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

Not only that , but Ivy Bridge is going to be a major game changer. People who buy into the 3rd gen now will probably be kicking themselves next summer once IB is readily available.

 

You of all people should appreciate what the 3000 series will bring in terms of thermal management. There is no arguing that independent heatsinks/fans for the CPU and GPU is a HUGE improvement over the second gen design.

And as far as aesthetics go, I think the second gen looks like an oversized napkin or maybe wallpaper.

I have ENVY for the third gen ENVY.

 

The 3xxx series is nice, don't get me wrong. I am not going to hang my head over mine. I like the laser etching and carbonite case. I liked the first generation Envy's and was intent on one, until I read the thermal reports...ouch! 2nd Generation, even with CPU / GPU sharing one heatsink...are much cooler. No disputing that the duals in the new Envy series are going to be that much cooler...but having read specs on the available graphics systems for the 3xxx series...looks like an equivalent to the 6850 or possible downgrade...remains to be seen...AMD hadn't released any more than the low mid to low range 7000 series yet. If I had ONE wish for Envy...is that it had Nvidia chip for GPU.

 

That's when I will upgrade my X58 desktop with i7 950. Sandy Bridge hasn't anything on triple channel memory and some other perks that X58 has. Ivy Bridge is the next real big improvement...They estimate Q2 2012...we'll see.

 

holy cow; a better cooling system + Ivy bridge. Envy is going to rock -- but I doubt we'll see it in first half 2012.

 

Hi All - I know it's a bit early, but I'm signing off soon to go start churning out pumpkin and pecan pies for tomorrow...

I just want to say that one of the many things I'm thankful for is the help that I've gotten from the folks on this board, which has made my transition this year to the Envy much easier than it could have been. This was my first new system in 7 years, and I had been out of the loop on most of the changes in computers between then and now. You are all helpful beyond words, and I hope that those of you celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday are able to spend a good day with family, friends, food, and fun!

With thanks,
Kevin

 

Lots of good people on this board. Everyone seems helpful and willing to share. Makes it easier to do the same. Happy Thanksgiving to ALL!!!

Bob

 

Doesn't the Envy 14 have 2 fans? I thought I read some where that they have 2 fans installed?

 

Exact same boat and couldn't have said it any better! +100.......

 

Hey guys i got my Envy 17 3D today feels really good to be on the envy3D wagon

 

Hey all! Been looking at this forum a lot while thinking about buying the Envy 17 3D. And now ive done it My only question is this: Is there any link to a guide or compilation of all the tips u guys have given in this thread or could someone share me what to do first when i get this new beast? Thanks to you all!

 

Well congrats on getting ready to pull the pin and grabbing the BEST that HP offers... Here are my recommendations on what to do first and in what order (This is what I did and it worked very well):

1. Start the system. Setup your windows software. Once your at the desktop create the Backup DVD's (START Menu/ALL Programs/Recovery Manager Folder/Recovery Media Creation Program). Have 5 DVD's ready and labeled 1 of 5 / 2 of 5 ... 5 of 5 (as an example of labeling). You may only need 4 if your using Double Layered DVD's.
2. Install your software software (Such as MS Office, Games, Auto CAD, etc..etc..).
3. Download HP Updates, via the HP Support Assistant, a must.
4. Download the windows updates, EXCLUDING the AMD HD 6850m update. Make sure you do NOT download that. Find it, uncheck it and hide it. You will need check for updates about 10 times, depending on what MS software you have installed..
4A. While doing steps 3 or 4 (above), I setup my start menu area the way I like it and setup my desktop using Fences and Object Dock (Free download from Stardock).
5. Add external devices (keyboard, mouse, UPS, printers, speaker system, etc...). Don't do this before this step.
6. OPTIONAL--Run Heaven 2.5 DX11 GPU Benchmark to test screen and GPU (Link: http://unigine.com/products/heaven/ ).
7. Run disc cleanup program.
8. Run disc defrag program.
** NOTE #1: If you have a program like "Tuneup Utilities", run it last to tie off all your loose ends..
** NOTE #2: I would also recommend that you do all of your "INITIAL" Internet connections via the Ethernet Cable to ensure your fastest download speeds. IF you are planing on using the "N" version wireless router, you may have some problems, which if you've read these threads your aware of. There are many fixes to this, but why have issues right off the bat. Handle your important steps first and than handle your wireless connections. If connecting hard cable is NOT an option, than go for the wireless, heck you may have no problem at all since the problems seem to be hit and miss, it all depends on your routers chipset....

By doing the steps in this order, your not stepping on the toes of things not done yet or interfering with other jobs your running.

Good Luck and keep us apprised!

 

Welcome! You are going to be really happy once you get it all set up the way you want. Excellent machine....

 

Well congrats on grabbing the BEST that HP offers... Here are my recommendations on what to do first and in what order (This is what I did and it worked very well):

1. Start the system. Setup your windows software. Once your at the desktop create the Backup DVD's (START Menu/ALL Programs/Recovery Manager Folder/Recovery Media Creation Program). Have 5 DVD's ready and labeled 1 of 5 / 2 of 5 ... 5 of 5 (as an example of labeling). You may only need 4 if your using Double Layered DVD's.
2. Install your software software (Such as MS Office, Games, Auto CAD, etc..etc..).
3. Download HP Updates, via the HP Support Assistant, a must.
4. Download the windows updates, EXCLUDING the AMD HD 6850m update. Make sure you do NOT download that. Find it, uncheck it and hide it. You will need check for updates about 10 times, depending on what MS software you have installed..
4A. While doing steps 3 or 4 (above), I setup my start menu area the way I like it and setup my desktop using Fences and Object Dock (Free download from Stardock).
5. Add external devices (keyboard, mouse, UPS, printers, speaker system, etc...). Don't do this before this step.
6. OPTIONAL--Run Heaven 2.5 DX11 GPU Benchmark to test screen and GPU (Link: Heaven DX11 Benchmark | Unigine: real-time 3D engine (game, simulation, visualization and VR) ).
7. Run disc cleanup program.
8. Run disc defrag program.
** NOTE #1: If you have a program like "Tuneup Utilities", run it last to tie off all your loose ends..
** NOTE #2: I would also recommend that you do all of your "INITIAL" Internet connections via the Ethernet Cable to ensure your fastest download speeds. IF you are planing on using the "N" version wireless router, you may have some problems, which if you've read these threads your aware of. There are many fixes to this, but why have issues right off the bat. Handle your important steps first and than handle your wireless connections. If connecting hard cable is NOT an option, than go for the wireless, heck you may have no problem at all since the problems seem to be hit and miss, it all depends on your routers chipset....

By doing the steps in this order, your not stepping on the toes of things not done yet or interfering with other jobs your running.

Good Luck and keep us apprised!

 

thank you so much guys may i know why we are not supposed to install the radeon update?

 

it's okay to update your gpu drivers, just don't do it from Windows update coz you'll get black screen and you're gonna have go to safe mode and do MS restore from eariler point.

 

Well after my first purchase of the ENVY17 2280NR (the 2D version) on Oct-18 my free Amazon replacement finally got here last Tues and it looks to be ok. None of the RAID start boot up messages I was getting with the original unit straight out the box. This unit seems to work as advertised although for some reason the BIOS says warranty date of all zeros!

2 questions - I hope I am not rehashing old posts when asking - if so sorry.

Q1. My ENVY system came as before with 2 x 500GB HDD set up as RAID 1TB drive and it boots up slower than my existing HP Pavilion g4 straight out the box. I have an 160GB SSD from last year and I think I would be better off having an O/S on that and a 2nd 500GB hard drive? If so is there a definitive guide on how to do this?

I have already made my recovery disc onto a 32GB USB flash drive. Now I am thinking all I need to do is rip out the main 500GB HDD- swap it with the SSD, switch the Intel RAID settings to no RAID drives and boot off the recovery USB? Am I missing anything? Will the recovery be looking for RAID or will it understand the two hard drive configuration?

Q2. If you had an SSD would you do same? The advantages seem to out way the negatives? I will have a faster boot drive, separate drives in case of disc failure etc? Cannot see much use for RAID unless handling extremely large data sets which I don't do often.

 

Hello and congrats on getting your Envy (Finally)! Glad to here all is as expected. What is your boot up time with your current config, from start to login prompt for windows? Mine is about 20 seconds, and is running everything extremely fast, but I do keep my disc defraged. If yours is in the 35-45 range, you probably need to run disc cleanup and do a thorough defrag. You may also want to run the check disc program (either from MS or one of the 3rd party vendors. I use Tuneup Utilities, which does have a free fully operational trial version). Regarding the SSD, you will certainly get faster times for basically everything, although some are faster than others and some have firmware issues where others do not. One of the resident Guru's will have to jump in here to give you advice on what is best and how to go about doing it. I know "Bobmitch" created a guide on how to do what you are wanting to do. You may want to PM him or search the forum for the link.

Regarding the BIOS Warranty date, if you use HP Support Assistant and do a live chat with one of the support reps, explain that to them and they will have you email them proof of purchase with other items included with that. Than upon receipt they will update the system and it will get straight. Just make sure you do register your Envy with HP. It will take about 2-3 weeks for the warranty info to get back to your system.

Here is a link you can use to verify your warranty:

https://h20565.www2.hp.com/portal/s...ac.admitted=1322186466832.876444892.492883150

Good Luck and glad you finally got your Envy!

*** You may want to read this thread, since this is pretty much what your wanting to do and they are doing it: http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...xxx-series-owners-lounge-604.html#post7821403

Good Luck and keep us posted!

 

Thanks for the BIOS and HP warranty links.

My boot up time straight out the box without hardly having used the ENVY is 38 seconds to the windows log on screen. By comparison my 3 month old quad AMD Pavilion g4 does it in 30 seconds. The Windows rating for the ENVY shows a number below 5 for the HDD with all others above 7. I have an old SSD (Intel 160GB) that worked fine in an old ENVY17 1011NR so I wanted to swap it into this new ENVY.

I have the BobMitch guide entitled "To: All HP Envy / Pavillion Owners with SSD / HDD “Hybrid” RAID configurations" and I notice it is 16 pages long and refers to ENVY's shipped with a mixed SSD and HDD RAID configuration. Was wondering if there is a condensed version for those such as myself? The bit I am wondering/worried about is where Bobmitch says "Now this is where things get interesting. After you reboot…you receive a message NO BOOTABLE OS". I hope Bobmitch or someone can shed light. I am thinking this must be a common idea from ENVY users - wanting to swap in a SSD drive for the o/s?

 

Sorry, just missed this part of your thread before I posted above, will read it later and follow up thanks..

 

NP, hope it helps! Bobmitch is one of the resident Guru's on SSD's, so I'm sure he'll come in and offer assistance after the Thanksgiving holidays...

 

Hey Palatkik,

I looked up my notes on where to send your warranty info.. Here you go:

You need to fax the receipt or “proof of purchase” to:

1-866-304-1252, 1-866-576-1765

or email a copy of your receipt to:

[email protected]

A scanned copy of the receipt or along with your email include the following:
1. Name of the owner
2. Phone Number
3. Physical Address
4. Email Address (Optional)
5. Product Name
6. Product Number
7. Product Serial Number

You should receive a confirmation email from them within 48 hours. Also within a week, my warranty info was corrected in both the BIOS and HP Support Assistant. Hope this helps..

 

A1: That should do it...Just in case the MBR is funky after the recovery...you may need to use my guide to fix it:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...ay-fix-hp-envy-17-3d-pavillion-notebooks.html

All you would need to do is use the commands for fixing the MBR...then you should boot with no issues. Hopefully...it will boot and you won't need the guide

A2: Absolutely!!! With no questions asked. Bootup time on my Envy is around 17 seconds and the speed in which the SSD does things vs a HDD is unbelievable. Makes the machine feel totally different. No need for RAID with SSD. Install OS and major important apps to SSD. Games and secondary apps to the HDD and all good. Also make sure to follow this guide...

The SSD Optimization Guide - The SSD Review

Only change that I made to this was to put a 1 GB swap file on the SSD in case it is needed and created a system managed one on the D: drive

Here is the guide that I used to, in essence, move my pagefile to the D drive. So follow the optimization guide EXCEPT do not do away with pagefile...move it. This guide was written during Vista but still applies to Win 7

http://mintywhite.com/vista/vmaintenance/performance-boost-move-page-file-to-another-physical-drive/

 

Gosh I was about to go out and buy an Envy 2250eo a week ago. It seems like so many of you have had problems with it. I really like it a lot. I have a big project and I NEED a computer ASAP so I will either go with the Envy (17, HD, BD, 2630QM) or a DV7 with full HD but no blue-ray but the 2370QM. I like the specs of MSI and a few others but I really hate the way they look.

What do you guys think? The 6770m is capable indeed. Has anyone seen the DV7 HD screen? How does it stack up against the Envy?

Help appreciated...

 

I will let Gunny or a few others with the non 3D Version of the Envy speak about them. I have the Envy 17 3D and really like it. It has power...good video card (has more pipelines than the 6770 in the Pavillion, so has more horsepower...6770 is clocked higher to get it pretty close. At same resolution the 6850 wins), and as much as people say that 3D is a gimmick...I will watch movies in 3D (converts non 3D to 3D as well in some cases)....and even run games through the TriDef Engine and brings games to life. The main difference between the Envy 17 3D screen and the Pavillion HD screen is that the Envy's runs at 120 HZ vs the Pavillion at 60 HZ. 120 is required when running movies or games in 3D. Pavillion and Envy run neck and neck in HD 2D apps...I think you will like both machines. Bought the Pavillion dv7t for my son...very very nice machine...no complaints...has Beats Audio just like the Envy. One other thing. Envy motherboard has HM67 chipset vs Pavillion HM65. Both motherboards do SATA III.

 

Thanks for the input Bobmitch. I am still thinking about it. It is a toss up between CPU and GPU. I would really like to waitfor the next gen but I don't think we will see those until mid January. Plus every time I am an early adopter I seem to regret it.

 

You are welcome!
Sorry for the absence and delay. Finally sold the Envy for $1100! Bought 2 HP laptops and a new computer chair. I'm sure I will be much happier with the DV7 I just ordered since I hate AMD. And I saved about $500!

 

You have to clarify something. What is the processor in the Pavillion? Do you mean 2720? You put 2370QM but I cannot find an i7 processor with those specs. Family is 2630, 2670, 2720 and 2820. In the Envy 2630 and AMD 6850, you are going to have as much going for you as the Pavillion with the 2720 and 6770. I think the differences are a wash! The difference between the 2630 and 2720 is mute. Both processors don't have Virtualization and both have 6 mb cache. Even the new 2670QM has 6 mb cache...so really the major step would be the 2820, because the bus speed changes from 100 to 133 mhz...At that point, with the features of the Envy vs Pavillion...it comes down to pocketbook and what you really want. Both the Pavillion and 2nd Generation Envy are proven. BTW...the next model coming out in Jan/Feb is the same as what is out now, with new skin. Later in 2012, when Ivy Bridge comes out...that is gonna be different!

 

Ooops sorry it is the 2670QM.

 

I think the machines will be somewhat equal. The 6850 overpowers the 6770 ny 15-20% and the 2670 overpowers the 2630 by 10%...but in the end...nothing lost or gained. I think it will come down to a matter of taste! Either way...you win! Doesn't make it any easier, does it??? lol

One last thought:

Envy 17 3D with i7 2630QM and 6850M 3DMark11 Score 1849
Envy 17 3D with i7 2670QM and 6850M 3DMark11 Score 1999

Both screens 1920 x 1080

Pavillion dv7t with i7 2630QM and 6770M 3DMark11 score 1950 ***Screen resolution 1600 x 900

When I benchmarked Envy 1 at 1600 x 900 it scored a 2050. So again...screen resolution makes a difference. In your case, you can use the two Envy's for your comparison. The 2670 pushed the 3DMark score up about 8% with it's extra Horsepower alone...

 

I agree but the GPU in the next model is an unknown variable. To be honest the price difference I am looking at is little more than 60 dollars. I really really worry about the heat issue though. It is a 2050eo with 6 gigs and a with a 640 gig hard drive and blue ray. The DV7 has 8 gigs and 1 tb harddrive and full hd (they both do) but no BD. Man I am confused and I need to pull the trigger ASAP as my engineering bachelors project needs some serious computing power. I looked at the DV7 today and was pleasantly surprised though.

 

No question. What I posted isn't earth shattering! The three machines are on a pretty even playing field. Is Blu Ray important? Is 3D important? Do you game? Light? Medium? Heavy? Both machines are going to handle calculations and software about the same. The Envy has a different feature set. Do you care about a back lit keyboard? Wi-Di? Believe it or not...Envy has ONE USB 3.0 the Pavillion has TWO.

Other variables...what is the spindle speed of the HDD's? 7200 vs 5400. 7200 will win hands down. The RAM difference isn't gonna make that much difference NOW! Down the road??? I have 8 GB in my Envy. It is upgradable to 2 x 8 GB=16

 

I think your right Bobmitch. A DV7 2670 and a 6770m would likely be on par with an Envy. Oddly enough on Notebookcheck the stats for both cards are about the same some games are faster on the 6770m and some on the 6850m. It does say something about GDDR3 being used though and that would make a big difference.

I wonder how the DV7 hd screen stacks up against the Envy?

 

Actually, both the 6850 and 6770 use GDDR5! Don't get me wrong...both fast cards...when when real crunch time comes...the 6850 has more to work with. Here are the specs of the mobility 6800 series

AMD Radeon? HD 6800M Series Graphics

Here are the specs of the 6700 series

AMD Radeon? HD 6700M/HD 6600M Series Graphics

The 6800 series has 800 processing units vs the 6700 series 480. As with Nvidia...the more processors there are to do work...the faster and easier it gets done...

 

The Envy has an LG HD screen. The 1920 x 1080 screen on the Pavillion is on par. If you are talking the 1600 x 900 screen on the Pavillion...Apples vs. Oranges. The 1600 x 900 is 720p vs the others being 1080. I think the 1080p are comparable...Again...the main differences between the Envy 17 and Pavillion dv7T model is feature set, chassis, and motherboard chipset. Also...Envy comes with Intel 6200N dual band N card vs Pavillion with Intel 1100N single band. Envy has Realtek Gigabit LAN, Pavilion uses a different brand LAN card. Slightly higher quality parts in the Envy. I love the Envy for what it offers. When my son, who is a music engineering major, needed a new machine...he demanded a new Pavillion. He had a previous one and it served him very well for over three and a half years.

One other question. I know that the basic warranty on the Envy is depot service two year...that is Custom to Order. What is the warranty on both, retail?

 

It is the HD. The BD is not so important I had it on my Acer and never used it. Then again it did not have the HD screen though.

 

If it had a BR drive...it had to do at least 720p....No? The other thing about the texture units and such on the cards. I do a lot of video crunching on my desktop with Nvidia GTX580 card. I am a moderate gamer in my spare time...but for video crunching...the 512 texture units and additional PhysX units make a major difference in how fast the machine crunches video...same would apply here, except AMD doesn't have PhysX units...so CPU would have to pick up the slack. I hope this is helping and not making matters worse. BTW...if the Pavillion has an HD screen...they should also have BR in it...

 

Also...to the positive side of the Envy and the Pavillion...don't worry about heat. The Sandy Bridge chipset made a major difference in the heat of both machines. Older generation Envy's were known to hit 100C and Pavillions somewhere in the 90's. Depending on the load you throw at them...20% better. I can, artificially, drive the temps in my Envy up by running Prime 95 and a video benchmark test that make both CPU and GPU run at 100%...temps will hit 95C, but honestly...that isn't standard. I never see temps higher than 85C for any reason, unless synthetic as specified. My son's Pavillion under the same circumstances were about 2-3C in variance give or take. I wouldn't worry...

 

Thanks for the tips!

 

I hope they helped more than confused the issue...BTW...are you going to carry it around with you alot?

 

Yeah quite a bit. I had an Acer about the same size and it did not bother me much.

 

Oddly though I saw a DV7 today and I thought it was quite light. The Envy is definitely heavier or not?

 

I was just going to say...if you are going to carry a lot...get the Pavillion...no doubt in my mind! I love my Envy...but it may be a bit more delicate. My son carries his Pavillion in a backpack every day...around campus...to the studio and more. It is a bit more portable. Envy is portable...but functions better as a desktop replacement. Hope that sways you in the right direction

The magnesium case vs aluminum only accounts for a pound or a bit over...but when you are carrying all day...probably makes a difference

 

Thanks Bobmitch, I'll give it a try and report back my success, or lack of. Your comments are most helpful.

 

Great, thanks for the HP links. Will use them shortly. Strangely when I looked in my BIOS the warranty date had changed to early September from all zeros! No idea how as I have hardly used the ENVY, just turned it on / off with internet connection that did some auto Windows updates before I could stop it. I am about to rip it open now and get my SSD configuration I want using an old SSD Intel 25 160GB drive I have, lets see what happens after that!

 

Palatik...

Did you go here after you booted up the first time?

https://register.hp.com/americas/flowPage/registration/index.do?execution=e1s1&cc=US&lang=en

Normally a window would pop up in Windows asking you to register. I just noticed that it did not work with my new Envy. My first one did it...this one didn't. However, I have 3 and a half years left on my at home/accidental damage warranty...so I had to call the care pack unit and transfer the warranty to the new machine. Try registering the machine with HP. It will recognize the warranty dates by your serial number and model number

 

Hey guys i need some help
My envy keeps freezing everytime i download something
i searched for some fix updated the wireless driver software and unticked the option that switches off the device to save power still no luck
and which is the best way to fix the annoying touchpad? its getting difficult to manage

Edit: the freeze issue is fixed now had to downgrade the drivers.\
but im unable to use the trackpad or an external mouse while playing games any way i can fix that??
Thanks in advance

 

One year for each (warranty)

 

Does these overheat like the 1xxx series ?

Pwnzoor

 

No option to register when I started the ENVY. Also no option after I successfully reinstalled the factory default off a formatted SSD drive.