An okay laptop computer with 16GB of RAM is healthier than a pleasant laptop computer with 8GB, and this $520 HP OmniBook proves it

Laptop computer costs are out of whack. $500 used to get you a tolerable laptop computer, and $900 acquired you a extremely good one. They usually had related CPU, RAM, and storage choices as a result of that stuff was comparatively low cost; the distinction was usually in construct high quality and display fairly than energy. However RAMageddon has thrown all the pieces off. Even laptops just like the $950 Floor Laptop computer now begin with 8GB of RAM, which isn’t sufficient. And on the decrease finish, the place producers are struggling to compete with the $700 MacBook Neo, they’re reducing corners on storage, CPU, and construct high quality too.

Nonetheless, one low-cost laptop computer has bucked this and genuinely stunned me. HP’s 16-inch OmniBook 3 is a fundamental productiveness laptop computer that often goes for round $520 at Walmart and Amazon. It has Qualcomm’s base Snapdragon X chip, that means satisfactory on a regular basis efficiency and wonderful battery life. But it surely additionally has a humdrum display, mediocre audio system, a run-of-the-mill trackpad, and a plastic construct. Pre-RAMageddon, it could be nothing to write down house about.

However 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD in an okay laptop computer for round $500? That counts as excellent news in 2026.

The entry-level OmniBook 3 I examined has an 8-core Snapdragon X processor, 16GB of RAM, 512GB SSD, and a 16-inch 1920 x 1200 anti-glare IPS LCD. And the OmniBook 3 is pretty transportable for a bigger laptop computer with a lot of ports. It’s barely heavier than a 14-inch MacBook Professional, and at a most thickness of 0.63 inches / 16mm it’s decently skinny. This huge laptop computer doesn’t really feel huge. And regardless of a plastic chassis and low value it doesn’t really feel too low cost both.

As a lot as I want to see extra low cost Home windows laptops with the modern appears and durable all-metal construct of the MacBook Neo, I wouldn’t thoughts if extra of them had been just like the OmniBook 3. Its display, keyboard, trackpad, and webcam are all at the very least satisfactory to respectable. There isn’t something particular right here, however in contrast to the Chuwi UniBook there’s additionally nothing that seems like a punishment.

The 1920 x 1200 / 60Hz display isn’t high-quality or brilliant sufficient to fight the solar when taken outdoors (it maxes out at 300 nits of brightness and covers a paltry 62.5 p.c of the sRGB shade house), nevertheless it isn’t washed out or bleeding mild at its edges. The mechanical trackpad has a fundamental diving board-style hinge, however a assured and decent-feeling kachunk-y click on. The 1080p webcam is definitely pretty sharp, and it does a superb job dealing with backlight from a brilliant window — with solely a touch of inexperienced shade solid. However hey, at the very least it has Home windows Hiya face unlocking. And at the very least this not-too-large massive laptop computer has a lot of ports and fees by way of USB-C with a really compact 65W GaN charger.

My largest gripe is the twin audio system (unsurprisingly), which lack bass and sound too treble-y, however they’re simply tolerable sufficient to reside with. My subsequent largest is the keyboard (surprisingly). I often like HP keyboards, however this one feels too stiff. When you’re the kind to hammer your fingers down and you like a generously sized quantity pad you may be fantastic, however I get extra typos than I’m used to from keys not registering. I may study to reside with it, however I’d nonetheless desire to not should.

What I can completely reside with is the efficiency. The OmniBook’s 8-core Snapdragon X processor is a bit slower than the one within the $950 Floor Laptop computer I examined, however the OmniBook’s day-to-day efficiency is healthier as a result of it’s not starved for RAM and its bigger SSD is a bit sooner. Like different lower-end Snapdragon laptop computer chips it’s not going to wow you with graphics efficiency or deal with heavy content material creation in Adobe apps, nevertheless it’s completely ample for on a regular basis multitasking work. Even when operating a number of apps with a pair dozen Chrome tabs left open, together with a video podcast enjoying, I didn’t really feel it decelerate the way in which the Floor Laptop computer or Chuwi UniBook, every with solely 8GB of RAM, did.

And whereas a Snapdragon chip means this Home windows laptop computer isn’t splendid for gaming, it does make it nice on battery. You possibly can fairly simply get round 12 hours of combined net utilization with a little bit of music or video streaming.

It seems like the cash went into the core specs of the OmniBook 3, and HP simply barely caught the touchdown on the fitting compromises elsewhere. As a lot as I like the construct high quality of Microsoft’s Floor Laptops, if I had been spending my very own cash I’d select the OmniBook 3, by no means fear about how a lot RAM is in use, and save over $400.

If we reviewed the OmniBook 3 a yr in the past I would really feel totally different, nevertheless it’s been a tiny breath of recent air to make use of one thing this low cost and largely assume, “Not too dangerous!” Particularly coming proper after I examined the $450 Chuwi UniBook. An worker being issued this laptop computer for work shouldn’t really feel like their IT division completely hates them. And whereas I feel a MacBook Neo would nonetheless be a greater all-around expertise for a school-age child, I’d completely perceive saving almost $200 to get the OmniBook 3 if a funds can’t be stretched.

My solely fear is that the OmniBook 3’s value will go up like all the pieces else. Whereas there are extra sub-$800 laptops coming, and I’ll be testing extra very quickly, the OmniBook 3’s value — and that of the OmniBook 5 I reviewed again in December — really feel anomalous proper now. The RAMageddon storm may finally destroy them prefer it did many different laptops and units. However, for now, there’s some protected harbor with this lowly OmniBook.

Pictures by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge