HP ENVY 15-qXXX (Intel i7-4712HQ & Nvidia GTX 850M) Haswell + Maxwell Review

HP ENVY TouchSmart 15-qXXX (Intel i7-4712HQ & Nvidia GTX 850M) Haswell + Maxwell Review

HP’s refresh HP Envy 15-Q model for 2014 based on last year’s 15-J model. There have been a few changes, some good some bad, but overall is better than last year’s model as it now features Intel’s Haswell refresh processor and NVidia’s new Maxwell GPU.

Processor is an Intel i7-4712HQ which is now a BGA mounted type and what is good about this refresh model it has both VT-x and VT-d enabled, not to mention it has a low TDP of just 37W, which I prefer in this type of single cooling solution notebook, as it keep the amount of heat under control. All the while is clocked at an extra 100MHz than last year’s comparable model.

Dedicated graphics processor namely GTX 850M is NVidia’s new Maxwell architecture which is significant update over Kepler, and will certainly be the feature of notebooks and desktops over the next 2 years which is generally the usual cycle time. Great thing about this GPU right now today, is that is easily twice as fast as last year’s 750M model. There are 640 shaders and 2MB on die cache for the GPU, even though we are still limited to DDR3 memory in the HP that is not impacting performance as much as one would have expected due to the new architecture.

Touchpad is very much improved and has what I believe to be a glass coating on it, which make it very usable. I hated the last year 15-J model touchpad which is hideous to use, often grabbing and gripping the fingertip like glue. The 15-Q new touchpad is a pleasure to use; no longer do I feel frustrated using an Envy 15 touchpad for the first time in history.



Chipset remains the same as last year which is the decent HM87, but will be the case for 2014 at this stage for all manufactures, as everyone is in the boat with Intel’s delays.

There are a couple of notable bad things are the removal of the mSATA cache connector from the motherboard (last year’s 15-J has this slot), even though the physical recess and printed circuitry for the module it there. HP has decided to remove the connector, and even if added, then I would suspect the supporting circuitry and UEFI support has been removed.

HP has also removed 2 speakers from the front underside of the leading edge of the laptop and one of the subwoofers. This is a 2 speaker plus 1 subwoofer combination (although in my photos you cant see there are is a single piece with dual subs), as last year’s 15-Q model has a 4 speaker plus 2 subwoofer combo.
Personally I have found the speakers took a little more volume to sound loud, but once around 70% it can easily fill the room, and the subs add to the fullness of the sound.

There are also something’s that just haven’t changed at all. Such as the display panel types that are being reused, but that is understandable somewhat (even though I am not exactly thrilled with the quality) as this is something that uses the same part numbers. Also there are several other parts that are just the same, after all the unit is a refresh model, not a brand new model.

A few words about the display (AU Optronics - Model: AUO33ED), it is terrible. I have been using over the course of a day, and the worse thing about it is the pitiful viewing angles, this thing is ridiculous. The viewing angle is so bad that when looking straight on the top corners invert (colour flip), this is really unacceptable, everyone should be able to look at their display straight on without any inversion, I tried to ignore it but it is way to pronounced. Then if you slightly tilt the screen back, it becomes unusable. The only angle the screen can been seen is with the screen tilted toward you (like you are closing the lid), therefore you are look down at the screen at a silly angle, and at this angle colours become very washed out, as in the photo below which is taken up from higher than the screen, notice the top right corner this part of the hill cannot be seen correct on this screen, although green trees/bush is actually there believe it or not.
This panel exhibits the screen door effect, it like a vertical banding, stripes that run like columns from top to bottom across the screen very 0.5mm

Even though there are non-changes, there as a couple of things that have been slightly revised cosmetically on the machine, the palm rest features an extended grill holes along the top of the palm rest. The underside plastic is slightly different with the removal of the speakers, thus closed off or solid plastic. Most notably is the new silver colour keyboard with blue backlight, although new colour it really is just the same as last year’s black keyboard in design, and still features mushy keys with flex.



My particular model I am reviewing is the one and only single pre-build model that I can get in my particular country which is a TouchSmart model. That does not matter much, as this is generally still the same 15t-q000 model, with a few pre-defined specs.

Specs of the machine are follows:

Model: HP ENVY 15-Q005TX

Intel i7-4712HQ quad core processor
NVidia GTX 850M 4GB DDR3 graphics
16GB (8GBx2) PC3-12800 DDR3L 1600MHz
1.5TB Standard Hard Drive (HGST Travelstar 5K1500 1.5TB SATA III HDD)
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3160
FHD touch screen display 1920 x 1080 resolution (AU Optronics - Model: AUO33ED)
62Wh battery (6 cell)
120W slim power brick

Photos of exterior and removable back plate

Headphone/Microphone, 2x USB3, Gigabit LAN, Power Jack


LED Status, SD Card Slot, 2x USB3, HDMI, Vent, K-Lock


Removable Access Bay, Battery Bay, Subwoofer


9mm 1.5TB HDD, 2x 8GB DDR3L-1600, Intel 3160 Wireless, Battery 3V


In the above photos notice where the mSATA cache module would otherwise reside. You could actually install a mSATA cache but without the actual connector it isn't going to do anything. On the edge of the motherboard next to this particular area there is soldering joints for a connector, no idea if these are still physically active or not. HP have run some cables over this area which are glued with a rubber stopper and a piece of tape, so pretty much they are not intending to use this anyway. I would figure that HP have written this port out of the UEFI, and I would think that any supporting circuitry may have been removed?

mSATA terminals present with circuitry, but no mSATA connector


CPU-Z showing the new refresh version of the 37W processor. This year around see HP using a BGA chip which is soldered onto the motherboard. What does this mean, well basically what you see is what you get, there is no way to upgrade this processor, and it is highly unlikely that HP will offer any other CPU options, certainly not when the i7-4712HQ is combined with the GTX 850M



HWINFO shows various details, which are pretty much obvious if you know what you are looking for such as TDP, memory timing sets, cache size, hard drive cache, special features of the CPU, etc.



GPU-Z details of the featuring GTX 850M in this notebook. HP have the core clock slightly boosted at 902MHz which is a bit over notebookcheck stated 876MHz stock clock for the 850M. HP have pair this up with 4GB of VRAM using DDR3, while this might sound like overkill, I figure it is actually a decent amount to have, considering that I near maxed out the 2GB VRAM on last years 750M. While I am not expect great frame rates if using over 2GB VRAM, the fact of the matter is that is can. Memory is clocked a little low, but should be easily be able to take at least 100MHz overclock.
I have a NVidia Shield Portable, therefore with the GPU being of GTX class, then this is compatible with NVidia steaming. This also means if you were to pick up the newly release NVidia Shield tablet, then you could steam to that too using the Envy GTX class GPU.
Make not mistake this GPU is very powerful, it will easily cut through most games on high and sometimes even ultra.



Another GPU-Z screenshot, this time under gaming to see what the core will boost up to. In which it will boost under load to 1084MHz and hold/sustain it without any problems.
Also to see if I can use more than 2GB VRAM and still actually use the GPU to play a game. In the screenshot is running the new Wolfenstein game at custom, set to high with everything else set to tap into the texture as much as possible, as you can see is using about 2.3GB of VRAM. This would of normally caused lag frame rate on 2GB cards (I know this with my 7970M), although with the 850M 4GB it was without any slowdowns or lag.



Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3160 from about 10 metres away and through several wooden walls, I am getting a decent stable connection to my AC router, often seeing the connection speed as 433 Mbps. Even though the card is just 1x1, it is sustaining transfer speeds of ~20MB/s. This is enough for what it is (considering I am not right next the router), I am restoring games from my steam library backup at a considerable rate over wireless, e.g. an 8GB backup takes around about 6 minutes to restore.



Keyboard is essentially the same as last years 15-J, with the exception of the 15-Q colour scheme being changed silver and the backlight is now very light blue, although to me it look more white than anything. The keys are the typical mushy and flex ones, so no improvement here, although most people will not be so fussy and care.
I personally don't like it, but I brought this knowing that the flex is still there, but was not prepared to how annoying it was going to be, I tried not to care that much this time around, but it is really a poor design. The keyboard is good enough to type reasonably fast on, which I am writing this on right now, so despite the flex it is useable buy definitely annoying.
Although you must be prepared for the keyboard to be raised up significantly with a lot of movement around the 2345QWERTYASDFGHZXCVB area which is a lot of keys, and there is a bunch further to the right hand side between the number pad and Enter key area.
During the day time the keys are readable, but make sure you don't turn on the backlight (not that you would want too, otherwise the letters on the key cannot be seen. On the other hand at night, the keyboard looks really good with plenty of light, key are easily readable. Here is a photo of the keyboard looking down in a slightly darken room by closing the blinds.



As about you can see the size of the touchpad which is very wide and its surface is so much better. I am not totally sure but it certainly feels like a glass finish with finger slipping freely over the surface. If it is not glass, then whatever it is, maybe special metal, it just works better than any of the previous touchpads that HP have put on their laptops. HP calls this touchpad Control Zone, there is a left and right side which are slightly coloured to mark special swipes, seems to work ok, that part of the surface has a different texture on it, it tend to grip a little bit, but not much of a problem as the middle of the touchpad is pretty vast.

In the market area where HP sells the these particular notebooks, every year they stick in the 62Wh battery packs and reserve the low rated 47Wh pack for the lower cost machines. Personally one of the main reason to have a notebook is to have decent battery life, in general the 62Wh battery performs good and last a decent amount of time. I have been writing this thread and editing photos over the last 3 hours over a RDP session connection to my Alienware M17xR3 via the HP 15-Q wireless connection, I still have a good 30% battery remaining from the first full charge.



Power brick is 120W slim type, pretty much the same as last year with the same barrel connector. It is fairly light for the amount of output that it is capable of. Personally I never travel that far so weight is not an issue for me. General power pack with been getting smaller over the last few years.



Display panel has poor viewing angles, and darker colours in the top corners pretty much invert if you look at the screen directly, which is not good, there is also a bit of grainy effect too. However I do have the touchscreen version, not sure it then overlay affects the panel somewhat. Seems ok brightness, could be better, the colours are a little washed out, but in all generally better than HD panel The touch screen is good and functions well. The panel I have is reported as AU Optronics - Model: AUO33ED
Not going to post a photo here, but you will be able to see from the photo near the top of the post what it look like. Notice the top right hand corner inverting even in the photo.

Fan noise is fairly constant, but is very low while doing general everyday tasks. The notebook runs cool enough to run directly on lap, and there is an option in the UEFI to turn fan from "always on" to disable, where I am sure the fan should turn off when just idling away. If there is a fair bit of load for sometime, then the fan will ramp up, at the same time very acceptable. Great thing with a 37 TDP processor, it will stick to those limits thus fan noise is not much of a problem, which is not the same that can be said about a 47W processor as these get loud with the fan very quickly from my own experience.
During gaming (which I haven't really had the time to go into just as of yet), the fan will ramp up, but much less than last years i7-4702MQ and 750M combination. Even though the 850M has more shaders, it just runs better and cooler. I do need to look into this further at this stage.

Hard drive at 1.5TB although being a mechanical drive, isn't as bad as I though it would be, it actually a pretty good performer. It is not that loud and runs pretty silent. Not exactly anywhere near a SSD and no way it could ever be, but the transfer speed is pretty good with large files. Overall I might be able to put up with this drive until I can afford a SSD and that is will only be ~480GB, but I really want the space of the mechanical 1.5TB to install games on the drive.
http://www.madshrimps.be/articles/a...inch-Mobile-Hard-Drive-Review/4#axzz39CICzpOF

Overall I am pretty happy to actually get this, even though it is just a refresh. I have been following this even before I actually knew anything about it, and posting a substantial amount of information in the main 15-qXXX thread, basically after all of that, there was no way I could not get it.
The MacBook that I already own I usually use on the couch, but that is not a windows machine (I don't like boot camp with 650M as it never switches off), therefore for the HP is a good one for cruising on couch with the touchscreen at hand. My alienware 14 simply is not that pleasant to use on the couch is a bit heavy even though is 14 inch and pretty dam fat, for casual use anyway.

The first time around (with the 15-J), there was no FHD option on last year 15-J that I no longer own, in which I hated it HD resolution, it is good now to have FHD. The GPU is a massive improvement/architecture change even though the processor essentially hasn't really changed, and the touchpad is so much better. This will keep me happy until I can get my hand on Broadwell quad and maybe a die shrink of Maxwell, although that is a long way from today.
Heat is a non issue, I can up the laptop directly on my lap when doing everyday stuff. However I would not recommend using directly on lap if you are going to be power the machine during gaming or extensive tasks.

The only disappointment I really have with this is that there was no other models available (just a single pre-built), thus having to shell out top dollar for top spec model, and with that being a touchscreen. Being a touchscreen means there is no chance of changing out my poor TN embedded under glass panel for an IPS panel, but if I look on the bright side I do like touchscreen and laptops experience. The good news for those of you that can get it without a touchscreen, HP are using the exact same part number for the display cable, which means it will be a straight swap no matter if you have a HD or FHD version originally.

The main reason I can see for this notebook is primarily the Maxwell GPU, why wait when can have right now. When HP updates the GPU later on, once Intel Broadwell is out, no doubt it will be just a rebrand part.

 

I will be tweaking the review as I settle into the refreshed 15-Q, therefore will continue to be a work in progress, add and change things as necessary in due time.

This #2 post I will add things like tweaks, benchmarks, overclocking the CPU & GPU, once I have finished near fully finished writing the above post.


Just to start off (will organise this better as I go along) will post a couple of screenshot of the 850M overclocked.

I found that the 850M will easily overclock to its maximum that NVidia will allow which is +135MHz on the core. This results in a base clock of 1037MHz, with a boost clock of an incredible 1219MHz, which is really good for a laptop form factor.

Stock Core/Boost = 902 / 1081

Overclocked Core/Boost = 1037 / 1219

The memory on the other hand overclocked as expected, it is DDR3 and I was not expecting any miracles, and general went to where I figured it would reach. I was able to overclock it +255MHz, but that resulted in the odd texture flash during gaming. I backed off the clock to +240MHz and then it seem fine without any texture flashes.
When the bandwidth is this low, anything will help here.

Stock Memory = 900MHz @ 28.8GB/s

Overclocked Memory = 1140MHz @ 36.5GB/s



Under load you can see in this following screenshot, where exactly the boost clock is getting to. After about10-15 minutes of gaming the GPU stayed around the 67c mark. Overall the heat wasn't bad it all. However I need to run longer gaming sessions, but considering that I have only just got this, I haven't had time yet to get into specifics.
I have only benchmarked Tomb Raider 2013 selected to High pre-set running 1080p. I found the frame score to jump up by a decent amount across the board of around 7 FPS. Most importantly to me is the minimum frame rate which moved from stock clocks 29 FPS to an overclocked frame rate of 36 FPS.



Processor overclocking of the i7-4712HQ is easily obtainable by simply download Intel Extreme Tuning Utility, then installing, reboot and tune. Just move all the processor multipliers up to their max including the cache ratio, click apply and your done. Extra 200MHz boost on all 4 cores for free, which takes 4 core boost from 3.0 GHz to 3.2GHz, single core boost moves from stock 3.3 GHz to 3.5 GHz.
Basically you can get an extra 2 bin overclock from the processor across the board. Download the latest version of Intel Extreme Tuning Utility v5.1
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/SearchResult.aspx?keyword=""extreme+tuning+utility""

This next screenshot is what it looks like at stock



After overclocking, these are the changes that were made



CPU-Z result showing a single core turbo to 3.5 GHz running under load using Super PI



UEFI is not that extensive, but we all know that is the way with HP consumer line notebooks. There is something that cannot be change although can be seen, which the TPM setting. Most other pages look pretty standard. On the boot page there is no RAID configuration area, such as the 15-J from memory actually had. What I am trying to determine if there is anyway that the mSATA slot is active for using Intel RST, which from my understanding needs to be enabled for it to work?

Showing the grey out option of the TPM


Nothing different or new about this one, turn on VT and control of the fan


Cant see anything related to RAID in any place here, such as the 15-J has


Bio Shock Infinite

1080p @ Ultra settings (DX11)

Average FPS / Scene Name
32.40, Welcome Center
38.35, Town Center
38.72, Raffle
56.01, Monument Island

CPU and GPU overclocked

 

Nice review
Can you tell us how the fan/system noise is? and how is the Beats speaker quality? Do you think they'll continue to have Beats in the near future (as Apple just bought out Beats)?

 

I'm not an electrical guy, but can't you stick a multimeter in the msata connectors to figure out if it's live or not?

 

It's impossible to know using a multimeter.
May be that you can find that there is the power supply, but there no easy mode to verify if all the other signals are ok.

Sent by Tapatalk

 

Thanks. I have added comments near the bottom of the first post about fan noise. I don't know what the long term deal is with Apple, although HP could have a contract with beats that has not expired yet.

There are about 25 pins on each side of where the solder points are on the board, they are extremely close together. If any are live then one slip will create a short. Way to risky, and then you will need to know what you are doing and looking for.
Also take into account where the wires have been run over this area by HP, they are tacked down to this area. Although they are not a permanent fixture, there maybe no wriggle room to move these to the side, if you could get a mSATA connector in here. Never the less a pain to work around.

This is pretty much what I have been trying to point out, there just may not be anything active to connect up. From the UEFI screenshot in the post #2, there is not anywhere to configure RAID, as far as I know without RAID enabled, then cannot use RST to create a cache drive.
That said if there is anything actually active at all, such as being able without RAID mode, the standard AHCI will be active in the UEFI, still then is the question "is the port still active?". If so then I think there is only about 5-6 pins than will need to be connected from seeing someone else that had wired up a mSATA drive to bare connectors on a notebook motherboard.

I have wondered that maybe I got a motherboard where the mSATA connector was no soldered on by mistake during manufacturing, but felt that would have been highly unlikely. There is a chance the connector may return as my notebook is a very early model, and has been sitting at the brick and mortar store since end of June. On second thoughts, HP would of not routed the cables at the same time tacking them down over the mSATA connector if it weren't meant to be there. Unless they do this anyway and my connector was not there to place on the top of?

 

T2050, really nice and thorough review. I really wish HP had added an IPS display option.

 

Thanks.

I paid an excessive amount of money for the one and only pre-built mode in my country, and with it being the top and only model it should of came with at least a very good TN panel, or and IPS panel.

The keyboard is worse than last year. I had the chance to see two different 15-Q and both has way more flex in the keys, especially to the left of the keyboard. Basically the entire left hand side would move up and down with a single and very light key press. Not acceptable to be called Envy.

The display panel really is the major let down, and being touch screen there is no way to be replaced. With the HP 15-Q panel being so bad, this one is particular bad, much worse than an average Acer v5-571pg (1366 x 768) touchscreen, really at the price paid it wasn't worth keeping.

I still recommend this to USA buyers if they don't care about keyboard flex, and it they are happy to replace their panel with something decent. Otherwise I wouldn't buy it.

 

Regardless, it's a great deal for the parts you get (FHD display, i7 quad, gtx 850m) in the US store at least. Right now with a coupon it's like $750.

 

That's true, at that price you could add an IPS display, and a 1tb ssd, and still be cheaper than other brands.

 

Unfortunately for me I paid double at $1500+ US dollars for HP top line prebuilt model.

Again recommend for US market, otherwise avoid in Australia/NZ markets or anywhere else the unit is overpriced.

Yes great price for the US, and yes I would have kept mine at that price $750, especially being non touch which means can replace panel easy like the 15-J

Any HP reps, feel free to send me your samples, I will review for designated market then I don't need to bias on the pricing to features ratio

 

Would you know where I could buy one such IPS display for the HP Envy q-xxx? And how I would replace it? I'm considering getting this laptop but I need to know where I could get a better screen from and how to replace it.

 

If you or someone knows which is the exact original part number, it's possible to search for a compatible IPS.

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Don't need an exact part number. Just need to be the slim type panel with the connector in the same location as the original.

I pulled my IPS panel from my dv6 (which is not the same part number) and it work straight out in the 15-J, the 15-Q uses the same lid, bezel, and display cable is as the 15-J.

 

Which is the part number of the dv6's panel?

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Look it up in the service manual, all part numbers are list in there. The dv6 2012 has one of, if not the best IPS notebook panels.

 

nice review, tell me please, does CPU Intel i7-4712HQ in this laptop runs all the time at boost clock speed 3.0 GHz under heavy load, because owners lenovo y50 complain about i7 4710HQ, soon the cpu rich 65-70c temp, its down to 2.5GHz, and max temp at this clock 2.5 on all cores (~75-77). Both good processors and can be runs temp 80-85C all the time with boost clock - easy, for laptops this temp i think is ok.

 

T2050,
Not sure if you are still in your return window or not, but I had a horrible experience with the display on my original 15t-j100 earlier this year. I had an AUO32ED (probably the exact same panel as your AUO33ED, just updated) and the viewing angles contrast and color were just terrible.

In the picture below I'm using the exact same color profile, wallpaper, and graphics settings. You'll notice the AUO is horribly drowned out and adds a blue tint to everything.



I contacted HP and demanded a full refund (I was within the 21 day return window, but had also purchased a complete care warranty). After a tech tried to remotely diagnose my problem, I was transferred to the escalations team which agreed to build me a completely new system, but with a different display panel. I was allowed to keep the original while the replacement was built (took about 4 weeks). The replacement has a Chi Mei cmn15bb and as you can see from the pic above, the quality is 100x better than the AUO was.

Might be worth a try to contact them under warranty. Best of luck to you.

 

Chi Mei panel is surely better than AUO, but however is a TN.
The LG Philips is an IPS: the difference is like black and white.

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Thanks for the review. I ended up getting this laptop, model number was envy 15t-q100 and I do want to swap out the screen. But I have never done that before. Thankfully it is not a touch screen so it shouldn't be too much trouble.

I can't find the model number on any laptop screen sites, so I have been looking for 15t-jxxx instead. I see you've mentioned that the DV6 series from 2012 has screens that should be compatible with the 15t-q100. Problem is, there are many DV6 models. Can I choose any of those? Do I need to take my screen out to look for a part number to make sure the upgrade will fit my laptop's sockets? The hp site does not have a service manual for this model yet.

Overall very confused about the whole issue - the display it came with is absolutely horrible. I'm not particularly picky but when you have viewing angle problems within 2-3 inches of whatever you're looking at, it's pretty bad!

 

Buy a LP156WF4 SL B6 (I've installed it on a 15t-Jxxx). Speak with the seller asking this exact model and NOT a compatible one (for example yours LCD is a LP156WF4 SL B6 compatibile).

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Just a word of advice....I just received my ENVY 15-qXXX the other day and after testing it for a few days...
It's a very nice laptop, excellent design(light and looks good), superb specs for the price, runs surprisingly cool for an HP.

BUT, the trackpad is god awful. When it works, it's an excellent trackpad, but the issue is it doesn't work.
Half the time the trackpad glitches out. The cursor goes flying all over the page as you drag your finger and it repeatedly left clicks for no apparent reason. What causes this? No idea, but it renders the laptop useless unless you carry a mouse around 24/7. HP seems to refuse to acknowledge that the issue exists despite there being multiple people reporting the issue.
http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebo...zone-trackpad-incredibly-glitchy/td-p/4073164

 

If you can find a FHD panel from the 2012 dv6 models which are the 7000, 7100, 7200, and 7300 series, all of these which are FHD will have an IPS panel that will fit into the 15-q model, very excellent panels they are.

Basically the panel type is know as "slim", in which slim being the actual panel is very thin and has no side mounting brackets for the panel. Pretty much any slim panel will do with the same mounting holes and ribbon connector.

To get you panel out is easy. Down the bottom is a small black sticker covering the screw holes, remove each sides. Unscrew the outta screws. Work from the inside of the display bezel and unclip it, right side, top side, left side, and final work on the bottom. Once the bezel if off it just a matter of taking out 4 screws that hold the panel in, and disconnecting the display ribbon cable. Install the new panel, doing the reverse.

 

Thanks for this information. Where did you get your screen?

Check this page out:

Screen for HP Compaq ENVY 15T-J100 CTO. Replacement Laptop LCD Screens

They have a glossy, FHD IPS screen that's compatible but I don't know if it's super-good or just marginal. Anyone know?

 

Hi, thanks for the awesome review.

I bought Dell Studio XPS 1645 in 2010 and have been using it for more than 4 years now. Time for an upgrade. I thought I quite like this Envy 15 Q005TX model but I have some questions, and wonder if you would be able to help

1. Will there be a noticeable difference in terms of performance, between my Studio XPS 1645 and Envy Q005TX? I hate my Studio XPS 1645 because it is so noisy that I feel like throwing up. The fan is at full throttle even though there is not much load. I use my laptop as a desktop replacement, and use it for making websites (including photoshop and illustrator), general office work (word, ppt, excel etc), and making video clips (premiere etc). Don't play games much.

2. Will I be able to install a SSD on Q005TX model? I am looking at this one: HP Envy 15-Q005TX -Laptop - Lowest price, test and reviews

3. What is the weight of this model? Some places it is said 2.19kg, but in some places it is said 2.75kg

4. I also considered zBook 14, but I could not justify spending all that money other than that it is lighter. Performance wise, it may be at same level as Envy 15 Q005TX - would that be a fair call? Can you recommend any other similar spec models??

Thanks!!

 

The only real great thing the Q005TX has going for it is the 37W HQ processor and the GTX 850M. However the display is so poor you should avoid it at all costs. The Q005TX display is a sealed touch screen unit, therefore you can never swap it out.
I am sad to say this further along the track, but this machine should be flushed down the toilet for the smelly turd it is.

 

what software did u use to oc the gpu? im using evga precision X i go the settings you are using i dont turn up the voltage but it crashes the game the driver restarts saying : "nvidia driver recovered" i think its not a stable driver what version are u using btw i have the exact same laptop as yours 850M 4gb edition

 

Please try running a CPU benchmark (e.g. Cinebench R15) on it and post the result on this thread, thanks.
I'm looking forward to purchasing this laptop because of its reasonable price (1138 USD w/ same specs in my area) but afraid that the processor in it suffers from throttling or lowered Turbo Boost capability due to thermal problems or whatsoever (like what happens in Lenovo Y50 and Asus Zenbook NX500.)
I want to make sure that the processor in this laptop is able to squirt out every little bit of juice it is capable of. I hope that other than the slow 5400 RPM HDD, nothing else would bottleneck the i7-4712HQ processor.

 

I just bought this model on amazon and they send me a Samsung LTN156AT35 W01, which is really bad screen(TN, 1366x768 resolution).

 

Send it back and clearly write that you don't want a compatible one.

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Thank you for the in depth review as it seems to be difficult to find information for this laptop. I just purchased the 15t-slim quad which I am assuming is the same as you purchased. I am looking forward to recieving it. I am definitely going to be replacing the screen and the HD reasonably quickly after recieving it. I have never replaced a screen before. I see a lot of people here talking about quality etc, as long as the screen fits and it is an IPS will I be okay?

Here is what I found on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/LG-LP156WF4-S...qid=1420309784&sr=8-1&keywords=LP156WF4+SL+B6

 

Hi T2050,

That's a great and in depth review of the laptop.

I'm interested in buying hp ENVY 15. But not sure which is the best model.
Is there any differences between hp envy 15-q203TX and hp envy 15-q005tx ? Judging from the spec they all look the same.

Well, what's up with the display ? Is it really that bad? I've looked up the manual for both laptop. Both have different led screen part number.
hp envy 15-q203TX : 788475-001
hp envy 15-q005tx : 720550-001
So do both sucks?

From my point of view, the keyboard is quite ugly with the silver color keypads. Does the keyboard comes in black? If not can I swap it with other hp envy 15 series keyboard, eg: HP Envy 15-j000 15t-j000 15z-j000. Are they compatible or not?

Thanks.

 

Both the keyboard and especially any of the display panels are really that bad.

This HP area of the forums has died a fast death over the last year. Started mainly after the 2012 models which were the last actual decent machines HP made.

 

Hi T2050,

Is it possible to swap the keyboard of hp envy 15-q203tx or hp envy 15-005tx with other hp envy 15 series keyboard, eg: HP Envy 15-j000 15t-j000 15z-j000. Are they compatible or not?

Well the HP omen looks really cool. But it's overly priced.

 

By the way, how fast is its SSHD? What are the highest transfer rates you can achieve with it? Does the CPU suffer from throttling issues or bad implementation of Turbo Boost? Is the i7 stable enough to run Turbo Boost for a long time?

 

sorry i am confused .. the laptop has msata port but it doesn't work? i bought msata ssd. i believe i should return it

 

HP carried over the chassis design from the previous year with the recess to fit a mSATA drive, and then removed the physical mSATA connector from the laptop motherboard, making it impossible to install an mSATA drive.

If you want to use mSATA on this, you cannot. If that is a deal breaker for you, then I would take it back.

Personally I got rid of this very fast. Then I made the stupid decision to so back an get it, as I thought I could make do without the mSATA, I was wrong and ended up returning it once again.

HP lost their way with the Envy range way back 2012 when they start re-branding DV6 as Envy. These 2012/2013/2014 machines were never the true Envy anyway, HP just took the name and attached it to mid range model to increase sales and profits. The closes thing to a real Envy of yesteryear's gone by is the new Omen.

 

I agree.

 

i bought q012tx version with 8gb month ago and still not shipped until now .. sadly i can't return it and it's my First HP Laptop and i bought it for 900$ .. i bought it without searching or seeing reviews ,"didn't find any review, i found this review after buying", but that's what i deserve .. i read your review and i think it's a good laptop

btw i read the laptop manual and got this

http://imgur.com/dVvqcXa

and there is another option

http://www.amazon.com/Black2-Dual-Drive-2-5-WD1001X06XDTL/dp/B00GSJ9X4Q

Omen is cool but it's price isn't.

 

I would like to upgrade my dv6 quad to new Envy 15 and here are the specifications -
Intel 4th-i5-4210U 1.7GHz, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD, 2GB nVidia 840M Graphics, FHD Touch, Win8.1
I have a ATI HD6770M 2GB graphics how is that compared to 840M ?

 

840 is better

 

got the laptop yesterday. i ordered Q012tx version, received q004tx by mistake

same version but with very bad 720p display and no sshd. there is big price difference so i lost money too.

the bright side, it has very good gaming performance, stock, due to the GTX 850m and 720p display.
very good quality, good HGST HDD, nice touch display, etc

there is msata place but doesn't work, stupid HP!

oh, and there is only one light level in backlit keyboard, correct me if i am wrong.
and there is no way to install a second drive, SSD in this laptop. the only way is the WD HDD and SSD combined.

don't know if i should be disappointed but i like this laptop except the display is very bad and it has to be replaced soon

 

Yup only one level of keyboard brightness. And the single HDD bay is stupid.

 

OC the CPU to 3.5 Ghz. here the Stress test, didn't reach the 3.0 Ghz. the test was on battery. CPU temp. is very high but i can't feel any temperature on the laptop. i am in a hot weather country too.



the screen brightness adjusts itself is there any way to disable that?

EDIT. used this but doesn't work

 

Hello.
I am almost sure you've been out of power to run higher frequency ...
Meaning: your cpu eat too much power cause to downclock it a bit.
To resolve this - try decrease voltage by 0.1V (100 mV) then it can run higher frequency in same power package
Alternatively you can try increase "power max" capabilities if it allows to you (mine i7-4900QM does it).
PS: make sure your processor doesn't exceed 95 Celsius - during your heaviest everyday tasks (don't bother about synthetic tests - these can run your CPU even hotter)

 

-85 mV was my maximum.. http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/the-processor-cant-reach-its-top-core-speed.775350/

btw the maximum temperature i reach with this laptop in gaming is 65 "GTA V"

 

Not bad

 

yeah .. this laptop impressed me

 

mine i7 4900QM run -85 mV as well
it can run stable at 3.9GHz
Concerning overclocking - mine CPU not very suits overclocking (event it unlocked for 800MHz overclock, it actually getting too hot even on 3.4GHz at full load)
The only thing i7-4900QM can benefit from 33% larger cache comparing to 47xx models

 

Well, QM is a lot better than HQ in any version .. 37 TDP is bottlenecking the CPU

btw i got too many problems using the profile i shared in the the core speed thread

shut downs, BSOD and lag in games when i run XTU while gaming i got only 0.9 Ghz top core speed that's causing lag in GTA V .. was playing yesterday without any problem though

back to stock and i got good results in GTA V - fixed 30 FPS top settings -

any idea what's going on? and how to know if the overclocking is stable? some times i get 2.8 - 3.2 Ghz changing subsequently

another questions

-what is the best difference between turbo boost short power max and turbo boost power max for a stable speeds? mine is 0.250 but i am not getting stable speeds



-should i downvolt processor cache voltage offset?
- should i decrease or increase processor cache ratio?