I need help with choosing a gaming laptop

[EmpressShadow7]

@puzzlezaddict the laptop was turned off completely when that happened. I called the store i got it from and they said the system needs an update and that's what i did: updated the system, charged it 100% and went to sleep. Today i turned it on before going out and the battery was 98% and now (two hours later) it's 97% so i guess the system update fixed it?

About the sims 3, i kind of set the game on the highest settings possible and checked all the options that can be checked and put the fps to 144hz because i thought a gaming laptop should be able to handle that. Obviously i was wrong. So aside from limiting the fps, could you please tell me what to do with the other settings to play with high graphics, no lagging/crashing but stop the laptop from becoming too hot/fans going crazy fast.

[puzzlezaddict]

@EmpressShadow7  Did you actually confirm in-game that the fps was locked to 144?  Sims 3's fps limiter doesn't work; you need to use an outside tool.  If the Nvidia Control Panel settings aren't working, you can try this instead:

https://community.pcgamingwiki.com/files/file/84-d3doverrider/?changelog=32

It works with DX9 games like Sims 3, forcing vertical sync when the Control Panel setting doesn't take.  If you play in windowed mode though, you'll need another tool, for example RivaTuner Statistics Server, which does need to be running while you play.

You can also choose to cap fps at 72 rather than 144 if you want; many people can't tell the difference, and that would be a significantly lower workload for the CPU and GPU.  It shouldn't be necessary in terms of performance, but it would help with temperatures.

The fans are supposed to run at high speeds while you're gaming.  That's not only normal but a good thing.  If the fans are too loud, sorry to say it, but that's part of having an Omen.  Some laptop brands have louder fans than others, depending on the laptop chassis and how much the manufacturer wants to spend on the feature.

[EmpressShadow7]

@puzzlezaddict i'll try limiting the fps and let you know if it helps. I did for the sims 4 and i'm not really noticing any difference. Is it normal though that the keyboard, the area above it between the lid and the middle of the keyboard, the air vents on the back and the sides get prettyyyy warm within minutes of launching the game (sims 3 and 4) even with the fans and the cooling pad on? the cpu and gpu temps are always in the green when this happens (70c° 87c°)

Do you think i should get a better cooling pad? Mine has five fans and i use the highest speed but it doesn't make a difference.

I could live with the fans noise i guess since it's normal but i'm still worried the heat is not and i got a defective laptop.

Also i'm sorry for the million questions. I tried asking my friends but they have no idea about what's normal for gaming laptops.

[puzzlezaddict]

@EmpressShadow7  It's normal for the keyboard and surrounding areas to get quite hot to the touch.  After all, the CPU and GPU are right underneath.  This review is for the previous generation's Omen, but it should give you an idea of what normal temperatures look like:

https://www.notebookcheck.net/HP-Omen-17-Laptop-Review-High-end-gaming-with-some-small-limitations.4...

In the Temperature section, you'll see photos from a thermal camera and some absolute readings for each location.  Even though this isn't your exact model, the two are likely very similar in this area.  High-end laptops are often too hot to comfortably touch in certain areas, the reasoning being (probably) that people running demanding games are probably using a mouse anyway, perhaps with the fingers of their other hand resting on the WASD keys.

The iternal temps you've described do not suggest that the laptop is defective.  I couldn't tell you for sure without some stress testing, but if the laptop had a major issue, as opposed to some minor tuning irregularity, you'd have seen evidence by now.

More questions are fine, but I hope that at some point, you let yourself relax and play.  This laptop is under warranty for a while, hopefully at least a year, so in the unlikely event that something does happen, you should be covered.  So there's not much point in worrying about it.

[EmpressShadow7]

@puzzlezaddict the warranty is six months so everything is good for now. Something that happend this morning though is the constant buzzing noise only when playing games. When i quit the game the noise is gone. I googled it and it's something called coil whine. I don't really know how to fix it and i can still hear it with my headphones on. Any suggestions?

I already limited the fps to 144 using nvidia cp

[puzzlezaddict]

@EmpressShadow7  Coil whine is due to coils within the graphics card vibrating rapidly enough that we can actually hear the results.  It typically only happens at high framerates, not 144 but in the 200-300 fps range or higher.  So you shouldn't be hearing it unless the Control Panel setting isn't taking.

It's also not a great sign for your laptop.  I mean it's not immediately dangerous, but if the coils are frequently under enough stress to whine, they could eventually break.  (This might take a couple years, but it's impossible to predict.)  And because their job is essentially to help steady the power being input to the GPU before it reaches the chip itself, they need to be in working order to protect the card.

[EmpressShadow7]

@puzzlezaddict well nothing i can do to fix this i guess. I'll contact the store tomorrow and see what they can do. I can't play anything on it the noise is driving me crazy.