HP Victus 16 Review: A Good RTX 4050 Gaming Laptop At A Steep Price
The HP Victus 16 is a new 16” gaming laptop by HP. Boasting 13th-generation Intel Core processors with the latest RTX 4000-series graphics, it seems like a good gaming laptop. Therefore, I have decided to try out the base model (which I got for just $950) for a few days and see how well it performs.
If you wish to buy this laptop and go for the best deal that you can get on this laptop, then read this HP Victus 16 review till the end.
HP Victus 16 Specifications And Price
The main HP Victus 16 specs are:
| Operating System | Windows 11 Home |
| Display | 16.1” IPS LCD display (1920 x 1080 resolution @ 144 Hz) |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-13500H (14 core, 20 threads @ 3.5 GHz – 4.7 GHz) |
| Graphics Card | Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU (6GB) |
| Memory | 16 GB DDR5-5600 RAM (2 x 8 GB) |
| Storage | 512 GB PCIe NVMe TLX M2 SSD |
| Webcam | HP True Vision 1080p HD camera with shutter |
| Ports | 2x USB Type-A, 1xUSB Type-C, 1x 3.5mm Aux, 1x HDMI, 1x RJ-45 ethernet |
| Battery | 4-cell 70 Wh Li-On polymer battery |
| Dimensions (W x D x H) | 14.53” x 10.21” x 0.90” |
| Weight | 5.07 lbs (2.29 kg) |
| Colors | Mica Silver, Ceramic White, Performance Blue |
The HP Victus 16 price is $1,319.99. Moreover, you often get many HP deals on its official website, where you can get it for $949.99. This makes it a direct competitor of other gaming laptops like the Asus TUF Gaming F15.
However, this is for the base model of the HP Victus 16. If you want, you can customize it to include upto 32 GB RAM with 1 TB SSD. In addition, you can get a better Intel Core i7-13700H processor and the uber-powerful Nvidia RTX 4070 8 GB GPU! A fully decked-out HP Victuis 16 will cost you around $1,999.
HP Victus 16: My Experience So Far
After getting my hands on the base model of the HP Victus 16 with the 13th Intel Core i5 processor, I expedited the price to be a bit….less. Even though I paid $950, paying $1,400 (actual price) is too much. You can get better gaming laptops at this price range.
However, after playing around with this laptop for four days, I can say it’s not bad.
Design
The design of this laptop falls more on the blander side of a gaming laptop. I expect gaming laptops to look like gaming laptops with angular edges and some cool RGB lights.
However, the HP Victus 16 looks like an ordinary laptop that you expect to see in a traditional corporate building. Moreover, only the Product Blue color seems to be decent.
Additionally, since this is an HP Victus gaming laptop, I found the simple back-lit keyboard to be underwhelming design-wise.
Build
The build quality of the HP Victus 16 felt less sturdy because of its plastic finish. At this $1,000 price point, I at least expected an aluminum finish. However, this seems to be the norm now, as seen on the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3.
There are two heat vents on both sides of this laptop. However, the ventilator supplying cold air inside is in the front of the chassis.
Display
The HP Vicrus 16 has a 16.1” FHD screen – which is good enough for most budget gamers. While it does not sport an AMOLED Retina display like the MacBook Air M1 – it will still suffice.
Moreover, the support for 75.2% DCI-P3 color gamut and 106% sRGB is the saving grace of this laptop. Therefore, watching vibrant movies and playing colorful games like Fortnite or Overwatch 2 will look great here. Overwatch 2 looked vivid enough on the screen, and so did Spiderman: Across The Spiderverse.
In addition, I saw no reflections and glares thanks to the anti-glare coating on the surface. Overall, the display will be good enough for most 1080p gamers, thanks to its 150 Nits of brightness.
Keyboard And Trackpad
Since you don’t get a mechanical keyboard at this price point, the HP Victus 16 keyboard is a good one. It feels sturdy, and I felt comfortable using it. The keys are not too loud, reminding me of the MacBook 12in M7 laptop.
However, on the other hand, the trackpad is not up to the mark that I expect this laptop to reach. Every tap on it left a smudge, and my finger didn’t glide on it smoothly. It kind of drags along instead, which I didn’t like. In addition, the touchpad is small, measuring only 5.1” x 3.3”.
Webcam
The 1080 webcam on the HP Victus 16 is decent. It’s a simple 4080p webcam that will get your face seen for video calls. However, don’t expect to do any high-end streaming with this. The color output is decent, which looks bad in darkly lit rooms (like mine).
Audio
The HP Victus 16 audio is fairly decent as well. While they don’t have huge boomy bass, they lack clarity at loud volumes. Overall, I will still recommend buying Skullcandy headphones like the Skullcandy Crusher Evo to game on this gaming laptop.
Battery
If you want a gaming laptop that you can play without plugging into a charger at all times, the HP Victus 16 is right up your alley.
If you don’t use it for gaming and instead do “normal stuff” like watching YouTube and Netflix and browsing the web, this laptop will last for around 8 hours – which is pretty nice for a gaming laptop.
However, I played many games to test its battery (it’s a gaming laptop, after all). In this regard, this laptop lasted around 4 hours – which is suitable for a gaming laptop in this price range.
Performance
The HP Victus 16 performs well for standard office users. This laptop will work well if you plan on simply doing Excel sheets and Word docs with some casual gaming.
However, I am testing this laptop as a gamer – and this is where it performs more on the decent side.
The newer pairing of the 13th-generation Intel Core i5 13500H processor and the Nvidia RTX 4050 works well. It will help you play all the latest AAA titles on high graphics. However, to stay above the 60 fps range, slightly lower the settings. Therefore, it performs more like an Xbox One S but is better than the MSI Katana 15 gaming laptop.
If you play competitive FPS games like Valorant and Counter-Strike 2, the 144 Hz refresh rate will make your experience much smoother. Getting that kill sounds on headshots feels satisfying here!
However, competitors like the Asus TUF Gaming F15 and A15 models will fare better here. The HP Victus 16 struggled to maintain 60 fps if you turn on RTX in the newer games. Moreover, DLSS is necessary for the latest AAA titles like Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and Alan Wake 2.
Here are the frame rates I got on games I played on the highest graphical settings with RTX turned off at 1080p.
| Game | Frames |
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (Complete Edition) | 81 |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 83 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 73 |
| Starfield | 52 |
| Valorant | 330 |
| Counter-Strike 2 | 225 |
| Overwatch 2 | 200 |
HP Victus 16 Final Verdict: Deal Or No Deal?
If you want a gaming laptop for around $1,000, then the HP Victus 16 will be a decent buy. While it’s better than its rival, MSI Katana 15, the Asus TUF Gaming laptop with RTX 4050 graphics is better.
This laptop has good gaming performance, multitasks smoothly, and has a decent 16.1” screen. Moreover, it has better battery life than most other gaming laptops that I have reviewed. However, it does get heated up very fast, and its smudge-prone touchpad can be a hassle for some.
I recommend you buy this laptop for $950 when HP sells it on their official website. Otherwise, try to get a good Asus TUF Gaming deal instead.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • Good gaming performance for the price • Excellent battery life • Good keyboard • Good 16.1” 2144 Hz screen | • Speakers could be better • Mousepad could be better • Plastic body feels flimsy |
