Buy old envy 14 for cheap or wait?

I can get the old envy with the core i5 480 for 25% off, so around $750. That seems like a very good deal to me, with the only major upgrade to the series being the sandy bridge cpu which I assume will either keep the price at $1k or greater. Do you guys think waiting and getting the sandy bridge for full price is worth it? or should I just go for the current version right now with the cheap price. I'm on a core 2 duo right now and I haven't had any problems with that, so it seems like the current gen i5 would be plenty.

 

I am having same debate with myself. It depends I say if the new envy have radiance screen or not. We can't seem to get a confirmation either way yet.

If not, then I'd say buy the old envy 14.

 

if you don't plan on gaming regularly, the old envy 14 will do just fine. Especially if you can get your hands on a radiance.

I've seen a few on the NBR Marketplace (in these forums) going for $800-900

 

I made my choice and just bought one from the NBR marketplace since the new ones don't seem to have radiance screen.

 

If you want to game at all on this laptop, I highly recommend to forget about the Envy 14 and find a refurb or used 2nd gen Envy 15 with 1920x1080 display.

It is the only laptop ever on the market that can deliver decent frame rates for most recent games (including Witcher 2) at 1920x1080, all settings maxed (ubersampling off in the case of TW2), that is still thin, light and portable enough that you are not carrying around something that looks like a giant spaceship with disco lights.

 

There are some 15.6 clevo/sager with sandybridge, Geforce 555 and 1920x1080 screen for a bit more than 1k. Better deal than the older envy 15 if you ask me.
Especially if you consider the envy 15 has its share of issues and oddities.

 

Obviously, the cheapest option would be to build a gaming desktop from components and buy a non-gaming laptop separately. The total cost will be cheaper and you will have a desktop that can handle demanding games without upgrading for the next few years.

If you absolutely must buy a gaming laptop and don't mind a bulky desktop replacement type, then I would look at some of the Sagers or similar models with NVIDIA 485M or AMD 6970M

If you want something thin and portable that is also a decent gaming laptop, there really isn't anything available on the market anymore since HP discontinued the Envy 15.

 

OP is fine with core 2 duo; he will wil not take full advantage of a SB i5 or a gaming laptop (not even the old i5). And since battery difference is marginal since the old i5 comes with switchable graphics, I do not think the new sandy bridge processors will bring too much for the original poster. I recommend buying a reliable laptop like the envy 14 for the current great price.

 

you're totally right, building a decent gaming desktop is quite a bit cheaper than a laptop and also far more powerful.

 

I think this is where I'm at right now.

I know they're updating with the new processor in a few weeks, but the price is certainly going to go back up to $1k. That might still be a good value, but given my relatively basic tasks, it's probably overkill for me. Honestly, the current Envy 14 specs are probably overkill for me!

The only potential plus for the newer processors I'd enjoy is better battery life, but not sure if that's worth the price. Are their 25-30% off coupons pretty uncommon? ~$800 with taxes and stuff included for that build quality just seems really hard to pass up.

 

25-30%/$300 is the max coupon I have seen except crazy $400 coupons on christmas/holiday season. But still this is the great deal. For battery life, it will be life changing for those coming from i7 to SB i7 but not so much for i5's with the switchable graphics. I have the regular i5 atm and I have similar situation as you; I am pretty sure an i3 would be enough for me but an i5 just improves performance all around and provides the high speed with good gpu in the Envy when needed in games/big programs.

 

You have it already? How are you liking it? It seems to have generally favorable reviews everywhere, but reading through the owner's thread in this forum, and it's mostly discussion of problems haha. Maybe that's how they all are, though?

 

Lol yea this is where people can get help with their problems but I like the laptop alot. I bought the dv6tse before with MUCH better specs ad upgrades but returned I wanted something smaller, more reliable (2yr warranty) and black/red awesomeness of the beats edition. And its durable especially after ssd; I can finally not care about shaking my laptop when in use and throw it around lmao...

Whats on your radar for possible laptops to buy?

edit: forgot to add no problems at all with hardware, I see people with loud fans but I have to put my ear to the keyboard to hear sound from fan. and finally battery life is solid 4 hours constant use online for me with full brightness.

 

The current Envy is an awesome laptop, you see a lot of problems in the owners lounge because people are more likely to go on a forum for help than to compliment it.

 

Yup and overall the reviews have been positive. I think even on the HP site their is an 80% approval rate.

 

People coming here for help makes sense. I just have a little pre-purchase anxiety, haha. A classmate has it with the Radiance screen and has really enjoyed it.

I posted a 'What to buy' thread here. A better resolution, battery life, etc. would all be ideal, but at a price range of $700-900, it's hard to find many choices in 14". With the 25% off, I think the Envy 14 might be the way to go.

 

Remember that you can return it up to 21 days after you get it, so it's not like there's no going back after hitting that Checkout button.

 

Wooah your thread got some serious hate on the envy.. build quility, not premium, no switchable graphics? I bet they never had an Envy 14... I throw mines around across my room and nothing happens to it . and also to comment on HP's return policy, it is outstanding. If you do not like the Envy, you can return it with 0 questions asked. I just didnt like a dv6tse I bought, I got an RMA in 2minutes.

And I am almost certain the envy 14 i5 comes with switchable graphics lol.

 

Yeah, I guess he got confused by the i7 version. Very glad to hear y'all like it though.