The HP OMEN MAX 16 (2025) is a premium gaming laptop. It's available with an Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX or Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU and various discrete NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50-series GPUs, from an RTX 5060 to an RTX 5090. Memory and storage max out at 64GB and 2TB, respectively. Display options include a 165Hz FHD+ panel, a 240Hz QHD+ IPS panel, and a 240Hz QHD+ OLED panel; all three support G-SYNC variable refresh rate. This laptop has a 1080p webcam with facial recognition, a Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7 wireless adapter, and RGB keyboard backlighting. Ports comprise two 10Gbps USB-As, two USB-C/Thunderbolt 4s, an HDMI 2.1, a 1Gbps Ethernet, and a headphone jack.
See our unit's specifications and the available configuration options in the Differences Between Variants section.
Our Verdict
The HP OMEN MAX 16 is an excellent gaming laptop. Available with Intel Arrow Lake CPUs and NVIDIA 50-series GPUs, this 16-inch laptop can deliver smooth gameplay in demanding AAA titles. There are multiple display options, including a 165Hz FHD+ and two 240Hz QHD+ (IPS and OLED) panels, all with G-SYNC support to reduce screen tearing. You can choose between a Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7 wireless adapter, and if that isn't good enough, there's also a gigabit Ethernet port to ensure you get the best internet connection when gaming online. RAM and storage are user-upgradeable, so you can upgrade or add more later. Thermal throttling is very minimal, but the fans are extremely loud.
Sturdy build.
Delivers high, consistent frame rates in demanding games.
High-refresh display with decent response time.
VRR support.
Minimal thermal throttling.
User-replaceable RAM and storage.
Loud fans under load.
The HP OMEN MAX 16 is good for school and work. Its powerful CPU and discrete GPU easily handle web browsing, documents, and spreadsheets, and its large, bright 16-inch display gives you plenty of room for multitasking. It also has a sturdy build, a great touchpad, a good webcam, and tons of ports for peripherals and external displays. However, it's bulky and heavy, its battery doesn't quite last a full day of light use, and its fans get loud under load. The keyboard also feels a bit mushy and takes some getting used to.
Sturdy build.
Large screen for multitasking.
Responsive touchpad.
Good 1080p webcam.
Bulky and heavy.
Battery lasts less than eight hours in light use.
Keyboard requires some adaptation.
Loud fans under load.
The HP OMEN MAX 16 is decent for media consumption. It has a large 16-inch screen, and there are multiple display options, including a QHD+ OLED panel that'll deliver an amazing dark room and HDR viewing experience. The speakers get reasonably loud with minimal compression artifacts at higher volume levels. They sound clear but slightly boxy, with only a small amount of bass. Unfortunately, this is a rather bulky laptop that's hard to carry. Its battery life isn't bad, though, lasting around six hours of local video playback.
Large screen.
Available with OLED panel for better dark room and HDR viewing experience.
Battery lasts around six hours of local video playback.
Bulky and heavy.
Keyboard requires some adaptation.
Speakers lack bass.
The HP OMEN MAX 16 is great for heavy workloads, as its CPU and discrete GPU have plenty of power for demanding tasks. The downside is that you can only get this laptop with NVIDIA's more mainstream GeForce GPUs, which aren't optimal for some professional workloads. This system can handle content creation, though it's best to get a model with the QHD+ 100% DCI-P3 OLED panel, as the other displays only have full sRGB coverage. You get plenty of ports for peripherals and external displays, including two Thunderbolt 4s and a gigabit Ethernet. RAM configuration maxes out at 64GB; however, the memory is user-replaceable, and so is the storage drive. There's very little thermal throttling under load, but the fans get extremely loud.
CPU and discrete GPU can handle demanding workloads.
Minimal thermal throttling.
User-replaceable RAM and storage.
Loud fans under load.
No professional discrete GPU option.
The HP OMEN MAX 16 has adequate battery life for a gaming laptop. It doesn't quite last a full day, so you'll need your charger if you're bringing it to school or work, and it only lasts about two hours while gaming.
Battery lasts around six hours of local video playback.
Battery lasts less than eight hours in light use.
The HP OMEN MAX 16 has excellent build quality. Its full-aluminum chassis feels very sturdy, with only a little flex. The hinge is smooth and stable, with very little screen wobble when you type, and you can open the lid with one finger.
Sturdy build.
The HP OMEN MAX 16 has great graphics performance. Our unit's RTX 5080 runs demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077 smoothly, even with ray tracing on, and it's fast in GPU-accelerated work like 3D rendering. Its performance barely drops under long loads. The RTX 5060 and 5070 options are better suited to 1080p gaming.
CPU and discrete GPU can handle demanding workloads.
Delivers high, consistent frame rates in demanding games.
Minimal thermal throttling.
The HP OMEN MAX 16 has excellent processing performance. Its Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX handles demanding work like 3D rendering, simulations, and heavy multitasking, and it runs CPU-heavy games like Civilization VII and Total War: Warhammer III very smoothly. It runs hot, reaching 100 °C under load, but it only loses a little performance over time.
CPU and discrete GPU can handle demanding workloads.
Minimal thermal throttling.
Performance Usages
Changelog
- Updated Nov 03, 2026: We've updated this review to Test Bench 1.0.1. This is a minor update that fixes scoring discrepancies on laptops that don't support all the games we benchmark. Read the changelog for more details.
- Updated Oct 30, 2026: We've updated this review to Test Bench 1.0! This update adds several new verdict scores to the review, so it's easier to make a buying decision. Read the changelog for a full list of changes.
- Updated Apr 09, 2026: We've updated this review to Test Bench 0.9.1! This update changes the way we score the 'Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy' box. Read the changelog for more info.
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Updated Nov 18, 2025:
Added mention of the Dell Alienware 18 Area-51 (2025) as an alternative with a larger display in the Screen Specs section.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the HP OMEN MAX 16 (model 16-ah0070ca) with a 240Hz QHD+ IPS screen, an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop GPU, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage. The screen, CPU, GPU, memory, and storage are configurable; the available options are below.
SCREEN
- 16" IPS 1920 x 1200 165Hz (matte, 400 cd/m², 100% sRGB)
- 16" IPS 2560 x 1600 240Hz (matte, 500 cd/m², 100% sRGB)
- 16" OLED 2560 x 1600 240Hz (glossy, 400 cd/m² SDR/500 cd/m² HDR, 100% DCI-P3)
CPU
- Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX (20 cores/20 threads, up to 5.2GHz, 30MB L3 cache)
- Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX (24 cores/24 threads, up to 5.4GHz, 36MB L3 cache)
GPU
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop GPU 8GB GDDR7 (unknown TGP)
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop GPU 8GB GDDR7 (unknown TGP)
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Laptop GPU 12GB GDDR7 (unknown TGP)
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop GPU 16GB GDDR7 (175W TGP)
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU 24GB GDDR7 (175W TGP, Core Ultra 9 only)
MEMORY
- 16GB DDR5 5600MHz (1x 16GB)
- 16GB DDR5 5600MHz (2x 8GB)
- 24GB DDR5 5600MHz (2x 12GB)
- 32GB DDR5 5600MHz (2x 16GB)
- 32GB DDR5 6400MHz (2x 16GB)
- 64GB DDR5 5600MHz (2x 32GB)
- 64GB DDR5 6400MHz (2x 32GB)
STORAGE
- 512GB M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD
- 1TB M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD
- 1TB M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4 NVMe Performance SSD
- 1TB M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 5 NVMe Performance SSD
- 2TB M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4 NVMe Performance SSD
- Dual storage option: 2x 512GB M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD
COLOR
- Shadow Black
- Ceramic White
See our unit's label.
Popular Laptop Comparisons
The HP OMEN MAX 16 is an excellent gaming laptop that delivers smooth gameplay in demanding titles. That said, the NVIDIA 50-series GPUs are only a minor upgrade over the 40-series, so it might not be worth upgrading if you already have a laptop with a 40-series GPU, and if you're upgrading from an earlier generation, you can likely find a discounted 40-series model that'll deliver a similar gaming experience, like the ASUS ROG Strix 16 (2024). Unfortunately, this is a loud laptop when it comes to fan noise. Some may not like its zero-lattice keyboard, as the lack of spacing between keys may lead to more typos during regular typing.
For more options, check out our recommendations for the best gaming laptops, the best budget and cheap gaming laptops, and the best laptops for video editing.
The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 16 (2026) and HP OMEN MAX 16 (2025) are both high-end gaming laptops meant for use mostly at a desk. Both offer powerful RTX 50-series graphics and replaceable memory and storage, but their display choices differ. The Lenovo comes equipped with a 240Hz OLED panel, while the HP can be configured with either an IPS or OLED display. The Lenovo offers a more comfortable typing experience and better sustained performance, while the HP has better battery life and cooling at the cost of louder fans.
The HP OMEN MAX 16 (2025) is better than the ASUS ROG Strix G16 (2024) for gaming. While the OMEN's NVIDIA 50-series GPUs are only a minor upgrade over the Strix G16's 40-series GPUs, you can get the OMEN with an RTX 5090, whereas the Strix G16 tops out at an RTX 4080. The OMEN MAX 16's Intel Arrow Lake CPU also performs much better in multi-threaded workloads than the Strix G16's Intel 14th Gen processors. The OMEN MAX has an additional OLED display option, which will deliver a better visual experience, especially when gaming in the dark.
The HP OMEN MAX 16 (2025) and the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) GU605 are both excellent 16-inch gaming laptops. If you're only looking to play games and want the best performance possible, the OMEN MAX 16 is the one to get, as it can deliver smoother gameplay in demanding games. The Zephyrus G16 is more of a hybrid device, meaning it has a more compact design that makes it more suitable for other uses, like video editing and general productivity. Its slimmer design comes at the cost of some performance, though, as its NVIDIA 40-series GPUs can only run up to 115W. The OMEN MAX 16 is also a better choice if you want to upgrade the RAM yourself, since the Zephyrus G16 uses soldered memory.
The HP OMEN MAX 16 (2025) and the Razer Blade 18 (2024) are both high-end gaming laptops. The Blade 18 feels more premium and generally provides a better user experience overall. It's a larger device intended more as a desktop replacement, though the OMEN MAX 16 isn't really well suited for on-the-go use either, as it's rather bulky and heavy. Performance-wise, while the OMEN MAX 16 comes out slightly ahead, it isn't by much, as its NVIDIA 50-series GPUs are only a minor upgrade over the Blade 18's 40-series GPUs.
Test Results
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