I don’t often review large, desktop computers, but they certainly have their place in the PC ecosystem. You get the most computing power for your money, the best upgrade potential for the future, and some serious nerd-cred with a hefty mid-tower on your desk, ideally with some RGB lighting. If you’re a serious gamer, there’s still nothing that beats a good gaming PC with a powerful Geforce or Radeon graphics card. Moreover, if you’re working with performance-demanding programs, these machines can deliver significant power and stability.
However, they can be costly, especially if you’re looking for top-notch gaming performance. And that is definitely what you’ll get with this HP computer. It’s called the Omen 35L, and it’s a large, elegant monolith with glass doors on both the side and front, showcasing RGB-lit fans that illuminate the room. A few USB ports are accessible from the top front of the machine, where the power button is also located, with additional ports on the back, although not an excessive number.
The Omen 35L comes in a variety of configurations, all of which are powerful and relatively expensive. It’s called the 35L because the case is almost exactly 35 liters in volume, measuring 21 x 41 x 41 cm. Inside, there’s plenty of room for components and large fans.
Easy to Upgrade
HP’s desktop PCs with full-sized graphics cards often annoy me because they insist on including a support bracket for the card. While this is useful for protecting the card during transport, it can make upgrading difficult if the new card you want to install is slightly larger. Here, however, the support is adjustable, which makes the system much more flexible. You can also access the interior without tools, which is always a plus. Once inside, though, handling tiny screws can still be a bit nerve-wracking.
Two out of the four DIMM slots for RAM are already occupied, so it’s easy to double the memory from 32 GB to 64 GB. There’s also an additional slot for a PCIe M.2 SSD on the motherboard, in case the 1 TB SSD included isn’t enough. However, it’s located directly under the graphics card, requiring extra effort to install. Otherwise, you can add a large 3.5-inch hard drive and connect it via SATA, with cables already pre-routed to a convenient mounting spot.
The model I tested, GT16-0019no, costs 29,990 SEK in HP’s own web store, which at the time of writing, seems to be the only place selling it since its release in August. It’s built on a Ryzen 7 8700G processor and has 32 GB of RAM, a 1 TB SSD, and, most notably, the powerful Nvidia Geforce RTX 4070 Super graphics card. This card alone costs around 10,000 SEK when purchased separately and can deliver high performance for gaming and creative work.
Moderate Processor, Superior Graphics
The processor itself is not exceptionally powerful. The AMD Ryzen 7 8700G is from the previous generation, now that the Zen 5-based Granite Ridge, or Ryzen 9000 series, has been released. Within its generation, it’s not the fastest available. With eight Zen 4 cores and a boost frequency of up to 5.1 GHz, it’s an excellent multitasker for mixed usage.
However, I’ve seen significantly higher performance in multi-core tests from both desktop PCs and powerful laptops. So, for CPU-demanding tasks like rendering, video exports, and compiling, this machine is only moderately good. It’s certainly not subpar, but the desktop PCs I tested last year with 13th-gen Intel Core i7 desktop processors are noticeably faster in this area. The performance I get from the Ryzen 7 8700G is closer to that of a Snapdragon X Elite processor for slim laptops. But the key difference here is that you can push more power through it, achieving consistently good performance.
The Ryzen 7 8700G also features an AI processor, known as an NPU, although it’s not very fast—16 TOPS compared to 45-50 TOPS for the best AI processors available for PCs today. I couldn’t see this being utilized by the system, though some third-party programs might benefit from it.
The true strength of this computer emerges when combined with the graphics card. With solid single- and few-threaded CPU performance and the undeniable power of the Geforce RTX 4070 Super card, you can achieve 4K gaming without compromising frame rate or quality, especially with DLSS enabled in games. This card also provides a substantial performance boost for specific functions in programs like Photoshop and Premiere.
Quieter Than Most
What impressed me most about this build is its cooling system—how remarkably quiet it is. Despite having five constantly active chassis fans and an equally perpetually spinning CPU fan, the machine is surprisingly silent. All the fans are large, which allows them to operate at lower speeds. They are excellently designed to minimize noise.
The fans are barely audible, generating only a gentle hum from the airflow they produce through the chassis unless I’m running a demanding game or heavily stressing the CPU with multi-threaded workloads. Even then, the noise is not particularly bothersome. HP includes a program where you can control performance and fan modes. Setting the PC to “Quiet” mode allows me to work on both light and heavy programs, multitask, and play simpler games without losing performance—all in an impressively peaceful environment.
Here, you can also easily customize the RGB lighting in the fans and components, or turn them off entirely if you don’t want a constant disco effect. The software also includes shortcuts to installed games, streaming services like Geforce Now, and discounted game offers.
The computer connects quickly with Wi-Fi 7 or via gigabit LAN, and it also has built-in Bluetooth support. You’ll need to provide your own mouse and keyboard, as the computer only comes with a power cable.
A Secure Purchase, But Pricey
The big debate for this type of PC is whether to buy a pre-built branded machine like the Omen 35L or one of the custom-built models from computer stores, which are also pre-assembled and ready to use, and often just as well-built, if not better. Or should you buy components and assemble your own PC? There’s no wrong answer, except for the bad ones.
The advantage of building your own is that you can assemble a more modern PC. Large manufacturers are often slow to adopt the latest technology. For instance, I could get AMD’s new Ryzen 9000 processor with Zen 5 cores without paying a premium.
But the question is whether I can achieve as good a mechanical build. The desktop PC I built at home years ago was designed to reduce fan noise as much as possible. Even with just one low-speed chassis fan and an extra-quiet CPU fan, it’s noticeably louder than the Omen 35L, which has three times as many fans. This alone might make it worth the extra cost. Is it worth 29,990 SEK? That’s the question.
Specifications:
- Product Name: HP Omen 35L GT16-0019no
- Tested: September 2024
- Contact: HP
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 8700G, 8 Zen 4 cores up to 5.1 GHz
- Memory: 32 GB DDR5
- Storage: 1 TB SSD
- Graphics: Geforce RTX 4070 Super, 12 GB
- Front Ports: USB-C 3 Gen 2, 2 USB-A 3 Gen 1, headset
- Rear Ports: USB-C 3 Gen 2, 2 USB-A 3 Gen 1, headset, 4 USB-A 2.0, LAN, HDMI, 3 DisplayPort, microphone, audio in, audio out
- Wireless: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
- Expansion: 2 DIMM slots, 1 PCIe M.2 for SSD, 1 3.5-inch SATA, 1 PCIe x4
- Power Supply: 850 W
- Operating System: Windows 11 Home
- Noise Level: 28-37 dBa
- Power Consumption: 40-331 W
- Dimensions: 21 x 40.8 x 41 cm
- Price: $1,662.99
