Envy 14 Spectre vs. Envy 15

Hi everyone, I'm looking to buy one of these laptops for college in the next week or so. To be honest, the main selling point of both laptops is their Macbook-esque design without the OS X attached, which I really like. I haven't found any retail store near me that carries either of these laptops, though, so I wonder whether owners of these can provide some input. Is there anything that the Envy 14 Spectre has besides the gorilla glass and superior aesthetics that justifies its higher price over the Envy 15? Also, whichever laptop you have, why did you choose it over the other?

Thanks!

 

I'd go with the 15 because of the superior GPU (great for gaming) and the super nice 1080p screen (when you upgrade for 150 bucks).

The GPU is really preference if you plan on doing any gaming, but the super nice IPS high rez screen on the 15 is what sold me personally.

 

15 if you want to game, otherwise the weight of the 14 makes it better for work if you plan to be mobile.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

For me, it's really a matter of the 14's superior aesthetics and lighter weight (3.9 to 5.8) versus the 15's larger screen and 1920 Radiance display, and I'm still leaning toward the 14 Spectre. However, it only comes with 128GB of flash storage - is it worth forking over the extra $200 plus tax to upgrade to 256GB? How much memory does a typical, semi-light computer user use? (this current computer is shared)

Do all of the Envy 14 Spectres now ship with Ivy Bridge processors?

 

I'm struggling with this very question because the 30% off coupon is looking really tempting right now, to grab the Envy 15. Not to compound the decision, but HP was showing off a 15 inch ENVY Spectre. Oh my, that's the dream machine for me. A 1080P screen with Spectre aesthetics = must have.

I really want the Spectre, but I want a 15 inch 1080P screen to write code on and do my Photoshop work.

I really think this 15 inch Spectre would sell like hotcakes! Especially if they slim down the glass on the Panel.

HP Envy 14 Spectre Now Selling, 15-Inch Version In the Works | PCWorld

 

Same for me, the $250 off on the 15 sounds really good. Unfortunately, I did read that article earlier and did some research into the "15 inch Spectre". I found that the one that was supposedly seen at the Taiwan expo was really just an Envy 15

No 15-Inch HP Envy Spectre Ultrabook for Now, Just a Mistake - Softpedia

really wish there were a 15-inch Spectre...

 

Noooooooooooo!!!!!! Lol.

Well I guess it's time to make a decision then. In my gut I want the Spectre. However, as a person who makes a living using a computer, I currently have the ENVY 14 for business and while I love everything about it, I wish the screen were larger. It matches the current Spectre almost one for one spec wise (8GB, 256GB SSD, 1600x900 screen). I like the portability, but I also have a Thinkpad T60 and I love it's 15 inch screen and 1680x1050 resolution. Unfortunately, it's about to die.

The ENVY 15 battery life is probably going to suck. I have no proof, but in my gut I think that's the one thing about it I'm not going to be happy with. I have the slice battery for my ENVY 14 so I can get 5 1/2 to 6 hours of battery life easily. The 15 is really the better deal. 16 Gigs of Memory, a 256GB SSD and an IPS screen for $1800 is a steal (30% Coupon applid of course NBY8552 [/span][/span]) . But man the Spectre looks so good.

Just my luck, I'll buy the ENVY 15 and next they'll make the entire Envy Line (17 and 15) look like the Spectre.

 

Yeah, I really think the ultrabooks will do better in terms of battery life, which is going to be important for me. The 15 definitely makes more sense for the hardware it comes with, but three things are holding me back - the extra bulk/weight, battery life, and not-as-slick design - making me still on the fence about which one to get. I feel like if you make a living using the computer, the Envy 15 probably is the way to go, but for me, portability and battery life are going to matter a lot because I'm going to be carrying it around a lot. Decisions, decisions...

 

haha yeah i was waiting for an envy 14 with performance parts and 1080p screen for college but it didnt happen so i ended up going with the 15. depending on what you do, u can get like 4-5 hrs with like 30% brightness wifi websurfing maybe even 6 with min brightness no wifi and just notes or something.

the only reason i didnt go with an ultrabook is because iwanted to be able to game. if tahts not a priority (or needing a dgpu) i would say go with the ultrabooks

 

All right, thanks. Last thing - upgrade from 128GB SSD to 256GB for an extra $200, or plan on getting an external hard drive later if necessary?

 

the 200$ is not worth it because those ssd's alone are around 150$ right now. c if its possible to upgrade yourself cause then i would just sell the 128 gb around 75-100$ and put that money in along with the 200 to get a 512 gb ssd. otherwise yeah get external hdd