HP's Omen lineup may draw the majority of attention from hardcore PC gaming enthusiasts, but its Pavilion Gaming line presents a worthy spec list of its own at a cheaper price point. Today, HP is giving those specs a boost with its latest updates to the Pavilion Gaming PCs, along with a new HDR display.
Leading the pack is the HP Pavilion Gaming Desktop, which comes in four configurations starting at $549 and topping out at $1,699. On the low end, the machine represents a decent value for casual gaming with an AMD Ryzen 3 2200G processor, Radeon RX 550 graphics, 8GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage.
At the high end, the desktop can be configured with Intel's latest 8th-Gen Core i7-8700 processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 graphics, 32GB of RAM, and a combination of 256GB of SSD storage and a 2TB HDD drive for $1,699. In between, other models are available with GeForce GTX 1050 and 1060 graphics, along with Intel's Core i5-8400 processor.
In terms of design, the Pavilion Gaming Desktop towers are pretty slick. The black, brushed finish is accented by a green light strip on the front, along with a green HP logo placed against the angular bezel at the bottom. The combination lends itself to a pretty sleek appearance, but you're out of luck if you don't like green.
For those who prefer gaming on the go, HP's 15.6-inch Pavilion Gamin Laptop has also received an update with Intel's latest processors. Starting at $799. the laptop can be equipped with an Intel Core i5-8300H processor, AMD Radeon RX 560X graphics, 8GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage with 16GB of Intel Optane memory. When maxed out, the Pavilion Gaming Laptop steps things up with an Intel Core i7-8750 processor, and NVIDIA GeForce 1060 Max-Q graphics for $1019. In between, a model is also available at $909 with a Core i5-8300 processor and GeForce GTX 1050Ti graphics.
Where the high-end variant really sets itself apart is with the display, which is a 1080p 144Hz panel. That's a step up from the 1080p 60Hz display available on the other variants. Of course, like the desktop, the Pavilion Gaming Laptop features some gamer styling of its own with "Ghost White," "Acid Green," or "Ultraviolet (purple)" color accents. A dual-fan cooling solution is also on board to keep things from getting too hot.
HP is content to stick with PCs, however; it has a new gaming display up for grabs as well. The 32-inch monitor comes with support for HDR, so you can make colors and shadows pop with supported games and graphics cards. AMD FreeSync support also tags along, which should cut out any screen tearing if you're using a compatible AMD graphics card. Otherwise, you're looking at a standard QHD (2560x1440) resolution, 75Hz refresh rate, and 5ms response time.
Availability
HP's Pavilion Gaming Desktop and Laptop are expected to be available online and in-store by June, with prices starting $549 and $799, respectively. Pricing and availability information isn't yet available for the Pavilion Gaming 32 HDR display.
