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

New BIOS vF.08 just came out.

 

KJ you will love SSD. when i got my intel SSD for my desktop i was just blown away. boot ups are like next to nothing. apps open instantly. plus you don't hear the HD moving since its SSD. they always said the hardrive was the bottleneck on any computer.... and boy they weren't kidding. Now with SSD that bottleneck is virtually nonexistent.

 

Acidblast...

Question. I intend to install most non important apps on the D: drive rather than the SSD. On SSD...figure...Win 7, Office, Burning software, Adobe Premiere and Photoshop Elements and most apps for operation of the machine. Then on D: probably things like any Games, secondary apps and the like. Perhaps my download directory, documents and such also on D: How do yo maximize your performance???

Also meant to ask...is there any additional warranty on that purchase or just the two year???

 

I am hoping they add some kind of way into the advanced settings (or someone learns the right keystrokes like they have for other HP laptops). I'm holding off buying the 1600 DDR3 because without a way to change the memory settings the odds are pretty low it would run in 1600 mode unless they have it set to read the XMP profile by default which is doubtful.

 

In the two days I used my Envy...never heard the fan, yet the machine was as cool as could be. Not even an issue...

 

Yeah, I'm waiting to see some info before considering going 1600MHz...as some of you guys here already mentioned it might not give much of a performance boost, so we'll see...

If its somehow proven that 1600MHz gives a great boost to the system, then yes, its a good investment, but otherwise, I'm waiting. No rush.

KJ

 

Honestly...with desktops...for example...I have Corsair Dominator 6 GB Triple Channel on my i7 950 X58 Motherboard. The CS rating is 8-8-8-24. I run it at 8-7-8-19 and it is hella fast. Now there is DDR3 2000 ram...but at 9-9-9-28 and frankly...mine will keep up with it. Increased overhead is all you get, but the CS rating goes up and kinda slows it down. I think the 1333 is plenty fast on these...they are laptops. Now...give me DDR3 1600 7-7-7-19 and I'm in...as long as the motherboard will recognize it. I think the acquisition of the SSD is gonna make a more profound difference...

Think about it. I have the desktop and an Nvidia GTX580 superclocked. I do 33,200 in 3DMark Vantage and close to 7000 in 3DMark 11. The Envy 17 3D does 1800 plus in 3D Mark 11. The reason to go to higher overhead is overclocking...which I don't think is even capable on a laptop.

 

Nice credit. I am starting to be worried that the rest of us won't get theirs either.
Your new ship date is beyond mine, so I doubt that they will deliver mine on time. This is really unacceptable. One of the reasons I ordered the envy is because I needed it asap.
Here is a thought. Maybe we should all order a ready ship notebook like this one:
HP Pavilion dv7-4295us Entertainment Notebook PC (aluminum) | HP® Official Store
We can ship it back before the 21 days come. DO you guys think that would fly?

 

Well, why bother? You already know what I have don't you? dv7-4283cl from Costco as I've posted previously. Its better than quick ship because its a quick drive to your local Costco, pick it up, and then use it. Return within 90 days for a full refund! It really is not better or easier than that. The only thing is, if you are not a member of Costco, it will run you $50 for the year, but it is so worth it.

P.S. Looks like Crysis 2 is out. I wonder how the Envy 17 3D SB will handle it.

KJ

 

Costco has the best purchase / return policies I have ever seen. Worth a try. BTW...I really believe that from all that I have read...that by the second week of April....most of the mess should be cleaned up. Japan is working hard at getting back online....can only help their recovery to do so. If that is really the issue. You also have to figure...HP is not gonna make a good profit if they have to keep doling out monies back and discounts. Somewhere along the line...it is better that they get things back on time...

Joe...Cam121...agree or disagree with me...the Envy 17 3D is worth waiting for. If you get a discount for a shipment a week late...better for you. In the end...we will all get our Envy's and start posting challenges on how to get more and more out of them.

 

Good idea. I am not a Cosco member, but I have a friend who is. This is a good idea. Guess I'll be stopping by at Cosco next week. Thanks man. +rep for the tip. You just saved me some major headache.

 

So what are people's expected build dates?

Mine is 04/21/2011...

 

Build date: 4/20/2011


KJ

 

Build date 4-15

 

on my desktop I use my SSD as my OS drive and install all my apps on the SSD. any data including documents and downloads i have on 7200 rpm drives.

As to warranty i just got the standard warranty that comes with all HPs

 

build date March 31 which has come and gone. now eta 04/15/11.

 

Thought i want to share this with your guys.

From advice of owners in this lounge as well as those in the dv7 tqe thread, i called HP about 12 days ago trying to get the $500 discount from exchanging my defective dv7 tqe with a envy 17 3D, even though my original discount was only $350 ($200 discount + $150 instant off). The rep from HP resolution center agreed immediately to give me $450.00 off. I was soooo greedy to ask for another $50. So she said she needed to check with her supervisor. A little bit later she came back apologizing that she now could only give me $300 off based on the $200 discount i got in my original offer + additional $100 one time discount. Ofcourse I said NOOOOOOO.

Too desparately, i chose to return my dv7 a day later and got full refund to my bill-me-later account about two days ago.

Today i called HP again to pull the trigger getting the envy 17 3D. To make the story short, I told them i was given $350 discount offer when requesting an exchange. The rep this time, after asking her boss, told me she could do only $300 off and plus once i receive the product an additional $50 + $39 credit for a 2-day shipment. So the effective discount i get would be $350. I said ok then i ask about why now i could not get the 7200 RPM HDD as i got from the dv7 tqe? she said well they don't offer it any more. there is nothing she could do. Since i don't have the extra money to bargain on the SSD+HDD combo i decided to quit complainting about it.

After she is done typing all my config (the base model + a 6+9 cell option for $75) and ready to place the order, i told her i change my mind to switch back to the std 6 cell. She seems reluctant to make the change and so she said if i keep this config. she will give me another $50 credit back for the 6+9cell batteries so i will be getting a equivalent of $400 off plus a free 2-day shipment. My final cost is $1,330 including tax etc. Am i doing ok?

The only thing bothers me a lot is that i end up with a slower 5400 RPM HDD and have to live with that until i can get a 7200 HDD or SDD a few month later to swap it out as someone suggests. Sigh....

I paid about $280 more than my dv7 order for the same specs except following: FHD, better GPU, blue-tooth, backlit keyboard, 3D glasses, but slower HDD and no blue ray writer. I had been thinking of getting a Sager 5170 or the Dell XPS 17 3D with less money but made up my mind for an envy based on comments from this thread. Hope it is worth....

Any more advices???
---------
Just ordered Envy 17 3D base model + 6+9 cell battery option ESD 4/19/11

 

My ship date is April 5th.

 

HP didn't send you an email stating a delay? So then yours is still slated to ship on the 5th?

KJ

 

My ship date is April 8th.

 

Interesting how these late shipping dates have arisen. I'm beginning to think my original CSR was honest when she gave me a shipping date of April 13th...

 

Okay...
I ordered March 11, my estimated ship/build date was April 1. It is now April 3 (slightly after midnight). My order status still says "In production." I have no "shipped" e-mail confirmation...neither do I have that "your order has been delayed" e-mail. I called HP yesterday and the day before. I'm starting to get upset. I am calling them later today, and again on Monday morning.

 

What issues does this update address/fix? Any performance increases? ANd will systems with build dates after 3/25/11 already have the latest BIOS version?

 

I did not notice anything different from the last BIOS version. I was hoping for a way to disable switchable graphics so that I would not have to jump through hoops to the official AMD Mobility Drivers.

 

There is no official change log. I did notice a lot faster boot so far.
Hopefully this fix my random system freezes as well.

Everything runs so smooth until now with the F08, hopefully things will stay that way.

 

Odd thing about ship dates. Sunday morning 4/3. Go to the HP website and start ordering an Envy 17 3D...ship date is 4/19. How is it that the date is moving backward???? Past couple of days...date was 4/21...

 

Nope, I haven't gotten a notification from HP or anyone. However if I DO get an email confirming a delay then it's back to Resolutions and I'll be up to $400.00 in discounts this time.

 

Ship Date April 12th.

 

Is it something about the ClickPad? If so, can't you just post it here?

Also, anyone know if Ivy Bridge IGP is supposed to do 120Hz desktop? That might also be worth the wait. Google gives me nothing.


EDIT: sending it to me as PM also works for me.

 

A Synaptics IS clickpad would be worth the wait, but I don't see anyone using 120Hz to accomplish enhanced motion for 2D movies (for example) on a laptop any time soon. its there only to support 3D.

A new IGP might support 120Hz 3D though, that would be cool. 3D without the discrete GPU

 

Update... I ordered my Envy March 9 and had an estimated build (ship) date of March 30. I just again called Customer Support for an update on the status of my order. I was told that my order was delayed because of a component shortage. She said she could not give me a revised build date because they do not know when HP will receive the component(s). I asked what the component(s) might be and she said she did not have that information. I asked why HP did not send me a delay notification. She said HP sends a delay notification when they have a new estimated build date. The convoluted logic makes me dizzy. She asked if I would like to participate in a survey. I respectfully declined. Are there consumer protection laws being violated here?

 

Hyperboled...

No consumer protection laws that I know of. My suspicion was stated in an article on page 1 a few days ago...

Japan Disaster Affecting Major Manufacturers

My suspicion is the LCD panels. Could be quite a long time before we see these machines...pain is that we have already paid for them!

 

Thanks for your article. But the lack of notification seems like an act of bad faith. And continuing to take and hold your money with no reliable build (ship) date in sight somehow seems fraudulent. We of course have unending compassion for Japan. We would have increased patience with HP if they were more forthcoming.

 

I absolutely agree! I cannot even fathom what is going on in Japan. I know that they are doing everything in their collective power to turn the situation around. I feel that all HP would have to do is tell the truth about the situation and they might find most of us are compassionate and understanding. The telling of half truths or no truth at all really shakes one's confidence in the company where we have spent our money. Funny...Dell is delivering at full speed again...Asus machines are in the pipeline...Toshiba is taking orders with reliable delivery dates...and we at HP are sitting with our thumbs in our ears!

The coming week will tell alot...

 

On the subject of solid state drives, (I have ordered the SSD + HDD dual drive) several of you have pointed out the increased speed you can expect from the SSD. What about reliability? I understand that there is an upper limit to the number of writes to an SSD which is why I guess that you put your operating system and application software on the SSD and data on the HDD. (That is if HP doesn't stripe it.) Are there other limitations? advantages? Thanks for your patience. This is new stuff for me.

 

If HP stripes it with the 640 GB HDD...first thing is that it turns the 640 into a 160. The HDD space is limited by the smallest drive. Also...once you stripe SSD's, you lose the Win 7 / App ability to permanently delete files from the SSD (TRIM)...thus causing a deteorating SSD performance. If I get a machine with Stripe...First thing I will do is create my recovery disk set...then go into the bios and do away with RAID. The machine will have to be rebuilt using the Recovery disks...then leave the 160 for OS and important apps...and run secondary apps and documents, etc...on the 640. Even with two SSD's in RAID 0...the performance will deteorate over time, due to not being able to clean the "junk" out of the cells...

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/storage/2010/02/04/windows-7-ssd-performance-and-trim/1

Hopefully, soon, there will be a way to do TRIM and Garbage cleanup on RAIDED SSD. Once they figure that out...performance will be incredible. Right now...the long term doesn't seem to show any advantage over a single SSD

 

Lol so demanding...I'll send you a PM right now. Its nothing to do with the clickpad.

Juts that HP has finally replaced my notebook with an Envy 17 (not the 17 3D). So I'm waiting like the rest of you for that to come. Then I have to decide if i want to keep it or sell it.

Cuz I really want the Envy 17 3D. Or at the very least an Envy 17 with a Quad Core processor AND 8GB of RAM.

 

hyperboled, did HP at least offer you a discount or credit for the delay? If not, you have a right to ask for it.

I'm still wondering if HP will be able to get our orders out before April 20th..... I can't imagine what its like to get a delayed order. The last few Envys I ordered were received all before due date.

Well, I'm gonna be following Stephan C's situations since HP did not send him a delay email, and his build date is 4/5/11....interesting to see if his will be the first of the orders to actually ship.

KJ

 

Would that take care of write limitations? Or is that overrated?

And what about general "wear and tear" over time on the SSD vs HDD, heat generation? Can or should you put the recovery partition on the HDD to save space on the SDD?

 

I was told that the revovery partition goes on Drive C: Now...if RAIDED...it's already there. If no raid...it is on the SSD and can't be moved. As far as limitations...remains to be seen...but I can see an SSD lasting some years...if properly cared for

 

In an earlier conversation the Customer Support person implied that there would be compensation for a delay into next week and additional compensation if the date was pushed back even further. The person did not say how much. Don't think that the Customer Support person has the authority to say how much. That should probably be taken up with Resolutions whose phone number you have been so generous to supply.

 

... and how do you care for and feed an SSD? I read somewhere that you do not defrag an SSD. Did not say or do not remember why.

 

I guess the answer to not defragging an SSD is self evident. If you are not writing to the SSD there is no need to defrag.

I am only trying to distract myself from the frustration of all of this waiting.

Not fair. When you reply to your own quote, it does not increase your number of posts.

 

Well...again, my "estimated" ship/build date was April 1. I just got off the phone with HP about 5 minutes ago. The customer service representative was very polite and helpful. She placed me on hold and checked with the production team. I am told that I should receive an e-mail with tracking information by tomorrow (April 4). She says, as far as they can tell, it should definitely ship by tomorrow, and hopefully once we have tracking information, we can find out why it was delayed. Maybe my 3-day delay can get me some $$.

 

I've heard/read some people saying that a 120 FPS desktop is much nicer (smoother) than a 60 FPS desktop. I think I'd agree -- I used to have an 85Hz CRT, and I think (in my vague memory) the higher refresh rate really was nicer.
120Hz is also good for playing multiples of 24Hz, without doing that stupid 3-2 pulldown.

 

So I just respecified my config on HP.com. Estimate build date would be April 19th. Which is only 7 days after my built day, though I ordered, and got ordered confirmation, on 3-22 which is 12 days ago!!! With all the delay they seem to be having, they still reduced the production time by 5 days!!!
Does that make any sense?

Edit: Stupid thought, but might it be possible that they are stacking the delayed once at the end of the line? They are already delayed and they will have to compensate the buyer in some way or another, so rather than risking more delays on other notebooks, they are simply stacking the already delayed once at the end? Just thinking from an economic PR point of view. You guys are going to stone me for this, but if I was HP, that is what I would do. Rather have a handful of really pissed off customers that suffer a major delay, than having a lot more customers that have a delay. If somebody is trying to get back at them, they will always be able to point back at their statistics that they actually delivered such and such % on time.
It's like airlines. If you are delayed, due to some mechanical failure on your plane, they won't let you on the next one, because it is already full and rather have you wait a couple days before they get you back on (happened to me over x-mas, trying to go to Europe LAX-LHR, 3 days delay, but one day after mine was canceled all flights were leaving without any trouble, I still had to wait though). Sorry for going a bit off topic on this....

 

if there is a 96Hz option, yes, and in this case (the Envy 17 3D0) this is true. So yea Id agree -- but we shouldn't confuse this with motion blur, frame interpolation and other hocus pocus found in todays HDTVs

 

120 Hz would be smooth for both 24 and 30 fps though.

 

Any Envy Coupons out right now?

 

Only for the non-3D regular envy 17:
"NB1977" for $250 off

Google: Envy 17 coupon ;-)