HP has updated a number of its existing Omen machines for the newest generation of PC hardware, including the Omen 35L desktop and the Omen 16 gaming laptop, along with the Omen Max 45L, an upgrade to the previous Omen 45L with HP's new branding. But the newest entry in the Omen lineup for this year is the Omen 35L Stealth. Similar to the existing Omen 35L, this is a 35-liter desktop gaming PC with all the same Omen-quality components as the regular 35L.
What makes the 35L Stealth unique is its design. Unlike the Omen Max 45L and Omen 35L, the Stealth features a full-aluminum chassis. Unlike a standard gaming desktop, the Stealth features no glass panel on its side, making it a minimal-RGB gaming rig.
What's your most proud moment building a PC?
What;'s the most fondest memory you have when building a PC? Are you particularly proud of a single build? My first time doing a proper open-loop water-cooling solution inside a chassis and not on an open bench comes to mind when I think about some of my proudest PC-building moments. Nailing all the sharp bends and lengths with minimal adjustment post-cut was the icing on a sweet-looking cake.
Omen 35L power in a new case
Same performance standards, with a business-casual attitude.
HP has designed the Omen 35L Stealth to fit in better at the office or help you convince your spouse you're actually working on your desktop and not just gaming 24/7. But it's still an Omen desktop, so you've got to expect a solid amount of power and performance out of the 35L Stealth.
Sure, it's not the Omen Max 45L, which is HP's high-end gaming desktop. But the 35L is generally a pretty powerful case build, though you'll get some variation based on what components you decide to configure it with. And HP hasn't compromised on quality this time. Like the regular Omen 35L, the Stealth can be configured up to the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D processor and an Nvidia RTX 5090 GPU. While there are a few Intel CPU options, you're limited to the Intel Core i7-14700F or Intel Core i5-14400F. So, if you're going for a high-end configuration, you'll want to opt for the AMD models to get the best gaming CPU currently on the market alongside one of Nvidia's flagship graphics cards. All without searing your retinas with RGB case lighting.
The 35L Stealth will also have HP's modular power supply, ultra-quiet fans, and standard Omen build quality. Plus the usual software support features, including AI setting optimization for your hardware, system software, and game settings.
Minimal RGB, maximum nostalgia
Like a desktop straight out of 1999
While the sales pitch for the Omen 35L Stealth is that it's going to be the official esports platform for Riot Games' various League of Legends and Apex Legends leagues, there's more than just esports credibility behind the Stealth's minimal RGB aesthetic.
The overall idea behind the 35L Stealth is that it's a gaming desktop that can fit in at your office or at home, and can fit into a more professional environment than your usual gaming desktop case, which is often a kaleidoscope of colors. Even if you shut off the RGB on all of your components down to the BIOS level, any kind of BIOS update can easily turn the lights back on. So the Stealth is a gaming PC incognito.
But it's also got a decent bit of nostalgia going for it. Prior to about 2014, gaming desktops were black boxes with maybe some single-color LED lights thrown in for flair. But if you go back to the 90s, desktop PCs had minimal lighting on the tower. You'd maybe have a power indicator light or two, but that was often the extent of it. While the Omen 35L Stealth does resemble the regular Omen 35L, the all-black aluminum case evokes a sense of nostalgia for those classic desktop towers of old.
Is Min-RGB the new gaming standard?
From overwhelming lighting to a stripped-down chassis, is this the latest gaming trend?
Gaming rigs have opted for maximum RGB designs for quite a few years now. Between case lights, fan lights, motherboards, coolers, and RAM RGB, and RGB-SYC on all your accessories, the general gaming trend has been an exercise in maximalism for years.
And trends are cyclical. RGB has been with us for quite some time, which means it will eventually cycle back out of style. Which leaves us with the question of what's next?
At one point, we considered that the future would be characterized by increasingly smaller PCs. While there are many fans of the mini-ATX and ITX case formats, component standardization on the ATX platform remains much more robust. So perhaps, rather than opting for downsized PCs in the next few years, we'll see more and more gaming gear coming with limited RGB.
In fact, we've already seen indications of an RGB decline. More and more gaming laptops, like the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16, have reduced the amount of RGB on the chassis designs this year. While you can still find models with additional RGB light strips, these features are often reserved for ultra-high-end desktop replacement laptops and have started to disappear from mid-range and budget-friendly models. While gaming desktops don't always follow the same general trend as laptops, it is definitely something to keep an eye on.
While I do personally like some well-done RGB, I can also see the value in moving towards more stripped-down cases. Not everyone wants to get a free light show any time they walk near their desktop tower. For now, it appears that we'll maintain the maximum RGB setup on most desktops, but we're starting to see variations in case design again, which suggests a switch is forthcoming. And I'd bet money on cases opting for smaller, more impactful RGB in the near future.