After testing the Razer Blade 18 2023 a few months ago, my interest in PC gaming increased dramatically. Better visual quality and frame rates on PC than consoles make me miss the Blade 18 that has already been returned to Razer. To cure this longing, I made the HP Victus 16 my daily gaming laptop for two weeks.
For two weeks of use, I can say Victus 16 is probably a Razer replacement gaming laptop that is quite affordable because the price is three times cheaper. Throughout my use, not a single problem happened and this article I will share with you why this is a gaming laptop for everyone.
HP Victus 16
16.1″ IPS screen, FHD 1920 x 1080,
144Hz, anti-glare, 250 nits
CPU Intel Core i5-13500HX, 4.7 GHz
Intel Turbo Boost Technology (14-core, 20-thread)
GPU NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU
8GB GDDR6
RAM 16GB RAM DDR5-4800 MHz
(2 x 8GB)
512GB PCIe Gen4 NVMe storage
TLC M.2 SSD
HP True Vision 1080p Primary Camera
I/O 1x USB-A 5Gbps (HP Sleep and Charge)
1x USB-C 5Gbps (USB PD, DisplayPort 1.4, HP Sleep and Charge)
2x USB-A 5Gbps
1x HDMI 2.1
1x RJ-45
1x AC smart pin
1x 3.5mm audio jack port
70Wh Li-ion polymer battery
230W Smart AC
SIM/Telephony None
Connectivity MediaTek Wi-Fi 6 MT7921 (2×2)
(IEEE 802.11a/b/d/e/g/h/i/k/n/r/u/v/w/ac/ax/az)
10/100/1000 GbE LAN
Bluetooth 5.3
Audio Jack Yes
Waterproof None
Scan System None
Selling Price RM6,299
SCREEN
The Victus 16 uses a 16.1-inch IPS panel that's big enough but still small enough to fit in the backpack I use. It's a pity that the screen resolution of this laptop is limited to FHD 1920×1080 only and I can see the difference in quality compared to QHD+. 144Hz vs 240Hz refresh rate support seems to me to be no different on Windows devices and very different to 120Hz vs 144Hz on smartphones.
No adaptive refresh rate support and no HDR support but the colors produced are still good for daily use. Watching videos on YouTube or Netflix provides a satisfying experience. Editing pictures is also easy because the colors don't run away from the actual color settings. More interesting for my daily work which is a lot of typing is that the anti-glare layer on the laptop screen does not tire my eyes using it all day.
The 16.1-inch screen is also good at playing video games like Resident Evil Village which I replayed. The 16:9 aspect ratio is perfect for the majority of games in Xbox Game Pass. What I miss is that the 18-inch screen can multitask with many windows open compared to the more limited 16.1-inch. Using this laptop also requires me to rely on a monitor for smoother productivity.
DESIGN
The design of the HP Victus 16 has little in common with the Razer Blade 18 due to the use of gray color and a minimalist design. The back of the screen uses a gray plastic panel with a dull finish, there is a Victus logo without RGB, the sides are getting sharper at the end and the hinge part has a hot air outlet that gives the sign that it is a gaming laptop.
Victus 16 is a more affordable gaming laptop than Omen. So the build quality of this laptop is not as durable as the screen part which is easy to bend and the part that rests the wrist which feels soft. This worries me because I'm a pretty violent user and I'm afraid if I lose a video game session I could crash this laptop and break it. Thankfully, it didn't happen!
At the bottom there is a fan grid with a very unique design. I've rarely seen designs like this one big lattice versus two to four lattices at each corner. Like most modern gaming laptops, HP uses a design that is a little difficult to open but the RAM can still be upgraded because there are two 8GB slots that can be replaced with a larger RAM module after purchase.
For I/O on the right side there is 1x RJ-45, 1x USB-A, 1x 3.5mm audio jack. Then on the left side there is 1x charging port, 2x HDMI 2.1, 2x USB-A and 1x USB-C. The amount of these connection ports on me is very sufficient for my daily use as I will not use all of them. Offering three USB-A ports made it easy for me to connect a mechanical keyboard, mouse and connect external SSD storage.
The disadvantage of this laptop is the screen with a rather thick bezel. The chin part of Victus is thicker and uneven with the forehead of the screen. This is one of the things I hate because the thick chin is just to display the Victus logo because maybe HP didn't think enough to display the logo behind the screen and also on the hinge.
The Victus 16 weighs 2.31 KG which is not so heavy that my arms and shoulders hurt carrying it around. As I said earlier, the design of this laptop is quite thin and with 1KG less than the Razer Blade 18 it is easier to put in a bag when I work outside the office.
KEYBOARD
The HP Victus 16 comes with a full-size keyboard including a number pad. It also supports RGB but is limited to one zone. This is the size of the keyboard that I really appreciate because it is complete with everything I will be using. It's just that the initial use feels a little awkward because of the slightly compact layout. It took me about three days to get used to it.
According to HP, the switch used is a scissor type with a membrane membrane. Because this is not very comfortable to type. Especially when I have to type articles every day, it's too soft and the close spacing of my fingers makes me frequently press different keys. RGB is also not very bright and this does not provide the best gaming experience for me.
TOUCH PAD
Another issue I had was the touchpad being small and not centered. It looks awkward because it's too far to the left. Then even though HP uses Windows Precision software and calls it HP Imagepad, it's not as nice to press and less sensitive. Windows gesture controls often fail when I use three fingers to switch between open windows.
USAGE AND BENCHMARKS
Because the price is more than three times cheaper than the Razer, the HP Victus 16 has some sacrifices that are made by using a less powerful processing chip and graphics card. Even so, running multiple apps simultaneously is still smooth as is playing video games with Ray Tracing settings turned on.
The chip used is the 13th generation Intel Core i5 which can reach a speed of 4.7GHz. It is matched with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GPU 8GB GDDR6 RAM as well as 16GB DDR5 memory, SSD 512GBPCIe Gen4 internal storage. As said in the design section, the RAM can be upgraded if this 16GB is not felt to be enough.
Because I only had two weeks to test this laptop, I only had time to play Resident Evil Village. My experience playing this game was fine. The game suggests settings that are mixed between Max and even those in the middle. For example, the Ray Tracing settings are quite limited due to insufficient GDDR6 memory as well as the graphics settings to further improve the details of characters and scenes in video games.
While playing, around 15 minutes the fan started to make noise and spin at high speed. Even so, there was no lag at all, just the quality displayed was not good enough for me. The benchmark scores I received in PCMark 10 and 3DMark tests are like the images above. You will see that the score is much lower but believe me the actual use is satisfactory and matches the selling price.
I didn't have time to test the capabilities of the SSD used but the specifications used are more or less the same as those used on the Razer. Even installing apps and transferring files is pretty fast, about the same as the Razer Blade 18.
AUDIO
There are only two audio drivers on this laptop. It uses Bang & Olufsen technology as well as HP Audio Boost. The speaker grille is at the top of the keyboard and it's just normal. The audio produced is not strong enough, the available bass does not thump at a satisfactory level and it is not able to hide the noisy peeling sound. This forced me to rely on headphones during testing to block out this noise.
BATTERY
This HP Victus 16 2023 uses a 76Wh capacity battery with a Smart AC 230W charger. I'm actually less fond of using a laptop that depends on its own large charger whereas USB-C chargers can now reach up to 240W. This laptop requires a special charger for high performance mode. USB-C charging is limited to just 100W for light tasks.
Battery life is only about 3 hours. This is probably because the Omen Gaming Hub software is not smart enough to control power consumption and manage memory. After two days of not using this laptop, the third day when I turn it on it automatically runs on high performance mode with the battery going down 20% within 20 minutes.
WHAT'S IN THE BOX?
Here is what is received in the box with purchase.
1x HP Victus 16 r0030TX
1x 240W Smart AC charger block.
1x 3 pin head cable.
1x Manual.
CONCLUSION
This HP Victus 16 r0030TX in my opinion is a good enough laptop for those new to playing PC video games. It is more suitable for users who are not so serious in video games but still want to enjoy games with Ray Tracing support. Performance is also balanced for creative work such as Photoshop, the screen is still beautiful and fast and the design still looks minimalistic with a bit of flair.
The selling price is RM6,299 which is comparable to other RTX4070 gaming laptops in the market in 2023. You will definitely not regret buying this laptop because it will provide a user experience that is suitable for the price tag offered.
PROs and Advantages
Beautiful screen and fast.
Balanced performance for productivity and gaming Ray Tracing.
All-round I/O support with full-size HDMI 2.1.
A minimalist and light design for a gaming laptop.
CONS and Cons
Bang & Olusfsen's audio is less than satisfactory.
Thick and uneven screen bezels.
Undurable construction.