An okay laptop with 16GB of RAM is better than a nice laptop with 8GB, and this $520 HP OmniBook proves it
An okay laptop with 16GB of RAM is better than a nice laptop with 8GB, and this $520 HP OmniBook proves it
一台配置尚可的 16GB 内存笔记本电脑，远胜于一台配置精美但仅有 8GB 内存的电脑，这款 520 美元的惠普 OmniBook 就是证明
The HP OmniBook 3 16 hits different in an era of expensive laptops. 在笔记本电脑价格高昂的时代，惠普 OmniBook 3 16 带来了不一样的体验。
Laptop prices are out of whack. $500 used to get you a tolerable laptop, and $900 got you a really good one. They often had similar CPU, RAM, and storage options because that stuff was comparatively cheap; the difference was often in build quality and screen rather than power. But RAMageddon has thrown everything off. Even laptops like the $950 Surface Laptop now start with 8GB of RAM, which isn’t enough. And on the lower end, where manufacturers are struggling to compete with the $700 MacBook Neo, they’re cutting corners on storage, CPU, and build quality too. 笔记本电脑的价格已经乱套了。过去，500 美元能买到一台尚可的笔记本，900 美元则能买到一台非常不错的机器。它们通常拥有相似的 CPU、内存和存储配置，因为这些硬件在当时相对便宜；差异往往体现在做工和屏幕上，而非性能。但“内存灾难”（RAMageddon）彻底打乱了一切。即便是售价 950 美元的 Surface Laptop，现在起步内存也仅为 8GB，这显然是不够的。而在低端市场，厂商们为了与 700 美元的 MacBook Neo 竞争，不得不缩减存储、CPU 和做工成本。
However, one low-cost laptop has bucked this and genuinely surprised me. HP’s 16-inch OmniBook 3 is a basic productivity laptop that regularly goes for around $520 at Walmart and Amazon. It has Qualcomm’s base Snapdragon X chip, meaning passable everyday performance and excellent battery life. But it also has a humdrum screen, mediocre speakers, a run-of-the-mill trackpad, and a plastic build. Pre-RAMageddon, it would be nothing to write home about. 然而，有一款低价笔记本电脑打破了这一局面，并让我感到由衷的惊喜。惠普 16 英寸的 OmniBook 3 是一款基础生产力笔记本，在沃尔玛和亚马逊上的售价通常在 520 美元左右。它搭载了高通入门级的骁龙 X 芯片，这意味着它具备合格的日常性能和出色的续航能力。但它也有着平庸的屏幕、一般的扬声器、普通的触控板以及塑料机身。在“内存灾难”之前，这台机器根本不值一提。
But 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD in an okay laptop for around $500? That counts as good news in 2026. 但在 2026 年，一台售价约 500 美元的笔记本电脑能拥有 16GB 内存和 512GB 固态硬盘？这绝对算得上是一个好消息。
The entry-level OmniBook 3 I tested has an 8-core Snapdragon X processor, 16GB of RAM, 512GB SSD, and a 16-inch 1920 x 1200 anti-glare IPS LCD. And the OmniBook 3 is fairly portable for a larger laptop with lots of ports. It’s barely heavier than a 14-inch MacBook Pro, and at a maximum thickness of 0.63 inches / 16mm it’s decently thin. This big laptop doesn’t feel big. And despite a plastic chassis and low price it doesn’t feel too cheap either. 我测试的入门级 OmniBook 3 配备了 8 核骁龙 X 处理器、16GB 内存、512GB 固态硬盘以及 16 英寸 1920 x 1200 分辨率的防眩光 IPS 液晶屏。作为一款接口丰富的大尺寸笔记本，OmniBook 3 的便携性相当不错。它几乎不比 14 英寸的 MacBook Pro 重，最大厚度仅为 0.63 英寸（16 毫米），相当轻薄。这台大尺寸笔记本并没有给人笨重的感觉。尽管采用了塑料机身且价格低廉，但它摸起来并不显得廉价。
As much as I would like to see more cheap Windows laptops with the sleek looks and sturdy all-metal build of the MacBook Neo, I wouldn’t mind if more of them were like the OmniBook 3. Its screen, keyboard, trackpad, and webcam are all at least passable to decent. There isn’t anything special here, but unlike the Chuwi UniBook there’s also nothing that feels like a punishment. 虽然我非常希望看到更多像 MacBook Neo 那样外观时尚、全金属机身坚固的廉价 Windows 笔记本，但如果市面上能有更多像 OmniBook 3 这样的产品，我也不介意。它的屏幕、键盘、触控板和摄像头至少都达到了合格甚至不错的水平。这里没有什么特别出彩的地方，但与 Chuwi UniBook 不同的是，它也不会让你有种“受罪”的感觉。
What I can totally live with is the performance. The OmniBook’s 8-core Snapdragon X processor is a little slower than the one in the $950 Surface Laptop I tested, but the OmniBook’s day-to-day performance is better because it’s not starved for RAM and its larger SSD is a little faster. 我完全可以接受它的性能表现。OmniBook 的 8 核骁龙 X 处理器比我测试的那台 950 美元的 Surface Laptop 稍慢，但 OmniBook 的日常使用体验更好，因为它没有被内存不足所困扰，且其更大的固态硬盘速度也稍快一些。