HP Omen Transcend 14 Review

When people think of gaming laptops, they think of a big, heavy machine, and that’s the case for most people. However, there are some gaming laptops that go the thin and light route. The HP Omen Transcend 14 is one of them. HP launched this laptop at CES 2024 and it is now available in India. This is a relatively slim laptop, but at the same time it can run AAA games with ease. This laptop doesn’t come with an RGB light strip like most gaming laptops, and it’s completely invisible. Apart from running games, the laptop can also perform various other tasks such as video editing, running 100 tabs in Chrome, etc.

HP claims that the Omen Transcend 14 is the lightest and thinnest laptop in their portfolio. I tried out this laptop for about a week and was impressed by its capabilities.

HP Omen Transcend 14 price in India

HP Omen Transcend 14 is available in two color options in India. The Shadow Black option costs Rs. 1,74,999 while the ceramic white version is priced at Rs 1,74,999. 1,75,999. Only one model is available in India, with Intel Core Ultra 7 155H CPU and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU.

The matte surface of a laptop does attract a lot of fingerprints

The box contains the laptop, some files and a 140W charging pad.

HP Omen Transcend 14 review: Design and display

HP did a great job with the design of the Omen Transcend 14. At first glance, it doesn’t look like a gaming laptop at all. It is only 0.79 inches thick, compact and weighs approximately 1.6 kg. There aren’t any flashy bits or RGB strips on the outside. We received the Shadow Black option, which has a matte finish and uses an aluminum chassis. There’s no flex anywhere and everything feels solid. However, the matte finish does attract some fingerprints.

There are few brands on the laptop

You also get rounded edges and plenty of ports. The Omen logo is on the lid, and the slogan “Designed and Made to Win” is on the thin ledge behind the display hinge. Other than that, there are no other brands out there.

There are two large air intakes underneath the laptop for dual fans. You’ll also find bottom-firing dual speakers at the bottom. However, the output grille is located on the front edge. The exhaust is located at the back, where the thin ledge is. The display hinge is slightly forward, which keeps heat away from the display and keyboard.

The rear edge also features an HDMI 2.1 port and a USB Type-C 3.2 (Gen 2) port for charging or connecting a monitor.

The rear port layout is very useful when gaming

The HP Omen Transcend 14 has more ports on the sides. There are two USB Type-A 10Gbps ports on the right edge, while the left edge houses a Thunderbolt 4, a USB Type-C port, and a combo audio jack. That’s all the ports on the laptop, and it’s enough. The top bezel around the display houses a 1080p webcam, alongside an infrared sensor for facial recognition. You get slim side bezels, but there’s a pronounced chin at the bottom with the Omen logo on it.

The laptop offers up to 120Hz refresh rate

Now, let’s talk about the display. The HP Omen Transcend 14 has a stunning display. It is a 14-inch 2.8K resolution OLED panel that offers up to 120Hz refresh rate, 16:10 aspect ratio, HDR support, up to 500 nits brightness (HDR mode), and is IMAX certified. The colors, blacks and contrast are stunning. HP claims that this panel supports 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, and I believe them. However, due to the Gorilla Glass protection, it has a glossy reflective coating, which can be annoying if you use the laptop in a well-lit room or outdoors. That aside, the display on the Omen Transcend 14 is truly impressive.

I love watching content, especially HDR videos on the display. You can also enjoy playing games on your laptop as the panel has a response time of 0.2 milliseconds. However, try sitting in a dark room to avoid glare.

HP Omen Transcend 14 review: Keyboard, speakers, touchpad, and camera

As soon as you look down from the HP Omen Transcend 14’s bright display, you’ll see the first hint that this is a gaming laptop. You get a full-size 4-zone RGB keyboard unlike most laptop keyboards.

Keyboard design inspired by HyperX keyboard

The keycaps are printed with zero-frame translucent sky, allowing RGB lighting to surround the keys. HP says this is the world’s first gaming laptop to feature a checkered sky-printed RGB keyboard, and I haven’t seen this on any other laptop. Although there isn’t a lot of clearance between the keys, typing is comfortable and there’s plenty of key travel. RGB lighting can be configured using the Omen app.

The keyboard design is inspired by the HyperX keyboard, which is why you’ll find the HyperX logo below the keyboard on the left. This is also because the audio is tuned by HyperX. Talking about audio, the speakers on the laptop offer good sound and have some bass as well. I personally wish they were louder, but they should be loud enough indoors.

Audio quality on laptop is decent, but could be better

Below the keyboard, you’ll find a sizable Precision trackpad. It works well and supports multi-touch gestures as well. It’s nice to have a big trackpad on a gaming laptop.

Trackpad supports multi-touch gestures

Moving to the webcam, the HP Omen Transcend 14 comes with a 1080p camera that works well in a variety of lighting conditions.

The webcam works well and doesn’t make too much noise in good light

The laptop also uses a built-in NPU to improve camera performance. You also get Intel AI Boost, which helps broadcast/conferencing tools like OBS studio.

HP Omen Transcend 14 review: Specs and software

While the Omen Transcend 14 doesn’t come with the best specs in the industry, it still packs a powerful internals. The laptop is powered by the latest Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor with clock speeds up to 4.8 GHz and TDP up to 15W. You also get a built-in Neural Processing Unit (NPU), which helps bring some camera and other subtle enhancements to the laptop. This chipset is paired with Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU and has a maximum TGP of 65W. You get 8GB GDDR6 video RAM, 16GB LPDDR5x RAM (soldered), and 1TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe M.2 storage.

HP has built in a 71 Wh 6-cell battery that supports fast charging through a 140W USB Type-C power adapter. HP claims the charger can charge up to 50% in 30 minutes, and in my review the numbers were about the same. For wireless connectivity, HP offers Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 on this unit. On the software side, Windows 11 Home has some built-in HP software, such as Omen Gaming Hub, which allows you to adjust the keyboard lighting area, change power modes, and more.

HP Omen Transcend 14 review: Performance and gaming

While it may not perform as well as high-end gaming laptops, you’ll be surprised by what this little guy can do. The HP Omen Transcend 14 is a great laptop for creators and gamers who want a compact, portable alternative to big, heavy gaming laptops.

I can easily get 60fps+ in most games

While this laptop doesn’t come with the best of the new Intel Core Ultra SoC, it’s still packed with power. The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H is more than adequate for a variety of tasks, even some heavy-duty gaming. Obviously, I ran some benchmarks on my laptop just to see how it performs, and here are the results. On PC Mark 10, this laptop scored an overall score of 6262 points. In the Essentials test, it scored 8949 points; in the Productivity test, it scored 8145 points; and in the Content Creation test, it scored 9145 points. The folks at PC Mark 10 recommend that your PC for content creation, editing, productivity, and light gaming score 4,500 or higher, with HP laptops scoring higher.

We also ran Cinebench R23 on the system and got a single-core CPU score of 1684 and a multi-core score of 13997. If you’re looking for a CPU with excellent gaming performance, it’s best to have a single-core score above 1,000. . As you can see, HP does a pretty good job here. I wasn’t able to run the 3DMark benchmark due to lack of time, but I’m sure it would have given very favorable scores.

Judging from the data and my personal experience playing Marvel’s Spider-Man on my laptop and finishing the game without a drop in frame rate, the HP Omen Transcend 14 performed well. I tried a few more games and the framerate consistently exceeded 60 fps. It’s an excellent slim and compact machine for gaming for people who move around a lot. The laptop does heat up quite a bit when gaming, but as soon as you start a game the fans kick in and keep the heat away from the keyboard. The rear edge where the exhaust pipes are located feels very hot to the touch, and we recommend leaving the laptop idle on a table for a while after finishing a long gaming session.

The rear exhaust vents do a great job of keeping heat out of the keyboard area

The 2.8K OLED display is also great for gaming. Marvel’s Spider-Man looks great on a laptop, with excellent colors, deep blacks, and good contrast. However, in most cases, games cannot use the full display resolution because the laptop cannot handle it. I recommend running the game at Full HD+ resolution, as the laptop can easily deliver 60+ frames per second even with the graphics settings cranked all the way up.

HP Omen Transcend 14 review: Battery life

Now, it’s no secret that gaming laptops have terrible battery life, but things are a little different with the HP Omen Transcend 14. The laptop’s battery life can last up to 1 to 2 hours when playing games on battery power. Still, it’s best to play games with the AC adapter plugged in. When not gaming, the laptop offers about 5 hours of battery life during normal use such as browsing, web streaming, and some work. I’m sure you can get the most out of your laptop by lowering the brightness, turning off the RGB lighting on the keyboard, switching to 60Hz, and using Balanced Power Mode in Windows 11.

HP Omen Transcend 14 review: Conclusion

The new HP Omen Transcend 14 is an excellent gaming laptop for its size. It has enough power to run most games and is portable enough to carry around in a backpack. That’s not all, as the laptop can also be used for creative work like video editing and content creation. You also get a great IMAX-certified 2.8K resolution OLED display and decent battery life. The keyboard and touchpad on the laptop are also very good.

If you’re in the market for a compact, lightweight gaming laptop that doubles as a creative work machine, the HP Omen Transcend 14 is a great value option. It really goes beyond what a thin and light laptop can do.