HP Envy 14: Availabilty, etc.

alright.

I'm just using a very old pair of these: Amazon.com: Sony MDR-V300 Monitor Series Headphones with Folding Design: Electronics

still love them.

 

... discussions about small or high resolution ... ?

Why are YOU interested in the Envy 14 ?

My absolut main reason is the special extra bright screen with large viewing angles.
Smaller secondary reasons are the metal chassis, the design and the slice battery option.

I'm not interested in the Envy 14 for the raw horsepower of CPU and GPU, because there are a lot of other notebooks with about the same horsepower which are a lot cheaper.

The 1600x900 display is the one with "radiance" in its name and with the high brightness etc.
The 1366x768 display is a more standard HP display with no special features.

I wouldn't consider buying the Envy 14 with the standard 1366x768 display.
Other notebooks would give me a lot more bang for the buck with a standard display.

 

i am trying to wait for the envy but the dm4t is looking like a great deal right now. it is thiner than the envy but lacks hdmi and the back light keybaord. but hp is having a deal right now where they sell it with a 160 ssd and a core i540 with 3gigs of ram for 850 dollars plus free shipping.

 

I'm torn between the envy and the dv6t:Select edition.

that's all.

 

Beats are very mediocre for the price. They are pseudo enthusiast headphones, like any Bose product.

The audio quality for the laptop should be better than average though.

 

Go to a Best Buy store they should have some demo Dre Beats try them on they do sound really nice. The Envy is supposedly meant to utilize Beat products with it Beat integrated software/services mixed with HP services that help noise cancellation etc.

 

Ho yeah according to the australian sheet, no usb 3.0 for the envy14... only envy 15 and 17 are getting it.
Whatever, I'll use two usb cables to power that damn HDD then xD

 

I think the last Bose I tried was me buying a pair of noise cancelling headphones not realizing they didn't fit well at all..and didn't use 'em all that much. (This was around the time the sony pair decided to fall into two pieces. Eventually fixed them).

I think the problem is that I'm so used to my headphones just barely staying on my head (and also being so light I barely notice they are there)

 

From HP "Beats" sub system - The Next Bench

- Board is specifically laid out with attention to Digital to Analogue crossover. Careful attention to layout give us very clean output with almost no line noise.

- Added amplifier to assure strong and clean listening experience

- Added Digital Signal Processor to dynamically enhance the sound profile. The Beats Audio profile are tuned DSP settings that were designed with direct feedback from artists and music feedback.

 

Where! Link please!

 

The dm4t has HDMI...

 

ok so it has hdmi comes with a 160 ssd. its missing the baxklit keyboard. seems like the envy doesnt have much over it

 

Don't know about the rest of you, but "160 ssd and a core i540 with 3gigs of ram for 850 dollars plus free shipping" sounds too good to be true to me. More than 400 USD for the drive, and the rest of the PC in addition?

 

Well, the envy 14 is bigger and heavier. haha

If I knew the $999 Envy 14 didn't include discrete graphics and had a dinky HD, I'd be buying two of the dm4s today. With the Bing 25% off its tempting. But I just can't pull the trigger until I know for sure.

 

someone care to post a link ?

 

I'd say it's a sham. The starting price is just over $700 BEFORE adding the SSD. Most coupons are offered for any purchases over $1,099. Current coupon is $200 off. 160gb SSDs go for way over $200.

 

Cheap Deal: 14" HP Pavilion dm4t 2.26GHz Intel Core i5-430M 3GB Ram & 160GB SSD Laptop on sale at the lowest and best price!

its a 430 not a 540 and i dont see where it says the dm4t has an hdmi out port

 

As far as I know, most HD channels broadcast in 1080i, so no, you wouldn't be able to really tell.

Now, after having played Crysis on a 20" 1680x1050 monitor running at both native resolution and 1366x768, there is obvious distortion. You're upscaling an image, anyways, so it's not going to look nearly as nice as the same game on lower settings at the native resolution.

This is a moot point, since I think all of you are overestimating how little the performance drop should be when going from 1366x768 to 1600x900. If I get an Envy 14, I'm definitely going for the higher res screen. Having used a 1366x768 screen on a 15.6" laptop, it's definitely not something I want.

 

FYI: Thats without a discrete graphics card.

 

adding that makes it 950, u still get the ssd. idk but i hear that having an ssd on a laptop or you pc makes it really fast and is just about one of the biggest upgrades you can make. thats why i am so tempted. and this laptop is thinner

 

I love it when people start comparing the retail price on the Envy 14 to a dm4t WITH coupons/bing. I hope they do realize that when the Envy 14 comes out there are going to be some nice coupons applicable as well.

 

But a side note: the reason others many pages back made the comparison between the DM4t pricing and the Envy is they were suspicious of why the Envy, a "premium" laptop, would cost less than a DM4t with inferior specs. It's because of this I myself am a little worried there won't be too many generous BCB deals or coupons available. I would REALLY like the $450 off coupon. That would allow for a lot of choices in terms of screen and hard drive upgrades.

 

If I equip a DM4 with 4 gigs RAM, 500gig HD, 512meg graphics card, bluetooth it is well over the supposed $999 Envy 14 price. Which is why I haven't pulled the trigger yet, if the Envy 14 matches those specs and I can get BCB or a decent coupon its going to be a wash.

I'm tired of waiting, but I figure waiting 2 more weeks is better than possibly kicking myself.

 

i dont doubt it but seeing as how the envy is hp's premium line i have a feeling its going to be hard to get the envy 14 for even $1000 with an ssd

 

You'll need a coupon to go with that SSD if you want it for 1k. California taxes will make that even more difficult.

 

ESPN is broadcast in 720p.

Also, you played Crysis in two different aspect ratios, I believe. 1366x768 is 16:9, while 1680x1050 is 16:10. That isn't the same thing as playing a game with a lower resolution in the same aspect ratio.

 

It only lets you add an ATI 5450 which is not all that great.

 

technically it's not thinner than the envy. the dm4t is 0.98" at its thinnest and 1.21" at its thickest. This wedge shaped design is unappealing IMO and once seen from all angles, comes off as a deceptive maneuver by HP. The Envy 14 is 1.1" and pretty uniform in shape, so it comes off as having better build quality, like the MBP.

I would be all over the DM4t and glad to save $250 over the Envy 14 if it had kept the 1.21" thickness all around, and made it look like a real aluminium unibody structure.

 

I think those of you that want an SSD in your Envy 14 will be better suited just waiting for a good SSD to go on sale, buying it, and installing it yourself. Sometimes the Intel X25-M 80GB will fall to around $200 or less when it goes on sale.

All SSDs are not equal. There's no telling what kind of SSD HP could put in it. You definitely want one that has TRIM support and uses a good controller.

 

ahh ok. yeah i am not a fan of the wedge design but i thought its thickest point was .98. it isnt so i will wait for the envy 14

 

I've been reading about SSDs on and off. Seems like Sandforce controllers get a lot of love these days.

 

Yes, the Sandforce controllers perform very well, and new firmware updates have actually unlocked more free space for use on many of the drives.

That's not to say you can't find an SSD using an Intel or Indilinx controller that is cheaper and performs well, though. Having a top of the line SSD in a laptop that is above-average might not be your best bet. I'll likely put my OCZ Vertex 60GB into my Envy 14, if I decide to get it.

 

You mean the best but also the priciest, right? The Intel G2s and the Vertexes tend to receive a lot of positive reception on slickdeals.net for bang for buck.

 

I've got a Samsung 128gb. Just need a laptop

 

That's what I mean, yes. I feel like with any technology, bang-for-buck is the way the majority of people will want to go.

 

160 GB, sounds like an Intel X25-M. Very good drive (if it is true).

 

Overall, good specs from the datasheet. The 59Wh battery will be only good for 4-5 hours imo for messing about. The slice will be a must have for me. The base config for the 14'' is pretty much bang on what we expected. i5-430, HD5650 1GB, radiance display (how nice), 4 gigs(?).

 

Probably going to be 3 gigs as most of people run on 32 bits... that uses a maximum of 3,25 gb of ram (just a quick reminder of the quite uselessness of 4gigs on 32bit oses )
Or on the opposite as its "premium" laptop it may be directly 4gigs (they may have special prices for buying mass 2gigs instead of a few 2gig + a few 1gigs)

 

Isn't 64-bit becoming more mainstream now? Whenever I customize laptops for fun online (don't judge me), 64 bit Windows 7 is always the default choice.

 

Too many speculations going on right now so please stop talking!

 

I do the same thing.

 

.

No.

 

Is that turtle accurate?

 

Personally I got too many uncompatible software that runs only on 32 bit.

 

Speaking of incompatible software.


How does that unsigned driver stuff work on 64-bit win7? I know you have to hit f8 and hit that "run unsigned drivers" thing, but do you have to do it every single time you wanna use something that requires those drivers....like say a ps3 controller?

 

Don't question the turtle.

 

Why is it that the Envy's are lacking a firewire port? I was hoping this issue would be addressed with the new releases. Is there a way to attach a firewire port to an Envy?

 

Unless it's a G1. (unlikely)

 

I'm sure you could use a port replicator. What do you have that requires Firewire and won't work over USB?

 

DM4T owners seem to be unable to overclock the HD 5450 GPU in that laptop. (take a look at the comments in the owners lounge) The ATI OC tool does not work, nor does Rivatuner. Is there a problem OC'ing ATI GPU's in HP's? Is this going to be a problem with the Envy?

Bronsky