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

nit pickers

 

core i5 model. $2699 was its total cost. It had 640gb hdd and can be found @ HP ENVY 17-1001TX Notebook 17-1001TX (XC8833) | Dick Smith Online Store

As for the arrow keys. They bug me, on occasion I use the arrow keys for things/ or sharing the laptop in co-op (serious sam) its just annoying. And even for general work browsing internet or word pad. Having Half keys is just annoying. I mean its a 17inch laptop. Premium. One would think they could fit them in. Especially if they can fit them in the base models.

 

One fan? Uh oh.... Metal chassis are total heat magnets.... I wonder how the external temperature will be..... I hope internal won't be too bad....

 

I assume they just messed up the cooling design from the Envy 15g2 moving stuff around, because I don't see how a 5830->5850 can make that much of a difference. Increased memory bandwidth all of the sudden makes it hot?

 

Yes, yes it does actually.

 

Eek, it was hot and it was an i5. That doesn't sound too good. Thanks for the first impressions though, now posted on the OP

 

Let's not get our knickers in a twist with overheating just yet. We don't know what sort of bloatware was running on the display machine nor how much ventilation it had. Clearly if the vents on the bottom are blocked, the airflow will stop and the machine will heat up quickly.

FWIW, I had the supposedly overheating i7-720 Envy 15 for the three week trial period. Performing the same tasks, it actually ran slightly cooler than my 3 yr old core 2 duo MBP 17. When I did things that maxed out several cores, the fans cranked up to high and put out some seriously hot air, but the machine stayed reasonable to the touch.

Seeing a single fan on the 17 surprises me but perhaps the engineers figured out a more effective heat dissipation system the third time around. If not, well, that big palm rest can double as a George Foreman grill. Burgers anyone?

 

It's a slow weekend for Envy 17 hopefuls...

 

Macbook Pro is a bad example when it comes to "running cool". Everyone seems to be in denial about it or something because that thing gets stupid hot doing medial tasks.....

And the i5 Envy wasn't much better. I wouldn't be surprised in the Envy 17 keeps the trend..... which would be an epic bummer because I was psyched as all hell about ordering one. Only if it was about .5 thinner and the chassis doesn't try to burn your wrist prints (?) off.

 

My point is that a Gen 2 Envy 15 with a quad core i7 running cooler than a three year old core 2 duo MBP is an indication that overheating reported for the Gen1 Envy 15 was effectively tamed. If the Envy 17 runs about the same, overheating will be no issue for me.

 

People love to exaggerate thats all; envy according to me runs very good keeping in mind its power. My old laptops run in the range of 39-45 at idle (bad location ) while envy stays around 47-52 at idle so I think its a very good end result. The only reason its felt more than on other books is because of metal body; add some plastic and you would stop hearing these heat up thing.

 

Eh, I don't mind the half arrow keys considering macbook pros have half-sized arrow keys too. The only difference is that the Envy17 has full sized left and right keys but halfsized up and down keys, while all the arrows on a MBP are half-sized. Yes, the Envy17 has bigger arrow keys (for two arrows at least) than a MBP, and you don't see very many complaints about those, do you?



vs



While I don't have a Envy17, I'd assume the dim LED backlight is the same reason a car's interior lights are dimmer when you turn on your headlights?

 

Real life pictures of Envy 17 in Aussie stores.

 

Nice Pics! Looks great. Two quick questions if I may.

1- How thick is the Envy? Could you maybe compare it to some everyday objects?
2- How is the build quality? Any squeaking, creeks or gaps?
3-How is the weight distribution? Is it pretty even?

 

Nice, thanks for the pictures.

 

Did it have USB 3.0? You can tell if the port is blue.

 

@Koshinn

Good observation. I wonder if it's got anything to do with the "my Apple products absolutely can't be wronged" phenomena... Regardless, I don't see the shrunken up/down arrows as a big enough issue to gripe about. If it bothers anyone, just use the arrow keys on the numpad (8,4,6,2)- problem solved!

Also, I see what you're saying with your backlight theory and agree (if I read it correctly). Backlight isn't suppose to be bright and in your face- that's distracting and counter-intuitive. If anything, we should be able to adjust the degree of brightness of the backlight, or at least be able to turn it on/off.

@isdnman

Nice photos! I didn't notice this in the press photos, but it looks like the edges have been made "friendlier" by raising the palm rest material up a bit.

But why does the screen look pathetically dim? Is it because of the default grey Envy-themed login screen? I can excuse the offset coloring (probably cuz of your iso setting) but it looks muted regardless.

@L3vi

Hmm, that reminds me- I had a Envy 15G2 w/ i7, which definitely comes with a 3.0, but none of my ports were actually blue...

 

I think the screen looks fine. Looks like there is lot of natural light coming towards the screen, and some kind of top-down illumination thing on top of that.

For all intents and purposes proof that the screen is usable in multiple condition for those folks worried about E2E kicking too much glare I guess.

 

They should be but alas HP skirts from the norm. The Envy 15 has 2 USB 3.0 ports but they look identical to the USB 2.0/eSata one.

 

I really wish HP would get away from the ridiculous Etching they insist on. It's not very attractive IMO. Are they afraid apple will sue them if they go with a plain (IE, sleek and smooth) metal chassis and maybe in a lighter OR darker color? (IE: Black or Silver)

 

haha never believed that was true until I visited that mac section.
my M11x had super bright backlit keys, and it was just annoying. the keys were more vibrant than the sceen itself.

 

I agree!!! They could remove it cause the Envy 13 didn't have it. I wish they'd give an option to order without any etching. HP kinda stinks

 

Agreed. Though I'd say like a slow cooker.

2 things - up/down keys are subject to each persons own opinion. If you like them good for you. You is not everyone.

As for the Dim LED's guess you just have to find out for yourself. In my opinion the keyboard was under lit.

1- no - take the dimensions walk around your house until you find something with that dimension. Then you have your size to look at. Or just wait until it comes in store for a more realistic sizing vs guestimation.
2- not noticed. seemed good build quality
3- seemed very even from memory.

I remember reading it had usb 3.0 - also seen in the spec sheet. However I did not actually check. Sorry to be of no help there.

Yes but there is also such thing as under-lit light. Which is how I defined it. So I guess you just have to form your own opinion. My biggest gripe was the heat. I just found the keyboard to be annoying. But each to there own.

Agreed. Flowers etching doesn't exactly make me feel manly. Check this out boys!

Agreed. To the latter.

 

You is not everyone either?

I don't like them, but I don't think they're horrible nor a deal breaker. As a Macbook Pro user, I can live with it, even when playing something like StepMania which requires ridiculous amounts of arrow usage and dexterity. And the Envy17 has bigger arrow keys than a MBP.

And as other people have said, users tend to either rarely use their arrow keys or use them all the time. The huge amounts of MBP users seem to make their tiny arrow keys work, so for the majority of computer users, half-sized up/down arrows aren't a big deal. But for you it is.

And did you test the LEDs with the room/ambient lights off/dim, or were they on full power, like in a store? A lot of laptops don't even turn on their backlit keyboards with a lot of ambient light.

 

Read my first impressions user review and you'll know the answer.

see page 20.

 

My bad bro, it's been a long time since I've read your post and I didn't have it memorized.

 

Google a 5750 desktop review, as it's almost identicle to the 5850 mobility:
-800@625mhz vs 720@700mhz = 1% advantage to 5750
-1Gb GDDR5@4000 vs 1gb gddr5@4600 = 15% advantage to 5750

 

So I went ahead and took the plunge. Let me know

Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-720QM Quad Core processor (1.6GHz, 6MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.8 GHz
4GB DDR3 System Memory (1 Dimm)
1TB 7200RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (500GB x 2) with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5850 Graphics
17.3" diagonal Full HD HP Ultra BrightView Infinity LED Display (1920x1080)
Blu-ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
HP TrueVision HD Webcam
Intel Wireless-N Card with Bluetooth
Full-size island-style backlit keyboard
50% OFF! One 6 Cell (standard) and One 9 Cell (over-sized) Lithium Ion Battery
50% OFF! HP Pavilion additional 120W AC Adapter
No Productivity Software
HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

 

Thanks for the pix. I notice that they have the rear propped up slightly, probably to allow air circulation with the vents under the machine. Did the top surface of the machine seem hot to you?

 

THANKS EVERYONE
For the Envy 17 info & bcb arm twister. I ordered on the 19th with 6-1 build date. I was reading about the Envy 17 for a few weeks & found your posts at Notebook Review. I cancelled the Asus G73JH-A1 ordered in Feb. & tired of
waiting for the next ship dates. This will be my 1st Laptop all the others were
DIY built desktops.

 

Not true in the US. Many years ago during the early days of edealinfo and other coupon sites, I tried to order several Dells at different times that were priced incorrectly. Basically Dell cancelled the order and chided me for using sites like edeal that 'take advantage' of them. Whatever.

I researched the hell out of these types of lawsuits and EVERY US court decision ruled in favor of the business and allows the corporation to cancel the order at their whim. That is the precedent is based on caveat emptor - buyer beware and the buyer should know when a deal is too good to be true. You might be able to get your local Home Depot to honor price mistakes, but good luck with HP and other juggernauts over the internet.

I also know someone who works for HP. The employee discount on laptops is usually 10-15%. So the BCB is much better if you can get it. And no, the employee discount and BCB does not stack.

Lastly, I’d go for the i7 over the i5 any day. Even with a slower base clock speed, the higher end is only a few hundred megahertz. You probably wouldn’t notice it. BUT, you WILL notice the extra cores if you run any sort of VMs or multitask a lot.

Lastly, of the BCB, it will likely hit 25% again in the near future. I’ve seen it hit 25% about 3 times in the last 6 months. You just have to check it every day and don’t depend on the BCB site to show HP at 25%. You manually have to search for HP on bing.com to know for sure. So far I’ve received over $2500 from BCB. It works – use it!

 

I'm sure this was brought up before, but those ordering your Envy with 4GB planning to go to 8GB eventually, spend the extra $25 to get a 4GB single Dimm!

 

Caveat emptor has nothing to do with deals "too good to be true," it has to do with product defects. You're thinking about caveat venditor. A price of $1400 was arguably reasonable for a computer with employee discount and he honestly had no idea it was a price mistake until after paying money. Of course this is if the contract is still executory, meaning it hasn't been carried out by both sides.

"Where a mistake is made by the seller in the quotation of the price, and where the offer is accepted as made, if there is no great discrepancy in the price from the reasonable value of the goods, and the buyer acts in good faith without any knowledge of the error or reasonable grounds for believing that an error has been made, the sale will be binding and the seller cannot recover, after a delivery and acceptance of the property, any other price than that stipulated for.[FN1] If, however, the purchaser had knowledge of the mistake of the seller, the agreement will not be binding.[FN2] Termination or cancellation of the contract, or other corrective steps, may be permitted where the seller made a mistake in quoting the price, and where the contract is still executory.[FN3]" - AMJUR SALES § 209, Mistake in quotation of price.

[FN1] Tatum v. Coast Lumber Co., 16 Idaho 471, 101 P. 957 (1909); Steinmeyer v. Schroeppel, 226 Ill. 9, 80 N.E. 564 (1907).

[FN2] Cunningham Mfg. Co. v. Rotograph Co., 30 App. D.C. 524, 15 L.R.A.N.S. 368, 13 Am. Ann. Cas. 1147 (App. D.C. 1908).

[FN3] Rhode Island Tool Co. v. U. S., 130 Ct. Cl. 698, 128 F. Supp. 417 (1955).

 

So what's the real world performance increase on Windows 7 from moving up to 8GB of RAM from 4GB?

It seems pointless to spend that much extra on a slight performance increase, especially if you're not buying a SSD, which would be a large bump in performance.

 

Good advice! I've enjoyed a lot of BCB as well, although not every vendor who advertises BCB follows through -- you have to be vigilant and when they reneque report them.

I'm of the impression there's a lifetime limit on how much you can get back, though --thought it is around $2500???

 

Yeah, that. My Latin is a bit rusty.

But the fact remains he said he got the Core i7, 6GB, 1TB Envy 17 for $1400 AUD - which is about $1160 USD. That build is $1,800 USD with employee discount, which is $2,178 AUD. Again, that's assuming an employee discount of %15. No way BCB stacks with employee discount (not since Sept last year at least). So I'm assuming it's a price mistake and HP won't honor the price. I hope I'm wrong and he gets a killer deal, but I don't see it happening.

 

I'm not sure the lifetime limit, but I believe the yearly limit is about $2500. It's in the FAQ on the BCB website. MS doesn't usually go near the 25% cashback mark - but when they do, I stock up. I've seen eBay BCB hit 30% once. At those times I find a need to purchase something. Like my 4TB RAID 5 array for $300 I bought a couple of years ago. Word of warning, Hitachi doesn't honor their drive warranty for bulk-purchased hard drives. Sons of es.

 

I am buying the SSD - but to answer your question - I usually use 3-4GB on my current laptop (4GB) with several browsers open, a few apps, and remote sessions. My desktop (8GB) will easily chew up 6-7GB from "normal" use. I just want the extra overhead it allows. Plus, I'd like to try out the triple monitor gaming in the near future.

I remember commenting when I bought my first 1GB drive that nobody could ever use that much drive space. I'm currently operating with 10 TB in my desktop, so yeah - always leave open the option of the memory/HDD upgrade in the future.

 

I'm pretty sure he said he knew someone who works for HP or something and was to be heavily *discounted*

 

Hi!
Will the newly announced Seagate Momentus HDDs work with the Envy 17?

 

Does HP give you a Windows 7 disc or a system restore disc?

 

Seagate says that they can be fitted into older machines with older hardware and BIOS'es. So they should be fine in the Envy 17.

 

With the Envy 15G2, they made you create your own recovery discs through their app (it took 3 DVDs i believe?). I'd think they'd do the same for the 14 and 17 as well, because it saves costs when we have to do the work. -_-

 

Status of my delivery is "SCANNED AT DELIVERY DEPOT" in my town so there's a good chance I'll get it today!

EDIT: bleh...star track just rang to say won't be here till tomorrow >.>

 

Nice! Be sure to take a lot of pictures and tell us how everything runs XD

 

What the hell are you doing with your tower that takes up 10tb and uses 8gbs of ram in "normal" use??? XD Are you hosting servers or something. Because if you are I don't think that should count as "normal use".

 

Running a private WoW server? lol.

 

Are we there yet?

Can't wait for you to share your unboxing and initial impressions!

 

Btw, it is unfortunate that the Envy 17 will not be able to take full advantage and realize the benefit of the just released Seagate Momentus XT drives as it does not support raid. Of course without raid, the momentus XT drives are still measurably faster than normal HDDs, but raid is required for it to come close to SSDs in some operations.

I guess the release of these drives do not really make a difference to me, since I already will be getting my Envy 17 with the 160GB SSD as my boot OS and program drive. But I wonder if I will find any worthwhile noticable benefits of getting the 500GB momentus XT as my second drive, or should I just put in a 1/1.5 TB HDD instead and be done with it.

 

Jaxxy, I can't remember if you ordered your config with single or dual HDDs, but if you ordered it only with 1 HDD, can you verify if the laptop came with the brackets and connectors for the addition of another HDD in the second HDD compartment? Thx!