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

Cheers,

10 chars

 

Interesting...I keep my monitor on 7. On battery I set CPU at 30% min and 100% max. On power...100% across the board. I get 3 hours and 20 mins when Intel graphics kicks in AND I have 8 GB of memory. Granted I have the 2630 processor...what is your processor???

 

Am I right in saying that its not safe to download the ATI driver found on windows update? Sorry I know that ive seen alot on this - not sure if I missed the fix.

 

The best thing you can do with the ATI driver update on Windows Update...right click and choose "Hide this update" DO NOT download it. Too many people complaining about black screens. With that said...should you download it and get the black screen...You don't have to do a system recovery. Reboot the machine and hit F8 and get into Windows in Safe mode. Then go to device manager and roll back the drivers to the HP ones...8.800

That should cure the problems. But to be safe...get back into windows and reinstall the HP drivers from your SWSETUP directory to make sure that none of the Microsoft junk is still corrupting your video.

If I can recommend one thing...NEVER EVER download video drivers from Windows Update. They usually cause more issues than they are supposed to fix...

 

This really can't be stressed enough. Doubly more so with our touchy switchable graphics lappys.

 

Battery life claims seems very different on many models, as I can see.
To compare the battery life HP states that the new DV7 gets around 5 hrs with the 6 cell and 9.5 hrs with the 9-cell.
Why would there be such a difference between the ENVY 17 and DV7 in battery life, considering same CPU's.

 

Sound advice - cheers

 

Probably the 3D screen which is also a lot brighter, the gpu, etc

 

Envy has the AMD 6850 HD vs the Pavillion having the 6490 or upgrade to 6770. Bit more power goes to 6850. Envy 17 3D has 1900 x 1080 screen with 120 HZ refresh...again...a bit more power needed, where I think Pavillion has 1600 x 900. There are different variables that will effect battery time. The Envy will just flat out use more energy to run, due to basic specs.

Having said that...my Envy 17 3D makes my old Dell Inspiron look like a gas guzzler. On the Dell, I had the Dual core 2 GHZ processor with a 1680 x 1050 screen and ATI X1400 card. On my best day, I would get 1 hour 55 minutes on a 12 cell battery. Getting 3 hours on my Envy is a dream come true for me.

Again...I could probably set my CPU back a bit more and scale my brightness on battery back a bit more and get closer to four hours of battery...but I like it a certain way...and 3 hours and 20 mins is good enough for me..

 

Yea...the first time I applied the new ATI driver from Windows Update, I was getting a black screen whenever I wanted to use the High Performance GPU. I uninstalled that, and did a system restore. And I installed it again, everything works fine now!! But I'm still hoping that HP releases another update on their own website, or through the HP Support Assistant.

 

Hey, I have NEVER been able to get the "HP Movie Store" (from Roxio) to load. Everytime I click the program, it immediately crashes. I even tried running it as an administrator. Has anyone successfully used this? I may delete it, because I get enough videos/movies between YouTube and Netflix (in Media Center). But I was just curious to see what it was and how it worked.

 

Yes I'm on water, though my card is slightly below average for OCing on water, I should be getting about 950/2200 on water, but she crashes if I take her that high (I also don't want to pass 1.138 on the GPU for now).

 

One can hope. Since ATI / AMD is changing the architecture of the Catalyst Control Center...Maybe...and I tentatively use the word maybe. Look at the older generation Envy line...HP releases the initial release drivers for the machine and never an update. I figure that I can either install the Mobility updates myself, keep the drivers up to date...and maintain switchable graphics with one cost...I lose the hotkey for brightness...or stay with the drivers that come with the machine and never upgrade them unless the tech dept at HP is so moved as to mod more drivers for us. In reality...what we are getting from HP is the AMD / Intel package in one installer. When you install them separately...you don't get switchable graphics.

On the Dell website...you get separate packages for the switchable graphics. You are supposed to install Intel first...then their installer will detect switchable graphics and give you the applet for it in CCC.

All the companies do their own messing. Having owned a Dell with ATI graphics...I used to be able to update monthly with Windows XP. Once Vista / 7 came out. One driver release over two years..the initial one.

Nvidia video cards are upgradable every time a new release comes out. You can go to the Nvidia website and download new GeForce drivers for Mobility chips the same day they release for desktops. You don't have to mod them, either. My son's Pavillion has an Nvidia 8400 GS card. I update his drivers when I update the drivers on my desktop. Go to the HP page for his machine...ONE release...the initial...

One can hope!

 

Being on air...not sure that I would go any higher than 850. I have the EVGA superclocked version...so it comes overclocked out of the box. I really go 797 to 850.

 

Sorry...that is the first "bloatware" that I uninstall when I turned on my machine...

 

I was going to ask you for a possible list of your choice of "bloatware." I'm sure it would be helpful for others to see. I have not even thought about HP Movie, Store...lol.

The Fences program.... I know some see it as bloatware, but I find it cool that you can click on an empty space on the desktop and the icons disappear...and you can enjoy your beautiful desktop background. I have a nice art background I love looking at on the Envy display without icons to distort it. I guess some don't care about it. I intend to keep my Fences. I don't create extra Fences though, just click when I want to have just my background...when I work I click and the icons come back.

KJ

 

I removed the Roxio Store, removed Fences, removed all the HP game materials, removed Microsoft Security Essentials, removed all Microsoft Live software,Uninstalled Stardock (is that Fences?) ... probably easier discussing what I kept

I kept:

Adobe Premiere and Photoshop Elements
Kept all HP software important to the operation of the machine
Kept the Cyberlink Suite for the time being. I use Nero, but do use the Cyberlink PowerDVD. Should I upgrade to PowerDVD 11...the entire older suite goes...
Kept Cyberlink UCam
When I installed Internet Explorer 9, Skype went away...no biggie
Kept Intel Storage Manager...kept Pro Wireless (even though not running) and installed SSD Toolbox
Upgraded TriDef to latest version by installing on top of version shipped with machine...it kept the activation that way
Installed Kaspersky Internet Security 2011

I can't remember much else. The Envy doesn't come with a lot of junk on it...

 

Totally second that. Even having the desktop shortcuts in a scroll bar window. I LOUUUUUUVVVVEE it.

 

I am pretty grumpy and normally just run a vanilla desktop, but messing with fences a little bit convinced me to get the complete StarDock Object Desktop Suite to see what all the fuss was about. Mainly I wanted semi-transparent icons and it seemed like the best way to get there on Win 7.

Window Blinds + DeskScapes + Fences Pro +Window FX4 makes for some pleasing eye candy and gives some functionality that I actually find a bit useful. Found a skin I liked and set up all the sexy window animations.

I don't know if it's 50 bucks worth of awesome, but it looks super and makes me feel good about myself. Probably on an older laptop the system overhead added would be a bit annoying but the Envy doesn't even break a sweat with all that stuff running.

 

Bobmitch, thanks for the list, appreciate it.
Also, I was wondering...did you ever delete the RECOVERY partion E from your SSD?

slotti, where have you been hiding?

KJ

 

Was up in SanFran for a long weekend family vac. Wasn't allowed to take a computer .
Man, did I have some reading to catch up on earlier today. This thread is getting crazy. I'll do some final testing with my render software tonight to decide if I keep mine.
If the latest reinstall resolved my throtteling (which I am hoping for, nothing to see using testing programs), I'll keep it and will start plugging my crucial in with a brand new clean install (might even write up a guide). We already have Bobmitch's great guide, but need more of these. What we really need is a Wiki.

 

Let's do it!

Envy 17 Wiki

Hopefully everyone should be able to edit and add pages/guides and whatnot. Just hit "Add a Page" and put in what you got. I put Crimsoned's first guide on there just so something would be there, hopefully we can turn it into a good repository of all the information here in the forum.

Alternatively, if someone has a webhost they want to volunteer, we could do a proper wiki on there without all the ads and stuff from a free wiki site. Either way. *shrug*

 

FWIW, I didn't delete my Envy recovery partition but I did remove the drive letter from the filesystem. I have my SSD as C, my HDD as D and my DVD drive as E.

 

cam121, that is interesting. So where did your SSD E Recovery partition go?

I'll be honest. I am surprised you did not delete your Recovery partition. Do you not feel it will give you a performance boost to clean the extra space its taking? Honestly, if it really does not make the SSD suffer any, than I think I want to keep my Recovery partition for peace of mind, and ease of use.

KJ

 

Hey there- I'm not completely caught up with all the new posts, so someone else may have said this already, but I don't agree with what Crimsoned said about MOST being bad. That is just an assumption. I believe that you may not necessarily get the full picture of a product simply by reading a forum. Many people only come here when *they have problems* - because they are trying to get the problem resolved. Also, lots of people have tweaked their systems on this forum out of box which can inherently set you up for issues. If you are just trying to use this for every day use, nothing super special, I think you will probably find that you will be perfectly (more than perfectly) be happy with this system if what you receive doesn't have any major flaws to it out of box. If it does, hopefully you would have the same return policy of 21 days over there but I would verify that. I would also highly recommend getting the in home warranty - I have always recommended this for years and years when I was consulting and buying tons of Dells - it just made sense. Just keep in mind many people come here who have problems - there are many many others who are very happy with their systems and just don't have a need to search out and make posts on forums like this (and NO - I don't work for HP - just found over the years that between them and Dell, I had less problems hardware wise and an easier time getting them fixed if I needed to - you will find nightmare stories no matter what computer vendor you use).

 

Against my better judgement I did not make Recovery Disks, I was to lazy too and didnt buy them. It does run slow and I barely have anything on this. Great...

 

Never did. I still have my recovery partition intact

 

That is where an SSD has it over a hard drive. The hard drive works at different speeds as you go from the outer platter to the inner part of the platter. With an SSD...the speed stays the same...No performance boost

 

I would create the recovery disks...just so you have them. Then...do a system recovery off the partition...it will go quite quickly. You have some options...the only way to know if it is a virus or the machine is having issues is to do the recovery. If anyone else has a decent solution other than recovery...speak now...please!

 

I LOVE my Envy and it isn't even perfect (kinda like my husband The screen is one of the best I have had - I don't think you are going to have issues with a sweet spot with this one. The main complaint I have is the calibration is atrocious. I do photography and don't have good tolerance for it not being true to life, so I'm just going to need to get a calibration tool for it and it will be a pleasure to work with after that I am sure. For a typical user, just tweaking the settings to get it a little less blue will probably be good enough. I have noticed a bit of a difference between the two video cards as well - I'm having an easier time with the colors on the Intel on battery power than when using the AMD when it is plugged in oddly enough - but again, I'm sure nothing a calibration tool can't mediate for me.

The keyboard was one of the main reasons I paid the extra $$ over the dv7 - but honestly - eh - I could take it or leave it as it isn't as big of a deal as I thought it was going to be at this point. I'm sitting in the dark right now typing this and the brightness from the LED screen is easily overtaking the need for a backlit keyboard. And no, I'm not getting bleeding under keys. I posted this already, but here is a picture of the keyboard in the dark:

I am confused about everyone's issue with the trackpad. I do sometimes have issues with the two finger scroll I must admit, but I think it might be due to the fact that I am not used to functioning that way as my last laptop was a Dell from over three years ago. It certainly isn't as smooth as my iPad..but hey...that's an iPad I do find that just the pure size of it is too big for me. I seem to rest might right hand on the corner inadvertently sometimes causing it to wig out, but again I think this is just me needing to get used to the design of the notebook.

Overall, I'd say I am pretty darn pleased with my Envy. It is quite a beautifully designed machine and a powerful machine as well. I do still have the issue of the USBs and mem card reader not having power going to them that I need to look into, but I have dealt with computers long enough to know that expecting perfection is, well, too high of an expectation It is in no way dampening my happiness with the system. Now, if I call tech support and they tell me to send the computer in when I have purchased the 4 year in home service....that'll be a different story

 

Peaches...I noticed on my machine that the Memory card reader drivers weren't properly installed. Ran the install again and it fully works.

Too add my thoughts to Peaches...the Envy by far is a very nice machine. I tried the Asus G73 series (screams gamer)...Toshiba Qosmio (Huge machine...very nice...but like carrying a bag of bricks)...and a few others. For what this machine is supposed to represent (professional look with a gamer engine under the hood)...and with all the perks that come with it...NOTHING compares. A big +1 for the Envy 17 3D...

 

Sooo glad you are on this board - your posts are exceptional - truly. I tried to rep you again, but it told me I needed to share the love before repping you again LOL!!!

 

That's pretty awesome on a 9 cell for this system I'm thinking. I was on my 6 cell long enough for the first time today and got about 3 hours doing photoshop and surfing and uploading with brightness at about a 7 being the main change. Not too bad, will have to charge up the 9 cell next.

 

I was able to rep you. You have been a big contributor as well!

Thanks for the thoughts...

 

Hmmm...but you had power to your USBs right beside it, no problem? I will have to look into that - I'm just thinking with no power at all to the USBs they might be connected in some way. I've been so darn busy with other stuff I still haven't completely set this machine up yet....Grrr!

 

The first time I gave my battery a run and saw that I had exceeded three hours on a six cell...on the Envy...I was overjoyed! The last time I had a computer with three hour battery life was an old Toshiba Sattelite P505 model, about seven years ago....and it would just make 3 hours...the Envy goes past that

 

I use my USB's all the time. I even experimented with the eSATA port. In order to get my external HDD to work with it...I have to power from the USB 3.0 port...but it all works. Check device manager and make sure that all your USB hubs are installed. If you see any exclamation marks...right click and reinstall the drivers...windows drivers are best.

I hope you don't have an issue with your USB hub. Does you eSATA / USB combo work? What about USB 3.0...both on left side

 

The only other thing I can think of if this is a NEW slow down for her is to try and remember the day that it began and do a system restore back to before it began and see if that fixes it. MUST do those system restore disks if you don't image your drive..you'll be sorry if you don't!! Ahhh...the good old days when manufacturers would actually arm you with the software you PAID for without needing to do all the burning no one wants to do when they first get their machine.... :\

 

Yes, I have used both the USB and the eSATA USB combo port on the left with no issues at all. I have looked at devman and there are no bangs on anything - did a hardware scan and it didn't find anything new either. Have yet to venture into BIOS (I know..should have done this already!) - but am going there now to check it out and make sure everything looks copasetic.

EDIT: Well...that was sooo enlightening LOL! Why does BIOS have to be so boring I guess I'll have to have fun calling tech support and seeing if I can get someone out here to do the repair. They best have a plastic screw driver because they are NOT touching my case with any metal!!!

 

So, I just got done with a couple test.
As some of you might remember I had some throttle issues, same as Crimsoned (or maybe even worse at some point).
Tried a lot to fix it, even reinstalled the system from recovery, nothing really helped. There was some indication of corruption though, since my coolsense gave me an error message when I entered the feedback screen.
Long story short, before the weekend I did one more new clean system install (actually not all that clean, since it only came from the recovery partition). Please note, this was the third time I did it.
I was very cautious about the WIN updates though, since all the times before I had some error on certain updates on the 1st try, so this time I did them in no more than patches of 5 at a time.
So before the weekend, I ran burntest and all and it seemed fine. Now, tonight, I did the final big test for me. I ran my render software.
HP recommended power setting on battery (1) and High Performance on power cord (2).

Result, no unexpected throtteling below 2 Ghz.

(1) CPU max was 2.4 GHz, low was 2.0 GHz, temps max 75C
(2) CPU max was 2.6 GHz, low was 2.3 GHz, temps max 85C (the low CPU was actually never really below 2.4 GHz, but when the temp hit 85C it got throttled down to 2.3 GHz.

The rendering ran anytime in between 18min (2) and 22min (1). CPU was at 100% at all times.

So, final verdict, it took 3 reinstalls, but it is running like a charm now (knock on wood). I actually ran the same file on my office desktop (i7 870 2.93 GHz, 16 GB Ram) and it took 24 minutes. I am in love again....after a loooong run of frustration.

So this weekend will be the next task. Finally get my C300 installed (funny, it is brand new, non opened, baught it 2 weeks ago, but I feel it is outdated already).

I wish I would not what corruption caused my throtteling, since it would probably help half of you, who have experienced something similar.

 

Slotti...

That's great news and a good start! Oddly enough, I remember installing all the Windows updates at one time...day 1. Based on what you have found, it is most llikely either an update or registry setting that causes the issue. Hoprfully we all learn from this and proceed with updates using caution. There will be other deliveries soon. You have given many hope that there is a fix...makes me feel better knowing that it's not hardware...

Thanks for the work you did on this...

 

Just reading this along with the post showing the front not being seated correctly.

This naturally led me to inspect mine a little closer. Not obvious but along the edge of the base unit closest to the screen there is a bump to the right of the board! I only realized by running my fingers around the unit checking the seating and then found it. Going to take a pic when I get home as once you see it, you see it!

I just don't know what the guys in the factory are doing. Is it a difficult unit to put together or just poor skill. I also have a very slight raise in the keyboard, but you've really got to look closely to suss it out.

 

I've been dying to know whether this issue was hardware or software related. The reason being that I'm overseas most of the year and was starting to be nervous about getting this computer and then immediately heading back overseas... only to find out there is some hardware issue. But if it's software based, I feel much more confident keeping the computer. This is really great news.

Let me know how the Crucial install goes. Mine is still sitting in the box also.

 

Congrats. Unfortunately I am still throttling BAD. I have the 2820 and within seconds on the burn test I drop to ~800 mhz.... even at 60C. I also cannot even do a fresh install on my new SSD because windows 7 install does not recognize any hard drives installed with my ssd plugged in. I rma'd my SSD just to make sure that wasn't my problem and am going to retry next week when I get the new one. My 3D glasses aren't working either. Not to happy with my envy at this point.

 

I don't know that it is your SSD. When you put the SSD in...did you go into the bios to see if recognized? HP obviously did something to these machines...for mine came with the Intel X-25 SSD and I wanted to update the firmware on it....burned the CD...rebooted and Intel firmware flasher keeps telling me that there is no SSD installed. There is something odd about that

Actually, scratch the bios idea. No way to tell what drives are installed. Hard drive test only tests "primary" HDD...not sure which one gets tested. I do know that Acronis True Image 2010 recognizes all the drives. Do you have Acronis? Boot into that with the SSD installed...and it should see it.

 

Alright I got the 3rd Envy 17 SB replacement in my hands today. This is the 4th Envy from HP.

Okay so far it is puzzling me: the processor it self if run with core damage will run just dandy. I've tested for 4 minutes no signs of throttling except at the beginning which I assume may be the processor adjusting itself or core damage setting up the threads.

However as soon as I run furmark, the processor speeds drop down dramatically to 700 mhz within seconds of running furmark. I require more testing however because there is a good possibility of a incomparability in running Furmark and Core damage.

Retesting again with Core damage alone yielded once again to no throttling issues. It seems the real issue is when the CPU/GPU are running both.
So far as long as the core remains stable and doesnt throttle when ran by itself it will be fine as that means I can run rendering/other CPU oriented work.

So far I haven't checked the audio.

 

Can anyone recommend a colorimeter for this thing that is around $100 that will work with *LED* screens? Seems it is questionable whether the Spyder line will work or the Pantone line either. This makes me kinda stuck and I can just tell that the colors are way off on the screen and can't seem to manually set them.

 

What about something like this:

Colorimeter reviews - Colorvision, SPYDER3 Tv, Colorimeter Reviews | Plasma HDTV Reviews | LED TV Reviews

 

Well...my new keyboard was delivered this morning. Now just waiting on a call from In Home tech to set up install on Friday morning. I will see how this all works out...

BTW...did you all see where you can now purchase an Envy 17 3D from Walmart??? Not kidding...



Walmart.com: Search Results for "Envy 17 3D"

 

You know one thing I was reading about recently is that for many laptops, there is a much stronger performance connection between the CPU and GPU than people realize. Specifically, on laptops that really only have one cooling system, and the CPU and GPU both piggyback on the one system.

What they were talking about was that even if you took the same CPU and GPU and put them in a case that has independent (and more efficient) cooling systems, the CPU will run better (and throttle less) because the GPU has it's own cooling system and is running cooler. They discovered that the GPU heating up could trigger CPU throttling (specifically they were looking at the 2820), even though the CPU itself was still relatively cool.

So, what I wonder (and this is just an 'off the cuff' thought), is if that while some of you are saying that the CPU is throttling at a relatively low temperature, like 60C; whether we should also keep an eye on the GPU as well. Since they share one cooling system, it's also possible that the CPU will be throttling not because of it it's own temp, but because of the GPU load/temps.

I just thought of that when you said that things got weird when you tried to run both together. Of course, it could be a more simple explanation too, like furmark just isn't compatible for some reason.