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

I wonder if undervolting/underclocking the CPU might make it run cool enough for the fans to not kick in under light workloads.

Can anyone test? Is there an option for it in the BIOS? Or can you do it with software in windows?

 

you can't undervolt or undercock i3/i5 stuff right now (least I don't think you can).

 

did anyone ever figure out a more precise way to adjust the brightness on this notebook. i can not stand the massive brightness increase when going form 90% to 100%. I would much prefer something in the middle.

 

There is also the Super Talent RAM which seems like a re-branding of the Samsung DDR3 1333Mhz for $99.99-$10 coupon if anybody is interested. I am not completely sure about the latencies as I couldn't find it, but I think it should be the same as the Samsung.

 

Manually by clicking the battery icon > adjust screen brightness > adjust slider.

You can also preset the power plan setting to startup at a preset level adjustable by a slider...

 

actually doing it manually still gives me the big jump from 75% to 100%

 

Is the radiance screen on the HP Envy a matte one or is it glossy? I personally prefer matte and am keeping my fingers crossed that Envy does have one.

Thanks.

 

nah.

it's glossy.

of the glossy "dude this thing is a mirror when turned off" variety

edit: though I'll add that at 100% AND 75% brightness it overpowers the reflection (for the most part).

I mean I sorta slightly see my reflection in it at 75% but...eh.

 

maybe there's a matte overlay out there somewhere

 

You mean you can't adjust the slider in between 75% and 100% ??

How about the slider @ battery icon > more power options > change plan setting > bottom of 'when plugged in' column

Last option = as above select > change advanced plan settings > expand 'display' > type in a specific % > save

Also is there a HP automatic light sensor that adjust the display brightness to ambient conditions? Believe it called HP ALSMON in the SWsetup folder...

 

This is true, but is there a way to avoid the major jump in brightness from 90% 100% . Something in the middle would be ideal. Maybe a future driver could fix this?

 

A future driver could fix this if you go to HP support and describe the problem to them, if enough people do that, you can expect a fix in a few months lol.

 

yep.

and if you go and do it by percentage.

95-100% is the same.

85-94% is the same (second brightness level), etc

 

Without a way to precisley adjust brightness It's a deal breaker for any pro photographers out there. You need to precisely adjust to specific levels (80 to 90 nits) in order to edit photos for professional printing...

The E 15 has 10 steps via the direct buttons that are about equal steps, but the sliders are vary precise to adjust to any level, same with the % adjustment.

 

also there is no HPALSMON or ALSMON in the SWSetup folder

 

How To Dim or Increase The Brightness of Laptop or Notebook LCD Screen Raymond.CC Blog

huh. this dims the screen some...and works independent of the fn brightness controls.

but...well. it dims in a different way or something.


edit: all this does is make the colors darker or something...somehow.

also I can't find it in my programs or anything. dunno where the hell this thing installed (it's not in the uninstall program list either)


edit to the edit: oh. it doesn't install at all. it just runs.

 

So. Guys

After a long day, im curious. About what % of laptops have the CPU wine? and what about horrid condition? I saw one and it was sad to see.

 

You shouldn't be professionally editing photos on a non IPS panel anyway. There is a high variability in colors on all TN panels.

 

No CPU whine on mine. Keyboard is flexy but I've reconciled myself to that. Otherwise build quality is superb.

 

Isn't that what calibration is for?

 

Lol, so because he shouldn't be editing photos on a TN Panel, then its okay if he cannot accurately adjust the brightness?

 

I started doing the steps to create a windows 7 reinstall cd, but I feel like it may just be easier for me to use my OEM vista disc and then use my Windows 7 HP Upgrade disc lol. That should work fine right? (The windows 7 upgrade version needs to have xp or vista installed on the pc before you can use it right?)

 

No, I'm not saying that you shouldn't be able to, just seems like it is hardly a deal breaker because most professional photo editors would already have a good monitor to use.

 

Gee thanks, . We have no choice with the mobile photo processing we need to do for the cruise ship industry.

The E 15 display is actually surprisingly color stable after Spyder3 v 4.0 calibration and making sure your viewing the screen at the right angle. We are getting about a 95% sRGB color gamut after calibration Love to see what the E 14 Radiance will get assuming they fix the brightness control issue.

Here are the gamut results after calibration, red triangle = measured, green = sRGB and purple = full Adobe RGB gamut;

http://forum.notebookreview.com/att...-2nd-gen-owners-lounge-envy15-photo-gamut.png

 

I really dont want to read 200 pages lol

so can anyone just tell me how everyone is liking their new laptop>???

 

If someone has access to a screen calibration eye it would be kind of him to share here the generated correct ICC profile for true colors.

 

Website to assist in contrast/brightness adjustment: Contrast - Lagom LCD test

Link on 1st page also.

 

Here is my problem summary:

When my computer is turned on and I put the lid down(hibernate/sleep) and then up again I hear processor noise. Sometimes I can hear the noise on idle but it's not loud.

I disabled fan always on in bios and cooled my cpu cores down to 28C that is when my fans turn off but the problem is that they jump on and off every 2 seconds and then stay on again.(they never stop working and it's very annoying)

I am very disappointed in hp
I hate to send it back to hp because everything else is ok



envy 14 520m

 

I think most of E14 owners enjoy their laptops except for a few lemons. From what I have gathered, here are the pros and cons from owners:

Likes

Overall design is sleek.

The screen is radiant alright. Color is deep and vibrant. The rubber around the edge of the bezel protects the lid from coming into contact with the rest of the laptop when closed.

Audio sounds great when paired up with an IEM. SQ is top-notch when comparing to other competitive laptops.

GPU is capable of running most of the current graphics-intensive games with little to no limitations.

Dislikes

The screen brightness level adjustment is horrid. There is a big difference between the level prior to MAX and MAX. There should be a couple of notches of brightness between the two levels.

Fan noise - Fan is constantly running, no matter what you're doing. Put in a DVD or play a game and the fan (while maintaining to cool the system) sounds like a turbine engine.

Keyboard layout - Some raised parts on different areas of the keyboard tray.

Keyboard flex -Areas around QWER and OPKL show signs of flex.

Keyboard lighting - Manually have to turn on/off. No ambient light sensor.

Touchpad - Not as good as Macbook Pros. Not even close. And the right lower part of the system warms up quite a bit but not too much that will bother me.

Optical drive - Noisy when inserting a disc but we all knew that about these slot-loading drives.

Ports - They are very snug fit. Too tight for many owners.

Bloatware: Too much unneccessary crap from HP that came pre-installed on the laptop.

Weight - HP could have eliminated the optical drive to make this a lighter laptop. With the slice battery, it weighs like a 17" XPS laptop.

 

You must not have owned the new Vaio Z series. Those little things pack a punch and their fans are constantly on. And those bad boys cost 2-3x as much as the E14s.

 

I thought someone said the opposite. That it was loud to load the disc, but quiet while playing/burning.

 

For luminosity issues, try going into the graphic options of intel and ATI and manually lower the brightness setting with the screen set at 100%
This way you could get something between the 90 and 100% notches.

 

That's what I meant. Sorry.

 

@2.0 and everyone who owns the E14 right now. I'm going to type this in BOLD so it doesn't get skipped, and 2.0 will notice it and possibly add it to the OP.

Can anyone comment on the vents/cooling? Does it spit out lots of hot air properly, does it not spit out hot air, can you tell that the cooling system works, are the fans just uselessly spinning without spitting out hot air, does covering the bottom vent holes have an adverse affect? AND most IMPORTANTLY, share all thoughts about the vent hole in the back which is covered by the monitor lid, please.

Thanks to everyone!

P.S. 2.0, once you see this and possibly add it to the OP, can you unbold this post cuz it looks awkward lolz.

 

The fan noise is not loud. My problem is when the cpu goes down below 30c my fans stop completely and every 2 seconds they switch on and off for like 10 second and then continue running again. It is annoying in a quiet room. BTW I disabled fan always on in bios

 

Has anyone gotten a base model unit with the i3 that could give their opinions? Any whine noises? And, I'm wondering if the battery life is significantly different between the i3 and i5 processors? Thanks!

 

Yes on my envy the fans are uselessly spinning without hot air.

both core temps on idle below 35C

 

fan's constantly running at low speed.

It doesn't bother me.

and yes air from the back vent comes up through the hole between the back of the laptop and the screen.

no it's not generally all that hot. most of the hot air is coming out of the side vent when you're going full bore

also the hot air dissipates after 4 or 5 inches

 

That's good to note(know). Cuz my dv2610us does that. Fan's always on by default as set by the BIOS. No option to turn it off/down. It's always on as a preventative measure I guess.

Any comments on the rear vent? Does it spew air, trap air, burn the lid, make the screen scrambled up, what have you?

 

They are not spinning 'uselessly', they are why your machine is so cool all the time at idle. HP has used very high quality copper heat sinks and heat pipes in this design. Try disabling the fans always on in your BIOS and watch how high your idle temps get... You just are not feeling the 'hot' air because the fans are always cooling the processors, under full load you will feel the heat coming out as the temps rise...

 

That's not true. I heard some users after they disabled fans always on in bios they were able to completely turn off the fans.

 

My problem is when the cpu goes down below 30c my fans stop completely and every 2 seconds they switch on and off for like 10 second and then continue running again. It is annoying in a quiet room. BTW I disabled fan always on in bios

My fan never stops completely for more than 2 seconds.

 

I've not checked it out but it wouldn't be "special trojaned" versions would it? I know Digital River is used by many companies for purchased downloads but has anyone validated them?

 

well I'm only talking about how it is for me.


yes you can turn it to passive in the bios. And then they should go quiet.

 

Yes, they have been validated.

 

well. it's microsoft's digital river site so..I mean...unless Microsoft is slipping trojans into their isos

 

SO, what am I supposed to be adding about the fans then?

 

So, the cooling system is "good to go" then, right (nothing to worry about)? The back vent, is it adversely affected by the lid, or does it spit out just fine?

Also, can someone confirm that the US version has Intel or Broadcom?

 

My e14 ships on the 22nd. I have the e15 and my girlfriend has the e13. If you need side by sides, or for me to check certain settings and compare, just let me know. Shoot me a PM. I wouldn't know exactly what to compare since you want to know about photography/screens.

 

After everyone shares their stuff, post the tips they suggest for turning on/off/passive/active etc settings in teh BIOS or the windows settings. (Your discretion whether or not these would be helpful/useful for ppl though).