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

Cool Does it actually come with the 17" screen protector too? I can't see it in the photo.

 

Hi all!!

I am seriously thinking of getting an ENVY 17 2xxx series! (yay!) For me, screen quality is the most most most important.. and it is also the key thing that drew me to ENVY 17.

Question: How does the ENVY 17 screen quality compare with that of MacBook Pro and the Sager 8170-S1?

I have been trying to read through the forum / internet for the past few days / weeks to find an answer but to no success. And I am not able to find them and physically compare them.. So anybody have any insights on this?

Thank you !!

Chiv

 

One more question for you or anyone who can answer this: The 1xxx and 2xxx and 2d vs. 3d Envy 17 all share the same body, right? So even though the protector says it's for the "standard Envy 17" it shouldn't matter, right?

 

If you click "coverage options" on their website, it says that they do not have a screen protector, only top of lid and palm rests. Sorry.

 

Could you please use your ENVY without the cool pad for a day or so? I think the temperatures would be more significant that way, posting them when the laptop is on a cooling pad is pretty pointless IMO (at least for the people who plan to use it without a pad).

Thanks.

 

I'd have to say the Envy has the best screen I've ever worked with. My friend has a MBP 17" 2011 and I prefer the Envy screen (its brighter imho). I think it will come down to personal preference between the MBP and the Envy. I've bought/returned 4 Sagers over the years (bought 2 kept 1 which was a HyperSonic, then 2 years later bought 2 from XoticPC returned both) and all of them had terrible screens and it was the screen quality that made me return them. I remember the last straw with Sager for myself was a 5793 which had the most horrendous light bleeding Ive ever seen. Here is a look: (it was even worse than it looks on the pic since I suck at holding cameras still)


By spartanjet at 2011-04-11

Watching a movie on that or even gaming made the screen look like it had 2 huge parenthesis covering the entire screen. It was awful, but what made me swear off Sager was the technician working on the Machine thought the screen was acceptable. After that I swore I'd never touch another Sager since they didn't seem to care about quality.

HP has an excellent return policy (unlike Apple which charges a restocking fee still if I remember correctly). Buy the Envy and check it out.

 

2.0 this 2XXXX thread is most informative ,thank-you! in reviewing the opening post again, I happened to notice the reference to South Bridge CPU should this be Sandy Bridge?

 

My orders
Order summary

Apr 08, 2011
HP ENVY 17 3D customizable Notebook PC
i7-2820QM / 8gb RAM / 750GB
$1,469.99
Order in production
(Estimated to ship on April 26, 2011)
Tracking provided upon shipment.

Mar 23, 2011
$1,070.99
HP Pavilion dv7t Quad Edition customizable Notebook PC
i7-2720QM / 8gb RAM / 640GB 7200 / 6770 / BT / bluray
Order in production
(Estimated to ship on April 8, 2011)
Tracking provided upon shipment.

Couldn't decide between the 2 so I ordered both. Ordered the dv7tqe because the envy couldn't touch the price but after the 25% off (envy) it made it a more difficult decision. My dv7tqe is delayed so hopefully I will have both of them at the same time for at least a couple days. Have an SSD for whichever one I end up keeping already. Hopefully I will have time for a full review of both next to each other. Yikes!!

 

Both of mine (lol) are arriving today and out for shipment. Will be fun!

 

BTW, I've had 2 cooling pads in the month. Since people have been talking about cooling pads lately, I thought I'd share a little of my recent cooling pad experiences.

First I had a belkin cooking pad:
Amazon.com: Belkin F5L028 Laptop Cooling Lounge (White): Electronics

It cools well, and is comfortable on your lap. It pulls air from the side or the bottom, so the intake can never really be blocked. The first problem I developed was the adjustable bottom part that adjusts the height failed and it started falling down under the weight of the my computer. I had to get creative with some duck tape and pencils to permanently secure the height adjuster.

The fan shaft got loose and it would suddenly start vibrating really bad, making a humming/droning sound. At first I would hit it and it would stop vibrating, but eventually it would vibrate all the time and the sound was too much to handle. My wife uses it now, but without plugging the fan in. I'm going to take the fan apart and see if I can tighten it up or grease it enough to keep it from vibrating.

Now I have a Cooler Master U3. It works very well, and can even be effective without the fans installed at all, just as a nice aluminum stand with lots of holes to let it breathe. The only catch is that it isn't as comfortable on your lap as the Belkin one. You have to put the feet on your legs, and you can't adjust the position at all. I have a wood board that I put it on and then I can use it on my lap without any problem. Movable fans and adjustable fan speed make this a very effective and useful product (especially for the price)
Amazon.com: Cooler Master NotePal U3 Notebook Cooler with 3 Fans R9-NBC-8PCK-G: Electronics

I use these with my HDX18 and it does make a big difference. When playing games without the fan but on hard surface, my GPU could get up into the 80's, and idle in the mid 50's. With the fans, it almost never tops about 68-69c, and idles around 45c all the time during normal use.

 

Can anyone recommend a cooling pad/laptop mat that has room for a mouse? I plan on doing gaming while relaxing in bed/on the couch and need a mouse pad with the cooling pad.

 

Marcus2137 go to page 158 and look at this post #1572.

I guess you get what you pay for.

I' like to see the cooling pad that has room for a moose too!- For work.

 

My Envy 17 3D is on the FedEx truck for delivery. I just hope I'm at home when it arrives.

 

Guys!

Has anyone experienced slow wifi with their Envy 17?!

I used to be getting transfer speeds of up to 2.6 MB/s in utorrent on my old pav but the Envy 17 barely reaches 800kB/s. (even in HTTP)

I tried updating the drivers and messing around with some of the settings. I plugged it directly into the network and the speed increases dramatically... so it can only be the wifi in the Envy.

The wireless router is a model that supports g.

Help would be appreciated!

 

Ya, I wish that pad had been better, but it was cheap and I thought I'd give it a try. The best you can say about it is that it is comfortable. That's why my wife is still using it even without the fan.

I'm SUPER happy with my coolmaster U3 now. Even if the fans have problems, the board still is very effective without the fans at all. And, since the fans come off so easily, it's very easy to swap them if there is any issue.

As far as having a mouse next to the pad, I use a mouse on mine all the time. I took a really basic laptop table, basically a wooden board about 20-22" wide, about 16" deep, and 1" thick with nice plastic trim around the edge; and I took the legs off (just unscrewed).

I have the laptop cooler just sitting on that and there is about 6-7" beside the laptop where I have a mouse pad and mouse. It's a little heavy, but it works really well. The laptop cooler grips the table really well and holds the laptop well also.

If you search "laptop table" on amazon, there are some laptop tables that have room for a mouse pad AND a fan built in already. I don't know if the fan is any good, but might be worth looking at...

 

Nice! Stephan C, by the way, you mentioned that you'll be doing a video right? If you do and have it uploaded, please PM me so I can make the official thread for the Envy 17 3D SB YouTube videos. Thanks.


KJ

 

When I originally purchased my Envy 17 3D non-SB, I knew about the potential cooling issues. I purchased the Targus Chill Mat as part of my laptop purchase.

Targus Lap Chill Mat™ AWE55US


However, when I saw how big and bulky it was, I couldn't really travel with it easily, so while walking through Best Buy one night I came upon this travel version of the chill mat.

Targus Travel Chill Mat™ AWE54US


I never really noticed if they worked well because I ended up sending my Envy 17 3D non-SB back to HP. Now that I have the SB version, I haven't had a heat program necessitating a mat. I still carry my travel chill mat with me though. It's very compact and fits inside my backpack with my laptop.

 

Yup, I'll definitely do a video. I got a new SX20IS so it'll be in full HD too.

 

Sweet. You do realize that yours will be the very first Envy 17 3D SB video on the web! Lucky. Well, minus that horrible HP ad with the airplane.....and the lady that likes to steal laptops.

KJ

 

Yeah, I'm pretty excited! I'll keep pumping out videos as I start using the system.

 

Hy hyperboled,
This was after a couple of hours of running the processor at full speed, so I am not sure if is typical performance. I have experienced this with other latops as well, so it may be just my particular case, and the applications I am running.
Once I get the new one, I will try to assess this issue in a more thorough way.

 

I wonder why there are no other videos of the new Envy 17 3D on YouTube (or anywhere for that matter). This is really strange. What's even stranger is that Amazon.com keeps re-uploading the same Envy 17 3D video to YouTube every week or so. I always search "Envy 17 3D" and sort the results by upload date. And Amazon.com always has the same (boring) video with an upload date in the last 10 days or so. That's getting really annoying.

 

lol yeah I noticed the same thing. Not one unboxing of a Sandy Bridge Envy 17 3D. Come on guys get with it!! =)

 

Well, I kinda thought of a reason(s) as to why we don't see any Envy 17 3D SB videos on YouTube yet.

I believe HP only shipped the SB edition for a very short period before the stop/shortage occured which many of us here experienced it. So those few people who are planning to upload videos of the Envy have not had a chance to do so.

Secondly, those that did get the new edition may not be enthusiates like many of us here. They just want to buy it, use it, and forget about it. Whereas many here enjoy running various software to test the capabilities and limitations of the Envy...CPU-Z, RealTemp, and many more I don't even know the names to. I know of about 3 members here that still have their SB Envy but no vids..oh well.

I'd like to think NBR is the only laptop forum on the web, So if we don't have the Envy, no one does! Lol.

In fact, many of the first generation Envy 17 and Envy 17 3D vidoes on YouTube have been uploaded by members on NBR, so we should be proud of that.

Hopefully this week and next week you guys will post your Envy vids up on the official thread to be posted once the first video is linked.

KJ

 

Mine is at home waiting for me. And I have to work late. Damn.

 

Go out for lunch and get food poisoning or an allergic reaction (not real) and take the rest of the day off...

 

LOL @ mrgod2u. Congrats sippelmc! Mine was shipped on Friday, but for some reason, it's still in China!

 

Same here. It's beacuse they missed the FedEx cut off time for the weekend. So it did not go out before Monday night China time (basically now). You won't see any update on FedEx before it reaches Anchorage, which should be by the end of the day tmorrow (tracking probably won"t show before Wednesday morning our time). Since they missed the cut off time on Friday, the chances on getting here by Thursday (as originally provided as the ETA) are slim
I also have to call FedEx to see if I can get it off the truck when they are leaving in the morning. Nobody will be home so they will just keep it, but the FedEx hub for my area is about 200 feet away from my office, so I guess I'll have to find the driver in the am?

 

Be prepared for whats going to feel like the LONGEST day of your life. lol. But if you had a dentist appointment after work it would be 5pm before you knew it. It never fails!

 

My notebook shipped on April 9th, I will be receiving it on April 13th.

I am happy.

 

You're probably right. But the Amazon.com thing is very annoying, and slightly misleading. I almost e-mailed them to let them know I thought it was poor (and rather lazy) marketing. Especially from such a large, powerful retailer.

 

Well I can do an in depth video when unboxing as well as predicted performance capabilities (I am fairly good at that) on the 13th. I may be able to pull some battery life predictions using comparisons between the Envy 17 1st Generation, and the Envy 17 SB. (only thing I would need to account for is the GPU and CPU).

It will take severals weeks before I can do a real in depth review, and to be quite honest I don't think I will as we are very busy at work and will only get busier.

 

I think I lucked out, b/c I got through Shanghai and Ankorage all in one day on April 9 clearing customs, then Apr 10 to NJ. Then straight to my place in NY today.

I have two, one on 2 day and the other on 5-7 free, and they both shipped exactly the same, so they are definately expediting the 5-7 day orders.

 

Im in the same boat as you, trying to decide between the two! So your review will be greatly appreciated!

 

Also, Would anyone happen to know whether the display on the Envy 17" 3D is a true 120 hz display? and if so, wont the benefit of having a 120hz display only be (in terms of gaming) if the fps were to reside above 120fps? In my case, I don't really have use for 3D on the envy however since it was only a few $$ more then the non 3D i figured why not. However, now im wondering if the non 3D 60hz display would be better suited in my case since im more of a gamer?

 

I am planning on ordering my Envy 17 3D today. Is anyone still getting HP to give them the 400.00 off by calling and asking/complaining?

Also, I have noticed people reffering to Envy 17 3D "SB". What does the "SB" stand for? I have customized and added to cart, but am not seeing it in specs, or options I may have looked over.(Sorry if this is a stupid question)

I also plan on oredering an cooling pad for it, with money not being a consideration(at least within reason), what is the reccommended pad for pure cooling performance?

Thanks in advance,
Robert

 

Hi Robert and welcome to NBR.
SB stands for Sandy Bridge. You can only order the Sandy Bridge on HP.com. So no worries about it. It was to differentiate in between the old and new model.
The $400 off is going to be tough just by asking (since the 25% coupon has expires). You might be able to get $300 off by asking. If you don't get ti the first time, keep on calling in. Eventually you will et a decent amount off.

 

rwilliams129 - I posted a page or two back on the post number to look at for this, I've checked them out online and these look pretty good, if anyone knows of something better I'd like to know what it is.

 

There is no benefit in the 120hz on the non 3D application (since it is non running at 120Hz in non 3D), BUT....The 3D screen is supposedly much brighter and has a better contrast ratio than the 2D screen, so you will have the benefit even if not using it for 3D.

 

Brighter and better contrast ratios is good enough reason to go 3D, Thank you! And also thank you for the welcome(sorry i'm a couple of days late).

 

I thought the Envy 3D screen was a dual 60hz screen that was rated as 120hz because of this; or is it a true 120hz?

Does anyone know the full details of this specification?

 

The Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6200 AGN as reported in this forum before ( summary = http://forum.notebookreview.com/net...-intel-wifi-link-4965agn-linksys-wrt150n.html)

has issues with certain access points it seems. Maximum speed cannot be obtained. I solved the issue by using a different access point.

Just a heads up for anyone that runs into the issue.

 

Hi All - I'm new to the forum and I'm getting ready to jump into the Envy pool in the next 24 hours or so. Wanted to know if any of you out there bothered with buying this port replicator and if so - can you give me feedback if it works well (good video, no other blips) HP USB Media Port Replicator, Notebook Stand, Audio Speaker and Subwoofer Bundle: HP USB Media Port Replicator, Notebook Stand, Audio Speaker and Subwoofer Bundle | HP® Official Store

I have found the forum uber helpful so far as I have been waffling back and forth between this beautify and the DV7t (which is sooo lackluster visually to me, but sooo much cheaper that it is painful to contemplate pulling the trigger either way!). I wish the price difference was a little tighter so I could just JUMP and buy the Envy. I am going to be using it as a desktop replacement (as my desktop is slowing dying a wimpy death) and I will need to run typical business ware as well as Photoshop CS5. I would like a quick solution to plugging it in to my desktop setup (kb, mouse, monitor, various USB devices, network) and the device I linked to above seems to be the main way to do this. Just don't want to slip up and pay for something that is going to give me issues.

I also wanted to thank the person that recommended the HPA discount - that'll save me $180 - which I, of course, ended up spending on other stuff LOL!

Still quite put off by the slower hard drive option and there is no way in hades I'm spending $500 + for the combo SSD/7200rpm drive. What a stupid lack of options. I'm sure as soon as I order they will break those two apart and offer them separately! I guess I'm just going to order the 1.5TB 750x2 and go through the pain in the butt part of buying the SDD after market and reloading - which I do NOT relish in the least. I also agree with those that comment about this causing issues when you call in for tech support. I was a networking consultant in my past life - and the second tech support gets wind of you modifying your original config - that ONE change suddenly becomes the end all be all of the problem. Soooo...not sure how quickly I'll go down that path - probably quickly if I find Photoshop dragging butt

OK - rambling on.....thanks for any advice about the above docking station question and thank you in advance to everyone who contributes - it really helps!

 

Just get the cheapest HD, then you can spend another $300 to get a SSD and 7200rpm combo, waay cheaper than HP's overpriced upgrade, and you'll even have a spare 5200rpm drive.

 

Or he can tough it out like I did hanging on the fence for better drive selections; and hope for another 25% off coupon deal to show up; that coupon had me bite the bullet and pay the extra for the SDD/HDD set up from HP.

I scored $666.25 off from HP PLUS another 5% from AMEX!

 

Mmmm...I'm ordering two hard drives because I will probably set them for RAID in the beginning for faster access as I probably won't immediately have time to do a reload in the beginning. Just keeping my options open

@mrgod2u (and wow - you changed your avatar and that threw me for a loop LOL!) - I'm a she, not a he (maybe I need an avatar - and can you please tell me what flavor your AMEX card is? I have a platinum cash rebate card - called and asked and she said I would need to check my statements as monthly offers come on them. Well....I don't use this card, so no monthly statements. I also checked the website that goes with this card for "HP Promos" at her suggestion and came up with nothing.

I do have an old AMEX gold card that was on my consulting business - but I'm not sure if it is still active as I haven't used it in a looong time - will have to call.

Just wondering if it was an automatic 5% no matter when you purchase or if it was an offer you responded too. It would save me another $100, which would be niiiiice!

 

Hi Peaches07, and welcome to NBR! Not sure how anyone can mistake you for a guy with a username like Peaches07, 08, ect....

I was told about the 5% by a new member here. I ordered mine last month and had no idea. Checked my AMEX account on line and sure enough, 5% back!!! You are right, it gave me about a cool $100 back, making my savings a nice 30%.

KJ

 

It would seem odd...but I've seen odder

Soooo again - the question remains peeps - was this a business card, personal card or what? I don't want to add more wingdings on (which is what I end up doing - just maxing out my budget for it) without knowing for sure if the 5% works. Also - did either of you buy through the HP Academic site (which gave me $180 off the computer plus more off the peripherals) or just the HP direct site? Sorry for so many questions....I'm just rubbing pennies together over here to come up with some Envy g.o.l.d

 

Oh sorry, it was a business card. Same as original poster, mentioned it was a business card. Oh, let me link you to the site with this info... I found it the other day.

Here ya go..... HP® Official Store —Buy HP Laptops, Notebook PCs, Printers, Desktop Computers, Handhelds, Scanners, Monitors, and Calculators direct from HP

KJ

 

Status from Fedex said my laptop is in AK

I might post a unboxing video of my 3D Envy. I seldomly see any new videos for the 3D envy I wonder why.