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

Thank you so much! That is extremely informative and valuable to know. I had no idea that external could fail just as easily as internal. Ill take whatever measure possible to ensure that all of my itunes never get lost again.

 

Well... it is a hard drive, so it'll fail eventually. When you have tens of thousands of music files, and dozens of movies gathered over multiple years, keeping them in one place isn't a good idea.

And yes, you can copy your iTunes library from computer to computer if you've allowed the program to keep it all Organized for you. I use Zune though, and i have acute attention to where all my files are located on my computer, so i take care of that myself.

 

This is all so good to know and thanks so much once again. I would have to be the most stupid person in the world to not take caution. BTW, I like zunes. I always thought they were such cute devices and I always liked the interface of them as well. Which zune do you have?

 

Had a Zune HD, but now a Windows Phone.

 

Can someone post a link to the SSD windows optimization guide? I've lost track of it ... I want to review what needs done before my envy arrives.

Thanks!
Lan

 

the bp3 is not the same as the smart series, large difference between them, the optimization is on some site called ssd review, if you search for ssd benchmarks you will find it.

 

Does anyone know if the combo drive solutions offered are hybrid solutions or two discrete drives? For example the 128gb ssd + 750gb hybrid HDD, does this have the OS and apps on the SSD or are the two drives one logical hybrid drive using some kind of SSD caching?

 

I believe in this config, the 128GB drive is a mSATA drive and should have the apps + OS on that volume. The one I ordered and don't have yet isn't in this config so I'm taking a guess at it, though from what other have mentioned, it should be as I'm thinking mSATA + HDD.

The Envy has the HM76 chipset which doesn't support RST / caching. The dv7, which has the HM77 chipset, does support it.

mSATA in the Envy 17 is boot drive only.

 

You know I don't get it... Why wouldn't HP's premium line have the newer HM77 chipset versus the HM76

Sent from my SGH-i917 Windows Phone using Board Express

 

My thoughts exactly. Also at least a semi-unlocked BIOS, I would be undervolting and making things run more efficient and cooler. This would also increase the life of the laptop, makes me and HP happy (less heat = decrease in component wear)

 

You can always adjust the max CPU percentages inside of the OS, you have something to work with besides the inability to get into the BIOS to make changes.

 

the parts run cool as they are but i guess it wouldnt hurt... lol

 

Exactly... Im a fan of CoolSense being so aggressive with cooling (pun intended).

Just a point to add, I played BF3 on power saver and it was fine... No lag or or anything. i7 was clocked at 1.2

Sent from my SGH-i917 Windows Phone using Board Express

 

Can someone help me who has the new envy 15-17 2012 model. Can you download and run GPU-Z the newest version 0.6.3 for me please. I can't seem to run it. I don't know why. Also can you post a screenshot of it working correctly. I'd really appreciate it thanks...

 

You need to run 3DMark11 or another application that makes the GPU kick in immediately before running GPU-Z.

Screenshot:

Spoiler

 

Gpu-z is't running on the envy 17 2012 model. I can't get it working ether.

 

Ok I'll try that, but if that's what I have to do every time just to run the application then that suks...

 

It's AMD Enduro (new Dynamic Switchable graphics) turning off the GPU completely when no whitelisted applications are detected. There's also no way to tell Catalyst drivers to turn on the GPU when GPU-Z is detected (adding it as "High Performance" doesn't work).

 

Are you serious "WOW"... I still can't get it to work. I just ran the whole benchmark of 3DMark 11 and as soon as it was done I opened GPU-Z and got an error message. Intel OpenCl in not installed I think...

 

You just need to open 3DMark11, don't need to run the benchmark.

Anyway, for that error message, just click "Ok". It's normal behaviour since we are stuck with old Intel drivers (and thus old Intel OpenCL drivers, which GPU-Z doesn't like).

 

Thanks for taking the time to help me out but it's just not working for me. I can't get the program open to save my life. I'm just gonna search the web for a similar program...

 

Is this whats needed?

Intel - SDK for OpenCL - Applications 2012 - Intel Software Network

 

If you have a dual-monitor setup, disable that for now. If you haven't installed Catalyst 12.7b, you should install it. http://support.amd.com/us/kbarticles/Pages/Catalystbetadriver1.aspx/

No, that's an SDK, not the drivers. You cannot install the drivers from Intel because of Enduro (switchable graphics). You have to live with the outdated drivers that HP gave you.

 

In other good news...the NotebookCheck benchmarks show that the 7850M is better than the GTX 660M by 5 percent..

 

Do I really need to buy a caddy bay in order to install a SSD into my 17-3270NR ?
Like the one in this video: Add a 2nd Hard Drive to a HP Envy 17 -3000 series laptop (3xxx) - YouTube

 

You don't have to, but it may give you more peace of mind. It is a bit expensive at $27+$9 shipping though.

If you don't get a caddy, you'll need some padding and some strong double sided tape to affix the drive to the case.

 

Oh crud! All of this talk about ssd's has got me excited and jonesin' to try and install one myself. Im sure if I did it step by step and took my time, I could do it. However, Im quite apprehensive about it.

 

I ended up ordering another Envy after my first one came with scratches on the screen. I received my new Envy today and I noticed that the screen pixilation was kind of weird. I compared the 2 side by side and on my new one I could clearly see pixels outlines if I look up close where as my old one looks smooth. I'm not sure what the issue is but I have it set up with the same resolution/power/text size options. Its kind of weird cause its not that noticeable at first but now its an obvious difference and I'm not sure why or how this happened. Does anyone have the same issue?

 

Perhaps your two units are running in different DPI scaling modes?

Put both of them to 100%:

 

Yeah everything including the text size is the same. I can clearly see the pixels while starting up and on the log in screen. Another weird thing is after tinkering with the display/text size my "smaller" text size is now super small and I can't get it back to the original smaller size. My laptop is a mess lol

 

Thank for your reply !
In the mean time, I did a little research and found out that the cable for 2nd HDD/SSD is included inside the laptop but not the bracket/cradle and its screws.

I'm in Asia, so it's hard to call 1-800-HPINVENT to get the bracket for free.

Is there a way to make the 2nd HDD/SDD stable inside the laptop without buying the caddy kit ?

(Money is now a problem with my current situation.)

//

Edit: just read the additional part of your reply, I will give it a try, thx

 

To add a stranger issue, when I switch from 150% (large) to 100% (smaller) in the display options, whenever I set it back to the smaller setting my font settings are getting smaller and smaller. I did it a few times and when I right click the text is almost unreadable. I've had this laptop for only a few hrs and I have the pixel problem and this font issue. No one else with this problem?

 

Also going back to 125% and 150% the text sizes stay the same. Only switching from the 150 does the 100 get smaller. I can't find a way to reverse it

 

Try an OS restore, HP should be F11 hotkey when booting from a proper shutdown or even just holding down the power button, just not sleep or hibernate, just jam the F11 key and choose system recovery to restore the software to factory settings, see if your problems persist. If they're large enough to bother you and warrant the hassle prod HP for a replacement.

Also just saw a driver update for the audio on the website for 17t-32xx. Oddly enough it has a version number smaller than the post earlier about an audio driver. Will post observations when downloaded and installed.

Observations: They're really off their game, the new driver on the website is older than the one posted earlier in the thread, about two months apart in driver version according to the dates recorded for the drivers.

 

The text size issue isn't that big of a deal (I hope theres a better way to solve this than just restoring it to factory settings) but I have the "screen door" effect on the screen. Comparing it to my original purchase there is a big difference. The original had smooth and clear display while my new one has some kind of pixel grid everywhere. Its very noticeable once u start looking closely and I know its not the way its supposed to be cause my original (same build) has no such "screen door". I have no idea why its like this but it was there ever since I turned it on. I've tried everything to get rid of it but its still there. I'm starting to think I have a defective screen... either that or HP changed something with the screens. I was thinking maybe the graphics were using the integrated instead of the 7850 but I don't know how to check or why they would make it like that straight out of the box

 

Really? That's awesome lol. The 7850m has a better cooling solution thus allowing more space for an overclock

 

Unfortunately the 7850M (at least mine with 77.5% ASIC quality according to GPU-Z) tops out at 815 MHz. More than that will result in driver reset crash. Need more voltage.

Check 3DMark scores in my sig for OC results and compare it to other cards on NotebookCheck.net if you'd like.

 

Here u go...

AMD Radeon HD 7850 M

AMD Radeon HD 7850M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

NVIDIA GTX 660M

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

Benchmark scores and comparison charts are given in the respective pages..where it states that the 7850M is 5 percent faster.

 

There was another user who had successfully oc'd his 7850m in this thread. I had compared it to an overclocked GTX 660m and they were literally points apart and the ATi carded needed less overall than the GTX to achieve such a score.

I had done that tiny research before I returned my Lenovo and bought the Envy 17

 

I'll give you some more cons:
-AMD drivers aren't the greatest, especially not on mobile (e.g. Enduro a.k.a Switchable Graphics is still quite iffy)
-Enduro can give performance hits right now (e.g. Modern Warfare 2 runs at only 40-50 fps 1080p 0xAA High textures and only shows ~70% GPU usage, and Battlefield 3 runs exactly the same, regardless if it's lowest details at 720p or higher details at 1080p)
-7850M has the potential to overclock a lot, sure, but it tops out at ~815 MHz at stock voltage. There's currently no way to increase the voltage. At least with the GT 650M/GTX 660 you can push the core clock with NVIDIA Inspector further than Afterburner and at stock voltage. Someone got as high as 1200 MHz with the GT 650M and was getting ~P3200 score in 3DMark11. For comparison, my 7850M @ 815/1300 gets ~P2900.
-You may be stuck with this stage of Enduro since the Switchable Graphics (PX Profile) updates depend on the OEM; The drivers that AMD distribute on their site do not contain PX Profiles. This is why you must do in-place upgrades when you update drivers.

Those are some of the cons of going with the 7850M.

You can see performance hits of Enduro by testing it yourself, or by looking at this test that NotebookCheck did (Enduro disabled vs enabled):

(This test used 7970M but the performance hit is the same for 7850M)

Source: Alienware M17x R4 Notebook Review - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

The best solution is to yell at AMD's driver team and get them to fix it. Threaten them that many people jump to NVIDIA Kepler because of this and as a result AMD loses sales. AMD has great, power efficient mobile hardware this round but the driver support is lacking.

Report issue to AMD here

 

Wth Enduro... Ok, so i can't use the HD4000, but the 7850M is being held back by one of its own features? Ridiculous.

How do you disable Enduro?

 

You can't on the HP Envy until they release a BIOS update to let you do it. (I guess on the Envy 17 3D it's already disabled )

Alienware has this BIOS update already, that's how the reviewer was able to disable Enduro and make the comparisons.

Clevo/Sager does not have this option, so their machine owners have the same problem as us.

 

Weak sauce

Sent from my SGH-i917 Windows Phone using Board Express

 

How do I clean install Windows 7 on my new envy 17? F11? Or do i make a recovery disk (idk how this would help since it would just backup windows 7 with all the junk programs)?

 

its funny how those with switchable graphics complain about the switching.

and those without switchable graphics complain about the lack of switching.

they really should just make a manual toggle switch that gives the user full control.

 

I got my Envy two days ago, after a 10 day shipping to my country, and I was on cloud 9 until I noticed 2 dead pixels while burning the recovery disks. They are too small to be seen, but just thinking about them makes me upset. Now, I'll have to pay through the nose to ship the Envy back to USA.

1) Will they ask for the recovery disks? Should I put them in the returned package?

2) Anyone have any dead pixels?

3) Also, the font size on some websites (like facebook) is small and I have to zoom in to get the font size I used to, is this normal?

Your input would be greatly appreciated!

 

Call them and tell them about the problem. They should send you a prepaid label. Are dead pixels covered under warranty?

All you do is ship it with the new label in the original packaging.

 

Yes, and I'm fine with it. AMD drivers have always sucked.. Rep'd!

 

I received my envy 17 with some dead pixels as well. If your envy is within the 21 day return policy you should be fine. They send you a prepaid shipping label. You just ship back everything that came, so I don't think they need the recovery disks you made.

Mine took like 3 days to ship back to hp. Ordered a replacement after I got my refund. Hopefully no defects on the new one. It would be nice if the quality control people noticed flaws like these before they send them out.

 

Dead pixels can show up after it leaves the factory due to being knocked around in transit, might have left the factory that way too, can't really be too sure unless we have a factory worker tell us whether that sort of thing is checked or not.