By After the pandemic-era GPU scarcity and the crypto mining frenzy, PC gaming is still quite popular, but GPUs are only somewhat less expensive. However, you may have a good gaming experience without breaking the bank. According to HP, their most recent Victus 15 laptop provides desktop capabilities without breaking the bank. Additionally, this notebook will not let you down if gaming is your only concern.
The Victus 15 is stylish without being overtly gamer, and its mid-range components will keep your frame rates manageable. The 2024 HP Victus 15 gives moderate but reliable gaming power for less than $1,00, so you can not disagree with the pricing. The Victus 15 may be purchased for less than the cost of a mid-range desktop GPU.
Specs and features
If this package seems familiar, it is because HP has previously utilized the same chassis. For the 2024 upgrade, the business made some changes, chief among them being the GPU. A step down from the RTX 4060 found in many mid-range gaming notebooks, the Victus boasts an RTX 4050 laptop GPU with 6GB of VRAM.
The CPU is a 12th Gen Intel Core i7, which is unusual for a laptop from 2024. With four efficiency cores and six performance cores, this chip has ten cores. 4.7GHz is the highest clock speed. It is not a slouch, but this machine lacks the efficiency and AI processing that CPUs of the last few generations have prioritized. This chip has no NPU at all, and the keyboard does not even have a Copilot key.
Even though 16GB of DDR4 RAM might seem a little small in 2024, it is adequate if gaming is your main use. The 512GB SSD performs admirably as well. But a 1TB option would have been wonderful because games are always becoming bigger.
Best Buy sells this laptop as well as a comparable device with a 12th Gen Core i5 and an older RTX 3050 GPU, but the newer model is superior. At $1,100 MSRP, it is not a fantastic value, though. Since its launch, this gadget has been discounted by at least several hundred dollars. It is a fantastic deal at the current sale price of $799.99.
- Number of models: 15-fb2063dx
- CPU: Core i7-12650H from Intel
- Graphics/GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 (6GB); Memory: 16GB DDR4
- Display: 1920 x 1080 @ 144 Hz, 15.6-inch diagonal IPS
- 512GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD storage
- 720p webcam
- One USB-C (5 Gbps), two USB-A (5 Gbps), one HDMI 2.1, one Ethernet, and one 3.5mm audio port are all connected.
- Networking: Bluetooth 5.3, WiFi 6
- 70Whr battery with a 200W adaptor
- 14.09 x 10.04 x 0.93 inches in size
- 5.06 lbs in weight
- Tested MSRP: $1,099.99
Design and build quality
Despite being entirely plastic, the Victus 15 has a surprisingly good appearance for a low-cost gaming laptop. It is dark blue, which is a good change of pace because you do not see many blue computers. Up until you touch it, the matte plastic appears nice. If you do not want the machine to look messy, you will need to wipe it down frequently because the finish attracts and retains skin oils.
The computer has very minimal branding—HP’s emblem is nowhere to be seen. The top cover features two smaller Victus logos within, as well as a giant reflective Victus “V” in the center.
At five pounds and roughly one inch thick, this machine is neither very light nor thin. When you pick it up, the chassis flexes somewhat, and the thin plastic housing is obvious. But despite my lack of caution in protecting it from bumps and scuffs, I have moved this machine around a few times and the body has not sustained any obvious damage. The bottom bumpers that span the full width of the machine and give it a sturdy footprint are another feature I enjoy.
This computer lacks a forward-looking port setup since it retains some previous design characteristics. An HDMI, Ethernet, a USB-A, and the laptop’s single USB-C are located on the right edge. In 2024, I would prefer to see more USB-C ports, and this one hardly qualifies. It can not be used to charge the computer and has a 5Gbps restriction. A DC barrel power connector, a 3.5mm jack, and an additional USB-A port are located on the left side. You will need to carry about the cumbersome 200W DC power adapter because the USB-C connector cannot be used for power.
With one hand, the hinge opens smoothly, although it is not as stable as I would like—if you are hammering on the keyboard, the screen may waver. A sizable bezel sits beneath the display, which is a conventional 16:9 panel rather than the larger panels found on many modern laptops. Once more, this is ok for gaming. However, the bezel on the other three sides is substantially smaller.
While playing games, the system does not get very hot or noisy—we will discuss performance later. Air is drawn from the bottom by the fan and forced out the vents that face the back. Because some computers have side vents that can burn your groping fingers, this makes sure the hot air is diverted away from you.
Keyboard and trackpad
The Victus 15 was able to accommodate a full keyboard layout, including a number pad, thanks to HP. The number pad keys are full-size, in contrast to the pad on the slightly bigger Acer Nitro V 16. It will be challenging to locate by feel because the pad does brush up against the other keys. The shine-through legends are shown in a similarly angular font on all of the machine’s keys. The white LEDs will make sure you can read the legends in the dark even without RGB.
The chiclet-style keys wobble a little too much, but they offer a wonderful tactile feel when pressed. It is also mushy and unattractive from the bottom out. If you are even somewhat pushy with the keys, you can see the plastic keyboard deck stretching.
HP fitted the Victus 15 with little, shrunken-down arrows in place of a Copilot key, which would have taken up space on the bottom row. I also still find it dangerous that HP placed the power button so close to the backspace, even though I was able to avoid unintentionally shutting down this laptop during testing, unlike with other HP laptops.
The trackpad is a decent size and angled slightly to the left, but not enough to make using it with your right hand difficult. Like the rest of the structure, it is made of plastic, and the actual click mechanism is a little squishy. Raising the sensitivity a few notches makes it much more useful, but the default setting felt too slow as well. Although the trackpad is not the greatest, the hardware is affordable.
HP Victus 15 Gaming Laptop, 15.6″ FHD 144Hz Display, AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, 16GB DDR5 RAM, 512GB PCIe M.2 SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050, HDMI, Webcam, Backlit Keyboard, Wi-Fi 6, Windows 11 Home, Silver
Performance
I have used games like Cyberpunk 2077, Dragon’s Dogma 2, and Baldur’s Gate 3 to test this machine. All of these games run at 1080p on medium or higher settings. Although frame rates are more than playable, most recent games do not allow you to make use of the high 144Hz refresh rate. There will be a smoother gameplay experience if you favor twitchy games like Counter-Strike or Fortnite. Even those games, though, will find it difficult to reach 144 frames per second on this hardware.
There are a few system adjustments you should make before you start fragging novices. Three separate settings programs are included on HP computers, which is a regular problem. There is a shortcut key on the keyboard for the Omen app, which contains the majority of the crucial performance options. Additionally, HP installed some obnoxious bloatware, such as WildTangent Games and McAfee. Early on, HP’s apps often appear to want you to register your warranty and submit feedback. After those issues are resolved, Windows 11 Home is a rather simplified build.
The purpose of PCMark 10 is to evaluate a computer on a range of metrics, including web surfing, video chat, and photo editing. Although it can not match laptops with more recent CPUs, the HP Victus 15 is still competitive. The Victus score of 6,855 is comparable to gaming notebooks from a year or two prior. Although AMD’s current lineup is skilled at multithreaded tests like this, some newer Intel Core Ultra CPUs will fare marginally better in this test.
However, compared to many of its rivals, HP’s default system mode is more focused on efficiency. This score increased by roughly 100 points when we switched to Performance mode, putting it in line with other machines we have tested.
Battery life
Some high-power laptops can run out of juice in less than three hours, thus gaming laptops are not exactly known for their durability. With its 77Wh battery, the Victus 15 performs marginally better than that. We run a 4K film at 250 nits continuously until the laptop dies as part of our battery rundown test. For a gaming laptop, the Victus’s performance was admirable, coming in just under six hours. Although it outperforms powerful computers like the Gigabyte G6X, other laptops that put battery capacity and performance first still have longer lifespans and greater performance.
In everyday use, the lifespan is somewhat shorter. Without a power outlet, you will not be able to use this computer for the full workday or play games on the move for very long. The battery is good enough, though, that you can use it without a charger in an emergency.
Conclusion
The HP Victus 15 boasts a quick (although a little outdated) CPU and a decent mid-range GPU. The 1080p screen is quick enough to please fans of fast-paced shooters, and it can play the majority of today’s AAA titles at medium settings, though it is by no means the best gaming PC. However, the panel is a little dull, and you will not receive high-end features like HDR or G-Sync.
If productivity and work are important to you, you should not acquire the Victus 15. Although it is already capable enough, the 12th generation Intel CPU is already many years old, and there are not enough ports available for 2024. Although many laptops still come with the RTX 4050, the Victus’s prospects are not as bright as those of slightly more costly gaming devices.
All things considered, the HP Victus 15 is a capable and affordable PC for light gaming. However, the $1,100 MSRP is not a good price to pay. The current sale price ($799 as of this writing) is a terrific value, but you can get better for that much.
