*HP ENVY 14 & ENVY 14 Beats (2XXX series) Owners Lounge*

lacking in GPU and display... you just named some of the most important components that people are expecting from a "premium" laptop. What other areas does the Envy make up for these shortcomings?

Touchpad? LOL...
CPU? nothing special since the majority of Envy sales are i5 dual core.
battery life? again, nothing special...
portability? nothing special...
case material? I'll give you this one, but still not enough components to label it a "premium" laptop

1366x768 BV display is sub par and does not belong on a premium notebook. If you think it's a good display, it's because you have low standards/expectations and probably haven't owned a quality display to compare it to. You might be better off getting a DV4 if GPU and display don't matter to you or DV6 if GPU and display matters, if you can live with the added weight/size.

 

Actually Ivory bridge is a double tick. Ivory bridge adds instructions and shrinks die(tik), 3d transistor is a massive power saving technology.(tok)

But I'm just going off of what someone told me so I may be a bit off.

That said, keep the dvt. And have fun and try to ace some tests. Gluck on the upcoming year!

 

Ivy Bridge: A Tick+ With Configurable TDP. There are no new instructions, AVX was added with Sandy Bridge.

People are calling it a double tick because this 22nm process will take a lot less power to operate than 32nm.

 

The Envy 14 has an SB processor which is pretty much expected now. Of course it's nothing special. Intel doesn't make special processors for companies, although that might change here soon with Apple supposedly.
The touchpad directly affects the entire user experience. If they were to improve it as much as they're hinting, then it should make for one of the best touchpads on non-Apple hardware.
Battery life is decent, although the capability for the slice battery is pretty awesome.
Yes, case material is pretty good as you said. It looks great (both the Beats and non-Beats). Stylish, yet professional. Unlike say, the M14x.
The audio (from the headset jack) is supposed to be pretty good. I actually own a website where I review headsets, so I'm eager to try out the audio.
The inclusion of Photoshop and Premiere Elements is a huge plus in my opinion.
I've used plenty of laptops and computers etc. I don't appreciate your comment that insinuates that the reason I'm not upset is because I don't have experience with quality screens. I never said it was a "good display" or graphics or anything. It's decent setup that's more than made up for in the other parts.
The mini display port is a nice touch, seeing as it's supposed to convert people from MacBook Pros.

 

thirteen year olds drive me crazy. They just argue about everything. I wish someones parents would ground them from getting on their computer.

 

I think that for most people, myself included, the GPU that HP has decided to go for in the Envy is ok. From what I have read, it should be able to run most games at a good quality, which is perfectly fine. Not all of us are gamers, I guess
I do think the screen is a disappointment if they stick to the 1366x768 BV display, so I have to admit I'm still holding onto a hope of something better here. The lack of Radiance (or similar) screen quality isn't ideal, but I will probably get it anyway.. but for me, I can't wait for something better (the 6yr old laptop that I'm stuck with now is caving in, and the Envy will more than cover what I need..) When the options for better screens and GPU's are the butt ugly m14x and the blocky xps 15, the Envy still turns out to be the better option here.. atleast for me.

 

Sony Vaio S Series is looking better and better..

Intel® Core™ i5-2520M processor (2.50GHz / 3.20GHz3 with Turbo Boost10)
Intel® Core™ i7-2620M processor (2.70GHz / 3.40GHz3 with Turbo Boost10)

13.3" display with LED backlight (1600 x 900)

AMD Radeon™ HD 6630M (1GB VRAM) hybrid graphics

CD/DVD player / burner
Blu-ray Disc™ player (CD/DVD player / burner capable)
Blu-ray Disc™ player / burner (CD/DVD player / burner capable)

Backlit QWERTY keyboard, 82 keys with 2.0mm stroke and 19.05mm pitch
Built-in HD camera powered by Exmor™ sensor and microphone

Default Settings: Up to 7.5 hours
Full Brightness: Up to 6.5 hours
DVD Playback: Up to 4.5 hours

3.6 lbs. (with standard battery)1
4.8 lbs. (with extended sheet battery, sold separately)1
13.04" (W) x 0.92" (H) x 8.84" (D) (with standard battery)

Estimated combined Battery Life with Extended Sheet Battery (sold separately)
Default Settings: Up to 15 hours
Max. Brightness: Up to 13 hours

 

Yep you got it.

Auxilio likes to start an arguement about everything when he is completly wrong everytime forgive him.

You disagree and have flawed logic whats new.

Can't wait till they ban him.

 

If you don't need it until then, yes. Ivy Bridge is likely to do amazing things for mobile platforms. And AMD's 28nm Southern Islands GPUs should be some amazing performers as well. For CPUs, generally more performance is gained through new architectures (tock) which are then made smaller and more efficient at even higher clock speeds (tick)

However, because of the modular nature of parallel processing GPUs, generally higher performance is gained through the shrinking and adding of more unified shaders (tick) which are then refined with newer architectures (tock), but don't gain performance to the same degree as the much more complex cores of a CPU.

This last generation of GPUs were SUPPOSED to be a tick, but because of the 28nm process delay they were forced to do another mini-tock. This generation of GPUs is really not much better than the last, in fact many would tell you this generation is what last generation should have been if there weren't any kinks in TSMC's 40nm process. If you are a gamer, I would say the real reason to wait another year is for the next GPUs to roll out. That combined with Ivy Bridge makes waiting a no brainer for me since I won't be out of the Marines and back in school until Fall 2012.

Another thing to consider is that HP is inevitably going to see a huge decrease in initial sales for this refresh due to the absence of the Radiance display and underwhelming improvements. Also there are a lot more OEMs getting into the whole "premium laptop" market to compete with Apple. If HP doesn't have it right next year, someone else may. They could seek out another Radiance vendor for the next refresh, or do a complete redesign, and they will if they are smart.

 

Yeah.. If they can't find a better screen option for the 14" Envy, maybe they should just go back to the 15" Envy, where it is easier to provide good screens. The size difference isn't that major anyway..

 

Well said. The graphics should be capable of handling the occasional gaming. Besides, if you want to do heavy gaming, that's what a desktop is for.

I would have liked the Radiance, but it's not really a deal breaker for me.

 

yeah a $1000 desktop will easily quadruple the gaming performance of the envy14,

 

Well from reading this thread I would disagree and say that most people are not happy with the GPU HP have gone with myself included, I can't understand I mean a premium model I would expect a better GPU than a weak middle level card. To be honest I think HP have shot themselves in the foot slightly here but this is all in my opinion.

 

They lost my interest when I first saw LG's upcoming beast.

 

I just saw the LG machine on engadget if we are thinking of the same one.

New LG P330 laptop has it all: brains, brawn, and beauty -- Engadget

6770m class gpu

NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

lighter, ips screen, looks like they ditched the optical drive, but if there is not even a blu ray option on the envy 14, then who cares about the optical drive (plenty will care, but those in the know will gladly go without)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-GWwczVC_w


standing still = failure - but maybe we'll be surprised.

 

All I'm saying is that most people (and I'm not referring to this forum full of people with a large interest in notebooks, but most people ready to buy a new laptop in the market) will probably not even notice that there is a middle-range GPU in the Envy. I think that if you don't game much, and don't do hardcore photo editing (for which I think a bigger screen is needed anyway), then this GPU will be completely fine, and you will probably not even notice that the GPU is middle-range. And since the SB machines will have switchable graphics, most people will be using the integrated graphics solution a lot of the time anyway to save power.
With that being said, I do get that if you game much and was expecting a great machine for gaming, this was a let down from HP. And that is completely understandable.. but for me, the screen is a bigger let down than the GPU; I would have loved something better than the 1366x768 BV. .. maybe we can agree to disagree, if nothing else?

 

All these alternatives look great but the price of the Envy helps it still compete. The Vaio S with the AMD 6630 cost $1300+ and the LG P330 will probably be even more. The Envy will cost $1000.

 

HP can't even compete with their own products, the dv6t has everything that people want in the envy 14 minus a backlit keyboard and slightly lower build quality...the increase in size isn't even that drastic

 

and thats why i switched from getting an envy to a dv6tqe it offers more than what the envy is currently offering.

 

Sad to say this, but the PG P330 is a better successor to the 1st generation E14. No optical drive=lighter. IPS screen fulfills our premium display wants. Aluminum/magnesium chassis is given. A decent GPU and SB CPU.


What's not to like?


That being said, my E14's good to go for a while.

 

That is what I will be doing to if they have a bad gpu and do not have some for of high res display at least 900p

Indeed so many choices coming now that if the envy screws up they will be losing a lot of sales lets just hope Malaysia gets worse products than the USA/Canada.

 

You mean better, right?

 

It can't compete with the dv6, sure, but in terms of a price/performance ratio that is probably the best notebook on the market.

 

the dv6 is also a bit bigger.

 

i think the 1080p is worth the extra inch vs the 14 inch 1366 × 768

 

I think everyone's screen size/resolution combination preferences will differ.

Here's my breakdown:

15" 1920x1080=14" 1600x900>1366x768 (Regardless the size!)


The first two are a toss-up and I'll venture to say 50/50 among people in general. Some prefer 14" for lighter weight. Others need more real estate. But the one thing most of us have in common is we want more pixel density.

 

if that LG has higher than x768 and GDDR5, I'll buy. Knowing how people like to hype "soon to market" phones/laptops, I'll wait until it's 100% available and 1-2 months of real user reviews are out.

 

I'll be following reviews on the LG. The refreshed Envy I'll follow mostly out of my interest in learning more about the new touchpad tech. I was probably the most vocal critic of HP's touchpad problems. My post history is full of lengthy posts dedicated to describing HP's problems and the approaches it needs to take to solve these problems. I even sent them back their own customer feedback post-card which outlined in 4-5 sentences the touchpad issues. That's why I was really surprised when an HP rep posted here admitting they read the comments.

 

I totally agree with that, I would also seriously consider the upgraded dv6.
However with all the problem smy buddy had with HP along with all the Envy problems in this forum, I am looking at other alternatives.

The Sager 5165 being the most interesting contender so far.

 

Wait, the dv6 has a 1080p screen in the US?? ...that must be an awesome alternative! The dv6 where I live, is sold with 1366x768 ( ! ), so I won't even consider it.. that would be even worse than on the Envy, since the screen is bigger

 

I'm a little surprised with all of the criticism with the GPU. When this first launched with a mobility 5650 everyone was singing praises about how good a compromise between performance and portability this was. Until of course it was realized that it was being clocked at the minimum performing frequency. If HP had to use a 5650 with lower clock speed it should come as no surprise that they wouldn't be putting anything significantly faster in this refresh. But it still represents the same if not greater value than before, it's just an underwhelming update.

I think the main problem we're seeing is that HP didn't create a future-proof enclosure with this notebook. People compared this to the MacBook pro 15 and saw that the 5650 was even better in a notebook that is half the price. Then when the MacBook pro refresh came with an option for a 6750, everyone is like " HP you can't do better than that?". But what you all are failing to realize is that the envy 14 is STILL going to be half the price.

Personally my biggest disappointment was with the screen, but I believe that this wasn't HPs choice, they tried to have it in there and for one reason or another it wasn't working. The brightview is still a competitive screen with the MacBook pro 13 1280x800 screen. Apple is getting criticized for not having a 1440x900 13" screen on those which are available on the 13" MacBook Air. I guess it hasn't quite caught on yet how much we'd like a higher pixel density screen as an option for these things, but it will.

The bottom line is that with the launch of the envy 14, every prosumer who has been wanting an aesthetically pleasing and higher build quality MacBook pro-like notebook (without the inflated pricetag or compatibility issues of just buying a MacBook pro and running windows on it) got really excited. Well, you still have it, it hasn't disappeared. It's just in need of a greater improvement to represent the same value comparison as it did when it first launched. We'll probably see it next year, and personally with the GPU hardware that is due out next year, as a gamer I'll continue waiting no matter who I buy from.

 

That LG looks absolutely fantastic. Q4 2011 release sucks though, since it probably means that students won't be able to grab one before the school year starts.

I agree, it's obvious that HP wanted to make Radiance screens available, but simply couldn't. The problem I and everyone else has is that the Envy is marketed as HP's flagship model, yet is slated to come with a 6630M, 1366x768 display, and SB i7's, which puts it squarely in the middle of the pack when it comes to 14"-15" laptops.

 

Makes it a relief that other thin/light offering are surfacing on the horizon. Dell XPS15z and now the LG. I think PC companies are finally catching on. Wasn't too long ago premium thin/light alternatives to Apple were fewer and further between. Lucky for me the E14 1st gen with touchpad tweaks was a perfect match.

 

I agree with most of that. But I'm not sure what "compatibility issues" you're referring to when using Windows on a Apple hardware? I've had no problems with it, the Boot Camp drivers do their job well. My computer (late 2008 aluminum unibody MacBook) isn't fast enough to handle running Windows in a VM. But I'm pretty sure modern MacBook Pros wouldn't have a problem with that.

 

Another fingerprint magnet though.

I think if you need a new computer the ENVY is still the way to go just dont go crazy with the SSD, RAM and processor. Then you will have a decent gaming machine that runs quiet/cool and looks a lot better than its competition.

 

Look what I just found Updated Envy 14 Beats on the Malaysian site.

 

Posted a few days ago.

Anyone know how how the i5 vs i7 battery life will be? Still deciding between them, I want an i7, but really need atleast 4 hours.

 

I have an i7 2630QM in my envy 17 3d and get about 3 hours on the 6 cell and about 5 hours on the 9 cell using integrated graphics. Just to give you an vague idea.

 

Ok, anyone know how much the i7 dv6's get?

 

Anyone know if the Sandy bridge envy will be out on June 15 in the UK or is that date only for the US

 

I wish that the envy 15 came back...

 

CNET Asia has reported it will be out June 15th in Singapore. The Envy 14 is already up on the Malaysian website, so I'd think the launch is worldwide.

 

HP site says up to 5.5 hours so you should be able to get around 4 hours

 

HP Prices in Singapore are so jacked up though. If you do your calculations, it would most probably be cheaper to buy from US and ship it over to Singapore through borderlinx or some other shipping companies that provide you with a P.O. Box to ship to.

 

so the envy 14 will not have a 1600x900 option?

 

Almost definitely won't have it. Spec sheets have been available everywhere. HP Malaysia website that lists the specs for the version it's selling doesn't have it. HP reps have said 1366x768.

Seriously, my advice is keep your notebook a bit longer if you can. Unless you need a new gaming machine, spend $100-$200 MAX on an SSD and pop it into your aging notebook and start looking into the LG P330 if it's going to be available in your country. Sad to say, it is most definitely the worthy successor to E14 first gen. IPS display, metal chassis, 3.64 pounds, decent dedicated GPU, etc.

 

What's missing has been a known issue with Mac laptop running Boot Camp: the battery life. While I don't know the exact reason, my best guess is this is because the Mac hardware is not optimized for Windows drivers.

 

What's also missing is Windows drivers for the dedicated GPU.

 

So what do people think then, Envy14 sb or the i7 xps15z?

 

How is the screen on the xps? A higher resolution isn't that important to me if its not very bright. Personally I still say the Envy because of the size and looks alone. Feel like the xps was rushed to compete with the whole "thin and light craze"

Look for Samsung and LG to make a big push into the notebook market. Lots of good designs that haven't reached stateside yet.