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

dell only charges $75 for the resolution upgrade

 

This isn't going to be a cheap notebook.

The starting tag of $1800 doesnt include an optical drive (+50), the battery slice (probably at least $100), or the screen (which will also probably be $100), so you are looking at $2000, not including an upgraded warranty. Its not meant to be budget, its meant to be performance and portability for those who can pay the price.

Comparing it to the new M15x is not very accurate either. You are looking at a 9 pound notebook vs a sub 6 pound notebook, one that will probably only get 2 hours of battery life compared to one that is advertised to get up to 7. The new M15x right now is just an overpriced 15 inch gaming notebook with a Core i7, nothing ground breaking.

 

I'd guess it'd be closer to $100 realistically, but hopefully they will bundle it with other options like a blu-ray drive and cut costs a bit for us.

 

Is there a reason why the Envy 15 doesn't have the ability to switch to an integrated video card to save battery life like the Envy 13 has?

 

Because hybrid graphics make it even more expensive, thats why not alot of notebooks offer them (they have to wire it with a discrete and onboard gpu). The ones that do offer it are really expensive gaming notebooks like the Alienware M17x, or they have really cheap discrete options and aren't suitable for high end gaming (like the Thinkpad T series).

 

i know its not cheap but if you max out all the options im betting you would hit the $4K range easy

 

Its alot like the Dell Adamo in terms of its appeal- its not going to be something you see 4 or 5 of in a classroom (like a Macbook). The main difference is this niche is something that people would like to trickle down into mainstream consumer notebooks, and if it sells well to the high end customers it will probably be a year before it is reasonably priced for the average user (which I fully expect to happen).

 

Actually the reason is because there is no integrated GPU on the motherboard anymore (Intel only makes the PM55). It will be on the next generation CPU (Arrandale). Hence it will not be possible to have hybrid graphics for these i7s. If they could, they would since it is a PREMIUM laptop and there is no excuse otherwise (price shouldn't be a factor).

 

I just checked the hp envy website and they seem to have the offer up to reserve one via a telephone number. Wonder if they have any quotes on options/upgrades.

Dell has their prices up on their i7 studio 15 and 17 models. $999 starting price on the studio 15 makes me think that we might hopefully see the i7 820QM in the eny 15 rather than the i7 720 for a reasonable price. I remember some websites who had a unit on hand had the 820 running in them based on blurry pictures.

 

I called HP earlier today and got transferred around to 4 people who could not give me any details on the envy 15. They could not even tell me when you can preorder or even call to find out. I was and still am somewhat interested. If anyone can get details..please let us know!!

 

Well guess calling them won't do too much at the moment. Hopefully some other info comes along soon as the launch window gets smaller. Seems like you're pretty set on the m15x. It was my first pick too, but the 9lbs and the battery life killed it for me. Was hoping it'd be around 7lbs like the old one.

 

yea the dell studio and xps arent showing the i7 on their website yet. i was curious to see what all they got. but even if they got the specs they still dont have the style to compete with the envy. imo

 

It's suppose to be updated this Friday I think, dunno if they'll make it on time. Either way, its gonna to be a long time, before Dell actually ships i7 SXPS 16.

 

The Dell SXPS 16 is on their site under the Core i7 category in the sale thing page.

Does anyone know if the Envy 15 will support 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104158

 

1333 really made a difference? or should i say noticable difference

 

No idea on that as of yet. The full tech specs on what's supported has yet to be revealed and very little has come through otherwise besides the option for up to 16gb on the ram front.

 

It's there.

Core i7 820QM
1GB ATI Mobility Radeon 4670
500GB 7200 RPM
4GB DDR3 1333MHz
1920x1080 WLED LCD
Slot-Load Blu-Ray ROM, DVD/CD Drive
3-Year Warranty

Definitely something I will consider.

 

RJEvans, why bother with 820? 133mhz extra clock is not going to make much difference. IMO certainly not worth $350 premium.

I'd get : 16.0 inch RGBLED LCDW/2.0 MP [$ 175 ] + 128GB Solid State Drive [$ 125] for a total of $300, as oppose to $350 for the CPU bump. It going to bring much bigger real world difference.

Heck, even their 256GB SSD still merely costs $325, the difference SSD makes, in comparison to 820QM, would be night and day...

 

does the DDR3 1333Mhz uprade make a noticable difference? or is that a waste of money for normal users?

 

Answered in another thread, short answer: yes.

No noticeable difference compared to even DDR3-800.

The Envy 15 supports 4x DDR3 SO-DIMM slots. This has been stated if you look around (there are unfortunately a ton of threads regarding the Envy 15).

Agreed. Get the 720QM, 256GB SSD and RGBLED screen.

 

Didn't realize that on the ram, thanks again for the update. Hopefully HP releases more details on it soon, maybe letting us set up pre-orders.

 

thanks sgogeta4. i didnt think there would be. dell adds $100 just for that upgrade. lol.

 

http://www.notebooks.com/2009/09/24/hp-envy-15-specs-video-and-photos/

Don't think this was posted already, but here's another video for you guys.

 

About 1:12 into that clip, the HP guy mentions LEDs in the keys, specifically the wireless button key. Is he talking about the little orange/red light on the key? I hope since he mentioned LEDS in the KEYS that it means it has LED back lighting for the keyboard.

 

I think he ment that LED cap on indicator. There is no backlight.

 

No backlight for sure or just your opinion? Has HP said one way or another?

 

Thats just my opinion - how many HP laptops have backlit key atm? and wont a backlit keypad require a complete redesign? cos I dont think any of the current HP laptop share the same keypad.

It leaves something for the Envy 15 MK2 to improve upon. If they get it right the first time, how are they suppose to sell more laptops?

 

If they haven't come out and advertised the backlit keys, I wouldn't expect to see them. None of the hands on have mentioned it either, so I doubt it.

 

I'm of this opinion as well. If they add it in it'll likely be an extra feature or for a future model/refresh. It's not mentioned in any of the previews that are floating around online either.

 

Doesnt bother me if they do or not since I am a touch typist. Thought it would be a cool feature to have since my current notebook doesnt have it. thanks

Question: Almost every laptop manufacturer has announced an i7 laptop this week except Sony. Have they announced anything beforehand and I miss it?

 

I'm just hoping that they refresh this beast quickly to take advantage of the ATi 5000 series GPUs that will hopefully be hitting shelves early 2010. I'm pretty much sold on it anyway mind......

 

Yeah I think only more recently they're coming out on HP laptops, but that too very few of them. Still considering this is a premium product it would have been nice to see. On an unrelated note, did the N900 come out for you already quicklite?

 

Not yet, but its something I'd get when it come out. It should appear in the uk in about a week.

 

i wish this this thing would hurry up and come out already. but i am having a hard time unloading my HDX. lol not many people want a 20 incher

 

Wow, and I used to think my old 17'' was huge. That sure is desktop replacement in the truest sense. Once October officially rolls around I'm sure we'll start seeing more concrete details. Now I'm just not sure if I should just wait for usb 3.0 before I pull the trigger or not..

 

i dont think usb 3.0 is as far out as the news talks about. have you seen that new hard drive coming out? 1tb 1.5tb and 2tb usb 3.0 for $170!!! i think it comes out next month.

does anyone know if the 4830 is supposed to support directx 11?

yea its a 20" behemoth. its a great laptop but work has been so slow at my shop i want to bring my laptop in and start gaming. i wont even consider it with my 20incher. another downside is the screen gets hot.

 

Yes, the devices that support it are coming out next month, but so far the only motherboard known to support, the ASUS P6X58 Premium motherboard, was pulled ( Engadget reported this and couldnt find out why). Everything I have read hasnt been able to tell me when any manufacturer is going to support it.

Same as always, desktops will see it on MOBOs and expansion cards quite a while before laptops. I am just happy to have an eSATA port on laptops now and dont feel like waiting till next year when USB 3.0 will trickle out to the higher end laptops.

 

wonder how hot this machine is and whether it'll be as hot as the tx2000s.

 

Only the new ATI 5000 series supports DirectX 11. Currently they're the only ones on the market right now with directx 11 parts. Hopefully it won't be too long before you see it being used in games though.

Yeah I can see how it would be limited in mobility. I was really considering the alienware m15x until I saw the weight...not sure if I could compromise on that.

 

Exactly - if you dont need it right now, really good stuff are around the corner, definitely not the normally improved tech - but tech without could render the laptop useless quickly.

 

Same here. That and the 2 inch thick really turned me off from the m15x. Now im looking to the envy 15 and studio xps 16 i7 laptop reviews. Its between them now.

 

there is always new tech right around the corner. it will be atleast 3 months after the envy comes out before the 5000 hits laptops and we dont know if the envy will get it at all. and they arent going to drop support for directx10 and leave your laptop useless

 

Exactly, look at the existing support for DX9 still. Sure we wont be able to utilise all the latest features probably, but meh.

It does bother me that they've opted for a 4830 with a 128bit bus (I believe) instead of something a bit meatier, like the 4850/4870; but the 4830 will still be able to cope with a lot that gets thrown at it.

The other thing that I am waiting to hear about is the heat management on this thing. Being only 1 inch thick but still housing the components it does could be an issue, but hopefully not.

 

yea take it from me HP doesnt always concern themselves about how hot their laptops get. my HDX overheated and i was just browsing the web. lucky for me i had got the warranty.

 

Heat should be a real concern here. HP is clearly taking a page from Apple's playbook in design here and Mac's are known to get pretty warm due to their cramped design- and the Envy 15 has MUCH faster components.

With the i7 mobile chips, heat is even more of an issue considering the turbo mode DEPENDS on core temperature, ie. if the laptop runs hot all the time, the cpu controller will not allow the turbo mode to kick in and ramp up the clock speed.

With the i7, a laptop's cooling efficiency literally determines how fast the processor will run. In a cramped case like the Envy 15, you may never get your cpu to run above the default 1.6GHz while the Sager/Clevo (who are known for their rock solid chassis and cooling) might be able to peg the i7 to 2.8GHz consistently.

For me, I like the looks of the 15, I just have a sneaking suspicion that they copied Apple TOO well and adopted their "form over function" philosophy and hamstrung the i7 benefits.

 

Not to flame anyone, but could someone explain to me how the m15x isn't "mobile enough"? It's a 15" laptop for pete's sake. Even if it weighed 10lbs you could still take it anywhere. It's like people complaining of the weight of a cell phone.

I have a 17" solid lead Sager (in my sig) which I cart back and forth between work and home all the time. How could anyone pass up on a 15" due to a few pounds of weight unless the real reason was battery life?

 

SpartacusMagnus, well reasoned concerns, quoting from NotebookCheck's preview:

Certainly the AW and Sager probably are designed to handle i7 and high end GPU properly with multiple fans; as oppose to using the whole laptop body as a huge heat sink.



Couldn't agree on the AW weight. It houses less impressive hardware than the Clevo, e.g. no 280m GTX; yet is heavier than meatier W860CU. The latter weight in at 2.9kg without battery, 3.2kg with 8-cell battery.

For that matter, 4 kg on a 15 incher is pretty much unheard of. Previous heavy weight Asus G51 maxed out at about 3.3 Kg with dual HDDs and battery. And relative to the M17x, the new M15x is just about 1 kg lighter, but losses on additional upgradeability, e.g. Sli, dual HDD, etc. If you plan to get a mobile work station, you might as well get the proper thing, not some in-betweeners.

Additionally apart form fancy lighting, M15x doesn't do much to justify its price, nor the extra weight. If it had dual HDD, 4 Ram slots, then maybe it could justify the extra weight. But the 2.35 kg Envy 15 have all those.

 

Hmmm after reading the review on notebookcheck, it does put me off a little more. The heat issue does not sound promising, but another thing to add as a big negative for me is the fact that the ports are all on the right hand side.

 

There is alot more to mobility than size. Weight, battery life, and size are all three components of mobility. If its too large, it may not fit on desks or easily into backpacks. If its too heavy, it may be too uncomfortable to carry around. If it only gets 1-2 hours of battery life, it won't last long wherever you take it anyways.

I carry a 16 inch SXPS 16 to work every day, and I walk about 2 miles a day between bus stops and across a hospital with my backpack on. It weighs 6.4 lbs, almost 7 with the AC adapter (and thats not counting all the crap inside my backpack, which is a heavy duty Swiss Gear that weighs a pound). So I carry what I consider to be quite a load. Some people wouldn't be willing to carry half of that, and go with ultraportables and slim netbooks. Its personal preference. For the average person, I don't recommend more than ~6 lbs and 15 inches.

The size isn't an issue for me, because I have plenty of desk space, and it fits fine inside my backpack. I stay plugged in all day too, so the 2-3 hours of battery life doesn't worry me. For me, this notebook is perfectly portable (okay, so some days I wish it was lighter...). However, I know alot of people who would say it needs to be 14-15 inches, 2 pounds lighter, and get twice that much battery life for them to consider it 'portable'. So, it varies.

In this case, the M15x is very thick, and heavier than alot of 17 inchers. Thats going the opposite direction of the current trend, which is to make them lighter and thinner (see the HP Envy 15).

 

Yeah it seems like this was definitely designed with a left-handed person in mind. After all having a mouse receiver on the right side and trying to use the mouse there can be annoying if the receiver gets in the way. As far as heat though notebookcheck did not get a final production model (since the screen is supposed to be edge to edge on the final version). I'm still hopeful that they have some tricks up their sleeves for heat dissipation.

You can't just stick a core i7 in a 1'' magnesium/aluminum chassis without having some cooling situation in mind to even consider doing that.