Hands on: HP Omen X 65 BFGD review

After seeing as much kit as we do, it’s hard to be wowed by much these days, but when Nvidia announced Big Format Gaming Displays (BFGDs), we were absolutely bowled over. Even looking at this 65-inch display’s spec sheet, which includes 4K, high-dynamic range, 1000-nit brightness, quantum dots and 120Hz, had us foaming at the mouth. It’s literally the gaming display of our dreams.

While Nvidia introduced multiple BFGD models from Acer and Asus at CES 2018 we got to play around with the HP Omen X 65 the most, so we’re using it for the purposes of our hands-on review. For the most part, you can expect our impressions of the HP Omen X 65 to apply to all BFGD screens.

Design

In terms of design, there isn’t much to note about the HP Omen X 65 other than it’s a really big 65-inch display with small, less-than-a-half-inch thick bezels. While it has a pair of stylish fin-shaped legs, it might be better to wall mount a screen this big.

The HP Omen X 65 is also by no means one of the thinnest screens, especially compared to LG’s rollable OLED 4K TV. The nearly two-inch thick display we saw behind close doors is only a prototype on demo, but with a full-array backlight and built-in Nvidia Shield components, we expect the final production models won’t be mistaken for wallpaper TVs any time soon.

Performance

The image quality is so amazing it breathes new life into something as monotonous as reloading a gun. On this massive Ultra HD display, you can see all the nicks on the magazine and the accumulated scratches on the gun itself. All the while, every frame of animation smoothly transitions into the next thanks to the screen’s 120Hz refresh rate.

The tricky thing about finding the perfect TV for gaming has been input lag, otherwise known as the delay between you hitting a button and seeing the reaction appear onscreen. For the most part, TVs have only done a fair to mediocre job of reducing input lag to 12-20milliseconds (ms), meanwhile, all BFGDs aim to reduce input lag down to just 1ms.

Beyond that, the HP Omen X 65 is one of the best damn looking gaming monitors we’ve ever seen. Playing Destiny 2 in 4K HDR at 120fps is a sight to behold. The Dawning event was still active in Bungie’s latest shooter, and so we got to run around a snowy farm that helped showcase the almost searing bright white snow against the pitch-black woods in the distance.

It’s not a TV, it’s the ultimate streaming device

That means you’ll be able to enjoy 4K HDR content streaming off Netflix and Hulu. Since Google Assistant made its way onto the Nvidia Shield last year, you’ll also be able to command it with just your voice.

The BFGD isn’t a TV. It might be as big as a TV and offer image quality that puts many televisions in their place, but it technically can’t be a TV without a tuner. While it won’t be able to connect it to your satellite or cable setup, what this screen does have is a built-in Nvidia Shield.

Early verdict

We’re blown away by the Nvidia BFGD concept,and the HP Omen X 65 has completely sold us on the image quality and performance we’ll see later this fall. Between the display’s resolution, color production, refresh rate and extra features, this is the gaming monitor of your dreams realized into a gigantic 65-inch screen.

That said, without knowing pricing we can’t say it’s an immediate buy – and it’s very likely that this display will be exorbitantly expensive. Until then, we’ll be closely following the developments of all of Nvidia’s BFGD program, and expect to see a full review of the HP Omen X 65 soon.

• New year, new tech – check out all our coverage of CES 2018