Difference between Envy17, dv7t

Hello, I recently purchased an Envy17, which has yet to arrive. I wish I had investigated the difference between it and the dv7t a bit more. I wondered if someone on here could effectively break that down for me.

I do know that the Envy gave me the option to have a full HD screen, which I took. I did not realize both notebooks were metal. I know that I will have a slot-load Blu-Ray ROM player, although I might have had a Blu-Ray writer. I don't know that I should be concerned with Blu-Ray for storage right now anyway. Or ever?

The Envy is promoted as being made especially for music, but I cannot tell how it differs from the dv7t in that regard.

How thick is the dv7t? I know the Envy17 is 1.5 inches thick. I honestly cannot tell them apart on the website unless you can see the CD drive.

 

To make everything clear, I'm an envy 15 user.

The sounds system is not the best with the current speakers, but I must say with headphones it is one of the best audio produced by a notebook, no question about that.

The big difference is the graphics card. You can run most games smooth (even in full HD). The envy 17 has a 5850M GPU, whereas the dv7 only has a 5470 or 5650. Even compared to the 5650, your envy gets about double framerates.

Consider the higher res screen, nicer design, bluray, bluetooth (although an option @ DV7) and one of the best GPUs around for notebooks as a good choice! I'm not sure if the DV7 uses the same materials (?)

 

Thanks for your help. I really appreciate your response.

The blu-ray and bluetooth were available with both, and I can't tell the difference in the design apart from the slot-load optical drive. At the same time, I have yet to see the Envy in person. It seems the slot-load drive, the graphics card and the screen choice are the only differences. I am not much of a game player, but I guess I can appreciate the graphics card superiority anyway. My Envy may make me a bigger game player. I forgot about USB 3.0. That is also a nice addition, even though few products support it yet. The only thing that nags me is the blu-ray writing capability. I will probably wonder about that for a while.

 

the dv7t is 1.46" thick and 7.99 lbs. The e17 is 1.52" thick and 7.51 lbs.

AFAIK, the Envy models are not necessarily any better for music production. The software used for the sound card adjusts the EQ to make them sound better with headphones, more bass and treble on headphones. On speaker the E15 models have very low volume, sometimes it becomes difficult to hear during video playback unless you use headphones. I don't know anything about the speakers on the E17.

here is what the dv7t looks like:



here is the Envy 17

 

Thanks for your help.

The new dv7t doesn't look like that, though. I would not have considered that one. It looks too much like the last dv6000, dv8000, etc., models. I currently have a dv6000. I wouldn't mind the return of dedicated mouse buttons, though.

This is the new dv7t:



I cannot tell the difference.

 

I canceled my Envy. I found a coupon code that will allow me to get better specs, so I am placing a new order tomorrow.

 

@vsherry what is the coupon?

In general both models are kind of similar.

Main differences are:

-1080p display only available for Envy 17.
-BluRay burner only available for DV7
-Backlit Keyboard only available for the Envy 17
-Fingerprint Reader only available for the DV7.
-Envy 17 has better graphic card the ATI 5850, DV7 has the lower class ATI 5650.
-DV7 has better battery life. Envy 17 battery performance are really bad.
-Both of them comes with i7 and both of them are facing major heating issues. You can use either to cook an egg in their surface, seriously

 

At checkout, enter this code: NBQ175523

Actually, the new dv7t allows for the choice of a backlit keyboard. With the Envy, it is automatic, though.

I'm not at all looking forward to the battery performance problem. Even the 9-cell battery doesn't make the battery performance attractive.

 

This is a Pavilion coupon and yet I am so surprise this is working with the Envy!!
Good find. Order your new Envy today while you can I believe we are able to use it due to a system error.

I do not see backlit keyboard on the DV7 and the new model you guys are referring to were introduced back in May along with the Envy 17 so neither of those are "new".

The new Envy 17 3D is already announced and expected probably later this month, I expect HP to also introduce a refreshed version of the DV7, sometime soon.

 

You can always wait. Next month you get 3D, month after that 6000 GPU cards, and Q1 2011 you have sandy bridge ...

 

I am not interested in 3D. I can always wait for something extra in the world of technology.

 

I reordered the Envy 17.

I got 2TB, the cheapest quad, the graphics card we talked about earlier, 8GB of RAM, full HD and blu-ray ROM. It's the computer of my dreams ... almost. I wish it had a blu-ray burner, a decent battery life, dedicated mouse buttons and no excessive heat problems. But we can't have it all.

Without having seen an Envy in person, I consider it better than the Macbook Pro. But the Pro wins on aesthetics and battery life. I like that the Pro doesn't have the hump that goes into the mouse/palm rest area. I also like that the mouse pad is chrome, like HP's used to be. If HP retained the chrome, the similarities between the looks would've been ridiculous, though. The chrome on the Pro is prettier, too. I definitely prefer a removable battery, but a thin, lightweight battery with LONG life is excellent. The Pro's battery life shames the Envy's.

 

The problem with the ENVY is that it doesn't have switchable graphics which really shortens the battery life. With it battery life could be up to 50% longer. Let's hope they will introduce it in the next gen.

 

For quad core users it doesn't matter. As long intel doesnt want to make it more power efficient...
Lucky sandy bridge quad core (mobile) will support an integrated GPU.