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

The HD Matte version is actually pretty decent.

 

Thank's Strike ,you are the man!!So the best route is i7(more heat but more future proof ) + the lower resolution for games?

I cant game on that lower resolution ,so i will go with the 1080p led.

Also do i have to order the 2 hds configuratios to get the right brackets for the 2nd one?Or i can order 1 and ad another 1 later since i already have an ssd here?Thank you

 

i bought the low res screen and hated it, swapped out the 1080p glossy screen myself, much better contrast.

 

Who here actually have successfully replaced the HDD on the HP Envy 15 with SSD w/o breaking an arm and a leg doing it and selling blood to buy it?

I think I am setting on an HP Envy 15 set, i5-540m (since they don't offer i7-620m). Since that is limited to 4GB, I'll have to get a 4GB bar aftermarket and swap it. But not really sure about the SSD.

Still debating between Glossy vs Matte 1080P LED Screen. Over all around 1350ish before tax.

 

As I said with the screen resolution, it all goes down to personal preference. I know many vouch the FHD for contrast ratios and lots of real estate, but if you run games on FHD with the 5830, it will choke a bit. With the lower resolution, the 5830 should be able to handle it like a dream. However, you can always game on a FHD with a lower resolution and you might get some distortion but it is all up to you.

Also, for current generation gaming, I rather stick with the i5-5x0M or the i7-620M Dual Core over the i7-720QM since clock for clock, the i5-520M kicks the i7-720QM's butt. The only thing that makes the i7 Quad good is it's ability to multi-thread, but no game has ever needed more than three cores to run efficiently (only two that needs three cores or more to run on full effect is Dragon Age and GTS IV), but if look at just Dual Core performance, the clock speeds on the i5-5x0M or the i7-620M trounces the i7-720QM. To be safe, I would go with the i7-820QM if you like the idea of quad core in laptops and total futureproofing without compromise on gaming performance. However in the future I see the 5830 being the overall bottleneck for the Envy than the Core i5. The insight of such bottleneck won't happen anytime soon as the 5830 and the Core i5/i7 Duals are still really good and in a sense, futureproof for the next few years on their own.

In your case though, you are forced to get the Quad i7 for USB 3.0, but really it is a gimmick right now and I don't see myself using it till 2014-2016, a time where I can upgrade again to Sandy Bridge or beyond. Also note that the i7 Quads are hot and they will kill battery life over the Duals.

 

As a photographer and having both the matte and glossy screens side by side, there is no question, glossy is the only way to go, it's brighter, sharper and higher contrast.

IMO, the ssd / hdd combo is a very good deal for $320 upgrade. First the best i've seen for a intel 160 is $449 (1.8") and the 250GB HDD is also a 1.8" which are going for about $175, both are also hard to find in stock. This option also gives you the option of upgrading the HDD later to a SSD when the prices drop, and you will already have all the hardware and cables.

 

It's a perfect wow laptop though.

 

How long did the replacement take from the time of order to delivery. I just wanted to know the turnaround time before I ask for a replacement for mine with a botched eSata port.

Thanks

 

How is your eSata blotched?

 

I have been lacking sleep from trying to swap my 500gb hdd with the 2 x18-m g2 i bought for about 1300$us and im still waiting for an extra kit I had to go thru lengths I wont go over again.... still not sure that kit WILL work out perfectly so yeah, GET THE DUALSDDs WITH your original setup it sooo worth it.

 

I sent back on 2/19, and got replacement on 3/1.

 

Okay, Pulled The Trigger....

Took the advance and got the dual drives setup. I'll end up needing to buy a 4GB stick to make it 6GB once I get it, but this should do nicely.

Used the $200 Coupon

1,694.99 before tax.

Estimated Build Date 03/10/2010.

Sad they didn't offer i7-620m. Was thinking of the Sony F Series and the E Series, both were strong contender. But the US CTO lacks the features that international has. Sucks.

 

I'm seriously considering purchasing an HP Envy 15 and I'm wondering how good is the Anti-glare screen that HP offers as an option. Since I currently have a HP dv7 with the Infinity display option where the glare is sometimes too much to handle.

 

Heard you can get 2.5% cashback when buying from the UK HP site

Link : http://www.sososher.com/hewlett_packard/
Its meant to be a UK version of The Bing CashBack of The USA

Okay so 2.5% not that much, on the Envy 15, £1,500 if you buy that model
i think its like a £37 saving - yeah a real saving compared to the 20% saving from The US

 

You can get the envy 15-1110EA for £1329.82 inc. VAT from Lambda-Tek if thats of interest.

 

is that the model with the 5830?
stupid different names for models
if it is with the 5830 yeah that does interest me
thanks for the link

 

finally got my envy

I'm working on setting everything up, but one thing I immediately noticed was how using my apple in-ear earphones there is a noticeable white noise hum coming from them, even with volume set at it's lowest, except when I mute the audio of course. this did not happen on my acer 5920g.

any hints?

 

Its says: "ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5830 Graphics, up to 4091 MB total graphics memory with 1 GB dedicated" in the specs on the lambda-tek site, so I guess so. The specs match up as far as I can tell with the specs on the HP site for the 15-1110EA so hopefully should be ok.

So I take it no one is worried about the Sata controller issue, did a recent firmware update fix it?

 

Never heard of this issue. Try hitting 'function + B' which turns turns off or on the Beats EQ settings which really just max's out the Bass and Treble in the IDT audio software.

Here is a link to some sound setup and tweaks that if noting else should get your speakers to play significantly louder: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5668647&postcount=3614

You sure it's not the earphones or connector? try a diffferent pair.

 

thank you so much for this link.

Are you sure this is legit? I didn't think it was available yet....

 

hm, after rebooting the hum only returns occasionally...
nevermind, I stumbled upon a bigger issue: installing atitool it told me it's driver doesn't have a valid digital signature, so the installation didn't end up properly...does this happen all the time on a 64 bit OS?

 

Thank You, Thank You Thank You
like £200 cheaper then from HP themsevles

does the Hp one from there website come with a BluRay external drive?
seems like the other one does, makes it a very interesting option wasnt as happy at £1,500 seems too much compared to the m15x, but at £1,300 i could very well get that

 

If your talking about the 'AMD tray tools' it crashed my system (bluescreen).

For O.C.ing you want the AMD clock tool, here: http://downloads.guru3d.com/AMD-GPU-Clock-Tool-v0.9.26.0-For-HD-5870-download-2383.html

You may want to read through the opening pages on the Envy threads, they all include lot's of info and links about initial setup, clean installs and tools etc.

 

Is the matte screen really terrible? I just ordered the Envy 15 with the matte screen. I currently use a glossy Dell and I really get tired of the reflections so I thought I'd try matte this time.

Have you seen the anti glare screen on the macbook pros? I always thought that screen looked great and was hoping this would be similar, do you have any idea how it compares?

I saw that you use the Spyder 3 Pro also. Did that do a good job of correcting the colors on your matte screen?
Thanks.

 

I ordered some powerline networking kit from them 2/3 years ago and that was ok, but that was no way as expensive as a laptop though. So probably best to use a credit card to get better protection, they do seem to get some ok reviews though.

I think this model is generally available, as several on-line shops have them in stock.

The Lambda-Tek one has the external Blu-ray in the specs and so does the listing on the HP site. I am guessing the 15-1110EA SKU comes as standard with the external Blu-ray, but it's prob best to double check when you order.

 

Hi guys,
Before I ask, I have searched but so many results have turned up I'm still confused. Im seriously considering buying a Envy 15 1110 from Lamba tech which has an i7 but how noisy and hot does it get when idle or simply browsing the web and listening to music? I know these are little things but to me they can drive me mad!
Thanks!

 

Can someone please answer this? Does the revamped 8 gb RAM version have these issues?

 

Thanks, i managed to check before my internet went down again
seems the same model but how the makers cant make it as cheap as this
wondering how they can sell at over £200 cheaper then the people that make and sell it

 

They probably buy in bulk, after all, you probably don't need to buy too many £1500 laptops before you get huge discounts and seeing as thats the sort of size they are, I would expect that.

Also ArmageddonAsh, as you've been looking at the Envy 1110 aswell, do you know much about the noise and heat?
Cheers!

 

Anybody here who got the slotload blu-ray with the 2 USB ports on the back, can you please look at the bottom of the drive and give me the HP Spare part number. My co-worker needs the number since he's having an issue with HP.

 

Well mine with the wrong guts says on its sticker:
Blu-Ray Rom with
SuperMulti DVD +R/RW
RMN:HSTNN-QD07
HP Spare Part: 576832-001

If I go to the parts store it pulls up the part but is listed as unavailable from them directly. The description says:

http://h20141.www2.hp.com/hpparts/S...EDB73&SearchIn=PartNumber&SearchPN=576832-001

"576832-001 Contact Reseller
Blu-ray Disc (BD) reader and DVD±RW SATA Supermulti Slimslot optical drive RoHS: Modified"

However mine isn't slot either, its a tray. Still waiting to hear back from the TS person. I called this morning and someone else got to her and came back saying she was probably going to have to escalate it to try and get me the right one.

The Blu-Ray Drive HP sent me that the parts store said would work but lacks the USB ports and has a shorter cable is 584384-001

 

Not sure what that model is, i only know about the 1100 (model i am interested in) and the 1000 which has weaker screen and graphics as well as smaller hard drive as far as i can tell it should be very similar in noise as it has the same GPU i have been searching alot, something i do before getting something so expensive took me over 4months to decide my new phone (got Touch HD - Love It) and want to make sure that i know exactly what i am getting and from what i have read it doesnt get as hot or is as loud as some people say, its best to ask current owners

 

Couldn't agree with you more! I do exactly the same thing! I need a new laptop quick however as my Acer failed on me and the warranty couldn't replace it so they gave me my money back, so I'm looking again! Going to buy it tonight!

 

Tonight *feels Jealous* good luck, from what i have heard its a great machine
maybe some owners might come online so that you can ask them more specific questions
with that link a couple pages back i should be able to get mine within 2-3weeks, which is still 2-3 weeks too long
the sooner i can sell my laptop the sooner i can get it

PS : My god there are alot of scams on Craigslist - already had 6! people asking to buy it, but they ALL sound like scams and several have asked for delivery to africa lol im not stupid

 

What is wrong with your current Sager? It looks pretty powerful even in today's standards.

 

i have had it a while and yes it runs great but i dont need something as big and heavy now - it weighs ALOT.
so want to downgrade to something a bit smaller, but still keep as much of the performance as i can

 

Well if you need something fast you can order one of the quickship models. Then it will go out the next day. I'm just not sure if any of the quickships come with Blu-ray or the amount of mem installed without going and looking em up again

 

I live in the UK, there are only 2 models so i wouldnt need quickship as neither are configurable so that wouldnt help me

 

Oh, my bad, sorry for the missinfo.

PS check your PM's

 

Ha Ha no prob - i guessed it was a mistake
checked PM and replied

 

What puzzle me is with all of the owners of HP Envy 15 we have here, not one detail review or info on it. I guess I'll have to change that when I get mine in a few weeks

 

Several reviews (or links to them) on the opening page of the original envy 15 owners lounge thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=427278

 

Hey JJB,

I posted a few questions a couple pages back (pg 243) you might be able to help me with, regarding the matte display. Could you take a look and see if you could help me out with a couple answers. Thank you very much.

 

Sorry, I missed this post earlier.

No the matte screen is not 'terrible' and if I didn't have it side by side with the glossy I might actually like it. That being said, except for reflections, the glossy screen is much sharper, brighter (220nits vs ~170nits) and has higher contrast. To me the matte finish seems to difuse the colors and sharpness (edges) in high res (100% zoom) photoshop CS4 editing.

The spyder3 took a few tries to get things looking good for day to day use as the photo editing settings make normal apps look way to warm. Also Both screens are capable of very low black points so I am still fine tuning calibration for photo editing to maximize shadow detail.

I have used the Apple glossy and a/g screens and personally I had the same impression as I do with the envy, I prefered the glossy. Can't really compare the two a/g's without viewing the same images side by side so I won't speculate other than to say they seemed similar to me compared to thier glossy counterparts.

 

Here is my Envy 15 review...first time I wrote a blog:

http://dougyates.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!64267EEA538C142D!890.entry

 

What kind of memmory is being used by HP. Do they have their own brand?

I searched a kingston memory online configurator for hp's original name
AT912AA for the 2GB and the reply was

KINGSTON 2GB DDR3-1066 MODULE - KTH-X3B/2G

Can I trust this module will work well with the original memory?
I'm buying an envy 15 i7 4GB(2x2GB) and was thinking about adding 2x2GB extra.

/Emil

 

My Envy came with Samsung PC3-10700 M471B5273BH1-CH9 DDR3 1333MHz

 

Great info, thank you.

 

If you want to be certain Everest can tell you the exact model, look under Motherboard -> SPD. Another app that can also give you the actual part number is CPU-Z, again under the SPD tab, which you can then search the web for. It may also show if you launch the HP Support Assistant and then go to troubleshoot and select system info but I'm not sure as someone else is playing with my baby right now.

 

Any one know how to force a game to play at an specific resolution? The game has no options to set the resolution, however, before upgrading to the latest catalyst 10.3 preview I accomplished this by changing the OS resolution before launching the game. This does not seem to work with the 10.3 preview. The thing is, I downgraded the driver to what I was using before and still have the same problem.

Basically, the game tries to play at the full LCD resolution and it just does not look good.