HP Victus 15 review: A mediocre gaming laptop at a great price

Price When Reviewed

$549.99

Best Prices Today: HP Victus 15

Budget gaming laptops are in a tricky spot. The lack of recent entry-level discrete graphics from AMD, Nvidia, or Intel (which has repeatedly delayed its new Arc graphics merchandise) has led to stagnation. Price is usually a finances gaming laptop computer’s most vital trait and that’s the place the HP Victus 15 excels. This laptop computer delivers dependable processor efficiency at an affordable worth. However, the construct high quality leaves little to be desired and the show is dimmer than we like. That mentioned, in the event you’re actually strapped for money, the HP Victus 15 could also be price contemplating.

HP Victus 15 specs and options

The Victus 15 I obtained for evaluate is an entry-level mannequin that at present seems solely obtainable from Best Buy. It equips Intel’s Core i5-12450H processor, an entry-level chip in Intel’s higher-TDP line of cell {hardware}. The processor has eight cores, half of that are Performance cores. It’s paired with Nvidia’s growing older GTX 1650 discrete graphics. 

• CPU: Intel Core i5-12450H
• Memory: 8GB DDR4-3200
• Graphics/GPU: Nvidia GTX 1650
• Display: 1920×1080 144Hz IPS LCD
• Storage: 512GB stable state drive
• Webcam: 720p
• Connectivity: 1x USB-C with DisplayPort 1.4, 2x USB-A, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x 3.5mm combo audio
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, Gigabit Ethernet
• Biometrics: None
• Battery capability: 80 watt-hours
• Dimensions: 14.09 x 10.04 x 0.93 inches
• Weight: 5.06
• MSRP: $799.99 (at present $549.99)

The Victus 15 presents a number of extra highly effective variants via each retailers and HP’s web site. These provide as much as an Intel Core i7-12700H processor and as much as Nvidia RTX 3050 graphics, together with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. Most pre-configured fashions skew in direction of entry-level gaming, nevertheless.

Design and construct high quality

IDG / Matthew Smith

The HP Victus is a barebones finances gaming laptop computer and, as such, it retains the design so simple as doable. It makes use of fundamental, darkish grey plastics alongside each inside and exterior (white and blue are additionally obtainable via HP.com and, unusually, add 5 bucks to the worth). Most supplies haven’t any distinctive really feel, texture, or sample. The show bezel, which is black and has a grippy texture, is the only real exception. 

You received’t discover any seen HP branding on the laptop computer, which I discover puzzling. HP has used the Omen sub-brand, which it acquired throughout its buy of Voodoo in 2006, for a lot of of its gaming gadgets. The firm additionally owns HyperX. Using one other, unknown sub-brand with its personal brand additional cheapens the laptop computer’s look. 

This is a beefy laptop computer with a weight simply above 5 kilos and a thickness of almost one inch, however these figures look worse on paper than they really feel in actuality. The Victus 15 is giant, certain, however no extra so than dozens of different mid-range 15-inch laptops, corresponding to the Acer Nitro and Asus TUF sequence. It’s too giant for simple use on an airplane, and may really feel cramped on a tiny resort desk, but stays transportable sufficient for journeys throughout city or to class. 

Unfortunately, the laptop computer’s heft doesn’t translate to construct high quality. Lifting the laptop computer from one aspect causes the chassis to flex. Grab it from a nook and also you’ll hear the internals thunk in opposition to exterior panels. The show lid additionally permits apparent flex when opening or closing the laptop computer. With that mentioned, I can’t recall any finances gaming laptop computer that doesn’t have the identical points. 

Keyboard and trackpad

IDG / Matthew Smith

HP packs a big keyboard with numpad within the Victus 15. Its edge-to-edge design makes most use of the laptop computer’s inside. That means most keys are giant regardless of the numpad shoved into the left aspect. Even the numpad keys are of respectable dimension, although barely extra slender. A couple of right-side keys, corresponding to Shift and Backspace, are a bit small. 

The keyboard feels stable in day-to-day use. Key journey is lengthy, because of the laptop computer’s deep chassis, and the massive structure presents area to stretch out. The numpad does imply the keyboard is barely offset from the touchpad, nevertheless, which is annoying. It encourages customers to hunch or lean barely in direction of their left. 

A keyboard backlight comes normal. That’s good to see, as a backlight stays a little bit of a luxurious amongst finances laptops. The backlight presents only one degree of brightness, nevertheless, so don’t anticipate any customization. What you see is what you get. 

The touchpad may hardly be extra generic. It’s giant, however not huge, and has a easy but responsive floor that feels just like the encompassing plastic. There’s sufficient room to make use of multi-touch gestures and, in my expertise, they labored nicely. It’s not a premium expertise, to make certain, however good for an entry-level Windows laptop computer.

Importantly, the HP Victus 15 avoids flaws or issues which may spoil on a regular basis use. The keyboard and touchpad are unremarkable, however positive, and on par with some costlier gaming laptops just like the Acer Predator Helios 300 or Asus TUF Dash 15. 

Display, audio

IDG / Matthew Smith

HP ships the Victus 15 with a number of show choices, all of which supply 1080p decision. The barebones mannequin I examined promised a most brightness of 250 nits with a most refresh price of 144Hz. 

Image high quality isn’t nice. 1080p decision seems sharp on a 15.6-inch show, however the show’s coloration accuracy and gamut depart so much to be desired. The Victus 15 I examined can’t deal with your entire sRGB coloration gamut, nevermind DCI-P3 or AdobeRGB. Color accuracy can also be lackluster. Contrast price got here in at 1050:1, which is respectable however not distinctive. 

Maximum brightness is quoted at 250 nits, as talked about, and was measured at 253 nits. That’s a low degree of brightness simply overwhelmed by vibrant overhead lighting or a sunlit window. You’ll want a point of sunshine management for snug viewing. 

The 144Hz panel can present clean gameplay, however players shouldn’t get too excited: it’s extra of a advertising and marketing tactic than a giant benefit. The 144Hz panel used right here doesn’t operate with Nvidia G-Sync, so body pacing might be a problem. It’s not particularly crisp in movement, both, although higher than a 60Hz panel.

Audio is supplied by a pair of upward-facing audio system with Bang & Olufsen branding. They present respectable audio and cheap crisp audio at low to medium quantity. Bass is missing, nevertheless, and the sound turns into muddy at increased volumes. A headset or headphones will probably be much better, however the built-in audio system are okay for informal use. 

Webcam, microphone, biometrics

The HP Victus 15 sticks to a 720p webcam with a dual-array microphone. It performs about as nicely (or as poorly) as anticipated. Video high quality is fuzzy and audio high quality is hole. However, the Victus 15 doesn’t carry out any worse than different laptops with the same webcam and microphone association, and most mid-range gaming laptops received’t present an improve in these areas. 

Biometrics are absent. That’s to be anticipated at this worth. 

Connectivity

The HP Victus 15 is thick, however that doesn’t imply it has a number of connectivity. Instead, the Victus 15 sticks to a quite slim number of ports. 

This consists of two USB-A ports and one USB-C port. The USB-C port has DisplayPort alternate mode for reference to an exterior show however sadly lacks USB Power Delivery, that means a USB-C energy brick received’t cost the laptop computer. You’ll have to make use of the included 200 watt energy adapter. An HDMI 2.1 port offers the laptop computer’s solely devoted video-out.

Network connectivity is stable, with Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth 5.2 supported. It can be good to see Wi-Fi 6E (and a few upgraded fashions of Victus 15 have it), however its absence is simple to excuse at this worth. Wi-Fi 6E routers stay costly, so it’s uncertain that players contemplating the Victus 15 have a Wi-Fi 6E router.

Performance

The HP Victus 15 has an Intel Core i5-12450H processor with a complete of eight cores, break up eveningly between Performance and Efficient cores. The Performance cores assist hyper-threading (for a complete of 12 threads). It’s paired with Nvidia’s GTX 1650 graphics, 8GB of DDR4 3200MHz RAM, and a 512GB PCIe stable state drive. 

IDG / Matthew Smith

PCMark 10 turns in a decent rating of 5,551. This is the fourth lowest of the laptops used for comparability, but in addition not far behind the Acer Nitro 5 and Asus Vivobook X16 OLED, a pair of laptops that every had an as-tested MSRP above $1,000. The Victus 15 is punching above its weight right here. 

IDG / Matthew Smith

The Victus 15 seems much less spectacular in Cinebench R15, as its restricted core rely places the laptop computer at a serious drawback in comparison with different Intel 12th-gen Core laptops, in addition to AMD’s prime {hardware}. Still, this rating is a good distance from unhealthy and spectacular for a finances laptop computer. Older finances laptops with Intel 11th-gen Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 3000/4000 sequence processors fall behind the Core i5-12450H. 

IDG / Matthew Smith

Handbrake turns in a very good end result for the Victus 15, which scores higher than each the AMD Ryzen 5900HX and Core i7-11800H in older laptops. This benchmark has confirmed favorable to Intel’s 12th-gen Core, because it seems to make glorious use of many cores, and that provides the Victus 15 a win right here.

Now, let’s dig into the laptop computer’s graphics.

IDG / Matthew Smith

The 3DMark Time Spy turns in a results of 3,392, which is to be anticipated. Unlike the Core i5-12450H, which is new, the GTX 1650 is a tried-and-true GPU utilized in entry-level notebooks for the previous few years. It’s a lot much less succesful than most up-to-date RTX 3050 {hardware}.

IDG / Matthew Smith

Shadow of the Tomb Raider is a good decide of how a gaming laptop computer will carry out in cross platform video games launched throughout PlayStation 4/Xbox One console era. At 1080p and Highest settings, it achieves a median of 43 frames per second, which is sufficient for pleasant gameplay however not near the 60 frames per second most PC players want. Those who need a smoother expertise might want to flip down the small print.

IDG / Matthew Smith

Metro Exodus is much more demanding, notably on the Extreme settings PC World makes use of for this check, and it hurts the Victus 15’s efficiency. The laptop computer achieved a mere 14 frames per second at 1080p and Extreme element, which isn’t playable. This isn’t a shocking end result, nevertheless, as even the RTX 3050 Ti struggles on this benchmark. 

The HP Victus 15’s recreation efficiency highlights the constraints of finances gaming laptops offered in 2022. Nvidia, which continues to dominate the marketplace for discrete GPUs in Windows laptops, didn’t launch an entry-tier discrete possibility for the RTX 30 or 20 sequence, leaving the GTX 1650/1660 to wrestle on. And wrestle it does. 60 FPS gameplay will not be doable in order for you a excessive degree of graphical constancy, even in video games that at the moment are a number of years outdated.

Given this actuality, nevertheless, the Victus 15 performs in addition to might be hoped. Gamers should buy this laptop computer understanding it should play any PC recreation obtainable at this time (except for these with necessary ray tracing), although those that wish to play at 60 FPS should keep on with medium or low settings in most new titles. 

Battery life

The HP Victus 15 I reviewed had a 52 watt-hour battery. Shoppers ought to notice that high-end configurations lists a bigger, 70 watt-hour battery. That would, after all, present higher outcomes than the entry-level machine.

IDG / Matthew Smith

Battery life is available in at roughly 4 and a half hours. That may not sound like a lot, and it isn’t—however it’s additionally not unhealthy for a finances gaming laptop computer, as some fashions do worse. The HP Victus 15 wants frequent top-offs and isn’t a very good companion for frequent fliers, however college students who simply want a laptop computer to final via a lecture must be okay. 

Conclusion

The HP Victus 15 will not be an ideal gaming laptop computer. It’s unattractive, flimsy, and has a lackluster show. And, most vital of all, recreation efficiency is merely sufficient. Most titles are playable at 30 FPS, however reaching 60 FPS will usually require important cuts to visible constancy. 

It’s saved by the worth. The Victus 15 I reviewed carries an MSRP of $799, which is already cheap, and is at present decreased to $549.99. That’s an absolute all-time low worth for a laptop computer with discrete graphics. And, regardless of its flaws, the Victus 15 presents a very good keyboard, nice touchpad, and stable processor efficiency. 

That makes the HP Victus 15 a straightforward advice for finances PC gaming. It’s not superb, however it’s a deal at this worth. Just take into account that it’s worth, not options, that provides the Victus 15 its edge—and that edge will probably be dulled the second a competitor drops its personal worth to compete.