less.

For example, the Schenker XMG A516 measures 385 x 268 x 29 mm and weighs 2540 g.

In conclusion, the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM is a gaming laptop that features a rather sleek design. However, this laptop offers a not-so-impressive keyboard and a minimal amount of ports.

Therefore, I will rate the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM an eight out of ten in this design review section.

HP OMEN 15-AX250WM: Processor (CPU) Performance

The HP OMEN 15-AX250WM comes with an outstanding Intel Core i7-7700HQ processor. This processor is a quad-core processor, which indicates that it has up to four cores.

Thus, the processor will be able to perform better than a processor with a lesser number of cores. Other than its four cores, this processor comes with a cache memory of 6 MB.

Also, the processor boasts a base frequency of 2.80 GHz and a maximum frequency of 3.80 GHz. Hence, due to this processor’s powerful specs, the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM will be able to handle hardcore gaming.

Also, this laptop should be able to run demanding applications and multitask with ease. To prove all these, I will now quickly talk about the laptop’s Cinebench R15 test results.

Before mentioning the laptop’s result, I would like to explain what Cinebench 15 is and what it does. To start with, Cinebench R15 is a benchmark tool that measures the processing power of a computer.

It does this by evaluating the computer’s processor’s cores. Hence, this benchmark test carries out two tests which are the single-core test and the multi-core test.

Moreover, the single-core test evaluates the performance of a computer when just one of its processor’s cores is in use. Meanwhile, the multi-core test determines how efficient the computer can perform when all of its processor’s cores are in use.

It is crucial to mention that a high score on these tests indicates a good processing performance. In other words, the higher the score, the better the processor performance.

So, based on the Cinebench R15 test results, the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM scored 147 points on the single-core test. In addition to the single-core test, this laptop scored 678 points on the multi-core test.

In comparison, the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM outperformed the Acer Aspire V15 Nitro which also uses an Intel Core i7-7700HQ processor. Specifically, according to the Cinebench R15 test, the Acer Aspire V15 Nitro scored 134 points on the single-core test.

Furthermore, this Acer laptop scored 672 points on the multi-core test.

In summary, the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM features a powerful quad-core processor that delivers an impressive performance. Also, this laptop performed better than most of its competitors on a benchmark test.

Therefore, the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM deserves a nine out of ten rating in this processor review section.

HP OMEN 15-AX250WM: Memory (RAM) Performance

Coming down to the memory, the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM features two memory slots. Moreover, this laptop offers a standard 4 GB memory and supports a maximum memory of 12 GB.

Thus, you may easily upgrade the laptop’s memory up to a maximum of 12 GB by using the second memory slot. However, I doubt that would be necessary because the standard 4 GB RAM should be sufficient for this laptop.

Basically, with 4 GB RAM, the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM should be able to run 16 Chrome tabs simultaneously without lagging. In fact, switching between these Chrome tabs should be swift and easy for this laptop.

To further establish the performance of this laptop with 4 GB memory, I will quickly highlight its PCMark 8 test results. PCMark 8 is a benchmark test that evaluates the performance of a laptop’s memory by simulating everyday productivity tasks.

These tasks include web surfing, emailing, video streaming, and other basic computing tasks. Furthermore, a high score on this test signifies a great memory performance.

Therefore, based on the PCMark 8 test results, the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM scored 3946 points. When compared to the Acer Aspire V15 Nitro, this HP laptop performed significantly better.

To be more specific, the Acer Aspire V15 Nitro scored 3154 points on the PCMark 8 test.

After thorough consideration, I will rate the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM a nine in this memory review section.

HP OMEN 15-AX250WM: Storage Option and Performance

The HP OMEN 15-AX250WM comes with an HDD storage type. This storage drive offers a maximum storage capacity of 1 TB.

In my opinion, a storage space of 1 TB should be capable enough to handle most users’ storage needs. However, since the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM is a gaming laptop, I doubt if this amount of storage space will be enough.

This is because most games nowadays require a large amount of storage space before installation. For example, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare requires a total storage space of 231 GB before installation.

Therefore, if you will be playing storage-demanding games like the aforementioned on this HP laptop, you need to purchase an external hard drive. Besides, this laptop also offers a multi-format SD media card reader for storage expansion.

With all that being said, let us discuss how the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM performed on a CrystalDiskMark test. Briefly, CrystalDiskMark is a benchmark test that evaluates the performance of a computer’s storage drive by measuring its read and write speed.

In case you are wondering, the read speed simply means the time it takes for a storage drive to open a file. Meanwhile, the write speed means the time it takes the storage drive to save a file.

Having established that, it is worth mentioning that a high “MBps” value on this test implies a good storage performance. Hence, based on the test results, the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM recorded a sequential read speed of 161 MBps.

In addition to that, this laptop recorded a sequential write speed of 126 MBps. Compared to the Lenovo Y700 which also uses an HDD storage type, the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM has a faster read and write speed.

Specifically, according to the CrystalDiskMark test, the Lenovo Y700 has a read and write speed of 121 MBps and 119.2 MBps respectively.

To conclude this storage review section, I will rate the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM an eight out of ten.

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HP OMEN 15-AX250WM: Graphics Card Performance

As expected from a gaming laptop, the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM offers a dedicated graphics card. To be more specific, this laptop comes with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics card.

This graphics card offers a base frequency of 1290 MHz and a boost frequency of 1392 MHz. Also, the graphics card has a dedicated VRAM of 4 GB GDDR5.

Therefore, because of the GPU’s 4 GB dedicated VRAM, the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM should be able to run title AAA games smoothly. To give more details, with this GPU, this laptop should be able to deliver around 100 fps while playing Rise of the Tomb Raider.

Also, while playing Far Cry Primal, this laptop should be able to deliver a frame rate of 94 fps (frame per second). With all being said, let us now discuss the laptop’s performance on a 3DMark 11 test.

Briefly, 3DMark 11 is a benchmark test that measures the 3D graphics rendering and gaming abilities of a computer. Furthermore, a high score on this test means an impressive graphics performance.

So, according to the 3DMark 11 test results, the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM scored 7926 points. Comparatively, this laptop performed better than the Acer Aspire V15 Nitro which also uses an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics card.

To be more specific, the Acer Aspire V15 Nitro was only able to score 5635 points on the 3DMark 11 benchmark test.

In summary, the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM offers a graphics performance that is nothing short of perfection. Therefore, I will rate the laptop a nine out of ten in this graphics review section.

HP OMEN 15-AX250WM: Battery Life and Performance

For battery, the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM comes with a 4-cell 63.3 Whrs Lithium-ion battery. According to HP, this battery is expected to have a run time of 8 hours.

Could this be true? Well to find out, I will briefly discuss the battery rundown test results of this laptop. In case you are wondering, the battery rundown test involves surfing the web continuously until the laptop’s battery dies.

Thus, based on the battery rundown test result, the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM offers a battery life of 4 hours and 32 minutes. Although this laptop exceeded the category average of 4 hours, its battery life is nowhere near the 8 hours that HP claimed.

Nevertheless, this HP laptop has a longer battery life compared to most of its competitors. For example, the Acer Aspire V15 Nitro lasted 3 hours and 38 minutes on the battery rundown test.

Therefore, the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM doesn’t deserve a rating less than seven out of ten in this battery review section.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

The HP OMEN 15 AX250WM is an exceptional gaming laptop that is suitable for competitive and hardcore gamers. Owing to its powerful processor and impressive dedicated GPU, this laptop delivers an outstanding performance that leaves you astonished.

However, as with most gaming laptops, the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM‘s battery life is not particularly adequate. Also, the laptop offers a minimal amount of ports as well as a shallow keyboard.

Notwithstanding, if you need a solid-performing gaming laptop, I believe the HP OMEN 15-AX250WM is worth considering.

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