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HP’s Omen Transcend line is a relatively new gaming sub-brand, first reviewed in the 16-inch size last year. The HP Omen Transcend 14 (starts at $1,599.99; $1,699.99 as tested) downsizes to a super-slim and portable laptop rocking an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 graphics. The OLED screen and metal build are sweet additions. Still, the graphics performance is limited compared with some midrange alternatives, and it’s especially ill-equipped to play demanding games at its native resolution with an RTX 4060 clocked as it is. The Omen can save you a few hundred dollars compared with the Editors’ Choice-award-holding Asus ROG Zephyrus G14, but the latter’s extra cost is worthwhile. Alternatively, the 14.5-inch Lenovo Legion Slim 5 Gen 8 is cheaper and still a superior performer.Design: A Portability-First 14-Inch GamerThis isn’t the first time I’ve seen this laptop up close—I spent some time with this super-slim gaming laptop at HP’s CES 2024 event, and it made an impact. It’s immediately apparent how trim and compact this system is; 14-inch laptops inherently prioritize mobility, but slimness is this machine’s calling card even then.
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(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
This Omen measures 0.71 by 12.3 by 9.2 inches (HWD) and weighs 3.6 pounds, which has all but the most portable competition beat. The laptop is a little heavier than it looks, dense given the small frame, but you can hardly call it heavy. The Zephyrus G14 is one of few that can match and even surpass this system’s slimness, measuring 0.64 by 12.2 by 8.7 inches and weighing 3.3 pounds. Since 15-inch gaming laptops are likely to weigh five or more pounds, you can see a measurable portability advantage. Naturally, you’ll also find compromises with this, usually in the form of performance—our testing section, later on, will show what this system can do, but thin machines simply have less room for powerful components and the requisite thermal solutions to cool them. The best 14-inch laptops balance these competing factors well, but as we’ll always caution when shopping at this size, be sure that portability is a priority because you’ll almost always lose some power to achieve it.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Moving on from size, the build itself is high quality. The all-metal chassis makes the difference in the Transcend 14 feeling high-end rather than like a flimsy wafer. You won’t find a weak point or any flex in the design; stylistically, it’s simple but sleek. The Omen comes in black or white color schemes; our review unit is in black.The touchpad is roomy for a 14-inch laptop, plus it pans smoothly and is responsive to presses. The keyboard, meanwhile, is one of the more interesting-looking parts of the design. The keycaps have translucent edges and are laid out edge-to-edge rather than in the more common standalone chiclet design. This more condensed layout takes a little getting used to, but every laptop keyboard is different, so I adjusted to it before too long.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
The clear key rims let the RGB backlighting shine through more than just the lettering on the keycaps. With the keys touching, it’s also a more blended lighting effect. (HP offers the lighting in a four-zone setup, like ours, or with per-key backlighting for $80 more.) Regardless, something about it looks a little more budget-oriented—maybe just that this clear-key style is more commonly found on entry-level systems, and it somewhat takes away from the sleek look. That’s subjective, though, and the lighting adds some flash alongside a more minimal overall style. The keys are bouncy and responsive, making for a comfortable typing experience.Using the HP Omen Transcend 14: A Brilliant OLED Display and Just Enough Connections As a highlight, this Omen has a 14-inch OLED non-touch panel with a 2,880-by-1,800-pixel resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. That’s a fine mix for both general use and gaming; you may want to dial down the resolution in some more-demanding games but can enjoy the extra sharpness in others, as well as while watching media or doing day-to-day work. OLED delivers vibrant colors, and while the panel has no touch capability, its glass finish adds some sheen (and, at times, some reflections).
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
While 120Hz isn’t an overly speedy refresh rate limit for gaming, it wasn’t too long ago that OLED panels were restricted to 60Hz. For those keeping score, 120Hz is still twice as fast as 60Hz, and the testing section of this review will tell you if you need to worry about pushing frame rates beyond 120fps, anyway.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Finally, the ports. This slim laptop is slightly more limited than others, but the essentials are still covered. The left edge holds the audio jack and one USB Type-C port with Thunderbolt 4 support. The right side has two USB Type-A ports, while the back of the laptop holds another USB-C port (the primary charging port) and an HDMI connection. These are joined by Wi-Fi 6E and a 1080p webcam, which provides average picture quality but is decisively better than what you see from inferior 720p cameras.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Regarding other features, the laptop comes with HP’s Omen Gaming Hub software, which lets you tune and monitor settings, and pick among performance modes. (Eco mode is better for battery life, balanced mode is for everyday use and won’t run the fans as loudly, and performance mode, which we tested the laptop on, pushes peak power.) The laptop’s USB-C 140-watt charger is also relatively compact, which I appreciate for a portable laptop. Some gaming laptops’ chargers are real bricks. Configurations: Simple But Comparatively Pricey OptionsThe base model of the Omen Transcend 14 calls for $1,599.99, though it was on sale on HP’s site for $1,299.99 at the time of writing. It has an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor, 16GB of memory, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU, and a 512GB SSD.Our model is boosted beyond that in a couple of ways; it’s available at Best Buy for $1,699.99, or you can customize it on HP’s site. The processor and memory remain the same at the increased cost, but the GPU gets bumped to an RTX 4060 (65W TGP), and the storage to a 1TB SSD. All models use the same sharp display, while further Core Ultra 9 CPU, RTX 4070 GPU, and 32GB RAM options are available too.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Intel Core Ultra processors are used in all versions of this laptop; these chips exist alongside Intel’s 13th and 14th Gen “Core i” processors and feature discrete onboard AI processing. They aren’t too common in gaming machines yet, but seeing them in thinner and lighter systems like this is not surprising. The particular Core Ultra 7 155H in this machine features 16 cores (six Performance cores, eight Efficient cores, and two Low-Power Efficient cores) and support for up to 22 threads.Our model is promising on paper, though perhaps a touch expensive for the parts. The RTX 4060 is usually found in machines priced at the upper end of entry-level pricing or in midrange machines like this one, but it does start to lose its shine in the $1,500-plus range. You can see where the costs come from, between the advanced display and sleek design, but the power ceiling and local game library will be somewhat limited.Testing the HP Omen Transcend 14: A Decent Performer But a Poor TesterTo gauge how well our Transcend 14 model performs in reality, we put it through our usual benchmark suite and compared the results with the following competitors…
I’ve mentioned the 2024 Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 several times as our favorite 14-inch pick, but it is worth remembering that, at $1,999.99 as tested, it is a few hundred dollars more expensive than our Transcend 14 unit. The Alienware x14 R2 is another 14-incher, falling between the two ($1,899.99 as tested), while last year’s Razer Blade 14 ($2,699 as tested) is a hyper-expensive alternative. Finally, the 14.5-inch Lenovo Legion Slim 5 Gen 8 is arguably the best value in the bunch.Productivity and Content Creation TestsWe run the same general productivity benchmarks across both mobile and desktop systems. Our first test is UL’s PCMark 10, which simulates a variety of real-world productivity and office workflows to measure overall system performance and also includes a storage subtest for the primary drive.Our other three benchmarks focus on the CPU, using all available cores and threads, to rate a PC’s suitability for processor-intensive workloads. Maxon’s Cinebench R23 uses that company’s Cinema 4D engine to render a complex scene, while Geekbench 5.4 Pro from Primate Labs simulates popular apps ranging from PDF rendering and speech recognition to machine learning. Finally, we use the open-source video transcoder HandBrake 1.4 to convert a 12-minute video clip from 4K to 1080p resolution (lower times are better).Finally, we run PugetBench for Photoshop by workstation maker Puget Systems, which uses the Creative Cloud version 22 of Adobe’s famous image editor to rate a PC’s performance for content creation and multimedia applications. It’s an automated extension that executes various general and GPU-accelerated Photoshop tasks ranging from opening, rotating, resizing, and saving an image to applying masks, gradient fills, and filters.
Between the Core Ultra processor and the thin chassis design, the Transcend 14 lagged behind the Core i and Ryzen laptops here. It’s still a fast machine viewed against a broader selection of notebooks, and this whole group generally falls within the same use-case range despite their performance differences. You can comfortably use any of these machines for everyday work and multitasking, and they’re capable and quick enough for some light-to-moderate media creation. The Transcend 14 will just have you waiting a tad longer than the others. But none of the comparison systems here is an unsurpassable standout in this field.Graphics and Gaming TestsWe run synthetic and real-world gaming benchmarks for gaming laptops and other mobile gaming hardware. The former includes two DirectX 12 gaming simulations from UL’s 3DMark: Night Raid (more modest, suitable for systems with integrated graphics) and Time Spy (more demanding, suitable for gaming rigs with discrete GPUs). Additionally, we use the cross-platform GPU benchmark GFXBench 5, which gauges OpenGL performance. These GFXBench tests are rendered offscreen to accommodate different native display resolutions; more frames per second (fps) means higher performance.Our real-world gaming testing comes from the in-game benchmarks of F1 2021, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and Rainbow Six Siege. These three games—all benchmarked at 1080p resolution—represent simulation, open-world action-adventure, and competitive/esports shooter games, respectively. Valhalla and Siege are run twice (Valhalla at Medium and Ultra quality, Siege at Low and Ultra quality), while F1 2021 is run twice at Ultra quality settings with and without AMD and Nvidia’s performance-boosting FSR and DLSS features turned on.
Before looking at any head-to-head comparisons, it’s clear that the Transcend 14 performed pretty well in isolation. Its RTX 4060 GPU pushed more than 60fps at 1080p easily in F1 2021 and Valhalla, and it rose into the hundreds in Rainbow Six Siege, which you want from a competitive multiplayer title like that. That’s about par for an RTX 4060, getting you above entry-level tier at 1080p, allowing you to play faster than 60fps with settings at or near maximum.When looking comparatively, though, the Transcend 14 demonstrated a more restricted ceiling than its rivals here, as on the CPU tests. It was more evident on the synthetic tests, though the gap wasn’t as prominent on the real-game benchmarks, and it wasn’t surprising to see the more expensive and RTX 4070-bearing machines ahead. Regardless, the less-expensive Legion cleared the Transcend 14 comfortably, and it’s hard not to say that the G14 looks worth the extra money on graphics performance, not to mention for having a “9”-tier CPU and double the memory.Furthermore, 1080p is not this laptop’s native resolution, but you may want to stick with it for more demanding modern games. When bumping these tests to the laptop’s native 2,880 by 1,800 resolution, Valhalla dropped from 83fps to 44fps, F1 2021 (with DLSS on) from 104fps to 60fps, and Siege from 187fps to 83fps. Comparatively, the Zephyrus G14 ran Valhalla at 84fps at the same 2,880 by 1,800 resolution on maximum settings—nearly double the frame rate.These games are still playable on the Omen, and older or less visually demanding games won’t have a problem, but the RTX 4060 generally can’t power cutting-edge titles to 60fps at 1800p. The Transcend 14 is at the power tier where its graphics limitations start to inhibit you at the higher end, which can be hard to swallow given the price of a brand-new 2024 laptop. It is quite capable of 1080p gaming, though, if that’s where your aspirations lie, and it will save you a few hundred bucks to achieve it over the RTX 4070 option.Battery and Display TestsWe test each laptop’s battery life by playing a locally stored 720p video file (the open-source Blender movie Tears of Steel) with display brightness at 50% and audio volume at 100%. We make sure the battery is fully charged before the test, with Wi-Fi and keyboard backlighting turned off.To gauge display performance, we use a Datacolor SpyderX Elite monitor calibration sensor and its Windows software to measure a laptop screen’s color coverage—what percentage of the sRGB, Adobe RGB, and DCI-P3 color gamuts or palettes the display can show—and its 50% and peak brightness in nits (candelas per square meter).
The battery result is lengthy for the Transcend 14, longer than any of its peers. This is all-day battery life, underpinning the laptop’s portable form factor. The OLED display posted fantastic color coverage, and the brightness levels backed up the eye test. This is a bright, vibrant panel that users of any stripe will enjoy.Verdict: A Trim Traveler With Some LimitationsHP’s Omen Transcend 14 occupies an uncommon space above entry-level gaming laptops, starting further below the premium $2,000 mark than a lot of its competition. Our test model’s configuration, netting you an RTX 4060 and a modern CPU inside a super-portable design for $1,599, could be incentive enough, especially if $1,599 is already pushing your budget. And the Omen is undeniably well-made, with a crisp, colorful OLED screen for general use and gaming.However, when you compare it on other aspects, the Omen Transcend 14 isn’t quite as appealing, albeit still a reasonable value. With budget laptops, a few hundred dollars up or down is a significant percentage of the price, but when shopping in the $1,600-plus tier, it’s only the difference between one or two spec selections. The Omen’s graphics are objectively capable, but $1,599 is expensive for a new laptop that will be stressed out of the box running cutting-edge games smoothly at high settings and native resolution. Again, be sure that portability is essential to you.The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 features an even higher-end design and more power for $2,000 (the base model is also $1,600), which we deem worth the extra cost if you can swing it. The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 Gen 8 is the best value overall, delivering superior performance for $1,479.99 as tested. Still, the HP Omen Transcend 14 holds its own, and you may prefer its design, making for a worthwhile contender, if not an all-out winner.
Pros
Trim metal build and sleek design
Fit for high-refresh 1080p gaming
Vibrant, sharp, 120Hz OLED panel
Interesting, RGB-lit flush keyboard design
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The Bottom Line
HP’s Omen Transcend 14 is a thin-and-light gaming laptop ready for 1080p play with some appealing features, but machines above and below it on the price scale push faster speeds.
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