HP Omen 16t-b100 | 16.1-inch | Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 | Intel Core i7 12700H | 16GB RAM | 512GB SSD | 144Hz | 1080p | $1,859.99 $1,599.99 at HP (Save $260)
There is a range of configurations available under that $260 saving, but the RTX 3070 version stands out most, particularly as it also ships with a speedy Alder Lake Core i7 chip. You’ll want to bump the memory up to 16GB and go for the 144Hz screen for a well-rounded, powerful gaming laptop.
Ideally, you’d be looking at under $1,500 for an RTX 3070 gaming laptop. In fact, when Nvidia announced the mobile GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, it said that would be appearing in machines at that price point, although this is something that didn’t really materialize in anything like real numbers. Still, here we are looking at a machine on offer at $100 more than that. The important thing is, this is still a decent spec for the money, and you can spend a lot less if you want.
The default build of this machine rolls in at just $900, although that isn’t a particularly exciting core specification, and frankly, there are better deals out packing GTX 1650 GPUs. Where it gets interesting is in the array of GPUs and CPUs available. Unfortunately, you can’t pick the CPU and GPU separately, but the pairings available do at least make sense. It’s the second to the highest spec of Core i7 12700H and RTX 3070, which is the stand-out option.
Selecting this will require the screen to be upgraded to the 144Hz panel for reasons that aren’t exactly clear, but that’s something you will benefit from with this GPU which will be able to hit seriously high frame rates in plenty of games. It will only add an extra $40 to the final price, which isn’t too bad a hit.
While you’re here, it’s also worth hitting the upgrade on the RAM. Going from a single stick of DDR5-4800 to 16GB of dual-channel memory will make a significant difference to your gaming and your more serious exploits. At $60, it’s not the cheapest memory upgrade you could make right now, but DDR5 SODIMMs are at the pricier end of the spectrum, and this honestly isn’t too offensive a price to pay to have a fully tricked-out machine when it arrives.
The rest of the specification is pretty reasonable for the money, and while you might be tempted to upgrade to the 1TB NVMe SSD, I’d recommend holding off on that. SSDs are cheap right now, and the pricing only seems to be going one way. Plus, the 512GB SSD that ships by default should be enough for a few games until you do upgrade.
Overall, this isn’t a bad price for a decent-performing machine. Hook it up to a 1440p monitor, and you’ll enjoy smooth frame rates at the highest settings, or just use it on its own and make the most of that 144Hz refresh rate.