*HP ENVY 17 & 17 3D (2XXX series) Owners Lounge*

It's the downside of purchasing technology. Hopefully, one gets six months to a year out of a lead edge product before it's replaced. Funny..my GTX 580 is one year old today...wondering when the 600 series is going to be released. Guess Nvidia waiting for AMD to drop first. Still...we have machines that should last years....

 

I bought mine on Oct 3rd, went in for repair on Nov 9th, returned to me on Nov 15th and is better than new! I would NOT trade mine in for the equal version in the 3rd generation. I like the laser etching and think it just brings more class to the Envy! Will I get a 3rd generation? Maybe, all depends on the deals that come out for the 2nd generations next year. I really like the Envy 14-2160se as my backup, but I may go for the Envy 15. All depends on pricing and deals.

But my first Envy will Always be my Best and true love!

 

The more I see of the new Envy the more I love the look. I've always been ambivalent regarding the current Envy's style but overall its definitely above Dell and sony.

The 3rd gen Envy looks very modern, professional, and yet sexy at the same time.The only thing I'm worried about is how much the red trim will stand out....

And 2nd the press shots make it seem like the inside of the laptop will have that very shiny silver surface surround the keyboard. I MUCH prefer the gun metal gray inside look of the current Envy. Maybe its just the way the shots were taken/appear but it looks very odd when contrasted with the black. The increased battery life tho a must.

My replacement Envy arrived tonight and its multiple times worse than the Envy I sent in...highly disappointing....

 

In what way? My replacement came and it looks good! BTW...question for those with Coolsense 2.0. I used 1.0 on my other machine and kept it on Performance. In 2.0, there is ON, OFF, AUTO...what is the setting that gives me performance?

Thanks

 

I have pics I can send you if you want. Send me a PM with your email address and I'll be glad to send it to you. I've already shown dlleno who agrees that its not acceptable.

 

The keyboard is an easy fix...my original Envy wasn't quite that bad, but I made them send a tech and new keyboard...was installed the third day I had it...as far as the enclosure itself, where the seams are that separated...I am pretty shocked!

 

That was also present in the first Envy I got but like I said I pretty much ignored it and was worried more about the display gap going on....

HP Build Quality is quite all over the map and my experience has definitely proved it. I think if HP truly wants to use the MacBook as its inspiration for the Envy lineup then they should be prepared to actually invest in some decent practices that result in excellently built laptops....

You can't just charge that much money and then send cheap looking hardware....

 

Sent you a PM...

 

Mmmm sorry for being so dense: how does one do that ? I've had a loook under my "catalyst control centre" and that doesn't seem to offer any such options, and looking at the "right click power options" over the battery/ plugged in icon in the task bar: there seem to be no options to go to the intel processor ... just to change the brightness etc... is one of the options that sets the gpu simply badly labled ?

 

Here is what I did to solve this problem when my 6850 GPU stopped working..

1. Right Click on the Desktop
2. Select the 2nd option from the top, "Configure Switchable Graphics"
3. In the middle, there is a "Check Box" to automatically select power...
4. "UNCHECK" the Check Box in item 3 above
5. Press "APPLY" in bottom right corner
6. Restart your Envy and now it will use the Intel GPU only...

Hope this helped!

 

Does anyone know if it's possibe to play Blu-ray to an extrenal XGA display through the VGA port? Every time I try playback just stops.

 

I stumbled across the "HDX Dragon" thread today and was blown away by that monster! Talk about HUGE! Has any one here ever owned one of those? I guess HP did away with that line, right? Is the Envy it's replacement in the HP lineup? Boy, I bet those monsters were selling for some serious dough....

 

O/T: Under "USER CP / Settings & Options / Edit Options", do you use; Linear Newest First or Oldest First? I'm trying the newest first and it seems better since the newest post is always right there when I use my shortcut. Where as the other option means I always enter the site and go to the pages and press "Last", just to get where I need to be, BUT I hate having to read backwards. Is that something better to get use to? So who uses which?

Also, which SKIN are you using for this site (also under the same settings area)?

 

Hey guys, I have a Warranty question for you. My goal when I bought my Envy, was to purchase the 4 year SP prior to my 1 year warranty expiring. Since my warranty now expires in 2013, can I upgrade any time prior to that date, or do all additional SP's need to be updated during the "Initial" first year of warranty service?

So here is the situation: HP recently added a 2 years SP on my Envy, which adjusted my expiration to 10/03/2013. Can I still add on a 4 year SP on top of that? If so, would that run my warranty out to; 10/3/2015 or 10/03/2017

OR, would it be better to just add another 2 year SP on top of what I have? Like I mentioned, my goal being to get a SP to add warranty coverage to at least 2015.

Thanks!

 

Nevermind, figured it out.

It's a blu-ray security feature that doesn't allow playback from an analog output. I installed AnyDVD HD and now I can play blu-ray through the VGA output.

Nice, now I can watch blu-ray on my projector instead of my tiny LCD HDTV. It's not HD (1024x768), but it still looks decent.

 

Yeah they were quite ridiculous in terms of size. I can't even imagine lugging that thing around. It truly is what I would think of when it comes to desktop replacement.

Never owned one but they looked monstrous. The HDX 18t was the first replacement for the original HDX. There was also the 16t as well (which was smaller). I did own the 18th for around 3 years. In short it was an okay laptop.

Now the Envy I guess replaces the HDX line...

 

ahhhh thank you ! shall do that

not obvious that one is it ?

You're a star gunny !

 

Hey, stick around the Guru's on this site long enough and eventually some of their brilliance starts to rub off and stick to us new guys! That's what this place is all about, Helping others and developing new and lasting friends who share a common joy some take for granted and others truly relish!

Glad I could help!

 

Have owned an HP Envy 17-2090la for about two months.
It is the most disappointing purchase I have ever made in my entire life.

I bought it mostly for multimedia/heavy gaming. I knew the limitations of the midline graphics card (6850m), but assumed if I could OC it mildly I could stay at around 30 fps on most modern games at max.

First and foremost: I'm pretty sure if I tried to overclock the computer would explode. I hit 95 C on furmark after 20 minutes on stock clocks (575 core/900 memory). I overheated after another 10 minutes.

This computer has one of the most embarrassingly bad cooling systems I've ever seen.

In addition to this I've had large amounts of freezing when I download files (it's an issue with the wireless adapter inside the computer). I sent it back to HP, and, lo and behold, the issue was not fixed. I'm sending it back in AGAIN, and if it isn't fixed then I'm going to try to see if I can return it on American Express.

If anyone here is looking for a gaming laptop DON'T buy an Envy 17 (Or any HP for that matter). Look at Clevo resellers, MSI, Alienware...

 

Maybe the thermal interface between the GPU and heatsink isn't good on yours.

I game with the 6850 overclocked to 700/1200 and the GPU never gets hotter than 80C.

 

I sent it in for repairs, specifically because of overheating issues and the wireless adapter.
I got it back and it has been exactly the same.
I have no idea what it could be.

 

Weird, most of the other people on this thread will barely see more than 90C on the CPU before throttling kicks in and lowers the bus freq. Not sure about the GPU temps as I don't generally run my GPU hot (nor will I ever OC on a laptop, not worth the risk).

It's not the best thing since sliced bread, but it barely does what the laptop was originally intended for. A lot of us here are not thrilled with the shared cooling system for the CPU and GPU, but it does function most of the time. I'm not gaming, but my laptop rarely gets warm.

This has NOTHING to do with HP. It's a known incompatibility between Intel and certain modem chipset manufacturers. It's my opinion that Intel has no intention of ever fixing this bug since they've moved onto newer version of the wireless card. The best fix is to upgrade to the newest wireless card, downgrade your drivers, or stop using 802.11n.

HP cannot fix this problem as it has nothing to do with their hardware (only their poor choice of supporting a known bad OEM part).

I 100% agree! If ALL you want is a gaming laptop, the Envy is NOT for you. It was never intended to be a pure gaming laptop. It's intended to be a stylish looking laptop with high end components aimed at professional users looking to balance the needs of aesthetics, power and portability. No business class person is going to show up to an important meeting sporting an Alienware and not looking childish; but there are those of us who travel and want to play the occasional game without having to lug two laptops around.

 

Cam...+1 rep...couldn't have said it better myself. These are combined business / power machines. They are NOT Alienware or Asus.

 

I have come to experience overheating when playing intensive games such as BF3. 1600 x 900 high settings.

My solution to this issue was to do what the "old" CPU firmware did when it used to throttle.

In Windows 7 power settings simply make sure that the profile you are using for gaming doesn't use the full 100% of the CPU. Alos make sure that the minimum isn't set on a 100%. I have set mine on a min of 50% and a max of 75% and haven't seen any overheating since.

I also haven't experienced the game being slow. As far as I can see the i7 is still fast enough.

 

Another thing you might do is download Throttlestop 4.0 and disable turbo function. That makes your CPU run only at rated speed. That will also help thermals...

 

Thank you Bobmitch, this seems like the better option! I actually forgot about the tool ever since they updated the BIOS.

 

So, for those of you who are using SSD, which brands are you using or would you recommend? Cause I am thinking about putting one as my primary drive. Also would it be a hassle to install it? Thanks!!

 

Its a breeze to put 1 in. But some have had firmware issues when not updated before the install.. i got a kingston 256GB v100 with upgrade kit from costco for about $350. the v200 though is about twice as fast as this 1. Mine came with the latest firmware.

Karl

Envy 17 3D
• Win 7 Home Premium 64-bit • • i7-2630QM • Radeon(TM) HD 6850M • 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 • 256 SSD • 750GB 7200RPM HD • Passmark: 1800, CPU: 6735. 3D:1416, MEM: 1411, DISK: 648
also: Dv7-2273cl dual core T6600 with 8 Gb and BD

 

re the wireless adaptor : (yeagh I know, everyone complains!) I coonect to my router using 802.11g . Everyone else's problems are all to do with if you are wanting 802.11n aren't they ? my router is 4 feet away: so I know the signal strength is excellent. Often times, it sits their trying to connect for ages, and just doesn't manage it, (but once it has, it works faultlessly for hours on end.) Sometimes to get it to connect, I have to first turn the wireless function off and on (using f10), and log firstly onto my neihbours router, then back into mine. My router is a Dlink D2640R. I'm wondering if all the hassle logging on is down to the wireless card? Thing is, all the talk seems to have been whilst people are pondering 802.11n ? It's annoying for me rather than a deal wrecker: but every other time i bring it back from sleep, I have to faff for a minute or so to get it to connect... any ideas ? would life be easier with the updated card ?

 

My Envy came with the Intel 320 series...nice drives...but expensive and only SATA II. For SATA III, which the Envy does...you want Crucial M4 (first choice)...with the .009 firmware upgrade they are as fast as anything with the Sanforce controller (Crucial has Marvel). Blazing fast drives and Crucial and Intel both wrote the book on reliability. Other decent choices...the Kingston HyperX series, or try the Patriot Pyro. These, in particular, have had less issues than other Sandforce drives. BTW...Sanforce released a new firmware that supposedly cured the BSOD issues that plagued drives with their controller in them. Also...Kingston has great support behind their products...

Hope this helps

As far as installation...get the Crucial with the data transfer kit. Basically...you hook the drive up to one of your USB ports. Boot into their software disk...choose your source drive (HDD) and then choose destination Drive (SSD)....choose auto clone...about 10-15 minutes later...you are done. Shut down...replace the HDD with your SSD in the mounting hardware in your Envy. Boot back up and you are in business...that's all it takes

Watch for yourself...

http://forum.crucial.com/t5/Memory-...from-a-traditional-hard-drive-to-a/ta-p/39544

 

Based on your model number...looks like a UK model router. I have the D-Link DIR-655, single band N router and never lose connection or have any issues. Most times, it is the chipsets in the routers causing the issue. You can either slow to G speed or get the Intel 6300 wireless card, which does work in the Envy. Others have also stated that backtracking to the Intel 13.5 version drivers helps

 

OMG, thank you for the input. You guys have been so helpful. I want to go towards more reliability. Now I am thinking between the M4 and Intel 510. But I heard before for some reasons the intel SSD is not compatible with ENVY 17 3D. Also how would I install the latest firmware of a SSD before putting data on it??

 

Honestly...with those choices go the M4. Both the Intel 510 and M4 use Marvel controller. They are pretty much very similar in makeup...the Crucial firmware makes a solid difference. Intel will cost you about $150 more for the same size drive...why pay that? Also...Crucial M4 will ship with most up to date firmware. If you go Intel, you can actually update your firmware from the SSD toolkit. HP supplied a firmware update for my drive...and it failed to work. The download from the toolkit worked. Dollar for dollar...the M4 is a better deal. Both drives are known for their reliability. If you are going to use for OS/App drive...get the 256GB drive. Best large / dollar value on the market right now...

BTW...I am saving my pennies...I want the Crucial 256 GB drive, myself. The 320 is nice...but only half as fast. I get 270/205 vs the 500 / 400 of the Crucial (random transfer read / write)

 

Okay Great!! you convince me. but I think I am going to get the 128GB since i am still a poor college student. hopefully they have sales on black friday too. Is this the one?
Newegg.com - Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2CCA 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) with Transfer Kit

 

That's the bad boy!!! Good luck...let me know how it goes...I am dying to get one too...

 

Hej!

I am thinking about buying a 2.xxxx envy 17 and I was wondering what the chances of overheating are. It seems like a pretty widespread problem. Is the overheating still a problem or has HP fixed it? I should mention that I am also considering the next-gen Envy. I was wondering what your thoughts are...have you been happy with your current gen?

robarino

 

Just a quick anecdote for everyone:

My battery died this last week. Like, completely. Doesn't hold a charge for a second, even though it says that it is fully charged.

Called HP, they had me run through the diagnostics, battery is dead, they overnighted me a new battery, should be here today.

+1 for Envy customer service!

 

Depends on how you define "overheating" I guess; running hot but still functioning, or automatic shutdown.

At least one person here had abnormally high temps that lead to GPU failure.. My opinion on that is that GPU/heatsink interface was poorly coupled on his ENVY. I've been gaming a lot lately with the GPU overclocked without any overheating (shutdown) issues. It did actually shutdown once while I was testing overclock settings, but I had the core clock setting pretty high and the fan intake was also partially blocked by my leg at the time.

Personally, if I had the choice right now, I would wait for the 17t-3000 to be released. That said, I'm not unhappy with my ENVY, just unhappy that I bought it only a couplle months before the new one will be out.

 

My replacement has the fans turned on 24/7 but the laptop itself doesn't feel noticeably hotter.

 

Hi guys. Found the new Envy 17 disassembled here.
http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/globalciti...iCountry/disassembly_notebo_2010510131456.pdf
Looks good with the dual fan and all that. What are guys think?

 

WTH!!!! Dual heatsinks/fans? Now I'm EXTRA pi$$ed I just bought my ENVY.

First time in 6 years I buy a new laptop..... a $1,500 laptop, and I end up getting shafted like this. Gah.... I have the worst timing.

 

Mine has enough issues that I'm going to start sending it in for everything and the 3rd or 4th time if it doesnt come back perfect I'm going to demand microcenter give me a new one, I think their extended warranty dictates that anyways.

 

^^^^What Alf Tanner said

If you're not at all satisfied with your Envy the sooner you call the sooner you'll get some true satisfaction. Trust me the process will take a while but if you have valid concerns and issues with your current Envy then there is no reason why they won't replace it with a new one. I wouldn't wait h8isgr8

 

Man, you guys are more ambitious than me. That seems like a lot of work and aggravation. Plus, I'm a horrible liar; how do I complain about problems that don't exist?

 

I have already had my envy in because the keyboard stopped working less than 2 weeks in. Additionally I've got the wireless issues worse than most probably because I push my Envy and also use Wireless Display. The 3D display doesnt work correctly any longer, and I'm getting intermittent BSODs.

Some people may have to stretch the truth, but I dont even have to do that to show mine is a less than desirable model.

Oh and to top it off, the replacement keyboard doesnt fit flush so when I type on the esc key or any around it the keyboard goes up and down...

 

Comeone guys, you all have been around long enough to know that systems change and if you want the newest and greatest to wait for the new releases, BUT if you like what you see (like me and many others) and have an immediate need get the best you can when you can, thus the 2nd gen Envy's! If you play the, what if game, don't play it with electronics, as you will always be frustrated and second guessing yourself! As much as I think the 3rd gens have possible better internals, I personally like the exterior of the 2nd gens Better. I am always receiving compliments on my Envy! Plus, my Envy is really running great! Here are the things I have noticed since getting it back from the Repair Depot:

1. The fan runs at different speeds "BETTER": The other fan ran, but this one seems like it almost has a turbo speed to it. When it is blowing on that speed, the air is really coming out fast!
2. Runs Cooler: My temps are running 15-20 degrees cooler doing the same things! That is a HUGE difference! Mind you I have all of the same settings running! While playing a game, my temps don't go past 78, where as before they would hit 90! I always suspected my Envy was running too hot and the proof is now in the pudding, as they say. Matter a fact, when the GPU went out the temps were running high 80's to low 90's for a couple of hours... The good thing is I can now watch my temps on my Keyboards LCD (Logitech G15), which is really nice! On the LCD, I see a complete read out from Core Temp!
3. Runs Faster: The system boots up faster and just runs faster overall.

Plus the RD did one heck of a job, from ship to receive 7 calender days! So my hat is off to the guys or guy who worked on my Envy, plus he returned it in the same condition in which he received it!

In March or April, I will be buying another Envy as a "Backup" to my primary Envy. It will be used a lot for the first 60-90 days and than it will move into backup status. As much as I like the 3rd gens, I'm leaning towards the Envy 14-2160se right now. The prices should be right and I just like the all black design! Plus, since it will be my backup unit, the 1080P screen is not that important as my main Envy has it! The thing I like about the 2160se, besides being all black is that I will get it with an SSD. I will also probably go with the i5 processor, for better battery life, since it will be my mobile go to Envy! But who knows, that is a long way off and things could change!

In summary, stop second guessing yourselves guys and ENJOY the impeccable Envy you saved for and bought! They are a true joy to own (when everything is straight) and use, so ENJOY!

Just my 2 cents....

 

Once you experience the speed of the SSD in your "backup" system, you'll want to buy one for your main system. SSD speeds are a game changer as the difference is immediately perceived.

When it comes to the SB CPU's, don't aim for the i5 as a power saving option. The power requirements between the i5 and i7 in this generation are not large enough to warrant any major power saving mechanics compared to the older models. If you need the additional cores, the i7 is the better purchase as it can shut down cores in order to turbo boost or to save power. The i5 might have a faster core clock, but multitasking won't be as smooth if you are used to the 8 possible threads on an i7. However, you might save cash with an i5 purchase too.

 

Thanks for the info CAM121! Will have to see what's available in March...

 

Gunny...Absolutely agree! I have the 2nd Generation Sandy Bridge and really enjoy it. I get the refresh...but mine is good for me. To sit around and always contemplate "I should have waited"....One will wait forever and never commit...gonna try a +1 rep

 

No denying the assett an SSD is. I have the Intel 320 series in my Envy 17 3D. It is fast for a SATA II drive. Hopefully HP will start using SATA III drives, since the motherboard and chipset supports it. My choices for SATA III drives are Crucial M4 and Kingston HyperX. Crucial has the Marvel controller and is totally stable (same basic drive as the Intel 510, without breaking the bank). Kingston has done a nice job with the HyperX series...uses the Sandforce controller...and Kingston was stable even before the new firmware release for all Sandforce drives. When I am ready for more speed...those are my choices...I have been told that I won't tell the difference between what I have and the SATA III...but numbers don't lie...

I have been using i7 desktop for about three years. These are the best generation of CPU yet. Let's see what the new CPU's do when they get released. The i7 in the Envy is well worth it. Even with the entry level 2630M, which is no longer available from HP on the Envy...those machines rock! New Enty level for Envy is 2670M...about 10% faster on paper...as far as turbo mode...the 2630 hit 2.6 GHZ consistently. 2670 hits about 2.75 consistently

As you can all tell...I did receive a brand new replacement Envy for my original. Motherboard died...sent to repair depot...and the machine came back with four issues that it never had. So I worked with a Case Manager after demanding a replacement. Same basic model as original 17 3D, two major changes...i7 2630M to i7 2670M; and Intel 160 GB X-25 SSD to Intel 320 series 300 GB SSD. My original had Hyundai memory...new one has Samsung.