HP Victus 15L review: Gaming PC offers a good entry-level package

Over the last few years, the world of PC gaming has seen huge technological leaps forward. We have today a vast array of choice in terms of high-performance components and setups, and new blockbuster releases from likes of Nvidia, AMD and Intel keep moving the goal posts in terms of what’s possible from a home gaming rig. For those of us wanting a custom setup, the mix-and-match options are today better than they ever have been.

However, the best setups and the best components come at a high price, and with the cost-of-living crisis still looming large, it is understandable that not everyone has the funds to splash out on a top-of-the-range, superlative gaming device. Luckily, there are options, and this offering from HP provides a mid-range option which although as we’ll see in this review means some element of compromise, the gap is narrowing between the top devices and lower end models when it comes to playing a wide array of the latest titles.

HP Victus 15L review: Key specifications

HP Victus 15L review: Design and build

The first thing you will notice about the HP Victus 15L Gaming PC is that the form factor is notably compact, making it ideal for users with limited desk space. It’s also lightweight and feels portable – when we were reviewing it was easy to place in different configurations and plug in and unplug devices accordingly from the back. We reviewed the PC in a striking all-white finish, with an attractive illuminated ‘V’ at the front which lights up when the device switches on, but aside from this it’s as basic as it comes and it’s clear that some of the cost savings on this device come from efficiencies made in the construction of the case and chassis.

HP claims that they have managed to optimise internal airflow, ensuring efficient cooling during prolonged gaming and high-intensity editing sessions. There’s a strategically placed ventilation grille at the bottom left of the case, and although in our tests there was always cold air flowing through the system well, the rest of the case got quite hot, and its small size we think could lend itself to being prone to overheating due to the internal flow of air being restricted by components that are ever increasing in size being crammed in to a relatively simple, small case.

For gamers who want to tinker under the hood, there’s nothing that promotes this either in the component setup or the case – there’s no quick release of the side panel, for example, and the existing cable management doesn’t leave much room to play with. This isn’t the best model for people who want to get into the world of custom builds.

HP Victus 15L review: Performance

At the bottom end of the HP Victus range, the unit can be bought for a surprisingly cheap price, but for that, starting at around £600 you get a basic Intel Arc system or an AMD Ryzen 5600G

There’s still a decent amount of everyday power to be had from a basic system – an Intel Core i5 with a GTX 1660, but most modern games will struggle with these components. Luckily, HP offer a range of upgrades that can be pre-installed before the PC ships, and in our review machine, we tested the PC with an Intel Core i5-12400 6-core processor at 2.5Ghz and a Nvidia RTX 3060. Coupled with a 1TB SSD, rather than an SSD and HDD combo, this improves the performance of the PC immeasurably, and comes in just shy of the £1000 mark.

For testing, we loaded up a couple of the latest and most intensive games on the market, namely Bethesda Software’s Starfield and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, which is notoriously taxing on the hardware. Ultimately, we were pleasantly surprised, the RTX 3060 is a generously appointed graphics card and is a nice mid-ground spot in terms of performance and price. Similarly, the i5-12400 has won plaudits across the PC world for its efficiency in terms of power delivery and fantastic stock performance – HP have chosen well in terms of a CPU for this setup and it delivers admirably. In Cinebench testing, the i5-12400, which by its own admission is a budget CPU, outperforms many Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 9 setups – many of which are more than double the price. It also overclocks especially well – although in this case we’re not quite sure the case could handle the extra power or heat. 

During the test, running a 2K monitor at 2560x1440, we saw 40-60fps across the board in MSFS with high settings and similar performance on Starfield at medium to high settings. Yes, you have to turn the settings down a little, but the SSD hugely helps with loading times and maximizing the PC’s power delivery, and is a must for any reasonable gaming. Mitigating heating is also a consideration, but we didn’t see any noticeable throttling back of power delivery during casual gaming even if at maximum load the fan can be quite loud. During regular everyday multi-tasking, browsing online and photo editing however, we didn’t notice this to be a problem.

HP Victus 15L review: Features

It’s worth also mentioning here a few other features that impressed us. The PC is equipped with an array of connectivity options, including four USB 3.2 ports on the front, which is especially handy, including some on the back, a standard HDMI and DisplayPort and an Ethernet port capable of 1000mbps transfer speed. The inclusion of Wi-Fi 6 support and Bluetooth out the box further enhances connectivity and means that no matter what your home setup is or which peripherals you need to connect, it can be done quickly and in a fuss-free way. This is largely down to Windows 11 and the way the integrated software works, but it’s no exaggeration to say that we were set up and ready to go out the box in a matter of seconds once Windows had loaded for the first time.

The PC also comes with the HP Omen Gaming Hub software, which provides users with intuitive controls to fine-tune system performance, purchase games through HPs bespoke shop and boost certain titles to keep background apps to a minimum, for example. It also gives the user the ability to view system vitals, temperatures and change lighting options. It’s a fairly bloated piece of software but it’s nice to have something of this nature included in such a budget system.

Should I buy the HP Victus 15L Gaming PC?

We’re not afraid to admit we had fairly mediocre expectations for the Victus 15L given its price point and relatively meagre offering related to what could be possible for ultimate gaming PCs, but the reality is that we were really impressed with the setup and think that for the most part, for casual gamers, it’ll do the job well. There are some compromises to make, mainly when it comes to build quality, the case and the chassis, and the setup and build of the PC doesn’t allow for a huge amount of customisation for people who know what they are doing, but many people who need an entry level system won’t worry about this too much.

Building your own gaming PC can be an expensive business, so for a desktop that sits the right side of £1000 this is an admirable effort from HP. We can also see this working for people who have limited desk space, too, and need a variety of connectivity options on the front of case – the number of options here are a nice touch. If you want to play the latest games at 4K with ray tracing turned on, you’ll definitely need to look elsewhere, but most people won’t worry about that too much and for those people, this does the job really well.