(The two envies having a baby thread)

So, as of an hour ago, I now have 2 envy 14s.

1. i5-560, 6GB, 256 SSD, Bright View (ordered from HP as replacement for my canceled radiance)

2. i7-720, 8GB, 640 HD, Radiance (refurb from ebay)

The plan is simple - to take the radiance screen and the 640 GB HDD and move them to the i5. The SSD and the BV will go to the i7, and the i7 will go to ebay, while the i5 Radiance stays home with Daddy.

I've thought about the SSD. It's really nice - fast, no vibration on the computer, quiet, but I just don't think 256 is big enough. Plus, I think I'll be able to get considerably more from the resell if I include the SSD.

I also plan on doing a clean install on the i5 with Windows 7 professional (the student discounted version from theultimatesteal.com). I will follow the guide in the owners thread.

Anyway, anyone have any comments, warnings or suggestions?

 

SSD with the i5 and radiance will be worth more than the i7 and BV

 

right, but I want the radiance

 

What he said. Also, I am surprised how you managed to have the funds to acquire TWO Envy 14's to do the transplant.

However, having the SSD in the i7 + BV should boost some value, like + $300 USD on the sticker price? However, do note that the i7 Envy 14 isn't really popular.

 

the goal wasn't to get the most money on ebay... the goal was to get a computer that best fits my needs. Since HP canceled my radiance order, I have to improvise

 

StrikeSaber, I agree. I ordered the i7 before I realized the battery drain. Now i'm just trying to make orange juice out of lemons!

 

I thought about this method too, however what would happen if you had issues with your screen? Not having the BV just in case to replace and send back to HP might be an issue for the warranty, no?

I'm still just hoping the part store delivers my screen, rather than I have to go through this fiasco.

 

At least you are willing to take a loss for Radiance. Now that is dedication! I am more concerned that an i7 Envy 14 Refurb will even sell. If you are already willing to take a loss, then selling it undervalued (lowballed prices) will ensure a sell on eBay. However, in market competitive value, its not really a popular model that people will be interested in buying.

Yeah, that is something you also need to take in account. Doing something in this realm could violate both unit's warranty...

 

yup, that's the plan. I'm planning on selling it for 1300-1400, which is hundreds under what you'd get it for from HP.

Big Phil - After dealing with a lot of warranties, most of the time you can just get them to ship you a defective part. The only thing i'm particularly worried about is the screen, but if I break it, they won't replace it anyway.

 

True, but the demand for them is low on eBay. You really think someone will pull your target $1300 for an i7 + BV? (Maybe the SSD helps but still).

To your second point. NOT TRUE. I had an Envy 15 with the standard warranty. EVERY REPAIR GOES BACK TO THE DEPOT. NO EXCEPTIONS. They won't give you a replacement part for you to install. Your laptop has to go back to the depot, even for keyboard repairs. That is one of the biggest downsides to the Consumer HP Warranty. Be forewarned.

Also, even if you do order On-Site Support, for the Envy lineup in particular, they are only willing to fix on-site things like RAM and HDD. Once you talk about opening up the base enclosure to do repairs, they will say to you that it needs to go with me back to the depot.

That being said, I don't know if the Envy 14 regulations has been changed, since the Envy 14 has a different enclosure setup than the Envy 15 that I had, but it was a pain to work with HP Support in regards to fixing anything on the Envy 15.

 

What'd I do persyus... is order a BV replacement screen off of ebay ~100 bucks or so, switch that one with the true BV screen that you had on your SSD model, and sell that?

Keep the BV screen just in-case of issues in the next two years. But then again if you replace the SSD and throw it in the i7 model then you're also messing up your warranty in that regard as well.

Bah

 

Swapping out the SSD won't affect warranty. Those parts are considered user serviceable. Like RAM.

 

Good to know, maybe I'll be doing a little screen swapping myself if it comes down to it.

 

2.0, do you know if i can hot swap the hard drives?

 

HDD Swapping is legal and won't void warranty. Changing screens on the other hand could be tricky to explain to HP Reps though, especially when your model you are keeping isn't Radiance and yet, you got Radiance...

Furthermore, Envy 14 screen swapping is more "difficult" and more "noticable" than swapping an Envy 15 screen from 720p BV to 1080p Anti Glare.

 

Oh, sorry, I wasn't clear. I was wondering if I can just switch them with out any reformatting, reinstalling, etc.

 

Yes you can do that. when you first boot up with the new drive, if there are any device differences, you might need to install the driver or it will automatically be detected.

But it's no problem swapping.

 

Woooo, just managed to nab the last refurbed hp envy 14 with radiance off the small business outlet, with shipping and tax (got an extra 10% off because I mentioned a promotion, Bruce was not happy) it came to a little under 980. Hurrayyy. I missed one with a 160GB for a little more that would've been awesome and an instant return for my BV displayed SSD model that should be arriving about the same time.

Now I can make a decision with both in my hand and even if the stupid parts store cancels my display shipment, I can get my hands on an radiance at last.

Gotta love HP's return policy. Buy two keep one, and send the other back with no return fees.

Or maybe I'll even screen swap them, and sell the later on eBay? While purchasing a replacement BV screen beforehand. Decisions... decisions...

 

Congrats. Just hope it doesn't to your door with screen problems. Getting a Radiance is a feat but hoping it works without fault is another. In that case, you should return the negotiated new one and upgrade the warranty on the outlet one and other minor upgrades. From there you should be all good to go.

In my opinion, I always play the safer route and get my money back in my accounts as fast and safely possible. I would go the return route once you confirm that the outlet one is working fantastically. Besides, eBay eats your profits with their fees and you might never get the money you wanted for it from the seeking buyers. By returning, you are ensured you get your full payment back from HP to your pockets.

 

I can agree to that, plans are.

If my radiance screen is actually being delivered from the parts store. Eat the extra cost and install it on my new model with the 256gb SSD.

Otherwise I'll probably keep the refurbed model and upgrade to a SSD myself. And return the BV model. Assuming everything is great of course.

Damn I'm pumped

 

Congradts to my fellow NBRer! LOL

KJ

 

I wonder if it would just be easier to swap the processors?
It would seem the screen swap would be harder to accomplish.
Just swap the processor and hard drives....bada boom...your done...sell the i7 with the BV screen on eBay to recoup your funds.....

 

If you are swapping an i7 Quad in an i5 Envy, it is impossible. It is also impossible to do the vice-versa. The reason is that the i5 Envy's motherboard has special chips that controls switchable graphics, while the i7 motherboards lacks the chips. Therefore, the BIOS won't post an i7 Quad in an i5 motherboard and vice-versa. That is the price you pay for switchable graphics support.

 

Well, 1 down. the i5 radiance with 640 is up and running!

 

How did you manage to get it for $980 out the door? I bought the 2nd of the three avaiable today and I was charged $1147 out the door. The promo proce listed in the spreadsheet was $1047 before tax/shipping and the one you bought as listed as $1023 before tax and shipping.

 

and the i7 SSD BV up and running. No extra screws, no broken parts, just two working computers! Now i guess it's time to clean off the bloatware, and set up an ebay listing!

 

How do the black levels compare between the BV and Radiance? I would hope it would be DRASTIC like the Macbook Pro's black levels....

 

How difficult was it do to the switch? The manual pretty good on the directions? Just thinking I might end up doing the same, but replacing the radiance in the refurb with a BV from ebay rather than the one from my original model.

 

Jagsta: the black levels are great. I'll take a look at my GFs macbook pro tomorrow and try to get a comparison.

bigphil: It was not trivial to say the least. You basically have to take the laptop completely apart. The manual was pretty good. The only place it was incorrect was in the second set of screws holding the keyboard-palm rest assembly (the size listed is wrong, and there are 4 instead of 3 like it says in the manual).

Anyway, did the whole thing in a little less than 2 hours.

 

Keep the SSD in whichever version winds up with the 1600x900 display and use some 64GB or 32GB SDXC cards for extra documents and videos, etc., that you don't need fast read/write times for.

This works great for my Envy 15 which only has 320GB space. Once you get used to SSD speeds, the traditional platter will feel extremely sluggish, with slow application load, boot and shutdown times.

 

Who makes SSD model #? If it's a sand force controller you should easily get $400 but better act now before new gen of dives come out.

 

I believe the 256 SSD in Envy 14 is the crucial C300 realSSD model. Which sells for well above $400 on ebay.
I'm interested in swapping the screen too. I just opened up my Envy the other day to take out the CD drive to save weight. It wasn't too hard, and it seems like you can unscrew the hinges and cables and the whole screen and lid assembly should come off.
Now I just need to find a donor Envy. Anyone want to sell me yours?

 

As much as I love the hybrid idea, I think it does impact the warranty...

It would suck to send in a broken Envy with motherboard or graphics issue only to have HP say "Warranty Voided" or Send back a BV!

 

Replacing the hard disk drive does not void the warranty. As strikesaber said in another thread very recently that hp lists the hard drive as a user replaceable or upgradeable part which doesn't void the warranty. I believe there is a whole thread that about replacing it with a ssd.

 

That is true for the main hard drive bay. Changing the optical drive for a hard drive caddy though I am not sure...

 

Oh i didn't realize he was referring to adding a 2nd drive. I could see that being a problem but not sure.

 

ah wow... I've never even thought about switching out the disc drive for a second HDD. That's clever...

 

Well, to be sure 100% the fix is.... Call HP and ask them. Get the reps name who tells you yes you can do it, and you should be ok...assuming he says yes. Good luck.

P.S. Better to play safe then be sorry later.

KJ

 

Yup, I am not sure what the rules are so better ask. However, if you do want to go hybrid setup, make sure you know how to carefully get to the optical drive and when you do send it in for repairs, make sure to put the optical drive back in place all working.

 

I didn't notice any "warranty void if removed" stickers anywhere, so as long as you put your original stuff back to where it was before sending in for repair, you should be fine.

 

Yes that is true, however if you physically damage things during your installation process (like you broke a tab or stripped a screw or something), it won't be covered on warranty and could red-flag technicians when they are inspecting your system before warranty repairs. So you still have to really careful and not leave tracks in your modifications.