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

I don't believe this comes with the lid but I may be mistaken. It would would certainly be nice if it did.

 

i just talked to someone on the phone and he said that I wouldn't have any problems upgrading to the radiance display offered at the parts store. Sweet! I am putting in my order today.

 

and also, I did indeed confirm this is the 1600x900 resolution display.

 

I cannot find the instructions for replacing the screen in the lid.

 

personally I think it's the entire damn lid.

look through the display replacement stuff on the maintenance manual (pdf to it is on the first page, if it loads up to a black page, refresh the page)

 

Yeah i think you're right.

 

anyone can ship me a HDMI to VGA

will pay paypal for it

 

is it the same screen that the envy first shipped with, or is the the new screen that just hasnt reached the new models yet? id be interested to know.

also, anyone know the part number for the US keyboard? or have one for sale? im getting kind of annoyed with the canadian one.

 

Like I posted earlier:
The danish version with the radiance screen, 14-1090eo, has been sold out at the top-level distrubutor for the last 2-3 weeks, but they are now comming back in stock (as of last week). So it seems like HP has found a new supplier for the screen.

 

I ordered a monitor. I got free expedited shipping so we'll see what it looks like when it gets here in a few days.

 

That will be fantastic. I really look forward to the results. Did you get the refurbished or new screen?

 

Radiance might be nice, but the prices people are quoting for parts makes it ridiculously not worth it. the envy 14 with slice battery was only $850 to begin with.......

 

I found out that you can only get the refurbished unit if you already have the radiance display and it's broken. They require you to ship them the broken display or else they charge you the full price.

So I had to go with the new one. It's a lot of money to spend on a screen so it better be as good as everyone makes it out to be.

 

If you report it is in fact good and the install is not painful - which it looks not to be - then I too will purchase one. I have not even received my Envy yet so I cannot even comment on the 1366x768 - but I am expecting it to be bad, and with the $400 coupon off I fell like I am playing with house money.

I am very curious to hear your report.

 

I will update this thread once I get it installed. The brightview display is not terrible but it certainly leaves a lot to be desired. Colors are pretty washed out and the resolution is too low for such a big screen.

I thought I could live with the brightview display but everything else on the laptop is so classy - I just had to get the best display!

 

I was just about to order the part and noticed it's on backorder. Please do update!

 

Just got my envy 14, the build is solid, heavier than I thought, esp than the slice battery, but he size is great. Not liking the touchpad very much, esp now the button area is a sensor, I usually rest my finger on the button ready to press so it's really screwing up my mousing.

 

I've owned my Envy 14 for well over a month now and I'm very pleased with everything from the design to the performance, no complaints here. I customized mine, tried not to break the bank, and went with:

Intel Core i5-520 @ 2.40GHz
4GB RAM
ATI Mobility Radeon 1GB HD 5650

My question is how well will this configuration handle World of Warcraft and the upcoming expansion? In addition, I just got this monitor from Dell for my desktop PC - would my Envy be able to handle this monitor @ 1920x1080 for gaming, etc.

Thanks in advance for any and all help.

 

E14 is pretty capable in terms of gaming, its DX11 card instead DX10 like the 330M GT from nVidia and slightly faster. I tried WOW demo on this machine and with all setting at the highest, still getting a VERY GOOD frame rates. WOW is not a demanding games, so dont worry abt it. E14 is more then capable.

PS:Overclock just going to increase few FPS...not really needed for WOW.

 

does anyone know if it is possible to disable the wifi led? i dont use my backlight much and that one led sticks out like a sore thumb.

 

not that I know of.

but when it's orange (off) it really isn't that bright (I never really notice it)

edit: I mean I guess you could put something over the light (tiny piece of electrical tape or something)

 

Still havent manged to figure out if it its possible to use the Intel graphics while connected to a plasma screen?

Ive tried HDMI but it only seems to work while on the ATI-card and I would really like to get it working on the Intel as that supports my plasmas native resolution of 1360x768 while the ATI use 1280x720.

Any ideas?

 

you can't.

hdmi is ati card only.

minidisplay port is ati only (I think)

it's just how the laptop is buit.

 

I received my Envy 14 today and it is very impressive in it's design and speed (i5 580, 8 G), but the build quality of mine is just pathetic. The lid in front has a very noticeable rise in the middle that is actually sharp (it could cut you), the keyboard has gaps and flexes on the left side, and the metal behind the keyboard before the palm rests has what is almost a bubble in the metal also on the left side. I thought the screen was going to be a problem, and it is very much a problem. Now I will have to wait and get a totally new Envy and then buy a Radiance screen and install same, or give up all together.

 

Sorry to hear you got such a dud dude. I haven't noticed anything immediately troubling with mine though I must admit I'm not too critical. I would definitely send it back.

 

sucks to hear you have issues, you can always send it back if you complain.

Personally I'm happy to have this portability and build quality over my previous DV6t I bought last year

Sure this one is i5 rather than i7, but I get more battery life
My biggest beef with this laptop so far is the trackpad.

 

im looking for a new laptop

im fourteen and i got 1400 bucks to spend

looking for a mobile gaming laptop...i dont need performance on the go i need performance when its plugged in and a decent battery life doing everyday tasks for school and such.

i have been considering either an hp envy 14 beats edition with i7 640m (special order) hd 5650, 4gb memory (will upgrade to 8gb later on), corsair force 120 or intel x25m 160gb

OR

Alienware m11x with i7 640UM, nvidia gt 335m, 4gb memory (will upgrade to 8gb later on), corsair force 120 or intel x25m 160gb

if you have any other recomendations id appreciate it but im looking for a METAL laptop...honestly i need something built like a tank and i dont care about weight

a i7 720 in an envy would be perfect but if the only way it can run is on dedicated gpu then i wouldnt get it. is there anything such as software based intel GMA's?

i would definately use some coollabratory liquid ultra on any of the laptops because a cool laptop is something pretty important to me.

i would like a thin and light notebook and the hp envy is perfect its not too big and its very thin. i saw an alienware m11x at a local futureshop and it was a bit chunky but i could survive it. my only concern is the screen....i didnt see it on because the laptop was off or something but yeah it looks too small.

performance is something i need. my dream is to hook up my lappie to a big screen tv and play some middle detail games at 1600x900 or 1080p. Overclocking in the envy seems to be nonexistent. why do people get varied results? is there anyway to switch out the underclocked 5650 for a normal mobile 5650? im not sure of the envy with these specs what it ouwld get on 3dmark06 but i saw an alienware m11x hit 7700 on it while an envy with i5 460 get 6900 with no overclocks.

i think the envy is a more suitable machine for me but if the m11x can game better then i would have to rethink my decision

thanks

 

I got my envy 14 yesterday and I am disappointed with the sound. My old dv2700t is louder and has a "better" bass.. Are there some settings that i haven't looked at on my envy 14? I adjusted the equalizers on the beats control panel and and in wmplayer..

 

holy crap. i wish i had 1400 to spend when i was 14, let alone now.

beats edition is a bit silly if you ask me. an extra couple hundred bucks for a black case and red back lighting? just save your money on cosmetics and put it into the guts of the computer.

also, I didn't think the alienware had a metal chassis, correct me if im wrong.

i7 would kill the battery life, and only runs on the dedicated card. the intel chip is built into the i5 processor. and no need to re-do the thermal compound. it would void the warranty, and give you a 2 -3 degree temperature drop tops. the cooling paste and cooling system on the envy is awesome. if your worried about cooling, get a good cooling pad. overclocking the envy also only gives like, 5 extra fps MAX. its not really worth it imo.

 

well the speakers are average/meh

headphone jack to headphones is the main good thing about beats. sounds better than my old laptop, that's for sure

 

like the 1st page say, it recommends a software SRS HD Audio Lab. i have it on mind, sounds is incredible now.

 

I guess we're back to the horror stories!

I'm scared now, as my laptop has arrived to its destination in the US but not yet where I'm currently living in the UK. Meaning that if I have to return it, the whole Radiance display tantrum would have been for nothing!

This is worrying. What the hell is wrong with these companies, are they short on quality control staff?

I can only pray it seems.

 

I tried this software and I agree! It made the sound better on the laptop speaker. I guess there is nothing wrong with the hardware.

 

Ok so I just got my Envy 14, and after installing BatteryBar I see that I have a 6% batterywear, and I only get 2.5 hours of batterylife with the lowest screen brightness.

Does this sound right? I would think it should atleast be able to pull off atleast 3 hours with low screen brightness.

I have the 14-1087 model, with i7 720 and a 500gb 7200rpm harddrive.

Should I pay a visit to the dealer again?

If anyone else have the envy 14, could you tell me what your capacity if your battery is?

Mine is onlt 55914 mW wich seems abit low.
My m11x had 68000mW or so I think.

Best regards,
alphez.

 

From my experience BatteryBar seems to fluctuate with the battery wear, so I'd give it some time. My battery says 59,052 capacity and 0.2% of wear right now, but when I first got it BatteryBar said I had 4% wear. I don't know what caused it to go down, but it did.

Your battery life sounds about right for your specs. I have an i7 beats edition and today was the first time in the month I've had it that I've been able to reach 2 hours of battery life. Most of the time I was able to only get about 1:40 or so. My machine doesn't stay away from an outlet for long, but if yours does I'd recommend possibly investing in the battery slice, which should at least double your time (but add on a little weight).

Edit: By the way, there's a big thread on the battery you might want to check out here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-envy-hdx/501066-envy-14-battery-life-log.html

 

Sorry to hear the build quality on yours is so poor. You should definitely send it back as this does not seem to be normal. I think these have excellent build quality in general, and my beats edition has had no issues and is one of the solidest laptops I've ever owned.

 

Hello, and thanks.

Yeah after calming down and searching around I found that thread and been reading around some, and well it seems like I just have to accept that this machine wont be any better.

Will a clean install maybe help me out a little? When watching my processes on idle it seems like theres something making the processor run at higher percentages than it should.

Also noticed today during my classes at the uni, that the fans were going a little too crazy for my taste. I could NEVER hear my m11x during web browsing and note-taking.

Too bad im having trouble finding a computer thats in my pricerange, and still can compete with this machine when it comes to speccs, build quality and keyboard. They are all essential to me, as I use my laptop for java-programming but also for a little gaming fun (only games like HoN etc, wich doesnt require the most, but I dont think I could sacrifice much more performance wise.)

Life is hard.

EDIT: also, I was wondering, what the difference between the 1087 the 1190 is? They seem to have allmost identical speccs, but the 1190 is about 200$ more expensive here in Norway.

 

Wow the difference is phenomenal. I guess that means HP's Beats software sucks? They pride themselves so much on it.

EDIT: It really messes up your earphone output though..

 

Hi Arcanum84

Can you tell me about the your envy beats edition heat issues?. How cool the envy 14 beats compared to regular envy 14 ?. Does any place in the laptop becomes uncomfortably warm while working ?

Do you recommend beats version compared to regular version ?

Thanks in advance

 

I was torn between the Asus U33jc and the Envy 14, but settled for the Envy 14 mainly as this was available in the UK and the Radiance display. (I live in Luxembourg but wanted UK keyboard etc.
Of course the display was not shipping anymore when I ordered, did not pay attention and received the "normal"display. I guess at least this part was my error. I do find it somewhat suspect that at the time most independent reviews were done, the radiance display was available and hence received great reviews. Immediately after this it was pulled.
Within a week the hard drive failed and I called HP in Luxembourg.
Although Luxembourg has 2 official languages in addition to Luxembourgish, ie. French and German, AND a population of almost 50% foreigners (EU and Banks), their support website only provides access to a French Helpdesk. Help here was not the operative word, in fact the spoken French got faster as soon as I mentioned my French was poor. After 6 calls, twice being promised I would be called back, which never happened and twice cut off, I was put through t a technical guy who gave me a case number, said that I was correct in thinking the hard disk was faulty and that the laptop would be collected. When the laptop was not collected on the date given (helpfully "somewhere between 8am and 6pm") I called again without success. Finally I got a German helpline. This person was able to help me in a courteous manner and (after one more hick-up with the date) the laptop was picked up. (3 November). Since then I have heard nothing, I called and was told that they were out of hard drives and could not tell me when the laptop would come back.
The Customer Service is awful, I would urge anyone to consider carefully before buying an HP.Needless to say this will be my last HP product. (my HP desktop has had its issues, never had problems with Dell or Lenovo)

 

The better cooling of the beats edition is minimal, and it makes more of an impact on the internal components of your laptop then the outer surface. On the outside it is still metal, and it will get hot around the left side of the keyboard where the processor and stuff are. Palm rests stay comfortably cool, but you wouldn't want to put the thing on your lap.

 

it doesnt mess your earphone, if you just adjust some settings from SRS.
i just wanna share that i use Altec Lansing Orbit Portable speaker. you wont believe what u hear. its amazing.

 

ok so I seems like my Envy is going back. The battery life was far worse than I thought it would be, just a little over 2 hours or so with very very minimal use. Only a few tabs open on firefox, and no other programs running, screen set to 10-30% and BT disabled.

I have a discharge rate at around 22000mW.

And in addition, I now noticed a high pinching noise coming from the computer, lasting for about 5-10 seconds, before it stops for about 5 seconds, and keeps going in that cycle.

I can't really tell if it's the HDD, CPU or fans making the noise.

Did I just get unlucky here? I don't want to swing and miss 2 times, if I decide to just return it for a new one.

How are peoples noise levels?

 

My HDD makes that whining sound, I have tried 3 different HDD's with no luck.
My whine noise from the HDD isn't LOUD, but it is annoying in a quiet room, but I've learned to deal with it.

 

stupid question but how do I get my envy to recover?. I made the boot discs but I want a clean versiion of windows.

Plus how do I eject the disc in the drive?.

 

More importantly too which F button when I boot up allows me to go into recovery mode?.

 

It was actually enough to tip me over. I just came back from returning the Envy ofcourse the poor battery time (2 hours with NORMAL usage, 2.5 with extreme light browsing) and the noise from the fans helped with my decision. Don't know what I'm going to do now, tho. Think I might look into the Macbook pro.

Noise level is important, as the machine will be used at lectures and at working rooms at the university, more than 90% of the time. So 2 hours of battery would mean if I used it for 1 lecture, starting at the 100% mark, it would be close to hibernation when its over.

 

no offense man but why did you go with the i7? I have the i7 myself but I knew pretty well before purchase that I wouldn't be getting great battery life and that the fans would be running pretty much constantly.

I agree with you that it's annoying but this isn't really a take anywhere kind of laptop.

 

Any word on the delivery of the screen?

 

Not yet. Hopefully tomorrow. I was told I'd get a tracking number in an email but no such luck so far.