Envy 14 vs dm4t

Alright, so I'm cracking down on the final pickings for a college laptop and I'm torn between the Envy 14 and dm4t.

Although both are supposedly 14", everyone knows that the Envy 14 is actually a 14.5" and is slowly approaching the territory of the 15". It's also about .7 lb's heavier than the dm4t. That being said, the Envy is supposedly the "premium" quality laptop and offers a better screen and an overall more powerful system (Although the dm4t is not a pushover by any means)

However, both are trying to serve a 14" demographic, and I'm torn between choosing power and portability.

Is there anybody else in the situation that has a specific reason for choosing one over the other and if so, would you care to share?

P.S. - Can anybody give estimates on comparing a standard Envy battery to a standard dm4t battery? I'm aware the Envy is not out yet, but considering the advertised battery-life and your expertise on how much inflation is due to advertising, make an estimate.

 

I think that battery life of the two laptops will be very similar, about 5 to 5.5 hours under regular usage. HP claims about 7 hours of battery life for the DM4, and the same for the Envy. So it is likely the battery life of both laptops will be similar.

I want the Envy 14 instead of the DM4 mainly because of the screen res and graphics card.

 

if you can afford the Envy 14, wait for it. if you can't, get the dm4t.
unless you REALLY, REALLY want a fingerprint scanner...

 

Even if the Envy 14 was out now, depending on what he is planning to do, I would recommend the DM4 over the Envy. No point in spending more money than you need to.

 

actually, he never mentioned how he was planning to use it.
FlamingTortilla, get in here. how do you normally use your computer? do you do any gaming? what is your major going to be?

 

I feel like the specs are fairly similar. To be honest, if I got the Envy, I would most likely keep stock specs since I'm on a budget (The lower the better, and trying not to push it past $1000). For the dm4t there's a bit of flexibility and I would most likely push for these updates
- 4 gig memory (Stock 3)
- 500 GB harddrive
- Intel N Wireless card
- 5450 w/ 512mb instead of integrated graphics.
At this point, the price approaches the ~$1,000 mark which would be stock Envy (Which is speculated to carry the 5650/1600x900 screen/etc...).
If that's the case, the Envy wins in value. However, it's most of the Envy's specs are still speculated.
Honestly, if for the same price, I gain a "premium" level laptop with better build quality, a better screen, more powerful graphics, etc..., .7 lb's seems hardly a sacrifice. However, the Envy still seems miles away and nobody can quite see what we're getting :/.

- Addyct: Sorry, I posted this before seeing your thread.
I'm majoring in business and do not plan on any intensive photoshopping/video editing. However, I am an avid gamer and computer junkie in general and like my laptops to have the ability to keep up (Switchable graphics, anyone?) I've been looking at laptops after I got rid of my old one in November and had looked from Asus' UL30VT-a1, UL30JC, U30JC, to Acer's TimelineX series until I finally hit HP where the dm4t and Envy seems to have beat everyone else out of the water.

 

True, true. I'm beginning to think that HP just threw that $999 price out there to attract customers. I hope I'm wrong. But yea if the prices turn out to very similar with the configuration you want, there really wouldn't be any reason not to get the Envy 14 except weight and *maybe* battery life.

 

If you are trying to stay under $1000, then get the dm4t. Or just wait till the Envy comes out and see how it really stacks up.

 

Well, the laptop would be a graduation gift, so money is not a "limiting" factor.
However, I do not want to simply spend for the sake of spending and I figured $1,000 would be a safe number to work with. I believe having a budget enforces the need to truly find the best bang for the buck. Perhaps I made an error in creating a thread comparing a laptop that's out to a laptop that's still a month away since nobody can really compare them; however, I was hoping maybe I could pull out some information from people who have been following the Envy 14 thread (I have been following it daily, but I've gotten rather lost amidst all the news updates and faulty spec-sites, etc...)

 

Yeah, if the Envy has your eye at all, I would suggest just waiting. At this point, we really don't have any idea what the base specs will be.

 

If you are on a very tight budget I would recommend the dm4t, because the Envy is the premium series and you would certainly pay more for the same raw computing power.

On the other hand ... the Envy has the better display option, a better GPU and the option for an additional 7 hour slice battery (I don't know if the dm4t has something simular).

If you have the money and want something which is better suited for gaming and has a better display, get the Envy.

That's certainly true.
We don't know yet what exactly there will be in the $999 base model.

Worst case could be: i3-330M, 2 GB RAM, 160 GB HDD, 1366x768 display
(Ati 5650 seems to be set for all configurations)

A more attractive configuration with i5-520M, 4 GB RAM, 500 GB HDD, 1600x900 display could be as high as $1500 (based on pricing of german quick-ship model).
(Perhaps about $150 cheaper in USA because of overseas extra charges and extra 1 year warranty with the german model)

 

My take on buying a laptop after researching is to buy anything that you wouldn't upgrade yourself, for example the screen or graphics card or the CPU. Get as much RAM as you can afford, but it can be added to later.
Costs can be lowered initially by skipping on the additional software and accessories. Pick those up later. I would get the bigger battery for the classroom battery time needed and the upgraded graphics because it works outside the RAM and when needed (and plugged in) will be faster.
And don't feel pressured in buying NOW! Its like buying a car, you will have it for several years so make the choice for you.

 

Any difference in the ports offered in the two? (e.g. eSata, ExpressCard, firewire etc. )

 

specs for HP envy14 envy15 and envy 17 are out here

 

I was in a similar situation, so I know what you're struggling with right now. In my opinion, the dm4 screen resolution and size are just fine, offering me 720p resolutions on video (same as envy 14 will do) and the ability to zoom in or out on websites. I sometimes zoom out, making the screen seem more similar to the new envy resolution in regards to font size and so on. It's a very useful tool and as simple to do as swiping your fingers on the touchpad.

When it all boils down, the envy 14 will be faster in regards to GPU power. Since you're a gamer, consider estimated 3dmark06 scores of around 4000+ for the dm4, and 7200+ for the envy 14 based on other similar models. Both will have switchable graphics, so the battery should be similar when the GPU is switched off, as another poster said previously. Can you play any game on both systems? Sure! Can you play the newest on high settings on both systems? No, sadly. Both systems are still mid-level GPU's, but the 5650 will definitely outperform the 5450 any day.

I chose to go with the dm4, because it's out now and the build quality has been updated immensely. After bing cashback of 25%, I ended up getting my configuration for $706 after tax and free shipping. Please see my specs below in my sig. I purchased the extra 9 cell battery to compliment my 6 cell for only $45 more after bing cashback, which should give me around 13 hours of battery life all together. Not a bad deal.

So, my opinion would be to weigh your options, wait for the bing cashback to come back, and hope that when it does the envy 14 will have been released by then so that you can have some options. WAIT, as you will be happy you did. 6 years ago I was in your shows, and waiting 2 more months saved me about $150 on hardware because the prices dropped. Not saying that this will happen with you, as my purchase was a desktop, but you never know what tomorrow holds. There are always going to be some nice and tempting computer deals out there, so take the one that works for you and feels right.

Keep up the research and best of luck to you! Glad we could help.