*HP Envy 13 Owners Lounge!*

Did you actually read the first post of that thread?

If you had you would realise there are no issues with the trackpad once you follow that guide.

 

I can't find info. on this...

I think I read the standard battery takes about an hour to charge. Correct me if I am wrong.

Anyone know how long it then takes to charge the slice?

I read about the computer's fast charge and the fact that it will charge the standard one first to 90%, then move to the slice to 90%, then back to the main one, etc.

But how long will it THEN take to charge the slice?

Thanks all....

 

Significantly slower than the first 90%, that's all I know.

Lithium ion batteries charge much slower for the last couple percent than the beginning.

 

Hello everyone! I'm new to forums. I recently acquired a Envy 13 and had a kind of specific question I was hoping someone could answer. Has anyone been able to get DXVA working correctly for h264 HD videos? I haven't put a lot of effort into figuring it out yet but the Envy 13's processor just isn't quite fast enough for some 1080p content I've tried so I was hoping someone else could tell me if they had it working? Thanks!

 

new555,

I bought the refurbished unit on Amazon a few days ago also! I noticed there were 5 available when I bought it and now there are only 3 so you must have grabbed it right after me. It looks like I was lucky though because mine came with a slice battery! xD I didn't even realize they didn't normally come standard. I'm not going to use mine though i think because I like it better without it.

 

If you enable D3D Fullscreen in MPC-HC DXVA works perfectly using the Intel IGP with 1080p content.

 

Thanks iaTa! I'll try it out later tonight after work and see if i can get it working

 

Lucky you! I went ahead and bought one from HP. Extra $100 though.

Loving the laptop so far. I usually don't use the slice, but wanted the extra battery if I needed it. Had a netbook before and sold it on eBay.

 

new55,

That is so funny! I too had a netbook and sold it to get this! xD I had an HP Mini and got rid of it through Craigslist. So glad I did too because this laptop is awesome! Adam processors are just too slow and even though the Core 2 processor is old, it is still a lot faster than my old HP mini's Adam. The screen is amazing too!

 

how easily accessible is the hdd?? I'm considering a refurb at $500, but i want to be able to easiliy upgrade to a ssd.

 

dalamchops,

Here is the service guide that shows how to open it up... http://tim.id.au/laptops/hp/hp envy 13.pdf . From what I understand, only the memory is difficult to upgrade. The hard drive shouldn't be too hard for an experienced user. That said, it looks to be more difficult than other laptops.

 

Has anyone been able to update to catalyst 11.6 display driver on the envy 13? I know iaTA posted an unsigned driver earlier but I don't really want to do that. I'm only interested in the AMD driver. Yesterday I tried overriding the old hp drivers with a 11.6 driver which I heard worked for people who had the Envy 14, but it crashed midway (i think) and drivers wouldn't load after a restart. Maybe I just had bad luck though and was wondering if anyone else had had any luck? Thanks!

http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...-drivers-switchable-graphics-11-4-11-5-a.html - Here is what I tried. Maybe someone else could try and let me know if it worked for them?

 

I'm running v11.6 and our standard Intel driver which Alien is now including in all future versions. It works a treat:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22674757/ATI_11.6_W7x64_Alien9_switchable_v3.exe

 

Thanks iaTa. I just want to confirm though. If I install this, I do NOT need to run windows with driver signatures disabled. Also, if that is true, do i install it over default hp amd driver or remove the amd driver, run driversweep, then install the file you provided? Thanks so much!

 

It enables driver test mode for you automatically. Just use a watermark remover to remove the Test watermarks from your desktop. There is no risk to your system doing this.

That's the way to do it

 

I just snagged a brand new envy 13-1103tx on a store here having a clearance sale. I didn't believe it at first when I checked the specs online, so I opened it up on the shop, and this envy 13 does have the 1600x900 radiance screen! I immediately bought it, they only had one in stock. Paid S$950 for it. So happy with my new toy.

 

i just snagged a refurb w/ the same config (every besides screen) for $500. Hope it comes soon.

 

@zirdaq

You seem pretty excited. Nice get! I have been enjoying my refurbished envy 13 too! I put it next to my envy 17 to compare the screens and the envy 13 is definitely brighter and superior. I like both my new (used) laptops though! xD

 

have u guys tried overclocking the 4330?? How well does it run starcraft on low?

 

I get 12-15fps playing sc2 at medium-low settings 1600x900 res. Stock clock speeds.

@chyaddo

It's a shame they discontinued the envy 13. The size and build quality is perfect for those on the go. I actually almost bought an MBA 13.

 

Good thing i didnt get the 1600x900 screen then

 

i can always go down to 1280x720 for more 25-30fps.

 

zirdaj you need to upgrade to AMD CCC 11.6

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22674757/ATI_11.6_W7x64_Alien9_switchable_v3.exe

 

native resolution looks the best for games imo. Can't wait to get mine tomorrow. Now i have to look for a 1.8" ssd

 

I would love to hear your experience replacing the HDD with an SSD, as I am also interested in doing the same.

 

can anyone confirm the connection for the hard drive is a micro sata before i order anything?

 

also having trouble overclocking the gpu. The clocks simply wont' stick

 

just did a very look at where the HDD is, it's very easy to get inside the laptop. Just remove the 3 screws under the each rubber feet, and 6 screws under the battery and the top will pop off with ease (no clips holding).

 

Great. Is it easy to take out the hdd mounting bracket? I read from another post that it will be used for swapping into an ssd.

What is the battery life you are getting btw? That's my biggest let down at the moment. I only get around 3hrs of web surfing on HP recommended power plan. I will be getting the slice battery next week, I hope it doesn't make it too bulky.

 

I'm getting close to 5 hours. Lowest brightness still works perfectly fine (highest blinds me more than XPS's screen which is one of the brightest already). I've also undervolted the processor, so less heat and longer battery life.

Getting the bracket off requires a very tiny phillips screw driver, i didn't have one, so i hadn't taken it off yet, but should be pretty easy.

 

Okay, my gf just made me give my envy to her. Back to the drawing board for me.

@dalamchops

Thanks for the info! +rep.

 

What are idle GPU en CPU temps?
And load?

Was wondering if they will re release the 13 in the next refresh (7000Mobility serie)

 

cpu idle temps is about 32-33, on load it's 66-67 max. I have it undervolted, so it only gets to about 59-60C. All these on ambient of 81F.

Some reason HWmonitor won't detect the GPU temps.

 

Same here, the max my cpu temps went is 70, when playing Dragon Age: Origins.

 

found a great deal on a new toshiba 128gb ssd ($130). Not the fastest but fast enough that the hdd is not the bottleneck of the system.

Installation was a piece of cake, just remove the screws under the rubber feet, and 6 under the battery. Lift the top up, remove one more screw for the bracket and you're done. You could disconnect the keyboard cable to make it easier but i was able to install the drive w/o messing with that.

 

A very beautiful laptop
I bought it yesterday at 600€, ot came with a sice battery and a dvd reader/writer.
Now I am going to delete all that HP stuff installed on it

 

I stumbled upon someone locally selling their envy 13 with a radiance display for ~$500, i'm pretty sure i could bargain it down. Is this worth it? Or should i drop the extra cash and get a 14?

 

That depends, what are you going to use it for?

I'd buy it up in a heartbeat.

 

Mainly for university and some photo editing. I do like to play games like starcraft, and LoL once in a while but i do it mostly on my desktop. However it might be convienent if those games ran on my laptop, i've read that the 14 runs games so much better so i might lean into getting that instead... hrm

 

If price is not a problem and if it is the Envy 14 that suits you: Go right ahead.

But if you're looking for a thin-and-light for cheap with good build quality, battery life, and high resolution: Get the Envy 13.

Also to note: the Envy 13 is now a (3?) year old laptop packing a C2D.

I wouldn't quite decide on a laptop just yet. Make a WNSIB thread with the FAQ form attached any you'll see many other options thrown in your direction.

 

does someone know how to "retire' the buttons from the touchpad area, because I like putting my fingers on my laptops button, and it is not possible on the Envy because we cant move the mouse then...

thanks

 

Ok, so, I tried meddling with the graphics driver in a futile attempt to update them and failed horribly. Now I'm left with a slitghly crippled envy 13. I'm downloading the drivers from the hp site but they're taking forever haha. Hoping installing the stock drivers will fix my problems.

 

It is also suggested to install the drivers through the device manager.

 

Windows device manager or some HP software I'm unaware of?

 

Windows device manager.

 

I'm trying. Hope it works!

 

K so nothing worked so I used a system restore... now everything is sorta back to how it was before with the exception that now I can't open catalyst. Any input is appreciated!

 

I updated my envy 13 graphics driver using the link from this thread:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-envy-hdx/582545-drivers-ati-5650-6630-hp-envy-14-a.html

download 11.9

After the update, I was stuck with a black screen. I let it stay that way for 10-15min, then I did a hard reboot. After the reboot, my envy 13 was back to normal, running updated drivers.

 

I think there is a bug concerning the battery management when you plug the extra battery :

Imagine the extra battery is empty and the main battery full, then win7 displays "50% battery remaining" whereas it is 100% that is remaining!!!

In fact the system does the average of the 2 batteries to display the % remaining, and this is false because the pc shuts up way before the main battery is empty.

 

I'm going to try that but next weekend maybe. Also, hard reboot how? You let your laptop ON but with a black screen and rebooted after 15min and it magically worked? You installed over stock drivers, right?

On a side note, I just got the CCC working again by installing stock driver, sigh. At last.