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

As to the hardware choices, I totally agree. I've been reading up on both the Alienware, g74 and MSI gt780 forums. I hadn't realized all the stuff that came standard on the Envy, I have to upgrade for myself or through a reseller on those other laptops. One example is the network card that comes with it. Or how convenient the analog volume wheel is (which I didn't realize I needed till I had it on the Envy which I have returned).

And then there is that form factor. Why can't a gaming laptop be smooth and thin. Probably all that cooling...

I'm really not that much of a gamer but I really want to have a great graphics card for when I do...

I guess you can't have everything.

 

I just returned my Envy 17 because of audio/sound problems. I'm currently awaiting my replacement. I thought the laptop speakers sounded bad with the volume changes, today before I returned it i decided to try the laptop with my desktop speakers & it the sound was just awful. Now I'm scared that perhaps the replacement & all Envys are the same. Our new dv7 sounds great compared to my Envy.

Can anyone please tell me if they have tried the Envy with desktop speakers and if so how was the sound? I would really appreciate if someone could let me know. Thank you so much.

 

I play mine through external speakers all the time, and the sound is great. If your new dv7 sounds great, you can believe your Envy was probably just defective.

 

Thanks for the quick response, makes me feel relieved knowing that your sounds great. I almost convinced myself to keep it regardless of this problem cause I have to wait till Feb. 7th till shipment. I really like everything else about the Envy 17, can't wait to get the new one.

 

Thanks for the reply! Just the kind of information I was looking for.

Do you know where I can get the second caddy from?

Thank you!!

 

Do I need anything to put ssd in primary slot and hdd in secondary?? I'm so condused

 

Hey guys, I've been reading the "NOW AVAILABLE" thread for the ENVY-3XXX until I noticed this one.

I'm currently running with the ENVY 17-2000ef, with an added SSD. Overally very happy with it but it seems the 3rd gen ENVY has all I could wish for bonus compared to my 2nd gen (mainly: better screen, better backlit keyboard, better cooling at the rear of the laptop, nice volume adjustement, built-in HP wireless audio, blu-ray).

Thanks fiver5 for answering my first question: will the ENVY 17 come with the second caddy already built-in? Seems not. It's a bit strange the connector is there though. So you guys think I won't need it for my SSD? The one I bought from newmodeus for my 2nd gen will definitely be useless or could fit with like 1 or 2 screws fixed?

I still have other unanswered question though:

- How is the 1920*1080 Radiance screen of the 3rd gen compared to the 1920*1080 screen of the 2nd gen? Is there really a benefit here?

- Are both HDD bays definitely SATA III ? Would be good to have a double check on this point.

- Is the volume adjustement working well? Also is it acting on the main ("global") audio volume in Windows?

- How is the backlit keyboard sensor reacting? (a video would be the top here)

- I'm also kinda interested by a comparison laptop cooling vs. laptop fans noise (balanced?).

Thanks!

The HP store says that laptops will be ready in 1-2 weeks for shipping here in France (around 1500 € std config, no CTO here), no other website is offering it here yet (that I'm aware of anyway). The wireless audio receiver I have no idea, it has been announced but it's not up on HP FR website...

 

Hey drathaar,

When you get your new Envy, let me know how it sounds. If the audio problem is gone and I haven't bought a new laptop yet, I may re-order the Envy. Thanks!

 

Be patient. My Envy 17 3D was planned for shipment on Jan 20st and finally was shipped on Jan. 13th (ordered Jan. 4th)

Like I said above, mine was shipped on the 13th... to a friend in Florida who sent it then to France by USPS (cost of a bit less than $80 in Express Mail)
As HP doesn't send to France, I reviewed all the options: freight forwaders (HP seems to know them and does not accept order) and also buying it in Belgium (2000€ but better config regarding disk drive).

Lately I looked at HP Swiss and found that they propose the 17-3080z for 1899 CHF. If you put it in euro, you get 1583 €, for 160Gb SSD + 750Gb HD and 8Gb Ram.

Why only Belgium and Swiss? Because of the keyboard compatibility with France. Belgium is a bit different but it's still azerty. For Swiss, I don't know if it's azerty or not since they speak German, French and also Italian...

As I'll get mine in qwerty, I'll keep looking if I can find a replacement keyboard. Part number for US keyboard is 665910-001. Looking at other HP computers, it seems like -051 is the code for France. French keyboard part number should then be 665910-051.

I didn't answer your question but i'll post my impressions in 1 or 2 weeks.

 

As soon as it arrives I will put the sound card/audio through extensive testing & let you know how it sounds. If it still has the same problem I will give up & just wait till some new laptops hit the market.

 

My Envy's coming on Tuesday, let's wait and see if it'll arrive in pristine condition or not.

 

As an owner of both, I can say the new one is noticeably brighter. Both are excellent, however.

Yes to both. I've grown quite accustomed, surprisingly, to the volume wheel.

The keyboard improvement is my favorite feature. The sensor is cool, but IMO it's gimmicky. The real value is in how bright those individually lit keys are, and this time they are. The old backlit keyboards seemed to have light bleeding from the sides and the bottom. A mediocre experience at best, IMO.

My old Envy is not SB, so I notice the cooling difference big-time. My last Envy was an eleventh-hour 1st-gen model. I really don't hear fans, but maybe I am not paying attention. The optical drive noise when you start the laptop up is a bit annoying, I must say.

 

Anyone tried the new ATI drivers yet? Any performance increase?

 

Where do you get these drivers from? I cannot get drivers from AMD website and none is on HP site.

 

Interesting to note that my Envy isn't coming from China through Alaska like other people's in the past, but arrived straight to Tennessee.

 

I Gott my Envy 3010eg yesterday. Since it
seems that nobody has this book in Austria and Germany, I have to write here.
My version has 2x750GB.
So I tried to start it for the first time...No boot device found. It seems the hdds are empty.

Gesendet von meinem Galaxy Nexus mit Tapatalk

 

Thanks vsherry!

That's very nice to hear! The backlit keyboard on the 2nd gen (and probably 1st gen) is indeed very "bleedy" and quite not what I expected. Looking forward to some improvement with the 3rd gen.

 

As far as I know, the second-generation keyboard was identical to the first. This time, the lettering itself is what is lit up.

 

Yep... this is the best backlit keyboard I have used... by a long shot. The sensor works fine for me. No missed/skipped keys likes some others have complained about either. No dented USB ports, no sound issues (sounds as good as my XPS 17 which I still have). The fan is much quieter than my XPS 17... hardly notice it. The display is excellent at all angles and very bright. This is solid laptop here... thus far. About the only thing that I would say is not up to par with some others here is the battery only last me about 3 hours if I am using it for web surfing, email and word processing type stuff. I don't play any games at all. However, this is not that important because I can keep it plugged in with no issues.

 

Thinking about buying a few for use at home, mainly (consuming) media duties - as an adjunct machine beside me when I'm doing something else, on the couch, etc.

Obviously I'm aware of the specs, have read a few reviews but most of them are of the gushy kind.

What, if anything, bad stuff have you as an Envy 17 owner come across so far? What did you encounter as shortcomings based on your expectations? I just have to figure if there are any deal-killers lurking within.

 

3 hours with what GPU? There is both Intel Integrated and the AMD cards in the laptop.

With the Intel card, Battery settings at recommended, and backlight at 70%, I easily get 5 hours. Not to mention that the Intel card isn't half bad either.

This is with the ENVY 17 3D.

 

Glad to hear the battery life...the brief time I had an Envy it only lasted 1.5 hours so 3 sounds great to me.

 

I like the MBP backlit keyboard but have rarely used it. I want to see them next to each other so I can determine which is better. I think HP has it, but that could be bias. I am nearly brand-loyal to HP now, and it's been by accident until I owned the Envy. Every laptop I have owned has been an HP. One was owned via replacement because of an error, but I have had six. All have been HP. I have been impressed with the performance of the last five. The first wasn't as bad as it felt at the time and still functions perfectly. I got it in 2003. Only Macs are supposed to work this long, right?

 

How thick is the new Envy 17? (Sorry for posting two times in a row. Honest mistake.)

 

Its about 1.3 inches (measured by putting it on a flat surface and aligning the outer shell).

 

Thanks. +1

I knew it was thinner than the last. It's funny that such a small amount is detectable. I guess that's why reviewers act like the 1 pound difference in weight between the MacBook Pro and the Envy is night and day in terms of portability. They also do that for the half inch difference in height, which has apparently been reduced.

HP has been very good at making the Envies appear even thinner than they actually are. Your eyes stop at the aluminum on the new model. It looks as if it were no thicker than MBP. The last model's base was slanted.

 

How well does this new Envy 17 play Skyrim and Star Wars: The Old Republic? Could someone play these games on the High setting?

 

Getting my new Envy 17 tonight!! Delivery was attempted but of course I'm at work, so I'll have to pick it up from Purolator tonight. It's been a long wait since Dec 7. I don't know why us Canadians had to wait so long!

It's my first new computer in 5 years. Any pointers on how best to set it up and transfer over my old files/settings from my old laptop?

 

I play Skyrim @ 1080p with high settings fine, no AA or AF though.

 

is putting ssd in envy 17 3xxx and moving hdd to second slot as easy as putting a hard drive in one slot laptop? Anything different like connections?

 

Does anyone else find it ALL too easy to have the clickpad interfere with typing on this thing? It was not this bad on my old model, IMO. I definitely prefer to type with it off while using a regular mouse. I keep accidentally highlighting a lot of text in one unintended gesture, and of course, when I type the next thing, it all disappears. I Ctrl + Z far more than I care to.

 

When I played Star Wars on this, I tried setting everything on high, but the framerates weren't quite there. I would say pick and choose from high and low settings and it should play fine. Also turn off shadows. For some reason, even people with nVidia 580 desktops are/were having problems with shadows in the game.

But I would say that this can play SWTOR with mid level settings. I don't have the Envy anymore, so I can't give you a more accurate settings (like which need to be on or off, can you turn on anti-aliasing, etc), but this game is more than playable with your Envy. You just can't have all the bells and whistles on.

 

Hi
How i can retrieve my tridef 3d license from HP ?
please answer to this topic too :
http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-envy-hdx/583686-envy-17-3d-demos.html

 

Safe to say HP took notice of all the complaints about gaps on the older models when they designed this one. This one does a pretty damned good job at pretending to have a unibody, huh? I wish the slot-load drive's edges were as round as they used to be, but that's extra nitpicky. Funny that we, like the rest of the world, pegged both versions as MBP ripoffs, but the new Envy looks quite different from the last. I like different things better aesthetically about either notebook, but I have to say the top of the new Envy does little for me one way or the other. It's classy, I guess, but it certainly doesn't feel as elegant or luxurious as the old one. Between the deep metallic color and that etched pattern, that was really distinctive.

 

Actually, I'm thinking of buying 15" model but in 15" Envy thread I've read some messages about problems with displaying red on it. I just want to make a comparison, could please someone make a screenshot on your 17" model of cnn.com. They have such a bright red design that it can be as a benchmark for me to understand. I just want to have a laptop with a good screen that's why I want to be sure that 15" is what I need or I should better buy a 17". Could, please, somebody help me?

 

There is a photo of an Envy 17 in this thread here. Not CNN though but there are lots of red in that picture.

 

Before I returned my Envy 17 because of audio/sound card problems, I took these pictures comparing colors red & orange. No problems what so ever displaying correct colors. Hopefully this will help you out.

 

Picked up this from the "NOW AVAILABLE..." topic:

Anyone can confirm? Does it work with all USB ports?

 

drathaar, Thank you very much, that really turned out to be very helpful! I just a little bit worried that there're so many problems with these new Envies... That's a trend? Or it just seems to be so because those who are happy owner don't write anything there and as the result only the disappointed users post here?

 

Hello everyone,

just received my envy 17 and loving it.
However i'd like your help to best configure the beats audio system>

What are the settings you are using? (bass, def, center, space and the EQ)

Thanx for your help!!

 

^ same just got my 17 yesterday and loving it, I can also confirm that the hp site is listing the graphic card wrong. when i ordered it said it was going to be a 7690M, but it was a 7690M XT. I must say the screen is beautiful and the blacklit keys are great, only issue i have is the static on the speakers when playing anything, im going to remove the beats software and drivers and see if that makes any difference i have a feeling its a software issue.

 

I tried disabling beats alltogether. That fixed the signal-to-noise ratio problem it seems.

 

That's excellent news! Thanks for clearing that up.

 

Yes... It works, there is a little lightning bolt symbol on the left side rear USB port. This one stays on after shut down.

 

Thanks for the hint, another bonus feature that I was looking for and that is missing on the 2nd gen 17" !

 

! jsut got my Envy 173D and was shocked to see that we can acually switch to the intel video! I thought 120hz screens weren't supported?

Also, it cam with the 7960M XT, and teeny tiny dent on the usb, otherwise perfect.

 

Same for me, I love this computer, and It's fully covered for me. Definitely worth the $200 cost over the Clevo P151HM1 I had previously.

 

In regards to the Envy 17 (non 3d) the only issue I had was with the audio/sound (it now seems that a few others are having the same problem), hopefully the new one I ordered won't have that issue.
I really had no other complaints, IMO the laptop was really awesome.

Of course it seems that most people get the dented usb port, I don't know why HP would ship them out knowing this. Hopefully with the new batches this problem will be corrected.