HP said it will merge its gaming product brands HyperX and OMEN and "provide new value to consumers." The idea is to deliver a unified gaming experience by placing OMEN, which focuses on laptops and desktops, under HyperX, which has grown around peripherals such as headsets and laptops.
On the 22nd, HP Korea unveiled new gaming laptops including the HyperX OMEN 15 at the FreakUp Studio, an esports arena in Gangnam, Seoul, signaling the start of the integrated brand. Kim Dae-hwan, head of HP Korea, said, "Games are more than simple leisure; they connect users around the world and serve as a platform that creates new culture and industry," adding, "We integrated OMEN and HyperX into HyperX OMEN to provide a consistent, high-quality gaming experience." He said, "We will focus on creating an environment where gamers can immerse themselves and express who they are."
The company said it integrated the brands to provide a single, end-to-end flow for experiences that had been segmented into gaming ▲laptops and desktops ▲monitors ▲peripherals such as headsets, keyboards, mice, and controllers ▲software. So Byung-hong, executive director at HP Korea, said, "We added the value of OMEN, which has strengths in hardware, to HyperX, which has grown alongside the game industry by reflecting gamer culture from close range," adding, "By putting HyperX front and center as HP's flagship gaming brand while retaining OMEN in the sub-line, we can also convey performance strengths." He added, "This reflects that gamers want a seamless experience across devices and gear."
HyperX began in 2002 at memory maker Kingston as a high-performance product brand. After releasing the Cloud headset under this brand in 2014, it expanded into gaming peripherals such as keyboards, mice, mouse pads, and microphones. In June 2021, HP acquired Kingston's gaming peripheral business for $425 million (about 625 billion won), adding HyperX to its portfolio.
HP made a full-fledged entry into the gaming hardware industry by acquiring high-performance gaming PC maker VoodooPC in Sept. 2006. Starting in Nov. 2014, it began releasing products under the OMEN brand, cementing its standing in the high-end gaming market.
◇ Three new HyperX OMEN products unveiled
Under the integrated brand system uniting HyperX and OMEN, HP Korea unveiled new products including the HyperX OMEN 15 and HyperX OMEN Max 16 gaming laptops and the HyperX OMEN Max 45L gaming desktop. The HyperX OMEN Max 45L is a high-end desktop designed not only for high-spec gaming but also for streaming and content creation.
The HyperX OMEN 15 supports up to 170 watts (W) of power. It features Intel's Core Ultra 9 275HX as the CPU and Nvidia's GeForce RTX 5070 as the GPU. Yoon Byung-jip, a manager at HP Korea, introduced it as "a product focused on delivering stable performance even in high-spec games and high-refresh-rate environments."
The keyboard was also adapted for gaming environments. An MCU (microcontroller) was added to implement an 8,000 Hz high polling rate, offering response speeds eight times faster than before. The size of the arrow keys, which domestic gamers had criticized, was increased. Yoon said, "It is suitable for first-person shooters (FPS) where victory or defeat can be decided by 0.01 seconds."
The higher-end HyperX OMEN Max 16 is equipped with an OLED (organic light-emitting diode) panel that supports up to 240 Hz. It supports up to 64GB of RAM and up to 2TB of SSD. Both products feature OMEN AI, which adjusts system and hardware settings for each game environment with a single click. Co-developed with Intel, the Fan Cleaner technology periodically reverses fan rotation to reduce dust buildup. HP plans to begin domestic sales in the first half of the year, starting with the launch of the HyperX OMEN 15 this month.