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

Its just flexibility with another wireless technology choice. Simply put, the Envy supports Wirelesss "a" (which operates at 5 GHz) in addition to the Pavilion's Wireless technologies (b, g, and n) which operate at 2.4 GHz.

The Envy advantage won't matter if your wireless access point doesn't support "wireless a" but it sure gives you a nice choice, in case you replace it with one that does!

iwantanenvy: to be precise, if your router supports 5GHz, then it supports wireless "a" -- you listed only b/g/n which are all 2.4 GHz

 

Perhaps they are off....now I'm wondering about the April 20th date...Donna did give me a date that is far enough in the future to allow HP to build my Envy, but I wonder if that too will be delayed. Only time will tell.


Thanks for the answers to the dual band wireless. It would nice to try it out. I am looking forward to answering phone calles on my Envy that come through my old Sprint Palm Treo 755p.... Haha, I'm being stubborn about updating my phone.... it still works, so why go for an Iphone or Android at this time?....we'll see...

P.S. I was not aware of the Envy 17 3D SB supporing 5MHz, so its icing on the cake.

KJ

 

hah! on that note, I just set up my new HTC Thunderbolt as a 2.4 GHz "g" WiFi hotspot. sweet

 

Guys, not sure if any of you are peeping inside the dv6/7 6xxx thread but they are mentioned the issue of the B2 VS. B3. Apparently this has to do with the defective chips intel sold as B2 and its now found on the mother boards of the 6xxx series as well

From what I understand, it should be B3... sorry I'm not even sure what B2, B3 stand for expect the revision I guess. Anyway, I suppose when we get our Envy 17 3D SB, we should also run tests such as CPU-Z to see what versions we have....ugh. I hope its a fluke, or a reasonable explaination....

KJ

 

good catch KJ

 

Makes me wonder about the machine you just returned. From what I know...the flawed Sandy Bridge had issues with SATA II. SATA III was not the issue...so most machines wouldn't have issues...UNLESS...the SATA on the Envy is SATA II. Remains to be seen

 

Correction, sir. Wireless N also works on a 5 GHz connection. 2.4 GHz is B/G/N. 5 GHz supports A/N.

 

Thanks to taxmantoo on the DV7/DV6 6xxx forums suggested the best way we are going to find out about our chips is right here.

HOW TO CHECK IF YOUR CHIPSET IS AFFECTED BELOW!
Intel® Chipset Design Issue May Affect Certain HP Desktop and Notebook PCs - HP Customer Care (United States - English)

HP shows us how to find out. I kinda wish I checked mine before sending it off to HP, but oh well, live and learn. Bobmitch....I wonder if you are going to be one of the first to receive their Envy 17 3D SB...

KJ

 

The Envy I sent back said "B4". The only id to worry about is if it says "04", but even that can't be trusted completely. The people in the Alienware section have been debating this a while too from what I remember theirs is labeled "04" but someone physically inspected theirs and found it to be the B3 stepping (labeled on the chip itself).

These values you find in the OS or using the wmic command can be altered by the BIOS. Why would they do that? Drivers or software that are looking for a specific id strings might not have had enough time to be altered yet so an easy fix is to mask the ID. Probably a very poor choice in hindsight with all the hysteria surrounding the faulty chipsets. I guess rightly so, nobody wants to pay for a faulty product without knowledge of it.

I'm going to take HP's word that they are not using the faulty boards for the Envy 17 3D. On HP's website Intel® Chipset Design Issue May Affect Certain HP Desktop and Notebook PCs - HP Customer Care (United States - English) they say to check your SN#, if its lower than 108 then you probably have an affected MB. Would they lie outright and hope not to get caught? I sincerely doubt that. My SN# had 110 in it.

 

According to HP...the fourth to sixth digits had to be 108 or higher for fixed Sandy Bridge. Mine WAS 109...was the new chipset

I don't think I am even close to being the first to get. Seems we have a few people here overdue...

 

Spartan has mentioned it already, DO NOT RELY on this method. I was in the market for a Dell XPS 17 3D before I decided to order the Envy and ther was tons of discussion about it on the boards, since people received their xps 17 (non 3D though) with a B2 set. I was on the phone with Dell for days trying to find out what was going on and if mine would be a B3 if I'd order. I ended up talking to a production manger (they never gave me his number unfortunately, could have made a lot of people happy on the Dell forum).
Bottom line, Spartan is right on the spot. They are tricking the bios, since some components weren't up to standard yet.
He mentioned the only way of really knowing would be to actually look at the chip. He was saying: "Why would I lie to you. I don't care if you buy or not. Even if you decide to buy know, you would have to hang up and call back sales. I can't sell you a thing over here."

 

I'm not a graphics designer, but would you seriously work with CAD (or any graphics design) using a 17" monitor? God bless your eyes then, but with my desktop replacement laptop I will take advantage of my graphic card and I will be watching Blueray disc at 1080p, website browsing, photo/video editing in full high definition, gaming, etc.... all in a nice 25-27" external monitor. In the road i'll be fine at 900p for simple tasks without hurting my eyes (and grilling my balls and without battery in 1.5 hours max.)

Backlit keyboard? the light leaks out of the keyboard been useless instead of useful. (I just had an Envy 17 3D back in December, I know what i'm saying... with dents, wobbling, with poor battery life).

6850m vs 6770m? remember that the 6850m is an underclocked version of the 5850 which was btw an underclocked version of others 5850 in other laptops. Anyway, for gaming I have a Xbox360, the 6770m works fine for me and it's not like anybody will be able to notice the difference between them.... oh yes, except that your balls will be grilled.... hehehehehe

BTW, the DV7tqe is not brown... is really dark shiiiit color... LOL

but not, seriously... is a really dark brown almost black and looks cool.

 

....like my shirt in the picture... btw... LOL

 

Jose, LMFAO!!!! You're last couple of posts made me LOL! Thanks for bringing back the crazy fun/humor. Hope even though you are getting the DV7 you'll stick with us regardless.

P.S. I do hope my Envy is a good one, or yeah....I don't even want to say it... :x

KJ

 

Not saying that this will be my primary workstatoin. I have a dual 24" setup in the office for most of my work. By old notebook is 15.4" and I am working on it, so the screen is even smaller
Funny enough it is not about the screen size but the resolution. With most CAD applications you cannot tweak the actual size of th tool boxes, they are determined by actual pixels. My 15.4" has an UXGA display. Any resolution below this, simply is not giving me enough real estate on the screen to actually work.

 

Looks like I have a lot of catching up to do as far as this thread is concerned...how did iPhone and android get in this discussion!?

Lol....

 

serious thread drift, dude but it was fun!

 

ahaha, that would be my fault! We were talking about the dual band capablities of the Envy 17 3D SB and I was mentioning how I would like to talk on my Envy connecting my old Sprint Palm Treo 755p through Blue Tooth...but I have not upgraded my phone to the iPhone or Android.

KJ

 

Update... Talked with Customer Service again regarding the non-shipment of my Envy 17 3D on March 30. The Customer Service person pointed out that March 30 was my estimated "build" date not "ship" date as indicated on the order status report link provided by HP. (I placed my order on March 9 and it was confirmed March 10.) The Customer Support person went on to explain that after the computer is built, it must clear customs before it can be shipped. Ergo HP is not late in the shipment of my computer. She emphasized that there are no production delays. She said that my computer would likely be shipped next week. I tried to wrangle expedited shipping but she would not budge. And to add insult to injury, I paid full list. What a deal.

 

I would tell them that if they do not upgrade your shipping you will be returning the notebook before the 21 day period, in particular since you paid full list price and that there would be coupons that you could reduce your final price if you just return and order a new one. So if they do not upgrade at least your shipping, you will have plenty more reson to return it.
Worth a try.

 

Don't give up. Thats why god invented multiple CS agents lol. Keep calling you will find one that will at least bump your shipping!

 

Call Resolutions. Tell them your issues, the least they can do is upgrade you to 2 day shipping. If I wanted, I'd even try to get some coupons stacked ontop of what you paid. If you don't have coupon codes, no worries, talk nicely to Resolutions and they may create coupons for you, honest. Can't hurt.

Worst case: You have 21 days to return it, and or/find new coupons. Its ok hyperboled, here on NBR we have eachother's back. Just post updates, and people here will give you good advise.

KJ

 

Explain, POLITELY, that you are 90% sure you will be returning the machine before the 21 day period is up. See if they offer you something to keep the machine. AND...keep a very watchful eye on your "shipment" date in relation to the build date. On my status...it says ship date of 4/8 and on my online invoice it says build date of 4/8. Interesting...

 

Bobmitch that is correct. From my time on NBR, and ordering several times from HP, I've come to learn that the ship date is the same as the build date, since HP refers to the build date as usually the date the laptop is complete and ready to ship. This is of course my understanding, so I could be wrong.

KJ

 

i called hp today and spoke to a rep they told me that if i don't receive anything by saturday then i should call back. the csr kept telling me that March 31 is your estimated shipping date and that fedex should get the shipment and sometimes they take a while to generate a tracking number. But i asked her you guys are HP i just want to know if my system is built.... she had no answer for me except to call back on saturday.

 

FYI... I just received an email from HP offering me a discount on a future order because of the inconvenience that I have experienced on this order. I called the number that was in the email for more information. I was told that my build date was pushed back from March 30 to April 6 and that I would receive additional credits for this delay. I asked for the reason for the delay and was told that it was because of the large volume of orders for this computer. They also said the build date could be pushed back even further which would result in additional credits. The plot thickens.

 

So I guess we will all have to wait a lot longer. This really sucks. One of my reasons to go with HP over Dell was that they promised an earlier ship date (Ok, admitted, not the only reason, but it played a role in my decision making).

 

So you will receive a credit to your account in addition to a future discount right? That sounds fair. Just hope your credit is at least $50 or more. That would be nice.

As to their reason for the delay.... large order? Really? IDK... I hope there is no plot, and certainly not because of more faulty chips...I would be...

KJ

 

Ok, so if they are delayed on production, why aren't they changing the stimated build date accordingly. I have just checked my config and it shows April 20. That is 14 working days from today. Which is even less than my order, which has estimated build date of April 12 (would be 15 working days).
Are they hiding their production problems, so people won't go other places?
They haven't had any problem taking our money upfront, have they? I wish I could bill my clients 3-4 weeks up front and then don't even deliver.

 

Indeed Slotti. I hope my agent just wasn't being outrageously honest when she estimated my ship date at April 13th.

Also, hyperboled, I really think you should tell them you want at LEAST $300 refunded to you for your trouble + the lack of coupon. I am serious.

 

Your signature is a bit weird though slotti. Says you ordered in april and expect your computer in May

 

And you have been the first one that saw it.
Let's hope my typo is not a bad omen.
I will change it....you never know. Guess I have been just way too overworked, don't even know what month it is anymore.

 

Yeah it better not turn May until we get our computers. You ordered a day before me, and your estimate is one day before as well.

 

Hmmm...I ordered on March 11, and my estimated ship/build date is today, April 1. I pray I don't get these same delays and runarounds. Hmmm...

 

iwantanenvy

Have you checked the status of your order online? Is it still "In production"?

If so, I would call Customer Service in the AM...tell then what you are reading and see if they own up to it...

 

I had the same apology email (March 30 ship date) and went through multiple CSRs and resolutions.

I was told there is a 2 week delay due to screen component delays.

I asked to apply the 15% to my current order, and get 2 day shipping, since I could just cancel the order and use the 15% discount to buy a new one with a ship date only 1 week later than their two week delay quote. I also explained that the discount was silly since it expired on 4/30/11, and why would I buy another new PC after just getting this new expensive laptop? I also mentioned I ordered a Dell XPS 17 3D at the same time to compare the two, and have had the Dell now for 2 weeks (I do, its fine, but I hate the kb).

So I told them I will just order a new one with the discount and return the more expensive one. On the phone I quoted them the new price (I am saving over $250) with a ship date of April 21, which is not much later than what it would be with my 2 week pushback delay.

The would not budge except give me a $100 credit.

In the end I ordered the exact same build (actually, the HD options are now slightly upgraded), applied the coupon, and will send back the existing order once the new once comes in (assuming w/in 21 days).

 

sippelmc, that was silly of HP. I am wondering did you call Home & Office, or Resolutions department? Usually in this case Resolutions is really helpful, so I'm betting you called the former. Still, glad you were able to get your coupon applied to a later order. Welcome to NBR!

KJ

 

Hi I'm a regular over in the Asus Gaming forum, I own a G73JH with a 5870m. How does the 6850m perform? How well does it overclock? It is basically identical to a 5870m but with lower clocks, I am wondering if it would be equal to a 5870m with a mild OC. Does anyone have a 3Dmark11 score with it? My G73 got a P2205 with the 5870m and i7-720.

The Envy 17 looks like a great deal with the current coupon. $1200 is great, especially if performance is close to the 5870.

Lastly how does the 6850 fare on temperatures? What do most of yours game at? How about furmark? The 5870m typically maxes between 80-95c if you have a decent paste job.

Thanks in advance.

 

May I ask what coupon you are refering to?

 

Lol, I'll second that, what coupon? Unless this is an April Fool's prank?

KJ

 

ValkerieFire

I can share a few points here. I ran 3Dmark 11 on the Envy 17 3D, while I had the first one and it scored around an 1892. That was comperable to an Asus G73SW with the GTX460M installed. The only thing I can share as far as temps, is that even while running 3D mark 11...the machine stayed pretty cool. With Coolsense in the new Envy's...I expect at least 10C lower. The 6850 is clocked at 575 / 900. Someone else here set it at 625 / 1050 and had no issues. Go back in the thread and you will see the settings and performance. Overall...it is going to be 10-15% slower than your 5870m...you can also get an interesting look here:

AMD Radeon HD 6850M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

 

I actually just found it. It is 20%, but only applies to the non 3D envy. Not too bad of a deal though, but for some weird reason the non 3D envy is still the same price as the 3D version (at least it is not more anymmore).
So basically, you need to call and hope you'll find a rep that will give your the 20% off on the 3D as well.
KJ, won't do you any good. I think your final deal is better
Anybody who needs the coupon code, om me.

 

Hey Killa. Thanks for the welcome. I actually did work through Resolutions and basically asked to be escalated from the CSRs. I think that apology email has them in for a loop because they didn't quite know how to handle my situation, and I'm sure a lot of people will feel the same. You can use the coupon they give you in email for ANYTHING. I actually just ordered the second one online using the coupon, telling them the new price and almost-same ship date at checkout, while I was talking to Resolutions to point out their idiocy.

 

You're welcome, NBR is cool, and has lots of good info. Now I'm wondering if the April 20th date I received from Resolutions when ordering my replacement will be good. I hope so. May would suck.

KJ

 

nice work! good catch and +1 rep

 

If we could only get a straight answer as to why the late shipments...then it would be easier to predict. Unfortunately, every time someone posts that their shipment didn't go out...and that they called...each one given a different reason. These companies need to shoot a bit straighter and explain. I honestly believe that most of us would hang in there...but the made up stories only tend to aggravate

 

does anyone have the number to hp resolutions? i keep calling the sale center and they give me the same excuse that it takes a while for fedex to generate a tracking number. My build date was yesterday March 31 but i did not receive any shipping notice.

 

866-217-6014 -someone else posted this a while back I'm just repeating the information, not claiming originality lol

 

there it is. thanks goes to Stephen C

 

I just had a crazy idea.... since every so often someone will ask for some HP number..... why not have 2.0 post this and other important HP numbers in his thread:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-envy-hdx/562858-complete-owners-lounge-directory.html

2.0 ya think its possible?

KJ