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

Not sure about that. If they RAID the SSD / HDD into a hybrid...I would think that yours may very well be that way as well. At least you have HDD / HDD...so things will work normally. If you ARE RAIDED...is that such a problem? Your output will double and your access time may improve by 25% or so. The only real issue is with SSD / SSD or SSD / HDD. Once you RAID a solid state drive...TRIM no longer works...and deleted files build up and slow the thing down. Breaking up your array is much easier. The HDD's don't need to be reset to factory condition before restoring. As much as I like the idea of SSD...they are really a pain where one sits. The caring and feeding of an SSD is gonna be pretty high maintanance in the beginning. The Envy 17 3D comes with an Intel...so the Intel toolbox will be many people's friend. Cleans the cells on command. Even in RAID...the Intel toolbox is useless!

Check here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...7-3d-sb-replacing-5400-rpm-hd-7200-rpm-3.html

I posted RAID results for my desktop VelociRaptors performance single drive vs. RAID. You may actually want that.

 

This is really annoying. So basically Im paying for 800gb of hard drive space but because HP implementing RAID 0 Im only getting 360 gb (160 + 160). Is this company run by morons?

 

It will be a problem for me, because of my purpose for puchasing two drives. I planned to schedule automatic Backups with Windows Backup, and use the 2nd drive for backup only. I can't do that with Raid 0 configuration. And I don't want to use an external.

 

I wouldn't say that. In business...management is only as good as the people they hire. Whomever wrote the imaging program template had a brainstorm and I don't think realized just what they caused. Until that template is replaced, for imaging new drives, this is going to happen. I have brought it to HP's attention. Remember just how big HP is. They are the number ONE PC company in the world. Globally they serve millions of indiividual users and millions more business users...each year. Machines this big take some time to change.

Believe one thing. The Envy 17 3D is well worth the effort to get it straightened out. I have tried many laptops in the past three months...NOTHING touches this machine!

 

If you purchased the HDD / HDD combo...much easier to fix. YES...SSD is faster...but it also requires more maintainance and care. HDD is easy. Please don't misunderstand what I am gonna say: This is NOT the end of the world. It may require some time and patience...ask Cam121. He has already lived through this and has been enjoying his TWO separate drive Envy 17 3D since mid March...

 

yupp mine too, and my estimated delivery date was Thursday the 14th

 

Question for both of you. Did your shipments go through Memphis early this morning? I also have an estimated date of Thursday, the 14th, and I'm trying to see if I might possibly get it early. LOL. You two must be in cities close to Memphis...either that or "major" cities that are stops on FedEd routes.

 

My DV7tqe SB is delivered (for 18-20 days )... still I feel Envy in my heart...

KJ, do not forget to keep me updated for any 25-30% coupon.. LOL

 

Gotcha Bob. Thanks for the info. So exacvtly what IS the solutiuon to it tho? You're replacing RAID 0 with what? What needs to be in place to get full functionality out of the hard drives? No RAID at all?

 

Anyone can fly a plane straight, and proceed to crash it, what we learn is to bring everyone aboard safely from A to B. Takes alot of training, but in the end it makes for a better evening for everyone involved (RIP everyone who was victim to that horrible attack)

iwantanenvy: yup, mine went through memphis this morning, and 6 hours after cleared in memphis customs, its on a delivery truck in florida. Pretty amazing.

 

yeah, but i live in Texas, grand prairie....

Apr 12, 2011 4:13 AM Departed FedEx location MEMPHIS, TN
Apr 12, 2011 5:21 AM At dest sort facility DALLAS, TX
Apr 12, 2011 7:40 AM At local FedEx facility GRAND PRAIRIE, TX
Apr 12, 2011 7:58 AM On FedEx vehicle for delivery GRAND PRAIRIE, TX

 

Hmmm...mine cleared customs in Memphis at 1:12 am, and was 'in transit' in Memphis at 4:12 am. You're all the way in FLORIDA and about to get yours!? Maybe I will too, since I'm just one state away from Tennessee. Hmmm...

 

Mine is still in Shanghai awaiting pickup. Info sent to FEDEX. Estimated delivery date 4/14

 

when did you order yours?

 

You don't want RAID with SSD. Not until the makers of SSD figure out how to clear the cells of deleted material while in RAID. Think about it...with SSD...the page file gets written to the HDD every time you access a program. Those are temp files..yet on an SSD...they remain, where on a HDD they are overwritten. That is why Intel toolbox is there to clean cells (should run at least once per week). With Corsair, I believe it it called "Garbage collection" Each drive maker has a different name for it. However, NONE of these utilities work with SSD in RAID. So what you are doing is breaking up the RAID array of 320 GB and running each drive separately. The SSD will be Drive C: The 640 GB HDD will be Drive D: or Drive E:, depending on whether or not it has to be re-partitioned after installing the OS on SSD. Once you break up the array...and use recovery disks...SSD is the target for OS install, and will get partitioned during recovery. The second drive may require re-partition...can be done in Computer Management in Control panel once OS is installed

 

Mine was ordered 3/15 with original ship date of 4/8. HP is catching up on all late ships and getting closer to "On Time"

 

I ordered on March 11

 

Guess you are luckier than me. Ours seemed to be on the same plane to Memphis, but mine is still stuck in customs

 

Mine cleared customs in 40mins. I'm getting it within hours

 

All your guys' talk about getting your envy's is making me seriously jealous!

 

Does yours still say ready for clearance at the end of the line though? Mine does. It does say in transit, but according to FedEx if it says ready for clearance it is awaiting custom clearance. So I am still stuck down there.

How do you spell I H-A-T-E Y-O-U? Just kidding. Glad to hear that they seem to be shipping fast. Unless you get stuck in customs like me. Might be just me, I came back from Europe after x-mas and they pulled me out at customs at LAX. I had to wait in line for a full 2 hours (inlcuding my 5 year old who obvioulsy was exhausted after a 14 hour fligh), just for some custom officer to look at our passpoarts again, punch something into his computer and not even saying hello to us.

 

Don't you mean "Envious?"

 

Did anyone notice that as soon as the 25% coupon expired, all envy 17 3d laptops come with WiDi support? All of us that ordered earlier will not get it. Probably not worth the extra 5-600 bucks that we saved though.

 

Mmmm...where did you see that? I just double checked the specs and didn't see it listed, although it would be sweeeet to have!

 

Just called FedEx.
Thay are TRUCKING me Envy from Memphis to Los Angeles?!?!?!?! What the fu#$. On top, I asked if I could pick it up at my local FedEx location (2 min, walking distance from my office) rather than them trying to deliver to my house multiple times in vein (nobody home) and they said I can't!!!
AAAAAhhhhrggggg

 

This is redunkuless! Out to lunch is a nice way of not calling someone an idiot for not triple checking the ramifications of a created factory image that gets rolled out to thousands of laptops. I can't even imagine the hours spent on tech support lines trying to undo that mess over and over again (I mean..seriously...walking someone who isn't tech savvy through all that? Hours...). I'm sure production is getting hate mail every day from tech support LOL!

Bless you for taking the time to document the process. SOMEONE needs to do it!

Anyone out there try to call in an order and a-s-k for just the 7200rpm drive? I'm wondering if I explain the known issue with the SSD/HDD drive combo and tell them I'm not really pleased with the idea of paying $$$ for an upper end system, only to unbox it and have to spend hours doing a reload if they could pull some strings.....

 

HP ENVY 17 3D customizable Notebook PC
XW930AV


Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
No Additional Office Software
2nd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2820QM (2.3 GHz, 8MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 3.4 GHz
1GB GDDR5 Radeon(TM) HD 6850M Graphics [HDMI]
8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
800GB 7200RPM Dual Hard Drive (SSD 160GB + 640GB 7200RPM)
30% OFF! One 6-Cell and One 9-Cell Lithium Ion Battery
17.3" diagonal Full HD HP 3D Ultra BrightView Infinity LED Display (1920x1080)
Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner
HP TrueVision HD Webcam
Intel 802.11a/b/g/n WLAN and Bluetooth(R) with Wireless Display Support
Backlit Keyboard
Adobe(R) Photoshop(R) Elements 9 & Adobe Premiere(R) Elements 9
HP 3D Active Shutter Glasses
HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope
Estimated build date: May 4, 2011


That is the new configuration going for 2641.99 before tax

 

PEACHES 07, I tried on more than one occasion to request a stand alone 7200rpm hard drive. It cant be done. So what I myself ended up doing was since there was a 25% coupon I was able to upgrade to the Dual drives while still paying the same price. Worked out for me.

 

I'm not sure where you've been, but the Envy 17 3D SB slready supported Wireless Display. It was on the product demo over a month ago.

 

That is how some have ended up with the SSD / HDD configuration. On 3/1, the new Sandy Bridge machines began to roll out. I ordered one on 3/2 and it was delivered 3/14. Due to paperwork snafu, had to be returned and re-ordered....long story not worth repeating. My original configuration had the 640 GB HDD only. When I re-ordered...that option was gone. Only way to get 7200 rpm HDD was to get the SDD as well. With all the reading I have done...have to question whether I should have just ordered 2 x 5400 rpm drives in RAID and replaced myself with 7200. SSD is supposed to be faster...yes...access time is almost nothing compared to HDD...but when you consider how much work goes into maintaining one...Hmmm!

 

Yep, as a computer professional performing the restore was mainly time consuming, not technically challenging. However, since I am experiencing buyers remorse over my $630 SSD purchase, I've decided to send back my Envy. While the machine is a dream, $2,500 was just too much for me to justify after owning it.

You don't want RAID with an SSD right now. Your single SSD will still be much faster than a RAID0 (striped) dual HDD configuration.

I'm surprised they didn't fix this by now. I was probably one of the first (on these forums anyway) to get the SSD+HDD combo and discover the error of their ways. I wrote up the problem and resolution to HP Nate and assumed he would take it internal to his people to get the issue corrected.

I believe it's been asked several times and they have never budged. Basically if the configurator won't give you that choice, the salesperson hands' are tied.

 

Cam121...

Did you try to get a partial refund first? I am so sorry that you sent it back. Man...that is a plain SHAME!!! Are you getting another one???

 

Yeah they wouldn't give me enough of a refund to justify keeping the last Gen SSD. I'm going to try and re-order a new Envy with the 750GB drive. That should come to around $1500. Then I'll buy a SATA3 SSD and 7200 RPM for about $600, saving myself about $200 or so and getting a better SSD and an extra HDD for an external case. Personally I wish I could just send the SSD back to HP for a $630 rebate, but they don't operate like that so I have to send the whole machine back, re-order and WAIT.

If they don't give me the same $$$ deals off, then I won't be an HP Envy user anymore. Something tells me they will honor my old deal in order to keep me as a customer though.

 

I certainly hope so! Your input has been invaluable and you deserve a good break. Keeping my eye on the new SATA III SSD's from Corsair, OCZ and Crucial. Right now...best bang for the buck looks like this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148349

256 GB is pretty much all I would need. As I said way earlier when I ordered my original Envy 17 3D...for "heavy lifting" I have my i7 950 / X58 machine with 6 GB Corsair Dominator 1600 and GTX 580. I will ease into the Envy and see what the new one can do...My laptops have always been more business related....this is my first to do multimedia, etc.

The good news...the wait is shorter and shorter. They have pretty much caught up on all their late shipments and I imagine in a few days...they will be ahead of schedule again. I ordered my original on 3/2 and received 3/14. 12 day turn around isn't too shabby. My new one...missed estimated ship date by four days. As I said...getting closer to on time...bet they are working overtime in Shanghai

 

Geeezzzz - you guys are willing to go through hoops! I want it *right* out of the box. Cam - I'm hating that for you, especially if you went through the PITA of the reload. Hopefully they will honor the deal so you can keep it, at least I'm hoping you feel that it is worth keeping!

I'm sticking with my current config of 1.5Tb and won't really care if it is RAID 0 - I'll be ok with the speed increase. Honestly...it'll be screaming fast compared to what I'm working with now.

 

So, my Envy is still stuck in Alaska, in customs. Odd... And sad for me.

 

sorry about that collectiveantics...

on a side note: mine just arrived at my house, tonight shall be interesting

 

Congrats rere77! You must be so excited!

 

You can buy the Crucial c300 for $455 from Amazon which is cheaper than your NewEgg link. I've been reading about the Crucial vs Intel vs OCZ debacle and now I'm wondering if it's worth returning (I still have the laptop, I just applied for the RMA to ensure I could get it).

Basically, everything I read so far says the 160GB Intel X25M which ships in our Envy 17 3D SB's (assuming you buy the SSD option) is the best SSD of Generation 2. This gives me some comfort in what I currently have. All of the articles I've read have positives and negatives for all Generation 3 activity. For example:

• Intel's current 510 model is Generation 2 technology backed by a SATA3 interface. It's slower than any of the current Gen3 SSD's but has the reliability Intel has become known for.
  
  
• Crucial is the middle of the road warrior. Best Price, Good performance, NOT best in any benchmarks. The C400 is due out soon and is coming with mixed reviews. Changes to the firmware have shown reduced performance during most benchmark tests but shine during normal use scenario's (which is very important since we'll be using our laptops more than benchmarking them).
  
  
• OCZ has a very bad reputation for its company as well as it's products. While the products are known to be the FASTEST SSD's on the market, MTBF is unusually high and the company has been involved in some sleazy practices for its previous manufacturing of the gen2 models.

​

The fact that people are reporting shipments of the Envy makes me think its okay to send back my current one and re-buy it without an SSD.

My last choice is to still send it back and buy an older gen2 Intel X25M 160GB drive. The same drive we use currently can be had from Amazon for $343. If that's the case, I can save almost $300 and end up with the same machine. Hell, if HP offered me $200 off in order to keep my current model I would probably do it, at least then I would feel like I got a deal forgoing Gen3 in favor of a price savings on Gen2 SSD's. Alas, HP doesn't think that way. Considering their profit margin and OEM pricing of the Intel SSD's, even with a $200 rebate they would make money off me. So sad...

A RAID0 stripe of the dual 750GB drives should be very fast for most people. I hope you enjoy it and its much much cheaper than a single SSD.

 

Yupp...now if only 6:00 can get here sooner

 

Trying to figure out the same. Vertex, blasting speed, but bad history of being reliable. Is the xtra speed worth it, probably not for me, since it will take me 2 days to reinstal and configure my software if it will crash on me.
Intel...yikes, over $600 before tax is a bit high.
Crucial seems to be the golden middle, but I have not read too many real world experiences. Almost a bit of an unkwon for me.
I guess I'll be stuck with my slow 5400 for a while...If I could just get the intel below $500

 

Im on HP's site in a live chat asking about this and the person said they're 100% POSITIVE the Envy 17 3D DOES NOT come with RAID 0. What the heck is going on?

Agent (Kendra A.): "To answer your question briefly, the Hard Drive of your PC, doesn't have the RAID 0 feature."
04/12/2011 11:40:35AM (ME) "Are you 100% positive? Im on a message board for the Envy 17 3D and alot of guys are talking about it"
04/12/2011 11:40:50AM Agent (Kendra A.): "Yes."
04/12/2011 11:41:13AM Agent (Kendra A.): "100% sure."
Agent (Kendra A.): "RAID is only an optional feature on the HDD's."
Agent (Kendra A.): "The RAID option in applicable to selected models only."
Agent (Kendra A.): "Rest assured, your PC doesn't have the RAID on the hard drives"

Can I believe them?

 

Well I just got my Envy 17 3D !! 4 year extended warranty and accidental damage protection.

So lets say its 3.5 years from now and I'm in the harbor on my 32' Rampage tied at the dock and this thing takes a short trip off the dock and into the salt water; salt water destroys electronics forever! Do they send me something new or a refurbished 17 3D?

Anybody here been through such a mishap (not exactly but anything that completely trashed their laptop)?

It's to bad HP didn't build a stockpile of popular configurations prior to taking orders.

 

Thank you for this. I was kinda excited about placing my order and getting in the shipping queue...but now I'm uber excited!!!! Nothing like watching someone else opening their Christmas present to get you wanting to open yours too It does look beautiful, can't wait to get my hands on it!

I watched your Droid iPhone emulator as well...you are quite cheeky....

 

So it's finally here, and I'll just write a small sum up after playing with it for a couple of hours;

The build quality is excellent, no flexes or dents anywhere and absolutely no dead pixels. The screen is very bright and has nice colors and excellent resolution.

But the computer feels slow, very slow (and I got the 2820QM). Opening folders and programs take 30-40 seconds. Could be it's because of my 5400rpm drive, so I'll reserve judgement until I get my vertex3 inside, but something feels a bit off. Any tips how I can check if somethings is wrong or not? Didn't someone here send back their computer cause it was slow?

The 3D was "meh", but it's a nice bonus and definitely a fun feature, but the quality is far from that of 3D tv's or cinema3D.

Other than that, I'm in love, and if the performance goes up after removing alot of bloatware, then I'm keeping this one for years

 

So, I just ordered a OCZ 240GB Vertex 3 SATA III 2.5" Solid State Drive from B&H Photo, and a drive caddy from newmodeUS.com. I am also looking at buying a 750GB 7200 RPM HDD to replace the 640GB HDD that came with my Envy 17 3D. Any suggestions on which 750GB 7200 RPM 2.5" HDD to purchase? Newegg has a Seagate and a WD. I'm thinking that the Seagate is the way to go of the two (5yr vs. 3yr warranty, $10 cheaper).

 

Any possibility its busy downloading updates to everything in the background? Maybe try turning wireless/network connections off and then test how fast things open? Just a thought.....

 

Congratulations to all whose systems have been shipped and/or received. Sadly my Envy still resides in limbo.

Hypothetical. Suppose you have been shipped the "raided" ssd + hdd dual drives and you have "broken" the raid configuration, must you "restore" the dual drives back to the raid configuration before you send it in for service?

If you return it within the 21 day trial period, are you obligated to restore it back to its original configuration?

 

I'm not planning to restore the broken configuration when I send my Envy back. I figure they are going to wipe it anyway before it shows up on some refurb list or gets sent back for parts.

 

Help!

I got the 160gb ssd / 640gb hdd configuration which weirdly came in raid 0 set up giving one drive with 300gb - doesnt make sense with ssd.

Anyway, I read the instruction booklet to disable the raid. I created re overy discs and then disabled the raid in ctrl I - but now after recovering I see the ctrl I screen, then prompting me to insert a boot disc and press a key.

Not sure where I've gone wrong - trying it again now.

Help!