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

I've been gaming on it for hours without external cooling, and haven't had a crash yet. I started using a desktop fan to blow across and underneath, so it's fine now. I only game at home, which is where my fan is, so no worry at work or on the road.

But, yes, I do question if that heat affects things in the long run.

I'm sure someone here can burn their hand, have a lawsuit, and we'll all get the newer updated model if they ever change. who here has sensitive hands? lol

 

Damn, I didn't realize one cable was longer. I can't say for sure but it looks like the primary SATA cable could be stretched and barely make it to the secondary HD. As for the bracket, I could probably live without that if need be. Get some kind of removable adhesive in there and it should hold fine.

I'm looking for the secondary parts, as is just about everyone else I suppose. There goes my idea...

I considered just calling HP and ing at them to see if I could get the price down (I also have a $25 coupon because my ENVY to forever to build) but before i could get going I was informed that the part was back-ordered. I didn't really wanna wait so I figured I'd try here. Grr... Is there anybody here who doesn't think $90 for something that has to cost them <$5 to make is complete robbery?

Does anybody know how the ENVY 15's SATA cable(s) compare to these? I found a guy selling one but I haven't seen pictures yet.

 

I live in Michigan and I plan on getting the standard i7 w/ 1080p screen and 9 cell

 

i wish u had ur PM's enabled lol.

email me if u want, maybe we can work out a good deal for the one im getting through hp since i just want to get an envy 14? hehe only few things will be different (9 cell battery), but ull save a good amount of cash =) I might be planning out a trip to windsor/detroit so it may work out if u are interested in something local.

edit: ur pms are now enabled hehe

 

Nice setup - bummer about the 1600x900 resolution.
I wish you luck in finding a buyer so you can get your HP Envy 14

 

I hear that there is a 3rd party who will release a cheaper caddy. Don't know when. I just read it here a few weeks ago.

 

For anyone interested.
8/13/10
Amazon and Newegg both have the Envy 17-1011NR on sale for $1520.

 

ATI released new drivers for the 5xxx series: ATI Catalyst? Mobility Display Driver version 10.7.

I have a question, would you recommend installing the latest drivers from ATI? Is there going to be a performance gain?

Are there any instructions on how to install the drivers (this is the first time I have an ATI card) or can i just install on top of the old ones?

 

You should first remove your existing video drives and software first, prior to doing a upgrade to the latest version.

 

I mention the 3rd party vendor, NewmodeUS, in this post: http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...hp-envy-17-owners-lounge-160.html#post6353463

They are working on an Envy 17 product line, but they could not predict when it would be available. A month or so ago, they were waiting for their own Envy 17 to arrive (as were the rest of us).

 

OK. Do you know (or anyone else) if these drivers perform any better in games than the stock ENVY 17 ones?

 

I just received my Envy 17 a little over a week ago. It came with a slight wobble and this past weekend I started playing some SC2 on it and really noticed the heat. Two days ago I noticed a whine that would come and go if I unplugged the battery. Finally there is an issue with the power button where it sometimes needs to be pressed 2-3 time before turning the machine on. I spent an hour on the phone yesterday with tech support and they told me the following:

Laptops get hot and unless you have documentation of being burned by it we won't do anything.

The wobble doesn't exist we can't get our test models to wobble.

Our test models don't whine so that isn't possible either.

You could send it in for the power button, but there is no guarantee anything will get fixed.

I was quite disturbed by their reaction to say the least. What have some of your experiences been with tech support and how have you got them to actually do anything for you?

Specs for the machine (if you want to know):
720 i7 (do the 740 or 840 actually run cooler or is that just a rumor?)
6 gigs of ram
160 gig SSD
High res screen
9 cell battery (all the heat issues took place while the machine was elevated with the 9 cell on a flat surface).

 

@macsrxpensive

YouTube - Envy 17 Wobble & Other Issues

That is my video showing the wobble. You can use it when you talk to support again. If they don't budge and keep giving you answers like "that problem doesn't exist" or "we don't have it here", then kindly ask for their name and employee number and then ask for a return label so that you may get a refund.

You are entitled as a customer to know the first name and employee number of the person on the other end.

For those of you who asked for a clean install guide specifically for the Envy 17, it's going to take longer than I originally thought. Going back to campus in less than a week, so I've been packing.


In other news, my fight with Travelocity and United Airlines has finally ended. They have refunded the total cost of 5 round trip tickets from Philadelphia to Florida. It only took 7 months and 29 days of arguing and phone calls and another 45 days for it to post back to the credit card.

 

Damn, it doesn't work. The plug fits in fine, but the Power AC Icon shows up for like 10 seconds, then goes out, however, the white LED on the power socket stays lit. Also, when the AC Icon is on, it says, Plugged In, Not Charging.

I wonder if the 180w is being "forced" in, or something. There shouldn't be anything special about the power unit though, since my aftermarket Kensington 120w works fine.

 

For power adapters, it is the voltage that is the most important.

You want to match the voltage and get the current as close as possible to the required. The wattage should be the same or higher. As long as the power adapter is the universal kind (input voltage of 100-240V), the power adapter will only supply as much as the notebook pulls.

The rated current on the power adapter is the current the maximum current the adapter can supply at the rated output voltage. If your notebook draws a greater voltage, then the current supplied drops lower and you run the risk of frying the power adapter.

 

Technically, this one should be fine?

HP 180W:
INPUT:100-240V~ 50-60Hz 2.25A
OUTPUT:19V - 9.5A

HP ENVY 120W:
INPUT:100-240V~ 50-60Hz 2A
OUTPUT:18.5V ~ 6.5A

I might have to ask to exchange for just a another HP 120W. Really wished the 180W worked though.

 

The 180W should technically work, but if the notebook doesn't detect the correct current on the middle pin, it won't use it to charge the battery.

 

Hmmm.. interesting. The 180W middle pin is about 1/2 a mm shorter, which doesn't seem like nothing, but may be why... I will check out the length of my Kensington center pin when I get home.

 

i just hope my envy 17 dont have issues im just worried it might

wow tech support saying that was rude but i have learned through metril with his info so thanks for that...

this comment is so wrong lol its funny that they are way to ignorant to find this problem lol
from hp rep
"The wobble doesn't exist we can't get our test models to wobble."
also my other fav one from hp rep lol
"You could send it in for the power button, but there is no guarantee anything will get fixed."


so much to figure out if this is the "premium notebook"

they should get there first build right, hp is losing creditability for that..

 

Just a heads up for you Envy 17 owners:

HP has now officially released the equivalent ATI Catalyst 10.6 (version 8.741.1.1000) driver package with switchable graphics support. The update fixes switchable graphics not working after a system standby or hibernate.

In addition, updated Synaptics TouchPad drivers (15.0.24.0) have been posted.

You can check the NBR driver thread for further information and download links -- http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...3-dv7-gen-4-select-edition-envy-17-intel.html

 

Well I sent in mines for RMA @ Newegg. I won't get it back until next next week until school starts.

At least I still have my ASUS netbook. Nothing wrong with playing 10 year old games (Driver, Test Drive 6) to pass the time lol.

 

justinkw1,

how does the envy 17 support switchable graphics, i thought this laptop does dedicated only ...

 

on the contrary, they aren't too sharp. as a matter of fact: where i use plastic phone tools to disassemble the laptop, they used a screwdriver and scratched the bottom panels of the notebook, which they will replace.

in regard to my repair, it had to be escalated to 'senior' support, which in fact replaced the main board/CPU/Video or whatever else is attached to it. so to that end you were right, they repaired it instead of replaced it. but the problem has resurfaced, and is now intermittent where the last time it was always present after a warmup. ultimately, they recognized there is an issue. now if i call them again, it will likely result in some kind of upgrade on the basis that the mainboard that's paired with this CPU may be flawed.

as for putting the matter to bed, that's not your decision to make, sadly...

 

Correct, the Envy 17 only supports dedicated graphics and so the updated driver package will only install the updated ATI graphics driver and not the switchable graphics component.

Simply put, the new package will fix issues from the previous releases that of which are documented by AMD/ATI. The prior release by HP was equivalent to Catalyst 10.3 (8.712 / 8.713).

 

Or instead of going via HP for the graphics driver, you can go direct to AMD and get 10.7. Don't think there are any OEM "fixes" in the HP driver other than HP's branding.

 

thanks ... i also asked a related question in the drivers thread, since you created it ...

 

SteviePL - I also dropped the hammer today and placed my order with Newegg and they actually gave me an additional Discount off of the $1,519.99 price when I placed my order. I received my confirmation today that it has shipped and it will be delivering it on Monday, sad part is, I do not fly home from my main office until Tuesday night, so I am kinda bummed that I will not be able to unbox it until Wednesday.

I also pray that I do not have any issues with mine as well - Fingers crossed!

 

What additional discount did you get? i'm seriously considering jumping on this newegg deal but i'm kinda worried about the quality issues.

 

The Amazon price has dropped to 1519.99 also.

 

ok, so i bit and took your advice 2.0. I put it up for sale on eBay. You think i did the right thing?

heres the listing... HP Envy 17

if you have any tips for helping it sell, do holler. im hoping i can sell sell sell so i can get an envy 14.

Do you guys think that the build on the envy 17 is better than the envy 14's or even the 2nd gen envy 15's?

 

So... apparently my Envy has arrived but the charger doesn't come for a few days (was delivered to a friend). Would the adapter of other HP computers work for the envy? What voltage/tip do I need?

 

u can use the chargers from any of the older hdx's or the dv6's

the tip is the round one with the pin in the middle.

any hp one should do as their voltages are all lowest, except for the hdx 18 i think. but i may be wrong here

 

Can someone tell me if the HP Protectsmart shows only 1 drive as supported or both drives as supported in an Envy 17 with 2 hard drives (not SSD)? Furthermore, does it detect 1 drive or 2?

You need to go into Control Panel and open the HP 3D Driveguard panel.

Thanks!

 

Just to give an update on this matter:

I contacted NewmodeUS today, and received news that they will have the 2nd HDD bay caddy kit in stock come the first week of September. I'm guessing they'll price it anywhere between $25-$42, but that's still much cheaper and less redundant than having to purchase through HP. I'll be ordering mine as soon as they put it on their site, so I'll let you guys on the fence know how the bracket/caddy fits.

------

Btw, my Envy is running strong w/o hiccups. I got to clock in a few hrs of Starcraft II the other day, and the game runs no slower than 40fps @ 1920x1080 + highest settings.

 

Will the kit include a SATA cable?

 

my envy 17 will be shipping tomorrow or the day after man this week is it guys. thank you guys for all the info that i needed to get this product. it helped me alot. i just hope my first will be perfect without any issues. please **crosses fingers** for no replacement.

 

Anyone check yet? I'm trying to find out if the factory shipped Envy 17 with 2 hard drives has Driveguard (ProtectSmart) support for both drives or just the main drive.

 

I am thinking of ordering this from amazon.com tonight. But I am worried about getting it because of the heat and wobble issues I have read about. Any advice? Looks like a great laptop that will last me for years, and that is what I am looking for. But I dont want to drop $1500 on a laptop that will overheat or wobble.

 

Yes- all of the caddy kits they sell include the caddy, appropriate cables/inserts, and mounting screws.

 

I bought the envy 17 with a single 500GB 7200 rpm HDD. When opening the hard disk compartment it seems that the right compartment is shaped to fit a 2.5" disk while the left one is longer and slimmer making me believe that it is intended for a (or two?) 1.8" disks. Can anyone confirm this? If this is the case, one needs to be sure to get the correct caddy. Will NewmodeUS create two caddies for the Envy 17?

 

I don't have the actual caddy but I noticed this too. It really doesn't look like a 2.5" drive will fit but after some careful maneuvering I got one in (it actually had to be tucked under the overhanging edge). It's definitely not intended for 2x 1.8", there are not enough SATA connectors.

 

This seems like a really good value, like $1k less than a similarly equipped 17" from alienware, am I missing something? I guess the memory only goes to 8GB instead of 16GB, how many memory slots?

 

Indeed. 2 memory slots.

 

So, I am thinking of purchasing the ENVY 17 from amazon.com. I have read about the issues with the heat and wobble, so I am a little hesitant. I bought a DV7-4070us and it came with a small crack in the screen. Amazon is going to replace this model, but I thought of just returning it and getting the ENVY. I am willing to spend a bit more because I want a good laptop that will last a few years.

I play some games, football manager, will get Civilization 5 when it comes out, and will use it for music, bluray, and multitasking. Anyone give me some advice on this? If not the ENVY, what other laptop on Amazon could anyone suggest? Sorry for asking again, but this is my first major laptop purchase for myself and I want to make the right decision.

 

Does anyone have a 2nd power supply at all? What do you use?

- Note: I figured out the HP 180W is pretty much a rebranded Targus APA05US by the model numbers on the back of labels. And they look like the exact same brick.

 

do you guys think that shipping for 2 or 3 days is correct for free shipping does it come earlier then expected?

 

i just found out that they did not replace anything on my notebook. i was called before they sent it back to me and told they replaced the main board. they did nothing, the customer service department just told me.

i smell a corporate email bomb and getting in touch with the CONSUMERIST, who would very gladly post my story

 

Amazon price drop to $1499.99...

 

So which department told you they had replaced the board in the first instance? Why would customer service contradict what you were told by another department?

One would only assume the customer service operative is reading the notes on your support file where the technician wrote "informed customer that main board has been replaced, but actually we haven't replaced anything and are just lying, but don't tell the customer that".

Maybe I've misunderstood what you're saying?

 

Wow, why does the price keep dropping on this thing?