*HP ENVY 14 & Envy 14 Beats (1XXX series) Owners Lounge, Part Deux*

relic is the color, brownish, greyish, etc. It's the same exact thing as all other envy's.

 

Oh--it doesnt mean relic, as in its the old version meaning they're gonna have a new version or something (i.e. Beats Ed.). COOL $1k's not bad since this video at 11:30 shows it can handle SC2 at highs : YouTube - HP Envy 14 Screen Viewing Angles + Gaming. And with a i5-460m, I think it would be able to handle Dolphin/PCSX2 also, right??

 

The Intel Prowireless 6200 card in the Envy 14 supports the full 802.11n specification, including both 2.4 and 5 GHz radios, and wide channels. If you are going to have any problem, it is going to be with your router not supporting enough features.

802.11n supports 150 mbps per 20MHz channel. Using a wider 40MHz channel you start getting up towards 300 mbps. Also, you have to make sure that there is no interference from other nearby networks or electrical devices which could cause the signal to drop.

I have a Netgear WNDR dual band router running DD-WRT, set to 40MHz channel widths on the 5GHz frequency. My envy 14 tells me I am connected at 270 mbps when I am about 15 feet from the router.

 

The benefit of N is mostly wider range as far as the current ISP speed. 100mbps connection with 6mb ISP service wont make it a difference compared if you were connected at 200mbps.

 

So if my router is like 30feet away only (2 rooms away), will having a different-than-stock wireless card make a difference?

 

Would it make a difference so far as home network file transfers?

 

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Thanks + rep for the quick reply. It works great.

 

Yes, if both computers running at the same speed, the extra bandwidth definitely helps. If one connected at 100mbps, the other 200mbps then it will be capped at synchronous connection of 100mbps.

If your router is about 30 feet away and you have 6mbps ISP bandwidth, full signal strength (do a bandwidth meter test - like speedtest.net), even at G speed (54mbps), I bet you still getting around 6mbps (roughly 5.7mbps) download speed.

Your router and your wireless card will communicate by different standard. Say your router is G, your card is N, they will communicated at G speed. Depending on your router, and the setting, ISP, etc. It could make a difference or not.

 

A different wireless card isn't going to make a difference, as the wireless card in the envy is about as fancy as they come. The only thing that could make a difference is a larger antenna, which would of course give you increased range.

Keep in mind that chances are 802.11n won't improve your internet speed. Most people have internet speeds of 20mbps or under, which is easily accomplished with 802.11g. The router in your house is also a bottleneck, most consumer routers aren't able to route more than 25mpbs or so to the internet. The extra bandwidth of 802.11n is only useful for transfers within your network, like streaming videos from another computer, or transferring large files over the network.

802.11n's high speeds only work if you are quite close to the router. 802.11n has a larger range than 802.11g, but the speeds quickly drop to low levels. For best range, you should make sure you have both an 802.11n router and PC interface (such as the one built in to the Envy). With a standard router and the built in network card, you should have at least a 100ft range (33m) for you wifi. Of course that will vary depending on the construction of your home, and how much interference there is from other nearby networks (range will be less in a crowded city).

The only reason you would consider getting an external wifi card is if you want REALLY long range. You can buy USB 802.11 devices that come with parabolic or waveguide antennas that allow for 1/2 mile range or more. Unless your house takes up several postal codes, or you are a wifi wardriver, you don't need one.

 

The Envy's wifi card is among the best. It certainly kicks my G50VT's ancient Intel 5100 in the caboose.

My apartment building is composed mostly of sound-insulating thick walls that inhibit wifi signals from routers located several feet from our doors. While my G50VT has mixed success in opening webpages, my Envy 14 zips through them more consistently.


I believe the router's signal is on G. Wonder when more coffeeshops and schools will switch to N.

 

I wish my school was N. depending on what part of various buildings I'm in, I can barely get a signal. Most of the time its tolerable, but it would be much nicer if it was faster.

 

I was wondering, does anyone know if the envy would benefit much from a notebook cooler? I was checking out the bottom of mine, and noticed that there aren't really any substantial vents on the bottom. The ones one the right side and back do most of the cooling. With this sort of setup, would a cooling pad even do anything? Anyone know any other ways to improve cooling while gaming?

 

I think the latest Envys have been redesigned due to heating on previous models. Envy 14s are great at getting rid of heat from what I can tell. I considered getting a cooling pad, but I don't think it needs one. How do you find the heat using yours?

...
EDIT: I maybe gave some rubbish advice here about possibly tying Arctic Silver or IC Diamond etc. but they're not really relevant in these circumstances, so... Edit edit edit!

 

They do quite a good job of getting rid of heat at idle or low load, but under high stress situations (i.e. gaming) I'd rather be safe and have some sort of extra cooling option if possible. I'm hoping for this laptop to last me at least 2 or 3 years while I'm in school.

I hadn't thought about re-applying a better thermal paste. Does this increase the cooling by much? Does it void the warranty? I've done numerous desktop builds so that would be an easy upgrade for me, I'm assuming its fairly similar on a laptop.

Does anyone have a cooler that they could post before / after temps for? Or any suggestions for a good cooler?

 

I have a NC2000 and it does help slightly but not too much. At most the temps drop 2-3 degrees while playing games.

The cooling system on the envy is great. The highest my computer went under stress was 81 while transcoding a video at 100% cpu usage.

My video card never even broke 75 degrees. And thats without the cooler. Such a relief from my G51 which hit 100C lol.

 

I was expecting a little more of a drop, but 2-3 degrees is still better cooling. I'm also interested in a different cooler. I was thinking about more of an aggressive cooler. Something bigger, with more fans.

probably this one: NZXT :: Unique. Unprecendented. Inspired - Cryo LX Product Detail

any advice?

also, are there any guides on replacing the thermal paste, or any guides on how to disassemble the envy?

 

Actually, there really is no need to replace the thermal paste. If you look around on the forum, people that replaced it hardly had a drop in their temperatures.

HP actually did a very good job with the cooling system in the E14

 

I looked at the repair manual, and it seems like there's quite a bit of work to replacing the paste. I may try it anyway. It all depends on a few things. I also want to try and find another cooling option (i.e. a cooling pad) I wish I could get away with cutting a hole in the plastic bottom plate and covering it in an aluminum mesh without voiding my warranty. That would solve all possible heating issues haha.

 

I got a random cheap chinese cooler and it makes literally no difference on idle, and maybe a couple degrees difference on load. I don't think it's really worth it, although I just like the fact that my laptop is slightly elevated. But mine was just $5 shipped so no big loss.

 

That's the distinction I make with products. I don't give a flying hoot where the product is made as much as WHO designed it and HOW it was designed. Everything's made in China. Great. That aside, let's discuss how the product was made. What materials were chosen by the higher ups and the engineers for durability and longevity? Are there any design defects that should've been corrected at the planning phases?

It's because of these factors Chinese cars haven't arrived in America yet. They're improving, but American and European automotive safety and quality standards are just too tough. It doesn't matter that those cars are made in China. It matters that these Chinese companies' quality control and design standards probably aren't the best.

 

The product is probably not that bad, I'm just saying that it makes no difference for the Envy 14, probably because of the way it vents out hot air.

 

Man, this is a mighty good deal: Amazon.com: HP Envy 14-1110nr 14.5-Inch Relic Laptop PC - Up to 3.45 Hours of Battery Life (Carbon): Computer & Accessories

No tax, free 2day shipping with amazon prime, cheaper price. Only thing is, not sure if it's any good since it's a preconfig. Can anyone comment on the diff between preconfig and CTO models?

 

theres no actual difference in the laptop design wise. Its configured to what HP would think the most popular configuration is. also IMO pre-configs usually have less defects out of the box since they dont have the time constraint of building the laptop the way you want and rushing it to you half way across the world.

 

Cool, so I assume you'd recommend it for me then? Seriously, I'm addicted to posting on NBR...this laptop search needs to be settled...otherwise, I'm waiting for SB and Mobility Radeon 6xxx to come out.

 

i do recommend it! i also ordered a pre-config (german version since im in the netherlands)

 

You know the german version comes with a QWERTZ keyboard right? You can get a QWERTY keyboard from Convena, but it will cost you € 58 ex. VAT and you have to install it yourself.

 

I bought one of the version 1 e14 ( <3 30% BCB )
One of my only gripes is the i520. With the new versions, the 580 is now available whose 3dmark scores are much better. Is it possible to upgrade? is it worth it?

 

Upgrading to the 580M should be no problem other than possibly needing the same BIOS that ships with the new 580 models (may be the current one). As to is it worth it ? IMHO not at this time, as always with new CPU releases the initial pricing is very high , better to wait until it is readily available by multiple sources, normally 3-6 months after production release. You can probably find an i7 620M for a lot less than a 580M for the forseeable future.

 

As a professional IT guy and thermal engineer, I would definitely stay away from the thermal paste. The Envy 14 has one of the better factory cooling systems I have seen on a laptop in a while. If have found the system temperature even under load to be very reasonable.

I've seen the threads about replacing the thermal compounds on the main heat generating chips (CPU, GPU, chipset). What I see is that the process is not simple and you run a danger of permanently damaging your computer. Your warranty will be voided, and the resulting cooling improvement is minimal to non-existent. I know in the past various laptops have suffered from wrongly applied thermal compound (such as early Macbook Pros), but that problem is not universal, and I see no evidence from the teardown photos that the Envy 14 experiences the problem. Also note that the chipset is not in direct contact with the heatsink, but connects through a thick thermal pad. Removing this pad and replacing it with regular thermal compound will actually make the chipset run much hotter, and the only solution is to have a piece of copper of aluminum very precisely machined and fitted to the heatsink.

If there is a problem with heat and the envy, it is not that the chips cannot move heat to the heatsinks, but that the heat sink does not receive adequate airflow. If you are worried about the temperature of your laptop, please buy a cooling pad. A good pad creates airflow underneath the laptop, and provides much better convective cooling. I don't think it is necessary, but it is definitely the safest and best option.

 

Thanks for the professional opinion. Ill definitely steer clear of replacing the thermal paste and get a nice cooler instead

+rep!

 

Thanks. Much better.

 

dood!! ive been looking for a place to get a QWERTY for the past 2 months! thanks alot!

+rep

EDIT: nvm they dont have keyboards for the envy 14

 

For anyone interested in Canada, the 14-1050ca with the radiance screen is now on for $1299 at Future Shop, and price match at Best Buy. They're in stock at all FSs, in the GTA and Southern Ontario.

 

They don't, you sure? I called them a month ago and at first they could not find it but after I provided them with the correct numbers they could! Try either 612058-B31 for the keyboard or WN964EA for the Envy 14.

Good luck!

 

well your third option is to order the keyboard straight from the hp parts store.


gonna cost like $100+

 

Thanks for the advice and input. I edited my earlier post to say my suggestion wasn't relevant here.

 

hey my right click just stopped working....... I have to click it very hard any tips?

 

About thermal paste, I would give it a few months to let the paste settle in. My desktop system has an i7-920 with the stock Intel cooler. When I first built the system I was getting temps reaching 80C with all cores at 100%. I bought an aftermarket cooler, but somehow never got around to installing it. After several months I noticed that the core temps under load were decreasing. The system is now approaching 2 years old, and the max core temp at extended 100% CPU load is now 69C. With the hundreds of intervening heating and cooling cycles, the thermal paste has probably thinned to an optimum thickness between the CPU and cooler plate.

 

Has anyone else gotten increased fan noise/cycling with their upgrade to bios f.13? I went from the initial version (which I believe was f.02 or something) and had NO problems with the fan. Now it seems like it turns on and off every 30 seconds or so. In a quiet room, it is kind of annoying.

 

Had to send my Envy in for touchpad issues can't click couple questions
- If it comes back damaged who is liable?
- Will they downgrade my radience screen?
- Since its a touchpad hardware issues any chance they will system restore as I have to much stuff on it already?

 

Also, they might be soldered to the mobo.

 

They aren't soldered. I have i7-620m in my laptop right now.

 

WOW COOLLLL

 

yeah. apparently HP didn't lock out processors from the bios so long as you follow these guidelines: If i3/i5 envy, then you must use a processor that has an intel gpu on it (almost any i3, i5, or the i7 620m).

If i7 envy, you must use a processor that does NOT have the intel gpu on it (i7 720qm stuf, etc)

 

So the i7 620m works on i5 motherboards?

 

yeah, it does

 

hi all, this is my first post on here after having read through quite a few posts and deciding to actually update my old trusty laptop with an envy 14. I received it yesterday but am having an issue with it - the HP quick web browser keeps coming on the screen when i boot it up. I want to disable it but when I re-boot to get into the BIOS the F10 function won't work. Any solutions on how to get around this??

 

Press ESC I think

 

The F10 does work when the HP Logo pops up, it either just F10 or FN+F10

 

Thanks for that; the Fn+F10 did the trick!!!