This year’s mid-range gaming laptop is quite stealing the show. Performance is getting stronger. Most importantly, a series of superior features for premium gaming laptops are now starting to be adopted into mid-range gaming laptops. Victus by HP 16 is one of them. How is this gaming laptop capable? Check out his review as follows.
HP Victus 16-e0094AX design
The Victus line was prepared by HP to replace the previous Pavilion Gaming 15. As a replacement quite a lot of updates it brings.
In our opinion, Victus comes by combining the DNA of two HP gaming laptops, namely OMEN and Pavilion Gaming 15. The minimalist design is similar to the OMEN line. Meanwhile, on the inside the keyboard area is similar to the Pavilion Gaming 15.
Behind the screen panel, HP embeds the V logo as Victus’ identity. The appearance is also fresher with the Performance Blue color coating. It is unfortunate that the surface of the body is prone to getting dirty with finger prints. So, it must be cleaned frequently.
In terms of dimensions, the Victus by HP 16 is slightly larger than the Pavilion Gaming 15. Its weight of around 2.46 kg is also slightly heavier. This laptop is not ideal for mobility.
The connectivity port is quite complete. The ports on the left side consist of a power port, RJ-45, HDMI 2.1, USB Type-A Super Speed, USB Type-C, 3.5mm audio jack and an SD memory card reader slot. On the right side there are two two USB Type-A SuperSpeed ports. The placement of the connectivity port which is emphasized on the left side of the body is a plus. At least it will not interfere when playing games with a gaming mouse.
The ideal screen for gaming
The 16-inch screen has an IPS panel. The screen resolution is Full HD 1920 x 1080 pixels. The display on the screen looks sharp and quite rich in color with a standard 100% sRGB color coverage. Including standards for mid-range gaming laptops.
As a gaming laptop, this screen supports a refresh rate of 144 Hz. Adequate for gaming, productivity to content creation. In addition, the screen also supports the Low Blue Light feature. Very useful for reducing the effects of tired eyes when staring at a laptop screen for a long time.
Keyboard is comfortable to use
The Victus by HP 16-e0094AX comes with a chicklet-style keyboard. The keyboard is comfortable for playing games or typing with large key sizes and the right distance. Like in the OMEN line, HP also includes a shortcut key for access to the OMEN Gaming Hub application to make settings. Do not miss the presence of white backlit lights as a sweetener. Under the keyboard can be found the touchpad area which is quite large. The touchpad response to the touch of a finger is very good. Very convenient to use to move the mouse cursor.
The audio is quite adequate
HP completes it with dual speakers from the Bang & Olufsen manufacturer. The sound from the speakers is quite clear, although a bit underpowered. Overall enough to play games or just enjoy multimedia content. To boost sound performance, the HP Audio Boost feature is available.
Performance of Victus by HP 16-e0094AX
Entering the kitchen, the performance is entrusted to the AMD Ryzen 7 5800H processor . The processor is supported by 16GB of RAM with a 2 x 8GB dual channel configuration. The storage space used is M.2 PCIe SSD with a capacity of 1TB. However, it should be noted that the model sold in the market has a capacity of only 512GB. Meanwhile, the graphics card relies on the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 4GB. The benchmark results are as follows:
With these specifications, the performance of the Victus by HP 16-e0094AX is indeed quite fast. For productivity such as creating documents, browsing to video conferencing is very reliable. For creative content such as photo and video editing, it is also capable.
Relying on the RTX 3050 GPU, the gaming performance is also quite good. Gaming testing is used by activating Performance mode and setting thermal control at max. For competitive class games like Valorant, it is relatively light and can be played smoothly with high fps. For AAA games like Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition, the high graphics option can only record an average of around 27 fps. To be more comfortable in this game that is classified as heavy, it is better to lower it to medium or low graphics settings. The Shadow of Tomb Raider game can be played smoothly at around 78 fps at the highest graphics settings. Meanwhile, in the GOD Of War game, the original graphics settings can be played at an average of 60 fps.
For the cooling system is also quite okay. We see that there is at least an increase compared to Pavilion Gaming 15. In performance mode and max thermal control settings, laptop performance can be kept stable. The WSAD keyboard area is safe and cool. A warm sensation is felt in the center area of the keyboard. In this setting, the cooling fan sound is relatively noisy.
One problem we encountered on this laptop was just a matter of connectivity. Its ability to capture WiFi signals is relatively weak when we compare it to other laptops with a distance to connect to the same hotspot. In addition, the connection is also prone to drop and unstable.
This problem can indeed be caused by many things and maybe not all users experience it. But, hopefully it can be resolved through a system update by HP or in a Windows 11 update.
Victus battery by HP 16-e0094AX
We use the battery testing for daily productivity. With the scheme of typing documents, browsing, connecting to WiFi, 50% screen brightness, activating Windows Power Saver mode, and in Performance Balance mode. From our tests, the battery life can last up to about 7 hours. It is average in its class.
Conclusion
The previous 16-inch gaming laptop was only in the premium segment. With the presence of Victus by HP 16-e0094AX gamers can now experience gaming with a bigger screen on a mid-range gaming laptop. The performance is also adequate to support gaming to content creation. With a selling price starting at USD $990, the Victus by HP 16 is an attractive option for a mid-range gaming laptop that is still dominated by a 15-inch screen. We recommend this laptop for gamers who need a 16-inch gaming laptop with fast AMD Ryzen and Nvidia RTX 30-series performance.
Advantages of Victus by HP 16-e0094AX
– Minimalist design
– 16 inch Full HD screen
– 144 Hz refresh rate
– Fast performance
– Better cooling system than Pavilion gaming 15
– Keyboard is comfortable to use
– Competitive price
Disadvantages of Victus by HP 16-e0094AX
– WiFi connectivity is a bit weak
– Backlit is not RGB
– Cooling fan is a bit noisy
– Audio is less powerful
