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

It depends on what you do. Do you even need a fast CPU? Are the programs you use multi-core or single-core friendly? Speed of each type of work you do is also affected by the CPU model.

I would get at least an i5 to get the turbo boost, as many older programs work better with a single core (or so I'm led to believe).

 

so I second guessed my 430m purchase and ordered an i3 370m, which just went through today. My 430m went through first thing on sunday morning. I am hoping to get it before a trip I leave on in a couple of weeks...I did the fastest shipping option...so because I am cutting it close, I am now debating is it worth doing the i3 370m as the order just completed today, my order number is like 1000 higher than my 430m.

Would either processor be a slower build, assuming one is harder for them to get in stock than the other? What is the realistic battery life benefits of the i3 370m over the i5 430m?

Just debating if I should stick with the i5 order.

 

I think it's been said that the 430 is the worst option among the processors...the 370 and 450 are both faster, and the 450 is preferred amongst those because it has turbo boost. Not sure if battery life factors at all between them.

 

Maybe 2.0 should update the Op with some of theses FAQs?

 

Not really. Most if not all of those statements were straight from Barry Ferris or other HP videos. How can they lie in promo vids and everyone still buys this crap? Nobody here should buy until these issues are fixed.

 

Yeah, I was think about doing that. But I was waiting until the first units arrived so that the information would be more concrete rather than somewhat speculative.

 

Shouldn't this thread really be "waiting for Envy 14" or something and start an Owner's Lounge once people actually start giving real information?

That being said, I called HP. With student discount my total was a little more than $1300. I told them I couldn't spend any more than $1200, and they wouldn't budge at all.

One thing to be wary of though is that it automatically added a second power supply to my order, so take note that you might be able to drop a few bucks by paying attention to all the options as you configure it.

 

Does anybody know what kind of ssd the 256gb one is? And we're sure the 160 is intel x-25?

 

LOL. Nearly all of the owner's threads are like this. Without them, posters start numerous threads with a slight variation on the theme. Then information gets fragmented throughout the site.

 

I'm not sure anyone knows for sure on the 256, I was looking as well. Speculation is it may be a Samung. The 160 should be a X-25..probably a G2.

 

Hold up guys you're confusing this Rook,

Are you guys saying that a four core i7 may be SLOWER than a dual core?
What?

I thought I was so baller about to order this with an i7,

So.. do a lot of programs use single core??

Please explain...

 

^^
Edit: checked my numbers lol
A 720QM got only 1,6 ghz per core without turbo on +9/6/1/1 scheme :
1 core : 2,8 ghz x1
2 core : 2,4 ghz x2
3 core (only +1 bin per core) : 1,8 ghz x3
4 core : 1,8 ghz x4

While a 450m for example on a +2/2 scheme :
1 core : 2,6 ghz x1
2 core : 2,6 ghz x2

520m +2/+4 :
1 core : 2,9 ghz x1
2 core: 2,6 ghz x2

Keep in mind that turbo can not be applied if some heat or TDP thresholds defined by intel are crossed. I7 heating a lot more its turbo will be less agressive than the i5 one most of the time. That means in a case where an i5 would go turbo a i7 will not because it'll be warmer.


That said on 8 thread tasks (or running two four threaded app, or four two threaded app at the same time) the i7 blows any i5 in heavy multitasking context.


Now about battery discussion...

Its written in small when you're about to configurate your envy.

Untitled Document

And if you read... similar configs...

dv8t perfoms on discrete 3,5 hours (8cells) (should be similar to an envy on 5650, what the amazon guys reported)
dv6t performs on integrated 5 hours (6cells) (envy should hit 7 hours there in the same wireless off conditions)

That said if you have a wifi network really close to you, you can achieve very close results with wifi configured on maximum battery saving and have the internet (that's how some wireless browsing reviews are reaching 5 hour for the 6cell dv). You're just losing some reception radius in this case.

Those are the numbers coming from the same bench used by hp to determine en envy battery life.

 

Actually, all Intel i-series CPUs (including the i5 450m) DO have VT-x virtualization technology. What the i3s and i5 4xx series lack (besides the AES functions) is VT-d. The difference is that the former is software virtualization while the latter is hardware virtualization. What it boils down to (mostly) is IO speed. The i5 450m is plenty capable of running VMs.

So, in summary:
VT-x: software virtualization (i3 series/i5 4xxm)
VT-d: hardware virtualization (i5 5xxm)

 

man. HP hits your credit card immediately.

whelp. it's been approved

 

Sir, you are correct... I misspoke, mistyped, whatever, lol... I was WRONG Ok? Stop rubbing it in. Wait, keep rubbing, I need a good back rub...

 

we all could use a good back rub.


anyway build date is still the 7th. let's see if they can make that date.

 

Haha... I wasn't trying to rub anything in, but I wanted to make sure that no one was confused and thought they needed to upgrade to a 5xxm series chip in order to use VMs.

 

I said I'm a rook!
I need it in more lamen's terms...

I don't get it.

So 4 cores IS slower?! :O

 

I kind of hope they don't so I can call up and complain. Get a discount

 

No, I know, I was kidding. You can use VM just don't get the added benefit of hardware virtualization.

 

This is the main reason I'm going for 450M over 520M...I don't use any of the extra instruction sets and 0.3 GHz boost in ONE core is not enough to justify $100 for my usage.

 

Usually the clock speed of quad cores are slower than a dual core. Same held true for Core 2 CPU's. But with multithreaded code raw speed isn't as important. Older games benefit from raw speed usually, but then again, most single or dual threaded games are older and don't need the total raw speed of what today's CPU's can offer.

 

The i7 is more powerful than the i5, but power and speed are two separate things. i7 is more suited to multi-threading and running gpu intensive programs. While the i5 can still easily pull its own weight doing similar jobs, it only has 2 cores so each core will be working harder than a core would on the i7.

At least, that is how I have understood it. Correct me if im wrong.

 

They're making dv6t an even better deal with a $300 coupon, $150 instant rebate, $270 ssd, free 6gb upgrade. Where's the envy 14 love?

$300 coupon: NBE725947

 

Debating on the i5-450 and the i5-520. Since I don't know any better, I'll ask you guys:

What are the reasoning/advantages of getting one or the other? (A list would be perfect )

 

Aye, I'm aware of the boost feature of the i5 as well as the hardware virtualization. If I were video editing or a heavy photoshop user I would jump on the fastest i5m or i7m. For my uses I'll never see the 22% increase in clock speed/15-20% real world performance gain for short bursts when I launch IE or play a game. In games the 5650 is more than outpaced by an i3. Not to say some games with good coding for physics etc wouldn't benefit from multiple cores. For me though it's pointless. For anyone that it does benefit or just wants to buy for the heck of it then good for them

Can't wait til our machines arrive though so we can post from them ! I'm hoping for the 5 hours or so of battery life for light use.

 

I got the 520m but that's because I'm cooler than the 450m guys :/
I paid the same since I got an additional $100 credit from HP when I told them I wanted to downgrade the CPU.

 

Yeah really, spread some around. 25% BCB where are you when I need you? You must not love me any more.

 

25% BCB is a harsh mistress

edit: *actually receives his order confirmation e-mail finally* alright. envy on the way.

 

not getting Envy until some sweet coupon or bing cashback. right now Envy is about $200 more then I want to pay for it (10% tax, plus the raised base price)

 

Well I feel silly now... I was so eager on Sunday morning to buy a laptop - my old one is a 4+ year old Thinkpad T60 (wanted a sexier laptop this go around). In any case - I was so eager that I loaded it up with the best processor (the 840QM)... but from what I'm reading it sounds like it might not actually be the best offering even though it's the most expensive.

I will be using this thing for work (where multitasking is most important), personal (gaming where processing speed is most important), and travel (where battery life is most important)... so obviously I had to compromise somewhere.

Please correct me if my disappointment is misguided.

 

The $300 coupon scared me half to death too HAHA. I think I almost squeezed the optics out of my desktop mouse !

The dv6t folks are getting a good deal though. I seriously considered one but after feeling the flex in them I decided to wait on the Envy. I'm a little too picky about things flexing and have a bad habit of picking a laptop up from the corner if it's at arms length.

 

I cant believe HP has not release this laptop for review yet. Im holding off to see what the battery life and heat output are like.
Im holding off to buy one to make sure it doesn't burn a hole in your table / lap.

 

yeah my computer was $100 more than I expected but...well..I'll deal.

 

No need to be disappointed in my opinion. For work and heavy multitasking you will see some benefit especially if you are running programs that use the physical and logical cores efficiently. I don't think you would be getting good battery life with any cpu under a heavy workload so you will end up plugging in often anyway. You will have a beast there when you get it.

Edit: my quote aim is bad!

 

I believe games like BfBc2 have shown benefits in the area of 4 frames per second going from 430 to 520.

The 820qm is without a doubt the most powerful offering, however it will cut your battery in half (~15watts more power + you loose switchable graphics)

 

well for battery that processor is not the best but for gaming and multitasking the extra threads will definitely help a bunch. I would take a quad over a dual core any day since I like to game and those CPUs are just really nice. Although with your quad the 5650 may be the bottleneck in many games =)

 

Okay lets say money isn't an object

I'm not rich I just came into a great opportunity

(essentially some one is willing to pay 60% of my laptop no ceilings unless its insane)

So I'm only pay 40% no matter what. (including the discount)

I'm only going to use this computer for school, minor graphic design (seriously low requirements just photoshop) and possibly diablo 3.

Should I get a quad core or the dual core?


ALSO,

Hey azn guy, explain what you mean by it might be the bottleneck? Why would the quad core be it? Would the dual core?
Which will have better performance (since money isn't an object in this scenario)

 

sweet - I just thought that I read (somewhere in the 90 pages of this thread) that it wasn't the best deal.

In any case - I generally get long lives out of my laptops. I expect to be blown away when I boot this thing up - I'm going from a 1.8 Ghz Single Core Centrino to a 1.83 Ghz Quad Core i7.

Amazingly enough, I was only getting 3 hours of battery life on my best days anyway with the T60.

 

walker. I'd get the dual core.

but go for a SSD

 

Wow, this coupon gives 300 bucks off the envy 13 NBE725947 but not 14

 

Will the SSD make the computer faster or just for moving files?

I'm confused as to how an SSD is key, it does what? I thought hard drives only sped up opening and moving files

*rook*

 

Right - well the kinds of games I would be playing would be steam games or maybe starcraft 2 so I'm not worried.

My real concern was that at any given time I could have 6/7+ programs running, and currently on my T60 this is just not feasible. Granted I only have 1GB of memory in that machine (I think that or 2GB was the most you could get in laptops at the beginning of 2006), but programs can really crawl on that thing.

Needless to say - I decided multi-tasking was #1 priority for my new laptop, portability was #2, this seemed like the right mix.

 

SSD's make it boot up faster and move files around faster and load programs up faster.


which apparently makes you never wanna go back.

costs an arm and a leg though. I don't have any arms or legs to give up so I just got the 320gig hdd

 

Whats this terminal X thing I've been reading about?

Maybe I'll get that separately later,

But I'll need to like, install windows 7 on that right?

God im noob

 

I dunno what terminal X is either.

as for installing win 7 on things. Well if you get a new hdd sometime after you buy the computer yeah you'll need to.

though I think you can burn the HP recovery discs (to about 5 dvds) and just reinstall it from that and it'll be back at factory defaults on any hdd.

 

Additional $300 off web coupon for the purchase of a customized HP Pavilion Notebook PC configured at $1399 or greater at the HP Home & Home Office Store using coupon code NBE725947. Offer exclude Compaq, HP Mini, HP ENVY 14, HP ENVY 17, HP ENVY 15 and HP 15 ENVY Beats Edition. Offer limited to the first 1,350

 

SSD speeds up considerably any disk access done by your apps or OS that is to say...
- Launching the app
- Closing the app
- Saving large files
- Accessing a lot of little separate files
- Lol virus scanning 200gig within 5 minutes.
- Having an OS that will always be instant snappy. Even on a quad core or a 10 ghz machine it won't be as snappy as on a SSD because the hard drive is the limitating factor in anything that has to do with loading/saving and such data access... Some apps are more data access dependant than cpu power dependant to operate quickly.

 

2nd that idea.

 

Every single time your computer needs to access data on the disk is will do so faster. That's actually really really often!