(Likely) Good news for the envy 14 refresh

Let's hope so. 3 weeks and 6 days encounting.

 

had a chat today with an HP rep

Rep: Thank you for contacting HP Home & Home Office Store Chat. Hi, my name is Jocelyn, and welcome to our Mega Sale! How are you doing today, Justin?

Me: Hi Jocelyn, I'm doing great. My question is about the envy 14. i know i want to get this laptop, but i'm also certain that i want to wait for HP to update it with the new Sandy bridge processors. can you tell me when this is going to happen?

Rep: Thank you for considering HP products. We appreciate your interest, but I am sorry I could not provide you the definite schedule as to when this processors will be available.

Me: I'm not looking for the definite schedule, just a rough schedule

Rep: Our rough estimates will be this month.

*Rep pushes page, http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/home.do*

Me: So it will be very soon.

Rep: I will provide you this link for you to check on it from time to time, for any new updates and for our upcoming new products that will introduce in the market.

Rep: Yes

(Then i got bored)

Me: okayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Rep: Do you have any other questions that I can help you with? I want to make sure that I have completely addressed your concern today and are satisfied with my service.

Me: yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

Me: are you single?

Rep: Are you?

Me: yes i ammmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Rep: Anyway, Justin, It was nice chatting with you today. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to assist you.

Me: wait, lola, come back! I'm not a nobody, im a weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeinaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Rep: Here in HP, we value customers like you. Since we aim to provide our customers the latest technology.

Me: that was irrelevant. are you single?

Rep: I appreciate you asking that question. Regrettable, we are not allowed to give out those kind of information.

Me: okkkkkk

*close chat*


Anyways, is her info reliable? idk. maybe. maybe she was just trying to get me off chat and say what i wanted to hear. either way, it was humoring.

 

Well, since the Envy line refresh has been delayed long enough that the Llano cores are now shipping out, I suppose I'm gonna have to wait on benchmarks to see if these things are the SB competitors that AMD claims. Sigh.

Especially if the laptop chips get the Crossfire technology to pair the on-die GPU with a discrete card. I can't tell whether that's relegated to the desktop chips...

 

AgentBeth
We cannot assure you, but modifications may be offered with one or two months.
6:06:00 PM CustomerBalk
Oh, so it is still pretty long away then right?
6:06:10 PM AgentBeth
Great. Would you want to check with our other series like the dv6t select edition?
6:06:22 PM CustomerBalk
I was just wondering because I need one by the end of the month, and I would have waited for it if it was coming out.
6:06:29 PM AgentBeth
We do not have any definite time table, Balk.
6:06:30 PM CustomerBalk
Yes I have, it is too large for me though.
6:06:44 PM CustomerBalk
Yea that is fine, I just wanted a rough estimate. So 1-2 months then right?
6:07:04 PM AgentBeth
You can also look into our dm4t series. Would you prefer to customize?

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-compaq/567054-new-hp-dv4-3000-series.html

The new DV4 is supposed to have HD 6750, so I am pretty sure our GPU will be great. Going to be returning my Envy which I got a few weeks ago.

 

http://h20424.www2.hp.com/campaign/consumer_notebooks/ap/en/resources/HP_Pav_DV4_Brochure_FA_web.pdf

Thats the page. Going to see if I can find one for the Envy lol.

The specs on this thing are better than the current envys. I can't wait to see whats in the new Envys.

 

In all honesty, I do think that they WON'T refresh the 14. My gut thinks that they'll miss this one due to missing the radiance screen as any review would probably moan about it not being available. Plus, with the B series, S series and Elite books looking a bit more 'flashy', they've got the range covered.

Of course, I'll return here and eat my sock if I'm wrong. (Gets sauce ready)

 

damn, a 6750? whats the starting price on that laptop?

 

Just PM'ed this guy on the forum who is an HP rep.

At this time, HP currently has no plans for the release of the Envy 14 Sandy Bridge model, however, it is "in the minds" of those who would be able to confirm or deny that information.

In short, no Envy 14's with Sandy Bridge for awhile

Paul


WWTTTFFFFFFF?????



edit: Another rep I chatted with.

I am sorry to inform you that we don't have any updates yet about the release date for the HP Envy 14 notebook PC with Intel Sandybridge processor and if they are going to include it in the configuration for this model.

 

aww man... shoot. </3

 

They're blowing smoke up your keester. The idea that a major notebook supplier is letting one of their flagship models stagnate without updating to the newer chips is ludicrous.

 

Ya I'm thinking the same thing. It turns out the dv4 sandybridge has been released in asia. I think it is some sort of test run for the envys because I remember the previous rep saying they were trying to get the 14inch laptop motherboard's fitting right. Here is some info on the dv4, it has a HD6750 so the Envy has to have that. I am just going to wait it out, return the beats I got right now.

HP Pavilion dv4
Powered by the latest Sandy Bridge chipset and AMD Radeon HD6750M graphics, this thin-and-light has a new black lattice design with a slim 28mm profile, though it weighs a rather hefty 2.2kg. This 14-inch machine has a rated battery life of up to 6 hours as well as optional Blu-ray playback capabilities. The Pavilion dv4 will have a starting price of US$749 when it hits Asia markets in mid March.

 

If only this has HP Envy Beat's sleek looks and backlit keyboard...

Here is the spec in Australia's website if anyone wants to see it.

Code:

http://h20386.www2.hp.com/AustraliaStore/Product.aspx?hpproduct=LR726PA

The spec is awesome. It's thinner and slightly lighter compared to HP Envy as well. If only the design is not that crap and has a backlit keyboard.

Hopefully the new Envy will be as sick, if not more awesome, than this spec. A Radiance screen is a must as well.

 

Very Interesting Chat with an Hp Rep over the phone today

When I inquired about the HP Envy 14 with the Sanddy Bridge, he said that it's not out yet, but will be out very soon. I asked him if he meant a like a month or so, and he replied that it would be out sooner than that!!!!


I then asked him about the Radiance screen. He said that he couldnt be sure, but he was quite confident that the refresh WILL contain a radiance or an equivalent screen!!!!

 

The reps don't know squat so i'd really not bet any money on this. They've told people all kinds of false info in the past.

 

It starts off thinner, but it fattens up to about 1.4 inch. so I'd say the e14 is still quite a bit thinner as it doesnt really get fatter towards the back

 

Yea, I wouldn't trust the reps too much, but I am pretty sure it will be coming out very soon. I think they are using the dv4 release in other countries to screen for any problems with their 14 inch sandybridge laptops before releasing the Envy in the US.

 

This seems reasonable. I had doubts that a 6770 would be put in a 14.5 inch notebook but a 6750 seems more reasonable... yet still awesome enough.

TBH I'll get the envy 14 with or without the radiance display once they put SB in...

 

same here, i am really just holding out for the gpu, I just purchased my envy 2 weeks ago but the gpu upgrade is worth it, especially for newer games. And fortunately I never had a radiance so I don't know what I'm missing out on the BV seems great to me.

 

I may have some good news !

I was looking for some informations about the HP Envy 14 beats Edition at Futureshop (a canadian retailer owned by Best Buy) and I noticed that they took the Envy 17 and 15 off the shelves. So I asked the guy whether they were going to bring them back or not, he answered me that they were going to receive new generation Envys in approximately one month, an Envy 17 3D Sandy Bridge model (the one that is already available in USA) and *that's the good news* a new model of Envy 15 with Sandy Bridge. Unfortunately he didn't mention the HP envy 14 which is the only one still sold by the store.

I wanna specify that I didn't asked him about any refresh coming with Sandy Bridge , he's the one who mentionned the Sandy Bridge processors. So it's kinda sure that the Envy 15 will be refreshed very soon and not discontinued like the 13 one

 

That could be accurate.. since the Envy 17 and the Envy 14 were made official on May 5th 2010 and it was available by May 26th 2010.
I'll be waiting for May 6th, if nothing shows up by then I'm buying something else.

A new Envy 15 makes sense since HP doesn't seem to be able to make another 14.5" laptop with a high-resolution screen. 15.6" 1920x1080 panels are in abundance and are therefore not nearly as expensive.

 

Same here, will wait for Envy 15

 

Here is a tidbit for those interested in VT-d (Intel Virtualization for Directed I/O)...

If there is any validity to the notion that HP could be using the DV4 as a test for the upcoming Envy 14/15 (whichever comes out), the DV4 uses an HM65 chipset. Unfortunately, that chipset does not support VT-d, according Intel's website. Additionally, the current SB Envy 17 uses the HM67, which also does not support VT-d.

http://ark.intel.com/Compare.aspx?i...694,43187,47580,52815,52814,52813,52809,52808,

I am hopeful that the Intel Website is incorrect about the VT-d capabilities of the HM6x chipsets, b/c the HM5x series did support VT-d.

 

Ugh, thanks for pointing this out but it also means my sole reason for upgrading to the QM2820 CPU on my Envy 17 3D has been invalidated by the chipset. I certainly hope you are right about the mistake though.

I also checked around and at cursory glance it doesn't appear that any of the major notebook manufacturers use the QM chipsets in their top of the line consumer grade product lines (some business class notebooks use the QM67 express). Thus apparently there are no consumer notebooks capable of truly supporting a virtualization platform in the year 2011. So so stupid. God I hate technology.

Just another reason I need to consider RMA'ing my new notebook. Only got one more day left... sigh

 

im not certain, but i believe that the following have the QM67 chipset:

ASUS G74SX 3D
HP Elitebook 8460P / 8560P
Dell Latitude E3 Refresh (E6420, E6520, E5420, E5520)

 

^^add to that the entire thinkpad line, including the edge line

 

I couldn't find a chipset spec on the Asus G74SX 3D so I can't say for sure if it supports VT-D.

The HP Elitebook and Dell Latitiude product lines are targeted for business use which as I said do sometimes carry the QM (express) chipset, at a higher price comparative to similarly equipped consumer (home and home office) product lines.

The Thinkpad line is considered business. While they have some edge models in the consumer/home and home office product family, they are still the old i5/i7 generation and I couldn't find their chipset spec.

 

just go for the e420s, those are the ones with the qm67, the older ones are in their eol.

The e420s was offered without the dedicated gpu, and sold out, they are going to offer more, there are still some at the provantage.com

Now here is the problem, the QM chipset dont allow for a switchable gpu, the HM does, unless you go for ZM68, well there is nothing that you could do.

btw they may be similarly speced but the business line is going to have much better build quality, and resale value.

btw this bad, since I need the VTD too

 

Yeah my point was that I don't want to spend $4k on a "business" laptop. I specced a similar Elitebook (first gen i7) and it came out to almost $5k with a dreamcolor screen. Removing the screen only saved about $500. My point behind buying the envy was so that I could run 3-4 VM's for work and also play games while staying in hotel rooms during travel. Sigh, doesn't look like there is any easy choice here... now knowing that my i7-2820QM is hobbled by the HM chipset, I wonder if I should return the laptop for the cheaper i7-2630.

 

I would return it and go for the cheaper option. You could go even cheaper and get the new dell xps 15 if you don't mind a slightly bulkier laptop?

 

and get a much lesser gpu? and a much lesser build quality?

I would seriously just try it, and if it works, yay, if it dont return it to hp

 

Look what i started.....

There are only so many solutions to this dilemma.

1. Get a SB based notebook that supports VT-d, then you lose switchable graphics... Your choice of lappies here is based on what is more important to you, graphics power or battery life.

2. Get an Arrandale laptop. The HM55 & HM57 chipsets both support VT-d and switchable graphics, and there are a number of laptops that have those, including the Arrandale Envy 14 (dual core for switchable graphics).

3. Get a SB Lappie w/ an HMxx chipset, and forgo VT-d... Ask yourself if you *really* need it.