Alright let me start with some simple FAQ answers:
CPU - that's the toughest because it all depends on what you want to do with your PC but here's my summary:
i3 - dual core, multithreaded, integrated GPU, no Turbo Boost. Ok for basic desktop tasks like web browsing, flash, MS Office, and some gaming.
i5 - dual core, multithreaded, integrated GPU, Turbo Boost. i5-430 and 450 are just same CPU but slightly faster clock speeds. Performance between the two in general is probably less than 10%. i5-520m offers some additional instructions for hardware virtualization and AES encryption which just aid in processing more quickly with a few other benefits
i7 - quad core, multithreaded, no integrated GPU, Turbo Boost - Quad core is powerful, capable of processing eight threads simultaneously, clock speeds generally slower than an i5, but have advantage of processing more threads. No integrated GPU means less battery life because it will be using the dedicated GPU all the time. Most likely 50% less battery life.
Screen - 1600x900 Radiance standard and only option, so not much to say, just it's supposed to be the absolute best
Hard Drive / SSD - Hard Drives = cheap, effective storage while adding noise, vibration, and heat. SSD = expensive, fast storage, with no vibration or noise with minimal heat and power consumption. Current gen SSD's have a long life, probably much longer than you'd ever keep your laptop unless you do constant read/writes to it 24/7.
Memory = 4GB recommended. Two sticks is fine. You can get a 5-10% performance benefit running dual channel, or two sticks of the same size and speed. But a single chip gives the benefit of just popping in a new chip later. It's not a big deal really. The $25 you'd pay now, you can always pop out a 2GB chip, sell it probably for $25, and put in a 4GB module giving you 6GB RAM. Otherwise, if you know you'll want 8GB then maybe go with single 4GB.
Battery - The slice battery is apparently the "6 cell" battery they offer for $200 at the moment. It basically form fits the entire bottom of the laptop and is thin and gives an extra 50% or more battery life. No need to swap batteries as it works "smartly" with the built in 8 cell battery. Do a search at images.google.com for "envy slice battery" to see what it looks like.
Ok, thats all I have time for now. Welcome any updates. Will update later. That was all just basic typing regurgitation, so forgive formatting and basic info. I'll volunteer to start a separate "Envy 14 FAQ's" section if 2.0 will be so gracious as to allow me to do such a thing.
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Problems? See this thread at archive.org.
