AI PCs are undoubtedly the trendsetter in today's PC industry and will remain the focal point of technological innovation in the PC industry for the next few years. Among various PC categories, gaming laptops still boast the most versatile and efficient AI applications. The hardware combination of CPU+NPU+dedicated GPU can handle various types of AI applications with ease.
HP introduced its first AI PC earlier this January, the OMEN Shadow Elf 10 SLIM 14 AI gaming laptop.
As the lightest new generation gaming laptop under the HP brand, it not only delivers an excellent gaming experience but also supports high computational AI application deployment locally. With the Intel Core Ultra platform and the hybrid AI computing capability brought by the GeForce RTX 40 discrete graphics card, it can help users improve efficiency and enhance user experience. Meanwhile, this machine maintains the high aesthetics of the SLIM series, and is even thinner and more portable than before, making it a product that excels both inside and out.
Before diving into the review, let's take a look at the hardware configuration of the test model, driver versions, system information, and room temperature during testing, as follows:
The OMEN Shadow Spirit 10 SLIM 14 AI gaming laptop maintains a minimalist and refined overall design, available in both black and white color options. Featuring large curved edges, the design gives the laptop a more rounded appearance.
The design of side A is sleek and minimalist, featuring a glossy "OMEN" logo prominently at the center and the inscription "O14" in the bottom right corner. The surface is treated with a matte metal sandblasting paint, exuding a sense of refinement in its understated demeanor. The smooth texture of side A, coupled with finely crafted metal panel cutting and polishing, ensures a high-quality finish.
The biggest feature of the OMEN 10 SLIM 14 AI gaming laptop, of course, is its excellent performance in a slim and lightweight design. With a thickness of 17.99mm, the body is extremely thin when viewed from the side. Weighing 1.64kg, it's quite easy to carry for a gaming laptop with a full metal body and discrete graphics. Thanks to the narrow bezels on all four sides of the screen, the actual size of this machine is equivalent to previous 13-inch models, making it easy to slip into a handbag and take with you.
The lightweight design of the OMEN 10 SLIM 14 AI gaming laptop doesn't compromise on its interface expansion capabilities. On the right side of the chassis, you'll find two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports positioned towards the back, ensuring that even when using a wired mouse and keyboard, users won't be inconvenienced.
On the left side of the chassis, there is one Thunderbolt 4 port, boasting a high-speed transfer rate of 40Gbps, supporting 100W PD charging, and featuring DP protocol video output. Additionally, there is a 3.5mm headphone jack.
The rear of the chassis features a standard HDMI 2.1 video port and a USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C power port, supporting PD 3.1 140W charging. Therefore, while the OMEN 10 SLIM 14 AI gaming laptop is designed to be slim and extremely portable, its interface expansion capability is nothing to worry about, with all the commonly used ports available to ensure a seamless external expansion experience.
With its excellent screen hinge damping control, users can effortlessly lift the screen of the OMEN Shadow Blade 10 SLIM 14 AI gaming laptop with just one hand, revealing a tidy C-face layout. The keyboard features borderless high-transparency keycaps, enhancing the lighting and color display effect.
The OMEN Shadow Elf 10 SLIM 14 AI gaming laptop features a four-zone backlight design for its keyboard, allowing users to freely customize backlighting schemes for different areas within the OGH software, with various preset lighting effects for easy switching.
In terms of actual visual experience, the borderless translucent keycaps significantly increase the illuminated area compared to regular keycaps, resulting in better color display. Moreover, there's no need to worry about light pollution in low-light environments because although the keycaps have excellent translucency, the matte layer treatment is thick, resulting in softer light transmission, making it less harsh on the eyes even in dimly lit environments.
The keycaps of the OMEN 10 Slim 14 AI gaming laptop have a tactile feel that's well-suited for gaming. They offer tight elasticity, require a significant amount of pressure to actuate, and provide a distinct tactile feedback when pressed. The rebound speed is exceptionally fast, making it quite suitable for gamers.
The keyboard area is positioned higher, resulting in a narrower space above it, which allows for a larger area for the wrist rest. Despite being a 14-inch model, the entire wrist can be fully supported on the wrist rest, ensuring that gamers and typists alike won't experience fatigue during extended gaming or typing sessions.
The touchpad is positioned slightly to the right below the space bar, aiming for a balanced resting area for both left and right wrists. However, during regular typing, the thumbs naturally rest a bit to the left. It may take a moment to adjust, but soon becomes second nature. The touchpad surface offers noticeable friction, ensuring precise control and responsive cursor movement. Once accustomed, navigating without a mouse feels effortless.
The OMEN Shadow Spirit 10 SLIM 14 AI gaming laptop features a 14-inch 2880 x 1800 resolution OLED display with a 16:10 aspect ratio and a remarkable 120Hz variable refresh rate. It offers manual refresh rate adjustments at 48Hz, 60Hz, and 120Hz, as well as automatic refresh rate adjustments at 60Hz and 120Hz. The display is VESA True Black HDR500 certified, covering 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, and is equipped with both Rhein low blue light and Eyesafe dual eye protection certifications. Additionally, the screen is protected by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on the outer surface, ensuring durability and resistance to wear.
In terms of screen performance, referring to the data from Spider Colorimeter testing, here are the specifics:
Brightness-wise, at 100% brightness, it defaults to 424.51 nits, and when HDR is enabled, the peak brightness reaches 659.5 nits, both surpassing the average for similar thin and light gaming laptops.
In terms of color gamut, the sRGB color gamut covers 100%, while the DCI-P3 color gamut covers 99.9%. The sRGB color gamut volume is at 173.1%, and the DCI-P3 color gamut volume is at 122.6%, indicating an extensive range of colors. The color display is delicate, and similar colors are presented more accurately. Regarding color accuracy, the average ΔE is 0.35, with a maximum value of 1.16, demonstrating outstanding performance.
It might be helpful to refer to the color gamut coverage charts. The dashed lines in the images below represent the standard color gamut space, while the colored lines represent the actual color gamut coverage of the OMEN Shadow Spirit 10 SLIM 14 AI gaming laptop.
The first image shows a comparison of sRGB color gamut coverage, while the second image shows a comparison of P3 color gamut coverage. As you can see, the screen of the OMEN Shadow Spirit 10 SLIM 14 AI gaming laptop has a very wide color gamut coverage range. Coupled with high brightness and color accuracy, it can provide extremely impressive display performance. Moreover, it can meet the visual requirements for professional visual tasks.
At the beginning of our review, we showcased the hardware configuration of this machine, so we won't go into detail here. Instead, let's dive straight into the hardware performance testing phase. The following tests are all results from the "Rampage" mode testing.
The evaluated product features the Intel Core i7-155H processor, which boasts 6 performance cores, 8 efficiency cores, and 2 ultra-low-power cores, totaling 16 cores and 22 threads.
With a maximum turbo frequency of 4.8GHz and 24MB of L3 cache, it operates at a TDP of 28W. Built on Intel's 4th generation process technology, equivalent to the 7nm process, this processor utilizes Intel's advanced Foveros 3D packaging technology and introduces a modular design with a separated architecture for the first time.
Referring to the CPU-Z single-core and multi-core performance tests, the results show that the Core Ultra 7 155H scored 724.7 in single-core and 7508.7 in multi-core. Compared to the 13th generation Core i7-1360P with the same 28W, the single-core performance is slightly lower, but the multi-core performance has increased by 27.3%.
CINEBENCH R23 and 2024 benchmarks reveal impressive performance from the OMEN Shadow Spirit 10 SLIM 14 AI gaming laptop. In R23, it achieved a single-core score of 1711 and a multi-core score of 16492. Moving to CINEBENCH 2024, it maintains strong performance with a single-core score of 100 and a multi-core score of 904. Despite its lightweight design, the laptop delivers exceptional overall performance.
Under the 3DMark CPU Profile test standard, the Core Ultra 7 155H processor achieves a single-threaded score of 987, a 2-thread score of 1961, a 4-thread score of 3654, an 8-thread score of 5639, a 16-thread score of 6991, with a maximum thread score of 7565, showcasing excellent overall multicore performance.
In terms of rendering performance, according to the tests conducted using V-Ray benchmark 6, a sampling rate of 16294 vsamples has been achieved. This level of performance can effectively support various mainstream renderers currently available and offers solid performance support.
The OMEN Shadow Elf 10 SLIM 14 AI gaming laptop features an enhanced HP CoolSense cooling technology, with a large air intake at the bottom and a spread of heat dissipation plates inside. Its cooling structure employs dual air duct pressurization technology, resulting in increased airflow and higher heat dissipation efficiency.
In the AIDA 64 FPU CPU single-threaded test, it maintains a stable release of 65.772W with a core temperature of only 82°C. Such impressive cooling performance undoubtedly contributes to its excellent performance scores.
In terms of graphics, this product features a 65W GeForce RTX 4060 laptop GPU, boasting 3072 CUDA cores, a core frequency of 1140MHz, and a Boost frequency of 1470MHz. It comes with 8GB of GDDR6 memory clocked at 2000MHz.
Let's take a look at the theoretical test results from 3DMark:
In terms of graphics rendering, the V-Ray benchmark 6 remains the reference, with a CUDA acceleration score of 1551 vpaths and an RTX ray tracing score of 2355 vpaths, providing a solid CUDA acceleration and ray tracing performance experience.
In the upcoming Furmark GPU standalone test, the stable power consumption is pegged at 50W, with an average temperature of just 60.6℃. While the graphics card's power output is slightly conservative, the cooling performance is genuinely impressive.
Additionally, referring to the dual stress test of CPU and GPU using AIDA 64 and Furmark, the CPU power consumption stabilizes at 36W, with an average core temperature of 69°C; GPU power consumption stabilizes at 50W, with an average core temperature of 60.4°C. For a product with a thickness of only 17.99mm, the thermal and power dissipation performance is quite good.
Let's take a look at the actual gaming performance of the OMEN Shadow Spirit 10 SLIM 14 AI gaming laptop. Considering that this machine is equipped with a 65W RTX 4060 laptop GPU, we didn't test the games at 2880×1800 resolution, but instead lowered it to 1920×1200 resolution while keeping the graphics settings at the highest.
The first game we tested was "Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord", which is overall well-optimized. As a result, the OMEN Shadow Spirit 10 SLIM 14 AI gaming laptop runs it quite smoothly.
According to the built-in benchmark test, the average frame rate is 111fps, with the 1% low average reaching 73fps. The gaming experience is smooth, with no lag during gameplay.
The second game tested is "Total War: Three Kingdoms". This game has relatively high requirements for both processor and graphics card performance. At the highest graphics settings and default army size, it achieved an average smoothness of 60.6fps. This level of smoothness provides a quite enjoyable gaming experience for a game of the "Total War" genre.
The latest test game was "Red Dead Redemption 2", which still demands relatively high hardware performance. It essentially represents the hardware requirements of current mainstream AAA games. Running at a resolution of 1920×1200 with the highest graphics settings, it achieved an average smoothness of 51fps, meeting the requirement for smooth gameplay. For higher frame rates, simply adjusting some GPU-intensive graphics options such as shadows can maintain stable performance of over 60fps.
Besides gaming, the portable design of the OMEN Shadow Spirit 10 SLIM 14 AI gaming laptop also makes it very suitable for productivity tasks. Moreover, its appearance is more understated compared to traditional gaming laptops, allowing it to blend well in office environments. So, let's take a look at its productivity-related performance.
Productivity applications demand relatively high disk performance, requiring support for tasks such as data throughput, read/write operations, and loading. This product features a WD SN810 1TB PCIe 4.0 solid-state drive (SSD), with measured sequential read speeds of 6970.25MB/s and write speeds of 4864.86MB/s at Q8T1. Its 4KQ1T1 random read speed is 67.24MB/s, with a write speed of 84.72MB/s. These figures meet the performance standards of mid to high-end PCIe 4.0 SSDs, providing a faster and smoother experience for system operations, software running, and data handling.
In terms of productivity performance, we primarily reference the PCMark 10 Extended Mode test. Here, the product scores 9536 points in everyday essentials, including web browsing, video conferencing, and application launches, indicating seamless completion of these basic office tasks. Its productivity suite test score of 9511 points showcases outstanding spreadsheet and document work performance. With a digital content creation score of 10251 points, it efficiently handles tasks like image, video, and graphic rendering. Achieving a gaming performance score of 16306 points, it confirms its theoretical test performance in gaming. Overall, with a comprehensive score of 8654 points, it proves to be a proficient performer in productivity applications.
After understanding the theoretical performance, let's take a look at the real-world application performance, mainly referencing the photo editing and video editing benchmark tests of UL Procyon.
Photo editing primarily tests the real editing capabilities of Photoshop and Lightroom. The OMEN Shadow Spirit 10 SLIM 14 AI gaming laptop scored 6752 points, efficiently handling 4K and even 8K ultra-high-definition RAW format photos, meeting the needs of professional photographers and designers without any pressure.
Video editors primarily look at Premiere's video processing capabilities, and the OMEN Shadow 10 Slim 14 AI gaming laptop has also received a high score of 5451 points, providing decent efficiency support for editing 4K ultra-high-definition short videos.
The naming of the OMEN Shadow Spirit 10 SLIM 14 AI gaming laptop suggests that it is not only positioned as a traditional gaming laptop but also excels in executing AI tasks. Equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor with an NPU, it can handle persistent background AI tasks efficiently. For instance, tasks like background blurring and eye tracking, when activated with the camera, significantly reduce power consumption when executed on the NPU.
As shown in the diagram below, after enabling features such as automatic camera framing, eye contact, and background blurring, the loads that previously relied on the GPU are now efficiently managed by the lower-power NPU. Consequently, the GPU utilization drops to 0, extending battery life significantly, especially during wireless meetings.
[Insert diagram here]
For popular "live image" applications today, models with NVIDIA dedicated graphics cards offer significantly higher efficiency compared to those without. Using UL Procyon, we tested the performance of the RTX 4060 laptop GPU with Stable Diffusion 1.5 (FP16). This test involves generating 512×512 resolution images using Stable Diffusion, leveraging the NVIDIA TensorRT AI acceleration engine. The results yielded a score of 818 points with a total time of 122 seconds, achieving an impressive speed of 7.6 seconds per image, showcasing exceptional efficiency.
Let's put Stable Diffusion's image generation speed to the test.
First, let's set the parameters: 20 iterations, 5 total batches, each batch generating 2 images. We'll use DPM+2M Karras sampling method at a resolution of 512×512 for ultra-high-quality renders. Here are the results:
It can be seen that the AI ultimately generated 10 images, taking a total of 42.73 seconds, with an average time of 4.273 seconds per image. The image quality is very satisfactory, and the efficiency is excellent.
Evaluation Summary:
The OMEN Shadow Elf SLIM series impressed many people as soon as it was launched, with its lightweight and portable design, excellent craftsmanship, and decent performance. It can be said to be the most ideal lightweight gaming laptop for many users.
This year, the PC industry has entered the AI era, and many products have been endowed with AI capabilities. However, from the efficiency perspective, integrated graphics card models are actually significantly behind discrete graphics card models in terms of AI application efficiency. Therefore, products like the OMEN Shadow Elf 10 SLIM 14 AI gaming laptop may be the most ideal state for AI PCs.
The OMEN Shadow Elf 10 SLIM 14, although an AI gaming laptop, leans towards a more fashionable and understated design, making it suitable for various applications such as gaming, office work, and everyday use. This versatility caters well to users seeking a blend of performance, portability, and aesthetics.
Moreover, the dedicated graphics card significantly boosts AI application efficiency. In tasks like data processing and graphic rendering, the dedicated graphics card can enhance performance by several folds compared to integrated graphics models. Therefore, if you're in need of gaming/office capabilities while also seeking portability, or if you're interested in exploring and learning about AI, the OMEN Shadow Elf 10 SLIM 14 AI gaming laptop is an excellent choice.
