*HP ENVY 17 & 17 3D (1XXX series) Owners Lounge*

I liked the Beats Studio that came with my limited edition, but I sold them and bought some Sennheiser noise cancelling on ear headphones, they are much better. Liked them so much I bought the bluetooth version too.

 

Atta boy. I have grown fond of open air cans lately. I sold all my others. I don't ride a bus or anything so I don't need anything else.

 

Looks like locking 'em in the dungeons really did the trick. There must've been quite a bit of chassis tweaking to achieve lower-than-expected heat levels if Jaxx's and kiwi's experience means anything.

 

its more of the aesthetic looks vs the sounds quality in determining the purchase of the beats.

 

Just ordered the Amazon deal, it sounds like a steal compared to the same configuration at the HP Store. But I'll have to wait 2-4 weeks for some fun laptop time.

 

I have inquiry about the screen. I have read a tech page indicated that the screen will offer wide screen angel . Does that feature only available if you choose the 1920* screen upgrade which cost $100 more or the stock screen already has that feature ?

 

Seriously, I don't care much about aesthetics if the sound quality is superb. I use a pair of Sony MDR7506- looks a bit outdated, but they are quality.

I got much respect for Dr. Dre, and I wouldn't be surprised if even he doesn't use his own Beats branded headphones.

 

They have done pretty well to channel most of the heat out the top left vent. The palmrest stays comfortable to use, even after a couple of hours of gaming, the only section that gets warm is just under the left ctrl and windows key, but it doesn't go down beyond that to where your left wrist rests.

I have a core i7.

I will download HWMonitor and get some empirical results. I will also download some benchmarking software to get some numbers, is 3dmark still the defacto?

 

Thanks much for your patient replies to our impatient queries. You've allayed any remaining concerns I had about excess heat on the usable surfaces. The only problem I foresee now is that my cat will plop himself on the left vent, just as he did on my Envy 15.

+1 rep

 

Temperatures after an hour of gaming and benchmark tests.

 

Very impressive. Looks like the heat management is pretty good.

 

Temps look great...on an i7 system? That's fantastic.
I see the max temps though are about 10C higher, so was the SS taken a while after you finished or....?

Also, if you could post a temp reading SS of just doing casual work...

Thanks! +rep given!

 

Yes i7 720QM/6GB RAM/2x500GB HDD

Yeah I took the SS a bit after but not too long, it seems to cool down pretty quick.

Here's one with just Firefox (5 tabs open) and downloading a file...

(N.B. It's quite cool in my house, around 15C).

 

Even though it doesn't affect me as I am using the unit as a DTR, I decided to test the battery as there appears to be a few people interested. It's been on battery for 75 minutes and I just got a warning that the battery is at 12%. Not sure how long before it gets to 0%.

FYI, I was just doing general web browsing, laptop panel at 1 from max brightness, running one external monitor via HDMI, I rebooted once, so nothing too strenuous, keyboard backlight on. Battery was obviously 100% charged to start with.

 

Actually, those temps aren't all that great. On the Envy 15, with the i7, idle temps were around 46C across the board.

Max temps about the same though...it's just the idle ones that are pretty high.
Guess the three fans in the Envy 15 did count for something.

 

The temps for your CPU aren't all that bad, but yes, still hotter than the envy 15, but the GPU temps are a good bit hotter than the 5830 ever gets. Still these temps aren't a big deal to me (Apple's i5 Macbook Pro anyone?), so long as they've done a better job managing temps on the palm rest and (to a lesser extent) the bottom for those who want to place it on their actual laps. Also, I was expecting the 5850 to run hotter anyway. Still surprised about the 1 fan cooling system.

 

Does anyone remember reading info about signing and printing a signature release form after buying their ENVY from the HP website? I could have sworn I read about it but now I can't find it. If you know what I'm talking about, please provide a link. I might not be home when the accessory that I bought with the laptop arrives. Thanks!

Also, and this probably goes without saying but, any sort of unboxing or video review would be greatly appreciated for many of us who are impatiently waiting for our toy to arrive. Thanks Jaxxy for all of the info you have already provided.

 

Idle temps are a tad high, but temps for gaming are pretty good, especially considering you have an i7 system.

 

So much for hopes of an early shipping date...

 

Well my order status just changed to "Order in Production" so it looks like people are still working at the factory today.

 

I am trying to post hardware monitor but for some reason I can't get print screen to work!

 

But from what I can gather from the monitor data, after an hour of gaming the 4 core temps rose to around the mid-60's and the GPU was sitting around 72-73. But what's good is it cools down so quickly after. The fan drops right down and the left panel becomes noticably cooler after only 2mins.

 

And I can't stress how much hot air was being pushed out through the top-left vent when I was gaming, the fan seems to be doing a good job.

 

Ordered from Amazon @1,649.99 shipping between 21st and 28 June. Hope I did the right thing.

 

Now i have remorse (is it spelled that way?), i wanted to buy the envy 17 with i7 820, 8gb ram and 160 ssd and 1tb hard drive. First there was the 25% BcB, but i was like: ok wait more it is going to be more cheap. Boom. Gone. Then i was like lets wait till 2 or 3 weeks. BOOM! No more ssd! I wont buy it without the ssd! Im doomed. Does anybody knows when the ssds are coming back???

 

yep, mine is in production as well.

 

Why don't you just buy it normally without the SSD, then purchase the SSD afterwards and install the system on it. I don't know which SSD's is HP using but I'd recommend an Intel X25-M (size is up to you).

 

HP uses the Intel X25-M

 

after further testing how would you say you like the laptop? Could you post a possible detailed summary of your impressions after having this laptop for a couple of days? Thanks.

 

I was to buy a X-25, but it is like 100 bucks more than with the configurator. And i want a X-25 and add afterwards a 1tb drive. What should i pick in the configurator for the hard drive, considering that the double bracket is like 100$? What should cost less:

1: Chose the 500gb in the configurator and buy: a ssd, a 1tb drive, the bracket and a external hard drive case.

2: Chose the dual 320gb and then buy the ssd and the 1tb, then two external hard drive cases.

P.S. I wont ever use two external hard drives and i like more a 500 gb external.

Wich one would be the best (cheapest too), according to you?

Sorry for the typos, i'm on an ipod touch, with the fail keyboard

 

2 will be cheaper.

 

Even with the two external cases? Cause i won't have a 500gb external drive, but 2 320gb, i like more 1 500gb.

Does anybody knows an external case for 2.5" drives that is cheap, possibly with esata?

 

If i take the two 320 but only one external case, would it be dangerous/stupid if i have one in the case and bring also with me the second naked drive and switch then?

 

Trying to understand you. U want 2 drives inside your envy 17, right? And SSD and a mechanical one. If you aren't buying an SSD thru hp you should still buy the cheapest hdd combo b/c you will need 2 caddies and 2 proprietary cables.

 

Did any of the people here order their Envy 17 with the 9 - cell battery? I'm curious how much does it stick out/ lift the laptop. If you could take a pic and post it here that would be great.

 

Do anyone know for sure if the envy 17 with 64 bit win professional will support xp virtualation. I know I7 chip with win professional will but sometimes the bios won't permit it on some computers?

Also I read on other posts that the SSD drive has a much more limited read write life span than traditoinal hard drives. What if I use the SSD drive to just store programs and store all data on 2nd trad hard drive. Will that increase the life span of the SSD drive a lot more since I will be only accessing the programs from the ssd but writing files to the trad hard drive? This assume they have the SSD drive again as an option.

 

If you store the data on the 2nd HDD, then there is no need to worry about reaching read/write limit of the SSD. This can be reached when you transfer large amount of files on a regular basis but having Windows, Office, Photoshop, etc should not cause premature wear.

 

Ordered 5-19 now in production.
Some prices have gone down since the 19th. YOU will have to call them within 21 days of delivery. This is on their website :

Terms and conditions

The HP Home & Home Office Store reserves the right to change prices at any time. Should we lower the price of the product you purchased, you may call 1 (888) 999-4747 within 21 days of delivery date to request a credit for the difference between the price you paid and the current the HP Home & Home Office Store selling price. This excludes mail-in rebates, which are not part of this price protection.

Despite our best efforts, items on our web site may, on rare occasion, be mispriced. If an item's correct price is lower than our stated price, we will charge the lower amount and ship you the item. If an item's correct price is higher than our stated price, we will, at our discretion, either contact you for instructions before shipping or cancel your order and notify you of such cancellation.

Personal Use
Products and support acquired by Customer under these Terms are solely for Customer's personal use and not for immediate resale or sub-licensing.

Payment and financing
We accept Discover Network, Visa, MasterCard, American Express credit cards, Bill Me Later®, PayPal Express Checkout, HP Home & Home Office Store gift cards.



Order acceptance and cancellation
The HP Home & Home Office Store reserves the right to decline or cancel orders at any time. Notification is via email to the email address you provided when submitting your order. We assume no responsibility for issues resulting from such declines, cancellations, or email notification failure. Order costs will be charged to your account upon acceptance.

The HP Home & Home Office Store begins processing accepted orders immediately and is therefore unable to accept order cancellation requests once you have received an order confirmation. If an order is processed in error, contact our customer service immediately
at 1 (888) 999-4747 for instructions.

For custom-built PC's the factory receives your order as soon as it is approved. Since the PC is custom built, your order can not be changed or modified once the order has been submitted/approved. If however an order is processed in error, contact our customer service immediately at 1 (888) 999-4747 for instructions.

This should not cancel your BCB but only adjust the final
total paid Can anyone verify this?

 

HP Envy 14 and Envy 17 press shots - Engadget Galleries

Yes, as long as you have Win7 Pro and up, WinXP virtualization can be run on any of the core iX series (it appears Windows Virtual PC no longer requires VT tech to run):

Windows XP Mode and Hardware-Assisted Virtualization | Tom Carpenter's Blog

From my experience, the Envy 15 with i7 720qm had an option in BIOS to turn on/off virtualization, so you should for sure be able to turn it on w/ the Envy 17 as well. Here's the link for manual Virtual PC download:

Download Windows XP Mode


For your second question, you should ask Koshinn or someone else who knows more about SSD.

 

I'm wondering why HP still offers a 256gb SSD on the DV8T site but they took off the SSD from envy 17 site at least for now? Why can't they just substitue that drive for the Envy?

 

The Envy 15 used the Intel 160GB SSD; presumably so does the 17 since the SSD that was briefly available was also 160GB. The 256GB drives are made by a different company, requiring different dirvers and BIOS with all the testing. Not a slam dunk substitution.

 

So if I order it with 2x160 HDD, so I can have brackets and cables, can I put 2x200 Vertex 2 SSDs ?

 

@PhatCat

An SSD is another harddrive. The system sees the SSD as another harddrive. Everything needed to write/read the SSD is taken care of by the controller that is built into the SSD.

Putting a 256GB SSD into the Envy 15 is a slam dunk substitution. There is no need for a different BIOS. There is a need for a different driver. However, the driver used depends on the type of SSD controller used and whether is supports TRIM or not. The system will easily find the necessary drivers. Otherwise, it will use generic drivers, which will provide basic features, until the appropriate drivers are loaded.

The SSD greater than 160GB were probably not offered because of cost. To offer the 256GB for the Envy would mean that HP would need to be able to handle the demand. Thus, HP would have to purchase 256GB SSD in bulk. However, the price of SSD drives does not grow linearly and the 256GB drive is more than double the cost of the 128GB. Furthermore, HP would have to buy the SSD in specific quantities based on their contract with the manufacturers. If HP can't sell all the SSDs, then they lose money. Not providing the larger SSD for the Envy was merely a business decision.

 

I was thnking of the 15, which comes with dual SSD in RAID0 and special Intel driver software. Since the 17 does not ship in RAID0 you are correct.

 

It's not that actually. There are physical differences in the motherboard used by the 15 and the 17... different chipsets. Shipping in RAID0 or not doesn't actually matter, and the "special Intel driver software" isn't special, it's just Intel Rapid Storage drivers that you can find off their website.

 

How important was the presence of a USB 3.0 port on the envy 17 in the decision to purchase this notebook? A big deal was made about it very high speed in January but I haven't heard much since.

 

The USB 3.0 was not that important. Basically, it's there to justify the cost of the notebook. Honestly, don't buy the Envy 17 cause of USB 3.0. USB 3.0 devices will be much much more expensive than their USB 2.0 counterparts.

 

In the Envy 15 you have to go into the BIOS to un-raid the drives. Also the Intel G2 software supports TRIM on the Envy whereas Samsung does not. According to posts elsewhere, HP is still in the process of testing the Samsung TRIM.

 

I sometimes forget it even will come with a usb 3.0 port!

It's a tech I don't think will be mainstream for at least another two years.

 

Western Digital is already making a 1TB & 2TB. My Book 3.0 2 TB External USB 3.0 Drives - HBA ( WDBABP0020HCH )
I was considering picking up one when I get back stateside to see what all the hype is.