ENVY 17-32XX Intel Ivy Bridge (AMD 7850M)

Achieved with
HP ENVY 3D 17t-3200 Notebook PC
• Genuine Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
• 3rd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3720QM Processor
• Radeon(TM) HD 7850M Graphics 1GB GDDR5 Memory 12.7 BETA 8.981.2 June 12
• 8GB 1600MHz DDR3 Ram CORSAIR Vengeance
• 480G SSD SanDisk Extreme SATA 6.0 Gb-s SDSSDX-480G-G25

 

the 7850m is a good 25% better than the 7750m.

 

You misunderstand me. The new Envy 15 and Envy 17 sacrificed space and TDP (and thus substantial performance) for the optical drive. They are both faster than the old laptops, but not anywhere near as much as they should be.

My complaint is that they sacrificed what could have been. Look at how little we've gained in two and a half years:

2010 Envy 15 (5830): 8,621 in 3DMark06 (10k+ overclocked)
2012 Envy 15 (7690): 8,839 in 3DMark06
mid-2012 Envy 15 (7750): Fill in the blank.

2010 Envy 15 (5830): P1429 in 3DMark11
2012 Envy 15 (7690): P1330 in 3DMark11
mid-2012 Envy 15 (7750): P2031 in 3DMark11

I can't find a 3dmark06 number for the brand-new 15, but I suspect it's not going to be the sort of "more than twice as fast" number you'd expect after two and a half years. The 7690 version was a bad joke. The 7750 version is just now making up for it-- but after two and a half years, we'd expect a score around double, not a score that's up by 30%. The optical drive takes up a huge amount of space that used to be GPU and cooling, and performance took a big hit.

 

I guess then ill just have to make sure ill be first in line to get the Refreshed Intel Haswell Envy 17-4000 Model (With a new slimmer body design, no ODD, and an ATI 8850M coupled with a Retina display)

 

I agree with the space comment but tdp and performance? If you take the odd out (and make it thin and light) how are you at the same time going to make it cooler with higher end components? There is a reason notebooks like alienware are so bulky. The odd (directly or indirectly) has an effect on the cooling by increasing the size of the machine. More size means more space to cool.

 

Can someone point me to or do some battery life test on the new Envy 17 (non-3D version) and tell me the battery life in different scenarios. Thank You!

 

hopefully me too... if hp gets its act together

yeah and didnt the older gens have cooling issues? I heard they ran hot as hell. The current envy 15s remain cool

 

If you do not have an answer by weds I should have mine and will check it out. Non 3d on the way.

 

I was going to add that in but thought it was piling on lol.

 

lol dont get me wrong raygundan. I would love to have a slimmer, sleeker, lighter envy 15 with no odd and a more powerful gpu, however i dont want that at the expense of cooling

 

considering this is the only computer I have I would always want it to have the dvd drive.
considering windows 8 will be out for the envy 17 4000 perhaps touchscreen will become more common in laptops. maybe its time for software programmers to fix the games and make them less resource hungry, more efficient then intel HD 5000 will be enough for gaming. that sure will make the laptop thinner, cooler and more battery life ....

ahh I am imagining too much
gnight

 

before I hit the pillow a question...

I made a recovery USB drive from the 3D version windows ultimate and I will be getting my 2D version (windows home pre)
can I use the same recovery disc for the 2d version?

 

It depends on the msata ssd, mine hits ~550 write and ~500 read, which is approaching the max of sata iii of ~600, research your ssd for how it performs.

 

The ODD means less space for cooling, not more. The old Envy 15 was lighter and thinner with higher total TDP by "splitting the difference." Taking the ODD out frees up a huge amount of space-- if you use, say, half of that for cooling and then reduce the size of the laptop by half the optical drive's volume-- you end up with a machine that's both faster and smaller.

That said, I don't think I ever mentioned cooler. I'm fine if it's too hot to touch while gaming, as long as it all fits in the package and works.

 

lol u might be fine but most people arent when the laptop gets hot enough to cook eggs

 

My old 15 (5830) gets warm to the touch when gaming, but has never had any issues. The CPU and GPU stay within their recommended ranges, even with the GPU overclocked quite a bit.

The new 17 isn't a bad machine, but I'm a sad panda because the 7850 should be in the 15. It's particularly frustrating because HP had the right idea years ago, and they've given up on it just as the no-ODD idea is becoming popular.

 

haha i agree

 

I think adding the odd was the right move at least for folk like me. I don't have a dedicated blu-ray player and I can just connect my envy straight out to my tv. I also have a lot of albums on disc and this helps a lot with transferring those records. Some people like to have the physical medium on hand. HP maximizes its sales this way, I'm sure there are more people outside of the cloud than there are inside of it.

 

The mSATA in the Envy 17 is the Samsung PM800 128 GB whose performance has been reviewed here: Samsung PM800 128GB mSATA SSD Review - Crystal Diskmark and AS SSD Testing - The SSD Review

A good SSD is the Crucial M4 SSD whose performance has been reviewed here: Crucial M4 512GB SATA 3 SSD Review - AS SSD Benchmark - The SSD Review

Conclusion: The M4 is MUCH faster than the PM800, by a factor of 2 - 4 x. I do not know what particular bus or chip issues might skew the above performance reviews, but I suspect they would not change the overall conclusion.

 

What mSSD do you have Loka? Price? Capacity? And do you guys know if it's possible to use an SSD as a regular drive? I remember seeing somewhere that you can if you have an ssd installed in your system already but what about operating with two mechanical drives? I want to save my bays for storage and run my OS+apps off of the mSSD.

 

No. The recovery is tied to the model number and serial of your existing machine. You are going to have to create a new recovery USB drive to have it work on the new machine.

 

OCZ Agility 3 AGT3-25SAT3-60G 2.5" 60GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $40 after rebate.

Here is a great deal on a SSD. I know it is only 60GB but it's enough to do OS and have fun playing with with one. For $40 after rebate , being a name brand, I thought I'd post. This is a one day deal & I will predict they will be sold out by 3-5pm EST. Like I said I realize this is not an agility 4 & it's only 60GB but it's also only $40 with rebate.



If you get one send a Rep

 

So if i buy this Newegg.com - Mushkin Enhanced Atlas Series MKNSSDAT120GB-DX mSATA 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) Would i see speed comparable to ssd. I will install my os and games her and add a 1tb hdd plus the 750gb hybrid the envy has.

 

Donno for sure. But on the older DV6 series HP included drivers for all options. While the recovery had the OS key code embedded, after installing on a different machine I could always go back & change the key to match the machine. I had one recovery I would use to support several DV6's at one time. Sorry this is not a definitive answer but to be safe make a new copy for the new machine. This would be the best thing to do IMO.

 

I'm so late but i got my laptop Friday morning from fedex the box looked like it had been thru some miles of travel and trouble from boot i dropped in my 500gb 7200rpm with my newmodus adapter i used the cable that is in there from hp caddy was the only thing hp doesn't have. The Corsair 1866 8gb didn't boot from jump and when i tried one i got a bios flash error and it ran thru a bios recovery, when it did that I thought i had fried it but it was cool after so I had rma the vengence ram for the hyperz 1866 8gb chips which i know people have had success with. I updated the bios after and maybe the vengence could have worked with the new bios but I wanted to the hyperz in the first place due to its cooling fins which the vengence ram didn't have. I was going to wipe windows but I didn't due to a windows 7 ultimate upgrade via anytime upgrade and a key. I made my recovery dvds prior 5 dvds which took maybe 2 hours maybe less i was at work and had time to run to the store and grab 2 more from radio shack. So far so good its really fast I need to get some better drivers cause Im getting scores a few points lower than what I have seen posted but when i get my hyperz ram later this week i should catch up. It stays cool on its own but with the cooler its even cool to the touch, the side with the 2 HDs gets warm. The hybrid drive is not all bad its fast on some corners than what i have seen form a 7200rpm. Mine HD is
Seagate Model ST750LX003-1AC154 Size 750.1 GB Battery life is good and I will test it on and off my laptop cooler this week and get some times. So far so good with my Envy 17 will do some more reviews this week as time permits.

 

the computer serial number and product number are saved in the recovery media?

is it hard to change that?

p.s. what is the easiest way to change windows serial number?

 

I am disappointed in my battery life on my envy 17 3D. I have my brightness to 50% also along with back lit keys off... ugh. How much better is the battery life on the non-3D versions?

 

From what other members are reporting, they're getting close to 5 hrs.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2

 

I am only getting 2.5-3 hours on mine. How disappointing this is... Should I just return it for the non-3D one? If I remember correctly, messing with the battery will void your warranty?

 

I have the mydigitalssd msata smart series line, 256gb version. A hefty price tag of 319.99, but worth it for my purposes. They also have a line called the bullet proof which tops out at around 200 write but has a top read speed that is relatively close if I remember correctly. Be sure to check the particular size of anything you get, sometimes the smaller sizes are slower for whatever reason.

 

I dont think that is true.. I think its in the bios somewhere.. Just as an example of my reasoning. I took an ssd out of a DV7 returned the dv7 and then without doing anything to the ssd put it in a new DV7 that had arrived and after running the HP assistant software ... It picked up the new serial number and everything about the new laptop including warranty dates. While i know that was not on an envy. I would think they are still similiar. Not sure about the Windows serial .. but i would assume its using the old one on that.

 

Im in the same predicament as you. Im considering keeping the 3D in hopes that it can be fixed with a driver update. But from what other members are saying it doesnt look so promising. I wouldn't be too devastated since im usually around a place I can charge. But I hate knowing that I might not be able to fully experience what ivy Bridge has to offer with the better battery life and the HD 4000.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2

 

That's probably true. And disappointing. There were whole shelves full of laptops with optical drives for people who wanted them to choose from-- but only one or two slim laptops with solid gaming performance and no ODD.

Why neuter the Envy performance to sell midrange gaming laptops to people who want optical drives when you've already got the DV7 in exactly that niche? Now they're selling two machines to the exact same niche, with no options in the original Envy niche.

 

Does anyone know how to disable the "startup check" for the optical drive? Or make sure that it's fully powered down? It's not a big deal, but I don't need it very often, and wouldn't mind if it didn't go whirrrCLUNKwhirCLUNNKK every time I woke the machine up.

 

He is talking about the laptop's serial number. There is no way to change this.

 

He is talking about the laptop's serial number. There is no way to change this.

 

I turned my refresh rate from 120 to 96, which seemed to help a little. The screen is pretty bright so only 40-50% is enough for me. I am wondering if I should buy a bigger battery in case this one goes out sooner, I will be away for school so I won't have the luxury of sending it back and waiting for them to throw a new one in..

 

Any new drivers for the Envy 17 3200 yet?

 

it makes sense the product number and serial number are in the bios

and the windows 7 key is on the HDD.
I am sure win 7 serial is saved in the recovery media, bc when I recover the laptop with recovery media it does not ask for the windows serial.

so 2 questions:

anyone know where the windows serial is saved on the recovery media?

is there an easy way to change the windows key after the recovery?

 

The serial number on recovery cds are the generic master key, the media just recognizes your computer has an oem key. The one on the sticker is just for appearances and if you want to install a vanilla copy of W7.

 

didnt know

so if I get the windows key installed on my laptop from factory it will be different from what is under it on the sticker?

 

Yes, they use a master key and the system is pre-activated, key on your hard drive never gets sent to microsoft because it would be rejected, you only need the key on the bottom if you use a regular windows disc.

 

thank you so much that was very useful

 

Is your msata running on sata ii or sata iii? What speeds are you getting?

 

Bump for these questions plus another, if I decrease the refresh from 120 to 60 is there a big/noticeable difference?

 

ordered on 6/12.

original ship date 6/25.

delayed until 6/28.

sigh.

 

Ok you guys on the issue of battery life. I have a 3D at 60Hz, and about 20% brightness, proximity sensor off, bluetooth off, WiFi disabled and the keyboard at it's lowest setting. I burned an ISO file to DVD and also half a CD (Verified both discs too), browsing (IE) on LAN, and listening to music (Zune). In a 3 hour period i got down to 19%... I'm sure we can get at least 4 hours out of this thing. You totally don't need 50% brightness and 120Hz, unless you're working outside.

Also i love my processor... i7-3820QM, it still hasn't even broken a sweat. Even downclocks itself to 1.2Ghz

 

How do you adjust the keyboard brightness? I can only get it to either be on or off.

 

so I think it is
that is not the best battery life, laptop needs wifi on at the minimum
If you do all that on the 2D version you would get 6 hours battery life
so 3D kills the battery by half no matter what, if you dont need the 3D get rid of it and enjoy a good laptop, if you have to have the 3D then there is no discussion.

my 3D is going back...

 

I think I'm going to send mine back soon also unless there is some miracle fix.