HP Omen Transcend 14: 14-inch gaming notebook

Gaming laptops no longer have to be bulky. The HP Omen Transcend 14 proves that too, combining an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor and a mid-range Nvidia GPU into a compact 14-inch device. The current Intel CPU has AI support and the RTX 4060 ensures adequate gaming performance without putting too much strain on your wallet. IMTEST took a look at whether the plan worked and how well the HP Omen Transcend 14 performs in current games.

Minimalist hip flask: HP Omen Transcend 14 Design

The HP Omen Transcend 14 is simple and almost inconspicuous compared to many other gaming laptops. Some gamers may be bothered by the fact that HP is particularly reserved when it comes to RGB effects. But it is better suited to a professional environment. For such a powerful device, the Omen Transcend 14 is wonderfully compact and slim. With a space of just over a sheet of DIN A4 paper and a thickness of just under 2.5cm, it fits in every backpack. The notebook weighs approximately 1.7 kg. At 490g, the accompanying 140W power supply is quite heavy, but at least it's lighter and slimmer than many other power supplies that come with gaming laptops. The workmanship and value of the Omen Transcend 14 are very good. When it comes to the keyboard, HP is going its own way in terms of design: visually, the keys are based on so-called pudding keycaps. The design with an opaque top and wide, illuminated bezel is familiar from keyboards from HyperX, for example. HP uses the less common ANSI-DE layout for keyboards with a long, single-line ENTER key. This is unusual at first. Aside from that, the typing feel and pressure point of the keys are good. The touchpad is adequately large for a 14-inch laptop and can be operated well and accurately.

Mid-range GPU and CPU with AI support

An Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor powers the HP Omen Transcend 14. To render images, HP uses a chip from Nvidia and installs the laptop's GeForce RTX 4060 GPU. There's also 16GB of RAM and a fast NVMe SSD with a terabyte of storage . Overall, they're pretty solid features for mid-range gaming laptops, even if you might run out of space on the SSD more quickly than you'd like given the ever-increasing storage demands of today's games. The NVMe SSD can at least be replaced with a larger model if necessary. Unfortunately, the RAM is permanently installed and cannot be upgraded. The selection of available ports is decent. HP supplies the Omen Transcend with two USB-C sockets, one of which supports Thunderbolt 4. There's also an HDMI 2.1 port, two USB 3.1 Type-A ports, and a jack jack. Sometimes the placement of the ports is more logical (HDMI and USB-C for charging on the back of the device) and sometimes less logical (two USB A ports on the right side, i.e. where you'd put the mouse). Unfortunately, you have to do without a network connection. The HP Omen Transcend 14 accesses the Internet wirelessly only, but using the current Wi-Fi 7 standard. Bluetooth 5.3 is also on board.

Razor sharp: HP Omen Transcend 14 display

One of the most striking features of the HP Omen Transcend 14 is its OLED display. It's only 14 inches long, but it's razor-sharp thanks to its 2880 x 1800 resolution. And thanks to the 120Hz refresh rate, the image stays smooth even during fast movements. The maximum measured brightness is 412 cd/m2. As is typical for OLED displays, contrast is very good. On the other hand, color accuracy drops slightly, but this is tolerable for a device intended primarily for gaming use. In practice, the screen shows strong colours. However, in unfavorable lighting conditions it can reflect slightly.

The Acer Predator Helios 3D 15 has a very special display.

This is the speed of the HP Omen Transcend 14 when working

The fact that the technical features of the HP Omen Transcend 14 are up to date is also reflected in the benchmark measurements. The installed Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 is not a high-end graphics card, but it only plays a small role, especially in speed measurements, which are more consistent with the load during normal work. This is where the integrated Intel processor can shine. In Geekbench, the HP Omen Transcend 14 scores well with 1,754 single-core scores and 12,698 multi-core scores. In the more demanding Cinebench R23, the laptop achieved 1,772 and 13,871 points in the single- and multi-core tests, respectively. The Omen Transcend 14 needed just 77 seconds to convert our test video from 4K to FullHD, which is very good value. In everyday life, a laptop should be more than capable of handling all the typical office tasks. And thanks to the current Intel processor, AI support is also available.

This is the speed of the HP Omen Transcend 14 when gaming

Perhaps what's most interesting for the HP Omen Transcend 14's target group is its gaming performance. IMTEST has only recently improved requirements in this area. You can learn more about the changes in our Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 review in the section here Gaming performance has been re-evaluated. In short, the chosen standards should also reflect newer technologies such as ray tracing. The GeForce RTX 4060 card integrated into the laptop version is a gateway to GPUs using current Nvidia technology. This is also noticeable in gaming benchmarks: the HP Omen Transcend 14 still performed well in FullHD, but in WQHD the FPS achieved a noticeable drop. At 4K, the RTX 4060 reaches its limits. This is not surprising, as the graphics chip is under a lot of pressure from standards.

In FullHD, the HP Omen Transcend 14 achieved an average of 57.2 fps in gaming benchmarks and 43.3 fps at WQHD resolution. At 4K resolution, the fps drops to 28.5 fps. On paper, this doesn't initially look good for a gaming laptop. However, the results must be viewed in a different way. In all games used to determine graphics performance, the highest possible graphics settings are selected. In addition to techniques such as DLSS, which uses “tricks” to enable higher FPS with little loss of quality, are specially deactivated to be able to determine the initial performance of the hardware. But there are also differences in individual games. It's notable that titles that support ray tracing like Cyberpunk 2077 (22.4 fps at Full HD and the graphics preset Ray Tracing: Overdrive) or Metro Exodus (28.6 fps at Full HD with maximum graphics settings and ray tracing) lag significantly behind the average. Press down. However, in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the HP Omen Transcend 14 achieved 91 fps at FullHD resolution, and up to 101 fps in Assassin's Creed: Valhalla with maximum graphics settings as well. As expected, ray tracing is a real performance hog.

In practice, by making a few changes to the settings, you can get a few frames per second out of your gaming notebook without having to give up too much graphical splendor. DLSS in particular helps greatly in modern gaming titles.

Known issues: Battery life and size

Battery life and loudness under load: Typical weaknesses in gaming laptops are also evident in the HP Omen Transcend 14 — though they're not quite as extreme as with the others. The laptop is still quiet when working, but the fans are clearly noticeable under load. Battery life when gaming was also below “typical for gaming laptops”: after just under an hour, the screen went black. On the other hand, the measured 6:45 hours of video streaming playback time is a very good value for a gaming laptop with such a thin case. The HP Omen Transcend 14 fully recharged in just under two hours.

Conclusion