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

It is definitely worse than the MBP pad though.

 

Nope. SLIC 2.1 already.

Just find the cert and OEM key and you're good to go

 

So, as I mentioned earlier in this thread, I foolishly neglected to back up any of the drivers before I reinstalled the operating system. I downloaded the Envy 15t-1000 CTO drivers from the HP site, I did not realize I needed the 15t-1100 drivers. Those are not available for download yet. Most of the drivers worked, with the exception of the ATI video driver and usb 3.0 driver.

Is there anyone here that can provide me with those two drivers? I can provide FTP access to a server if needed.

cmdcmvx (at) foodsly.com

 

anyone know which folder in swsetup is the intel chipset driver? I believe that's the fisrt thing it should to be installed after a clean install.

 

I've got the i5-520 and have been using it for most of the day installing a clean copy of Win7, browsing, etc (mostly light use). It's much cooler running than the i7-720 I played with a BestBuy. The right wrist pad area (where the HD is) seems to be the warmest but by no means uncomfortable. I'll stress it tomorrow with a game or two. Battery life has been around 2.5-3 hrs with the standard battery. I've got the slice but haven't had a change to run it out yet.

 

Nope... 2CV102HA

 

wonder what the difference is between f.17 and f.18 bios. I got an i7 820 and it came with 17. Also kind of disappointed the mem is only 1066 instead of 1333.

So kar I like it but still got to put it thru its paces.

 

Well, at full tilt (core: 545, mem: 1100) i was unable to obtain a 10k score in 3Dmark06.

I bet with some modded/newer catalyst, or possibly an 820qm that it is possible.

Final result:

 

Hi Guys,

I just received mine this afternoon, and I already have several questions....and hopefully you will be able to help me.
Also, maybe the answer is in the 60+ pages of the topic, but I did not get the guts to read everything.

Beforehand I need to mention I haven't yet made a clean installation, so I am using HP defaults settings/software.

My main problem is the webcam. I can start it properly, but the the image displayed is almost colorless, and even while playing with the option I could not get it to display properly colors (my red sweater appears totally grey!!).

Anyone had had this problem? Any idea how to solve that? Is it hardware issue?
I tried reinstalling the webcam drivers but it did not do anything. In addition, the software is not responsible because it does the same with skype (unless HP webcam software supersedes skype?).

My second question, much easier: the FN touch appears to be locked. How do I change that? (eg. to do the usual "alt+F4", I need to hit "alt"+"FN"+"F4" at the same time...quite annoying).


Additional comment: I am confirming what a user said earlier - the i5-520 produces much less heat than the i7-720...

Thanks for any help,

Flo

 

Check your bios settings. The function keys are backwards compared to normal laptops (i.e. FN + F5 to reload a webpage).

 

Does MBP finally include a right and left button? I must have missed this...

 

When using the MBP touch pad in Windows 7, I very much prefer the Envy 15 over the Macbook Pro. The MBP touchpad does not allow tap to click in Windows 7 because the driver doesn't support it, but the Envy 15 does. The multitouch drivers with my Envy 15 work just as well as the MBP in Windows 7. The MBP touchpad is definitely better when used in OS X because of the multitouch gestures that can be used (forward/back 3 finger gestures, 4 finger gestures), but as far as simple usability, the Envy 15 touch pad seems just as responsive when compared to the Macbook Pro 15" in Windows 7. NOTE: I am just switching from a Macbook Pro purchased 3 weeks ago. I am actually selling it currently. I have used it in both Mac OSX and Windows 7.

The Envy 15 also runs much cooler than the Macbook Pro when in Windows 7. Right now my Envy 15 has been on for about 2 hours. My core temperatures are 31 and 34 degrees. The 5830 is at 39. Left palm rest is cool. Right palm rest is barely warm. I noticed that while gaming the right palm rest got significantly warmer, but never nearly as hot as the MBP got while gaming. I was also able to comfortably game with the Envy 15 on my lap with the slice attached. I only played for about 20 mins. It might get warmer though with longer playtimes.

 

also wondering about this

 

Given the price of this machine, this is painful....

 

Is the webcam being used in lowlight? If so, it is designed to revert to B&W when using the IR sensor. Try turning off the IR sensor and see if it makes a difference.

 

What is painful?

 

Can this webcam be used in complete dark?

 

How can I turn off the IR sensor?
Disabling "low light compensation"? If so, the problem is the same.

 

Is there a big difference between the i5-430M and the i5-520M? Will the 430 be able to play graphic intensive games? Will the difference be notable in speed?

 

CPU usually isn't the bottleneck when it comes to games, it's the graphics card. CPU is more important for things like multitasking (on top of RAM, L2/L3 cache, etc)/calculations/etc.

 

You can use the webcam in complete darkness. It doesn't look amazing, but it works. In low light, it looks pretty good. In lots of light, it doesn't look as good as it should, but I think someone wil lfind a way to fix that.

Edit: The 430 isn't bad, but you shouldn't have to settle for it considering so many people got the 520 for less money. You might want to wait and see if a new coupon comes out. Of course, there are no guarantees...

 

There are lot of additional 'gestures' you can activate and tweak in the synaptics software (under mouse properties >device settings). Once I fine tuned some of these I almost never used my mouse. My favorites were 3 finger swipe for web page back/fwd, momentum-lets the cursor keep sliding after lifting your finger and the edge motion scrolling--2 finger scroll to edge of pad and page continues to scroll same direction without resetting you fingers.

One last cool feature-- when 2 finger scrolling, once you start scrolling (when that little rectangle appears under pointer) you can remove one finger and keep going up or down or you can 'walk' your fingers (always have one in contact with pad) one after the other so you don't need to reset your 2 fingers each time you get to the edge of pad....

 

Cool, cool. Too bad the 3 finger swipes don't work with Google Chrome... :-/ I pretty much use that browser exclusively. Is there any way to get it to work in Chrome?

If you're just looking at Windows 7, the Envy 15 certainly is a better track pad than the MBP since it has better drivers that support those extra features, while the Macbook Pro simply has two finger scrolling and right click with two fingers (though that doesn't work all the time, it's weird. It won't let me click on the start menu bar/system tray without having three fingers down. It's weird.)

Let's just say at this point I'm totally sold on the Envy 15 and highly recommend it, especially at its new low price point that include dual core processors.

 

ATI keeps throwing me the 'display driver has failed and recovered' window at the bottom.

It's preventing me from really doing anything. The game will run for 15 seconds, screen pauses for 10 seconds, sand then the ATI notification comes up, and it restarts all over again.

 

Check your event log, see why it failed. There should be some info about what's going on... did you do a clean reinstall of windows or anything? Do any cleanup? Is it a pristine machine?

 

Should I be using the 'Event Viewer' program?

I didn't do a clean install, and I only uninstalled some non-essential HP programs. Everything is fairly pristine....enough to the point where I don't see where conflicts could arise.

 

How does the SSD Intel G2 compare to something like Corsair P128 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233087&Tpk=p128

I currently have this Corsair but wondering when I order the Envy should I get the SSD option or use my existing Corsair in the Envy instead. The write seems faster in the Corsair.

 

Definitely don't have my thumb or other fingers on the pad. I think I have a defective PAD like those mentioned earlier in Gen 1 series.

 

Yes, the Event Viewer. See what the System logs say, if there's a GDI reset or something, see if it can give you some more info on it.

 

Completed fresh install of Win 7 x64 Ent and reloaded all the drivers without a hitch.

I've been doing some experimenting with USB 3.0 ports. The port is not recognized outside of Win7 without drivers. A flashdrive would boot from the port but would not continue the install of Win7. Transfer rates to a Samsung F2 Ecodrive 1.5TB HD from USB 3.0 is appx 3x faster than from USB 2.0. ON USB 2.0 the transfer rate was up to 30MB/s and on USB 3.0 the rate was 100MB/s. Not quite ten times speed but I don't think most HD could transfer more than 150 MB/s. SSDs configured in RAID may approach the 250 MB/s transfer rates but thats still theoretical. The test was a simple copy of 1.5GB worth of files using Windows Explorer.

I will be benching this thing soon enough before I ship it back to HP for that bad touchpad. Shame on HP

 

Dude, you probably just need to update the drivers.

 

OK. So is a clean isntall of Win7 on an i7 Envy possible, or is this under the hypothetical situation in which the computer has been wiped completely of drivers before booting from USB?

 

Many of us have completely redone the computer with fresh win7 already, works great. You just have to use the usb2.0 port to load the OS.

 

Why don't you read the first line of what you quoted! That is what he just did. several others have done this today as well. Just need to copt the swsetup file which has all the new drivers to reload after install, HP will have them available soon for download also.

 

Sorry, didn't realize that the USB 2.0 was separate. I've been following the thread on and off. What I assumed was that all the ports were USB 3.0.

 

Buddy, the drivers have be updated definitely bad pad. Its like an iphone that doesn't swype lol.

The eSata/USB combo is the only 2.0 port which worked for the Win7 install.

Anyone know why HP doesn't allow booting off the SD card reader? Its also USB. Envy BIOS is such crap.

 

Confirmed:

23.976hz BD playback with HD audio bitstreaming over HDMI from BluRays or BD ISOs.

Just finished testing it all. Very satisfied.

The envy is the first ATI 5000 series laptop shipped right? I think it is, and if so, it is the first laptop capable of the things i listed above.

 

Bummer your touchpad is sucking. I'm loving mine. I don't know what to tell you.

I just got done playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for about 3 hours at 1080p with all settings off, textures on high. It got in the area of 70-90 FPS almost always on all maps. The only times it dropped were when you would get flashed, and then a smoke bomb would appear, and then the FPS would drop for like 1/2 a sec down to 40 something.

This thing is rocking in MW2. I also want to say that I am using it on my lap just fine with no heat issues. The sides of the laptop where my legs rest on the laptop remain very cool while web browsing/idling. The only place where noticable warmth occurs is right below the touchpad and on the right palm rest. Other than that, seriously, no heat at all.

 

http://www.slashgear.com/ati-radeon-hd-5830-testing-problems-delaying-launch-2771512/

This doesn't affect us right or does it?

 

I think ASUS has been shipping a gaming laptop with the 5850 for some time. Its of course a brute.

I see that you have the the BD external drive. How is it in terms of compactness and performance?

 

no, that one is not mobility version. I read that 5830 is a yet-to-be-launched-GPU, instead of the one on the Envys

 

Details about the webcam can be found on pages 37-40 of the User Guide. Please review the interplay between the ALS and the IR sensor. Color properties of the webcam are also adjustable.

Some excerpts:

Using the ambient light sensor
The ambient light sensor (ALS) controls the display brightness and the webcam lighting in low-light
conditions. The ambient light sensor includes the following features:
● Adaptive brightness
● Webcam infrared (IR) light
The ambient light sensor is enabled by default. To disable or reenable the ambient light sensor:
1. Select Start > Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Location and Other Sensors.
2. Select the Microsoft Windows ALS Device check box.

Using adaptive brightness
Adaptive brightness automatically adjusts the screen brightness when the lighting conditions change.
In low-light conditions, adaptive brightness automatically decreases the display brightness. As
surrounding light increases, the display brightness level increases accordingly.
Adaptive brightness is enabled by default. To disable or reenable adaptive brightness:
NOTE: The ambient light sensor must be enabled to use the adaptive brightness feature.
1. Select Start > Control Panel > System and Security > Power Options.
2. Click Change plan setting, and then click Change advanced power settings.
3. Click the plus sign next to Display, and then click the plus sign next to Enable adaptive
brightness.
4. Change the settings as needed, and then click Apply.
5. Click OK.

Using the webcam IR light
The webcam IR light improves the webcam picture quality in low-light conditions. The webcam IR light
turns on automatically when lighting conditions are very low. When the light conditions return to normal,
the webcam IR light turns off automatically.
The webcam IR light behaves in the following ways:
● Normal lighting conditions—There will be no low light compensation and the webcam IR light will
not be activated.
● Low light conditions—The Low Light Compensation function is activated and the picture quality
improves.
● Extreme low light or zero light conditions—The webcam IR light is activated. This allows the
webcam to operate in dark environments. Pictures are in black and white.
The webcam IR light is enabled by default. To disable or reenable the webcam IR light:
1. Select Start > All Programs > HP > HP MediaSmart > HP MediaSmart Webcam.
2. In HP MediaSmart Webcam, select Settings > Display > Advanced Settings, and then click the
Camera Control tab.
3. Select the Low Light Compensation check box, and then click Apply.
4. Click OK.

 

Did anyone go for the SSD+HD combo?

 

At least one person did...it is in these threads somewhere (within last 24hrs). Disappointed the operating system was loaded on the HD rather than the SSD.

 

Oh right, I remember that. I'll see if I can find who it was and PM.
Thanks

 

Well, mine's going back becuase of the matte screen. I cannot get any colors out of this thing so it's going back. Colors are muted and washed out.

It;s a shame really as I love this system. Been talking with HP and they are absolutely unwilling to match my price for one with just a $25 bump in screen.

Oh, well.

 

Do you mean glossy screen is much better?

 

I guess, from what I have heard.

I can't stand the overall bluish/cool tint to the matte display.

I tried getting HP to match my previous order close and they won't.

 

My first envy (glossy) had the same excessively blue/cool tint aslo. After calibration with spyder 3 pro it took care of that and looked very good.

I just received both screen versions and will calibrating for side by side comparison sometime late today or tomorrow. Just looking at them out of the box It appears the A/G version is a little cooler/bluer but not to the point it should not be corrrectable.

Will be happy to share the cailibration data with you when completed. The only problem is the datacolor(spyder3) software does not actually show you what it has done adjustment wise other than a RGB curves graph for before and after. I may need some assistance in locating a usable .ICC file that you (and others) can load on your systems properly.

You have a couple weeks left to return it so may as well see if it is correctable before returning.

 

Ok.

I wish ATI even had a digital vibrance setting or something to at least boost colors slightly.

I mean, I can't stand looking at the screen for more than a few minutes at a time and I need to write lengthy papers for school with this thing.