CES 2025: HP uses AI to manage your gaming settings for you
When I log into a game, the first thing I do is go into the settings and experiment with my options to find a good balance between performance and graphics. It’s not exactly the most exciting first impression for a new title, but it can make my actual playtime a lot smoother. Now HP wants to automate this first hurdle so I can jump straight into gameplay instead.
Omen AI Beta optimizes your settings for you
As part of its CES 2025 announcements, the company announced its “Omen AI Beta,” coming to the HP Omen Gaming Hub this week. According to HP, this AI will “use machine learning to make individual adjustments to operating system settings, hardware settings and game settings with just one click.” That’s a lot to balance at once, but the idea is that HP scans your system to figure out how to get maximum performance in your games, given your individual setup, and then makes the necessary changes for you .
As with other AIs, this requires training data. According to a spokesperson, Omen AI will use hardware specifications, game configurations and performance metrics from “millions of gaming systems” to develop its optimizations, which it will then apply to your game and specific compatible parts of your larger system. To avoid conflicts with other companies’ products, changes to the operating system are limited to adjusting the “booster” settings already present in the company’s gaming software, while changes to hardware settings initially only work with Omen PCs. In other words, your tweaks may be a little less effective if you don’t have the right computer, but you also don’t have to worry about the program damaging hardware it isn’t familiar with. (If you encounter any problems, there is an undo button to return to your setting before enabling the AI.)
Photo credit: HP
Despite these limitations, the function only works with Counterattack 2 So expect a measured rollout. However, promotional material shows that the tool works Appreciation So I hope HP doesn’t give up on it just after a proof of concept.
That’s really what decides something like this. If it only works on a few titles, it will be good for headlines, but gamers will quickly forget about it. I’m told that integrations with other PC makers and companies like Nvidia are also possible down the road, which could help expand the tool’s user base.
A broader user base also means more data is available to train with, which raises the question of privacy. HP says Omen AI does not use personal data to train its AI models, and users can manage their data collection consent options in the Omen Gaming Hub software. Despite the promise that the data is anonymous and aggregated, it’s still worth double-checking your privacy settings if you have HP’s Omen Gaming Hub installed, even if you don’t plan on using AI.
Photo credit: HP
It’s interesting to see something like this coming first from a computer manufacturer rather than Microsoft or Nvidia, although the tool is open to anyone who has the Omen Gaming Hub installed, regardless of whether they own an HP PC or not. Both in and out of the game, you can apparently use Omen AI to access a quick switch that shows you your current FPS as well as the FPS you can expect after activating the tool. Even though they are just models at the moment, they show a commitment to user-friendliness. However, a bit of fine-tuning might be helpful here – what if I’m okay with the program adjusting my game settings, but I’d rather leave my operating system and hardware alone?
How well Omen AI will work in reality depends on the progress of the beta and further support. I’m for it: it’s also a good example of that Kind of AI I really likeas it is more about eliminating boredom than replacing human creativity.
New mice from HP
HP also announced the HyperX Pulsefire Saga and Saga Pro mice at this year’s CES, both of which look pretty standard at first glance, with 8K sensing, six programmable buttons, and support for up to 26,000 DPI. There are some premium features, like magnetic weights, but what really sets them apart are their 3D printed cases. The scope of delivery includes eight housing parts, which is enough for a complete mouse. But you can also swap and customize options as you wish by downloading new open source case parts from HP’s Printables account.
The HyperX Pulsefire Saga and Saga Pro mice will both be available in March. The former costs $80, while the latter costs $120 thanks to its added wireless functionality.
