Am I Crazy? Im Considering....HP???

So been looking at getting a new Laptop for a while and been really wanting a Alienware and thinking about the M17x, i was told about the Asus G73 but that looks really ugly to me, then i saw about the Envy 15 and i have to admit it looks really nice and i was wondering if some of you could answer a few of my questions

1. How many Hard drives can it use? i have a ALOT of stuff and even my 640gb (2 x 320) hard drives are getting a bit full now so when i get a new laptop i would prefer if it had 2 slots, so that i can fit 2 x 500gb drives in there can the Envy do this?

2. i see there are 2 options for the screen when choosing 1920 x 1080 could someone explain to me what the difference between them are, also with it being a 15inch would 1920 x 1080 be a good option or should i go lower? never had a 15inch laptop before

3. It must have been like a century since i was last here as the Processors for it, i have never heard of before whats this turbo boost thing all about? can they been constantly run in "turbo boost" as the normal speeds for them seem a little low, maybe its just me - mainly talking about the quads - 1.8 Quad for an extra $400+ seems alot

4. if i go with the standard RAM option what are the sticks? 2x2gb? 1 x4gb? also how many ram slots does it have? i see that it can use upto 16gb - so must be a few right?

5. i am thinking this is unlikely but can the graphics be upgraded? where can i find benchmarks, screenshots and general info about how well the card can run games, as i love my games

6. Where can it be bought in UK?
6.a with the fact that the UK model cant use 1920 x 1200 res screens should i consider buying from US and getting it shipped?

Thanks
wow my first post and my first thread in this section

 

1. It only has 1 slot to fit a 2.5" drive but can fit two 1.8" drives. It looks like you will be limited to 640GB right now.

2. I find 1920x1080 to be fine on the 15.6 inch screen. There are two options, the cheaper is a matte screen(non reflective) and a more expensive glossy screen. This is a matter of personal preference.

3. Most people don't have the need for a quad and the higher clocked dual core is fine. Turbo is found on the i5 and i7 processors and it increases the speed of a core or 2 cores(in the case of a quad) when an application needs speed more than multitasking.

4. 2x2GB. i5 machines are limited to 8GB 2x4 and i7 machines can use up to 16GB 4x4GB.

5. benchmarks are posted in the forum but dont count on upgrading the card.

6. I find 1920x1080 worth it.

 

i would look up info on the owners thread.. a lot of stuff there

and since ive seen that theres a 2nd gen. of it i would make sure that the one im buying isnt a 1st gen.

 

wait the i5 model only has 2 ram slots?

 

What screen would you recommend?
My Replies In Bold

whats wrong with 1st Gen?
How do i find out if its 2nd gen?

 

Its difficult to recommend a screen because it is very much a personal thing.

I don't think you can get the 1st gen now, maybe at Best Buy but AFAIK everything is 2nd gen now. They have improved on the 1st Gen to get the 2nd gen out. What those are somebody else can better articulate.

There are 1.8" drives too just as there are 2.5" and 3.5: drives. The way the Envy is you can either fit one 2.5" drive or two 1.8" drives. I don't think there is much difference in the prices of 1.8" and 2.5" SSD. However when I looked at the 1.8" HDD prices I felt they were very expensive. I didn't however search in depth. Just a cursory look. Maybe you can check if you want.

i5-540 has better battery life and lesser heat production. The consensus seems to be that i7 may not be necessary, esp if you are looking at battery life.

i5 has 2 slots, hence 2x4GB=8GB, while i7 has 4 slots hence 4x4GB=16GB.

Hope this helps, and I apologize if any info isn't accurate.

 

thanks for the info. How do i tell if a model is 1st gen, being in the UK not many on sale around here and even then it has the small res. But i was thinking could it be possible to get the UK model and buy a different screen - sure expensive but not as expensive as getting it from US - if so what screens would be recommended to use. i have seen one for sale (UK model) with a 4*** series card, cant remember exactly what version think it was 4870 would this be of the 1st gen models?

is there anywhere where i could find out out long roughly the battery lasts while doing things such as web browsing + msn, as well as a bit of gaming on the different CPU that are available?

Could i use 1 2.5inch drive and 1 1.8inch drive? or is it one or the other and not being able to mix and match - thing about going with a 500gb drive and a SSD for the OS thats if its possible

 

How good is the 5830? i heard it isnt that good any other opinions?

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=453084

that's the benchmarking thread.

actually I think, the 5830 is quite a capable card definitely one of the better ones in the 15.6inch machines out there.

 

i dont care about scores on 3d marks or anything ONLY in ingame performance
i have a 8800m GTX which will get better in game performance - good settings and FPS

 

It's only one or the other you can't mix and match... If you could he would of told you.

 

Believe me, if you have that sager, the difference between the envy 15 and it are night and day in terms of portability. I came from an XPS m1710 which is a lightweight compared to the sager. If it helps any both the i7 and the i5 will run circles around that C2D you have.

 

@ bjvoldan - huh? what are you talking about?

@static - i dont have core 2 duo - i have Q6600
the better portability is something that really interests me, but i dont want to sacrifice performance too much

 

The only one on the HP site is a fixed version. Unlike the US users, we have no customisation options, there is one set model and that's it:

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en/ho/WF06a/321957-321957-3329744-3995710-3995710-4075902.html

Which is a shame because with the 620 or 540 it may be an option, but there are lots of concerns about heat, it's also £1500 which is high for a machine that seems to be lacking the premium specs (no blue-ray inbuilt, no lit keyboard, etc).

 

Yeah i have been hearing issues with Heat, dont mind about no in built disc drive would rather have it thinner but it does seem quite expensive when i consider what i could get with an m15x for £250+ less with very similar specs (with just the 260m GTX instead of the 5830)

 

YOU can't have one 1.8 and a 2.5 only one 2.5 or two 1.8... IN OTHER WORDS YOU CAN'T MIX AND MATCH.

 

Yeah i have already figured that out

 

Yes, you are crazy for considering HP. See the article entitled "Technology's Most (and Least) Reliable Brands" in the March 2010 Issue of PC World. HP ranks DEAD LAST in Laptops (10 of 10), Desktops (11 of 11) and even Printers (9 of 9). They rank both reliability and service. Both are pretty much HORRIBLE across the board. I say steer clear.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/1874...chnologys_most_and_least_reliable_brands.html

 

It might have the worst reliable, does that mean that all models are damaged? No. from what i have read from people that actually OWN the Envy they say it is sold built and doesnt get as hot as some people have stated, even if they dont actually own the laptop. on Wedesday i am going to PC World and hoping to have a quick look at it and see what its like in person.

I dont mind if HP doesnt have the best reliability - if the Envy breaks i will just get a refund, doesnt bother me, more people state when there is something wrong and not mention when it goes well, my girlfriend has the dv9000 and has no problems with it what so ever, evenm after dropping it and getting a dent in the grill area it still works perfectly fine