The HP Omen 45L, despite its high-end specs and $5,000 price tag, suffers from severe CPU throttling due to poor cooling design and restrictive power limits, resulting in performance worse than much cheaper systems. Coupled with excessive bloatware, limited BIOS options, and questionable build quality, the reviewer strongly advises against purchasing this pre-built PC in favor of building a custom system.
The HP Omen 45L is reviewed as the worst pre-built PC the reviewer has ever tested, primarily due to severe CPU performance issues and questionable design choices. The system features an Intel i9-12900KS CPU, 64GB of DDR5-4800 RAM, a 2TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD, and an Nvidia RTX 5090 GPU, retailing for nearly $5,000. However, the CPU operates significantly below its advertised clock speeds—about 1.4 GHz lower—resulting in performance worse than the cheaper i5-12600K. This throttling is caused by aggressive power limits and thermal issues, with the CPU hitting temperatures as high as 105°C despite HP’s so-called “cryo chamber” cooling design, which ironically worsens thermal performance.
The “cryo chamber” is essentially a radiator enclosed in a separate compartment designed to isolate GPU exhaust air from the CPU cooling system. However, this design restricts airflow and causes higher temperatures, forcing the CPU to throttle down power and frequency to avoid overheating. The reviewer points out that this approach is not new and is poorly executed here, leading to worse cooling and performance than traditional setups. The motherboard is an unusual mATX board in an ATX-sized case, limiting expansion options and contradicting HP’s marketing claims about the system’s versatility.
In addition to the hardware issues, the Omen 45L comes loaded with excessive bloatware, spyware, and telemetry software that aggressively collects user data, which is disappointing for a premium-priced gaming PC. The RAM is also underclocked out of the box, running at DDR5-4800 instead of the faster DDR5-5600 or DDR5-6000 speeds that would better suit the CPU. BIOS options are limited, with power limits locked behind HP’s proprietary software that requires enabling “extreme mode” (which voids the warranty) to run the CPU at its advertised specifications. This forces users to either accept poor performance or risk warranty loss to unlock full CPU potential.
Acoustically, the system is quiet at idle and under load, but this is likely due to the CPU being power-limited and running cooler by throttling down. The GPU cooling is relatively well-implemented, featuring a sturdy three-slot design that manages thermals effectively, benefiting from the CPU’s inability to fully utilize the GPU. Cable management is mediocre, and the overall internal build quality is a mixed bag, with some well-designed components like the VRM heatsink but overshadowed by fundamental flaws in cooling and power delivery.
Ultimately, the HP Omen 45L is a cautionary tale about the pitfalls of pre-built PCs that prioritize flashy marketing over functional design. Despite its high price and impressive specs on paper, the system fails to deliver expected performance, forcing users to either accept subpar operation or void their warranty to unlock full capabilities. The reviewer recommends that buyers build their own systems instead, as the DIY approach currently offers better value, performance, and customization than this “incomprehensibly bad” pre-built PC.