OMEN 45L Gaming Desktop Review

Reading Time: 6 minutes

Tech Specs

Memory	HyperX 32 GB DDR4-3733 MHz XMP RGB Heatsink RAM (2 x 16 GB)
Graphics (integrated)	Intel® UHD Graphics 770
Graphics (discrete)	NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3080 Ti (12 GB GDDR6X dedicated)
Internal Storage	2 TB WD Black PCIe® TLC M.2 SSD
Processor	Intel® Core™ i9-12900K (up to 5.2 GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology, 30 MB L3 cache, 16 cores, 24 threads)
System coolers	240 mm RGB liquid cooler
System fans	3 x 120 mm aRGB front fans
Wireless	Intel® Wi-Fi 6 AX 201 (2×2) and Bluetooth® 5 combo (Supporting Gigabit file transfer speeds)

My PC Origins

During the first lockdown, Summer 2020, I decided to invest in building my own PC to expand my gaming capabilities and stream. The overall build cost me under £800, and while it’s a decent set up, I realised for a top end one I would need to double or triple that cost. But I was concerned whether if I saved up, would it really be worth it?

So, when the OMEN 45L desktop was available to review, I was keen to see what a top of the range build was really like. Is it worth delving into your bank account for, or is just an overrated gaming dream? Read this Rapid Review to find out.

A Beauty and a Beast

It’s undeniable at first glance the OMEN 45L is a beast! It’s a tall case, but height wise it should fit fine under any desk. The only problem I did have was that there is a bar under my desk which stopped me being able to push the desktop right under, due to the length of it as well. This means that you may have to rearrange a little bit to accommodate for its size.

The components inside are gloriously neat (we won’t talk about the cable management in my built PC…) and it is satisfying to know it is already built for you ready to go. The black case is sleek but then complemented with RGB components which stand out nicely against this. I am a massive RGB fan, so I was instantly enthralled by the rainbow colours emanating from the front fans, the HyperX RAM and the cooler. The OMEN Gaming Hub also had a light studio to customise these which was really impressive and fun to play with! Choosing from colour presets or creating your own, you can then pick an effect such as a wave or radial. The coolest one was the audio visualizer, the sound from your PC bouncing up the fans.

All in all, just the appearance of the OMEN 45L screams high quality and money before you even get into what’s inside it.

Keep It Cool

One of the first things I noticed about the OMEN 45L was how it never got hot, even under pressure. I could stream, playing Dead by Daylight on ultra graphics while on Discord with internet tabs open too, and the desktop remained cool. This is thanks to the OMEN Cryo chamber which “channels external air to power liquid cooling throughout the case.” It gave me peace of mind knowing that the desktop wasn’t overheating, and that I could put a lot of stress on it without it breaking a sweat. It could be a little noisy upon start up, and occasionally when opening a game, but it was by no means too loud.

Flawless Performance

With a NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3080 Ti, you’re getting one of the most expensive and powerful GPUs on the market. This offers NVIDIA DLSS, offering faster performance without compromising image quality, 2nd gen ray tracing, game ready drivers and more. I enjoyed being able to crank up my games to the best possible quality, without losing frames. You pretty much have the capability to play any game, the worry of whether your PC can handle it completely out the window! I’ve played Dead by Daylight, Stray, Fall Guys, Planet Zoo and Fortnite; graphics are crisp and the colours are vibrant, the lack of frame drops allowing me to be at my best performance.

Pair this with the Intel® Core™ i9 too and you have a desktop which is fast and handles multitasking well. It started up quickly, as well as opened things quickly too, allowing me to get straight into the action. As mentioned before, I could stream at the same time as gaming on the highest graphics whilst on a Discord call, and searching things on the web mid-stream too. I could effortlessly have multiple tabs open while writing this review for example, watching Twitch or YouTube at the same time. Everything just felt so snappy!

The 2TB SSD and the 16GB RAM was more than enough too, allocating games to the SSD for the performance to be that bit speedier. The OMEN Gaming Hub also had an option to automatically or manually boost all your games, so you knew your gaming was being optimised that way too. Honestly, I couldn’t have asked for a better gaming experience!

Room for More

The OMEN 45L also has a decent amount of ports both front and rear, four being SuperSpeed USB type-A. There was even a type-C slot which was surprising. I would have perhaps liked a few more USB slots on the back, as I use quite a lot for streaming equipment, in case I wanted anything extra. For example one of my neon lights can be powered using USB. However, I liked that there was built in WiFi and Bluetooth too; when building my own PC I had to buy adapters separately. This also meant I didn’t need more USB slots to fit those in anyway.

Each component has tool-less access, so you can expand or upgrade with industry standard parts such as the memory and storage drives, with 7 available storage upgrade ports. As this is a review build I dare not fiddle with it myself, but it’s good to know that it can be customised further or upgraded in the future in a more convenient way.

Dream Desktop

Overall, the OMEN 45L has everything you need, with the absolute best quality you can get built ready for you. Of course, this is not an affordable desktop and is very much a luxury that you’ll need to save up for. It’s not designed for basic work tasks and the occasional game, but rather for high-end gaming and intensive sessions. Going from my PC, which is by no means bad, to this, I have still seen what I am missing. It’s a dream desktop for those who are all things gaming, streaming, and maybe a bit of work on the side…

5 out of 5

5

You can purchase the OMEN 45L Gaming Desktop from the HP store here.

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