When it comes to pre-built computers, Hewlett-Packard is no mere newcomer. For decades, the company has sold various tiers of pre-built desktops to enterprise clients, small-business owners, and even homeowners. It is only recently, however, that HP’s gaming brand has come into its own. In the last couple of years, OMEN by HP has shown more and more interest in enthusiast gaming and the world surrounding it. Hence, the OMEN Obelisk, a fully upgradeable, beast of a gaming rig designed for enthusiast gamers… and it will take advantage of Nvidia’s latest chipsets.

It is no secret that HP knows how to put together a well-built computer. The Omen Obelisk is no different. Not only does it pack a punch with its meaty hardware, it can also flex and look the part with its sturdy, all-black chassis.

https://youtu.be/fVTXsvkr_u4

From the front, the rig certainly looks befitting to its name. It closely resembles an obelisk that stands in place and cannot be moved. From the side, however, the rig takes on an entirely unique personality. It features a large side window that showcases everything an enthusiast PC builder and gamer would want to show off, with all-around, fully featured RGB-lighting to boot!

The OMEN Obelisk is also made with accessibility in mind. It features tool-free removal and installation of just about anything that does not require a screw. The drive bays can be removed, or used to store up to 3.5” hard drives; while the chassis itself has enough space for a full-length graphics card (or two). It even has enough space in the trunk to fit an industry-standard power supply.

HP learned a lot from its previous Omen 870 Tower, and is addressing most concerns directly with the Obelisk. This not only shows that they are listening, but that they are also not terrified to fix the shortcomings that their millions of customers around the world have managed to spot. For instance, HP flipped the front USB port access on top of the case so that they are now pointed towards the player. Additionally, the OMEN logo now features programmable lighting so it can fit in with other peripherals that players own, and the clear glass panel is tempered and coated with a clear EMI protective coating.

The OMEN Obelisk is actually relatively small and easy to transport. It is a micro-ATX tower, with two 3.5-inch drive bays, two M.2 expansion slots, and boasts WLAN capabilities. Furthermore, I previously made mention that it can also fit a full-length graphics card – astonishing for a micro-ATX chassis. HP also says that the 3.5” drive bays are compatible with any 2.5” drives, and that the rig supports PCIe NVMe solid-state drives, as well as Intel Optane Memory. Prospective owners can also install up to 32GB of memory, with all configurations coming with Kingston HyperX Fury DDR4-2666 modules.

While you can clearly see how tiny the Obelisk is in the Gamescom presentation video embedded above, you can be rest assured that its small form factor does not affect the performance of its internals. In fact, I already mentioned that it would come with support for Nvidia’s brand-new RTX chipsets, and that is not an exaggeration. It supports every card announced so far, without any compromises!

The OMEN Obelisk comes in four main configurations, starting with an Intel Core i3-8100 Processor, and going all the way up to an Intel Core i7-8700. It even has an AMD Ryzen 5 2500X, for AMD fans and an Intel Core i5-8400, for the enthusiast gamer on a (rather large) budget.

The biggest configuration boasts a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070, while the lowest configuration features the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050. Both mid-tier configurations feature Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 graphics cards, however, all configurations have out-of-the-box support for Nvidia RTX graphics cards.

As mentioned above, all configurations come with Kingston’s HyperX Fury DDR4-2666 memory. The highest configuration has 16GB pre-installed, while the three other configurations only have 8GB. All configurations support up to 32GB, for anyone who wants to do RAM-intensive work.

In terms of storage, the highest configuration comes with 256GB PCIe NVMe M.2 Solid State storage, and a 1TB SATA hard drive. All other configurations feature the 1TB SATa hard drive only, however, all of them can be upgraded.

HP states that the Power Supplies in each configuration come standard with 500W, except the lowest tier that starts at 300W. All models, except the highest, also boast a Metal side panel; while the highest configuration features the tempered glass panel I mentioned before.

So far so good, but I have yet to make mention of the pricing of the OMEN Obelisk. Well, you will be glad to hear that prices are actually decent! The lowest pre-configured build will set you back $850 USD, while the AMD configuration starts off at $1 000 USD, the i5 configuration starts at $1 050 USD and the highest configuration with the i7 starts at $1 550 USD. Frankly, I am left wondering why they did not bring out a configuration for Intel’s ludicrous i9 Processors.

Local pricing and availability have not yet been revealed, however you can be rest assured it will make its local debut sometime after its international launch.

[Sources: HP (official site), Slashgear, Techradar, Windows Central, YouTube(1)(2)]

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Junior Editor at Vamers. From Superman to Ironman; Bill Rizer to Sam Fisher and everything in-between, Edward loves it all. He is a Bachelor of Arts student and English Major specialising in Language and Literature. He is an avid writer and casual social networker with a flare for all things tech related.