HP Envy 14: Availabilty, etc.

Every manufacturer will have their "bad egg" builds as well as a number of fussy customers. I currently own my AW M11x and I can say the build quality is better than anything I've ever used, and the screen is crisp, bright and clear. I was concerned based on other people's issues, but if you get a good build, it is awesome.

I'm hoping I get lucky with the Envy 14. It's going to replace both my 15" and 11". So I want it to be solid.

 

Yes, it has something to do with builds also has to do with users being more tolerant the others, but things like sub par screen and fan control issues with firmware exhibits in all m11x.

 

Some of you people go through laptops like no tomorrow. I haven't owned but four computers in the past decade thats including desktops. It's really interesting to see people who chew through 13+ laptops, some of them for only a month.

Even if you returned them, that's still insane. And on top of everything else this makes me wonder even if the Envy 14 is good how long you'll hold onto it.

 

That's probably the consequence of disposable income and an ultra-low savings rate in the US. During another Mac vs. PC debate, I had one muppet on slickdeals forums claiming that he zones in on Dell notebook deals and sells them every 3-4 months and makes a profit since he buys them dirt cheap anyway, making it always a better deal than the Macbook Pro. Some of us asked him whether it's worth the savings to go through the trouble of buying/rebuying constantly. For me, it's not. If the Envy 14 turns out to be a winner, and I hope it does, I probably won't be visiting NBR except to ask for software advice and to troubleshoot any problems that might crop up.

I don't know about everyone else, but I personally think buying then selling a notebook after 1 year of use just to capitalize on each and every refresh is kind of excessive. But that's just me

 

Agreed. If I'm gonna spend $1000+ on a laptop, it had better be perfect for 3 years, and decent up to 5. This rapid consumption of hardware is wasteful. Waste money on software/games. At least you're actually using your machine.

 

eheheh. I've been on this G1 for 3.5 years and I still feel bad about replacing it since it works fine.


I mean the only reason I've gotten new laptops over the years is because the old one was broken (fried vid card) or breaking (powered on only if plugged into the wall. But would then work on battery after you pulled the ac adapter out. shortly after the new one arrived it wouldn't power on at all)

 

My HP is going strong for 4.5 years now, and have never had a problem. It's just time for me to treat myself to something newer!

 

32 months on my current Macbook and the ENVY 14 looks like a good successor. I just need to convince myself I need a new laptop.

Sam's Club has a dv7t Select Edition on display. It was great to test one out. For just under $1,000 with the HD 5650 it's a tempting buy too.

 

Of course, it's a Dell.

 

Ive had my toshiba for 4 years now. Definitely planning on getting this E14. IVE BEEN READING SINCE PAGE 1!!
I hope it of even better quality of my current laptop!

 

Oh sweet. The Wire showed up yesterday but I didn't realize it.


I know what I'm gonna use to keep me busy between now and when the envy drops.

 

If I may ask what is The Wire?

 

The Wire

 

Dead link <ten chars>

 

The eff...

The Wire - Google Search

There, that should work.

 

The Wire is a great hbo series that ran for five seasons and I've only seen a bit of it (episodes 2-3 or so).

The Wire - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

avoid stuff below the initial synopsis or else you'll probably get spoiled by wikipedia (they're bad about that)

 

I'm not going to prolong this debate, but my M11x has exhibited zero fan issues. I've read some issues about it, but I have yet to figure it out. Again, I think it's the tolerance of the user. The sub par screen is also subjective. I have no issue with it and I have a desktop 24" IPS monitor. The M11x doesn't have the best brightness, I'll give them that, but otherwise it's no worse than most other laptops I've used.

 

My friend had an Alienware...the cheap plastic chassis decorations literally started falling off. I don't know how good he was to it, but the entire chassis seemed more designed to impress 12 year olds in stores than to hold up under practical use. My plastic Asus has withstood a fair number of drops in 2 years, the only real "problem" is that the wifi LED doesn't light up all the time. Oh darn.

 

I'm also pretty shocked by how quickly people seem to go through laptops. I know people excuse this with saying they're "gadget hounds" or whatever, but this only encourages ever shorter product cycles, with companies throwing every possible design at the wall, sometimes overlapping with other product lines, knowing something will stick. It seems to be a tremendous waste of natural resources. In this day and age, such practices seem pretty unsustainable to me.

Personally, if i buy a $600 laptop with no extended warranty, I expect to last for at least 3 years without major issues (HDD/Battery/RAM replacement is OK with me, as they can be replaced for abt $100 each. Motherboard failure is not). If I buy it for $1000, it better last 5 years. Assuming you're not a PC gamer, and use it pretty casually (HD video, music, office work) (like the majority of people), I don't see why this shouldn't be possible. My current Dell laptop is 4 years old this week and is still handling everything fine with it's C1D 1.6Ghz, 1GB RAM, and Win XP.

That's why I can't see myself getting an MBP 13: no replaceable battery. even though everything else is great for my needs, I can't afford to spend $1200 just to get a C2D laptop, and then $129 down the road to replace it (my Dell 8cell replacement cost $50). That's why I'm hoping HP comes to its senses by summer 2011 and releases a lower-power Envy 13 ($800 would be nice) for people like me, who value mobility, looks, don't care about ODDs but prefer better batteries. For now, I think I'll pass on the Envy 14 and hope my laptop can last another 12 months.

 

I will never understand everyone's issue with non-replaceable batteries. I've never bought an extra battery for my notebook.

 

probably has something to do with the battery not holding a full charge after so and so years of the computer being plugged in 80-90% of the time.


....though that's just me (still never bought a new battery since they are so damn expensive)

 

The idea of being able to replace it is an extra bit of freedom that has the potential to increase the computer's lifespan with very few negative impacts on the build.

 

I don't understand the last part. I can understand how having the option to swap in a new battery appeals to a few, but...what's that got to do with build?

 

Just because you haven't had to replace a battery doesn't mean that others share your situation.

Some people have more than one battery for when they're on the road for extended periods. Having a non-replaceable battery effectively limits how long you can spend away from an outlet.

Also, it's a matter of principle. If I want to extend the life of my machine by purchasing only a new battery, I should be able to. Why the hell should a company try to determine how long my machine effectively lasts me by preventing me from [easily] replacing my battery?

 

Uh, I guess I was meaning to talk about the cost more than the build. It doesn't make it more expensive, but it gives the machine a potentially longer life. A nice plus for no real negative impact.

 

Maybe my comment was interpreted in such a way, but I didn't intend to out right state that my experiences are somehow representative of everyone else's. Though I could be wrong, most batteries can simply be recharged while on the go. The means to recharge your laptop are several unless you require nonstop laptop use for many many hours.

Also, principle? :laugh: I'm sorry, but this is a computer. First off, a company that integrates its battery into the notebook isn't trying to tell you how to use your machine. If you look at thin notebooks such as the Macbook Pro and the Vostro V13, you'll notice that the companies integrated the battery out of a desire to keep the notebook overall thin and light as possible. It's about making compromises and recognizing the realities of engineering limits to achieve a thin/light form factor. All such engineering decisions are decided with the awareness that there are alternatives out there that do have user replaceable batteries.

I'm not concerned with a principles when I'm more into knowing how well my notebook performs in practice. I'll worry about principles of all things when I'm reading through volumes of Constitutional law this fall, thanks. :laugh:

 

Wow, it has been a long wait for this computer.

 

Roughly 13 days and 5 hours until June 27th, 12:00am. Let's party.

 

I know.

.... why can't everyone get along and watch the nba finals or something to pass the time.

 

...and then zeth's post sneaks in between mine and the one I was looking at.

 

Because the NBA is a joke.

 

Did you see the point US scored in the soccer game vs England? Holy eff that was funny, the goalie's face was just like "I'm screwed, NOCRUMPETSFORME" as he was crawling in slow motion after the ball...

 

eh.


then the world cup? the college baseball world series?

...

treme? (which I'll end up watching tomorrow I guess)

 

Yeah. That was hilarious. Man so glad we didn't lose that game

 

Right? I think we could go with the revolutionary war as the tiebreaker...

 

I'll take making it out of our bracket ahead of england.

 

I thought it was a tie? I don't actually follow futbol a few of my friends told me to watch the goal.

 

200? You have only 10 posts a page? Get that up to 50 man! I only have 40 pages worth of discussion.

 

It WAS a tie.


but well...the new york post sums it up the best.

 

Wow I can't wait for the Mobility HD 5850 in this Envy 14.

 

What are you talking about? They can fit such GPU in it?

 

*shrugs* if they could that'd be crazy.

if it was switchable graphics, that'd be crazier.

 

I would want at least the HD 5830 in it.. maybe they could've crammed it in.

 

how does a 5650 compare to an nvidia 8800GT?

 

this has a list of where graphics cards lie..generally speaking.

on the right side.

Notebookcheck: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650

 

The 5650 is newer, but I don't know much about GPUs. I'm guessing 5650 is stronger.

 

looking at the mobility list, the 5650 may be a little bit weaker. ...albeit it's also DX11, etc.

probably could surpass a stock 8800 with a little overclocking.

 

By stronger, I meant that its compatible with DX11. And it also depends on which 8800 he's talking about.. There's GTX which is a bit more powerful than the GTS.

 

With the i5 the switchable graphics are on-die.