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

otherbeig lol ohh thats funny....

is that true about zonealarm on windows 7 i really like zonealarm and havnt had an issue.... thats interesting

 

im chatting with zonealarm support and see what they ahve to say about it.

Ill keep yall posted about it i told him all the specs on my Envy 17 and said whats the deal dude dont lie!



UPDATE:
Wow... they even admit there is an issue...... what do you guys reccomend i put on the Envy 17 as far as antivirus/spyware/adaware/firewall... im looking for the best of the best.....lol that works on windows 7!!!!!! and is also user friendly!


Thanks

 

check out Norton Internet Security 10 (or the v11 around the corner)

Very seamless! Minimal resource hogging. AV, spam, firewall, email, good suite...

 

cool thanks for the info NAZ... you think itll come out before 2011 or its gonna drop after.. cause I need somthin now.. i checked the website 70 bucks aint to bad if it premo...

 

Im kind of bummed. I finally got a chance to give the laptop a test drive (Been busy but have had it less than a week so far) and from doing some inspection there are some ridiculous gaps. I feel like the laptop has been to someone else (maybe opened by them or hp), they sent it back and then repackaged it as new.

Look at this. What do you guys think? Im thinking of talking to someone from Amazon but then if i ship it back most likely there will be another problem (wobble).

Im just afraid that the gaps will get worse due to the heat.

I did metrils index card test on a flat surface (checked with a level also) and the card did not go under.

Left Side:




Right Side:

 

Yeah, mine are like that if not worse in the corners (lower left and right)... surprisingly it doesn't bother me at all and I'm fairly picky. Given all that you know about possible issues, if everything else on it is good, why risk getting a worse unit?

 

I had a big gap on the replacement I received from Amazon today. I was able to press the palm rest down and press the right side rim to fix the gap. Now, all big gaps are gone. WOOT!

 

To the guy asking for a good PC spyware/anti-virus/protection software, I recommend ESET Smart Security. Does wonders for my laptop.

 

The built-in Windows 7 firewall is fine. No reason to install a 3rd party app unless you insist on fancy popup dialogs that tell you every little thing that's going on. The built-in firewall is very secure, and just as configurable as any 3rd party app.

Most good anti-virus packages these days already have spyware/adware detection in them, no reason to install a dedicated one, imho.

In terms of anti-virus, I recommend either NOD32 or Avira. Both score very well on a wide variety of tests. ESET NOD32 is especially good at not slowing things down.

 

I second his ESET recommendation.

 

Yeah true. Im trying to not let it bother me lol. I tried pressing down and such but I think its actually going to take, taking it apart and pressing down enough so that when its reseated its flush. Eh Im not trying to go through all that.

 

Boomerguts .... it may sound silly but dont you think like turning it off... leaving it open and putting some tight rubber bands around the laptop so its flush before you go to bed or leave it alone for a while and it will stay???

Jusst a suggestion .. migght work... lemme know if im a complete loon!!!

 

LOL nah actually thats probably not a bad idea. You would need something that holds it something like ==> | <== to make it more flush. Heh, Im going to have to find some heavy rubberbands or something. Thanks for the idea, now im going to have to try it

 

Hey guys thanks for the feedback regarding a good antiviruis much appreciated...

Boomberguts.. good luck! hope it works...

 

Na man, my gaps don't have much play the material is fairly rigid.

Again, I'm a huge nitpicker but with all of the other stuff that could have gone wrong, these just don't bother me. Well, maybe the lower left one, because sometimes I can see the white led shine through the gap....

I bought this notebook for the beautiful screen and for the price I paid I got what I was looking for.

 

With a question like that you're going to get a range of fairly subjective answers. How does CS5 and LR run? Like it should on a decent chip without much background crap hogging resources.

So far the biggest performance boost in Lightroom (I run 3.0) has been adding the SSD hybrid drive.

I can tell you that the 1080p screen on this thing is top shelf. Right up there with MacBook and Sony 1080p EU. I purchased it with photo editing in mind and am very pleased so far.

I would recommend a quality wireless mouse like a Logitech VX nano or something.

 

Happy to report that I got a new laptop replacement after receiving mine from amazon yesterday. Hp envy 17, first one had dust behind the screen, one dead pixel, left side got real hot and the mouse pad was uneven on the right side. New replacement sent o/n by amazon has no dead pixels, no lint behind the screen, no uneven mouse pad and after running the same test watching a blu ray for an hour no hot left side. Yipee! Very happy Envy 17 owner now, and thanks for convincing me to get a RMA.

 

Has anyone ordered from Newegg and successfully returned a model with some of these defects people seem to have? Lint behind the screen, dead pixels, wobble, chassis separation...

This model for the price with the additional 10% off is an unreal deal but I don't need to get stuck with the defects for the rest of my college life.

 

Well, I'm on my second Envy from Amazon for a little over a week now. I'm happy. The first Envy had 1 dead pixel. This replacement didn't, but they were from the same batch # (my previous post somewhere)

- so it's pretty much hit or miss from Envy to Envy (IMO), doesn't mean newer ones will be a "newer" batch or production model.

There are gaps, but it don't bother me. If you look from bird's eye, you can see the top of the headphone jacks through the gap, and the tops of the right side USB ports if that makes any sense.

 

The latest posts show no sign of wobbling, just gaps, and gaps on my E15 have never bothered me, so this is great news. I wish the people with relatively newer E17's could post temperature readings though. Not too much available temps...

 

Here is the difference between Newegg and Amazon:

Does Newegg pay the return shipping cost for defective merchandise?

No, Newegg does not pay the return shipping cost for defective merchandise. We are not responsible for product defects, because we do not manufacture the products we carry. However, if you pay to send the item back to Newegg, we will replace the item and ship the replacement to you at no charge. Newegg will employ every resource it has to ensure that your item is replaced promptly, without hassle.

With Amazon, you pat for the return shipping. You then call Customer Service and give them the tracking number and shipping cost. Make sure you ship via the lowest cost method with whichever shipper you chose. Amazon then refunds the cost of shipping after they receive your item.

Newegg used to pay for return shipping, but ever since they changed their policy, I've gone elsewhere. I hate Newegg now. I probably shop there once every 3 years now because very rarely Amazon is out of stock.

 

That's what I was talking about: DIY fixing cosmetics. Congrats. One can also try loosen the underside screws & push in the sides in place or try to straigthen the unit to reduce/eliminate the woble then tighten the screws back.

Now how about some stress tests & benchmarks on the 17-1011NR? Is it working at the advertised i7-720QM and Radeon HD 5850 performances under stress?

Does the CPU throttle when plugged as you reported previously here, are the temperatures similar on your latest 17 copy?

Is the video card underclocked as XaVierDK reported here? Can somebody confirm what he said here about the BIOS update:

*****

 

Perhaps I'll stick with the 0.6 BIOS upon receiving my laptop...

 

Well, thanks for checking & confirming my statement about the Windows 7 64-bit & ZoneAlarm BSOD issue.

 

So the CPU does throttle down when both the GPU and CPU are fully loaded. The CPU dropped to the 10x multiplier on the 840QM I had on my CTO Envy from HP.

On the 720QM, the CPU dropped to the 9x multiplier.

Using the 9-cell battery elevated the Envy 17. This significantly dropped temperatures. I saw about a 10C drop on the CPU and about a 5C drop on the GPU.

The GPU memory is underclocked with the latest BIOS. The memory speed used to be 1000MHz. With BIOS version F.08, the speed was reduced to 900MHz on the memory. The GPU core speed was still 500MHz.

Overall, I found the 720QM to run cooler than the 840QM I had before. Possible that my processor was binned higher, but due to demand was fated to become a 720QM.

The wobble I had with the previous Envy 17s was not due to over tightened screws. The bottom chassis was actually warped. I am not going to open the Envy up anytime soon while it is under the default 1 year warranty. Besides, I can't risk anything especially since my final year of undergrad is just around the corner. Besides, my dad would kill me if I screwed anything up. Then, I'd have to somehow revive and take my G1S back from my brother, who'd then proceed to kill me. I only have 1 get out of Hell free card.

I recommend everyone upgrade the the F.08 BIOS because it fixes a lockup issue that occurs when the GPU gets fully loaded during some operations. Besides you can always clock the GPU back to 500/1000 using one of the many tools out in the WWW.

 

Does the new BIOS clocks for the GPU affect the maximum stable overclock at all? Or is it just a simple change in stock clocks?

 

@Celibate

It is just a simple change in the stock clocks. The GPU worked stably at 500/1000. They basically changed it to 500/900 with the new BIOS. The BIOS really doesn't affect the GPU's stable clock speed. You should be able to run it at 500/1000 again without any stability problems.

 

This is the thread for the E17, not E14. However, I've used an American laptop with Chinese, Japanese, and British DVD's running fine, so I think you're good. I really can't say for sure, but I don't think the optical drives for laptops are region-locked.

@metril: Thanks for the input. I suppose this won't affect me as much either, as I've only the 1600x900 display- requires less power. Also, why am I seeing so little information as to overclocking the 5850?

 

I also just got sc2. And it plays gre...ah, sh!t, my left CTRL key just fell off. Seriously.

MAKING CONTROL GROUPS IS SO HARD NOW!!!!

Also, keyboard issue notwithstanding, it runs smoothly @ 1080P, but if you set it on Ultra it will get choppy sometimes. High with some Ultra settings is consistently fine. I have the cheapest i5 CPU, though I doubt it's a CPU bottleneck.

The game itself though...what happened to the epic storylines of times past? Maybe I haven't gotten far enough into the game, but I REALLY didn't buy this to go mine minerals (admittedly that mission was cool) or watch Raynor drink in a bar.

"WAR IS COMING...WITH ALL ITS GLORY, AND ALL ITS HORRORS"
=> So that's why I'm chillin' in a bar or doing random side missions: not like the Zerg are invading or anything.

(also, has it ever occured to anyone that flapping your wings in space is probably unlikely to get you very far? What's the deal with the Zerg?)

 

I know it's not a speaker problem, it comes from the motherboard somewhere. To me it seems to originate from under the "K" key or thereabouts. Please try the fix, it doesn't take long, and let us know?

 

@zero7404

If it's not the processor whine, it could be a loose cable. When voltage is modulated at a high enough frequency, a weak connection (loose cable) can cause secondary jittering. Weak connections have a much higher resistance than strong connections. Thus, when the voltage drops very low, the high resistance acts like an insulator. When the voltage goes past some threshold and enough charge is built up between the connectors in the connection, the current is able to arc to the other side. It's like a lightning bolt, but much much weaker and occurs more frequently.

The best example of this is desktop power supplies. Really cheap ones don't use a high grade solder. Instead, some type of conductive glue or paste is used. Sometimes just regular old glue is used.

 

You can pay for NIS 2010 and when 2011 comes out in September you will be able to update to it at no charge.

Or you can download and use the free beta, which will expire on 27 September at which point you'll need to buy it.

I've always used Norton. It really improved from 08-09, where it wasn't such a drain on system resources.

2011 is good and has some nice new features.

 

For those that might be interested in a Antivirus and Internet Security Package.

You can view the top 10 programs being reviewed here.

AntiVirus Software Review 2010 - TopTenREVIEWS

I personally use Bitdefender Internet Security 2010.

 

Read through the whole thread. Most of it are complaints about the wobbles or gaps. The first hundred is basically the anxious waiting thread. Not complaining or anything. Just stating.

What I want to know is, do people overclock their 5850. There are little posts about benchmarks or overclocking the 5850...

 

Wow, I was lookin into the eset NOD, but damn bitdefender is cheaper and has better overall reviews somethin seems to good to be true... Im up in the air as to which one I should put on my Envy 17? so many choices!


Also what do you guys think about the BIOS Update is it worth it or is just gonna slow performance to keep heat down?

 

If you aren't always messing with viruses, I recommend ESET Smart Security. It uses minimal resources, which is IMO very important, without giving up performance.

Also, BIOS updates AFAIK are almost always worth it. The new update, according to others, resolves a problem with the GPU locking, and brings down the stock memory from 1000 MHz to 900 MHz,but is easily clocked back. Thus, I recommend you update to the latest BIOS.

 

Hey celibate thanks for the info... I dont mess with viruses but once in a while my Anti Virus will catch sumthin... would you consider that messin with viruses..

Alright sounds good i guess imma go ahead with the BIOS update.


Thanks

 

Then ESET SS will be more than enough. If money isn't a problem (it's not that much more expensive), then that's what I recommend.

Also, I would advise you remove things like that. The forum prohibits it AFAIK.

 

Anybody get a popping/cracking sound from the right side of the laptop? It seems to occur in different intervals. This happens regardless if the laptop is at idle or has a load. And no, there isn't a CD/DVD/Blu-Ray in the drive either.

 

Hey Lance,

! I am determined!

 

Hope it works out well for you. I'm feeling very jittery as my E17 is on the delivery truck... it's been 4 1/4 hours so it should be here soon... gah!

EDIT: My baby arrived. Slight gaps, nothing anyone would notice unless mentioned. I don't mind.

Slight wobble as well, going to try a few 'home remedies'. Not going to bother RMA'ing it. It's not a big deal. It'll only wobble when I purposefully wobble it. Otherwise turned out beautifully. I'm in the process of reinstalling Windows 7.

 

Boomerguts,

lol it looks good like you did it perfectly! hopefully it'll kinda reshape it so its aleast a couple milli closer if not flush!


Celibate- Why reinstall windows 7? just curious

 

So I can get rid of the bloatware.

 

ahh i see.. i guess thats the most efficient way, i thought you could just go to add/remove and get rid of all the extras.

 

Celibate,

Just wondering, how are you doing the windows 7 re-install? Do you have an actual windows 7 disk?

 

That information is found here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-compaq-voodoo-pc/432564-hp-laptop-out-box-guide-2-0-windows-7-a.html

I will be doing a clean install on my Envy 17 this evening.

 

I take it no one else is experiencing this issue?

 

Hey Osage... i mean im pretty good but hot damn! that is a lot of stuff to do just to have a clean install which increases speed i assume minimally.... why not just add/remove it all out?

 

Eurasian,

I have not gotten a popping or cracking "yet" is it really loud, noticeable, continous or random?

 

Think of it as when you pour milk on Rice Cripies cereal, except the crack/pop isn't as frequent LOL. And yes, it's continuous and random.