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

On a desktop, SSDs are best when in RAID configuration. That's when you get "night and day" performance difference.

On a notebook however, a HDD is the greatest bottleneck in the system. An SSD makes a "night and day" difference. One that is worth the money if one can afford it. But because of their lower capacity, one has to be more conscientious with what they store on them and do so in a more organized manner.

Truth is, considering their price/GB, they are best used on dual drive notebooks where the SSD is the OS drive and the 2nd drive is the HDD. In this config, one can get away with a low capacity SSD and large HDD.

However, on a single drive system, if one isn't storing a lot of media and games, an SSD is well worth it. There is of course the option of an external drive to store these things. Say, for a college student who uses the notebook in class/lab/lib, that student can attach to the external HDD back in the dorm.

 

Anyone figure out why the 160GB SSD upgrade was $275 last night but now is $315

 

Thanks. I am leaning towards the xt after hearing that. I think it's worth waiting for ssds to come down in price and up in capacity before I make the leap. Plus it seems like people are in large part touting ssd's faster boot times and that is probably the one area the ssd will be most improved from a standard hdd. Frankly it surprises me that the xt is the only good hybrid on the market, maybe we'll see some competitors soon that are even better. Thanks fro your advice and I'm interested to see how your tests come out.

 

maybe you had the 500GB selected last night

 

Just wish that the 540m was offered so that we could stop debating the 450 vs 520 and just go with the 540 lol!

 

Maybe you can put E15's dual SSD/HDD part in E14

 

Man, I really want the people who got it from amazon to know if the screen is the radiance or not!
If it is, that's a pretty good deal, right? :O

 

Bah, I gave in.

Upgrades: i5-450m, 4GB DDR3 (1 DIMM), Slice Battery
Accessory: 14.5" Notebook Sleeve - Link Pattern (~$25 w/discounts)

With the educational discount and applicable taxes and fees, it came out to exactly $1399.99. That's kinda eerie, if you ask me.

I'm still hoping for a discount in the next week or two so I can leverage a post-purchase discount from the reps, or even reorder if it's a big enough discount and the reps won't bite.

 

So now that the ordering frenzy is over, is everybody sitting around complaining about how long the wait will be?

Bronsky

 

^actually more people have not ordered (it seems) are are sitting around complaining about the price.

 

How'd people get the $300 coupon!

 

It's not over until a decent coupon comes out for it.

 

I think the numerous heavy discounts over the past few months have spoiled us, lol. But when you think about it, even without discounts, I'd say the laptop is fairly priced, especially when you take into context the cost of a MBP.

 

True, if anyone is feeling ripped off, just look at the macbook pro and look at all you get for so much less. It's a beautiful thing.

 

Yeah, I'll be complaining about the $200 slice until the day it gets me through an entire LA/SFO/Vancouver to Shanghai flight, but I pulled the trigger anyway - the hype machine did its job, let's just hope the engineers did so as well.

 

Does the Envy 14 come with a USB 3.0 port?

 

coupon doesnt work for me...

I'll wait for reviews first anyway...

 

it doesnt work with the envy 14 for anyone

no the envy 14 does not have usb 3.0

 

Thats for Pavillion laptops. You almost gave me a heart attack!

 

No, at least not with i3/5. Not sure about i7, I know there was someone who asked hp.

 

Tried that one already. Thought it expired! That's why I thought the other guy was using a new coupon!

 

From logicbuy on that *947 coupon code:

Stackable $300 web-use coupon code on HP Laptops including HP dv8t Quad, Select, TouchSmart, G series customized at $1,399 or more. Excludes Envy.

 

Would there by any benefit to calling HP and saying, "hey I am interested in the envy14, but I am also interested in a Dell which is cheaper. Are there any specials or deals that are being offered? Any way I can get the price a bit down?"

 

My take: the Envy 14 is a much better choice than the DM4t because the graphics card is twice as good. It's going to stay viable a lot longer because of this.

BUT... The downside for you is that 5 pounds is a lot to carry around all day when you're in college. Even 4 pounds destroys your shoulders after a few hours. And that's not counting books!

So the Envy 14 is a good option, but if I went back to school to study chemical engineering, I think I'd strongly consider getting a dv6tse, which is cheaper and just as powerful as the Envy, (though .4 lbs heaver and with a worse screen) and then I'd also get a cheap netbook to take to class and take notes in.

 

Yeah, that's like lesson number 1 in sales - tell the customer that the item in question is not going to be cheaper anytime soon, or is going to be in short supply soon, or etc...

 

lol 5lbs is not alot to carry. I was carrying a 20lb backpack in middle school and I survived. Really, if you are worried about 5-10lbs on your back, you need to get in shape for your own health.

 

If 5lbs is too heavy, hit the gym, haha jk
I would perfer something under 4lbs but 1 more lbs isn't going to kill me.

 

Bleh. Shipping wait is agony >.>

 

Shipping wait is not agony. Coupon wait is agony because you don't know if it's ever gonna come!

 

has yours really shipped or is it still at the factory???
i ordered mine hour 1 and i'm still at "order dropped down to factory"

 

Logicbuy fails ..

HP ENVY 13 customizable Notebook PC

VR869AV


•Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
•Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo SL9300 (1.6GHz, 6MB L2 Cache)w/512MB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 4330 Graphics
•3GB DDR3 System Memory (1 Dimm)
•160GB (Solid State Drive Flash Module)
•13.1" diagonal High Definition LED HP Radiance Infinity Widescreen Display (1366x768)
•Webcam Only
•Intel Wireless-N Card
•HP QuickWeb, Corel VideoStudio Pro X2, Corel Paintshop Pro X2, Stardock My Colors
•HP Keyboard
•4 Cell Lithium Ion Polymer Battery (standard)
•No Productivity Software
•HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope
Estimated build date: July 7, 2010

Free standard shipping on this item

« Save for re-order
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Qty. Update »
Price: $1,399.99
Coupon: –$300.00
Price after savings: 1,099.99

 

haha sorry build/shipping wait is agony

 

I'm bored. I'm going to try the coupon too.

 

Configured Envy 13 with 3-year warranty. Doesn't work.

 

NVM. Had to upgrade some components. Damn. Makes the warranty damn near too expensive to get if coupon doesn't apply for it!

 

Not trying to twist the knife, but it wouldn't surprise me if HP eschewed offering a big discount on this laptop for some time. The Envy 14 was highly anticipated and there seems to be very strong demand for it. Why should HP offer a coupon when there's nothing comparable (5 lbs, beautiful design, premium screen, strong graphics card, ~$1200) on the market? Right now they have a weak monopoly on this sector and they'd just be giving up profit if they cut prices.

Plus they are already competing for price-sensitive consumers with the rest of their laptops. This is a premium machine and it makes sense that they would charge more.

I think a lot depends on the reviews. If the reviews are strong, then HP has even more leverage and less incentive to offer a deal. If not, then we'll probably see some coupons.

 

LOL! My current X1400 is too much for Halo 1! I have everything on high and high resolution and I still get over 60 FPS without problems. Jeeezzzzz, a 5650 is really going to be a step up for me from my X1400. I cannot wait!

 

I did - it depends what you intend to use the laptop for.

Most people buying this laptop are seeking ultraportability and long battery life with good performance. The Core i5's and even the core i3's are plenty powerful for 80% of today's computing needs and won't kill your battery.

However, I used my computer for almost everything and pretty intensely. I wanted the extra power and was willing to sacrifice the battery life to do it. Plus I usually hold onto my laptops for roughly 4 years - so I always load up. Although, with the Envy it's fairly easy to upgrade so this isn't as neccesary.

Just my .02

 

when coupons are discussed in an envy 14 owners lounge one's initial reaction (at first glance) would be that the coupon is for the envy 14.

not a jab towards you, just commenting on how off topic this forum is.

 

"OMG IT SHIPPED ALREADY?!!?!? oh wait...that's just the warranty"

got me excited..I thought I had ordered the perfect setup so they already had it built :/ just want this dam thing so bad!! hehe

 

No, I already tried that. Basically told them that I can't spend any more than $1200 (price with academic discount was ~ $1300) otherwise I have Dell laptop lined up. They didn't budge.

 

Indeed. Thanks for pointing that out.


GOING FORWARD (message for all):

Unless it is a direct comparison of the Envy 14 to another notebook for the purpose of decision making, do not post configurations of other notebooks or coupons that only work with other notebooks.

And PM me with what coupons work and do not work under different conditions or combinations so I can post them to the opening post of this thread. Also, feel free to PM me with anything you think should be added to the opening post.

Let's keep thing Envy 14 related.

And if you find that there's a post that troubles you, rather than responding and diverting the topic of the thread, just report the post. Hit the triangle with explanation point in the middle, which is at the lower left of any post. It's anonymous, so no worries.

Now back to Envy 14 talk...

 

[Mod edit] The coupons will come, just be patient. Did you see Apple or Sony giving away coupons on the MBP or the Z on release day? Of course HP wants people to pay full price on the Envy 14 on release day. They know there were plenty of people waiting for it. .....

 

the coupons will come in late august after the early adopters 21 day price match / return is expired and back to school sales start

not too long now...

 

I bet I will be able to buy a slice battery for 75-125$ in September, separately. Mayb I'll get one then, but for now I don't need one $200 worth.

 

Guys.. If I use the computer alot of my legs and in the bed for late work. Would you recommend the SSD ? Is the heat a real different ?

 

Hi folks,

I'm about to pull the trigger on a purchase, but would like to see a review of the Envy 14" first. Has NBR announced a review date yet? Or any other source for that matter?

Thanks.

P.S. Sorry if this was previously posted and I missed it.

 

No, no NBR review date announced yet.

 

personally, i have no idea what stock drives they put in there, but i have a pretty recent momentus in my current laptop and its cool as the breeze. ssd isn't your only option to avoid heat issues.

 

HP decided to bump it up to 1099


'course the radiance infinity is standard so *shrugs* it's a wash.