Best HP laptops 2023: The top HP laptops we’ve tested
HP is one of the leading laptop makers in the world, with a wide range of portables in its lineup. But what are the best HP laptops that you can buy right now?
Our team of experts are in the best place to answer that question, reviewing countless laptops every year and having expert knowledge in this category.
Every laptop that we review undergoes several tests, including synthetic benchmark tests, screen analysis, battery drains, and day-to-day use. The HP laptops that are given the highest scores are considered for this best list, so you know you’re getting top-notch quality.
We’ve also made sure to include as much variety as possible for our list, so you should find the laptop you’re looking for whether you’re a gamer, content creator or bargain hunter.
If you can’t find an HP laptop that you like right now, it’s also worth checking out our Best Laptop , Best Ultrabook , Best Student Laptop and Best Budget Laptop pages for a more general look. We’ve also got lists dedicated to other laptop makers, including the best Asus laptops , the best Lenovo laptops and the best Dell laptops .
Best HP laptop at a glance
- HP Envy 16: Best HP laptop – check price
- HP Pavilion 14: Best value laptop – check price
- HP Victus 16 (2021): Best affordable gaming laptop– check price
How we test
Every laptop we review goes through a series of uniform checks designed to gauge key things including build quality, performance, screen quality and battery life.
These include formal synthetic benchmarks and scripted tests, plus a series of real world checks, such as how well it runs the most frequently used apps.
We also make sure to use every laptop we review as our primary device for at least a week to ensure our review is as accurate as possible.
- Great connectivity and features
- Solid 1080p gaming performance
- Excellent AMD processor
- High-quality, high-resolution screen
- AMD graphics can’t compete with Nvidia
- Mediocre build quality
- Keyboard and trackpad disappoint
- Rock-solid mainstream gaming power
- Impressive AMD Ryzen 7 CPU
- Cheaper than the competition
- Quieter than most gaming laptops
- Bland, washed-out display
- Mediocre connectivity
- Irritating power button
- Powerful, versatile internals
- Impressive battery life
- Consistently cheaper than rivals
- A great webcam and decent connectivity
- Default display can’t compete
- Middling build quality
- Thicker and heavier than competitors
HP Envy 16 (2022)
Best overall HP laptop
Pros
- Powerful, versatile internals
- Impressive battery life
- Consistently cheaper than rivals
- A great webcam and decent connectivity
Cons
- Default display can’t compete
- Middling build quality
- Thicker and heavier than competitors
The HP Envy 16 is one the best HP laptops we’ve reviewed in recent years. Our tests showed it to offer speedy performance for content creators, making it a suitable alternative to the MacBook Pro for those on a budget.
The laptop is powered by an Intel Core i7-12700H and Nvidia RTX 3060 GPU, and so can breeze through tasks such as video editing and casual gaming, seeing superior scores than even the Dell XPS 15 .
Battery life is excellent too, lasting 8 hours and 42 minutes despite packing a power-hungry graphics chip. The wide connectivity options are great too, as is the webcam quality which is handy if you frequent video calls.
The 16-inch screen has a pleasingly high resolution at 2560 x 1600, resulting in sharp imagery. But the mediocre colour coverage can’t quite match the MacBook, making the latter the better option for those dealing with colour-sensitive work. But it’s important to remember that the HP Envy 16 is significantly cheaper than the MacBook Pro, and so is still worth considering if you’re on a tight budget.
Reviewer
:
Mike Jennings
Full review
:
HP Envy 16 (2022) Review
HP Omen 16 (2021)
Best gaming laptop
Pros
- Great connectivity and features
- Solid 1080p gaming performance
- Excellent AMD processor
- High-quality, high-resolution screen
Cons
- AMD graphics can’t compete with Nvidia
- Mediocre build quality
- Keyboard and trackpad disappoint
If it’s a powerful HP gaming laptop you’re after, look no further than the HP Omen 16 (2021) .
The AMD combo of a Ryzen 7 5800H processor and a Radeon RX 6600M GPU provided solid performance at the laptop’s native 1440p resolution and even speedier FPS rates at 1080p. There’s enough speed on offer for pretty much any mainstream game, but it’s worth noting the RX 6600M GPU inside lags behind its Nvidia counterpart, the RTX 3060, which is fitted to similarly priced laptops from Dell, for instance.
On the front of the processor, the Ryzen 7 5800H offered impressive performance in the benchmarks, and powered this HP Omen 16 (2021) with ease. In addition, 16GB RAM offered good speed, and the 512GB SSD is positively snappy.
The display is on the larger side for a laptop, offering a 16.1 inch screen, complete with a QHD (2560×1440) resolution, which is a boost compared to more conventional 15.6-inch 1080p options. We found colours to be accurate and the contrast to be superb with a colorimeter in hand.
Gaming laptops aren’t going to be the best for battery life, and sure enough, the Omen 16 (2021) lasted for just 94 minutes in our testing – that’s about average compared to other gaming laptops. In a work test though, it mustered up six and three quarter hours, which is excellent for such a powerful machine. You may need to reach for a lead though to get through the last knockings of a working day, but for the most part, it’s got decent endurance.
Reviewer
:
Mike Jennings
Full review
:
HP Omen 16 (2021) review
HP Victus 16 (2021)
Best affordable gaming laptop
Pros
- Rock-solid mainstream gaming power
- Impressive AMD Ryzen 7 CPU
- Cheaper than the competition
- Quieter than most gaming laptops
Cons
- Bland, washed-out display
- Mediocre connectivity
- Irritating power button
The HP Victus 16 (2021) should be a great option if it’s more of an affordable gaming laptop that you’re after.
The white model we had in for review looked excellent, with a different colour offering sitting it apart compared to more non-descript rivals from the likes of Lenovo and Dell. The all plastic frame does lead to some rattle however, and the build quality is perhaps a little middling. The port selection is okay, with a selection that involves USB-A and USB-C, as well as an SD card reader, Ethernet and HDMI out.
The Victus 16’s keyboard offers a snappy and quiet keypress, which is better than the softer, mushier keys we’ve tested on other laptops, although there isn’t any RGB lighting, and some of the keys are a little close together.
Its 16.1-inch display offers some extra width which is nice to have, and the Full HD resolution provides reasonable detail, although its sRGB colour coverage is poor. At least the 1714:1 contrast ratio means colours at least have some depth to them. The competition from the likes of Dell and Lenovo was also plagued with iffy displays, which is a case in point as to why spending more will get you more for gaming laptop displays especially.
The components inside offer some good mid-range options with a Ryzen 7 5800H processor from AMD and an RTX 3060 GPU from Nvidia. The pair offered good pace when testing games, with frame rates in AAA titles ranging from 60-80fps at 1080p. In addition, the processor on offer provided some excellent performance in our benchmarks, offering speedy results that means the Victus is capable of not only gaming but also other intense workloads such as editing photos and videos.
We found the battery life here to be decent for a gaming laptop, with 90 minutes of charge while gaming, and 7 hours in our office work benchmark, which is impressive for such a powerful laptop.
Reviewer
:
Mike Jennings
Full review
:
HP Victus 16 (2021) review
We also considered…
FAQs
HP Pavilion laptops are some of the more stylish looking mid-range choices in HP’s range, and offer great bang for the buck with solid performance and power in a sleek chassis.
This depends on what you need your HP laptop for. The likes of Pavilion and Envy laptops will be well suited to general working and day to day tasks, while the Victus and Omen lines are designed as gaming candidates.
In short, yes. HP is arguably one of the more reputable laptop brands out there, making a wide range of laptops to suit a range of purposes.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.