***ENVY 14 Gaming Lounge***

tutorial?

here's the tutorial.

don't uninstall the hp graphics cards stuff. If you do, switchable goes out the window.

download ati 10.8 for vista/win 7 64-bit: https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/674/920...mobile/10-8_mobility_vista_win7_64_dd_ccc.exe

setup windows 7 so if you hit the power button it turns windows off (instead of putting it to sleep). it's in the power options somewheres.

install ati 10.8 on top of hp 10.3/10.7/whatever hp drivers you have installed on the envy it really doesn't matter as long as you currently have switchable graphics working.

don't panic when the screen goes blank.

wait like 5-8-until that light stops blinking minutes.

8 to 10 minutes is more then enough, usually.

restart windows by hitting the power button once (have sound on so you can confirm windows made that shutting down noise).

once it shuts down, restart. check to make sure you're on 10.8 (otherwise known as 8.762-1008morenumbersafterthe1008

 

Is it just me or is the GPU fan fixed at 30%?

My fan never seems to go above 30%. On afterburner it's default is set on 'Auto', but the max fan speed is fixed at 30%. Seeing 'auto' is set, the 'max' option is greyed out so I figured the fan goes as fast as it needs to.

But I've never seen the GPU fan to go above 30% unless I manually make it go higher.

Also when I was updating my graphics to 8.762 my screen only went blank for a second then it came back and finished with everything completely visible, which didn't happen for the other updates so maybe ATI/HP fixed something?

 

That's what I'm wondering too. But how do you make them spin faster manually? I tried it on MSIAfterburner and it didn't work. And speedfan doesn't work either

 

what's a good guide for overclocking the gpu? I don't want to ruin my pretty much perfect envy

 

I would really appreciate an OC guide for computer r-tards like me too haha..I will prolly OC when I get wow cataclysm

 

well in other news, through some combination of ATI 10.8, SC2 version 1.1, fullscreen mode (not fullscreen-windowed didn't check it yet, no vsync, no reduce mouse lag), magic, and/or other stuff SC2 now runs at 40fps if you set it to the generic high settings (but leave textures at medium) while at 1600x900.


Sweet. FPS drops to 30 when a mothership stops by but well..motherships will do that to any computer.

 

So does anyone know how to control the fan speeds? Fanspeed doesn't work for me

 

fans can't be controlled, value being reported is probably inaccurate too.

I mean the fan over the gpu is the same type of fan over the cpu (the two fans in the envy) when you hear those rev up, it means the gpu fan is also going fast

 

Is there anyway to check fps rates on games like cod4 and Halo CE ?

 

I use FRAPS

 

i'm trying to play battlefield bad company 2 on my envy 14 and im not sure what resolution and graphical setting to run it at. any help would be appreciated!

 

I just bought this game as well, been playing it since day 1 on PS3. I'm not used to playing with a mouse.. anyways...

I have to play with 1600x900 with my settings to LOW.
I tried playing in Medium but it lags a little bit and you can tell the FPS drop down a few. Even in Low when something explodes or theres lots of dust the game drops its frame rates drymatically. It's weird. I thought it would play nicely, at least on low.

Specs: i5-450, 4GB RAM 1 dimm (updating to 8GB soon, but I'm sure that wont help me with games).

I'm kind of worried about Call of Duty Black Ops. I'm not sure it'll be able to handle it.

 

I have my res set to 1600x900 with Medium settings and it plays quite well for me. And I think Black ops should play well. I know my envy can play COD4 maxed out with 40-70 fps not overclocked. I can overclock to 525/850 if I need to

 

How come I get a little big of lag? What do I type in the BFBC2 console to see my FPS? I feel like mine are in the 10's-20's.

 

Don't worry, most of us gets lag. Those that don't probably got used to the horrible frames. At low you can get anywhere from upper 10s in high explosion to like 50 with nothing going on. On most maps you can go low with some medium if you set the mode to DX9 only. Not the best (since I come from a 5870 desktop) but very very playable online.

And Black Ops should run fine. MW2 did on high most of the time. Might need to turn settings down to run it perfectly smooth but what did you really expect from gaming on a laptop. Still run miles over any integrated card which isn't as bad as the last time I used one. I can that new worms game when I'm traveling on a plane on the integrated lag free (then again its 2d graphics..)

 

I get 20-50 fps on 1600x900 with medium. For me thats enough.

 

So does anyone have FFXIV? Wondering if it runs better than the beta.

 

Thank you for the great reply. I'm not used to gaming on a PC. I figured if I go into Settings and change my settings to "Advanced" I can set everything to Medium but turn down the ones with Numbers "anti...". I set those to 1x and it runs a lot better.

Maybe I will get Black Ops if the price isn't huge like MW2. It's still $60 at frys. Have yet to look at newegg. BFBC2 was only $25 at frys, and it's a newer game. Maybe COD is just more popular.

Anyways, thanks for the response.

 

Anyone get Civilization V? It's running pretty slow on me and really long wait between turns and was looking for any tips.

=Jason-

 

Played Dead Rising 2. All Medium setting and AAx2 with no lag with motion blur off.

Loving it.

 

*seriously ponders buying DR2 for the pc then*

 

Will get back once i play in zombie intensive areas.

 

alright. lemme know how it runs

edit: tried it out some on my computer finally. just gonna buy it for the 360.

 

is it not worth it on the envy? im in the same boat whether to go pc or 360

 

it ran alright but I didn't try it with a controller.

some cutscenes ran slowly (but eh)

otherwise it ran fine on the default settings with vsync off.

but it was weird playing without a controller.

I'll setup the 360 controller later and see how it plays

 

lol, used to not having a console (road warrior/gamer) so having no controllers fine.

AS LONG AS IT'S NOT "ALONE IN THE DARK".

That was one of the MOST lazy porting I've seen.

Example:
Game Tutorial: "Press the green button to escape the creature!"

Me: "Green button? I'm on a [Redacted]ing keyboard!"

 

well I think I can safely blame the attacks not turning with the camera as to why I was having problems with DR 2.

...maybe sensitivity being too high too.

*shrugs*

 

I bought the envy 14 with the 1x4gb ram upgrade, I'm wondering if anyone wants to buy it or sell me their 1x4gb ram stick so I can have matching ram.

 

I also bought the 1GB RAM.
You could buy another 1GB RAM from the same manufacturer. I forgot the name of the manufacturer, It's in the Envy 14 Owners Lounge. I saw a 4GB stick from the same manufacturer go for $90, average price.

 

You don't need to exactly buy the same brand--just buy the same speed ram. Go download CPUZ and it'll give you the info you need.

GL HF

 

Played BFBC2 high settings at DX9 using 560/810 and got 40-80 frames.
core 1 got upto 95 and core 2 got up to 92
gpu got upto 80.
Cores seem to be a little bit hot..

 

BFBC2 is all I play...
How do you figure out the frame rates? I never know what to type in console to see my frame rates.

Here are my settings:
Everything medium, 1X, 1X and not using 1600x900, using the next one down, it looks almost the same.

Cores: #1 is around 55, #2 around 58
GPU: 68 after 1.5 hours of playing

 

? how the hell is ur temp so low... did u like turn on temp monitor after u quit the game? becuase the temp drops significnatly after quitting
and i used FRAPS to check my frame rates

 

are u sure ur not on powerplay settings? that downclocks the gpu sometimes when u don't want it to, use gpu-z to check. Because those temps are ridiculously low especially for gaming

 

well he could have updated to F.13a which is supposed to tweak how the fans run to keep the computer cooler when the cpu and gpu are going at full speed.

the fans are supposed to get ramped up sooner than "yo dude it's 76 Celsius, turn the fans on high"

 

I'm at work right now so I can't test this till I get home, I have school after work till 10:30pm, so It's another long day for me.

Anyways, I'll test it again when I get home. As soon as I quit playing the game, and my fans still blasting full speed, I open HWmonitor immediately and my temps are around what I stated. I tried pressing the "windows" key to go to my desktop and run HWmonitor but I guess the game cancels out the Windows key.

I'm not sure if I have f.13a ... I remember seeing "f.13" not sure about the "a"
I'll check for sure when I get home tonight, or in class later today.

 

f.13a is f.13


it just sometimes shows an A depending on where you look.

 

im trying to play BFBC2 on my envy. how do you make it so that you are running it on Direct x9.

 

oh good lol u measured it wrong. Even after like 1 or 2 sec after u turn off the game the temp drops significantly and i mean like 20-30 C. so u should get 80,90s in cpu and 70~80 in gpu if u let the HW monitor run during the game.

 

Darn, you're happy I measured it wrong, I'm sad my temps are gonna go up, lol.
So how do you measure it while in the game? I cant seem to get out of the game screen to measure my temps.

 

just run hwmonitor.

it'll have a max, min, and current.

it'll record while in game

 

i think the new bios does help a little bit I max out at 71C when I played SC2 at a little over an hr. I think before it would go up to 80 high 70s

 

whats the screen? I have 1600x900 res but is it 720p or 1080p or what?

 

Did you have any issues getting SC2 to run? It crashes sporadically for me within 1-2 mins of loading up. I've updated all the video/audio/chipset drivers and the BIOS to the latest versions (per HP's support website anyway). Goes black (or occasionally colored vertical bars) and loops a bit of audio for a few seconds then audio dies. Played Dirt 2 demo no problem.

 

Where did you get Dirt 2 demo? I assume it's free, I would like to give it a try.

 

don't recall. googled and found it. wanted to see the DX11 stuff. pretty epic looking.

 

how do you switch between DX9, DX11 and stuff? I can't find it anywhere in the game or in the Catalyst Control Center

 

that's done in the game's settings and varies on a per game basis.

in the game's settings varies from an option in the menu to "edit the game's .cfg or .ini file and stuff"

 

oh right. Front Mission Evolution works fine on high with vsync on at native (1600x900) resolution.

just turn AA off.

 

So what's the consensus for SC2 on the E14? Doable or not on High? So many mixed experiences...even in desktop forums--apparently drivers are going wacko+optimization problems+screen refreshes/black screens. ..Noone seems to give a definite reply (or reply at all).

I'm still looking at getting the E14 as it has one of the more attractive feature-sets for lappies.

Thanks ya'll.