Envy 17 3D Defects and Other Concerns

I had a similar issue with the keyboard tray warping a bit around the power button on the two Envy 14s I have. I simpy pulled the keyboard (top panel) and trued them up. It takes about 10 minutes of effort.

 

I slightly loosened only the three screws at the outside edge of the battery compartment and that didn't have any effect. I could slightly loosen the other screws and see if that helps. Otherwise, I guess I won't worry about it too much. Being that this is the only thing that I have found wrong so far, I can't complain.

 

yeah, well, if you can fix it good. If you want to send it back you can. I know WickedYeti is really enjoying his since I found his posting review on HP's site! LMFAO! Here is link below....

HP ENVY 17 3D series | HP Official Store


KJ

 

I've been emailing back and forth with HP's customer service about exchange my envy 17 3D because there are dead pixels all over the screen and this latest email that I got (took almost a week to get to this point) said they "would have to charge me $188.99 for the exchange. Has anybody else experienced this? I found it kind of weird that I'm being charged for an exchange that is clearly within the return/warranty period.

 

I think there is a problem with my GPU because it has been crashing all my games recently. It all started with Fallout New Vegas on Thursday, since then every one of my games COD Black Ops, BF2 Bad Company, and New Vegas has been crashing to desktop or Crashing to White screen.
When I have GPU-Z analyze the GPU I see temps in the 91 C and GPU Load 100% and most notably the Fan speed only reads 30% even though I can hear it very loudly change in speed.

My games used to run great but now cant even handle a few minutes of play.

I recently updated the BIOS and Video card drivers from HP's website based on my product code.

Also, whenever I get crashes I cant control the brightness of the screen at all, not from the buttons or the system settings- it just stays full brightness.

Can someone install GPU-Z to analyze their GPU's temps, Load, and fan speeds while playing a game for comparison?

 

racingkid63, first of all, welcome to the NBR forums, great place where we all help eachother out with computing concers.

1. I have to ask eventhough its rather irrelevant since the Envy 17 3D recently came out, but what date did you receive your Envy 17 3D?

2. Why are you emailing HP and not just talking to them on the special Envy toll free number?

If you had your Envy for more than 21 days and didn't buy it withing the holiday promotion, time, than you can't return it, but warranty is good for 2 years. I am curious what you wrote in those emails...if perhaps you mentioned you dropped it, or spilled soda on it? Hmmmm.... Otherwise them trying to charge you is insane...something you said to them maybe threw a red flag...please clarify this, as this is interesting and hope its not an issue for other Envy 3D users.

KJ

 

beertha, thanks again for those vids.

I'm not a computer genious, geek, or otherwise. I'm gonna take a stab at an idea based on the couple things I highligted from your post.
So, those two items you mentioned above, clearly point to me that somehow your system "thinks" you are constantly playing 3D content!!!! Obviously, in 3D our laptops use the GPU to max for performace and yes, it will get hot. Also, as mentioned by HP that the brightness is locked at max brightness when viewing 3D Blurays..... so am I right? Again, I'm just guessing and making a logical deduction..... but to me it sounds like your Envy is in a continual 3D Bluray mode or something.

If any of you guys have any ideas love to hear it too. Anyway, its time to call HP's Envy special number and see if those genous techs can help. Keep us updated beertha.

KJ

 

Thanks for the reply. I ordered it on November 6th and received it on December 3rd. My emails haven't made mention of dropping/spilling anything (which didn't happen anyway), all I said was that I needed an RMA because I had multiple clusters of dead pixels on my screen. Here is the original message that I sent them from their website, after reading the instructions for their RMA process: "I need to request an RMA number for my Envy 17 3D. The screen unfortunately has 7-8 dead pixels (black, won't light) and I'd like to exchange it for an Envy 17 3D with the same specs, minus the dead pixels."

I never realized that Envy users had their own customer support number, where can I find that at? I'm sure they could help me MUCH quicker than emailing back and forth and waiting 2 days in between each reply.

 

All I can say is wow!!! I am so glad you posted because now you are about to do well.

I did not write down the special Envy USA support number, but it is on a long rectangle piece of shiney black slip shipped with your Envy. Hope you didn't throw it away, otherwise someone here may give you the phone number. They are very friendly, and helpful. In fact you still have 3 or so days left to return for a full refund!

I would be more than angry at whoever told you to pay $188.99!!! Infact, those of us who have returned our Envy's for new ones, have been offered at least $50.00 back on our credit cards and even allowed to ask for a free upgrade! Its crazy that withint the 21 days they asked you for money, you emailed a very very bad rep, very unusual.

So, call HP USA number as soon as possible. In the case you don't have it, DO NOT EMAIL anymore!!!! Just call the returns number, and tell them you are returning it period. You originally had 21 days, and you still have 3 left. Return in Tomorrow, Monday ASAP!!!! Call them first. Get this money mix up straightened out. Get your $50 and a free upgrade. Let us know how it goes.

P.S. This is a benefit of being a member here, look what you just learned, pretty cool huh? ;P This way HP or any other company cannot take us for suckers. Knowledge is power.

P.P.S. Also note, the $50 that HP is willing to give us back for the returns/and exchange is basically for our troubles. I would even ask for more, but anyway, it is an inconvieance to us. Most of us have to wait 5 or so weeks for a rebuild, which really sucks, but that is the least HP can do is offer a credit and upgrade. Do not be shy in asking for it.


KJ

 

Thanks, I'll go look through all the paperwork and other stuff that came with the computer. Would I be covered under their extended holiday return policy (I thought it was November 1st through Christmas) with my order?

 

Yeap!!!! Here is the link to HP's holiday policy.

HP® Official Store —Buy HP Laptops, Notebook PCs, Printers, Desktop Computers, Handhelds, Scanners, Monitors, and Calculators direct from HP

It says if you ordered form November 1st to December 24th, you have until January 15th to return, so yeah, forget what I said about 3 days...lol, you have until Jan 15, but of course, call ASAP tomorrow, sort it out, return it since the screen is defect and their is no fix, it needs to be rebuild. Good luck.

The point is, even if they give you nonsense about paying 188.99 for exchange just return and reorder, but I would first call HP and get the $50 credit, free upgrade, and rebuild a new one...it will now be cheaper for you than if you just called HP fresh and ordered one without complaining about this BS. Good luck.

Note: The squeeky door gets the oil...lol...squeek away.

P.S. By the way, besides the $50 back on my credit card HP will apply once they ship my new Envy 17 3D, I asked them to give me a free Recovery Kit, LMFAO, I know, I went easy on them......now I kinda wish I asked for an SSD drive, but they probably would have told me to take a hike, son! LOL, from what I understand, ask for an upgrade around $50....so all in all you benefit about $100

KJ

 

Ok sweet, thanks for the help. I'm not sure I'll be able to squeeze any more credits or upgrades out of them. I've been lucky (or unlucky, depending how you look at it) enough to get the 10% back for it being delayed on top of the student discount and it is built with the max specs already.

 

Solved my problem by doing a system recovery to virgin status.
Somewhere along the lines of installing all kinds of games, I messed something up and the 3-D intensive games wouldnt play (Streetfighter 4 played great).
Maybe a Direct X thing? Whatever, I was actually starting to think it was a bad GPU and was looking at returning this and buying other laptops.
No matter what I looked at, I kept coming back to Envy 17 for price, style, performance- just cant beat this laptop deal. I'm glad my Envy is back to awesome status.

 

beertha, I'm glad to hear you got her up to 100% working status! Enjoy that beautiful, powerful thing.

 

What are you talking about? LOL

 

Lol, indeed....

 

So......played some BC2: Vietnam today and the GPU got up to 90C.........And my mouse that is plugged into the left USB port starting to malfunction.

Mouse would stop working, start working, stop, start etc...... At first i thought it was my mouse, but plugging it into the right USB port, the mouse was back to normal.

Now people asked why should they worry about 80-90C temps - that it is within range of operating temperatures.......well this is why.

You want your components as cool as possible, otherwise crap like this starts to happen. I just don't see this laptop lasting very long with these temps.

 

armoured, I admit, you are getting me concerned.... I hope you find a fix and let us know. Damn heat! arrrrrrghhhhh!

armoured, I'm curious, are you using the standard 6 cell battery, or 9 cell extra size?

Also a suggestion, you might try to do a factroy restore in case you haven't already...I hope you don't have too many personal programs on her that it would be too troublesome to perform, otherwise I'd encourage you to do a restore, prehaps one of the errant programs you installed is causing this issue. If you restore, and it still does this heat thing...I'd call HP and see what they can suggest. Best of luck.

 

This morning I was playing Borderlands on the laptop in bed so did not have very good cooling conditions. And then after a while the laptop shuts down by its own, and when I restarted it the screen came up said it was shut down due to high temperatures. But when I touched the left side it wasnt even that hot. glad im returning this one, hope the new one is better.

 

Well, the only reason why I posted was because there is no fix.

The USB is right near where the 5850 is......and if the GPU is at 90C - which is 194F.......it's gonna affect the USB.

No solution, just gonna return it before Jan 15th.

 

Armoured:

Was your laptop using the 6 cell or 9 cell? I ask because I noticed that if you are using the 9 cell, you get less heat because the extra space gives the air intake the ability to get cooler air.

I would suggest you elevate the back of your laptop and use a cooler to see if you can reduce the temps.

I think this is a small price to pay rather than purchasing a Alienware and 2-3 times the price.

 

BTW, when you use a cooler, it is best to use one that doesn't recirculate the hot air back into the intake. I like the ones that draw the air from the back of the computer rather than underneath.

 

Lol, look a few posts back, I asked armoured the same question, but he skipped over it. I'm sure he just didnt' see it and not being sneaky, LOL, J/K.

KJ

 

Trust me guys I've worked out the best solution for the cooling on this thing.

I run mine on the edge of a table. I've posted this picture before.



I have used multiple cooling pads that only heated up the laptop even more.

This is the best solution that I've come up with, and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw 90C out of the GPU while running BC2: Vietnam.

 

I was getting decent temps by being in the basement; however bringing it upstairs and playing in a 75F environment.........

This is what happened. Officially no longer an owner. Called HP and returning it.

 

armoured, I am seriously concerned here... I will have to test my lap when I get it, but I'm leaning to possibly just returning it and just getting my money back and waiting for a new build when the new chips come out, but we'll see....

P.S. armoured, but you are right, I mean, we need our computer to last a long time and with these temps maybe it won't....

KJ

 

I am getting the same temps as Armoured and am looking at returning mine also. I guess having one fan to cool the CPU and GPU is not a good design for gaming purposes. I have BF2 Bad Company, Fallout3 New Vegas, COD Black Ops, Resident Evil 5, Streetfighter 4, Borderlands, and Left4Dead2 installed and all the games have crashed after a few minutes or hrs (depending on the game) of play.
I noticed when I am at home it crashes more quickly and often than at work because its pretty cold A/C at my workplace- no Ac at home.
Games usually crash when the Fan blows really hard and loud not to mention the super-hot temps near the vent.
I have done 3 system recoveries, and updated/backdated my GPU drivers, BIOS, DirectX, etc, you name it to get my games to work good. Everything works great at high settings until the heat builds up to the point of CTD.
I really love this laptop, its an elegant machine with lots of power but if you are a gamer, forget it unless you play in a cold environment.
I'm gonna keep testing this thing hoping something will change before Jan 15, but I am on the lookout for good deals on the ASUS G53.
For anyone thinking about buying this Laptop, I recommend you do so if you are not a gamer like myself. Normal laptop use like movies, video editing, etc is probably what this Laptop is designed for, I dont think HP tested the gaming demands that I put it through. Even as I type this out, the heat on my left palm is more pronounced than the right.

 

I've had godawful issues with heating as well. But after investing in a good cooling pad, it seemed to stop the overheating issue.

I mean, you can't lay a laptop down on a carpet, couch, bed, your lap, or even a hard surface like a table and expect to push the CPU and GPU hard and not have some sort of overheating issue.

I've ran into this issue with every high performance laptop I've ever had or known anyone to have. As long as the back end of the computer is elevated, the oversized battery helped as you all pointed out, and you've got a GOOD cooling mat under it flowing some air to it, the heat doesn't become an issue.

My cooling mat cost me right over 100 dollars. That's how I define good. You can't expect to go to Walmart and spend 20 dollars on a cooling pad and expect it to keep a top of the line high performance laptop cool under high stress. It's not going to happen, trust me. I learned the hard way by frying one of my old DV7s that way.

But yes, HP needs to learn that these stupid single fan constructions are worthless. If you don't have an SSD and are still running a HD, you've got a CPU, GPU, and HD all heating up in a small space, with one tiny little fan trying to keep everything below 130 degrees.... it doesn't happen. Maybe if the Envy had 3 fans with adjustable fan speed via a OEM or 3rd party program it could be self sufficient at cooling. And that's another beef I have with HP... almost every other brand name manufacturer allows for 3rd part apps to control fan RPMs. Does HP? Of course not. They want you to fry your system so you spend more money on their crap.

 

beertha, thank you very miudh for this eye opener, as was armoured's. Funny....I know we all thought they fixed this issue from the Envy 17s but sounds like the problem is here, and its pretty bad when playing intensive games for a bit and it shuts down!?!@??@#$??@ That to me is unexecptable!

I will put her through the paces of these high graphical games and if she even so much as blinks a black or blue screen she's out the door back to HP! The deal will be off, lol, ok maybe a little dramatic, but still. We agree that we've paid plenty of money for a high performance machine, not just looks, where is the kept promises HP? We shall see.... I will use her fully below the 21 days and decided...

KJ

 

Well, decided to open her up. Used IC7 Diamond for the thermal paste.










Temps after running Intel Burn test in background while sitting near a waterfall in Lara Croft and Guardian of Light at maxed.

I'd say it's a decent improvement - however it does show the limitations of the cooling solutions.

Having a quad core share the same heatpipes and fan as a high end gpu is not smart. It's also not smart to leave the 5850's GDDR5 memory modules without any type of protection.

Maxed CPU before was 89C, now it's 82-83C. Good improvement. GPU before was 94C maxed now it's 88C. Still not great, but you should see the heatsink - it's tiny.



- Also it looks like HP has changed the Envy's cooling solution. It now has 1 less heatpipe when compared to the regular 17 Envy shown in the service manual. And looks like it no longer exhausts to the top and left. Now it just exhausts to the left. I believe the solution is inferior to the original.

 

Armoured, what is the brand of that MoBo in the
envy 3D? I've been trying to find out the brand all day now, and I really don't want to go ripping mine open if I don't have to. Did you happen to catch any serial numbers or names on the board that would hint to what brand/model it is?

 

armoured, wow! No wonder you didn't notice it so hot at that thime when she shut down on you!!! Now we know why since you opened her up and noticed the heat exhaust is to the left and not top left. Shameful HP! That is why its good to use the Real Temp GT program to really tell us what temps our laps are running. Thanks again armoured.

 

Armoured, +1 for your pics and Info. You have provided as much detailed info as I could possibly want and made my decision very clear now.

Its too bad HP has decided to take such lousy steps to correct the heat situatuion and actually made it worse with the E17 3D models.

Perhaps they will improve the cooling on the rumored SB chips and ATI 6850?

 

beertha, after reading armoured's great reviews, pics, and vids, I'm now 90% or more intended on returning my second Envy 17 3D when it gets here after playing with if for 15 or so days... I think I wll wait for the Sandy Bridge version hoping they learned for the previous versions short comings.

Plus I'm hoping for a Bluray burner, HDMI 1.4 support to watch 3D content on a 3D tv from my Envy, obviously better heat managemnt with the Sandy Bridge.....and faster performance for the quad core....

Everyone will have to make their own decision on this, but at least we can provide eachother info as to what is actually in our laptops and how they perform. Thanks to everyone so far, you're all great, keep it up.

The bottom line is to be completely happy with your purchase....

I'm just wondering, is it true that HP will even do another version of the Envy 17 3D with Sandy Bridge, or is there a chance they will stop the Envy line, and do another line all together? I'm not sure, it won't bother me if they change the name, I just want a 3D lap that screams in performace, full features, and yes, I like the HP name and what their doing compared to others, but HP needs to step up and really be proud in their laps and invest the best components in them! We the consumers are willing the shell out the big bucks, so now they have to deliever. Nuff of my rant, lol.

KJ

 

Anyone aware of the actual manufacturer of the 3D's MoBo? I've been trying to find it now for a day, but any of the system info tools you download only tell you its manufacturer is Hewlett Packard 1590, and one or two of the tools went as far as to only say "Intel" But HP doesn't make MoBos.... so I'm not sure what the deal is.

I'm curious to know what the actual model and make of the board is =\ I'd like to find out, as me and my little devious mind is thinking of ways to get around HP's BIOS lockout

 

Stonewall89, if you could do that, well, you would be very much appreciated here on NBR by us fellow Envy 17 3D owners! Lol, good luck.

KJ

 

I'll be conducting some trial and error things.. I'll let you know if I make any headway.

 

Closest I can give you is it uses the:
Intel HM55 (IbexPeak-M DH)

Same as the G73JH.

 

Ok I think my problems may lie within my Power adapter not the Laptop. I was at work today gaming for about 6 hrs on COD Black Ops at 1080/High settings everything working great just like it always has at work. So I come home and and fire up Black ops and sure nuff the game crashes 10 min later. So I unplug the power adapter from the laptop (battery power) and it works great- no crashing.

I have a different power adapter at work that I leave there and I use the HP Envy power adapter at home.

So the power adapter that came with the laptop is the cause of the overheating and super high fan temperatures- all this time I thought it had to do with the Air Conditioning at my workplace and not having A/C at home.

So the question to myself is; should I make the call to HP to get a new adapter and continue to use this Laptop or just go with my plan to get the ASUS G53 which has 2 big fans and has excellent cooling properties.
The G53 has a faster processor, better GPU, better cooling, expandable to 16gb ram instead of 8, 1080p, usb 3.0, backlit keys, and $1349 shipped (Amazon) so its looking pretty damn good to me.

 

beertha, what is your FPS? and your specs? I have the i7-840QM with 8 gig on board memory. Everything on high in Black Ops, 1080p, 120hz, on 3D mode, but no Vsync of course. Max I get is a pathetic 17fps, but it still seems to be playable. I love the great looking graphics, but wish I had atleast 30. With no 3D, I get 45+

I will have to check out the G53, thanks. Does it support HDMI 1.4 for output of Blueray 3D to HDTV 3D capable tvs?

KJ

 

I have the base model envy 17, I wouldn't even try playing black ops on 3d mode because it cuts performance in half almost. I think I get around the same fps that you do.
Don't get me wrong, I still believe the envy 17 is an awesome machine, its just that its cooling properties need improvement for longevity. I bought my Envy 17 for $1250 shipped, so $1350 for the G53 ain't so bad.

 

Called up HP and told them about my power adapter problems, and they are sending me a new one. So far pretty happy with HP service, called them twice so far, and everytime it was someone who spoke excellent english, respectful, attentive and tried to get things resolved.

I will probably keep this laptop, now that I know it was the Power Adapter messing things up- not the GPU or anything.

I am also pretty happy that the Envy line gets an extended 2 yr warranty instead of the standard 1 yr.

Overall, I guess I'm pretty happy that I got this Envy 17 3D for $1199 and it comes with a 2 yr warranty with pretty good customer service (so far at least).

Hope the tech support learned something about how bad power adapters can cause PC games to crash even though the computer performs well for everything else.

 

yea,i got my 17 3d 2 weeks ago...yes i have the same flaw...will try to adjust the screws if it bothers me..hey ..i did notice that in the picture u posted, it looks like ur notebook is open alot more then mine can,,,is it?

 

Ok, Im looking to invest in a good cooling pad for the Envy 17 3D. Can anyone recommend a good one or one that works especially well with this particular machine? I was looking at the Targus AWE57US.

 

I don't think my screen opens any more than any other 17 3D.

If you are using the 6 cell battery, I would recommend the following fan. It is cheaper than the HD3 and is very effective because it increases the gap between the laptop and the table surface. And, since it draws cool air from the back, it doesn't recirculate the warm air from the exhaust to the left.

The only reason I don't like using it with the 9 cell is because it raises the back a bit too high.

Newegg.com - Antec Notebook cooler w/ Two Ball-bearing Fans Model Notebookcooler to go

 

found new problems on the envy, the "q" key keep making this jamming noise and harder to type on than the other keyboard.

Also the computer screen go black everytime I wake the computer up and try play a youtube video on it.

Thinking about returning it but hate all the trouble

 

Noodle, I know what you mean, but in the long run you might be better off. My suggestion..... and this is what I do.... and if you don't have one, get a Costco membership ASAP! I then say, purchase the best HP laptop they have, I bought the HP DV7-4183cl. Costco give you 3 whole months to keep the computer play with it, and do whatever you want (just don't break it, lol). Before the 3 months are up, go into Costco return it, get a full refund. Mine is due back by Mid March 2011. By then I hope the new Envy 17 3D will have the SB, new GPU, HDMI 1.4 support, etc...even if they change the Envy line name, I still will get the new system because HP has the looks, but I also need performance too.

Anyway, the point is, use Costco to hold you over until the final system you want is available at HP.com. Good luck.

P.S. Normally I would have customized my Envy at Costco.com, but funny thing is, they were more expensive then ordering it form HP.com which provided the instant discounts when asking the sales rep.

KJ

 

yea i have costco membership and i know what you mean.
Just this weird little trouble coming every time is soooo annoying, I just want a decent laptop for the price i paid is it that hard?lol.... Im thinking looking at other laptops now actually. Id even take asus 73 although the look sucks if it doesnt have problems

 

Yeah, right............ see ya later then

http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus-gaming-notebook-forum/484881-g73-repair-log.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus-gaming-notebook-forum/542931-g73jh-glitchy-video-calls-skype.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus-gaming-notebook-forum/523091-g73hj-webcam-drivers-problem.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus-gaming-notebook-forum/460437-asus-g73jh-keyboard-issues.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus-gaming-notebook-forum/542287-rma-my-g73jh-lets-ee-how-asus-support-do-customers-outside-states.html

 

LOL didnt know that product have that MANY problems, thx for the headup, guess I can cross that off my list. I just looked at the amazon rating and it was good but didnt look into it yet. I think ima wait until CES and then see what new products come out and at what price. So far the reviews on the SD cpu are good. If hp dont roll out new stuff ima give this baby a last shot and see if a better unit comes.