GTX 1050 Ti Battle: Acer Aspire VX 15 (VX5-591G) vs HP Omen 15 – gaming notebooks on a budget

We continue with the comparisons between the best current budget gaming notebooks. A few days back we compared the HP Omen 15 with the Lenovo legion Y520 and now it is time to see how the Omen 15 stack up to Acer Aspire VX 15 (VX5-591G).

Both models are equipped with the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics card which is just what you need to get into the gaming world. We will check their performance, build quality and other vital specification to help you choose the right device for yourself.

HP Omen 15 (GTX 1050 Ti): Full review / Check price

Acer Aspire VX 15 (VX5-591G): Full review / Check price

Contents


Design and construction

Starting off with the construction, both models are solely made out of plastic. This is no surprise considering the budget but the Omen 15 is a bit more expensive than the Aspire VX 15 so we would have appreciated an aluminum lid at least. Unfortunately, neither of them surprises us with a solid build. Both lids are easily bent and that result in the appearance of ripples on the LCD screens. Opening using only one hand is possible on both devices but it is considerably more smooth on the Omen 15. Another thing that the Omen 15 can use to its advantage is its dimensions – it is quite a bit thinner and lighter. HP’s budget gaming notebook measures at just 24 mm thickness and 2.19 kg weight while the Aspire VX 15 weighs a bit more – 2.5 kg and it’s considerably thicker with a profile of 32 mm.

In terms of design, there isn’t much to say. Whether you like the looks of the device is quite subjective. We can say that the Omen 15’s lid has a patterned matte black finish which feels great to the touch. Overall, the device looks interesting, nothing too flashy. On the other hand, the  Aspire VX 15 derives its design from the Predator series. The lid imitates brushed aluminum but as we already mentioned it is in fact plastic. The two red stripes and the Acer logo in the middle strongly resemble the design of the Predator laptops so if you are a fan of them then you would definitely like this one too.

As usual, the sides of the laptops are home to all the connectivity ports. Both models are equipped with all the necessary ports including three USB ports (two USB 3.0 and one USB 2.0), an HMDI, a LAN port, SD card reader, a 3.5 mm audio jack and a DC charging port. One thing that the Aspire VX 15 has that the Omen 15 lacks is the addition of a single USB Type-C port for fast data transfer. It does not support Thunderbolt 3, however, we are pleased to see it is included. There is one thing we like more on the Omen 15 though – the port placement. The ports as evenly distributed on both sides whereas the right side of the VX 15 appears a bit overcrowded. Again, this is up to personal preference.

Display

Before we start comparing the displays, we must note that we are taking a look at the version of the Aspire VX 15 that features an IPS display. Now, when we have that thing clear we can move on. The IPS screen used in this version is the BOE NV156FHM-N42 while the Omen 15 features the LG Philips LGD0532. Both panels are IPS with Full HD (1920 x 1080p) resolution and 0.18 x 0.18 mm pixel pitch. The pixel density is 142 ppi which mean that the screen becomes “Retina” when viewed from a distance equal or greater than 60 cm.

As expected for IPS panels, the viewing angles on both models are great. The maximum brightness (measured in the center of the screen) is a bit higher on the Aspire VX 15 – 264 cd/m2 vs 252. The color temperature on the Omen 15 is 6700K which is slightly colder than the optimal 6500K while on the Aspire VX 15 it’s the other way around – a bit warmer (6200K). However,  the contrast ratio on the Aspire VX 15 is very high, especially for a budget device – 1370:1 while the Omen 15 measures at just 780:1 which is still good.

Unfortunately, color reproduction is rather poor on both devices. The screens cover just above half of the colors in the sRGB gamut – 54% for the Aspire VX 15 and 51% for the Omen 15. This is expected for a budget device and it won’t be a dealbreaker for most users. However, if you are a graphical designer or artist you will need a more color sensitive display. Fortunately, both displays are rather color accurate. The average dE on the Aspire VX 15 is 4.4 before calibration with our Office & Web Design profile and 3.4 after while the values for the Omen 15 are 6.5 and 3.9 respectively.

Both panels use PWM to control the brightness level. However, the frequency used is quite high (21.2 kHz on the VX 15 and 21.0 kHz on the Omen 15) which significantly reduces the negative effect. To further decrease the unwanted effect you can use our custom-tailored Health-Guard profiles which not only eliminate the harmful PWM but they also reduce the Blue Light emissions.


Our display profiles

Here at LaptopMedia, we create a set of custom-tailored profiles for every notebook we review. They boost the productivity of display and reduce negative effects such as blue light emissions and PWM. You can read more about them here.

Buy our profiles from here:

HP Omen 15 (GTX 1050 Ti): Profiles

Acer Aspire VX 15 (VX5-591G): Profiles

Specs sheet comparison

Both notebooks are equipped with the Intel Core i7-7700HQ from the latest Kaby Lake generation. The processor features four Hyperthreaded cores with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and Turbo speeds of up to 3.80 GHz. It has 6 MB of cache and a TDP of 100 degrees Celcius.

More information about Intel Core i7-7700HQ and its position in our Top CPU Ranking you can find HERE.

The graphics card chosen for both machines is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with 4 GB GDDR5 memory. This is an excellent chip for budget notebooks. It features a 128-bit interface and 768 CUDA cores.

More information about the GTX 1050 Ti and its place in our Top GPU Ranking you can find HERE.

Acer Aspire VX 15 (VX5-591G)HP Omen 15
CPUIntel Core i7-7700HQ (4-core, 2.80 -3.80 GHz, 6MB cache)Intel Core i7-7700HQ (4-core, 2.80 -3.80 GHz, 6MB cache)
RAM8GB (1x 8096MB) – DDR4, 2133MHz16GB (2x 8096MB) – DDR4, 2400MHz
GPUNVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (4GB GDDR5)NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (4GB GDDR5)
HDD/SSD5 1TB HDD (5400 rpm)256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD + 1TB HDD (5400 rpm)
Display15.6-inch Full HD (1920×1080) IPS, matte15.6-inch Full HD (1920×1080) IPS, matte
Features
  • 2x USB 3.0
  • 1x USB 2.0
  • 1x USB 3.1 Type-C
  • SD card reader
  • 3.5 mm combo audio jack
  • HDMI 2.0
  • RJ-45
  • keyboard backlight
  • 2x USB 3.0
  • 1x USB 2.0
  • 3.5 mm combo audio jack
  • RJ-45
  • HDMI
  • SD card reader
  • keyboard backlight
Battery52Wh63.3Wh
Profile thickness32 mm24 mm (0.94″)
Weight2.5 kg (5.51 lbs)2.19 kg (4.83 lbs)
PriceCheck priceCheck price

Battery

It seems that battery life is the key selling point of the Omen 15. The 63.3 Wh battery surprises us with its longevity. On the other hand, the Aspire VX 15 and its smaller 52 Wh unit still manages to provide above average battery life for a gaming notebook.

The Aspire VX 15 lasted for 358 minutes (5 hours and 58 minutes) in our Web browsing test while the Omen 15 managed the whopping 567 minutes (9 hours and 27 minutes). Video playback result were quite lower – 229 minutes (3 hours and 49 minutes) for the VX 15 but still almost twice for the Omen 15 – 403 minutes (6 hours and 43 minutes). However, in our last test – the gaming test – VX 15 managed to squeeze just a tad more run time than the Omen 15 – 149 minutes (2 hours and 29 minutes) vs 127 minutes (2 hours and 7 minutes).

Performance

As expected, due to the identical hardware the performance is also pretty similar. The difference in the frame rates is barely noticeable. The GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is powerful enough to run modern games set on medium settings on a solid 60 fps and above. You might even play some titles on maxed graphics and still get around 30 fps but we advise sticking to medium for better performance, battery life, and lower temperatures.

GTA-V-benchmarks

Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5) – Aspire VX 15Full HD, Low (Check settings)Full HD, Medium (Check settings)Full HD, Max (Check settings)
Average FPS 106 fps74 fps30 fps

 

Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5) – Omen 15Full HD, Low (Check settings)Full HD, Medium (Check settings)Full HD, Max (Check settings)
Average FPS 150 fps80 fps28 fps

 

rise-of-the-tomb-raider

Rise of the Tomb Raider (2016) – Aspire VX 15Full HD, Low (Check settings)Full HD, Medium (Check settings)Full HD, Max (Check settings)
Average FPS 76 fps59 fps21 fps

 

Rise of the Tomb Raider (2016) – Omen 15Full HD, Low (Check settings)Full HD, Medium (Check settings)Full HD, Max (Check settings)
Average FPS 91 fps60 fps30 fps

Temperatures

We start off our temperatures test with an hour long 100% load on the CPU. We are happy to say that the Aspire VX 15 kept the CPU clock high at 3.4 GHz and temperatures low at around 69-72 °C. The Omen 15 didn’t handle the test so good – it did not throttle but the clock dropped to 2.7-2.8 GHz, however, temperatures were even lower than its rival – around 65 °C.

When we added 100% GPU load to the scene, we witnessed something very interesting in the Aspire VX 15. The CPU clock started dropping to 2.8 GHz and rising to 3.4 GHz in few-minute cycles. Temperatures were around 70 °C when the frequency was 2.8 GHz and around 86-90 °C when it was 3.4 GHz. To sum things up, we could say that the Aspire VX 15 handled the temperature tests very well. The Omen 15 dropped another 100 MHz now clocking around 2.6-2.7 GHz. Unfortunately, the temperatures were dangerously high around 100 °C but the system was stable.

Although, the lower inner temperatures, the Aspire VX 15 became quite toasty on the surface with some areas reaching 50 °C. However, the palm rest area remained cool but the keyboard was hot. It’s the other way around for the Omen 15. Despite the high internal temperatures, the chassis remained cool to the touch with only some areas reaching around 40 °C.


Verdict

Overall, both devices are great budget gaming notebooks. The GTX 1050 Ti provides enough horsepower to run modern games on medium settings. The Acer Aspire VX 15 may be more appealing to some with its design resembling the higher-class Predator series. It offers good keyboard and touchpad and has an adequate cooling system. There is also a USB Type-C port which is a big bonus. To sum things up we could say that the Acer Aspire VX 15 is a great gaming notebook if you are on a budget.

The HP Omen 15, on the other hand, is a bit pricier. Its main advantages are the slim and light chassis and the excellent battery life. We could say that the Omen 15 is a better choice for those of you who would like to have a device that they can carry everywhere and don’t worry about the battery life. However, it’s not the best option for gamers but if you need a solid notebook to work on that has the hardware capabilities to run the latest games now and then than this is your laptop.

HP Omen 15 (GTX 1050 Ti): Full review / Check price

Acer Aspire VX 15 (VX5-591G): Full review / Check price



Why choose Acer Aspire VX 15 (VX5-591G)?

  • USB Type-C
  • more affordable
  • better touchpad and keyboard
  • more reliable cooling system




Why choose HP Omen 15?

  • significantly better battery life
  • thinner and lighter


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