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

i know lol thats why im still waiting on it lol. the elitebook has until my return period over to make me happy and if it doesn't I will be more than happy with the envy.

 

Any1 think this is a good buy? http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digit...3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1265251127&sr=1-3

 

So you are saying that it already adjusts the brightness itself? I dont see it doing that.

 

When I use the webcam in skype, the colors look really washed out. The display itself looks great on everything except the actual webcam feed. Is this because of the quality of the webcam or does it need to be adjusted?

EDIT: Apparently it's because of the lighting situation. Under low light or a halogen light, the images appear very purple. But under regular daylight conditions, the colors are apparently fine.

 

Okay I found the answer

http://www.retrevo.com/r/23589dj298/64/Using+ambient+light+sensor/

 

No, thats terrible. It costs about twice as much as it should.

Wait 3-4 months for USB 3 devices to actually start making sense. If you can't, just get an eSATA one.

 

That'll require an external AC power source, of course. It doesn't look like a horrible deal, but it's not "good" by any means. If you want a fast external drive connection you can pick up an eSATAp 2.5" drive enclosure like I have for ~$25 shipped and then put any 2.5" drive you want in it. Probably less than $100 for a 500GB portable drive that doesn't need a secondary power source. Single cable even since the Envy has the eSATA/USB shared port.

 

I agree with Pitabred. Go for eSATAp for storage or, if you need a 3.5" drive, go with eSATA. I know its tempting to use the newfangled USB 3.0 but you are better off using eSATA for storage.

 

Hey, sorry, just read somewhere that this is the i5 thread

Could anyone confirm what their idle temps are?

I am getting around 50C cpu and 45C hd

The GPU fan is nearly on all the time with the air just slightly warm..

The palm rests are hot.. all the time.

I need to know if I need to send this thing back (I already formatted, and not sure whats going on)

Also, what battery life are you people getting?

I get around 2 hours web browsing, and 4 hours with the slice for some reason...?

 

The HP video app sometimes uses up hte whole CPU and makes it get hot, open the task manager and see if there is anything there taht is using up your CPU.

 

nope. zero cpu usage.. 1 or 2%...

wait.. so.. are you saying your temps are not this bad?

 

They are similar to yours, but the left side fans are off almost all the time, and the right side fans are off half the time.

There is a BIOS setting that stops the fans from running all the time.

 

Hi Raidenfx. Is there any chance you can comment on external heat during the prime runs? I am interested how hot the palm rest and WASD keys get.
Is the i5 a lot cooler than the i7?

 

I don't have a IR heat sensor device, so there is no way for me to give you an exact answer on the temp.

for i7 version of Envy 15. After 30 minutes of prime95 stress test at 100% cpu usage, the palm rest is uncomfortably hot, ~65C or so.

as for i5 version of Envy 15. After 30 minutes of prime95 stress test at 100% cpu usage, the palm rest is not as warm/hot as the i7, but it is still very uncomfortable to use for a long period of time. ~60C or so.

real world test.
i7 Envy running Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Beta (1080p/Medium Setting)
Everest reports a CPU temp of 73C (alt+tab to everest)

i5 Envy running Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Beta (1080p/Medium Setting)
Everest reports a CPU temp of 68C (alt+tab to everest)

The temperature difference between the i7 and i5 is roughly 5 degrees. As for speed vise; i7 is roughly 7% increase over i5 when plugged in, and 28% on battery

I'm thinking of getting a i7 620 to test, it might be the best of all 3 factors (temp/speed/battery life)

 

Raidenfx thanks rep on way.

You answered another question I have been pondering. Could the i5 version play BF BC beta. What fps do you get? and is there much difference with the i7 version?

I tried running the beta on my clevo m860tu with gtx260 and P8600 and got fps of 10-30 in 32 man servers. I justed popped a Q9000 in there and now get 25-60fps so they game really needs a quad. I was wondering if the i5 with hyperthreading would cut it.

 

For BF Bad Company 2, I don't see any command code to enable FPS display in game, so there is no way for me to tell you the exact number in terms of FPS. What I can tell you atm is how the game is playing, and feeling of speed.

On i5 with setting of 1080p/Medium Graphics Setting/AA x1/AF x1/VSync On is perfectly playable. No noticeable FPS dip even in heavy fire fights. (ie. 3rd person tank view, killing/mowing other players in the middle of a battlefield.)

And similarly i7 with the same setting (1080p/Medium Graphics Setting/AAx1/AFx1/VSync on) runs about the same.

FYI
Why did I turn off AA/AF?
Well with 1080p on a 15.6in screen, you will not notice any difference with AA/AF on or off. I prefer a speedier game play, thus AA/AF is off for me in all my games.

 

If you wanted to see FPS in games just download FRAPS ( www.fraps.com) its free and shows your FPS in the top left corner of the game. I find it very useful for benchmarking.

Also I agree I always have AA and AF off whilst gaming at 1080p but strangely I found the performance better with AF set to 8x than 1x!!! the beta has some strange bugs

 

FRAPS can give you FPS, but at the same time it'll make you lose some as well. =P

 

AF shouldn't have any bearing on resolution. So, at 1080p it should be just as visible as at 720p. If anything, you should be able to see the difference better at 1080p. At <1080p the scaling should blur the textures enough that AF may not be as visible.

I do agree that AA isn't needed at 1080p, especially given the 5830's memory bandwidth.

 

That's not true.

1080p with 15.6in screen = tiny. even with AA/AF on you will not notice any difference. well of course that is IF you have super human eyes or something...
On other hand. 1080p on my home HDTV (46in) AA/AF is a must in order to play games from HTPC. that's why i have ATI 4870 installed on my HTPC.

Overall, AA/AF is all about screen size and resolution.

 

AA is linearly tied to resolution. AF is about texture size, memory size and bandwidth. AF will be noticeable no matter how tiny the screen, whereas AA will have very diminishing returns. AF sharpens textures of things further away in the 3D world. It doesn't matter what size screen you have for that to improve blurriness in the distance.

 

I could be wrong, but I don't think FRAPS lowers your in-game FPS for benchmarking as long as you're not recording.

If anything, it'd be 1 or 2 FPS, which doesn't matter much at high framerates anyway.

 

for those that got the 50 dollar credit for a delayed order, pay close attention as the coupon they emailed me gave me until 1/31/10 to use it. i called HP and gave them hell, and they offered to finally take 50 dollars off any time, but then came back saying they don't have the mouse I want in stock. so now I have to repeat this entire process. HP is starting to me off

 

Call me crazy, but I'm actually thinking of taking my Envy apart and somehow use a dremel to increase the screen angle I think another 10-15 Degrees will be much better, I'm thinking there's a "stop notch" of sorts... and I can shave away a little chunk on each side just a little so it can open more whilst preserving the clearance the screen has with the table surface... I'll have to take it apart to look at how the hinge is designed first though...

 

Let me know how it goes. Magnesium is fairly flammable if it gets too hot (and pretty much impossible to extinguish), so make sure you don't just grind on it. Let it cool between grinds, and have an BCD class fire extinguisher on hand. Make sure that you won't be stretching any display ribbon too far, either.

 

Yea I'll have access to a metal working shop.. but I'm thinking the hinges should be steel from the manual they look like the attachment I have, assuming that the mechanism that limits the angle isn't internal and its just a simple external notch like many I've seen before, it can be shaved down to increase the screen angle.. I hope.

 

It would be smart for the mods to change the topic titles to reflect that this is for i5 Envy's and the other one is for i7 Envy's if that is truly how they want it to be.

 

You're crazy!

 

http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/04/hp-slips-out-stylish-core-i3-based-g62t-laptop/

Looks kind of like the Envy.

 

I wonder if this one will use that currently useless piece of silicon (integrated gpu) that I currently have.

 

And if I'm successful I can get spare parts and modify them and sell them to all the envy users that have been deprived of useful screen angle.. muhahahahah..

heh

 

Yes. The integrated GPU is the only one that it comes with. If you configure one on their site you can configure it with any of the i5-430 through the i5-540, and the i7-620. But no chips without integrated GPUs.

 

This question may or may not have been covered in this thread as it's kind of specific...

I have a Sony SZ680 right now and have come to really appreciate a silent keyboard. The one I have now uses chicklet keys and is loud to actually type on.

How is the noise while typing on the ENVY keyboard? Is it going to be as loud as my old SZ?

 

Awesome. At least that looks better than the DV6. Sad the same resolution though.

 

It is average I would say as far as keyboard nosie goes. You can hear it, but it isnt an annoying clacking noise or anything.

 

Totally useless with that display. The Envy is about $300 more for the same specs, minus Blu Ray, but I think it is better. Is that thing even magnesium?

 

If performance doesn't allow you to run AF then of course don't. That said , it would be a shame not to use at least some AF considering ATI's 5000 series has a near perfect algorithm.
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3643&p=13

Net result is sharper textures and no artifacts like shimmering.

 

what other thread? the part 2 of the original thread? I didn't know there was an i7 thread.

 

Is there any way to override the maximum volume settings on the built-in speakers settings on the Envy? My sound is incredibly quiet on max (even compared to a 3 year old HP Dv2000). However, if I plug in headphones at the same "maximum" volume setting...my ears bleed. Yes, i realize you can adjust each separately, but I've never experienced a laptop where the two sound levels weren't similar (i.e. max volume via speakers is roughly equivalent in actual noise produced to max on headphones..) Any third party software or system settings I am missing????

______________________________
HP Envy i5-540 ~ 4gb RAM ~ 1GB ATI 5830 ~ 320gb 7200rpm ~ HP Ultra Brightview 1920 x 1080 ~ Slice

 

Yep, Serg thought it made sense to seperate the new i5's to '2nd Gen' from the i'7's 'part 2' do to the main differences of CPU and Mobo. Makes sense to me except for the titles of the threads....

 

I Just reposted the following speaker tweaks on the other thread, I'll add it here also:

All these comments reminded me to go back to the original thread to find the speaker volume tweaks I posted 2 months ago. Boy does the 'search engine' suck!

These tweaks worked very well on the original machines and I see nothing that has changed on the Gen 2's that should affect this. I have not taken the time to try this yet because I still may be Removing RAID0 so I would lose all data

Just keep in mind that the speakers are incapable of low bass frequencies and that you will need to defeat the EQ tweaks in 'beats' in order to get full range output to headphones.

HERE ARE SOME TWEAKS FOR IMPROVING SPEAKER VOLUME ON YOUR ENVY:

It took me awhile but I now have the sound level about 3x what it was to start with. Try these tweaks:

Control panel (all items)> Sound> Playback tab> Highlight speakers & Headphones> Click configure (button at bottom)>

New window 'speaker setup' > Test (should hear sound L/R)> next> Uncheck 'front L/R if it's checked> next> finish>

Back at 'sound screen'> Highlight 'Speakers'> click 'properties (button at bottom)> Enhance..tab> check bass boost> settings> set at 80hz / boost 3 db>ok Tone control tab> Bass +1 treble +3> Advance tab> default format drop down> select 24 bit 96000Hz > Apply

After this DO NOT use the Beats control (Fn + B) or it will reset the tone controls. Note: all the Beats does is set bass to max and treblr to max or when turned off it sets bass to min and treble up (it's a marketing scam by HP)

Now to increase volume level you need to boost the signal level by going to the 'beats control panel' which is really the IDT audio driver with a beats logo. Should open from control panel or hidden icons tab in task bar. Once open go to playback tab> Speakers and headphones> hit arrow above speaker symbol and select small speakers> ...

Select Equalization> Select 'custom'> Adjustments for this are mainly to boost the signal level in the preamp so we get higher volume while not distorting the sound from the tiny built in speakers. My setting values are as follows: left to right;

-1, +8, +10, +8, +9, +9, +9, +8, +9, +10

MAKE SURE TO CLICK SAVE WHEN DONE!

Note: Do not crank up the Bass (31hz) control or it will overload the speakers which can't reproduce this anyway, you can even turn down more if you have distortion at high volume.

Check that the slide controls for 'master' and 'speaker symbol' are all the way up.

This should make a big difference in sound volume and quality, and there is one last way to get louder sound. Depending on what you use to play back your audio you can adjust the programs sound settings or EQ controls also. In itunes the eq has a 'preamp' slider which I boost to about +6, this increases the output level while leaving the EQ settings alone (make sure to check the turn eq on box). Windows media player you have to raise all eq levels equally (not to much) to boost without affecting sound quality. In general it is not a good idea to use more than one EQ system in an audio signal or you get more distortion, so don't adjust the EQ curves or bass/treble on more than one device. I chose the Beats / IDT EQ to make the tonal adjustments because it is the audio driver program and preamp that outputs to the speakers, so it should have the best sound quality. Any adjustments before the preamp that add distortion will just be amplified, so go easy on adjustments in your play back programs.

Finally when you play your audio make sure to click the speaker logo in the taskbar so the slider pops up> click 'mixer' and then you should see all the sliders for your devices; you can independantly adjust the levels for the right mix. If you open the Beats panel and minimize it then a mixer slider also shows for this and you can dial in the effect of the EQ settings.

One last thing; When listening to headphones you will need to increase the bass EQ setting (since headphones can reproduce the low freqrencies) in the Beats panel or I just change the drop down selector to the one with a flat curve (beats studio I think) -- the volume for my headphones was not an issue so I defeat the EQ for better sound quality.

Whew...didn't think it was this complicated when I started typing....

Hope everyone enjoys better sound with this.

JJB

 

I think having two threads is ridiculous. I have to check each one because people post in both regarding issues that relate to both system. I wish the admins of this Forum would insure there is only ONE thread for 2nd gen systems. Very simple then cause you have the original 1st Gen thread and the new 2nd gen thread.

Why in the world would you need two 2nd gen threads? lol

 

Guys/Gals I have a dilemma. My Envy seems to have a broken eSata port. Should I have HP fix it or should I live with it since I'm probably not going to use it anyways? The USB part seems to work fine and I'll probably start using USB 3.0 for high speed transfers anyways.

Does HP have an advanced RMA? I would hate to wait.

 

guys im thinking about getting an either dv6t quad or an envy 15 2nd generation with i7 processor?

can u guys compare the two?

which one performs faster?

which one runs cooler?

is the ati 5830 so much better than the gt 320m?

what r the pros and cons for the two?

it would be great if someone who used both laptops answers. but im open to any ideas and thoughts. thx

 

Awww man!!!

Like physically broken? What symptoms exactly?

I dont know about the RMA process, but i know itll take at least a few weeks for a replacement envy to arrive.

 

Another quick question:

Does anyone have the lower resolution screen? I'm kind partial to the lower resolution as my girlfriend has a 15" laptop with that resolution and I like it more than the 1280x800 on my 13" Vaio SZ. Trying to do much school work on my Vaio makes my eyes hurt because it's so small...and that's with 20/20 vision.

If anyone does could they comment on the quality of it?

 

Did you change screen dpi?

 

Nope, LOL. Their replacing this one and I had 2 choices:

a. Send this one in for repair and the ETA for getting it repaired & back in the mail coming to me was March 1
or
b. pay for another one and just send this one back. Then they would credit my account for the first laptop as soon as FedEx picked it up. That way the new build was for Feb 19th but they were able to put in a request to expedite it and send it 2 day shipping. It's still considered an exchange/repair.

As for the port damage thats a tough call. Did you buy an ADP plan or anything? If so I suppose you could put it off. You might have something else go wrong later and can have it fixed then. If you didn't get an extended plan probably should get it fixed while you can. Also keep in mind, if at some point you do want to use it, if its still broken your gonna have to do without anyway

 

It seems like all this does is blow up my screen to be larger...thus reducing the amount of viewable area which negates getting a higher resolution screen to start with.

 

All I can say is I have a 27" WS LCD from Dell (Ack) and running this laptop at 1920x1080 is not bad. I run my browser and Desktopn at 125% and my partner prefers to up the browser and Desktop to 150%. Either way the detail is so nice and sharp its actually very comfortable.