HP OmniBook 3 , Ryzen 5 40, 8GB, 512GB SSD, Mica Silver

Big screen, small brain. The OmniBook 3 16 is a budget laptop that skimps where it matters most: RAM and graphics. Spend your CAD 1,100 elsewhere.

The Ryzen 5 40 is fine for everyday tasks, but it sits in the 32nd percentile for CPUs in our database. That's not a typo. This chip is below average for laptops in this category. The real bottleneck is the 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM, which lands in the 23rd percentile. Windows 11 alone will eat a chunk of that. Open a dozen Chrome tabs and a Zoom call, and you'll feel the swap file grinding. The Radeon 610M is even worse, 19th percentile. Don't even think about gaming. The 512GB NVMe SSD is solid and middle of the pack, so at least boot times won't make you sad.

Stacked against the Apple MacBook Pro M5, this thing gets embarrassed. The MacBook costs more but delivers a screen, battery, and performance that are in a different universe. The ASUS ROG Zephyrus and Lenovo Legion 5i are gaming machines, so they're not direct competitors, but they highlight how weak the Radeon 610M is. Even the Dell Premium likely offers better reliability and build quality. If you want a budget 16-inch laptop, the OmniBook 3 16 is competing with itself, and losing.

At CAD 1,100, this is a tough sell. You're paying for screen size, not performance. For that money, you can find laptops with 16GB of RAM and better CPUs. The OmniBook 3 16 only makes sense if you absolutely need a big display and do nothing but write papers and watch YouTube. Otherwise, keep scrolling.

The HP OmniBook 3 16 is a budget laptop that feels like it's trying to be a lot of things and nailing none of them. The one thing to know? It's a big screen with a small brain. You get a 16-inch 1920x1200 display and a Ryzen 5, but only 8GB of RAM and integrated Radeon 610M graphics. That combo works for basic schoolwork and web browsing, but the moment you try anything heavier, it wheezes.

If you're looking for a laptop that can handle creative work, gaming, or heavy multitasking, this isn't it. Go get something with 16GB of RAM and a better GPU instead. Even a used MacBook Air M1 would run circles around this thing for the same money.

Skip it. The HP OmniBook 3 16 is a big screen attached to a mediocre laptop. The 8GB RAM and weak integrated graphics make it a poor long-term investment. If you need a budget machine for school, find something with 16GB of RAM, even if it means a smaller screen. Your future self will thank you.