New game releases throughout 2020 have significantly raised the bar when it comes to system requirements. These prebuilt gaming PCs from HP's OMEN and Pavillion ranges are more than up to the task when it comes to the business of running the latest graphically-demanding titles, such as Watch Dogs: Legion or the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077, with high resolutions and high frame rates.
When looking for a new gaming PC, there are a few aspects you'll need to consider. First on the cards is a powerful CPU, giving you the processing power to play games and indulge in other tasks, such as content creation (NVIDIA's RTX Studio products, which also use GeForce graphics to accelerate content creation, are ready and waiting if that's your jam). Alongside this you'll want a graphics card that's capable of either pushing out pixels if you prefer resolution, or maintaining a high refresh rate - or as one delightful meme would say, why not both? Let's not forget plenty of storage space for those chunky new titles and a decent amount of RAM to keep all your browser tabs running - we're still looking at you, Chrome. Fortunately, these NVIDIA GeForce RTX-powered desktops meet all the essentials you'll want for an exceptional gaming experience.
The OMEN Obelisk, OMEN 25L, and HP Pavilion gaming desktops are all available with RTX 20 Series graphics cards, giving you access to the latest NVIDIA technology including performance-enhancing DLSS, ray tracing for lifelike reflections and shadows in games, and even AI enhancements to livestream, voice chats, and video conference calls thanks to NVIDIA Broadcast.
Which one is right for you, we hear you ask? Let's find out.
Buy NowOMEN Obelisk
The Obelisk is both the compact option, with its MicroATX form factor saving room on top of or underneath your desk, and the most powerful. Don't be fooled by its diminutive size, as it packs a 9th generation, eight-core, 16-thread Intel Core i9 processor and the choice of a beefy NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER or RTX 2080 Ti graphics card. If you want a 144Hz refresh rate at 1440p for competitive gaming we'd go for the 2080 Super, whereas if you want a 4K experience the 2080 Ti is the best option.
This PC can be specced with a high capacity NVMe SSD as its storage, with 1TB being more than enough to install the equivalent of five Call of Duty: Warzones - one of the biggest downloads we've seen. This will also give super fast loading times in games and when starting up your PC, and up to 64GB of DDR4 RAM. And if you want to upgrade parts of your Obelisk further down the line, OMEN has taken a tool-less approach so you can just pop off the side of the case.
Speaking of the case, OMEN has opted for a flashy black metal design, with a side window and RGB lighting to show off all your top-end components.
You can view the OMEN Obelisk here.
Buy NowOMEN 25L
The OMEN 25L has a more understated design and is based around a full tower PC case as opposed to the Obelisk's flashy small form factor approach. You still get RGB lighting and a panel window to showcase the innards. This is a great choice for 1440p gaming, with the option of an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 or 2070 SUPER, the perfect graphics cards for this resolution. The processor is an Intel Core i7-10700, with eight cores and 16 threads, a dab hand for gaming and productivity.
As standard, the main storage is an NVMe SSD, which gives you read and write speeds up to 15 times higher than a conventional hard drive. If you've already got a backlog of games or lots of software, you're able to add a large capacity secondary storage device too.
Like the Obelisk, it's easy to open up and upgrade components in the future, ensuring this PC can stick with you for many years to come.
You can view the OMEN 25L here.
Buy NowHP Pavilion
The most affordable choice here is the HP Pavilion gaming desktop, available with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER graphics card - perfect for maxing out any game at 1080p while maintaining high frame rates. Processor-wise, you have a choice to make: a 9th generation Intel Core i5 or Core i7. With the i7 having double the six threads of the i5, that's the CPU you'll want to pick if you're looking for solid performance in content creation software in addition to gaming, but there's a lot of value to be found in the i5 for those more conscious of their budget.
The standard 1TB hard drive can be upgraded to an SSD to get those super-fast loading times - and you can spec the Pavilion with up to 32GB of RAM for flawless multitasking performance.
The case is sleek with a black and green colour scheme and has plenty of connectivity with four USB 3.0 ports. There's also a USB-C port on the front - perfect for easily hooking up the latest VR headsets or fast charging your phone.
You can view the HP Pavilion here.
Between these three options, there really is something for everyone: the OMEN Obelisk for high-end gaming and those in need of a compact system, the OMEN 25L balancing budget and performance for the perfect all-rounder, and the HP Pavilion representing tremendous value.
Whichever you go for, you'll probably want to stop by the HP Store to pair your brand new system with a new set of peripherals. After all, you can't click heads without a good gaming mouse and keyboard. Otherwise, check out HP's laptops if you want something a bit more portable.