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

I'm using that rifle to get a pig in the next three nights; they cross my land all of the time... just cleaned and checked everything... I need to pick a pig that's not to big and not to small; like Goldilocks I want one that's just right!

 

Lol...well good luck with that I guess.

Cool Apoxxx. Once I get my final order in I'll decide if I really wanna go that route.

 

Ok, so now that HP decided to send me a new power supply I figured I do a couple more test tonight.
Let's put it this way, I was really hoping my throttle issues were based on a defective PSU as crimsoned suggested. Bad news, they are not. I ran on the 9 cell battery tonight. Fully charged. Was running fine for 2 hours.
And then the whole thing started again. Temps go over 75 and it throttles down. I have it cooled down to 40C again. But I can't get the processor back up to speed. Stuck at below 1 GHz.
I went into the advanced power settings (thanks Bobmitch for the idea) and set the CPU to 100%. Still won't go over 1 GHz.
I have to finish a project that I started on it, which will take me about 10 more days (it is painfull to work on the envy, but I installed a software version that is not downward compatible and it won't run on my old laptop anymore, so I have to bite through this). After this project is done, I am still in my 21 days and the ENVY will go back.
I have no idea how you guys can actually work on it. This thing is useless for me. Yes, nice looks and beatiful for nice work, and it might even work for gaming, but it sucks for my line of work.
Sorry for the venting, but HP wasted just too much time for me. I should have listened to a friend who had 2 fried MBOs over the last 4 years on a HP notebook.
Slotti is giving up.
Over and Out.

 

It might be software issue. Some program known to have issue with win 7, less likely its the silicon, since they make them in batch. I would do a re-install of win 7 and see if the problem still exist.

 

Envy 17 3D Screen measured with Calman X2 coloromiter and calibrated with CalPC.


Luminance with the backlight at the lowest setting. Perfect for a dark room.




Luminance with the backlight at max. Quite impressive output.




RBG balance is completely out of whack and way too blue, about what we'd expect from any laptop monitor.



RBG balance after performing greyscale calibration.




All DeltaE's less than 2, this means the difference in the levels are now so close they cannot be detected by the human eye.




The measured gamut




The generated LUT.




Couldn't really ask for more from a laptop display, she's up there.

 

wanna come calibrate my screen? haha. I did notice the intense blue pretty quickly. It's on my list of things to do before I begin using it for editing and what not. Great info!

 

I'll try and get that up tomorrow.
Also, just finished playing Portal 2 for three hours. 1920x1080 4xAA 8xAF high everything reflections on. Frames are great(50-100+) except when you play with a laser and it drops to 20. I think it's the reletively low memory (1gb) holding it back. CPU temps went as high as 89C VPU 86C. Are these pretty average temps? My right hand was cool but my left was getting pretty sweaty. Oh, and idle temps are CPU 56C VPU 54C. Those numbers seem fine to me but the maxes are a bit high.

 

The credit card is in my name but it is being shipped to a different address. But lots of people here have their billing and shipping addresses different. All it should take is one phone call to confirm that it is you and then everything should be fine. I've confirmed my billing info 7 times now. The resolutions guy can only say, "I'm not sure why but they should have made a note on the file that your order was approved, but I don't see any notes here." He knows I've called because I've been working with him since April 9th when my first order was first declined.

The CC company declined this time because HP has multiple holds on my card for multiple computers, that's what looks shady, and it's hitting the credit limit even though it's just a hold.

 

Ok Im full of silly questions.. I never had an SSD +HDD combo before. So what do I do, install all programs on the SSD correct? HDD is just for saving data, pics, movies, music? I guess Im asking how you utilize both to full efficiency.

 

I think that is the best use of your drives as I intend to do the same thing.

Bobmitch is pretty up to speed on this; I wonder what his opinion is an this and if he'd care to share further insights on drive usage.

 

i have this configuration and use the SSD for system - makes sense as its the peppier of the drives = faster start up. However i do install some programs on the HDD - such as Steam and games, itunes and content etc.

 

Ok sounds good. By the way, way earlier on in this thread someone posted a list of programs the Envy coems pre-installed with which slows down bootup and that you should uninstall to improve performance. I cant seem to find it. Anyone know what page its on?

 

May i ask what products you ran that cause this problem which render your machine useless? You mentioned about some rendering software, is it some CAD/graphic intensive software? I am just worry if this applies to some of us too. Still waiting for mine to arrive.

 

Here is a very useful article to read on moving your pagefile to the D drive. Helps prolong the life of the SSD, because you don't want to write to it all the time...Written about Vista but also applies to Win 7.

Performance Boost: Move Page File to Another Physical Drive | Windows Vista Maintenance | Windows Tools, Help & Guides

And this one

Change location of TEMP files folder to another drive - Microsoft Answers

I also created a folder on the D drive called "Temporary Internet Files" and in the settings for IE 9, I changed the settings that all the cache and Internet files be put there.

I left what was already on the SSD on the SSD. Most apps like MS Office, etc. are on C: (SSD). When I installed additional software like 3DMark11 and any gaming I put on the D: drive. You have to decide which is priority or not.

 

You got enough hangers?

That sucks man. I used my laptop for almost 4 hours last night studying for a Cisco exam and not once did it do what yours does. Granted, I wasn't pushing the processors at all with the test software.

When I first had my SSD combo, I installed almost all programs on the SSD and some on the HDD. Now I'm installing all programs on the SSD for the "peppiness" and putting data on the HDD. It's really up to you on how you want to use it. I figure 160GB is more than enough for the OS and software I use; I even put my documents on the SSD (I don't want to fiddle around with redirected user folders in windows). As for the HDD, I'm placing larger data files, virtual machines, etc on it.

 

I am using Artlantis Studio 3 for rendering and Archicad 14 for 3D CAD and some lightworks rendering. It usually is not all that hadware heavy. Never causes any issue on my office desktop. It does take full load of the CPU though when rendering.
There is no compatibility issue with Windows 7. This is workin on any other desktop or notebook without any issue. I am not sure if it is the SandyBridge architecture or the HP Mobo that causes the throtteling, or just one more Envy that is faulty.
If my case would be isolated I would say bad luck on my side, but there is just way too many faulty ones out there and HP support is useless. Unless you know what is wrong with your Envy, they are clueless.
People have been reporting how great it runs games, well, that is mostly GPU based and in my case it is a processor problem.
If I count all the time I spent on trying to make things work (as well as others, I am thinking of Apoxxx and Fiver5) and count that towards my billable hours (after all my first use is for work), I could have afforded a $5,000 killer notebook from Dell by now.

Fiver5, I know you are one of these useres that seem to be testing their notebook to every extend possible, have you done a stress test on the processor yet? Just curious.

 

My point. It seems to do great till you push the processor. I was doing modeling and drafting for 6 hours, no problem.
The moment I put the processor under 100% load for mre than 10 minutes, it goes down. And I mean down. I averaged 700 HZ at full CPU load last night!!!!
Funny as is, when I did some quick reendering test (around 2 minutes), it was faster than my desktop. But once you go into the real stuff: Envy took 49 minutes to finish, my desktop 12 minutes.

 

Off topic, I'm planning to take ICDN1 (not sure which test are you taking)...all I have is a book..are you referring to a software that runs virtual CISCO switches?

 

Thanks for that info BOB. I just went in to do the first one. Question tho. In step 7 it asks me to enter "Initial Size (MB)" and "Maximum size (MB)". What did you put in those fields? It depends on the size of the SSD right?

 

So I've got the raised clickpad, the metal gap, and scuff marks on the bottom out of the box. I'm almost positive they've sent me a refurbished machine. I cannot believe HP. If I wanted a used machine I'd have ordered from their outlet. They will be taking this back or compensating this.

 

I cant believe thryd send you a refurbished machine. Thats unreal. You're paying for a brand new custom machine to your specificaitons, so thats what you should get. I wouldnt even look for compensation. If it IS refurbished send that thing back. When you say scuff marks on the bottom do you mean on the bottom of the rubber feet? Mine are clear and brand new, if you have marks under them than it was definitely used.

 

No, actually the size specified is the minimum required by the SSD. Just set it and forget it...

 

scuff marks? wow! That's a new one for sure. I'd ask for several hundred dollars credit, or I'd send that baby back. If you do get a new one, make sure they discount that as well a bit, because for your troubles.....they owe you that much. Good luck.

KJ

 

BOB, but what would that be? I dont even know what that is. Can you tell me what you entered in both those fields?

Also for moving the TEMP files folder I noticed it tells you how to do it for the System Temp files AND Internet Temp files. Is it recommended to do it for both of those or just one of them?

 

Here are my exact settings...hope this helps

I would move them both. Understand that SSD has limited write cycles compared to a mechanical HDD. To prolong it's life...you want to minimize the constant writing to the drive. The "predicted" life if an SSD under heavy / normal use...is about three years. With some adjustments....5 years...

 

Thanks for that BOB, I appreciate it. So you put 1000 in both just like they did in the demo you linked to. So its 1000 no matter how big the SSD?

 

Quick Question...I just noticed that my SSD is NOT running in AHCI mode. I noticed from day 1 that the only settings for SATA in the bios is RAID and non RAID. Are these machines AHCI?????? If I enable AHCI in my registry...am I gonna crash

 

Taking the CCDA in about 45 minutes. Just the TestKing software to quiz myself on the questions.

 

Anyone playing crysis 2 on steam - can you play in 3d? The option is grayed out for me.

 

If you are not on Steam, are you able to play in 3D?

KJ

 

What's up with the wireless on this thing ? I just received mine yesterday and it randomly slows down to a crawl or even dies for a minute or two before being back to normal wi-fi speeds. It's not my router as none of the other laptops in the house show these symptoms.

 

so i just had a long conversation with a manager regarding my delayed laptop and the discounts that were promised me. i told her that i was very upset that people that ordered after me with the same configuration were receiving their laptops while i was still waiting. she told me do i have any proof? i told her no i am just going by what was posted on the forums. i told her what reason do they have to lie about receiving their laptops. anyways i am just the customer you work for HP isn't it easier for you to look up your sales history and see what was sold and what was delivered when?

anyways i am asking for anyone with the same configuration envy 17 3d (just see my sig) to please PM with your order number so i can prove to HP that people are getting their laptops. thank you so much.

 

Check here to see if Crysis 2 is on the list...

TriDef 3D Ignition - 3D Games

Joe...any good news?????

 

Funny you should ask, I am on hold with Resolutions right this very minute!!! He went to check....

Will update after phone...

Edit: Called Resolutions number Rowley gave me previously: 1-888-227-8451

Rowley was not in, but Nathan answered the phone. He checked and did not find my order on the delayed list, yet of course it is delayed since yesteray came and went.... Nathan will check several times today on the "where abouts" of my order and get back to me by 10pm... (I hope).

I mentioned the delay discount...he said they don't know what amount I will get, but something....I am not sure if he is aware of my previous discounts/coupons, but on well. I do feel very justified in seeking credit back for all my patience and the issues HP has put me and others through. If any updates arrive I'll post. Thanks for being here guys.

KJ

 

There is a known issue with the Intel 6200N and some chipsets used on some routers. My DLink DIR-655 uses the Atheros chipset and I have NO issues with slowdowns or lockups. Go back to last week in this thread and you will see some solutions. Older drivers, etc. I just gained quite a bit of stability by updating my drivers to Intel's 14.0.2.2

 

Fingers, legs, eyes crossed....Good luck!

 

Eee

The scuffs were not on the feet. Thet were on the underside though. Just randomly in a few places. I"ll take pics when I get home.

 

ACIDBLAST check your private messages!!

 

Would you guys believe all I've done with my new Envy is to charge up both batteries; I've yet to power it up; today is the day I'll do that been up all night working; crashing here in a few....

 

thanks mrgod2u. look under your avatar

by the way how did you get that price?

 

If you could prove a refurb, when you paid new...that could be a major issue. About four years ago...the FTC caught Dell doing that....and they paid dearly. They had to replace a bunch of machines that were built with returned parts...not a good thing.

However, with that said...think about it. The Envy 17 and Envy 17 3D have been delayed for quite a while now. HP is scuffling to get these things built and out as quickly as possible. Another possibility is that the tech that built your machine (Envys are supposedly built by hand), did a sloppy job. I can check the build date of my machine by going into the bios. Mine was built between 4/8 and 4/12. My warranty initiated on 4/8...so that was the begin date and my machine shipped on 4/12. Check your bios and see what it says. If you can prove that you got a refurb...I would go to the mats with that info and get a "NEW" machine...after all...that's what you paid for. Also...you should be able to use and abuse the one you have until the new one arrives...

 

Thanks Bob, - its not on the list unfortunately. Though I did find a hack to enable the 3d in the game options (entering a command to enable within the config file) - the glasses dont activate because tridef isnt in the loop.

I cant play crysis 2 on steam or offline.

 

It's not a very scientific method but I just ran a Prime95 large fft torture test for over 30 minutes and frequently glanced over at the screen while I was doing some other stuff.

All CPU cores/threads were pegged at 100%, Turbo boost moved from between 2.4 and 2.5 but never below. Temps were all within a few degrees of 90c.

What would be nice is to have a tool that will log/graph temperature, CPU utilization, and CPU frequency all together so you can let the thing run for 8 hours and don't have to sit and stare at the screen. OCCT will get you the temp/util piece but I don't know an easy way off the top of my head to log CPU Mhz over time. I tried Perfmon but it seemed about as useless as ever and I gave up after two minutes. I'll try to poke around over the weekend and see if there is anything out there.

 

Sweet finally somebody likes me here... THANK YOU !!

 

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call of Pripyat wasn't on the list, either. What you can do is import the executable into TriDef and run under "Generic" properties. Not gonna be a outstanding as other programs...but you will get some minimal tweaks done and see some 3D. I did that...

 

Well if it helps to know for all of you waiting, I ordered on April 7th, Order was verified by 10pm EST, And mine is still in production:

HP ENVY 17 3D customizable Notebook PC
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• No Additional Office Software
• 2nd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2630QM (2.0 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.9 GHz
• 1GB GDDR5 Radeon(TM) HD 6850M Graphics [HDMI]
• 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 750GB 5400RPM Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
• 6-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery (standard)

EST Delivery Date is April 25, and i seem to be on track for that so far.. I hope it stays that way as i already have upgrade parts sitting next to me to dump into this thing once i get it!

 

Quoted myself because the post for some reason should be further down. Oh well.... so now its still a waiting game. I never thought I'd be caught in this....

KJ

 

Yep, I haven't been waiting as long as you, but I know a little of how you feel. I never imagined trying to give my money to a company for a product could be so difficult.

I'm on hold now working on order #4. We have to call the bank and get the first orders' holds release though so my credit card has enough credit on it to handle another order.

I'm super pissed. I've logically and calmly explained that I should get a BETTER deal than the first time (on April 8th), not just MATCHED, because of everything I've been through, but they just won't budge so far.

 

Unbelievable!!! From what others have posted...it has to be the 2820 holding it up. I can't imagine what else it could be. Keep the faith...it will work out in the long run. You taught me that!

 

Bobmitch, oh I know. I had no plans of just turning my back on this thing. Yes, I've been super cool all this time...but I admit, I feel the "sting" of the delay. Its almost like, did they just shelve my laptop somewhere, where we know others are getting built and sent right away. If it is the 2820 I do wish they would let us know.....

I want some answers, and credit. Now, in the event HP does not want to offer me credit because of my current coupons, I will ask them to perhaps give me a physical item worth something....I can't seem to think what I should ask for if it comes to that..... Headset, Mic, Mouse? Hmmm

KJ