Envy 14 w/ brightview screen vs radiance: is it really worth it?

Hello,

I have received my Envy 14 today with the slice battery. I used the $400 coupon deal from a month ago (not valid anymore, I had to return the first envy received as it had a keyboard problem: space bar).

I know that HP business outlet has some refurbished Envy with the radiance screen (1600 x 900). The same laptop I have received (paid $849 with the 400 coupon) is about as expensive as an i5 CPU with 4 GB RAM and the radiance screen (no slice battery though) at the outlet store.

My computer comes with a 2 year warranty and it is brand new, while the refurbished one would be 90 day, plus some money to be spent on the warranty and shipping (I know I can ask for the 5% price knock off).
So, the real plus is the radiance screen instead of the bright view.

Now, is the radiance really a plus for such a 14.5" diagonal screen? Would not this make the fonts ridiculously small and without a Blu ray player, would this actually be worth it? Unless I plug it at all times to a HD monitor or TV, it does not seem to me that it is worth all the trouble to return the new Envy and get the Envy-R with the radiance screen.

Furthermore, I read that the radiance screen can have some problems and that, if replacement there is, then HP will swap it to a brightscreen. That is quite a risk, isn't it?

Help me to take my decision.
THANKS!

 

the screen depends on what you use it for.

for movies you will NOT notice a significant difference between the 720p and 1080p on a 14 inch screen. on a 20+ inch screen though, of course the 1080p would be much better.

for games the lower native resolution would allow you to run at higher fps for the same graphics detail, or same fps for higher graphics detail. ati 5650m isn't IMO powerful enough for a 1600x900 screen for gaming.

for office stuff, coding, web development (being productive in general), the extra space is almost necessary to avoid excess scrolling. think of it as essentially working with a 1.3x wider 1024x768 screen.

so while i can live with the 1366x768 screen, here are somethings that i did:
1) turn your task bar to small icons, so you have more vertical space (or alternatively you can put the taskbars on the side, as you have much more horizontal space than vertical space [but on the side is too ugly for me])

2) i have an external 1900x1200 external monitor at home, and an 1280x1024 external at work for the extra space to be productive (i have lots of excel data sheets/graphs side by side, maybe a few pdf papers/figures open, etc.), as even if I had a 1600x900 it would probably not be enough.

 

I was in the same spot as you. I went with the brand new envy with brightview and I am happy with it.

You also have to take into account that the refurbs are refurbs for a reason. You're more likely to get one that had problems that may pop up again.

 

Yeah and think about it, your paying top dollar for a USED computer.

 

I'm glad there are some folks coming out and saying the brightview is nice. I wonder how many people skipped the envy just because all the bad reviews from people who don't have one. Glad i decided to give it a shot.

 

Thanks guys!