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

I'm living in the tropics and don't game. My 2xxx series barely reaches 50C after being on all day. My 1xxx unit would have scorched the table if it hadn't burnt itself out prior.

 

What is it with PC World (US edition) and HP? In the January 2012 magazine on page 52 laptop desktop replacements HP doesn't even get a mention in the top 10 and nothing there looks appealing to me.

On page 66 of same magazine the laptop reliability and satisfaction charts list HP home products (ENVY inc) at 17/18 and 9/9 (i.e. bottom).

 

Are those for both CPU AND GPU?

 

Oftentimes, it has to do with advertising dollars. Perhaps HP hasn't advertised with PC World as much, lately. I notice that Dell and some others so very well and spend a ton of $$$. I never believe their ratings. If I want to buy something...I look to others that own and read their comments.

 

@HP, It's the 8th, Please ship my laptop already!!

 

I would be pacing a ditch in the carpet if I were in your boots, LOL! I can hardly wait to see the FIRST 3rd Gen Unboxing video and Review!!!

 

**FYI**

I recently upgraded my HP Support Assistant program and noticed something strange, I had NO HP Coolsense programs running after the upgrade! After some research from some old "Bobmitch" posting, I realized that HP Coolsense v 1.0+ was directly tied to the HP Support Assistant v 5.0+. So when I upgraded to HP Support Assistant v 6.0+ (Which brought over some nice UI changes and made it a little slicker and quicker, all of which are positives), HP Coolsense did NOT carry over with it! No real problem (but I wish Coolsense would have carried over with it), I went to HP Support and manually downloaded the HP Coolsense v 2.0 program and noticed it had some significant changes! Than HP upgraded Coolsense again to v 2.10 with some more changes. Here are the changes as I see them:

HP Coolsense:
v 1.0 = Had Stationary and Mobile settings separate. Under each of those headings you had 3 options; Coolest, Performance and Quietest modes. Allowing the user some good configuration options.
v 2.0 = Did away with all of the settings from v 1.0. Instead you had only 3 options; On, Off and Auto. The UI was dumbed down quite a bit.
v 2.10 = Kept the same UI Scheme as v 2.0, but did away with the Auto mode, leaving you with On and Off.

~~ Personally I prefer the options and the UI from v 1.0 of Coolsense.. So I had a choice, if I wanted to retain the Coolsense v 1.0, I would also need to revert back to HP Support Assistant v 5.0+ as there is NO separate stand alone Coolsense v 1.0 program (I could not locate one, however, if there is a stand alone version of Coolsense v 1.0, please share). In the end I reverted back to Coolsense v 1.0+ and HP Support Assistant v 5.0+. I just prefer Coolsense v 1.0 so much, that it was worth it to me. Everyone has their own opinions, but I just figured I would share my findings.

If anyone has any other things to add, please do so as I am no Guru yet.

 

Actually, Coolsense is tied to Software framework. Here is the download link from my original Envy Model

HP Software Framework HP ENVY 17t-2000 CTO 3D Edition Notebook PC - HP Customer Care (United States - English)

It contains Coolsense 1.0. You can update your Support Asst all you want...but it won't effect your Coolsense version. I just replaced Coolsense 2.10 on my new Envy with 1.0 with this link...

 

Remember that the China factory is about 12 hours ahead of us. They are already in the middle of the night on the 9th. You may still see a shipping notice at any time. Good luck.

 

Thanks for the GURU Support... I wonder why it disappeared after upgrading to HP Support Assistant v 6.0+? Thanks for the link...

 

Hi Guys, just to share some info I found regarding the mystery Graphics in the new Envys:

Envy 15 - AMD 7670M
Envy 17 - AMD 7690M

Hopefully those are like the top of the line graphics cards, but it does not seem like it due to their nomenclature, anyways, @lancehudson will find it out soon and hopefully share that info with us.

Source: New HP Envy 15, Envy 17 Available Today with AMD 7000M Graphics

Thanks!

 

OK, I'm confused, which one of these is the correct answer??

HP Confirms IPS Display and AMD 7690XT Graphics for New Envy 15

One place says no IPS, than this one says YES to IPS. Also the GPU is reporting different as well?? Yeah, I'm confused, LOL!!!!

 

lol, over in the http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...lable-updated-envy-15-envy-17-envy-17-3d.html forum, the consensus is 7670 and 7690.

As for IPS, the consensus is the 15inch is IPS, the 17's are not.

 

Ugg, got a email from HP. Funny I got a coupon from them saying sorry for the inconvenience and 30 mins later I get a email saying what the inconvenience was.

...BTW, I have a 15% off coupon now, I haven't decided to use it yet, so PM with a great story and I might change my mind .

 

Well I am not going to get access to a network cable til late next week on another network, but I have purchased a USB wifi stick and disabled the ENVY's built in Intel 6200 card. No more computer lock ups so I think that pretty much isolates things! With the 6200 the lock up were really bad when running uTorrent but not always.

I guess I will try and buy a 6300 card next, but some users say it makes no difference.

However the USB wifi does seem to run hot and just stops giving me access from time to time although it doesn't freeze the whole computer up, so I will need another one of them as well. Perhaps a bigger one, as this is a tiny ASUS I wanted that didn't stick out much.

 

OMG I'm so angry right now..... I know I've already cried a couple times about the bad timing of my ENVY purchase (bought 9/28), but I guess I'm not over it yet.

Just found a working 33% off coupon. After discount with identical options I chose for my 17t-2100 3D (w/ 300GB SSD), the new ENVY 17 is only $100 more!!! AAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGG!!!!!!

 

Well, when your able to use the Ethernet cable, you'll have all of the speed and none of the heat! I use Torrents a lot and experience NO heat when using the Ethernet cable! Glad you have isolated the issue, at least you now know you have a sound Envy!

 

Look at it from the bright side, at least your Envy is running and no hiccups! Heck I bought mine on Oct 3rd! Personally, I'm very happy with what I have! My big question will come in March, when I will need to decide to buy either a new 3rd gen model or the Envy 14-2160se. If I had to make the decision today, I would still go with the all Black 2160se! We'll see what happens in March!

 

So do you think you'll be able to do a 3rd gen video Unboxing??

 

Forgot to mention the 33% off coupon is NBK3573. Use it while it's good!

 

I can, will be the first I have done. At the very least I can setup some side by side videos.

 

What torrent client do you use? I have used uTorrent and notice they just released a ver 3.1 to resolve issues with computers locking up?! Not sure if same issue or not as my ENVY locked when I wasn't running torrents, but possibly something still in memory? Will have to check this out as well... so far no lock up's with ENVY and uTorrent 3.1.

 

I use BitTorrent, here is the link: BitTorrent - Delivering the World's Content

I have been using it for about 2 years now, never a hiccup, very reliable!

 

I will switch back to BitTorrent. Used it a few years ago, but changed to uTorrent as it was smaller. Anyway the latest 3.1 uTorrent didn't help. ENVY froze twice within an hour on wifi today.

Certainly I will use Ethernet cables when I can, but many situations not practical in my work/play environments.

 

The freezing using wifi could be because of the wifi card. I had the same issue on my envy 17 3D and switching to the Intel 6300 fixed my problems.

 

I've downloaded close to 50GB of data using uTorrent on my ENVY over WIFI. Haven't had a single issue.

 

I was uTorrent on the 2000 Envy for the last couple of weeks and I never had any serious issues. Aside from the design overhaul and minor changes I never really saw any technical issues.

I'm looking forward to seeing your unboxing video lancehudson. Will definitely watch. Returned my last Envy yesterday. I'll be getting a dv6t Select Edition which I"ll use until the Ivy Bridge Envy comes out....

I still hope to be a part of this group of excellent posters though until then. I love the Envy fam.

 

Wasn't someone looking for an ENVY 14, HP ENVY 14-1260se Intel i5 480M 2.66GHz 14.5" Laptop | XZ211UAR#ABA | eBay

 

I have DL in excess of 250GB since receiving my Envy and never a hiccup. However, I only used Wi-Fi for the first half of that chunk. Once I confirmed I did NOT have any Wi-Fi issues, I started using my Ethernet Connection. I am using the "G" version of Wi-Fi and the Westell 7500 DSL Modem & Router Combo (VZ)...

 

How about an Unboxing Video when you receive your new DV6T?? Of course you are always welcome here as well!!!

 

I'm looking into buying the Envy 14-2160se in March. However, I am a little jaded when it comes to high end Computers, that's why I won't ever buy one from eBay, especially a refurb. I would rather pay the extra money for the "Piece of Mind" and that 4 year ESP/AD warranty. For me the big part of why I chose an Envy over a Dell or others is because of the "Concierge" Service and HP's service track record, such as overnight by 1030 next day service (Both Ways), etc...

But thanks for looking out none the less!

 

^ Well in minor defense of that ebay listing, it's actually HP selling them, not just some random person/business. You at least get a 90-day warranty and the option to purchase an extended 1-year warranty for $99 or 2-year for $149.

 

The last thing I haven't tried yet, G mode only. I will try that now as previously I just turned off N mode. I think I just select it in the driver settings as I guess you have since my settings were default a/b/g on? My router is a TP-LINK TD-W8901G b/g type.

I tried BitTorrent and deleted uTorrent entirely. Still got one lock up to date with BitTorrent but looks more promising. I wonder if the antivirus is playing a part? This is the only laptop I have Microsoft security suite on.

Anyway I will buy a spare 6300 card next week I think, just in case.

 

I am wondering if anyone has tried to lower the 120hz to 60hz on the 3D screen in display settings and been able to get better battery life? (I just ordered a 3rd gen Envy 3D) I am seeing if there are ways to improve battery life on the go when I wouldn't use the 3D functionally.

Thanks for any replies

 

I have the Envy 17 3D 2nd Gen SB...get about 3:30 battery time (six cell). Remember that when on battery, switchable graphics is designed to run on the Intel graphics chip built into the CPU. You will not have to worry about 120HZ...the Intel runs at 60HZ. Don't know why one would want to run the AMD gpu on battery...that will run it down much quicker. You should get (minimally) what I get for battery time on a six cell. If you ordered the nine cell...look upwards to 4:30 to 5:00 hours battery time...

 

Thanks for the info Bob. When the 9 cell becomes available, I plan on ordering one (not an option at the moment). I have seen HP's official tear-down end of life documentation, even though the battery is internal, it is completely and easily user replaceable, which is very good indeed.

 

And the first one is out the gate!!! Although, I've pretty much decided on the 3xxx unless It has issues.

 

Anybody tried Skyrim yet? Regarding to the graphic card list it "might" be fluent in low and med and "might" be unplayable in high and ultra. But that are untested values. So my question is: has somebody played it yet and can give references?

 

Will be testing soon, on my desktop, ati 54xx medium is playable if I turn off anti-aliasing in 1080p.

Est friday, I will let you know on a 29xx how skyrim fairs both 3d and non 3d.

 

First one is out the gate? Any reviews?

 

When I want to update the graphic card's drivers, do I have to download them from HP ( Version 8.820.5.1000 from 2011-06-03 or can I download them from direct from here (official AMD webpage with v11.11 from 11/15/2011??
Read that you shall under no circumstances update from Windows Update direct, but which way is right now? Old drivers from HP or new one from the producer?

 

First download the 8.820.5.1000 and install them. Then get the Catalyst 11.11 from here:

AMD Catalyst 11.11C "Performance Driver" (8.911.1 November 30) - Guru3D.com Forums

These are the 11.11C performance drivers. Install them OVER your 8.820.5.1000 and they should install OK and update, and maintain your switchable graphics. DO NOT uninstall the HP drivers...for they contain the switchable Intel graphics drivers. Installing over them with the 11.11c will replace the AMD and leave the Intel alone

 

I'm all but convinced now the wifi on my ENVY is ok and the freezing is solely due to torrents software. The laptop works fine on the internet wifi, but as soon as I start uTorrent or BitTorrent it will freeze. Must be something in the settings? Don't know what. These same programs work fine on other laptops.

 

Sorry, I have 2 laptops on their way. A 29xx and a 30xx, the 29xx just shipped.

 

I use MS Security Essentials as well and have not had any issues while using it, so I don't think that is your culprit. I still think your issue lies with your wireless card and the issue with chipsets not working properly together, as has been discussed here in length...

 

I have Skyrim and have been playing it on the High/Ultra settings and have been getting sold frame rates with NO stuttering. I have NOT experienced any issues while playing the game to date and have about 100 hours on the game so far!

 

I use BitTorrent all of the time and Never have an issue.. Strange....

 

Nice!!! Goodbye long nights, welcome sleepless nights

@the wireless problem with torrent-software I don't use such software, but can u check the packetsize MTU-values and stuff like that? Maybe your software is changing those values, this is for me the most possible reason on why it is working on some versions and why not. Maybe you also check the values given by your router!

 

I just did this and lost the ability to change the brightness via the f3 and f2 keys... any suggestions?

 

^^^

yeah, your gonna have to switch to intel's graphics for the brightness keys to work. with AMD's you cant use the keys but you still can change your brightness via power options.

BTW guys I recently installed the Kingston HyperX SSD, it's faaaaaaaaaaast!