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

I sure didn't, thanks for pointing that out. 125% is much easier on the eyes.

EDIT: While 125% DPI is much easier on the eyes, I lose real estate in terms of how much fits into the screen. I'm going to see if I can adjust to the default 100% DPI since it makes doing work much easier.

 

An easy trick to change DPI on the fly is to put cursor in the window you want to adjust and just hold 'control' while rolling the scroll wheel of your mouse or use control and 2 finger scroll on track pad.. Works on this page (in IE8 at least)

 

Even with dpi scaling, picture and hd video will still look better on hd screen. Text font will also look more smoother at higher resolution.

Most modern program is well designed with dpi scaling in mind. Some old program may look weird.

 

I get no symptoms at all. Its not recognized. No drive nada. I plug the same eSata device to another Laptop and it works fine.

 

Are you sure it is getting power?

 

A have mine, Windows 7 HD, I7-720, 1080 not superbright, 500gb HD, 4 gig ram. Had to reinstall windows after 4 hours. Hp said windows fault. I love the screen hate no optical (thought I would be ok without - drives me nuts). But I have five computers last 15 years - one floppy, one cd, one DVD and one blu-ray. Working on performance, want to tweak. Laptop cooling fans are useless, Envy vents on sides not bottom. I still plan on using the CHOIIX cooler/hard drive and usb device (26 bucks). Not having a heat problem. Just downloaded DirectX 11 benchmark and WOW heaven benchmark is amazing.

 

Opps I have mine.

 

Well it looks like Australia should finally be getting access to the 2nd gen Envy 15. About time! Hefty starting price of $3299AU though. Can't wait to get my hands on one in store.

On another note, have there been any user reviews done on the 2nd gen Envy? I remember reading a couple of quick looks, but no actual reviews. Maybe this is due to there being no real difference other than the GPU and processor?

Finally, real life battery run figures are always good. There's been a few that have probably been missed, but they were much appreciated!

 

It takes more time for me to drain the battery than to charge it...is it the same for you?

Where it takes me ~3 hour to empty the battery, it takes ~3h30 charging it back to full power. Is that expected?

 

Anybody know something about the size of the 180W Smart charger VS the one shipped with the Envy?

 

There is a new 'benchmark' thread which has a couple of battery reviews and performance benchmarks:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=453084

Check back in a few days, I'll be posting a more thourough battery tests with the 6 cell, including using smaller chargers and performance data when 'throttled'

 

Throttle seems to be a common issue across all laptops. Dell XPS with i5 and i7 confirmed of throttle, Acer with i7 confirmed with throttle, etc.

 

Is the Gen2 version availible at best buy yet? I am in the US right now and would love to get my hands on one if possible. Don't have teh time for ordering and shipping.

 

Nope. I checked the stores and online. They still have Gen 1. It is 1699 i think for it though. From the original 1999.99.

Comes with the whole 9 yards. The 9 cell extended slim battery, the external DVD drive, etc.

 

Wonder if Frys has the 2nd gen yet.

I don't think I would jump on the first rev with the second one so close to being in stores.

Checked with Frys as well. They also only hav eteh first gen.

 

Look at this new spec sheet for the Quick ship Envy 15 with i5-430M. It shows it ships with a 90W adapter and an option for a 65W.

http://www.hp.com/united-states/campaigns/envy/pdf/envy15_datasheet.pdf

I'm wondering if this means the 90 will work on all i5's? Can't imagine they would ship with an adapter that would not allow full CPU performance while plugged in. I have a 65W and it throttles my i5-540 to 9x just like on battery (I do not have a 90W to try).

Has anyone tested if a 90W adapter throttles the i5 models yet??

 

This is definitely discussed before but unfortunately I haven't been able to find the messages...
Am trying to buy a new external harddisk... so how do we call eSATA external hdds that can be powered directly through the eSATA/USB2.0 combo interface please? and does anyone have any recommendation as well?

Cheers!

 

With the goal of making the Envy as cool as possible (other than using a notebook cooler), what can be done about:

1. Forcing the CPU to LFM. I know that a 65 watt power adapter will do this, but is there a software method or tool?

2. Forcing the GPU and memory to be underclocked. Which tool is best and what settings do you recommend?

 

Use the power plan settings. you can adjust the max % of CPU usage as well as 'video' performance settings (also in CCC). By default the 5830 drops to 100Mhz core and 200Mhz memory speeds at idle and increases as needed. If you want to lock this at a low setting use the AMD clock tool available here (labeled as 'for the 5870):

http://downloads.guru3d.com/AMD-GPU-Clock-Tool-v0.9.26.0-For-HD-5870-download-2383.html

With the i5-540M i have no heat issues at all, never gets above luke warm anywhere on the machine.

 

JJB > No word from HP regarding how to get the full power with the 65W adapter ?

 

No, I haven't even asked the question. But take a look at the 'link' of the new .pdf data sheet a few posts up. It shows that it ships with a 90W supply. I have talked to tech support and initiated a 'trouble ticket' to verify if this will work (with full performance) on all i5-xxxm versions of the envy 15. Who knows when (or if) they will respond, but I'll post what I find out.

 

pls

 

I believe it was 'Pitabread' (spelling?) who found the esata with power HDD enlosures and cables. Try searching for his posts although I'm not sure which Envy thread that was on.

 

It's Pitabred (only one a ) and I found the enclosure at geeks.com

 

I am confused. Is the 2nd gen HP ENVY the one with the problems of getting extremely hot? ...Im concerned!!!

thanks

 

Can someone who has both the glossy and matte compare or give some details on color vibrancy, etc.?

 

Still need something to buy on hp.com to use this $50 coupon. I wish I could have just combined this coupon and the money I spent on the external dvd drive that isn't opened yet to pay for the external blu-ray player.

Also anyone get a decent case with a the proper dimensions of the Envy?

 

when you got the email from HP when did it say the coupon expired?

 

April. I did check the previous post about the coupons expiring in January so I made sure to check that.

 

Hi Guys,

I looked at getting an Envy 15 a while back, but the overheating didn't really lure me in.

Whats changed in rev2 ? I dont have the time to read through a gazillion pages, so appologies if it's already been said.l

 

I just picked up a Navy Ogio case for $30 from Ross It's big enough, but I don't think you can find it at that price. Looks like it retails properly for $75 or more. SFBags also claims that their 30-20 fits the 15" Envy right on their site here: http://www.sfbags.com/products/sleevecases/sleevecases.htm

 

Is anyone having issues with their video out? My colors on my Pioneer plasma look extremely washed out. My other laptops display video just fine.

 

Corel will let people who purchased X2 versions within the last 90 days to the X3 versions for $19.99 each. This was reported earlier, but wanted to confirm it is also true for video as well.

I use Adobe Lightroom and CS4 for photos, but only own an older version of Premiere Elements 7. For $20 I decided to upgrade the X3 video and give it a try. Supposedly optimized for i7 and GPU encoding.

I just called them on the phone to order. Too early to offer any opinions on the software.

On another note, I like the new Symantec software. Seems to run pretty efficiently. So far decided not to do a clean install and just removed a few items.

 

Do you mean by phone you got an upgrade to "VideoStudio Pro X3 "? If so which number did you call and did they mention exactly what the special was? Of not what did you ask to get that price I called the other day since I actually own my own copy of VS Pro X2 plus the copy that came with my Envy but they said the only deal going was $69 for upgrade.

 

Anyone having issues with the USB 3.0 speeds on their Envy 15? I'm using my WD My Book 3.0 to transfer files to my Envy and it's definitely NOT 3.0 speeds. It seems the drivers are installed on the system.

Any suggestions?

 

That drive should reach about 110MB per second of sequential transfer, what are you getting?

I have verified the ENVY usb3 can push 200MBps and higher already...

 

Make sure you set your output to FULL RGB in the Catalyst Control Center. Mine has perfect colors on my Samsung via HDMI.

 

What kind of goodies have you found to test USB 3.0?

 

Intel 80GB G2 in a SiiG enclosure, plus a few other hard drives

 

Seems like 30MB. Not sure why.

 

sounds like its stuck using usb2 speeds... did you verify its a usb3 cable?

did you try the other usb3 port?

 

I tried both USB ports, except the eSATA shared port. Both gave me around 30MB speeds. I am using the cable that came with the WD drive and it's definitely a 3.0 cable. Starting to wonder if I got USB 2.0 instead of 3.0. It does say USB 3.0 in Device Manager though...Very weird.

 

That is very weird... grab a $40 enclosure at frys if you have one by your place. That is what im using and it will tell you if its a prob with your ports or not. it comes with another cable too.

SiiG 2.5" Superspeed Enclosure

 

I'm using a SiiG Docking station from Frys and its been working well with my SATA HardDrives. It shouldn't to anything less than 60MB/s but YMMV. The speeds you're getting seem to be a bit low.

 

LUCKY! my frys doesnt carry that yet... had to order from amazon. i prefer to buy local.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. Would prefer not having to spend more money to test functionality but if nothing else works I might have to do that.

 

WHat external blu ray drives have you guys bought?

There are a couple on ebay that claim to be Sony/panasonic. I can get them for about $86, and I just want to knowif they work, and if they need two USB cables or just one.

 

I am a ATI ignorant, do you mind showing the screen for this? I couldn't find it. I've always had nvidia before.

Also, do you know any hints to make the text look better. I am connected now to a HDTV and video/photos look fine, the text is unreadable though for the most part.

 

I just called the Corel sales line and told them I received my laptop with the X2 bundled after X3 was released.

She told me she could upgrade either program (video or photo) for $19.99. This discount is evidently available for anyone who has purchased X2 versions within the last 90 days. From the one link I found on the website, the offer may expire February 7th.

 

Is there a USB 3.0 that does not require a power adapter and runs off of one USB 3.0 cable?