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

Couldn't agree with you more divertankado. Almost all the reviews on the first page cover almost all heat related questions. The drive question has already been answered. Please take a look at the reviews.

 

Actually, I've read most of the thread and the only thing I think is missing is some text on the i7-740QM and heat. Someone did mention "it ran cooler" but that's not exactly quantitative evidence.

I bought that CPU so I guess I'll have to add my two cents.

(I bought it because it is almost a year newer and, in the past, with processors like the E6600 vs the E6650, the difference that intel has made in a year even on the same processor/architecture is significant.)

 

I also initially ordered the i7-740QM from HP, but later decided it wasn't worth the small gain in speed so, I purchased instead the i7-720QM from Amazon $1649.00 with all the bells and whistles free next day air.

@ Metril

With your extensive knowledge of the Envy 17, would you be willing to write a definitive guide on how to do a clean install for the group? You seem to be the most capable.

 

divertankado, check the main HP notebook forum. there is a definitive guide in there stickied at the top. works like a charm. allot yourself a good 5-6 hours to pull it off though.

 

I read them already.

I was just wondering if anyone with this particular configuration could comment on their general heat output (though that doesn't seem to be too much of a problem).


So, the general verdict is:
Not a problem.

Can you point me to any teardowns of the envy 17?

 

Hi Osage

I went though a different route than the guide posted. I backed up my drivers using Driver Magician then, I removed my 320gb and replaced it with a Intel 160SSD. I installed Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit using a USB thumb drive. Once installed I used Driver Magician to restore my drivers. Took me less than 1 hour, and another hour to install my other programs.

 

Wait... are you saying ATI's overdrive is disabled? So you can't influence the clock speeds?

 

Good luck with a lawsuit. The best that will happen is that HP will settle with you offering you your money back.

 

I paid about $100 less than that for the i7-740QM but without blu-ray. I don't see any reason to have blu-ray. I also only have the single 500gb drive.

I do wish I had next day air... but, that'll have to be what it'll be.

 

For $100 less, you also did not get a 2nd SATA drive with Caddy and cable, Blue Ray, and 9 cell extra battery. I've done the computations several times. For the exact same spec I save more than $400 if you also factor i the tax.

Paying $400++ for a small amount of speed which is barely noticeable is a deal breaker for me. When the price of the i7-840QM drops I'll buy one and replace the one on the motherboard.

 

To me it is not a problem if the computer is stable and you are able to keep your hands on the laptop at all times. computers with great specs will always have high temperatures... It seems the Envy 17 is stable and I assume the palm rest heat won't be an issue for me as my current laptop also gets pretty hot. I'm just torn between getting the 14" for portability, but the prices and performance strongly argue in favor for the 17".

 

So here is my situation:
I currently have an XPS 13 with a 9400M GPU. The laptop is adequate, but after almost 2 years with the thing I am ready to hand it off to the wife and move on to bigger and better things.

My laptop (which will be my primary comp) usage consists of the following, ranked from most to least:
-Gaming
-Office work (PPT, excel, email, interweb, light photo editing)
-Movie viewing and light editing

Battery life is really of no concern to me since in most cases I will be near an outlet. I have no plans on gaming while on battery so as long as the thing will last for a couple hours without a plug, I'm good.

I'm very intrigued with both the Envy 14 and 17 and have been reading through both the forums here for a couple weeks. So here are my questions:

-Upon seeing my usage above, which Envy do you recommend?

-If you recommend the Envy 17, what about all the heat issues I have been reading about? I also saw that on Amazon, there was a message stating that due to teh overwhelming complaints they have been receiving on the 17, they have currently stopped selling them (though they are still available from hpdirect, just not amazon directly).

-What about CPU? Since gaming will be my primary use, should I go with the i5 520 or move up to one of the i7 quads?

-Regarding GPU, if I end up with the 14, is the 5650 a big step up from the 9400M? I mainly play Fallout 3, Dragon Age Origins and ME2.

Thank you in advance for your answers, your opinions are much appreciated.


BTW, I will be posting this in the Envy 14 Owners lounge as well to get some opinions from the other camp, so I apologize ahead of time for the double post.

~G

 

Introduction

hey guys just want to give a shout out to all people here. first of all thank you guys for giving out the first detail / discussions about this wonderful premium notebook. i was thinking about getting the imac 27 inch but i couldn't because of my budget. i almost got the imac but i needed the computer fast and i need to do lots of power with the editing / designing. so it gave me some thought about this particular notebook. i had searched about a month or so for the best laptop of this year and this hp envy is the one. the hp envy was affordable for my budget and i jumped in for it to get the envy 17.

doubts

i am worried about a few things if i got the laptop though i heard some problems about the wobble and other issues that occurs. i'm just worried that i have to keep repeating the replacements until its all perfect. i dont know what to expect when i get my first laptop i just hope that my first will be perfect. i paid good amounts of money for it and they should do this perfectly without any issues.

Item description
HP ENVY 17 customizable Notebook PC
• 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
• 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 640GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
• 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5850 Graphics [HDMI]
• 17.3" diagonal Full HD HP Ultra BrightView Infinity LED Display (1920x1080)
• Blu-ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support (Slot Load)
• HP TrueVision HD Webcam
• Intel Wireless-N Card with Bluetooth
• Corel(R) PaintShop Photo(TM) Pro X3 + Corel(R) VideoStudio(R) Pro X3
• Backlit Keyboard
• 50% OFF! One 6 Cell (standard) and One 9 Cell (over-sized) Lithium Ion Battery
• Microsoft(R) Office Starter 2010
• No additional security software
• HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

Order subtotal:$1,699.99
Total:$1,846.61
NY w/Tax: $146.62

Shipping Method: Free 5-7 business days
Purchased Date: 08/03/2010, 10:58:48 PDT
Estimated Ship Date:August 16, 2010
Actual Ship Date: will update later
Received Date: will update later

Review
will update this with video and with unboxing when i get it
NOTE: i want to do this in live streaming so which programs is best for that? any advice would be appreciated thanks guys

 

Thank you LanceDaGod for the information. I am a noobie at all of this over clocking and bench marking and what have you. I have been reading a lot of posts and have also read a lot of the review along with educating myself on what is talked about on this thread.

I hope to be placing my order with Newegg as soon as this week and I am hoping that the price will drop back down to the $1,499.99 that they had listed last week.

Reading thru all of these pages and threads are a great wealth of education for me as a noobie.

Cheers!

 

Revhard-

your welcome!.. thats what these posts are for.. its great to get familiar with benchmarking but be aware, a lot of people make it out to be more important that it really is especially because of the varying results (lack of real consistency)

Enjoy your envy when it comes! It's amazing, I cant explain how happy I am with it!

-Sammy

thats funny looks verbatim to what mine said when I got mine and the Tax too! lol and mine arrived a day before the Ship Date.. a nice surprise!

 

-Sammy

I can't wait to get it, it's almost like a Christmas present that I am waiting for. I will have to learn as much as possible as my older laptop is dated and struggles when it comes to any photo editing that I do to my pictures. I have waited and have changed a few times, and I believe this will be the one that I will be most happy with as all of the features are offered on this Envy 17. I am not too concerned with the heat as many have posted as my current laptop gets pretty hot on my lap, but I have come to bear with it, but most of all, it will be nice to have a new laptop and will look forward to Windows 7 and also the new office software bundle.

Again, thank you I have a lot to learn as I also plan on playing a couple of games on here to kill time at the airport or when I am just bored at home.

Cheers !
Angel

 

so will mine be shipped before august 16th?. im just confused with the estimates of the ship date. i checked in with my status and its still in production and it is making me anxious. im not a patience person lol but id guess i have to wait for it even tho it kills me lol. this is the most my expensive laptop that i got this year so yeah its just makes me worries alot

@Revhard191

awesome mate i know how you feel man i cant wait till i get mine at the door. im hopping to get it by this friday or do i have to wait for 2 weeks which it kills me lol. i also have lots to learn here as well because without this forum i couldn't do much of a research or i could've bought something and get disappointed after. and i dont want that

 

I ditched my original build thru HP as I found a way better value thru Newegg and they have them in stock. It has everything that I wanted, Blu-ray player, 8 Gigs of Memory, 640GB HD (2x 320GB HD's), along with the 1920x1080 HD Screen.....all for $1,599.99 and I tried to build the same from HP and was about $300.00 more.

I can totally relate to your anxiety to receive the laptop!

-Angel

 

That's why I bought it during tax free and on my student discount. It only cost $100 more for the 740QM. I did not do it for the speed difference but for the other gains that Intel made it in the last year on that particular chip.

As for the 9cell battery... I could do without. I could also do without the second SATA drive. I don't want to do software RAID and there is no onboard RAID. That dealt me out of that particular configuration.

Given the tax free and student discount I could have gotten the laptop for $100 less with the i7-720QM but I felt that it would be justifiable in the end.

 

Hi P4zio

It was the Brighton one, they showed me the realtime stock list and there were only 10 in the UK excluding mine so pretty short in supply!

I used the Quidco LAP100 code in store to get £100 off + 3% cashback, took a bit of haggling though as its apparently supposed to be website only and the website doesn't have the Envy 17 listed yet.

Build quality is good, there is no wobble. There are a few minor gaps around the top rim - less than 1-1.5mm though so nothing excessive. No dead pixels either. I got 8gb ram for £200 from Crucial as well which made a major difference to performance (I run VMware for work on it). I tested it out with Crysis set on High/Ultra for everything and it ran smoothly. Didn't overheat although the top left of the keyboard (where the escape key is) became hot to the touch but not excessive.

One thing I did do though is format the HDD and re-install Win7 x64 on it without all the HP Media Smart software (just drivers and my own AV) and disabled the Windows pagefile - this made a noticeable improvement.


Cheers, Simmo

 

Good stuff, thanks for reply. I gave PCWorld a call, a guy wasn't too talky so decided to order directly from HP. They have just made it 'immediate' available so couldn't resist. It's coming today (I hope!).

I'm glad you have no issues, especially with the heat. As for the deal, I got a similar one. With 5% off (HPDISVR5 - they say it's expired, it hasn't) and another 8% on quidco. I think it's a real bargain. Should total to £1130.

Cheers

 

Cool nicely done

 

I am thinking about upgrading from a Sony Vaio to an Envy 17. I do a lot of media backups to my home server/backup drives. Transfer speed are extremely important. Can anyone tell me what type of steady state transfer speeds (big - >2gb filesize) you are getting thru native eSata port? Thanks in advance.

 

The speed (should) really depend on the hard drive you're using, not the eSata port.

 

hey guys, im a noob on these forums, but far from a noob tech wise. While i may not be a serious gamer, i know a thing or two about laptop performance.

so heres my predicament. I have an HDX-16 (1160US) that is being replaced through HP because it had continued to be a pain in my but.

heres the good news, its is being replaced with a ....drum roll... HP Envy 17.

So now u may ask, could the problem be? its all giggles right?

well, not really. Ive been reading through the last 8-10 pages of posts and everyone seems to be happy with their envy. Now dont get me wrong, im very grateful to be getting an envy 17 as a replacement for my HDX, but i just think that it'll be too big for me.

Im in Canada btw, and will be receiving the Envy 1090CA. It'll have the 720 i7, bluray, 2x500gb HDD, 8gb ram, etc etc etc. With the exception of the 1080 display.

BUT I WANT THE Envy 14 instead. Im a university student, and fear that a 17 inch lappy will be way too big to take to class and take notes. Ill be graduating from University this yr and hopefully moving off to lawschool by the next year, so i think the envy 14 would be more suitable for me.

Since im getting the 17 as a replacement, and the envy 14's arent available from HP as a replacement (not in their inventory apparently) im SOL from HP's end. Any suggestions?

ps. the idea of selling the laptop and getting a new one is a great one, but i will never be able to attain the actual value of the laptop if i sell it privately. An envy 17 sells for 1999 at futureshop/best buy here. and an envy 14 sells for 1699. I dont want to sell my 17 for 1400-1500 and then pay out of pocket for the 14, especially considering that the 14 will have lower specs. I mean, im willing to take a direct swap and hit on the specs for portability, but not in the pocket as well.

 

I do understand that, but I am thinking that I have a hardware or software bottleneck that may just be native to my Vaio unit. The problem is that my steady state transfer speeds are much lower than my hdd tune test speeds. I am running 7200rpm drives: hard drive and external. I have seen others getting 100mb/s steady state using eSata and 2 7200rpm drives...just trying to see if anyone using the Envy 17 is getting those kinds of speeds. I am really attempting to see if an upgrade will get me what I am looking for.

 

HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection. is this really? HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection <- Doesn't say much.... not that that should be a surprise.

 

Sammy-

Im sure it varies depending on the load they got in china that day/week, but the rep told me it will be done quick cuz the envy 17 is high end so theyre not totally a high demand item.... it was true for me..... but you should expect it to come earlier than the ETA delivery date.

a2puri- the envy 17 is sweet for so many things, but def not good for real portability. IMO any 17'' laptop is not meant for real portability especially cuz when you think of a portable laptop you can throw it around, grab it n go but with the envy 17 thats not the case really.

Enjoy!

 

I have finally got mine, that is Envy 17 1050ea (UK) version.

My observations so far:
- there is a tiny wobble, but I wouldn't notice that if you guys haven't talked about it
- there is a small gap around front-left corner
- heat, palmrests are ok so far

I can live with those tiny imperfections. Now one thing I'm worried about (it made me cry, almost) is GPU clocks. I've used CPU-Z and this is what I got:
- core 405MHz
- memory 900MHz

Am I using the right tool to read those clocks? Can someone please post their settings?

Thank you

 

I find the Envy 17 a lot easier to carry around than my Old Gateway P-7811FX.

 

ok, I ran 3dmark Vantage (trial) and got following results:

3DMark Score 6504
CPU Score 10573
Graphics Score 5765

that's on default installation from HP. I had CPU-Z and CPUID running in the backround. When the tests were switching I noticed that GPU core clock was 500MHz (witchcraft?).
The temperatures were CPU:86, GPU:83 max

What do you think?

 

@p4zio

The changing GPU clock is due to ATI Powerplay. It is a power saving feature. When the system needs very little GPU power, the GPU will be downclocked. When the system requires a lot of GPU power, the GPU will be run at its stock setting.

The temperatures you posted are normal. On my own tests with the i7-720QM and i7-840QM, I found the CPU to hit 96-97C with all 4 cores at full load. If you use the 9-cell battery so that the back is propped up, then the CPU temps drop about 10C. Using a cooler like the NXZT Cryo LX, max temperatures dropped an extra 3-5C.

The GPU has a temperature threshold of 120C. I found the GPU at full load to max out at 95C.

 

Yeh you're spot on - My GPU core is at 100 mhz and memory at 150 mhz at the moment, just loaded up Crysis and they both shot up to the max

My CPU (720qm) is running a lot cooler though (on a Zalman ZC2000 pad) - its 40-44deg c across all cores and then when caining it it goes upto 75 deg c

Whats really strange is the new memory I put in (Crucial 8gb instead of the stock HP 4gb), gives me +10fps in Crysis and less heat which doesn't make any sense at all!

 

@ Summo

You added two 4GB Crucials and replaced your stocked HP 4gb?

 

about the ram in this machine ... it brings down the windows experience score ... its low-end ... wondering if crucial or corsair would beef things up ....
not a fan of running a 4gb+2gb setup because its always better to match capacity across slots ...
anyone got input on this ?

 

Hey Guys

I'm considering buying this laptop for my personal usage for university; I'm gonna study medicine so I'm gonna need a good laptop for typing loads of essays on, and I happened across the spec for the HP Envy 17 and find it to be a very tempting proposition. I just have a few questions though....

Is the screen actually fullHD like it says on the HP site? I remember the envy 15 supposedly being fullHD but in the jolly ol' UK it was a meagre 1366x768....

Also, what kind of battery life can I expect with this? I know its not really considered an ultraportable, but I'm not the kind of person who gets weighed down easily by laptops, so weight isnt a tremendous issue at work...

I am considering the extended battery [the NS09 I think, the one I can slap on the underbelly of this beastie, yes, I know its heavy, I can cope... probably...] as well, anyone got any experience with that?

And, finally, can I get student discount on the HP envy series? [I currently reside in the UK by the way....]

[Right now, I'm fighting between this and an Acer Timeline 4820TG which my sister just bought and which is mightyyyy tempting....]

 

im pretty much in the same boat as you. but have been advised against the portability factory of the 17.

im set to recieve mine by the end of the week, but im pretty sure ill try to sell it without opening it so i can get an envy 14. I really value portability more i guess. Its sad though, i would have loved to have this power house.

question for the masses: Anyone move from an HDX 16 to an Envy 17? How big is the size difference?

 

I am planning on buying an Envy 17 for college and I was wondering if anyone recommends this or thinks against it. I currently have a dv9408nr and really like the 17 inch screen but the weight seems like it would be an issue if I were to take the computer from class to class. Your comments and recommendations are much appreciated.

 

This is only a semi portable device. The cover needs the strength of the titans just to lift it open without damaging the rubber seal near the web cam. It fits neatly in my back pack inside a 17inch slip case with 9 cell battery and I find carrying it around much the same as my old 15inch laptop. It just doesn't flip open every five minutes so easily, once or twice a day is ok with me.

 

Spot on - bought these: 8GB Kit (4GBx2), 204-pin SODIMM, DDR3 PC3-10600 upgrades for HP - Compaq Envy 17 Series Laptop/Notebook, CT1266650 from Crucial.com

Cheers, Simmo

 

Thanks Summo for the info.

 

How are they different from the RAM sticks HP uses?

 

I'm not particularly weedy, so I should be fine with it. How much battery life do you get approximately when not gaming?

 

No idea mate, the specs are identical (other than size in my Envy - 2x2gb vs 2x4gb)

 

no probs mate

 

HP's RAM sticks are a generic brand. However, the actual chips on the RAM stick are made by Samsung.

I don't it's really worth it going with Corsair, Crucial, or any of the other known brands. First, even these companies buy their chips from the same manufacturers as HP. Second, these known brands may produce memory modules that are faster than the ones that HP installs, but you really won't notice the speed difference in day to day tasks. In fact, it would take a synthetic benchmark to even show the small difference between the modules. You're talking about speed differences on a microsecond scale. Even then, it's at most 1 or 2 microseconds difference.

 

That's what I was hoping to hear, thanks.

 

Considering you'll be carrying your textbooks too... and each one of those ers weighs like 5lbs... I would be cautious of buying a 7lb laptop. Unless (!) you can get your books on kindle (for pc) and then you have a beautiful 17" screen to read them on (during class) and make notes.

Of course, some professors either don't like or don't allow laptops so that may not work for every class. You may have one class in between two others that you have to carry a book for. It could get complicated. 7lbs is no joke!

 

I am facing a bit of a dilemma. I just received my Envy 17 from HP with the following specs:

1.6 i7 with 2.8 turbo
6 gigs of ram
160 gig SSD
High res screen

Even with the student discount I paid about $1800 with tax. I just saw the deal on Amazon for $1599 and it includes 8 gigs of ram, Blu-ray and dual 320 gig HDDs. I can't deny that the SSD is fast, but $200 dollars in my wallet doesn't sound bad either and I could always upgrade to an SSD at a later date. I primarily use the laptop for gaming (SC2/WoW/MW2) and basic web and word processing.

What do you all think?

 

Hi!
Which form factor should a SSD drive for an Envy 17 have? 2.5", 2.5"x1/8H, or 1.8"?

Anyone who can recommend a specific brand and model?

Thanks!
/Michael