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

thanks vm for your reply!

since im not familiar with HP, IF they announce the radiance display (or any other tweeks to the envy line) at CES (which is second week in january?), how long do they usually take to begin actually shipping them. automatically? spring?
would hate to get one now and find out they will ship new models in a few weeks.

thanks for any replies.

 

NotTart5 (forgot to quote again...)

There's basically no difference between the two models besides the display. For games you can easily max out, you want a higher resolution so you can "see" more of the game. But, if you play games like Crysis or SC2, I agree that a lower native res is better. They still should run fine with med/high settings at 1600x900. Remember this isn't just a resolution issue. The radiance is MUCH brighter, has MUCH better contrast, and colors pop more. It's similar to the MBP screen maybe you can take a look and compare.

 

Helo acac86,

I personally used to be a very enthusiastic ZoneAlarm user, but gave up on it a few years back because of its clogging my system's resources. That launched me on an investigation as to whether I actually needed to replace it with something else, and in the end, I did not. ZoneAlarm does give the user somewhat useful control in monitoring which programs have access to the internet and when, but given that I only install things from reputable sources, I found that this added protection was unecessary. I have also read quite a lot of firewall reviews in my day and generally I gathered that for the average computer user ZoneAlarm doesn't really add much of tangible benefit beyond Windows Firewall and the firewall on your router/modem. If you haven't already, you could look into customizing the functionality of Windows Firewall. Although I haven't messed much with mine, I know that you can configure it a lot more specifically to suit your needs than most people do, although doing so it certainly not necessary.

I am no expert, however, so if someone more knowledgeable than I sees any gross inaccuracies in this post, please correct me!

Good luck!

 

Yea, that's what I was thinking too. I used to use ZoneAlarm for years but apparently it doesn't play well with windows 7. (it was causing constant freezes and audio issues) I tweaked Windows Firewall to suit my needs and I don't go out of my way to look for trouble on the web so I think I should be fine.

Thanks for your input!

 

I have F.06 bios version for my Envy 14 and was thinking about upgrading to the new version F.23. My only concern is that F.13 states that it fixes an issue of running cooler, has anyone noticed the fans to be louder since upgrading? Also, what is this issue that if you upgrade the bios then the recovery discs don't work anymore? I'm trying to resolve an issue of having my wireless internet connection randomly dropping (get a red x on the wireless indicator and have no internet connection) the only way to fix is to restart or put in sleep.

 

try Microsoft Security Essentials, great program that takes very little resources.

How is the Envy 14 with CAD programs? and is HP generally known for the longevity of their laptops? I'm looking to buy an envy 14 and hoping to use it for at least 4 years. And would it be safe to assume that it will get cheaper if there is a envy refresh int he coming year?

 

I run SolidWorks on my Envy 14. Everything runs great but I can't enable photo-realistic shading because the Envy 14 doesn't have a workstation video card.

 

Yeah, that's what I was thinking too. Cancelled the old order, and the Radiance model should be coming in about 2 days. I can't wait!

We've got regular Macbooks (not MBPs) at home (my sisters bought them for school), but they're the older non-unibody design, with the lower-quality screen. I tried out the Envy at the store, though, and it really just blows away the screen on any other laptop I've seen.

 

UGGGGHHH! i dropped my hp envy laptop and now the display is all messed up. i didnt buy the accidental damage protection service. i am still under the factory shipped warranty but they say that does not cover this type of stuff and to fix this it will cost 400 dollars! could i just buy the 1 year accidental damage protection service then send it in? i should still be eligible for it since i have had it for less than a year right? i am talking to a hp tech agent and hes saying i cant buy it because the laptop has to be in good working condition. but cant u just buy the protection plan online? how would they know i damaged the laptop before i purchased this?

 

that same rep was giving me crap like: you cant purchase that because its not in good working condition and if i did try this then they would review all chat history and see that i purchased the plan after i damaged my laptop. is he just blowing smoke or what?

 

well the chat history is not linked to your account (unless you signed in or something) so I dont see how they would know that it was you..I say hes just trying to scare you..

 

well i believe i entered in my full name and email address before the chat. also, i did provide my serial and product number in the chat. i mean the guy seemed retarded and was telling me all sorts of nonsense but he kept emphasizing that i could not purchase the accidental protection plan now that my laptop is not in good working condition. it seemed like he was just being the typical deceitful hp agent but im worried about shelling over money on a protection plan then finding out i have to pay another 400 on top of that to fix this laptop

 

Logically (and legally), it makes sense, though. It's not like you can purchase motor insurance after you've crashed a car and then go ahead to claim it.

 

Can you describe the screen damage in detail? Attach a picture if you can.

 

yea i can understand that but would they really go back and review ALL chat history before repairing my laptop?

 

there is no physical damage to the screen. it seemed like it popped out of place a bit and i snapped it back in which made it a bit better but the display is still screwed up. the picture is faint. there are lines of different colors, a white area in the top left corner and a very dark large area on the left side. the left side i believe is where i dropped it. i think the tech support guy said it sounded as if the inner LSD was damaged.

 

That sounds serious and probably needs replacement. I think you should give customer service a call and ask for the managers. Say that it was a light drop and you are very disappointed about the envy's quality and unaware about the policy. Also, you have owned several HP notebook's in the past. Prepare to argue, complain, yell, and insult the managers till they say ok if oyu don't want to pay the $400.

 

well i feel like the more i talk to them the more they will have of me on file speaking to them about my damaged laptop before purchasing an accidental plan. im fine with spending 147 bucks on a 1 year plan to get this fixed and insure me for the future but id like to know this will indeed cover the problem i have now.

i just figured that because i have owned this laptop for less than a year theyd cover this but he insisted that accidental damage is not covered in the stock warranty and they will be able to tell this by the damaged LCD

 

If you are using Windows Firewall, do take note that it does not prevent any outbound connections like in ZoneAlarm. Everything is ALLOW to go out by default.

Refer to this URL to enable blocking on outbound. You need to do that for all Profiles (depending on your needs). Then, create customize outbound rules to allow specific programs to go online. You may want to allow Windows Autoupdate services as well (wuauserv).

 

Does the HP Envy 14 or Envy 14 Beats still have the 1600x900 screen res available?
If not, then when will it have the Radiance 1600x900 display?
Thanks.

 

The radiance is currently not available. I think the rumor about the supplier being bankrupt is true. You see that the dell xps rgb display, sony eb 1080p display, and the radiance display all went down at about the same time. No one knows when it will be back (it might never) and HP didn't give any reasons. That's why everyone is pissed off.

 

Alright thanks for the confirmation.
Is the Envy 14 still worth purchasing even with the mediocre 1366x768 resolution?
I'm upgrading from a crappy Dell (sucks) Studio 1555 with C2D t6600 and Intel GFX. It's got a 15.6" screen but only at 1366x768 so the pixels on 14.5" screen will be more dense. Is there any other solid aluminium-chassis 13"-14.5" laptop on the market under $1600? (Don't say MacBook Pro)

 

so they dont have the 1080p display anymore? if they need to replace my screen because my display is all messed up would they replace it with a 1600x900??

 

sony vaio S series 13 has a nice magnesium alloy chassis

 

Is it available in the US also?

 

I got my Envy 14 about two weeks ago and it's been awesome. Runs alot cooler than I expected. However, the speakers aren't that loud. It's not too big of a deal but I expected them to be louder. Also, my ESC key stopped working. Anyone know how to fix that?

 

It's still a great laptop even without the radiance. The brightview screen is still a solid display and better than most consumer laptops in the market. The radiance is comparable to macbook pro displays. If you need something for everyone tasks and is portable, check out the pre configured envy 13. It's got the radiance display.

 

Whats the average temp for an Envy 14 with Intel Core i5 450m? If I start playing games I notice that my CPU and GPU temperatures go over 70 degrees celsius with HWMonitor. Should I be alarmed by these temps? It doesn't seem to go over 79 degrees and usually averages around 75 or so.

Should I be worried?

 

No worries about 75C or 80C on the CPU. TJMAX is what, a bit over 100C?
The GPU also is ok at those temps.

This is why I play games on OnLive. Fun to play games without the fans revving away at 100% (also saves the limited SSD space).

 

kind of...Sony has a contract with Best Buy so you can only one model of the vaio S and thats from Best Buy only, you can find some UK models on eBay that have better specs but for much more..the vaio S at best buy is $899 with i5 460m

 

So I just purchased a used Envy 14 from a guy online. He purchased Late July 2010 with the following specs;

HP Envy 14
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-520M Dual Core processor (2.40GHz, 3MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.93GHz
• 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 500GB 7200RPM Segate Momentus Hybrid (added)
• 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5650 switchable graphics - For Dual Core Processors
• 14.5" diagonal HD+ HP Radiance Infinity LED Display (1600x900)
• SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
• HP TrueVision HD Webcam + Dual Digital Integrated Microphones
• Intel Wireless-N Card with Bluetooth
• Corel(R) PaintShop Photo(TM) Pro X3 + Corel(R) VideoStudio(R) Pro X3
• Full-size island-style backlit keyboard
• 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
• Microsoft(R) Office Starter 2010
• HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

I paid $780 shipped - What do you guys think ? good deal ? I thought so, that's why I jumped.

The notebook arrived yesterday in flawless condition. It looks brand spanking new ! A concern of mine, and I haven't read up a whole lot just yet but I noticed some keyboard flex in and around the "O", "P", "L", ";" buttons.. Is this typical or should I be concerned ? The flex is not noticeable when typing but noticeable when starring at it the rest of the keyboard is as sturdy as a rock and does not badge.

My other question is before I purchased I checked the serial number online via HP.com and it said warranty was going to expire 07/2011 - I was under the impression all Envy lines are 2 year warranty ?

Thanks for replies in advance, I will update the thread with more questions as I come across but so far, coming from a mac user, I am definitely liking what I see

 

Very good price - I just ordered one with exactly the same specs for about $1215 including shipping, so no problem there

I've heard keyboard flex can be found on the Envy 14 (though it's different for every unit), but if it's not an issue then there shouldn't be a problem.

 

Hey guys, trying to share my wifi connection through my laptop on to the xbox 360, however I have no sharing tab in the properties of my wifi connection. I believe this is because I have no LAN being recognised??

Because in device manager, under network adapters all I have is the broadcom wifi adapter? Can anyone link me the ethernet controller that I need?

 

Your ethernet controller is in deep sleep or power save mode. You can turn off the power save mode in the BIOS under LAN power saving. I am not sure how to go about internet connection sharing in Windows 7. Under XP it was a whole can of worms for me.

 

Don't know about the ESC key, maybe something stuck under it? There is a volume tweak for the speakers on the first page of the thread that can get them louder than factory settings.

 

Just uploaded the review of the HP ENVY 14 Beats

Here:

YouTube - HP ENVY 14 Beats Review

 

Has anyone had any issues with the new bios F.23? I am still running F.06 and just wondered if the fan is louder now (F.13 was supposed to do something with heat output). How do you upgrade the bios, I did a clean install but I left the hptools partition? Is it straight forward or do you have to do something special? Thanks.

 

Just picked up the laptop a few days ago but one annoying thing is that the battery icon just shows the percentage left, not the time. Is there a way to turn this on??

Thanks

 

Excellent deal, especially with the radiance display, keyboard flex is normal on Envy's, and yea I also thought they came with 2 year warranties..mine did..maybe the guy didnt buy this from HP?

 

The one year warranty was the norm for some time and then HP upped it to two years.

 

They removed that in Windows 7 (and maybe Vista, I cant remember)

People use BatteryBar

 

I just ordered a new envy 14 i5-460M with the standard BV 1366x768 screen. I also ordered from spare parts the Radiance screen PN 608366-001. Just received the screen just as advertised. Have yet to install it but it looks promising so hoping no issues w/ the swap. I'll post my findings before and after I've completed the upgrade.

 

No they didn't, this is the first pc that i have used that doesnt show battery time regardless of OS.

 

Well I've only seen percentages on all of my computers...and when I use other people's computers for that matter... *shrugs*

 

there was a guy on this thread who ordered the same one but they sent him just the normal brightview display. so be careful haha

 

I just wanted to say that the sound quality from the e14 to a stereo sound brilliant. I hooked it up just then for a little party tonight we're having and adjusted the beats audio software slightly. I was VERY impressed, I never thought it would be so crisp clear and heaps of bass at the same time.

Then I connected my Dell Studio laptop (with IDT Audio Software). It was similar in sound but the e14 sounded slightly better. The biggest downside to the Dell was that every so often the song would cut out for a split second. I'm guessing its the hardware.
Finally I hooked my mums laptop and it was terrible, the sound was very bland, wasn't as clear and hardly any bass even when I maxed it out on the stereo.
So yeh just saying that I'm very impressed with the quality of the sound compared to other laptops and I think the hardware is better in it (like the headphone jacks and sound card). And this is not the beats edition, just standard.

 

Can you please tell me the make and model of the screen itself, not HP's but the actual vendor. Thanks.

 

Yeah, it's not removed, the netbook I have shows time and percentage. I believe that it depends on battery circuitry, though I could be wrong. I read some where that the reason the HP computers don't show the battery time remaining is because they skimp on some kind of a circuit.

 

Is anybody using a cooling pad for this laptop?
If so which one are you currently using?

Do you find it efficient for reducing temperatures?
Are you confortable with typing while using the cooling pad?

 

Hi. I am a proud owner of an Envy 14 Beats that I just got 2 days ago. This thing really feels premium! I was expecting some keyboard flex like what I have seen on multiple regular Envy 14 on display in shops, but for this one, no matter how hard I press, I cannot see nor feel any flexing at all. I have a DM4 and while it also feels premium because of the aluminum exterior and its design, the keyboard really feels cheap and flimsy. This thing is a smudge magnet though, especially the chrome trim.

Can anyone direct me to the HP drivers page? I cannot locate the page for mine.

BTW, if I may just mention, my default battery meter mentions of the time left, and not just the percentage left. However, it always says my full battery time is 1hr when battery bar v3.4.4 says 5hrs.