HP Envy 15? i7 meets 4830+15" screen!

920XM?!?!? You really need all that power?

 

I agree especially since the ATI 4830 is not a super top of the line card to go along with it. It would almost seem like a waste to me. Just my opinion.

 

only teaseing serg. nice save though lol.

yea 920xm and 16gb ram are a bit over the top for all but the most extreme users i think

 

I was looking at getting the m15x, but for me the biggest letdown was that there was no HDMI output, and instead DisplayPort and VGA outputs.

Its like, comeon, HDMI has been dominant for about a year, and EVERYONE else has it on available laptops... It was even in the m17x. HDMI is the defacto standard in all existing and new monitors & HDTVs, and the way things are going, it will make much more sense to use an HDTV as your main monitor.

I'll tell you why they did this... Dell wants to push their own agenda onto consumers, forcing them to buy new technology they dont need, or want for that matter. (Sounds like Sony, no?)

Why couldn't they have a HDMI output instead of the VGA, and include a cable or adapter to go from HDMI to VGA? These adapters do exist, and for far less than a Displayport -> HDMI adapter.

Sorry for the rant, but unless they do the right thing, I'll never buy a Dell/AW laptop again simply for this reason.

 

Perhaps you are right, no idea there, since Lenovo uses Display Port too (but I think that is a matter of professional ambient, since Display port is better for projectors and the such? No idea honestly)

Now.

Back to topic please.

 

Eh where's your source mate?

You can't claim all the official HP sites in Europe have the spec wrong without a source to back it up. Thats a pointless post you made. Until I hear reliable confirmation otherwise, im still assuming the UK models (15-1060ea; 15-1080ea) have 1366x768.

 

I need 16 Gigs for having a few virtual machines running on it - doing some SharePoint development.
I need the best processor cause I am developing some apps with extensive calculations, optimizing those for multi-core. Currently some of those are running for a few days to complete, so even additional 10-15 % of processor power is crucial.
I do not play computer games at all. The last one I was really into was easily working on 486 machine

 

I still ordered 820/16G just to get some cashback - but will send it back if 920XM arrives and HP has another cashback/coupons deal.

 

Well in that case....hehe.

 

any idea when they will put the ssd up on the hp website?
im gonna get an intel ssd as soon as i get my envy.

 

Buy it aftermarket. It is cheaper.

 

I am still will be commuting with it daily, frequently with the second laptop, so the weight is important too.
Nice look is good too

I have W700 with QX9300, and this monster is too big to commute with it on daily basis.

 

what did your discounted totall come to?

 

Wowsers, I see what you mean now...hehe.

 

Also not that much laptops out there to have 16Gb of RAM and quad core (one from DELL with QX9300), and I belive only ENVY 15 got Core i7 and 16Gb.

 

wow dude just wow

 

This thing is my bread and butter maker Hope it will be fun to work with too.

 

I've got a 120 Gb vertex SSD ready to go in it, so hopefully it does come with 1 500 Gb instead of 2 250's.

 

since there are 2 hard drives do you need to completely reinstall windows? i am assuming yes since you want the os on the ssd. does anybody know if they still ship windows disks with the computer? my last hp didnt come with the windows disks

 

There are lots of software that allows you to copy over the disk image - try Acronis. They have those 30day trials - so you don't even have to pay for it.

 

I am not denying it's a very nice looking (probably the nicest PC ever) damn fast machine. I just said SXPS 16 looks better specs wise and also price wise but not extremely. Yes, 2GB less RAM and a 4670, but it overcompensates with RGBLED and SSD options, the latter provides very noticeable performance boost. I ordered an SXPS 16 with the above options for $1302 before tax (canceled later).

But I think it's just a matter of few days before HP provides an SSD option. It's no big deal as SSDs are mass-produced now, RGB LED option on the other hand could be delayed, if ever. And these are the reasons why I didn't immediately reorder after canceling my SXPS order, just waiting for some nice reviews of both ...

I guess I am not the "gent who was saying the SXPS16 was the WAY better choice for the money". With my HP employee discount, Envy is almost equally attractive price-wise (not for all though). I am just holding out for the upgrade options as I mentioned above.

 

just came from best buy and I asked when they would get the envy in and the guy told me they have it but cant sell it til thursday. He also told me there was another guy putting all the windows 7 laptops on display and that the envy was going to be put out too. I got tired of waiting and left. I did get get to play with the dm3 tho. That thing looks awesome for the price.

 

rexian, the SXPS16 vs E15 matter is over. Please stay on topic.

 

Unless things have changed dramatically, you should always re-install the OS when you get a new PC from HP, Dell, etc. Generally they come with a lot of crapware or whatever you want to call it... demo software installed that you will never use.

If it doesn't come with the disk you should be able to download windows 7 from Microsoft. The system should come with the windows 7 key you can use to activate a copy of windows 7. I haven't done a windows 7 install, but the previous versions of windows let you copy files onto a hard-rive and install from files on a local disk instead of the CD.

For single drive machines I normally split the one drive into to two partitions (one physical drive partitioned into two drives ex: C, D). C then gets the OS and other installed software, D stores data.

 

Thanks, I am definitely visiting BB this Thursday then

 

Hey Serg how did you get HP to ship you the laptop? Did you purchase fromt he US shop HP site? It says on there they only ship to people within the States. And you got a Bing.com cashback? Also something that was said to be only for people in the States. How'd you get those deals in France?!

 

thanks i didnt even think about that.

 

Well, I guess I didn't get the memo BTW, I was just making sure I am not misquoted.

 

I asked a relative to get it for me, and I pay it. Hopefully bing works, first timer on that lol. And I am waiting till Dec 12 to have it, so no new laptop for me.

In fact, is either this or the SXPS 1645 ironically. (the war) But I am leaning more over the HP side (even I dont have a love to HP Pavilions) due to the higher RAM (although it is slower), better GPU (smaller 40nm is what I prefer) and a lot thinner and lighter body...

I ordered the basic, no OD, no extra battery slice. We shall see...

 

Ok. Thanks. Point taken. People, you get rexian's point, end of discussion on the Dell vs HP matter now.

 

what purpose does that serve and how much space do you leave for the os?

 

I wonder which disk the restore image is on. Do you get a Windows 7 disc too?

 

jwhit, split partitions is how I have my HP NC8430. The benefit is that you can do an OS restore, and your data is untouched. Some apps can go on the data partition if they don't require reinstallation with a fresh Windows install (like Steam and all its games)

 

The only advantage with smaller OS partition I see is the less time to defrag (for mechanical drives).

 

Ah yes, the image restoration convenience is a good benefit if that's how you back up.

 

For those that bought Envy models, I've set up a thread in the Linux forum about Linux on the Envy 13 and 15. If you're interested in Linux, head on over. I'll probably be chronicling my attempt to install Arch Linux, dual booted with an aftermarket Windows 7 Ultimate, and get all of the Envy's features supported.

 

thanks guys

 

basically your separating your operating system from any stored data in you hard drive. c drive for operating system and d drive for files. the benefit of this is that if you were to get a virus or some kind of corruption where a reformat is necessary and you dont have a backup and you are forced to reformat, your not wiping all of your hdd clean. you would only do reformat the c partition which houses the operating system and your important files in the d drive remained untouched.

generally for the c drive, i personally leave about 30-40 gigs for the operating system and any programs or applications you plan on running.

 

Someone many pages back mentioned being 'hardcore' IE taking the setup to its optimum.

In my hardcore days the OS partition got the minimum it needed. Maybe 10-20 GBs. Software like office went to the OS partition, but games went to the Data drive. Use windows tweak tools (or manual registry edit) to move my documents to data drive as well. The goal was to make wiping out the OS partition and starting fresh not a big deal as all the data I cared about was on D. I used to blow away my XP install 1-2 times a year and it wouldn't take much time at all.

I'm not so hardcore these days and a 500GB is way more than I need, so i'll probably keep it simple maybe 200GB for C and 300GB for D. D may be getting a lot of ISO images of games to avoid the optical drive. Edit: Just wanted to add I have an optical drive in my laptop now and I do this already to avoid the hassle of CD's and drive noise.

I would Install everything to C. Will still move the my documents or maybe whole user folder to D, so C is just items that can be reinstalled. Games always throw a little wrench in this setup since some have their saved games in their program folder, but most recent ones keep it in my documents now too, so moving my documents to D automatically keeps saved games.

To wipe and start clean all i would have to do is manually backup some saved game data from games on C. Windows 7 may not need fresh starts as often, but having a second drive is always helpful so you can format and reinstall while keeping data on the machine.

 

Yeah, for processing in the field it's fine. For gamers? hehe. without an external drive to install those games... oops. I need to catch up and find out why USB 3.0 isn't out already. I expected the new gen computers to have it since it was announced this time LAST year.

 

I burn something maybe once a month tops. It's all uploads these days. Haven't looked at a game in years.

Either way, if you can cut down processing time on a shoot from 30 mins to 15 mins because of Core i7 and dual SSDs then carrying an external ODD drive is more than worth it.

Envy 15 doesn't come across as a gamer machine - meaning it does after all sacrifice performance for portability (and style).

 

who buys retail game anymore? d2d/steam

 

i dunno but id like to watch a blu ray movie on my 2k laptop without a yo yo attached to it. And no im not ripping every movie I want to watch. With all the new laptops coming out moving toward the no optical drive I surprised the movie or recodring industry hasnt voiced their opinion as this seems to give a slight nod to piracy IMO.

 

i just don't understand people who wants to watch blue ray on small laptop screen with just normal sound system

 

well some people own blu ray discs that they would like to take on the road when they travel. Rather than buy a blu ray version for the house and ripping a regular version to their laptop..or ripping a blu ray movie which would likely take 4ever and a day. What is so hard to understand about that? My real point of my post is the nod to piracy the no drive laptops seem to endorse.

 

HDMI Out. My HDX18t also serves as blu-ray player on the rare occasion when I have time to watch a movie.

 

Again with the complains on the no OD thing?

Sorry, but if it does not fit you, then dont force it, it does not fit.

There are some good Asus G51j already reviewed here, same configs, and OD included. Perhaps that suits you. The Envy is not made with OD, sorry, but that is how it was done. Not all laptops fit us all...

 

Well, the world is slowly getting rid of discs. With 7MC's built-in Netflix app, now it's even easier to watch movies online in decent quality. While this won't end piracy, I can see a lot of people using this option in near future as no advanced-planning required.

 

It could fit you if you can share how you will deal with it. Thats the whole point of discussing it.

Is there a problem discussing the features or lack there of on a laptop on a laptop forum. I don't understand. This seems like almost the perfect laptop and i would love to get one after the reviews come out, but i am hung up on the no drive thing. I believe that discussing that on a forum maybe people could convince me to take a chance on it. People have replied with good options and reasons to get the laptop with the external drive and some have given options and reasons where it would be an inconvenience. Rather then the whole idea being shouted down by you at every mention of it. Just like you were up in the air about getting the sxps 16, you eventually decided to pull the trigger on the Envy from people's discussion of it. But it seemed at first that you were pretty convinced on getting the dell. But it changed. Why can I not be given the same oppurtunity? Isnt that what forums are for. To share in ideals and discussions?

 

thats a good point. I can see alot of the green movement pushing computer makers down this road too. Im still amazed at the absence of the movie and music industry. They actually got some pc makers to eliminate the option of stereo mix (wav, what you hear) recording in some vista machines. I hope this is fixed in windows 7 by the way.