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

IDK if the envy's are sucsessful i could see a market for a thin and
light(relatively) 17" now that would be interesting because then they would take on apple and AW at the same time. but i dont see them switching from ati to nividia sorry spartacus

yea everyone is always impressed by the 20" screen but i had a hard time finding a buyer lol. should i feel bad that i got $1800 for it?

 

They seem like great products and I just hope they roll out some nice laser-etch patterns and hopefully colors (ie. matte black for me) to pretty much seal the deal on a sale with me. Assuming the prices don't skyrocket with options.

 

same here but i would like the option for no laser etching.

 

Yeah; Nvidia's high end mobile graphics chips consumes way too much power and runs too hot to be part of any system with that profile and chassis. NV's chips are much more fitting for high-end AW laptops where weight and thickness concerns simply go out the door.

 

Seeing as the pricing is starting at $1800... I think the major issue for most users will be in affording it. The battery slice, full HD screen upgrade, warranty extension, external optical drive, and other gimmicks like bluetooth/upgraded wireless card will easily push this into the $2000 ranges. For that price, you have to think most people would be eyeballing a $1500 dedicated gaming machine and a $500 netbook/ULV notebook on the side...

 

I've often thought of this option. But in reality, I need more than just my internet to be mobile. I spent $3400 on my Sager back in 2006, so I could've built a killer desktop and still had enough left over for a decent laptop, but I needed desktop power wherever I went unfortunately. But man I cringe at laptop price/performance ratios.

What I'd love is for a Slingbox type device for computers, where you have a high end desktop networked in at home and you just carry around what essentially would be a wi-fi enabled LCD monitor/keyboard in a slim, lightweight package. Kind of like PC Anywhere, but without the need for the remote terminal to be a full PC running Windows, just a "remote monitor" system. All the power of a desktop, without the heat and bulk. A guy can dream, right?

 

Its already getting there. ULV processors will mean Atoms are obsolete in the coming years, with them being able to offer all the performance of a mainstream notebook with the battery life of the Atom. The gaming muscle isn't there yet, but thats going to change too.

No doubt, it will get there someday. That, or technology will just stay on the same track of performance in smaller packages. 10 years ago alot of people didn't even have cell phones, and now we check our email and play games on them. 60 years ago the computer was a room, now its in our phones.

Anyways, back on topic...

 

Not in the US that is.

I was in Germany back in 1999 and everyone had cell phones there (like it is now in the US).

For whatever reason, it took us a about 10 years to catch up

 

Yeah that's true as far as a pricing argument, but there's a certain price you pay in having everything you want all in one like the envy 15. It doesn't look like the envy 15 was set up to really compete with those who were eyeballing a $1500 gaming machine with a $500 netbook especially considering it's $1800 starting price as you mentioned. It'll no doubt cost much more than that with the full specs, but considering the features they're touting like with the concierge service and all this is definitely a product targeting those that don't mind spending over $2000 such as those considering higher end macbook pros.

 

The price definitely is an issue, and that is giving me reservations towards this laptop, but the battery life is awesome. I don't know if its worth the extra 300...

I wish they would sell this with a powerful duo core processor as an option, would gladly buy it, would drop the price a few hundred.

 

http://www.engadget.com/photos/hps-leaked-winter-2009-2010-catalog/2323316/

Intel Core 2 Quad processors? Major typo I guess. Odd as they mention Core i7 in other models.

Oh and this is new info I think, it has a UV painted keyboard - do they mean glow in the dark I wonder?

 

talk about low tech...

 

Hmmm

Looking at the flyer posted on engadget it says 1GB DDR3 for the envy 15. If it isn't GDDR3 forget about it

 

the price of the 13 is what gets me. nobody will be buying that one because it is cheaper lol.

 

Great find on the slide. I was wondering about it being backlit because looking at the initial pictures it looked like they were a bit more visible even when there wasn't much ambient light such as in the first picture.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/15/hp-envy-13-and-15-bring-luxury-to-the-everyman-look-like-macboo/

Also I noticed that it mentions not all the ram slots are user accessible.

 

I agree. I appreciate the fact that a manufacturer is letting you get laser etching done, but I really wish we could have uploaded our own images. But that would put HP in a hot seat if someone uploaded/used copyrighted material...I would rather just get it plain, like you said then I can get it laser etched on my own!

 

Wait, does this mean that it might come with cheaper processors?

Or is this just a massive typo?

I hope for the former

I'm pretty sure it will have some sort of lighted keyboard, let it be UV (wth?) or whatever. Just to give apple a kick in the arse

I bet you within next year, Apple's gonna release an i7 macbook:

Base Price: $10000
Graphics Card: ATI Radeon 4670
Battery Life: 16 hours

(I hope people are sensing the sarcasm)

Apple to me seems to always behind on the tech, but they build the old tech in their machines more solidly and have better looks.

Now I have looks AND tech, I love you hp, but don't screw this up with the heat. I can have the coolest laptop in the world, but means nothing if I can't touch the darn thing after 30 minutes.

 

The Envy 13 mentions the additional 6 cell battery slice is included. EDIT: ODD is included.

The Envy 15 doesn't mention having the battery slice included. Also doesn't mention having the optical drive included either.
Says only 2 RAM slots are user accessible. I assume that is just meant for a typical user, but anyone else heard anything on this?
It also mentions "UP TO 500GB HDD or UP TO 320 GB HDD and 160GB SSD". Does that mean, between the two HDD slots, that we can only have a total of 500GB between the two of them?
What the heck is a UV painted keyboard btw? So instead of a backlit keyboard, we get glow in the dark keys?

 

The envy 13 does mention the ODD is included (not on the 15 though )

 

For the RAM, I think they just mean normal users... Indeed maybe only 2 are accessible by the panel easily, two more are hidden elsewhere requiring system tear down to access?

Like RAM, that's the HDD spec they would ship the system with, but doesn't stop you from stuffing 2x1TB drives in the future.

As for the UV keypad, its the next big thing, Have you not heard? you never know when the vampire might use, or take your laptop at night...

 

That's what I was thinking with the RAM. I really do wonder how bad the tear down would be to access the other two RAM slots. Hopefully NBR or some other review will address this.

K. I wasnt sure if that was system specs that would ship with the machine or the max you could have in there. My current laptop only supports up to 160GB (its an older laptop) so I was curious.

I hope the UV keyboard burns those blood suckers back to hell!

 

The only way they can limit your HDD is by physical size. You can use 2x 640GB drives and it would be fine. Don't know about the 12.5mm 1TB ones, but I highly doubt it.

 

i wonder how they will set the ram up. if you order 4gd or 8gd of ram will they use the hidden slots with 2gb or 4gb ram cards and leave the other 2 empty for user expansion or will they use the smallest 1gb or 2gb ram cards and use all the slots. if the former then i will order 8gb and then uprade 16gb when the price of 4gb memory comes down some

 

Wait, if you want to fill all four slots, isn't is good to have all the ram be the same brand, timing, speed, etc.? If you cannot access the other slots easily, how will I install my 1333 4x2GB ram kit?

 

They advertised all up to 16GB, so I assume you will be able to customize what is 'hidden' and you will get it with 2 open slots.

The 1333 isn't a big deal, seriously, its pretty much the same as 1066. I think if they are different they will automatically downclock to the 1066 value, but I could be wrong.

 

You are right Texas. RAM will automatically downclock to the slowest stick you have.

It goes up to 16, according to them. So it could take a little longer, but they should all be accessible.

 

So, lets say I am going to put 8GB of RAM in the laptop. Is it better to put two 4GB sticks in (easier to upgrade to 16GB btw) or put four 2GB sticks in the laptop? Which will run better? I have never really heard a definitive answer. I assume that installing four 2GB sticks would be a little bit faster since the computer would be able to access all four sticks in parallel.

 

i hope they let someone do a full review with a production model soon this wait is killing me.

 

2.5 more weeks

lol

 

It makes no difference. If there is a difference, most likely to be negligible. It is simply the same thing.

I was saying that for example you have a DDR3 800MHz stick and 3 DDR3 1333MHz RAM, the RAM will run at 800MHz. Still not noticeable, but as for you to know.

I would say 2 4GB are better, since you dont have to buy later 4 4GB, but remember the 4GB are EXPENSIVE as ....!!! 4x2GB will be cheaper but I am not sure. BTW, why you need 16GB??

 

I know that if you put an 800MHz stick and a 1333MHz stick in a computer, it will run at the slower speed. I just wanted to know if the computer would run more efficiently with two 4GB sticks or four 2GB sticks.

I don't need 16GB, I WANT 16GB Honestly though, I dont need 16GB, I was just thinking about future programs and games (future proofing and all that). 4GB sticks, as you have said, are terribly expensive and I wont be buying them. Was just curious, performance wise, if I would be better off with two 4GB sticks or four 2GB sticks. Four 2GB sticks would be cheaper as well

 

does anyone know yet how much it'll cost? Hp has a 'wonderful' website...There's a button to reserve mine now, but it doesn't do anything when you click it.

 

The starting price of the Envy 13 is $1699 and the Envy 15 starts at $1799 according to Engadget and the HP press release regarding these laptops.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/15/hp-envy-13-and-15-bring-luxury-to-the-everyman-look-like-macboo/

 

Quite steep, but it is a good config..

 

Very steep.

Hopefully it will work with the HPA discount

 

There won't be any future proofing just by adding insane amounts of RAM. Even if you were doing insane amounts of multitasking, then 4GB is sufficient. In the next two years, perhaps that number may go up to 5-6GB, but definitely not even close to 16

 

Well, VM consume a lot of RAM, but 8 is quite enough for that matter. 16 is INSANE!
But for normal usage, even 2 are enough.

 

More info, including Linux options.

 

I use SQL Server on my notebook as a development platform before releasing onto our production servers, and am regularly using up 4GB of RAM completely. This is also due to the fact that I will have word documents, Excel spreadsheets and Visio documents open at the same time as working, and perhaps multiple other bespoke programs running. Honestly one of my colleagues has 8GB of RAM and uses all of it too. However, typically 4GB will be enough for most people; just that it's far from enough for everyone.

 

I wasn't making a sweeping claim about every user, obviously.

I am talking about multitasking in the sense of a general user- MS Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Internet Browser, iTunes, and a chat program all running at the same time and I don't even use 3GB of RAM. So, unless you are using RAM intensive applications (which most users don't), then 4GB is entirely sufficient. Even for gaming.

The idea of a normal user "future proofing" their machine simply by loading it with RAM was what I was answering, because it simply boils down to alot more than that. If I could put 16GB of RAM into a 5 year old machine right now, it still wouldn't be anymore 'future proof' than it was with 4GB of RAM.

So, yeah, some users will like the 16GB option. Most won't need it, even in a few years.

 

I'm not a normal user though (first time in awhile anyone has called me normal ). I'm a software programmer, web developer, gamer, graphics editor, database administrator (not all at the same time mind you). I easily have word, excel, outlook, access, Firefox (atleast a dozen tabs) and several other programs open at the same time. I use all 4GB of RAM in my current laptop and will use more if I have it.

Yes, typically most people wont use 4GB though

 

I'm curious to see how cool or hot the envy 15 runs.

 

Well, the Envy 15 reached the FCC. For those starved for news, you can take a look using the following link:
http://www.wirelessgoodness.com/?p=637

It links to a detailed PDF. Here's some info:
- The internal battery weighs in at 41 Wh
- The slice battery weighs in at 62Wh
- The slice battery is about 0.33" thick (one-third inch).
- There may be a linux option that is speculated to knock ~$100 of the price.

The envy 15 isn't looking to be very good in mobile usage situations.

With the slice battery, the envy 15 has over 100Wh of power! Yikes! Despite that, it's only quoted at 7 hours of runtime. Double Yikes! The i7 and the 4830 must really guzzle power if it's only getting 7 hours of usage.

This means that for 7 hours, the slice is contributing roughly 60% of that, or 4 hours. Adding another slice for mobile situations only will extend your usage by 4 hours! And judging by the way notebook manufacturers quote 'usage scenarios' it's more likely to be 3 hours.

I sincerely hope that the 4830 can default to integrated graphics, and there exists an aggressive power-saving mode for mobile usage considering that I'm going to be forced to tack another 0.33" to the bottom of my 1" book!

It's like HP *almost* got it perfect with this line. Both of the laptops are built beautifully. The Envy 13 should perform well, and has great battery life, but the cost is extremely high. The Envy 15 performs amazingly, and is priced well, at the expense of mobility, heat, and likely noise as well.

Still, despite the high price, the Envy 13 looks to be a more attractive option for me, but the price is going to be hard to get over. I love the power of the 15, but I'd rather not sacrifice mobility. Hopefully upping the screen to a better resolution and adding the optional slice doesn't pull the price too much further into crazy-town.

Decisions, decisions, decisions...

}:^)~

 

No, the Envy 15 is very good at mobile usage. 100WHr over 7 hours is a measly 14W consumption, which is very low compared to power consumption of notebooks now. The CPU and GPU are very efficient at idle. No chance on integrated graphics since Intel has now shifted the GPU onto the CPU.

edit: for reference, the MBP battery is 73WHr for 7 hours of battery. About 1/3 more power for the Envy 15 but the CPU and GPU alone blow the MBP out of the water, and the MBP uses integrated GPU on battery.

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/specs.html

 

It seems that the DRAM slot options would be filled by 2 X 2GB in the user inaccessible slots, with the other two open for the 4GB base configuration; if they include the 2 X 4GB config as the base config, then bless their heart.

The HDD options almost certainly mean single platter drives are permissible when you install two drives. As the capacity/platter goes up in the future, there will certainly be 500GB drives that you can fit into the machine.

 

They have advertised up to 16GB, so heres what I think...

I think the two slots that aren't user accessible will ship with whatever the user asks for. For instance, I can ask that it be shipped with 2x4GB sticks if I want to have the option to max out to 16GB on my own (which I'm sure they will give me an option to do by adding another 2x4GB setup when configured).

Or, you could simply ask for the non-user accessible slots to come with 2x2GB inside, and then customize the ones that are accessible to your liking (leave them empty or ask for however much in there you want).

Either way, the option for 16GB has to be there... I highly doubt this machine ships with 8GB, thats $600 of RAM (1/3rd of the cost of the entire machine). More likely, it starts with 4GB and anything you want to add will cost you the same as it normally would (so 16GB = ~$1200, 8GB= ~$100, 4GB= base configuration $0).

 

This means we can expect a battery life of a little over 3 hours without external battery, not bad.

 

the pdf file doesnt show any vents/speakers on the front. i was hoping it would tell what they were but it doesnt even show them at all

 

That 3 hours was based on HP's usage scenarios, so it may not be entirely accurate. I generally chop off 30-45 minutes from company claims of usage time, so I would venture to guess the Envy 15 is looking at 2.5-3 hours tops without the slice.

 

They are marked non-accessible because 2 of the RAM slots are under the keyboard and the Envy isn't very easy to take apart, like the Probook models.