- Overall
Review of HP Omen 32
1440p monitors are the next logical choice if you want to keep up with the market and its trends, or if you only want the middle ground regarding performance optimization and image detail improvement. Some of the best displays in the business use this resolution, and a lot of users prefer it more than 4K due to the latter’s enormous GPU power appetite. One caveat for QHD products is that they are still expensive at this point, and in the course of our several reviews, we have seen products which are even more costly than some fantastic 4K offerings. It is a rare case to see a gamer-centric product with 1440p under $400 or $500 unless you go smaller than the typical 27-inch form factor. But even if you do, most of the models you will find are either for the prosumer market or the average run of the mill screen. But one product broke out of these norms; the 32-inch behemoth HP Omen 32 gaming monitor, the company’s attempt to capture the big screen gamer’s hearts.
HP 32 Pavilion versus HP 32 Omen
The HP 32 Pavilion and the HP 32 Omen are almost identical, except for the fact that the Omen is a gaming variant that includes FreeSync and can go up to a 75Hz refresh rate. Both have 1440p QHD resolutions which isn’t natively supported by the PS4. If you force these two to portray 1080p images, you might run into some imaging issues or the monitor might not be able to detect the signal.
HP Omen 32 Specifications
- Screen Size: 32 Inches
- Resolution:1440p QHD
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Panel Technology: Vertical Alignment (VA)
- Refresh Rate: 75Hz
- Response Time:5ms
- Contrast Ratio: 3000:1
- Brightness: 300 cd/m²
- Built-in Speakers: No
- Stand: Height – No
- Stand: Tilt – Yes (-5°/+21°)
- Stand: Swivel – No
- Stand: Pivot – No
- VESA Compatibility: Yes 100 x 100
- Connectivity: DisplayPort 1.2 x 1, HDMI x 2, USB 2.0 x 3
- Dimensions With Stand(WxHxD): 29.1″ x 20.6″ x 7″
- Weight: 21.6lbs
Design and Features
The gigantic HP Omen 32 sports a sleek matte black finish all over the whole product which does not attract a lot of fingerprints or hairline scratches. Looking at the face of this monitor, users can immediately notice the 12mm bezels wrapping the edges of the expansive screen. 12mm is a little thick by today’s standards, but we imagine that the panel requires a wider edge coverage to keep it in place. Even so, once you turn on the product and eye-candy starts to pop out, these pieces of plastic would instantly become noticeable due to the screen size. Once you turn over to the back side, the Omen logo prominently greets your peepers against the vastness of the plain surface, but instead of using LED lighting, HP only uses a red reflective material. All of the functions of this model can be found here, from the OSD buttons to all the connectivity ports.
For signal input options, the HP Omen 32 includes a DisplayPort 1.2, two HDMI ports, and three USB 2.0 receptacles. This unit’s size makes it ideal for console gaming as well, so having two HDMI ports for your PS4 and Xbox one or an HTPC allows you to complete your battle station with all your host devices, making this offering versatile for home entertainment. The OSD buttons on the left side, and accessible on the right from the front feels tactile and responsive, but this placement is not ideal for convenience since users will mostly fumble to adjust different settings. The stand for the Omen 32 looks interesting since it adopts a rectangular frame rather the standard inverted T we usually see. This design is ideal, so the 21lb heft distributes to a larger surface, making the screen stable on your desk. Users can opt to use VESA mounting options by using the included adapter which screws to the slot on the top center of the bulge of the cabinet.
Display and Performance
The HP Omen 32 packs a massive 1440p VA panel with 75Hz refresh rate, 5ms response time and 3000:1 contrast ratio. HP’s spec sheet boasts of 100% sRGB coverage and 1.07 billion colors via FRC, and in our Battlefield 1 tests, these statements seemed more or less accurate. The expected extreme contrast levels are attractive for accentuated vibrant colors, so the jungle brush in the Argonne Forest map seemed like it was alive instead of just being naturally green. There were no harmful levels of ghosting as far as our test went, but the 5ms pixel response became apparent at some points when we were blitzing through the maps. Playing FPS games on slower panels is usually not ideal if you are sensitive to image flaws and connective feel, so we think the Omen 32 will mostly sit well with games which rely more on immersion than fast paced action to convey the storyline and atmosphere the developers intended users to experience. You might enjoy titles like the Upcoming Mass Effect Andromeda and its dark outer space setting more than FPS shooters such as Overwatch. Still, for casual purposes, the Omen 32 will suffice if you value a visual fiesta which fast monitors usually forego.
For RPGs or story-driven titles, the Omen 32’s 75Hz is more than enough. As the cycle limit goes higher, benefits diminish so the 60Hz – 75Hz bracket will yield the immediate results most aging 60Hz screen users seek in an upgrade. 1440p will also wreak havoc on your GPU on some titles, but it’s a good thing that this offering includes Freesync in its arsenal. The VRR tech only operates from 48Hz to 75Hz, so users looking to benefit from it should adjust settings realistically to keep frame rates optimal. Once you achieve balance, buttery smooth images coupled with the incredible contrast and accompanying color pop offers excellent levels of detail and visual enjoyment. Pictures and videos cannot capture the qualities of the Omen 32’s screen output, but we can honestly tell that the sacrifice in pixel response is a worthy trade-off on 32-inches of display estate.
Another important characteristic to consider for large monitors is uniformity and the frequency or level of panel flaws such as backlight bleed. Sizeable units are notorious for having leaks on corners or at the sides, but we are pleased to report that our device did not suffer from obvious or disturbing defects. Our black screen tests did not show any evidence of such flaws, but we did notice a little yellowing on the lower left side of the screen. This problem will affect sensitive users who will use this product for a lot of browsing or document processing, but the Omen 32’s gamer-centric feature set dictates that most buyers will express interest if their usage biases towards entertainment purposes more than productivity. All of the image qualities we described in this review are achieved with minimal tweaking, so the HP Omen 32 is an ideal option for out of the box users or multi-input scenarios where switching between presets, filters or adjustments are regularly needed.
Conclusion
Looking forward to bloody and gritty battles in RPGs or enjoying the mysterious darkness found in exploration titles? If you are into these types of games, The HP Omen 32 is an excellent choice due to its substantial size and 1440p resolution which it’s fantastic color and contrast output enhances to create a visually stunning gaming experience. Although the VA panel in this product is a bit slow by today’s standards, we cannot say that casual FPS Warriors should not favor this product. For after-hours enjoyment or occasional frag sessions with friends, the Omen 32 is still an ideal product unless your play style relies on snappy responsiveness. Immersive experiences do not dive as deep as what ultra-wides can offer, but the 32-inch viewing space induces an illusion of that effect to some degree which you usually cannot achieve on conventional 24-inch units. By any means, the HP Omen 32 is not a perfect product, but its awesome size and adequate capabilities make it impossible to argue with its sub $400 price tag.
Cort says
I love my HP OMEN 32!
It is a great screen for gaming. 2560×1440 looks almost as good as 4K and 75Hz is much better than standard 60Hz.
I just tested that Nvidia Adaptive sync will work with this Freesync screen.
The monitor is highly color accurate (I am a Graphic Designer). The only thing that I don’t like is that when displaying a solid color across the whole screen, I can see that the back light is uneven. It is not noticeable in normal use. When I open Photoshop with a dark gray background I can see vertical banding across the width.
Paolo Reva says
Thanks for sharing your feedback, Cort!
Martin says
Thx for feedback!
bebhh33@att.net says
Yesss…happy this Freesync monitor works with the latest nVidia driver from Jan 15, 2019
Paolo Reva says
Thanks for sharing your feedback and experience!
Steven says
Hi
Is this monitor compatible with a ps4
Thanks
Paolo Reva says
Hey, Steven! The HP Omen 32 will work with a PS4, but it isn’t ideal since the console does not support the native resolution (1440p QHD). If you use this, the PS4’s output will be forced to 1080p and then upscaled, which doesn’t look good.
Stephen says
Did y’all adjust any of the settings such as the RGB? Mine will be here on Thursday bit I have yet to find any specifications for optimal set up. Thanks for any input.
Paolo Reva says
Hi, Stephen! We didn’t have a lot of time with the HP Omen 32, so we only got to play around with its brightness and contrast settings.
Sal Giunta says
How color accurate is the monitor?
Have you guys run any calibration software on it?
Alex says
This is probably too late to ask since this review was back in January but I currently have a HP Pavilion 25xi (25” Screen; 1080p; 7ms response) that has an IPS panel. How much does this, or any, VA panel differ in terms of contrast, brightness, color intensity, etc. ? I LOVE IPS panels but I couldn’t pass up the price of this monitor. I am afraid that it’s going to be a huge contrast compared to my current IPS monitor. Thanks.
Paolo Reva says
Hey, Alex! The VA panel on the HP Omen 32 will offer substantial improvements in image quality and responsiveness compared to vanilla models. If you can get it at a low price, don’t hesitate; you won’t be disappointed.
Reagan says
I want to connect my Xbox one (not an Xbox One X), and a SNES classsic (HDMIs) and my computer as well (displayport). It would be great to have everything use my computer speakers, however, there is no audio out available…Do you have a recommended solution to this? I thought about maybe a receiver, however, it seems as though just the HDMI cables could run through that (and not the displaport) so I would still have to be moving cords around to get audio out of one or the other.
Paolo Reva says
Hello, Reagan! Thank you for coming to Monitornerds. We’ve given your predicament some thought, and it looks almost impossible to avoid wasting money on adapters and connectors that might fail on you. One way to get around this limitation is to buy a pair of speakers with multiple inputs such as optical, RCA, and 3.5mm and split your devices into those ports. That way, you only need to press a button to switch between the Xbox, PC, and SNES Classic. Good examples would be the Edifier R1850DB or the Logitech z625. Good luck!
SamTheMan says
Hey, I dont know if you sorted your audio out but if not then I have a solution for you.
You can pick up a HDMI audio extractor for about £5 from Ebay/Amazon which you just run the HDMI cable from the Xbox or whatever through the HDMI audio extractor then to your diplay and then plug your speakers into the extractor.
One of these is what you need..
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4Kx2K-HDMI-Audio-Extractor-MINI-HDMI-to-HDMI-Optical-SPDIF-RCA-L-R-EDID-ARC-UK/222723000517?hash=item33db5348c5:g:~XMAAOSwX0NZwSfn
Paolo Reva says
Thanks for sharing, Sam! You’re the man!
Ed says
Costco is having this monitor for the 2017 Thanksgiving sale (see their coupon booklet) for $250 dollars. The only thing that is of concern to me is how it will play Battlefield 1? You guys stated that it is not that great for FPS, and I currently have a 5 year old Acer 24inch with 2ms response time. Do you guys think that the 3ms response time will make a significant difference? (I also plan on getting 3 of them for eyefinity as it is still cheaper than a curved 34″ monitor)
Paolo Reva says
Hello there, Ed! We had competitive and fast-paced titles like CS:GO and Overwatch in our minds when we published this review. Games where a lot of swiping and jumping around are involved usually suffer from ghosting due to slow pixel transitions, but scenic and graphics-intensive titles like Battlefield 1 should not present any similar issues. It would be difficult to notice blurs and pixel interlacing against the game engine’s supreme graphics, so we think you’ll do great with the HP Omen 32. Good luck!
MingLee says
This monitor will be on sale $250 at Costco this BlackFriday. I been wanting this bad boi since last year.
Paolo Reva says
This monitor is a steal at $250! Happy hunting, Ming!
Kevin says
I’m the owner of this monitor. I’ve had it for a year and really do enjoy it, however I tend to notice GTG times being a little high when scrolling through documents with grey/black text/borders, etc. I’ve become used to it, but it was a bother at first. Bigger monitors tend to exhibit this kind of ghosting I suppose. In game it’s not quite as noticeable, but there is a little motion blur during fast paced FPS games.
Did you guys notice any of that when scrolling black or darker items across a lighter background?
Overall this was a great buy for under $300 during last Black Friday.
Paolo Reva says
Hey, Kevin! Unfortunately, we did not thoroughly test the HP Omen 32 that way, although we do know that the trailing you are experiencing is due to VA’s inherent limitations. Most VA monitors have interlacing and ghosting issues, although they’ve gotten better over the last two years or so with lesser and lesser image artifacts. For 300 bucks, this monitor is a steal! We’re glad you caught it at that price!
H Crow says
Only 2 actually usable USB ports and they are version 2.0. Very retro.
Paolo Reva says
Hello, H Crow! We agree that using USB 2.0 is somehow backwards, but it still is sufficient for peripherals such as keyboards or mice.
Gref says
Hello,
Have you tried increasing the free sync range on this with CRU? The only thing holding me back from this monitor is the low free sync range.
Paolo Reva says
Hey there, Gref! Unfortunately, we haven’t tried using CRU during our time with the HP Omen 32. We will look around if there are owners who tried, and we will let you know if we find anything.
Gref says
Hey Paolo,
Thanks for the response. I’ve searched around on google and asked on other forums but I have not been able to find a confirmation on someone who has tried this.
Geoff Wilson says
Hi,I have upgraded my gpu to a Nvidia geoforce 1060 with 6 Gb of ram.Would this gpu be sufficient to run this monitor at 2560 x 1440 resolution ? My intention is to use it for my FSX flight simulator programs
Thanks….Geoff Wilson.
Paolo Reva says
Hello, Geoff! Thank you for reading our review of the HP Omen 32. the GTX 1060 should be able to perform admirably on an old title like Flight Simulator X at 1440p, although you might need to turn down some settings if you find some FPS dips in your session. Let us know how it goes! Good luck.
Duc says
Hey, curious to know if the monitor is flicker free and have low blue light or anything to help with eye strain and headaches? I love the colors of this monitor but how does it hold up against ASUS PB328Q 32″ WQHD 2560×1440 and BenQ BL3200PT 32″ Widescreen LED Backlit LCD Monitor?
I do web design and Adobe if that helps, any opinions or knowledge on what would be best I’d appreciated.
Paolo Reva says
Hi, Duc! In our opinion, these three monitors do not differ a lot from each other, since they most probably use more or less identical panels. Their differences will only lie in each brand’s packaging of features and extras, such as the CAD/CAM mode on the BenQ BL3200PT. By any means, the HP Omen 32 is an excellent buy at its price for your purposes, plus it is flicker-free and blue light filters are in the OSD. Good luck!
ray says
For a nvidia card owner how does that effect running this monitor
Paolo Reva says
Hi, Ray! Of course you can’t enjoy the benefits of Freesync as long as you have enough GPU power for 1440p gaming, your FPS should be stable so you shouldn’t run into stutters adaptive sync solves.
Steve Carter says
Hi…
Looking to upgrade screen real-estate for use with a DAW in music production, to increase visible track/console channel count but without the resolution redering text and plugin sizes too small. DAW I use is scaleable but eyes are old and tired! Would you recommend/comment in this respect please.
Regards… Steve
Paolo Reva says
Hey, Steve! First of all, may we know what monitor you are replacing to gauge your requirements? But from the looks of things, the best option for you is a 1440p or QHD monitor like the HP Omen 32, an excellent example of this segment. You can also opt for 3440 x 1440 ultra-wide monitors for almost twice the viewing space, but you might have to shell out a few more bucks. 4K is out of the question since we get a lot complaints regarding text being too small or images becoming overly sharp. Let us know how we can further help by emailing us or commenting! Thank you for reading!
Adam says
On paper, this looks like it would work well for photo and video editing. Is that really the case though? How does well does this actually perform when it comes to color accuracy in a more “prosumer” environment?
Paolo Reva says
Hi Adam, the Omen 32 certainly does have impressive specs especially if you consider its affordability and size. This model is indeed color accurate up to some degree, but that result depends entirely on how much accuracy and vibrancy your work requires. If you want absolute realism, you might want to go for high-end prosumer products with wider gamut coverages.
christian says
Really one of the best and cheap monitor for the 32 category.
Paolo Reva says
Hi, Christian! Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the HP Omen 32. It is indeed a great product for its price, especially if you consider the magnitude of the 32″ screen and the fantastic performance.