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

This changes how many processors Windows uses to boot. It makes booting windows slightly faster.

 

Ive heard the dual core boot does nothing for speed. I believe it is used for diagnostics or something else, but it definity is not for speeding up the boot.

 

I just reinstalled the driver with no success. I checked the BIOS but couldn't find an option regarding anything to do with the cores. Another note is that under Task Manager>Performance>CPU Usage History shows 2 graphs. What does this mean?

 

Boot Advanced Options - Number of Processors - Vista Forums

 

In msconfig fix you may have forgotten, after having changed cores to 2, to check the box at the bottom right, that specifies to permanently apply the boot settings you changed.

If it's not that the very last solutions I've got for you are :
-Go in the bios and search for "Restore default bios settings" button and restore it.

If that doesn't work try the last trick...
-Delete the processor entries in Device Manager, then reboot. Hopefully windows will automatically redetect and reinstall them.

 

now you guys tell me these things.

 

I've tried all of these things. No luck. Windows did recognize and reinstall the drivers after I deleted them though. Is it normal to have 4 four sub categories that all say the same thing "Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU M 520 @ 2.40 GHz" under the processor tab in Device Manager?

 

Anybody know why my RAM says 3.80 usable only? is part of it dedicated to the intel graphics card?

 

I think that is normal showing you have 4 threads.

 

Is there a simple test i can run to make sure my turbo is working?

 

Download a tool like SuperPi, and get CPU-Z.

Run SuperPi to calculate 32 million digits, then flip between your cores in CPU-Z and see if one is turbo'd up.

At least, that's how I would test it...

Yes, four devices listed is perfectly normal.

I'm curious, is this problem with only one core being active showing up after a clean install, or are you just using the pre-installed Windows? It's also strange you'd be getting this problem if all four threads are being detected in the device manager.

 

yes. that's normal

 

If I have 4 threads wouldn't that show up under CPU-Z? Because currently it says I only have 2...

 

Well you've got 4 threads running now, it means theres 2 cores recognised and installed. Run a cinebench R10 and see if your score in multi is 8000ish if it is you've got the two core running for sure. Or open the task manager go to a random process and right click => define affinity => tell us how many boxes you can check for cpu affinity.

Maybe it's just your cpu z version that is outdated.

 

Cool, i'll give that a try when i get home from work.

 

check out the task manager.


and go to performance. IF you see four processors/threads then you're good to go.

CPU-Z for me only showed two cores when I did it. Don't know if I saw 4 threads in there. *shrugs* didn't look

 

I can define the affinity to CPU 0 and CPU 1, so I guess two must be running. I doubt CPU-Z is outdated though because I just installed it and other programs too were rendering only one core. And to answer a previous post, no I did not clean install I am using the previously installed Windows 7.

In Windows' System Information, I am being told that I have one core with two logical processors. Is this normal?

 

No- You should have two cores with two logical processors each.

I believe you should also be able to set affinity to any of the four threads, if I'm not mistaken...

 

2.0 could you add this information on the first page.

People with USB/wifi/core problems may actually all have the older bios... that could explain their issues and bios update should be their last resort attempt at fixing.

Indeed you should have 4 logical cpus...
Try the msconfig thing one more time.
If it still doesn't work check your bios version.

 

So how is HP's driver support for notebooks these days?

We have 8 month old desktops at work and HP does not have the drivers we need and apparently never plans on making them. The problem is that these desktops had Vista and we wanted to use Win 7 but HP does not have the drivers we need. We also have Dell and Gateway in our labs and never had problems switching from Vista to Win 7, only with the HP. This concerns me as I like the E14 but if there will not be continued driver support then what's the point, I'd be better off with an over priced Vaio that will at least stand the test of time.

Also, for all the people throwing around the word "disaster", you may be onto something. I asked a the guy at BB when they planned on getting the E14 and he said they probably wouldn't be since the last Envys did not sell well and the ones that did sell had tons of problems. I wish the specs on this thing weren't so sweet because it is very tempting.

 

Alright I'll try the Cinebench R10 multi test as mentioned. Where can I find this?

 

CineBench 10 download from Guru3D.com

I digged a bit the internetz and in the bios if ACPI is not enable it can also cause only 1 core to work. Try checking out that option in the bios before updating it, if cinebench comes negative .

Edit: found another thing to check in windows : => Start => Run => type sysdm.cpl => enter => Advanced tab > Environment Variables button >System Varaiables window > Number of Processors.

Try running windows update too if you havn't yet.

 

Have you tried installing the Vista drivers on the HP machines running Windows 7?

The vast majority of Windows Vista drivers work flawlessly on Windows 7-- They're essentially the exact same driver architecture.

 

yes please d^^b

 

OK will do with a warning about possibility of bricking your Envy if you do it wrong.

BTW, is the BIOS on the Envy Insyde BIOS?

 

It's an Insyde Bios, yes.


same as the other envy bioses (or something)


edit: Also. The GPU is clocked lower than the dv6z/t. it's defaulting at 450/800 instead of 550/800


HP!!!!!!!

amd gpu tool doesn't work either

 

Dont know if i missed this, but what exactly was the brand of the RAM??

 

A few things:
The Envy 14 is the 2nd most sold laptop by HP the past 3 months. Considering it's only been out for 3 weeks that's quite an accomplishment. ( the dv6 is first, the g62t second) so I don't see why Best Buy wouldn't pick them up.
Retailing the Envy 13 at places such as Best Buy or Wal-Mart wasn't a very good idea because the computer targeted a very specific population that was unlikely to be found there. But the 14 targets a much broader audience.
And finally i really dont get why people get so scared. You always get alarmed reports during the first weeks of a very anticipated release, but from what we've seen so far the computer seems to have had much less problem than the envy 17 or 15 at launch.
My point is, you shouldn't get turned off by every negative post you see on these forums. At any rate, you can still return the laptop if you don't like it...

 

ALERT! Post of the day!

Read and reflect. Ommmmmmm..... <---meditation speak.

 

in other news.


here's my gpu-z screenshot.


if can't figure out what the bios revision is and well. it tells us that it's underclocked a bit (well clocked lower than the dv6t version)

 

Ummm-mmmm! (finger snap and smirk.) Oh no. You don't get to dismiss me.

Mmmmm! (Some finger waving and head jiggle - then roll eyes. Hands on hips.)

 

girrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll quit playin

 

I updated windows, nothing changed. I checked sysdm.pl and under number of processors it says 2 (good, right?). My BIOS version is also outdated at 4/22/2010. And finally the Cinibench link isn't working but I'm looking for another link to download and run it.

Edit: Where in the BIOS can I find ACPI settings? I tried looking

Is it a good idea to update my BIOS?

 

Care about ATI graphic card clock...
Theres a rest state on ATI cards GPU frequency, it means it will only go to its real clock is you stress the GPU. You should run Furmark and then launch GPU-Z to read the clock.

It may be the sleep state clock you're reading there.



--

Don't update your bios yet, find cinebench R10 (R10 is important, dont get 11,5R or 14152R) and run it to check a last time. It's utterly strange that your device manager lists 4 threads but the rest only 1 core.

Can anyone with a "working envy" tell us how many processors he sees under environnement variables please ? (cause that value can be changed to 4 if the normal value should be 4).

 

Izzit the electricity flowing through it that makes it weeeeeeeeeee?

 

This issue is not Envy-specific. AFAIK, It affects most, if not ALL i3/5/7 CPUs. If you cannot hear it, then you simply cannot hear sounds at that frequency. I would estimate it to be around 16-18Khz.

Mosquito Ringtones - Download the Mosquito Ring Tone Free Test your hearing for yourself and see what your limits of detection are.

 

You can't. HP BIOS is very limited.

Yes, but just be sure to run it as administrator and have no open programs when you do.

 

Anyone else having random wireless adapter shut downs? I'll turn on vuze and once in a while I'll lose the wireless adapter which then means I have to restart the computer. No other complaints on the computer yet though.

=Jason-

 

CPU Whine Information/Testing:

-If you are listening or testing for the whine, it will become obvious whether or not you have it overtime. Once you have identified the noise as coming from your computer, you will be able to hear it even with background noise around you. The reported settings that cause the noise are different, if you want to fiddle with common settings that cause it read the spoiler.

-The computer whine is a distinct high pitch noise coming from the back of your laptop near the screen. It may not be emitting from somewhere specific, it is most likely oriented towards the back right. Make sure everything around you is silent. The noise isn't that loud but because it is high pitched you can hear it whistling over things such as medium volume music.

-When the noise stops (which is caused by using the CPU for something more than browsing (to test this, I recommend using the FF14 flash intensive website with the sound off)) it sounds like the whine is interrupted. When using something that requires a slightly more than idle processor, it will become almost silent by rapidly interrupting the noise, causing a minor stuttering noise instead. This stuttering will only be heard with your ear to the keyboard.

-The noise is not HP's fault. Multiple complaints have been made with other computers using the recent Intel series of processors. The processor this seems to be the most common with is the i5-520m, but isn't exclusive to this processor. There has also been reports with some of the i-7's.

Additional Testing Suggestions:

Spoiler

Shut down all programs, even things like AVG & other things in the system tray.
(I left the ATI catalyst, Bluetooth, Synaptics all on)

Put your ear to the keyboard and listen for the whine with:

Bluetooth off, No USB's plugged in.
Bluetooth off, a USB plugged in.
Bluetooth on, No USB's plugged in.
Bluetooth on, a USB plugged in.

Give five seconds to allow the noise to kick in/stop between tries.

Note: To turn off bluetooth, simply right click the icon at the system tray (bottom right) and chose to disable.

Increasing and decreasing the power distributed through the motherboard/cpu isn't what creates the sound, but it is the catalyst that causes it. Everyones Envy may have different things that causes the noise to happen, but most of these will only be when the CPU is nearly idle. For instance of variation, a suggested fix to stopping the whine is turning off bluetooth; however my Envy 14's whine only stops with bluetooth on & nothing in the USB slots.

Not all Envy's have been reported to have the noise, and the people who have the noise will be much noisier on the forums than those who are satisfied. Do not let this scare you away from purchasing an Envy 14, there are plenty of people who love their Envy's.

My whine over the whine is a lot more prominent than the whine itself and I have complained multiple times on the forum. I myself think the Envy 14 is well worth the money spent and is a very high quality model, easily a 9/10; the model is so promising that regardless of my complaints I plan on replacing it until I have a perfect one.

 

Just to clarify things for the newbies, run as administrator stands for Right clicking the .exe and launch it with "Run as administrator" heh

 

From what I can tell, the clock speed on my y460's 5650 seems to be the same weather it's idle or running furmark. GPU-Z tells me it's 550 core/800 memory.

It would be a shame if the GPU in the envy was significantly underclocked.

 

I'm 24 and can't hear anything higher than 15 khz. It would be interesting if someone with the whine could post what they can hear up to.

As a side note, I used to be acutely aware of a whine coming from my laptop when I was in college. Studying in the library was the worst. I can't notice it anymore these days.

 

Where are all the benchmarks. You guys are getting these units - Right? Lookin' for some 3dmark06 scores. Anybody try to OC the CPU on one of these yet with SetFSB. We're finding out in the Acer 3820TG thread that OC's capability is random on the Acers. Even within the same model number some have clockgens that are OC'able and units produced close in time, with the same model no. do to have the ability to be OC'd without a pinmod. Curious about the HP CPUs. If the I5-450M in the particualr 3820TG is OC'able, it can reach speeds higher than a stock I7-620M.

Sadly, my unit will not OC. It's okay, I'm over it. Even without OC'ing my 3820TG's first 3Dmark06 score was 9422 and that was with an unstable OC (700/1100 ) that caused the GPU to shutdown and reset duing the benchmark.
I'm curious how the GPU in the Envy will handle OC'ing.

C'mon lets see some #.

Bronsky

 

I downloaded Cinebench R10. Should I run "Cinebench R10" or "Cinebench R10 64bit"? Also, once the program is started should I click start all tests or what?

 

Try this:

Device manager, network adapters, Intel wifi. Right click properties.

Under the power management tab, uncheck allow computer to turn of device to save power. And under advanced tab, 802.11n channel width for band 2.4, set to 20mhz only. And make sure 802.11n mode is enabled.

 

if you can hear it over music, why do you have to put your ear to the keyboard to hear it?

 

I actually turned 24 today and can easily hear 19khz. Unfortunately, I can also easily hear the CPU whine on my i5 520 equipped y460.

 

Bad news.


so far we can't OC the GPU. AMD GPU Clock Tool freezes (the newest 9.26.0 5870 version or whatever it's called).

GPU is clocked like a sony at 450/800 too.


can't update graphics drivers either.

get around 6800s in 3DMark06.

 

I would try reinstalling the wireless driver. I had this issue with a Dell I had.

 

Yes, I know nothing of this khz business, but my father who doesn't have the best hearing could hear it as well. It isn't that high pitched. I don't think you need special hearing to hear it...

But I'm not 100%.