HP Victus 16 AMD Gaming Laptop Review: For the love of the game

There are some buyers in the market looking for a gaming laptop that can do justice to their favourite AAA titles but at the same time, they don’t want to break the bank to buy one. The new HP Victus 16 AMD is one of the options these gamers should look out for. From the design to keyboard layout to built quality, the laptop seems average. But sometimes average is what you need. We tested the new HP Victus 16 with AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS to see if it’s worth considering. 

Specifications


• Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 5800H (up to 4.4 GHz max boost clock)
• Memory: 16 GB DDR4-3200 MHz RAM (2 x 8 GB)
• Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050
• Storage: 512 GB PCIe Gen4 NVMe Hard drive
• Display: 16.1-inch FHD display
• Operating System: Windows 11 Home
• Keyboard: 1-zone RGB backlit
• Camera: True Vision 1080p FHD camera
• Speakers: B&O Speakers

Price

The entry-level gaming laptop can be purchased at Rs 85,999 for the 16GB/512GB variant with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 GPU. But you can combine sale and exchange offers to bring the effective price well below Rs 80,000.   

With the price out of the way, let’s take a look at the HP Victus 16-s0095AX.

Design

In typical gaming laptop fashion, the new HP Victus 16 AMD is big but not as heavy as it looks. The laptop weighs 2.30 kg which can be considered portable enough. The laptop does not try to scream premium and that may not be a bad thing in this case. However, the build is mostly plastic with a matte finish. Expect a small amount of flex in the display panel due to the use of polycarbonate material. 

The only distinguishing design element is the massive air vent positioned at the back. The bottom panel has this squared mesh, which may be effective in dissipating heat but looks very industrial. The shiny Victus logo at the top of the laptop gives it a much-needed pinch of sheen. Overall, the design is as basic as it gets. 

Keyboard and Trackpad

The keys on the HP Victus 16 are backlit and you get 1-zone RGB to customise your experience. The spacing between the keys takes some getting used to, especially if you’re migrating from a smaller work laptop. The plus point is that you get a full number pad. There is substantial key travel but the buttons lack a satisfying click.

The power button is not at the extreme corner which reduces the instances of accidental shutdowns.

The trackpad works fairly well but is a little firm. The massive real estate could’ve been used to place an even bigger trackpad but that’s definitely not a deal-breaker. 

Display

The 16.1-inch IPS display gets a 144Hz refresh rate and a 7ms response time. The display feels sharp with an anti-glare coating which makes it slightly easier on the eyes. The high refresh rate makes gaming a pleasure and the low response rate is evident in the gameplay. The screen only gets a Full HD display but the gaming experience is enjoyable. The brightness is capped at 250 nits which is good for an indoor setup. 

The side bezels are extremely thin but you get a thick bottom bezel which limits the aspect ratio to a more traditional 16:9 instead of the 16:10 that is gradually becoming the new normal.   

Performance

Now, let’s dive into the one aspect you’ve been waiting for. We can see that HP Victus 16 is skimping when it comes to design elements, but performance was more than just satisfactory. 

Let’s get the numbers out of the way first. On Geekbench, the laptop scored 2567 in single-core and 11,069 in multi-core testing. This was the score in the ‘balanced’ performance mode. On CrossMark, the laptop scored 1401 in overall score, 1386 in productivity, 1512 in creativity, and 1155 in responsiveness. This was also conducted in the ‘balanced’ mode.

I played games like Starfield and GTA V on Victus 16. Considering that Starfield is still a relatively new game with more optimisations on the way, the laptop still delivered over 50 FPS in high settings but was limited to Full HD resolution. On GTA V, I managed to get 85-95 FPS in the highest setting. 

It is safe to say that gaming is pretty enjoyable on the laptop with minimal frame drops and screen tears. The cooling system does its job well but at times the keyboard area got a little hot to the touch.   

Battery

The battery performance is nothing to write home about. When not plugged in the laptop delivered 4-5 hours of screen on time with the usual web-browsing, low-intensity office work, and OTT streaming. 

Verdict

The HP Victus is not a laptop for extremely hardcore gamers who want to max out every setting and run every game at 4K resolution. It’s a laptop for casual gamers who just want to have some fun without spending a fortune. The gaming laptop offers a decent balance of performance and price. Yes, the design isn’t the greatest but its no-nonsense approach will make it age better. 

The laptop can handle most modern games at medium to high settings without any issues. If you keep your performance expectations in check, the laptop will deliver. 

Also read: HP Envy x360 2-in-1 (2023) laptop review: More hits than misses

Also read: Asus ROG Strix G17 (2017) review: A powerful gaming beast