HP Envy 14: Availabilty, etc.

AMD GPU Clock Tool overclocks my 5830 fine.

But, yes, the ATI Overdrive does not work for some reason.

 

What do you have that's incompatible with 64-bit. Aside from (iirc) having trouble with the 32-bit version of iTunes, and programs with 16-bit installers (i.e. almost nothing newer than 1997), I haven't really seen any problems running software on 64 bit - I was quite tentative when I switched, but it ended up not being a big deal, at least in my case.

 

Nah you just did it on windows install. Once its installed it's installed.

 

I'm most likely going to grab the envy 14 but I had a general question. I really like to have a lot of RAM so I like that they can go up to 8gb. But on this type of setup is it beneficial or even wise? I figure 8 would make it run pretty hot. On the other hand I wouldn't go lower than 4 and (obviously) 8 is 2x that so it is pretty tempting.

 

Isn't 4GB more than enough for most users? I wouldn't think you would need more than 6GB unless you have a million programs running at once.

 

More memory won't be much of an issue for temps in the machine. They run quite cool compared with the CPU and GPU.

Depends on what you are doing but for most Windows apps and games 4GB is more than sufficient. You can even go with 6GB if you want (1x2GB + 1x4GB), but that's even a little overkill. If you're doing lots of photoshop work or running a lot of virtual machines, then more memory would be beneficial, otherwise not necessary.

 

2GB is plenty. I never come close to needing even 2gb on my computer. Ill go with single 4GB if its a $25 upgrade though. I dont see how people need more than 4GB unless they have to do virtual machines. Even photoshop, unless you are doing some pretty heavy stuff, doesnt need that much.

 

True, but the only caveat to that is if you play any fairly modern games, 4GB is almost a necessity. 4GB seems to be the sweet spot for a 64-bit Windows 7 install any way you look at it. Who knows, maybe it'll be standard. If not I wouldn't expect it to be $25 upgrade, maybe $50, which is still more than worth it.

 

4GB in 2 DIMMs is probably standard with a $25 upgrade to a single DIMM making it an easy upgrade to 8GB in the future if desired.

 

2gb was good enough for 32-bit machines back in 2006. I remember my Pentium D desktop from those days. I upgraded it from 1gb to 2gb by adding 2 more 512mb sticks. According to my friend who now works for HP, 2gb was plenty enough for that time.

Fast-forward 4 years, and 4gb is now the norm for 64-bit machines. Most entry-level processors out there won't get any life-changing benchmark improvements by going beyond 4gb. I've never owned an i5-equipped machine, but I would assume for now that's the case. But I wouldn't be surprised if 6gb or 8gb were to become the norm within 2-3 years.

 

I like to play some games (not the newest, or FPS for that matter) while listening to music and while on the internet. Also will have the whatever the best available i5 is. Does any of that sway it from 4 to 8?

 

hell, i think 2gb cuts it for most people.

 

so much ram.


I remember when we had...

well...I dunno how much ram was in our first computer. But it was back in the windows 3.11 days (and I remember something about extended memory giving me issues while trying to play some games without a boot disk)

 

Actually I would think most people need more than 2GB, just because of all the they let run on their PC. (Programs open at once and malware)Most people who know a bit about computer and dont have specialized tasks can cut it wiht 3GB.

Also reminds me of all my Mac friends who never exit a program when theyre done and have their machines running like crap.

 

No ... 4 is plenty.

 

Sheesh, I can't even go away for a day without missing 17 pages worth of discussion! This thread is going to hit a thousand pages before this thing comes out...

Great news with that Australian pamphlet. As far as I can tell, that is the first "specsheet" for the entire line and not simply a single configuration (like the one on the US site), which means that is the best source of information so far (as far as I'm concerned!).

 

Meah, that's nothing, you should've seen thread floods on m11x when it was coming out, it was a record here...

 

I've seen posts on this thread stating that the core i5 520m does not provide a significant boost in performance from the 430m, but can anyone comment on the performance of the 540m when compared to the 430m?

 

Just my opinion, doubt the difference is huge unless you're running an app that's heavily CPU intensive and utilizes multiple cores. Most apps with some exceptions don't do the latter.

 

I need a second power supply, as I am used on having one power supply in the office and one at home. Which one would fit the Envy 14? The specs say 90W, the HP website suggests the 65W slimeline Adapter. I phoned the sales folks for enlightning but as expected, I got no useful answer. They even talked about "no spare power supply being available even for the Envy 13 and 15".

Can someone here shed light upon this case?

 

that damn turtle needs to speed it up. someone install an SSD on that turtle.

 

17 days. He probably needs a few upgrades. Maybe an Intel G2 will do.



That aside, any word on when we might see any initial pre-release reviews on the web? I recall someone mentioned that websites like Engadget probably have non-disclosure agreements up until a certain date?

 

That was me. I doubt we will see a PRE-release review, but you never know. At this point, I just want a review of the damn Envy 17 to give us an idea of what the 14 will be like.

 

Jumping a model or two up has little to no performance difference, ie. 540M, 620M, and 720QM have been shown btw NBR users in the hardware forum and notebookcheck. Most users would be fine with the 430M, IMO the cost upgrade doesn't justify the performance benefit, unless you have a specific use for the CPU power.

 

OR if you intend to keep this notebook for a long period of time, 3 years or more.

 

Just to let you know boys and girls, I emailed HP's Finnish subsidiary about Envy 14's release date in Finland and what configuration(s) do we get.

This is what they replied:

envy 14-1085eo

Intel Core2Quad i7-720M
LCD 14.5 HD+ AG LED (1600*900)
RAM 4G 1333DDR3 2DM 14-10
ATI Radeon 5650/1GB
HDD 320G 7200RPM FX 14-10
DVD RW FX SLOT 14-10

10/100/1000

WLAN802.11abgn+Bluetooth

5-in-1
alkaen 2.38kg
8C-battery

HDMI,VGA,e-SATA (shared with USB)

W7 Premium 64bit


So it seems that we're getting one never seen before highend configuration IF those specs are for real (that typo on processor got me little suspicious).


EDIT: Oh and release is some time in july, no exact date was given.

 

anyone got any info for Uk envy 14 model no. and specs?

 

sent an email bout an hr ago... i have called up 3 time on diff days the staff that take the calls dont know anything.... so hopefully the email will prove better!!

 

Another RAM question here...

I'm in engineering in college and have some pretty hefty software which we run over a virtual machine setup. We're required to have 4 gigs ram, but would you recommend that I get 6 or 8? If so, which one?

Edit: Oh, and we also have to have 64 bit.

One more question...recommended processor for me? I saw the discussion about the different i5 processors...I plan on keeping my laptop all 4 years of school. I expect that regardless of how much I top it out now I'll still have to use the labs for some programs.

 

cool, i hope they're better than the guys on the phone... so useless. 'We only know when it's up on the website' well duh, that's when we know as well you idiot. God...

 

LMAO !! exactly

 

If you're running VM, I would order 4GB but order it with a Single Dimm (should cost an extra $25 like the E17). That way you can easily add an additional 2 or 4GB at will at the lowest possible price if you find that more ram would be optimal.

I would talk to your department people to see if your software is optimized for quad core CPUs. Some programs prefer Quad power. Many modeling programs, esp. ones with 3D rendering are CPU/GPU pigs. These are expensive software suites, however, and I doubt that you will encounter them while you are in school unless the program has a particular focus on modeling or 3D simulation. We currently have a mobile workstation for those applications with an I7QM and NVIDIA FX 1800 GDDR3 GPU. Our's is not considered to be a particularly powerful system. Still, for our purposes, which are primarily interpretative, the software runs very smoothly.

If you are unlikely to encounter this type of program, I would still maximize your CPU to the best Dual Core you can get, which is the I5-540M. That will help you to run similation software or other calculation based, CPU intensive software.

Bronsky

 

Interesting people are saying the 520M isn't worth it. What if I like playing a lot of strategy games (AI computing) and using handbrake? Would a 520M be worth it then?

 

Yeah... My computer has 1GB of RAM and honestly, I am able to get by. When I bought my computer, I was hesitant on purchasing the 100 dollar upgrade from 512MB to 1GB because I never thought I would need it. Now I'm glad that I did purchase it but with all these computers now having 4GB of RAM minimum... I'm like

 

thats upgrading technology for you.

 

as much as the 520m or 540m may not be worth it.

I'm still getting one or the other. On account of "dude you better last me 3-4 years like the last one. Dun go dying on me ten days after the warranty goes bad like the laptop beforehand. ...and dun be the damn graphics card that alienware wouldn't replace because they didn't have any of it"

 

Thanks a lot!

 

Cinebench R10 Rendering Multi threaded
I5 430m : 6262
I5 520M : 6645
I5 540M: 7039

I7 720QM: 8994

Cinebench R10 Rendering single threaded
I5 430m : 2732
I5 520M : 3016
I5 540M: 3143

I7 720QM: 3201

From best i5 to worst i5 thats
15% perf difference on single thread
12% perf difference on multi thread

I7 is basically useless (kills battery, heat, no graph switch...) unless you want that 27% gain on multi threaded apps only compared to the 540m i5 (47% compared to the worst i5) but thats only for heavily threaded (8threads) applications. Not even all games or apps will ever be 4 threaded (i5 case)...

Sorry but I'm not paying +300$ for 15% perf gain at max. This wouldn't make that laptop last another year or not... just waste money i could just simply put in the envy that'll come out in two years with a low end CoreiRapeSandybridge5 with +100% performance boost for example.

That 15% on cpu power translates to around 1.5-5% gain into any 3d gaming performance bench.

My source is notebookcheck cpu bench list and co.

PS: just overclock the damn 430m to an 580m when your warranty is over anyway rofl... only the clock rate differs on all those i5... And the lower the clockrate is the best will be the battery life. Because a i430 for a flash banner for example will go out of stanby mode and go full ghz while a i560 will do the same but at a way higher clock rate (even if the clock rate of the i430 is WAY enough for that banner, you get it ?) and thus drain a lot more of juice/produce heat out of the battery... Intel superthreading thing (boosting one core up to 2.8ghz for ex) is not really good when it comes to laptops ^^ And I'm most likely going to disable it in the bios whenever I need mobility.

 

hey jay jay, when did you email hp out of interest? I really hope we don't get stuck with an i7 only model... like the previous envy 15's and the envy 17 due to be released here.

 

hey.

i roughly emailed around 12:10pm today it says that they can get back to you in 24hrs but my bet is after that the way HP goes in the UK

 

I would say if anything the i5-520m is worth it. It's better than a T9500 C2D. Great i5 option.

 

First thought: 10% faster code compilation? That may just be worth it...
Second thought: 430m it is.

 

17 days~~~~

 

I sure hope the Envy isn't a let down. I've been looking for a laptop since Feb. If the early reviews aren't good I'll be looking for something already on the market. The funny thing is, I was originally looking at the UL-30VT, but held off because the JT was supposedly about to come out. Long wait....

 

I've been holding off for something with a good video card that has switchable graphics.

..and a decent screen size too.

the nvidia 210ms and 310ms don't count.

radeon 5400s don't count

330/335m I dunno how much that actually counts.


my dream would be somehow getting a radeon in the 5800s or 360m or something else awesome like that with switchable graphics.


but I don't see that coming for another year or two. and I'm tired of waiting. Envy or DV6T:SE will work for me.

 

I just hope this thing is worth it. I'm pretty pumped about it but if the reviews come out pretty negative or it runs too hot that will suck... I almost pulled the trigger on the Sony EA as it JUST came out so I hope the wait is worth it.

And how do y'all feel about buying the first production of laptops? Is it like an OS where you should wait for the bugs to be worked out or are they good to go from the start?

 

with the world cup these last couple days are gonna go by real quick

 

Similar story here, I've been waiting for the UL30JC to come out (seriously considered the U30JC), and before then I was waiting for the UL80Vt version with the matte finish on the palmrests.

Anyhow, after hearing about the Envy 14, it seems like a pretty good value for what you get, but I suppose we won't know until we can see the actual configurations on HP's website.

 

What world cup? Has that yearly soccer thing come around again?
*goes back to refreshing the thread constantly*

 

not a yearly thing.... is an every 4 year thing