The Victus is an understated design. My review unit is almost all black with a discreet backlight and a simple “V” symbol on the lid (which, as you’ll notice in the photo, was soon covered with a mess of fingerprints). This is more of an “office-ready” device than an “RGB chaotic mess that won’t get out of the basement” device; at 5.06 pounds, it’s quite portable (for a gaming laptop), but it’s by no means a lightweight device.
Ports are pretty much everything you could possibly need: two USB-A, one USB-C, one audio jack, one HDMI 2.1, one Ethernet, and one full-size SD reader, in addition to a charging port It is worth noting that Thunderbolt 4 is not present (at this price point Thunderbolt 4 is not a must at this price point). One thing that concerns us about the chassis is the touchpad. Not only is it prone to fingerprints, but the clicks are quite hard.
PC gaming is expensive, and even entry-level hardware can be a hurdle; the HP Victus 15 is a low-cost ($799 configuration) gaming laptop with practical but meager Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 GPU and Intel Core i5-12450H CPU specs. It also features a 15.6-inch display with a 144Hz refresh rate and 1920 x 1080 resolution, and a clean design that can blend into any environment.
We reviewed the HP Victus 15 in dark silver, but the HP Victus 15 is also available in white and blue. The laptop features a large, prominent reflective V in the center of its smooth chassis. Below that, between the hinges, is the word Victus, and on the back of the Victus is a large cutout, where the air vents are located. Underneath the laptop, on one foot, there is a grid of vents. On either side of the feet are two notches for speakers.
HP gives the Victus 15 a screen-to-body ratio of 82.2%, which means the side bezels are thin, but the top (with a webcam without privacy shutters) and bottom are large. There is quite a bit of flex if you grip the corners of the display, though not much if you press down on the keyboard deck. Like many gaming laptops, you won’t find a fingerprint reader or facial recognition webcam to speed up Windows Hello login.
You won’t find a Thunderbolt 4 port either, but we wouldn’t consider this a bottleneck on a sub-$1,000 laptop. On the left edge is a USB 3.2 Type-A port, audio jack, SD card slot, and power connector. On the right side is a USB Type-C port, an Ethernet jack, and an HDMI video output, plus another USB-A port. Wireless communication is supported by Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth.