HP's Omen X 2S Review: A Solid, Dual-Screen Laptop For Gaming And Multitasking

A gaming laptop with two screens sounds like a cool idea. Gamers will have one to play and the other to keep an eye on Discord chats and Twitch streams. And HP has given us just that. The Omen X 2S is HP’s first notebook with dual-screen. It seems like an appealing deal at first, but there is still room for improvement in the company’s first attempt.

HP’s Omen X 2S tries to offer users an extra display, but in comparison with other laptops that follow that same design, the second screen of HP’s is too small to be handy for anything. However, to make up for that, the refresh rate of 144HZ means that the laptop can handle almost anything you need.

The dual-screen idea is gaining momentum now, and we have had some very intriguing products, like Intel’s concept and the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo, both were introduced at this year’s Computex. However, the second display of these laptops is large enough for multitasking.

With Omen X 2S, the secondary display is only 6 inches and located right above the keyboard, so users do not have many choices when it comes to what to do with it. In general, it is just like the touchscreen Touchpad from ASUS.

At first sight, you will think that the laptop has a large enough second display. Underneath the 15.6-inch screen sits a glass panel, making it looks like HP planned to include a wider display but for some reason, have to settle with this current tiny screen.

In short, the second screen is just another display for Windows; you can show whatever you want there, like a group chat, while you work on the main screen. Users can use the touchpad to move between the two screens. There is no inbuilt app except for a simple touchscreen calculator, but that is precisely its charm. Since there is no complication there, it is far easier to use.

The smaller screen can mirror part of the larger one in real-time so that you can use it to your advantage for slower games or strategy titles. However, you will find that it is of no use for Overwatch and the like.

For the size and use of it, the second display is more useful for multitasking than playing games. It is nice having a separate window for Twitch stream but if users want to go fullscreen, the benefit of having another display will be lost as the touch controls will be shut down.

What disappoints users the most about the design of Omen X 2S is that nothing you can do on it you cannot do on a smartphone. And if you feel uncomfortable using a smaller display of a phone, it is easier and more beneficial to invest in a tablet.

However, Omen X 2S has the edge in the actual gameplay. In Overwatch, users can have 90 to 110 fps whereas Hitman 2 can reach 102 fps with maximum graphics. The Performance Mode will give you more speed, but in return, the device will heat up fast, and you can hear louder noise from the fan. And for an addition of $230, you can have 240Hz 1080p screen.

That much power will emit much heat, around 70 to 80, or even 92 degree Celsius on average for the CPU. This is a high figure for the laptop as HP has given it a liquid metal thermal compound. The GPU’s temperature, on the other hand, may reach 60 to 72 degree.

Omen X 2S is a solid offer with the edge in portability. With a weight of 5.2 pounds and thickness of 20 millimeters, it is heavier than some of the competitors but is still at a level many users can accept. And the LED lighting and angles will give away the feeling of a gaming device.

A second display means that HP has to sacrifice something else. The trackpad is short but still accurate and smooth; however, the multi-task gesture will be non-existent on the Omen X 2S. This makes the laptop unsuitable to be a productivity device, but for gamers who make use of a gaming mouse often, this shortcoming will not be much of a problem.

Another benefit is a slew of ports on the device, including a Thunderbolt USB-C port, three USB 3.0 Type-A connections, and full-sized HDMI connections. The memory and SSD are easily replaced for any upgrade in the future. The power adapter has a slim enclosure and rounded edges, which is a plus. You will need that often though, as the battery will not last you long. If you turn off the secondary display, you may expect three hours; otherwise, you will only have two hours and 30 minutes.

The Omen X 2S is priced at Rs. 209,990, but if you want better performance with RTX 2080, the budget will have to be a minimum of Rs. 201,551. In comparison with some other offers coming out this year, this laptop from HP is a better offer. Its second display, despite being a little bit too small, is still more useful than the swiveling display of the Triton 900. Omen X 2S is definitely a more budget-friendly offer than Alienware Area 51m.

However, if you do not really need another screen, a regular gaming laptop with a more durable battery and a slimmer body will be better suited.

It seems like dual-screen is the future of laptops. The time when users feel that it is more productive using multiple displays has come, but as with any other trend, it is not a wise choice stretching your budget for the products coming out in the first wave.

Omen X 2S is a solid and powerful laptop, but HP needs to try harder if they still want to make a dual-screen offer that actually takes the full advantage of the multi-display concept.