Envy 14 refresh worth it?

I just ordered an Hp Envy 14 with a 25% off coupon, and it'll come at the end of April. However, I've been hearing rumors that a refresh of the line will come early May. I don't know what's a better deal, the current Envy for $740 or a Sandy Bridge model for whatever they charge it for.

If I'm going to be using this for college and occasional gaming, is the Sandy Bridge version worth it for me?

 

im on the same boat. i just ordered the beats edition and depending on the price/specs of the newer one, i might just return it within the 21 day return period and get the refresh. but 25% off is pretty sweet for an already good deal at the current price.

 

No, if you're going to use it for notes, word, internet, videos, light gaming then you aren't going to experience a difference with the SB. Battery life is marginally better. SB is good for things like CAD, encoding, video editing...things that are CPU intensive. Unless they come out with a different design or another radiance style screen then its not worth it IMHO. Save yourself some money and use it for beer.

 

Depends what you need the laptop for. In the update, (if there is one) there will likely be a better GPU included along with the SB CPU. So if you like to game, the newer one will definitely be something to consider. The current E14 is a great laptop nonetheless, especially with a $750 price tag. Personally, I've decided to hold off. but I don't think either choice is a bad one.

 

it seems like the envy 14, when it first came out, didnt have a promo/sale for some time...following that same trend, even if there was a refresh, we wouldnt see a $300 off or a 25% for a while. i mean...certainly not when it first comes out, especailly with a $750 price tag.

 

Everything people have said about the envy line is speculation. Nothing more. So it is really up to you, do you want last gens tech at a nice discount or do you want the new tech at the premium price?

 

Have to agree with the consensus here. I recently sold my 14 with Raidance, and I miss the computer more than the screen, which is the opposite of what I expected. I sold it because everyone advised me that SB refresh would be coming soon and my last gen Envy would go way down in value, and I was especially interested in better battery life - which I now see is marginal with SB. Turns out I sold the be(st laptop I've ever owned and now am thinking of buying one back! ( Then again, I sold it for $1,100 so buying a new one back for $750 makes it a pretty good move, though I didn't plan it that way.)

I strongly agree with the idea that the from the date HP announces a refresh, you have 3-6 mos. before: 1) they are shipping in quantity, 2) they have major bugs worked out 3) they have the right drivers available 4) they are discounting them heavily - though they have broken the discounting "tradition" on that with the recent E17 and DV7 refreshes.

There is an option I might suggest that is pretty much the equivalent of what the Envy 14 refresh is likely to be: the Dell XPS 15. A base model, that would equal or surpass the performance of the gen 1 Envy 14 you are considering, would not cost much more, would share much of its features (though not nearly as classy looking) but one-up it on cpu (SB), gpu, battery life, connectivity - usb3, WIDI, Wimax - audio (said to be about the best sound of any laptop EVER made!) and, finally, if you are able to spend the $, they have an RGBLED 1080p screen for about $200 extra that blows the doors off the Envy 14 Radiance, which is no more. However, I personally swore off of Dell over a year ago because of there horrific customer service and I would advise you check the Dell threads to see if they've improved before going that route.

 

HAHAHA we've never noticed!

 

As for the screen...

Wait a few weeks. Something big might be coming up

And no, it has nothing to do with HP

 

lol...shhhh

 

This most certainly isn't true at all times when making tech purchases.

 

Oh, I'm pretty sure about this one 8D

 

Talking about the XPS 15, there's a big discount over there. I just tried a really good configuration and it gave me $500 discounted price. Not bad.

Too bad it's way bulky and looks just ugly unlike the envy

 

am i missing something?

 

I gave in and bought it...watch them announce a refresh on monday

 

No.

People will know when the time has come

 

You're kinda sounding like Darth Vader or something...care to elaborate a bit?

 

I see, thanks everyone for your opinions!

 

Patience my young padawan.

 

Patience you must have.

 

Hey, Spencer, read my PM and call me! Please.

 

lol if anyone has any info as to when it will be released please PM me as well. I am on the verge of buying the bulky ungraceful XPS 15

 

Whats the valid 25% off to get the envy for $750, all the ones i tried said the code is not valid on Envy. I would like to order one today if i can get the valid code.

 

Can't combine with student pricing.

 

Are you trying to use it on the quick ship model? It doesn't work on that, you can just customize a laptop to be the exact same config and price as the quick ship and it will work.

 

...We’ll have more Sandy Bridge models in late April at Best Buy and Future Shop...March 25 at 6:56pm

...But, we will be refreshing to a new model in the next few weeks, stay tuned!...April 1 at 11:47am

I've been bugging their Facebook page about this too and they keep me hanging...@Me asking HP Canada using a made up account...

Though I'm not sure if this is just about the new dv6tqe...or a refresh of Envy which was the question I asked them.

 

Wait and see I'd say.

As for me...I think I've retired from laptop gaming. My days of LAN'ing on old school Ragnarok, SC, and L4D are over. I'm now at a point in life where I don't have time to game until after 5pm. It looks to me I may be investing about $800 in a mid-level gaming desktop when Guild Wars 2 is out. That means my Envy will essentially be mostly a mobile work device for the next 2-3 years. I won't be participating in this refresh.

 

I am thinking the coupon expired. I did not do quick ship or the student discount. I did that before then tried without and it said coupon expired. Is there a more recent code that works today?

 

The coupon did expire today or maybe some time yesterday. There is only a coupon for the Beats edition (NB6633) for $250 off.

I recently ordered a Beats edition when all the other deals were still available. But are you just talking about the screen or a refresh, eafd? I don't really care about the screen because when picture matters, I'll be playing it on a HD projector. So a refresh obviously won't offer better performance at a discounted price for awhile, won't it?

I guess I shouldn't even worry about if I made the right purchase as I'll have 21 days to return it anyway.

 

I know. For the same price I paid for my beautiful and cute Radiance-equipped Envy 14, I could have bought an XPS 15 with a bigger screen and more powerful GPU.,... but I went for slim, light and cute... and I'm sure I made the right choice. Batman AA runs beautifully, and Crysis 2 looks gorgeous on Gamer settings.

The only thing I wish my Envy had is a Matte screen.

 

I currently have a Dell XPS M1530 and want to switch to the next Envy 14 iteration, if you know something, please PM me.

Thanks!

 

It may be bulky and ungraceful (worse, heavier), but this is one serious machine! If you've read a few reviews, you know the B+RG FHD screen runs circles around anything now available on the Envy 14, and beat the Radiance as well. Plus audio to die for and every port and connection in existence and every wireless technology too. More of a light DTR than a heavy thin and light. I love the Envy's sleekness, but until we see a refresh of it, the Dell has it by far on points.