STACK October 2016 Issue 144

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78 OCTOBER 2016
GAMES
FEATURE
This next-gen OMEN is here and
revamped for a new generation of
gaming. On the outside, the laptop
has been styled with a brand new chassis,
helping to correct several issues which
existed with the old design. While the plastic
materials might not feel as upmarket as the
metal chassis found on many other gaming
laptops, the sleek cut, coupled with OMEN's
trademark carbon fibre finish makes this one
of the best looking notebooks on the market.
But far more impressive than the case is
what's inside it. The 2016 model has seen
some fantastic hardware improvements,
with upgrades to both the graphics card
and processor taking the laptop from one
which could survive running newer games,
to one that totally excels. The CPU has
been upgraded to an i7-6700HQ, which,
although clocked at the same speed as the
previous year's model, benefits from the
modernised architecture for a notable boost in
performance power.
The most significant boost in performance,
however, comes from the new GTX 965M
GPU; a significant leap forward from the
860M. Playing Overwatch on Ultra settings,
the game would run at a very consistent
60fps. This power is only enhanced by the
solid state storage, which although low in
capacity, allows for lightning quick loading
times in gaming, and responsive operations
when using the laptop operating system.
Now, while brute performance is always
at the core of choice in gaming laptops,
it's the little things which really make the
OMEN stand out in the sea of gaming
notebooks available today. With both 1080p
and 4K screen resolutions available, you can
customise the notebook to fit your specific
needs, and while OMEN has decided to remove
the touchscreen this year, its a feature that's
effectively useless on a gaming laptop anyway.
While the screen's brightness is more than
sufficient for indoor use, we did note that
in bright, outdoor environments it became
much harder to view. The inclusion of Bang
& Olufsen audio is a pleasant bonus, as the
speakers provide undeniably crisp audio.
Overall, the 2016 OMEN laptop provides
a high performance portable gaming
experience all contained in a sleek case.
With significant hardware and power
improvements, it’s definitely one of the best
budget gaming notebooks available.
OMEN made waves when they debuted their first line of gaming
laptops in 2014. Now the brand is back and revitalised in 2016.
It's not here to make friends – it's here to win. Words Elliot Watkins @mrmuselk
Omen
The