If you’ve been shopping for an affordable gaming laptop over the past few years, there’s a good chance the HP Victus 15 popped up on your radar. At just $800 — and even cheaper during sales — it was one of the most accessible entry points into the world of laptop gaming. So when HP announced it was replacing the beloved Victus with the all-new HyperX Omen 15, gamers everywhere perked up with excitement. Unfortunately, that excitement comes with a bit of sticker shock.
The HyperX Omen 15 is, without question, a better machine than the Victus it replaces. HP has packed in an NVIDIA RTX 5050 Laptop GPU, which is capable of handling the latest games released in 2026 — though you may need to dial back some settings to keep things running smoothly. The display has also received a meaningful upgrade, sporting a 16:10 aspect ratio and a higher refresh rate that makes everything from gaming to everyday browsing feel noticeably sharper and more fluid. On top of that, a 1080p webcam makes this machine a much more well-rounded device for those who work and play on the same laptop.
So what’s the catch? The price. Thanks in large part to the ongoing RAM shortage — which tech enthusiasts have dramatically dubbed ‘RAMageddon’ — the Omen 15 now starts at a steep $1,200. That’s a full $400 more than its predecessor, and that gap is hard to ignore when you’re comparing value. The Victus earned its reputation by offering solid gaming performance at a price point that didn’t require a second mortgage. The Omen 15, while genuinely improved, loses some of that underdog appeal the moment you see the price tag.
To be fair, the HyperX Omen 15 isn’t a bad laptop by any stretch. It fills a solid middle-ground niche for gamers who want something more capable than the bare minimum but aren’t ready to drop $2,000 or more on a high-end rig. Think of it as the dependable, no-frills workhorse of the gaming laptop world — just one that now asks a bit more of your wallet.
Whether it’s worth the upgrade depends entirely on where you’re coming from. New buyers may find the $1,200 asking price reasonable for what’s on offer. But for fans of the Victus hoping for a spiritual successor at the same budget-friendly price, the Omen 15 might feel like a tough sell in today’s market.
