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

Product information HP ENVY 15t-1200 CTO Notebook PC - HP Customer Care (United States - English)

I can't seem to find a spec sheet...
thanks

 

I don't believe that's possible. There's no MXM connector in the Envy15, so upgrading isn't an option.

 

does this mean there's no way to ever replace the 5830 with a different card, unless I buy a new motherboard?

 

That won't even work since a new mobo comes with the GPU pre installed. It is odd how the GPU is attached, there appears to be no socket and the corners are apparently 'glued' to the mobo witha red colored adhesive.

Besides I don't think a 5870 would do much better since you will still be stuck with 128 bit DDR3 memory which is the bottleneck of the 5830... Not to mention if the fan and heatsink could keep up with the additional heat.

If you zoom way in on this picture you can just see the red color oozing out of the upper left corner:

View attachment 52827

 

really great pic, JJB! So the red stuff is some kind of glue? Some autistic DIY genius somewhere must be able to figure out how to swap it out and re-glue this sucker, no? if it were even possible, however, perhaps a 4870 would be better than the 5870?

I meant to ask whether the only way to replace it would be by installing a motherboard with a different GPU, which clearly seems to be the case from your response.

 

Where would you possibly get a mobo for the envy 15 with a different GPU? Unless they update the same mobo in the future which is doubtful since the new 'gen 3' service manual shows only the same GPU or a downgrade to a 5730 option, and it has not even been released yet.

The real problem you can't get away from is the graphics memory, the 4 small chips around the GPU, they are surface mounted to the mobo and there is no way to change them. That is what is inhibiting any better graphics performance with the 5830 to begin with. I'm pretty sure if you managed to get a 5870 to work somehow the performance would be no better due to the slow memory and 128 bit bus width. I can OC my 5830 upt 675Mhz but it makes no difference because I can only run the memeory up to 1133... In other words the 5830 could run much faster than it does (or a 5870) but it essentially 'chokes' the memory and will crash and burn....

 

I need help! Anyone that is running 16GB of RAM, can you post what type of ram you are using and the part number? I am really interested in those running 16GB of RAM with HP branded RAM. I have tried running 16GB of RAM with HP samsung chip M471B5273CH0-CH9 (4 sticks matched set) and M471B5273BH1-CH9 (4 sticks matched set) with no luck. I am able to run 2 4GB modules internally but when I put all 4 modules in, the machine wont boot properly, it just hangs before the BIOS screen. I can get it go into windows after about 4 sets of holding down the power button for 10 seconds...

I called support and they wont support what I am doing, even with HP branded ram, because the configuration I ordered only came with 4GB (1155NR). I asked if they even supported a 16GB configuration and their response was "ONLY IF I ORDERED IT FROM HP VIA A CTO OPTION WITH 16GB WOULD IT BE SUPPORTED"

 

Make sure you call the actual dedicated ENVY tech support number, not generic tech support. I don't have the number here but it came in your box with the envy. They have to suppoirt it with 16GB, they advertise it with a max of 16GB and they also calim 2 user acessable ram slots and you are even adding HP RAM sticks. If you get the same answer then escalate it to a supervisor (but in a very nice way).

It almost sounds like you have one stick not seated properly, I would try removing all of them and try again...

 

I want to purchase an ENVY 15 quick-ship model, however it seems that the $400 coupon is no longer available, therefore, should I wait for another coupon to become available?

 

<----- officially an Envy 15 owner!

Oh, and already officially experienced the blank screen issue!..... :/

 

can you still return it for refund? i think it's a hardware problem that cannot be fixed by BIOS/driver updates etc. We purchased three Envy 15s, so far returned two of them for refund due to the black screen problem. We just ordered two more, so I will be interested to note whether we encounter it again.

 

yup, I have 90 days to return.... its only happened that one time so far, but if it becomes a nuisance i will have it replaced

 

wow, 90 days? that's fantastic! where did you buy it from?

Unless it happened in the middle of updating ATI driver or seriously taxing the GPU, like overclocking or something, I suspect it is the infamous black screen hardware problem.

 

I got ir from costco (in canada)... I seriously hope it isnt that issue, but im positive that it is

 

I'm very impressed with that return policy. Is that a common timeframe in Canada? Although I wonder what's to prevent people from taking advantage by continually buying laptops and returning them every 90 days ;-)

 

Well I got my 15t today.

First impression? Boy this thing is heavy. I was shocked when the box was handed to me by FedEx.

When I got home and opened the box, the black bag that covered the laptop, was dirty. Then when I pulled the laptop out, it was completely covered w/fingerprints. Don't they wear any white gloves when they handle these products? They certainly don't wash their hands that's for sure. One can only imagine the insides.

After getting it setup, I noticed a dead pixel in the upper left corner. Then I'm having problems w/the window screens completely locking up. I can't seem to close them, other than rebooting. When I open up the Task Manager, nothing is shown as being open.

This thing is going back.

.

 

@GoHack

Did you order a refurb? Did it ship from China or the US? While the envy's I've revceived have had some minor fingerprints nothing has ever been as bad as your reporting.... Also that is a very strange problem, never heard of open apps not showing in task manager...very odd. Sorry to hear about that.

 

What is your cpu?

Have you tried to cycle the memories? i.e putting testing if each one is working

 

It was brand new, and it came from China. I thought the Envy's were built, or assembled, here in the US?

The main issue is the dead pixel in the upper left corner. It only shows up w/a black background, and even then, it doesn't happen immediately.

Checking, when I first open a window, it shows up in the Task manager, but as soon as I close it, it is shown closed, but yet it stays visually open on the screen. I open up several windows, and they all stay visually up after closing.

Update: I just got a RMA from HP. I don't know if I want to try for another one yet. If I do, I'll go w/the SSD's instead of the HD. Have they address that issue w/the controller yet?


.

 

Try the F.29 BIOS perhaps?
it has (I reckon) fixed my blank screen issue (eventually, after half a year of moaning) on my 1st gen envy
I haven't had the bloody blank screen for >1 week or so so it's worth a try.

I didn't dare upgrading to the most recent F.2A as I don't think i quite need the upgrade it mentioned - I'd rather get rid of my blank screen issue than anything

 

Quick Q, how can you tell if its a 2nd gen Envy 15? It seems like its improved significantly over the 1st gen and its competing for my money with its little 14 brother

 

this is the last time this question should be answered..... all of the 2nd gen envys have a ati 5830

 

Thanks Sorry i've read through the last 10 or so pages, but the thread is just endless. Maybe ask a mod to add a post at the start with some basic info like that?

 

poop, a pixel died on me yesterday slightly below the middle of the screen... thankfully it's really tiny...

 

ack! I dont have a 2nd gen envy... bummer, mine is running an HD 4830

 

Have any of you purchased a refurbished E15? Any info on the reliability or track record of those refurbs? There are some models I'm interested in and they do come with a 90 day warranty. One can also purchase the HP care pack up to 3 years, too. Thanks

 

2nd Envy just came yesterday. A few questions:

For people who've put in their own RAM: Which RAM did you get? Specifically, I'm looking for the timings, voltage and frequency (10600 or 10666?). I read on here that most people have Samsung sticks but my Envy shipped with Elpida (??) sticks.

For people with i7 820 qm: What temps do you get? Both underload (3Dmark Vantage) and idle. After bootup I start at 40C for CPU but when idle it goes up to ~50C and in load it goes to 60-65C. GPU idles at ~40.

Finally, other than the generic methods, what should I specifically do to maximize battery life when not plugged in? (with factory settings, I lose a % every 30 secs...)

Thanks.

EDIT: Did anyone successfully update to the new F.2A BIOS? My Envy came with F.26 so I"m planning on updating asap.

 

I just received my 2nd gen Envy 15 today. I have the HD anti-glare screen and the i7 720.

The fans are louder than I expected. I'm running the F.2A BIOS. RealTemp 3.40 says my cores are around 46 to 50 C.

I guess the Envy 15 just is a bit noisy?

What's the best app for measuring temperature?

 

When Windows Update was running, my laptop got too hot to hold. It really could have burned me, I think. Is this normal?

 

No not normal at all, win update should not increase temps at all. You have something very wrong going on if it is that hot... Open Task Manager and see if your CPU is maxing out for some reason...

 

I assume at least someone here has installed a clean Win 7 on their Envy...

Where did you guys get the SATA driver?

I created my recovery discs, backed up SWSetup, and then unraided my SSDs, and proceeded to install a clean copy of Win 7. However, on the setup page it asks for a "CD/DVD drive device driver" and when I point it to the Intel SATA RAID Controller driver it gives me an error saying "no new devices could be found"....I tried installing both from an external DVD drive and a USB flash drive to no avail. Can anyone help please?

 

HEy Guys, I got the 1st gen Envy but I thought I'd ask here in the 2nd gen anyway cos I believe it's the same for both gens..

Would anyone know if the esata combo port on the envys are "port multiplier" aware? in the sense that I can connect a dual sata dock to it? because I have a dual sata dock now and it only shows the 1st disk but not both of them and I wasn't sure if it was the dock or the port or the drivers I am using that is stuffing it up..

Thanks all!

LaMMi

 

this is the way i fix my problem.
u need to extract the Intel SATA RAID Controller driver. it comes with both 32/64 bit drivers in it. put the x64 drivers in the HP Tools HDD. (assume you are installing 64bit Windows 7).

when the windows 7 ask to load the drivers. point it to the HP Tools HDD -> 64bit drivers.

 

When referring to the Intel SATA RAID Controller driver, you're talking about the IRST (matrix storage) driver right? (The zip file linked in the Envy 15 Drivers thread). I extracted that and I point the setup to the 64 bit drivers (iastor.inf and iaahci.inf) but it gives me an error saying "no new devices could be found"....I've put the drivers on an SD card since by unraiding my SSDs the HP Tools partition is gone...

 

try to put the drivers in the USB drives and plug that into the esata/usb port.

 

Same error is given: "No new devices could be found. Make sure the device drivers are correct and located on the installation media."

I have no idea what's causing this error...I know that the error also came up before I unraided the drives so I doubt that's an issue...and I tried from both a CD and a flash drive to install the Win 7 so it can't be the media either...

I really appreciate your help though

EDIT: Figured it out. The problem was the USB port(s) i was using. The external DVD drive was connected to a USB 3 port and so was my flash drive with the OS files on it. I put the flash drive in the combo port and it doesn't even ask for drivers anymore

Thanks a lot!

 

IIRC you need to load the driver for the NEC USB 3.0 controller to get the USB's to work. But I also recall reading that others had to load the OS via the esata / USB because you can't load the NEC until the OS is installed....

 

How hot should it get when running 3Dmark? With my i7 820qm, The left underside gets too hot to hold but the top left near the ESC key is still relatively touchable. My CPU temps reach >65C when running 3dMark...is that normal?

Also, my GPU fan runs at 30% most of the time. Should I manually increase that number? If so, what program do you recommend? GPU idles at ~ 40C but can go up 10-15 degrees under load.

 

When mine gets here next week, I'll get the numbers for you. 16GB FTW!

 

That sounds about right for a 3Dmark06 run. As far as I know there is no app that will allow fan speed adjustment on CPU or GPU. I get the same 30% fan speed reading which I know is not correct because it never changes even when the fans speed up. The MSI afterburner app worked for GPU fan controls on the gen 1 with the 4830, when I tried it on the 5830 it did not work. Besides the 40C idle temp is normal, mine is at 39C with 68F room temps. About the hot spot on the left bottom I am not sure, mine gets what I would call very warm only when doing a 100% CPU stability test, other than that it is never to hot to put on my lap, with your 820QM which uses another 20+W under load it's propabaly normal.... FYI, when I ran a 100% stability test with Everest AND the Furmark GPU burn in test with OC's of 625 / 1125 at the same time, my CPU hits almost 80C and the GPU to 77C max. and the top case stayed very usable, it was warm but not uncomfortable, the bottom was very warm but not to hot to leave my hand in any one place, although I would not want to use it on my lap at those temps

 

ya, so I called the phone number that was supplied in my envy box. My envy came with 2 2GB internal modules and I am trying to get to 16GB and have it boot. The issue is that with all 4 memory slots filled, the laptop wont get past the bios boot, well not initially or after a windows restart. I can get it into windows but after about 4-5 hard resets via the button (holding down 10 seconds). When in windows it works great, no issues with diagnostic tools... anyways, once I told support I replaced the 2 2GB internal modules with 4GB modules I was told they cant support me anymore and that I voided my warranty. They told me I should have gone through proper HP channels to service the 2 internal slots . I was told with my configuration the MAX memory HP would support is 12GB (2 2GB internal modules that came with the laptop) and the 2 4GB modules next to the battery, but they couldnt support the 2 4GB modules themselves because that is considered after market, so again, they said they could only support the memory config that the laptop was shipped with.

so now I have a laptop that WILL NOT work with all 4 memory slots populated (no matter if I use 2GB or 4GB of matched sets of memory) AND I was told by the HP tech that I voided my warranty

Happy days

 

@bond007taz

Why did you open the laptop up? You did have to realize that opening it up voids your warranty. You could have just told them that you were having problems with having all 4 slots filled with RAM sticks.

Lesson learned the hard way I suppose.

DO NOT OPEN YOUR LAPTOP UP IF YOU ARE UNDER WARRANTY OR UNSURE OF WHETHER IT COULD VOID YOUR WARRANTY.

At this point dude, you are SOL unless of course you meant that you opened up the memory compartment and replaced the user accessible memory and kept the internal 2 sticks the way they already were. Certainly you mean this because I think you are confusing 12GB with 16GB and mistakenly added the total memory incorrectly. Hopefully now you understand your mistake and should be able to explain to tech support what you really meant.

 

Not true. As long as you don't do anything that is out of the obvious, you are fine. In fact I have had my Envy serviced even though I swapped out for a completely different LCD Bezel and they never told me anything was wrong. Don't jump to assumptions that opening it means you void your warranty. You can open it to an extent that you don't damage any obvious parts along the way.

 

Hey guys,


is there a battery Monitor application out there that can tell me actual time insteaad of a % ? i tried passmark batterymon trial, but i can't run it, it says something about my clock time being changed etc. weird



Also - on these envy's 15's can we change the hard drives wihtout voiding the warranty? because that 320 one that came wtih my laptop is heating up like a mother.

 

As I said originally they are incorrect, I told you if they said this to escalate it to a senior supervisor (it also helps if you get to the US speaking tech support, after hours it goes to the philipines which is useless). They even have the complete Envy 15 service manual posted on the website, for users, which gives specific instructions on updating the internal RAM. Also actually read the warranty (unless it's changed) it in no way says that you will void the warranty by opening it up, or adding your own RAM. You may need to actually read this to them....

At this point "dude", you need to quit spouting off about things that you obviously don't know the specifics about! He bought the envy because it has 4 slots and is ugpgradable to 4 x 4GB for 16GB total as advertised by HP. He does not need to hide what he did from HP they have to spport it, they are just reading from a script. They tried telling me they can't supprt my envy because I unRAIDed my Dual SSD's, even though the actual user manual shipped with the envy has the instructions on "How to unRAID your drives"

 

Battery Bar

And yes.

 

yes we can change it without voiding the warranty ?

or it will void the warranty? cause on the hp forums i have read various post saying it voids it!

 

Read your warranty, it says nothing about opening the case will void the warranty.

 

i got the 430cpu in the hp envy 2,

after two full charges battery isn't the best 2h 37 seconds battery bar is reporting with wifi on, lowest diming settings.

i am hoping to get 3 hours

 

should be no problem after you get rid of all the crapware that runs in the backround. Also Battery Bar take several full charge / discharge cycle to get accurate readings, then it's very close in the estimates.