If my friends know anything about me, it’s that I love a shiny new display. So I can be hypocritical about laptop displays, especially since you’re stuck with them as long as you own the laptop.
The most recent laptop display I fell in love with belongs to the HP Omen Max 16. The best gaming laptops, second only to possibly the best video editing laptops, must sport gorgeous displays. This is the window into your favorite video games, and that window needs to look like it’s open. Unfortunately, most gaming laptops cannot keep up with the best gaming monitors, so I’d typically opt for the latter.
However, if you want to be deeply immersed in games in an all-in-one package like I do, here are 3 gaming laptops that'll make you forget about buying a monitor.
1. HP Omen Max 16
I simply must talk about the HP Omen Max 16. Yes, my review configuration wis $4,299, but the display certainly earns its place in a product at this price.
It’s outfitted with a 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240Hz OLED display, which means it’s sharp, smooth, and offers infinite contrast. It registered 363 nits of brightness, which isn’t super bright, but the panel covered 141.4% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and 199.7% of the sRGB color gamut. In 8 years of reviewing gaming laptops I've never seen one with a display this colorful.
Now, the reason why the HP Omen Max 16 costs a fortune is its overpowered Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 24GB GPU. You can blast through any AAA game with ease. It tore through Cyberpunk 2077 on Ultra, 1080p at 58 frames per second. And that’s before spicing it up with DLSS 4, which could double or triple frame rates.
If you want a powerhouse, the HP Omen Max 16 is what you need.
2. Dell G16 (7630)
While I do enjoy an expensive gaming laptop, I will not delude myself into thinking that I can afford them. However, the Dell G16 (7630) is an excellent candidate for a laptop that’ll make you forget about getting a monitor.
It’s not too dissimilar to the HP Omen Max, except the Dell G16 features an IPS version of a 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240Hz display. It may not offer infinite contrast or much brightness at 310 nits. However, it rocked up with 114% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and 169% of the sRGB color gamut. That’s more color coverage than most premium gaming laptops ($2K+) can support.
With that significantly lower price comes more tame graphics, rocking an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 8GB GPU. But that doesn’t mean you can’t play intense games. On the Cyberpunk 2077 (Ultra, 1080p) benchmark, the Dell G16 (7630) scored 33 fps, making it to playable frames. If you turn down the graphics, you can probably get close to or above 60 fps.
If you want one of the best cheap gaming laptops, this is it.
3. Lenovo Legion Pro 7i (Gen 9)
The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i (Gen 9) isn't cheap, but it’s more affordable than the HP Omen Max 16 at $3,649 and still offers an excellent display. In fact, it’s at the top of our best gaming laptops list because it’s a strong all-rounder.
Sticking with a common theme in specs, the Legion Pro 7i sports a 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240Hz display. It clocked in 456 nits of brightness, 108.7% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, and 153.5% of the sRGB color gamut.
We’re upping the performance to an RTX 4090 GPU. We tested the RTX 4080 model, but this former is the only one currently available. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as the 4090 will offer even better performance. Our model scored 44 fps on the Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark, so you can likely expect a 5 to 15 fps increase.
If you’re wondering why an RTX 4090 might outclass an RTX 5090, that’s a good question. Many factors determine how well a GPU performs, including the CPU's performance and heat management. And we’ve seen RTX 40-series gaming laptops score higher than the 50-series. But the RTX 40-series doesn’t offer Multi Frame Generation, which is why the RTX 50-series has the advantage.
But overall, the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is a killer gaming laptop with an awesome display.
Why 2.5K, 240Hz?
One of the reasons why this 1600p resolution and 240 hertz combo is so popular is because it’s a perfect balance.
Unfortunately, most GPUs still can’t manage gaming at 4K, 60fps in AAA titles at max settings, so dropping to 1600p makes sense. And 240Hz provides your eyes more than enough information to change your gaming experience.
I’m not saying that if you see these specs, then that’s the one! But they certainly help, and so do OLED displays. Stay tuned for more gaming laptop reviews to see the next shiny display I review.
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