*HP ENVY 14 (1XXX series) Owners Lounge, Part 1*

Guys...I'm still not convinced that the slice battery is the $200 option. On the Envy 17, it says 50% OFF! One 6 Cell (standard) and One 9 Cell (over-sized) Lithium Ion Battery, and in the accessories page under batteries, I see no slice battery for the 14 or 17, but I do see this battery HP 9-cell Extended-Life Battery (MU09) | HP® Official Store which is for the envy 17...

 

BCB is storewide, so I don't know why it would matter. I mean EVERY laptop is affected. They wouldn't NOT offer the discount because of one laptop. They might exclude that laptop from BCB, but not not offer it.

 

There was a 2 yr accidental warranty + lojack from costco for 99 dollars

 

Yea afterall you just end up losing over a year (300 cycles) 40% of original battery capacity. That's 60% remaining. A good 3 hours is still neat after a year of everyday cycling. And replacement 8cell batteries are cheap.
As someone said before, better buy two replacement normal batteries and throw them in the backpack than getting one slice lol. Enjoy your solid 15 hours of autonomy.

Yeah, but the thing with BCB is that it's now ending, and it's HP that goes on taking a tea with bing to negociate their % of cashback... They already lowered it down right before the envy release... With bing dying it's more likely that HP will release regular coupons rather than go through bing or bing coupons to spread their love.

 

But you need a costco membership right?

 

I wouldn't run Win 7 with anything short of 4G if your doing any kind of multitasking, then depending on what your doing in Linux I'd give it at least 1-2G.. I personally am going to get 8G of ram.

 

I ordered a warranty for my Envy 14, and HP just thoughtfully sent me an email saying that the warranty has shipped, complete with a Fedex tracking number. I guess they're just sending me some paperwork? Weird.

 

How big of a difference will you get from an ssd than a seagate momentus xt in performance. There has been a lot of talk about the hybrid drive but the reviews seem mixed.

 

OS's, browers, etc are all getting more and more optimized

i think we'll be alright with 4gb for a while

right now i have 3gb on my laptop and have a hard time cracking over 60%, normal use im at like half.....cant see that quadrupling in the next year or two

 

Your lucky.. I find myself pushing 5.5 gb a lot... has me thinking of upgrading to 12 gigs on my main system. Its why I plan on getting 4gb stick + buying another 4gb stick for 8gb. Just waiting to see where that bing cashback will go as I have some flexibility for when I can order..

 

Hp is sending you the carepack box, in which theres activation card and shi to activate your warranty online.

As for the momentus XT meh, with HP's intel 160gig ssd at 300$ theres not much to ponder about. Either get the ssd or wait the next hybrid from western digital & co. (which will certainly have more cache than the XT). The only flaw of the XT is that it only speed up booting and apps you use every two boots at max. While a SSD speeds up on the first launch anything that's on it.
If the competitors new hybrid that are going to come out by the end of the year have something like a 16gb ssd cache it's going to be good, real good because it will likely cache a lot more of your apps even the ones used less often.

 

Again, the rep i was talking to said the 6 cell battery was in fact the slice.

Can someone say something as to the quality of squaretrade warranties?

 

I dunno, I've had a mobo failure and a GPU failure in 2 years on my 1420. A mobo replacement is pricey, and if the processor is embedded, it's VERY pricey. With HP's warranty (apparently) including carry-in international service, and an HP repair shop within a 45 minute bike ride of me, I'm probably buying the warranty if I pull the trigger on the E14.

 

After reading about the issues with many of HP laptops that have launched this year and in the past - a part of me is relieved that there isn't a big coupon or BCB right now

My finger is on the trigger to buy this laptop with the i5-520, 160gb ssd and 4gb 1 dimm of ram and I would buy it now if a good discount hits. Unfortunately my instincts are telling me I am probably better served to wait and buy after there are some reviews and feedback from owners.

 

HP ENVY 14 customizable Notebook PC

* • 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
* • 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
* • 320GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
* • 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
* • $1! SAVE NOW!! Norton Internet Security(TM) 2010 - 15 Month Subscription (activation required)
* • HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

Estimated built date: July 7, 2010

cost: $1,228.78

I pulled the trigger on this. Whelp. Hope it shows up before July 27th.

 

Is there any word on possible release dates or other product info on hybrid drives to be released in the future. I just really don't think I have the cash fr an SSD right now.

 

Is there a big difference if i upgrade the memory from 4G to 6G if i already upgraded to the i5 520m....i just want to get the best configuration possible, but at the same pioint, things I don't need to spend extra money on, i'd rather not.

 

hey guys, just so you know, the i5 450 and the 520 should perform almost the same. Its not worth $100 in my opinion. I'm gonna go for a 450 and either save that $100 or go for a Momentus XT

The 450 and the 520 are the same, except for the 520 has:
- .33GHz more turboboost (not enough to do much)
- Intel® Virtualization Technology (running 2 operating systems at a time)
- Intel® Trusted Execution Technology (something about security)
- AES New Instructions (better encryption, so better security)

 

@Bucknasty87, Don't listen to that guy. I run Win7 Ultimate on both my laptop and my old desktop (actually, both are old), with only 1gb ram each. The laptop has an AMD Turion X2 at 1.90ghz, and the desktop has a single core AMD Athlon 64 3200+ @ 2.01ghz. 1gig is all it takes, and it works like XP Pro Sp2 did when I was a youngin = fast. Now regarding running Linux, I have no idea, but would imagine 2gb tops would be almost overkill. Anything more than 2gb, and we're just getting spoiled

 

Keep in mind that with the i5-520m you get the Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x) as well. Only important though if you run any virtual OS environments. You can run without VT-x tech, but it just ensures a safe, stable, and sometimes faster experience.

 

Will the momentus xt still work offer increased performance if I partition my drive and run multiple operating systems? Will it cache data from both at the same time?

 

You have no proof that the 450 and 520 perform the same. There's a performance jump from the 350 to 430, even though they have the same GHz.

The question is whether or not a faster cpu is worth $100 to you. I'm getting a SSD in my envy 14 so I can't say what you should do.

 

What's this deal with people saying their laptops won't ship until the end of July? I'm going overseas on 7/14 and I need to before then! So the estimated build date of 7/7 is BS?

 

the 430 has turbo boost, thats why it performs better. The 450 and 520 have the same specs, except for things that dont affect performance

 

Let's say there are no delays at all and your laptop is built on 7/7 and is shipped and processed on that same day. Assuming 5 business days to ship it would arrive on 7/14.

So chances are you're not going to get it before then.

 

There's a Toshiba and a Samsung at BB that have the i5-450M. Go mess around with 'em and see for yourself if there's really any diff. Otherwise, utilize the 21-day return policy.

Btw, does HP charge a "re-stocking" fee like retail stores?

 

The warranty depends on where you buy it. I am currently living in the US, but I may move to India sometime in August 2011. HP told me that the first year of the warranty (which comes standard) is good anywhere, but that the extended warranty is only good in the US. I don't really understand this at all, but thats what the customer reps told me.

 

I would use 2 day shipping but that still puts it at 7/9 best case and 7/12, of course without any delays.

What I was concerned about is people talking about late-July deliveries already...but with ENVY 17 release and how long it took for it to get to people's hands I'm not too surprised.

 

@ Maverickar15,

If this hasnt happened already, I would like to be the first to apologize for doubting your comments about the 14's availability last nite. Hope this doesn't ruin our friendship

 

No problem... give me a $200 off coupon and I will call it even.

I understand that you guys were expecting to see ENVY 14 in the HP's main page but you had to log on and search for it. I actually had taken a video with my Contour HD but by then someone else had uploaded a screen shot so there was no need.

 

Technically if nothing else is different except for what you listed, the new AES instructions will give better performance in encrypting/etc..

I'm still hesitant to say the 450m and 520m perform similiar but the 520m provides hardware based protection from software attacks that dig for personal information.

So I guess it really depends until we see some benchmarks.

 

Yes exactly - you buy Fios or DSL from Verizon and they see that you stay a customer beyond 60 days before giving you ONE coupon for ONE time use which you HAVE to use within a given time.

 

Thats hilarious haha. No worries about proving yourself to us. We're strangers, afterall

Anyhoo, I'm seriously hoping for some good HP coupons to come out, man. I dont mind the 1099 price, nor the $25 for the single stick 4gb. But, 520M+Slice seems to be a bit pricey.

 

What do you guys think of these specs? I already placed my order and also (not included in Total) got another $80 off from the HP rep.

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
• 4GB DDR3 System Memory (1 Dimm)
• 320GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
• 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

Order subtotal $1,169.99

only thing that im wondering about is the 320GB HDD. I hope it's enough as a desktop replacement. I like to have storage space...but it makes me a packrat if I do.

 

I wanted to get the slice but $200 no thanks..$1 norton for 15 month subscription was pretty nice tho

 

Yes, if you need one of those 3 technologies that the 520 offers (virtual terminals, encryption, and a little more security), then it would be worth it over the 450. But as far as 99% of the users out there, the 450 will perform the same, and cost $100 less.

 

The slice's pricing is outrageous. An 8-cell standard battery is $75, but for a 6-cell slice battery they want $200? A fair price would be $100, and even then it seems like a premium over a standard laptop battery. But I guess you wouldn't have to worry about switching batteries.

 

Yea, not opting for the slice at that price, it might go on sale later alone for less and would consider it then.
I'm thinking 520 + 160gb ssd, not sure about memory, but it's adding up to a lot lol. Thank god there weren't more options to choose from like blu-ray and screen and wireless card and stuff or it would be impossible for me to not get them lol

 

how'd you get the extra 80 off from the HP rep?


I should of tried ordering over the phone but...*shrugs* oh well.

 

I initially called to ask about their return policies to make sure I wont be stuck with it if I didn't like it but he insisted that I order over the phone and to ensure that he told me he would take 80 bucks off...then he later told me it was his birthday and was allowed to discount his customers... >_>

 

Yeah, I've been toying around with different configs and default + 520m + 160GB SSD = ~ $1600. I'm not even considering slice battery @ $200. Hoping for 25% BCB will get me down to about $1200! If I can swing it I may opt for the 256GB SSD, but even @ 25% off it's hard to justify $400 for a storage drive.

 

Well, if they delay shipping, which is likely, if you call to complain or threaten to cancel the order, they will likely give you $50+ off for the inconvenience. Keep that in mind.

 

yea what happened to the slice being $75-100?

 

oh. haha. nice.

 

alright.

so if it ends up not being built by the 7th (or well the 15th) call and get some money back.


gotcha.

 

Maybe I should complain about something no matter what just to see if I can get any discounts.

If I threaten to return it after I've gotten it do you think they'd give me anything?

 

Ordered my Envy 14 earlier today. I plan on using the 500 GB Momentus XT that I picked up at that launch. I have a 64 GB SSD, 256 GB SSD, Momentus XT and a Momentus 7200.3 that I have been comparing. So far, all of the usage testing bodes very well for the XT.

 

Actually, you more than likely use AES encryption on your home wifi and will also use it when connecting to https:// websites (not all though).

This is why the 500 series CPUs score better on 'Communication' type benchmarks.

But still, its a cost/benefit thing.

 

i love how an extra 8 cell is 75 but a 6 cell slice is 200

sit on that and rotate, HP

 

Do they even have Envy 17's for sale at Brick and Mortar stores?