HP OmniStudio X Review: Big, Bright All-in-One Backed by Nvidia Graphics Brawn

While Apple ditched its large-screen all-in-one years ago and sells only a compact, 24-inch iMac M4, HP has embraced a bigger-is-better ethos for its new line of OmniStudio X all-in-one PCs. The OmniStudio X is available with a 27- or 31.5-inch display. We received the latter and the display is absolutely massive. With a 4K resolution, the picture is super sharp. Bright too. However, despite the hulking, 31.5-inch panel, the OmniStudio X is fairly compact. And even with its compact and simple base, the design is both sturdy and flexible. 

The OmniStudio X is based on Core Ultra CPUs from Intel’s Meteor Lake family of AI processors, and our test system features a GPU upgrade that lends some 3D gaming and graphics capabilities. With a mobile GeForce RTX 4050 GPU, the OmniStudio X offers performance on the level of a budget gaming laptop. The thing is, getting an expansive 31.5-inch 4K display instead of a 16-inch laptop display comes at a cost. The OmniStudio X is twice as expensive as a budget RTX 4050 gaming laptop, which makes sense when you consider you are getting a display that’s twice as big. It’s pricey but provides plenty of value as a big-screen all-in-one for both work and entertainment.

You can configure the OmniStudio X at HP, but the best price you’ll find for our test system is at Best Buy for $1,980. It features an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, 32GB of RAM, a GeForce RTX 4050 and a 1TB SSD. The 31.5-inch display is a non-touch IPS panel with a 4K (3,840×2,160-pixel) resolution and 60Hz refresh rate. Best Buy also sells a smaller 27-inch version of the OmniStudio X for $1,480 that has a Core Ultra 7 155H CPU, 32GB of RAM, Intel Arc graphics, a 1TB SSD and a 1080p display.

The customizable 31.5-inch model at Lenovo starts at $1,450 for a configuration with a Core Ultra 5 125H, 16GB of RAM, Intel Arc graphics and a 256GB SSD. If you configure our test system’s upgrades at HP, it costs more than $2,200. So grab it at Best Buy if you want it unless you can find it on sale at HP.

The OmniStudio X starts at £1,700 in the UK and is listed as “coming soon” in Australia with pricing yet to be revealed. 

HP OmniStudio X performance

With its dedicated GPU, the OmniStudio X offers better performance than the Dell Inspiron 24 All-in-One 5430 or Lenovo IdeaCentre AIO 27, two smaller, cheaper all-in-ones with integrated graphics I reviewed recently. While the OmniStudio X was faster than the Dell or Lenovo on most of our benchmarks, it wasn’t a clean sweep. The Dell was better on our single-core tests of Geekbench 6 and Cinebench 2024, and the Lenovo had a slight edge on PCMark 10.

The real story here is the superior performance of the Apple iMac M4, which was faster than this trio of Windows all-in-one PCs on every test that it could run. (MacOS isn’t compatible with PCMark or 3DMark tests.) Then again, the iMac M4 we tested is pricier than our OmniStudio X review system. The iMac M4 starts at only $1,299, but upgrades can quickly bump up the price; our iMac M4 test model is priced at $2,329.

The RTX 4050 not only resulted in graphics scores in 3DMark Time Spy that were far and away better than the scores of the Dell and Lenovo all-in-ones, but the graphics also provide some gaming capabilities. But you have to keep your expectations in check. The OmniStudio X’s RTX 4050 GPU is throttled and set to run at a lower wattage than RTX 4050 gaming laptops I’ve tested. It has a total graphics power of 60 watts, which is just a fraction of the 140-watt RTX 4050 you get with the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 or Acer Nitro 16. 

Still, the 60-watt RTX 4050 will allow you to play some AAA titles if you keep a lid on the quality settings and resolution. The  OmniStudio X averaged 128fps on the Guardians of the Galaxy benchmark, which we run with at 1080p at high settings. It averaged 96 fps on Shadow of the Tomb Raider at 1080p and highest settings.

The other limiting factor to the OmniStudio X’s use as a gaming PC is the display’s refresh rate. It runs at the standard 60Hz, when gamers typically seek a speedier 144Hz or 165Hz panel or higher.

One downside of packing an RTX GPU inside an all-in-one is a cooling fan spins constantly in order to keep thermals in check. The fan isn’t that loud when the system is idle or you are simply using Gmail or browsing the web, but it really gets going during games.

Huge display on a simple yet flexible stand

With its straightforward design, the OmniStudio X looks more like a corporate monitor than a living-room entertainment device. It has none of the gently rounded corners, curved and angled base or colorful options of the iMac. The display is connected by a narrow neck to a simple stand, and dark gray rules the day. But this simple setup is surprisingly flexible. The neck offers tilt and 4 inches of height adjustment so you can position the display just so. 

After first setting up the system — some assembly is required — I was worried that the base was too small and the neck too skinny to effectively anchor the large display, but the stand proved to be up to the task. The display doesn’t wobble and stays firmly at the angle and elevation at which you position it. The compact base and narrow display bezels make the OmniStudio X about as compact as you can get with a 31.5-inch all-in-one.

Most of the system’s ports are easily accessible on the back panel. You get both HDMI-in and -out ports so you can connect a second display or use the OmniStudio X as a display for a game console or to extend your laptop’s display. There’s also a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 that offers DisplayPort support, and HP throws in a USB-C cable for it. In between the USB-C port and HDMI ports is a pair of USB-A ports. 

On the other side of the display’s neck, you’ll find an Ethernet port and combo audio jack.

A small collection of ports reside on the right side of the neck of the stand, where they aren’t really any more easily accessed than simply spinning the display around and using the rear ports. Here you’ll find a trio of USB ports — two more USB-A ports and a second USB-C port. This USB-C port is only a USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 port with just 10 gigabits-per-second speed, which leaves the USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port on the back as the speediest at 20Gbps. That’s half the speed you’d get with USB4 or Thunderbolt 4. 

The OmniStudio X’s wireless networking is also not the latest, offering Wi-Fi 6 instead of the newer Wi-Fi 6E or the latest Wi-Fi 7.

The power button sits in a corner behind the display, and above it is a small joystick button to navigate the OSD that lets you adjust volume and display brightness and also choose a video input and display profile.

I’ve gradually stepped up in all-in-one sizing over the past month, starting with the 24-inch iMac M4 before moving to the 24-inch Dell Inspiron 24 All-in-One 5430 and then the 27-inch Lenovo IdeaCentre AIO 27. And even with this progression, the OmniStudio X’s display looks and feels enormous. With its wide 16:9 aspect ratio, it provides a huge screen that’s a great fit for movies and videos. And when you aren’t being entertained but working, it offers plenty of room for multitasking and viewing two documents side by side.

Images and text look very sharp on the 4K panel, and the display proved to be plenty bright. It’s rated for 550 nits of brightness, and my tests with a Spyder X Elite colorimeter showed it to be even brighter than that. It hit a peak brightness of 691 nits. The outstanding brightness combined with wide viewing angles and a matte finish makes the display look good in practically any environment. It also boasts strong color accuracy, covering 100% of sRGB, 93% of P3 and 85% of AdobeRGB.

The OmniStudio X’s speakers fire downward from the bottom of the display, which isn’t an ideal placement, but they offer decent output. They reach a level of volume much greater than that of a laptop, which lets you kick back a bit from the large display and watch a show or movie from a distance and still be able to clearly hear dialogue and effects. The sound is not that dynamic, which makes listening to music only mildly fun. The bass response is minimal, and if you really crank the volume, the sound quality degrades.

Above the display is a 1440p webcam that hides in a pop-up panel. It offers a sharp picture along with an IR sensor for easy, secure biometric logins. Win-win for the webcam.

HP bundles a wireless keyboard and mouse with the system. The keyboard is excellent. It’s thin yet surprisingly heavy so it doesn’t slide around when you are typing on it. The mouse is meh. It’s ambidextrous so anyone can use it, but few will enjoy the sharp edges on its sides.

Is the HP OmniStudio X a good all-in-one?

If you are going to choose an all-in-one PC over a laptop, then why not get one with a screen that’s head-and-shoulders greater than a laptop’s? Apple’s iMac M4 is still the best all-in-one for its mix of sleek design and strong performance, but its display looks more like an overgrown laptop than a proper desktop display. The OmniStudio X delivers a big and bright 4K display that you won’t mistake for a laptop screen. And this roomy display sits on a compact and flexible base and is powered by a strong CPU/GPU duo that offers versatile performance, including a bit of gaming.