HP recasts its gaming Omens

HP released its VR backpack developers kit last year, and ended up cleverly overhauling the product with a dock so that when it's not on your back you can use it as your desktop PC.

The dock has a reasonable number of connections, including HDMI, DisplayPort and three USB 3.1 Type-A in the back plus a couple in front, as well as a USB-C. When you add in the four Type-A, one Thunderbolt/USB-C, HDMI and Mini DisplayPort on the system itself, that's as much as many full-size desktops.

When you remove it from the dock, it switches automatically to internal battery power.

You can change the color of the lighting in software.

When you connect it to the two 73Wh batteries, it switches to that power source. 

The system comes with two pairs of batteries, each pair rated to last about an hour.

The faux carbon fiber pattern is big this year, and HP uses it across all the Omens.

Dear VR headset manufacturers: please leave a hole for a ponytail.

With more vents, angles and badging, the 2017 models look like gaming systems.

The keyboard layout is much better, with red (as opposed to red backlit) WASD keys and arrow keys set off from the rest of the keyboard.

Keyboard backlight controls are just OK: your choices are all red, only the WASD keys lit or off.

The 15-inch model has a Mini DisplayPort, HDMI, Ethernet, USB 3.1 Type-A, USB-C/Thunderbolt and audio jacks on the left side.

On the right there are two more USB 3.1 Type-A connectors and an SD card slot.

The 17-inch moves most of the connectors to the left side to make room for an optional optical drive on the right.

If you have a compatible HP system (with USB-C), you can plug it into the new external GPU unit and turn your underpowered system into a maxed-out gaming PC.

The Accelerator can take up to a GeForce GTX 1070, 256GB SSD and a 1TB hard drive.

Fierce!

If you've seen its predecessor, you'll realize the 2017 model is a completely different beast.

The essential clear panel.

There's nothing particularly notable about the back, but you can see it's almost all vented. There don't seem to be a lot of ports on the motherboard, though.

Two USB-C ports is nice.

The new TN displays don't stand out particularly, but they do support reasonably high refresh rates for midrange gaming displays. The HD 25-inch goes up to 144Hz and supports FreeSync, while the QHD 27-inch hits 165Hz and uses G-Sync.

For spanning, the bezels aren't that narrow.

Stylish!

HP's new mechanical keyboard is manufactured by the company itself.  

You can quickly switch sampling rate for the 12,000 dpi mouse.

HP improved the headset design for improved comform and better low-end sound.

All the corded accessories now have woven casings for better durability.