*HP Envy 15 (11XX / 12XX series) Owners Lounge!*

You do realize that you will need a different motherboard right?

 

To my understanding, i7s are a direct drop replacement for i5s on the pm55 boards.

 

yer they are, that's what johnnobts did with his envy.

 

Hmm... I thought the i7s came with the HMXX chipset...but I guess they might work in the PMXX as well...

 

To my understanding. You might need a different motherboard because HP listed the i7 with a different 5830 and the i7 Envy 15 has USB 3.0s.

 

no, you can swap the i5 for an i7, you just won't get the usb 3.0 ports that you get with the motherboard used for the i7 configurations, but everything else will work the same i believe.

 

i5-520M: Intel® Core? i5-520M Processor (3M Cache, 2.40 GHz) with SPEC Code(s) SLBNA, SLBNB, SLBU3

i7-720QM: Intel® Core? i7-720QM Processor (6M Cache, 1.60 GHz) with SPEC Code(s) SLBLY

if you'll look at the compatible sockets, you'll notice the i5-520 can be either BGA1288 -or- PGA988 and the i7-720QM is PGA988.

PM55 chipset: Mobile Intel® PM55 Express Chipset

if you select 'Compatible Products' on the left you'll find the 520 and 720 are both listed. (i realize the i5-4xx are missing from the list - don't know why)

and, if you really want, here's the tech. doc. for the chipset:
http://www.intel.com/Assets/PDF/datasheet/322169.pdf

and here's the tech. docs. for the i5:
part1: http://download.intel.com/design/processor/datashts/322812.pdf
part2: http://download.intel.com/design/processor/datashts/322813.pdf

and, finally, the tech. docs. for the i7:
part1: http://download.intel.com/design/processor/datashts/320765.pdf
part2: http://download.intel.com/design/processor/datashts/320766.pdf

in the above tech. doc. for the chipsets and you'll find the differences between the PM55 and HM55 - the most important difference for many people is the HM55 supports switchable graphics and the PM55 does not.

 

@bubzers

Is there any place around these forums where every type of compatible processor/memory upgrade is explicitly listed for every kind of ENVY 15 2nd Gen Model? I'm considering getting an i7-620M for my current Gen2 with i5-420M.

 

@ HPexploring

not that i know of. that would be quite a resource, though...

 

Does the current (30-June) Envy 15 support switchable graphics?

 

the i7-620m is compatible, but if you're looking at that I humbly suggest instead an i5-540m, or even better, wait a little longer for the i5-560m or 580m. The i7-620 appealed to me as well, but the 540m is almost just as powerful and runs cooler and will give you a battery advantage. i still love my 820qm, but will be swapping for a 580m one day soon. My 320GB toshiba 1.8" arrived today, will be swapping it out with my 250gb drive. wish intel would make a 256gb 1.8" ssd one day.

 

The new Envy 15 does not support switchable graphics. HP took off the Core i5 on the customization list and you can only choose between the i7-720QM or i7-820QM, which does not have the integrated Intel GMA.

 

Anyone know of other 15" laptops with DX11 GPUs such as the ATI 5830 the Envy 15 has? I've pretty much decided on an E15, but want to make sure I've considered all my options.

 

msi has some stuff for around1.2k like there gx640

 

Hi everyone! I've just ordered mi Envy 15, i7 720QM, 8gig, 410 (160ssd + 250 sata), ati 5830, full hd led display...

But I'm in panic! I have been reading that the ENVY 15 crashes every time and have heat problems. I ask you, that have your lap for a while: It's a common problem or just a few users have these problems???

Very thanks!!

 

Thats the gen 1 envy... the gen 2's have no heating issues what so ever

 

even the i7?

 

its going to get hot but its not going to crash on you.... My friend owns the i7 gen 2 envy (insisted on it after I told him the i5 is all you need) and his does get about 10deg hotter then mine on average but me and him play games on them all day with out a issue

 

Well, there's the Alienware M15X with a 5850, which is more powerful and runs cooler, but is also big enough to be a 17" notebook. The 15 is really the best size/weight/performance notebook in its class. a great notebook (as long as no internal dvd drive isn't a deal breaker for you).

 

if i were to get the ssd+hdd option, would i feel the heat as much? I'm in the UK so i want to get the right purchase options first time around as it would be such a hassle to return it to the US...

 

the 1.8" combo drives run cooler than a 2.5 mechanical, so the right side of the palmrest would be a little cooler, but not that noticable. going from i7 to i5 will definitely net you a 10-13 degrees cooler notebook.

 

1.8" SSD's run cooler than the 2.5" mechanical, too!

When I used my Envy, I could not feel any heat in the palmrests, even under medium load.

Mine had a 540m and Dual SSD drives, and the Envy was really fast,

I can't seem to feel that the 720QM I'm using is faster than the 540m..

i5's work awesome, and the SSD's are worth it if you can get them..

I shouldn't have taken the red pill to the SSDs, now I can't go back.

 

I have the 1.8" ssd/hdd combo (Toshiba's 320GB drive works great). You can't feel much if any heat off a 1.8" mechanical. i ran the envy with just the ssd for a while and couldn't tell any difference.

 

Great! johnnobts, what is the RPM of the Toshiba HDD?

I was just curious.. is it 4200RPM?

 

5400, but in speed tests my 320gb runs faster than the 250gb model, density a factor maybe?

 

have a 250gb drive (1.8") for sale now by the way. unless I can find a nice micro-sata external usb case, won't be needing it. Oh, and an extra i7-820QM (ES version, tested and works perfect) if anyone interested.

 

Hello all,

Does anyone have insight as to the protection of personal files/privacy on laptops sent to HP for repair?

I'm sure HP has a typical privacy policy, but has anyone had good or bad experiences in this regard--I sent my laptop in for repair and I would like to know my personal data is secure!

Thanks,
N123

 

Next time, I'd encourage you to remove your hard drive before shipping. I did it before and they said it wasn't a problem.

 

Has anyone tried the FFXIV benchmark on this computer? Just wondering what score it gets with an i5 or i7 in the laptop. Im looking for a new notebook thats sorta portable and would be great if it could run this game.

 

I am pretty sure that If it can play games such as battlefield bad company and dirt 2 maxed/ near maxed I think it could play FFXIV

Edit:

Is it a real pain in the rear end to change out the harddrive in the envy.... I just ordered a 640gb 5400rpm WD on newegg (for 65$ on sale I might add) and i am wanting to change it out with my 320gb Hitachi drive

 

I called HP today to see if they had an idea of when this will be offered - it's the only thing holding me up.

She told me that it would be available on Tuesday July 6th.

 

changing out the hdd is not that hard. Remove the necessary bottom screws (use the service manual to identify them) and carefully lift up the keyboard/bezel, removing the 3 cables that are attached for the KB/touchpad (the thin white cable is the trickiest to re-attach, takes a few times, important tip: you remove the white cable from the KB assembly, not from the system board, the other two cables disconnect from the board), and you have access to the HDD (and the CPU, RAM, thermal paste for the GPU). Once you have it open take a moment to appreciate the cooling layout on this notebook, really pretty nice.

 

Just to clarify, Cebby. Are you saying after calling up HP, they told you that they will offer a blacklit keyboard for the Envy 15 on Tuesday, July 6?

Hmm...

 

Sweet, THanks... I was looking at the pdf manual and it says to pull them all from the board.... the advice will really help!

 

I was never able to detach it from the board, there was no tab to flip or anything, didn't want to risk breaking the cable with too much pull either. So yes, definitely detach it from the KB/bezel.

 

That's what I'm sayin'...

I want the 16gb RAM and SSD's of the 15, but was willing sacrifice and get the 17 so I'd have the backlit keyboard. Called to clarify with HP - I told them that I had "heard" that it would be available soon and could she give me a date so I didn't go and order something else...

 

I know this isn't probably the place, but is anyone running a monitor through their HDMI to extend their desktop (ie using the laptop panel as the primary and a secondary through the HDMI simultaneously). I realize the 17 can do more than one external with Eyefinity - wish the 15 had this feature for more than one external.

 

just yesterday I tried a bit of Dirt 2 extended on a 22" HD tv...needless to say it gave me a bit of a headache because of the different sizes, but it definetly worked. only thing is that I needed to keep it windowed, otherwise it would simply duplicate the monitor on the tv for some reason...

 

I am using my 24in lcd as a primary and my laptop screen as a secondary and just because I can I tried css with eyefinity..... I wish I had a 3rd lcd hookup because it was sooo beautiful with 2 screens

 

why has the beats edition price risen again so much???

 

It looks like they upped the price AND lowered the specs. Also, now the regular envy 15 is showing only i7 options, and the beats is showing only i5 options (for the customizable ones).
I can't imagine what they are thinking over at hp hq, but I hope they sort things out because I'm thinking of tying to buy an envy again and hoping that this time it's not dead on arrival...

 

new bios out this week

 

I cannot get a Sharkoon USB 3.0 hard drive dock to detect when I plug it through a SIIG USB 3.0 hub. When I plug the hub into one port on my computer, the dock is not detected at all. When I try the other port, the dock is detected as USB 2.0. If I plug the dock directly it is always detected as USB 3.0 on either port. I updated the NEC USB 3.0 driver to 1.0.19.0 and firmware to 3025 and it still does not fix the problem. Has anyone seen this type of problem before? I cannot confirm if the hub is the problem because I don't have another USB 3.0 computer to test with.

 

with a icore 430 . what kind of battery life can one expect>

 

Can I underclock CPU? It runs hot

 

There are 2 ways I know of that you can do that. Either get an under powered AC adapter from HP (90W with i7 or 65W with i5) and the CPU will clock down to the same speed as on battery, 7X to 9X clocks depending on your cpu OR you can use an app called ThrottleStop which allows you to set the CPU multiplier speeds, this was designed to unlock the throttling on some CPU settings but as far as I can tell with my older version I can set the max multiplier to say 13X so it doesn't go up to the 23X full turbo mode, I assume this would help keep the temps down. I use this app to unlock the low miltiplier when using my HP '65W slim travel adapter' to get full perormance...

Another option (which I have never tried for lowering temps) is to use System Configuration > Boot Tab > Advanced Options > 'check' the 'number of processors' box and use the drop down box to select the number of threads to run at startup. This is designed for debugging but it will only use the number of threads you choose until you reset it by deselecting the 'checkbox' and rebooting -- Warning-- Do not select 1 thread, it took mine over 5 minutes just to boot up

When you say 'it runs hot' what kind of temps are you getting ?? There really should not be any issues with temps on the gen 2 models....

 

Thanks , I will try ThrottleStop.

 

JJB: I'm still debating between the envy 15 and 14. I have an i5 envy 15 on the way. It seems the envy 14 only gets ~4 hours of battery. Besides a clean install of win7, what steps did you take to get 3 hours of battery out of the 15?
This would really seal the deal in favor the envy 15.

Thanks.

 

That shouldn't have any effect on temps. All it does is force the bootup process in Windows to run concurrently instead of in parallel, so you can tell what is failing. It should have minimal effect after booting, if any. Now, setting the number of processors will change it, but the number of threads shouldn't do anything.

 

the 15 is a no-brainer over the 14, unless you simply must have an internal dvd drive (wont even do blu-ray as its a 9.5mm slot). 15 weighs less, is just as thin, and has a more powerful gpu. get a 15 w/ an i5 to conserve battery life, or buy an extra battery and you're good to go.