Meet Omen X, a gaming PC that lives on the edge

We just got a closer look at the Omen X, a gaming PC that literally lives on one edge. But this tilted-cube design isn’t just an attention-grabbing, pun-inspiring gimmick. By lifting all four sides off the ground, the Omen X offers more upgradability—and more ventilation—than any conventional rig. Pricing starts at $1,800 and goes up to $2,900. Check it out. 

Here’s the Omen X on its edge, propped up by two sturdy, full-depth legs.

The Omen X is serious about cooling. Three of the four square panels in front are perforated for air intake, and that’s just the beginning. We’ve already opened the lid! Let’s look inside. 

Inside the Omen X there’s plenty of room to admire the “Dragon Red” cabling. The case is divided into separate cooling zones for the GPU, hard drive, and burly 1300W power supply, each with its own, huge exhaust fan. Liquid cooling is optional.

This demo machine is a bit of a mishmash of the Omen X’s available SKUs, but the basics include a choice of Intel’s 6th-generation Skylake Core i5 and Core i7 CPUs, most notably the overclockable Core i5-6600K and Core i7-6700K. You can configure it with 8GB to 32GB of DDR4 memory, via four DDR4 DIMM slots.

This demo machine rocks dual Radeon R9 Fury X GPUs, but you can also get single or dual Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080’s, or start more modestly with a GeForce GTX 960. 

The Omen X supports micro-ATX motherboards and all other industry standards, so it’s primed for upgrading with the parts of your choice. 

Remember those three air intakes on the front of the Omen X, and the three huge fans inside? Here are their ventilation grilles, on the PC’s top right panel.

Immediately below is one of two arrays of ports: two USB 3.0 Type A, two USB 3.0 Type C, a media card slot, headphone and mic jacks, and finally, the power button. Below you’ll see four 3.5-inch drive bays. One of the bays on this demo machine already houses the main hard drive.

But wait, these drive bays slide out!  Just open the little door and pull the “Dragon Red” ribbon to expose each 3.5-inch bay. The wide array of storage options include 1TB to 3TB SATA hard drives, hybrids, 128GB to 512GB SSDs, and even a DVD burner. Or use ‘em to stash stuff you don’t want your friends or family to find—we won’t tell.

On the back of the Omen X you’ll find the rest of its ports, including six more USB 3.0 Type A’s, DVI, HDMI, and three DisplayPorts.

Look closer and you’ll see the Omen mission statement in discreetly small type: 

“Visually breathtaking and emotionally powerful. The HP Omen gaming tower has returned. Dominate your opponents with stunning graphics, lightning-fast processing and unique customization.”

The Omen X has a secret: Behind the glowing mask on its lower front panel is a toolkit, with a double-sided screwdriver and 15 extra screws. Theoretically, you can upgrade the Omen X without any extra equipment. How awesome is that? I immediately wanted to steal that toolkit. 

The Omen gaming line includes one display now, and another one to come. The Omen by HP 32 is a 32-inch monitor with a resolution of 2560×1440 and a top refresh rate of 75Hz. It comes with two HDMI ports and one DisplayPort, all with HDCP support. It’s also AMD FreeSync-certified. Coming in 2017 is the Omen X curved display with GSync support. 

Hanging off and around this display are accessories made in partnership with Steelseries. Keep reading for more information. 

The Omen Headset with Steelseries was designed with input from “the top e-sports teams” to be sturdy and yet comfortable over long hours of wear. It has a retractable microphone and a 3.5mm adapter for mobile, PS4, or Xbox One gaming.

The Omen Keyboard with Steelseries represents a struggle. For the price point ($100), the company made a choice between mechanical and RGB backlighting. It chose RGB backlighting, with over 16.8 million colors, lighting up a membrane keyboard. Judge this as you will. 

The Omen Mouse with Steelseries also features RGB lighting, plus 1:1 tracking without hardware acceleration, for dead-on accuracy.

Omen didn’t just slap a few red lights on any old mouse and call it a day. The proprietary Steelseries switches are designed to last for 30 million clicks. 

We close with one more loving look at the toolkit. Be gentle to that little cable—it looks like the leash for the front panel, but it’s actually the power lead for the Omen mask that lights up the front.