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

I saw that if you hit the "Help me decide" button on the Select Hard Drive Menu it says the following thing regarding the 500 HDD :

"FEATURES: 500GB (250GB x 2), 7200 RPM speed"

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/popups/moreInfo.jsp?category=HARD_DRIVE&catUid=m_c_3

Does that mean that it has 2x250 HDD 1.8". Are they in RAID or something ?

 

for the i5, between three and two and a half hours at 50% brightness and doing casual web surfing. unless you go for the extra slice, which takes it up to 5-6 hours.

 

That's pretty decent battery life for a very portable, yet powerful, "desktop replacement" laptop.

The Y460 will probably average around 4 hrs or so (average usage and switching between its dedicated and integrated graphics).

 

Very nice catch! I hope to find out when it arrives. if someone here cant already answer that. If so I may replace one with a SSD.

 

Somethings is fishy with that info. To my knowledge no one makes a 7200rpm 1.8" HDD. Also all the 500GB that have been delivered to date have been a single 2.5".

 

I know Toshiba makes one, but i don't know the speed.

 

no, no it isn't. That just means that the 500gb drive has two platters.

 

Going by that logic they should state how many platter in the 640GB, but they don't.

 

I confirm, thats what i had in my 1050CA. Single 2.5 500gb.


Btw, dual g2 160gb: To raid or nbot to raid? I mean, it is already 100x faster than hdd do I really need to raid them?

 

Envy has much higher resolution option and a faster video card. It is also under 5.5lbs. So the Y460 isn't a comparable option

 

I chose to un-RAID my drives due to the possbility of losing all data if one drive went bad, with seperate drives I have redundant storage until it's convieniant to backup externally. Having G2 drives also allows the use of TRIM when not in RAID0 (works well BTW).

As for speed, I honestly can't really tell the difference after removing RAID config. Still have cold start times under 25 sec. and apps launch so fast it would be very hard to actually measure the time difference between RAID and no RAID

If you remove RAID you do not need the Rapid Storage (Matrix) manager from intel and you will need to use the default Microsoft HDD driver (6.1.7600.16385) which is currently the only one that will pass the TRIM command to the drives. If you didn't already know, the Intel SSD toolbox is the program that has the TRIM software and is available thier website.

 

Got My Envy 15 1110ea from John Lewis on Saturday and im loving it.

I've took the hard drive out and installed a OCZ vertex limited edition 100Gb HD, the machine rocks.

Only gripe I have is the blurry, washed out purple webcam. I've had a look and it appears a few other people are experiencing the same issue as me. I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers, but not managed to fix. Also fiddled with the webcam settings via the webcam settings panel in skype, but I cant get it to look good.

When I reinstalled, I installed Windows 7 Ultimate, this should'nt have an impact.

I've also tried updating the firmware for the IR Webcam using the download upon HP Support site.

Does everybody have this problem? If so has anybody resolved it?

JJB, thanks for the tip on not needing the Raid drivers, ill uninstall and see if it make a difference, as ive only got one ssd.

 

Many thanks for the info... I'll set them up regular with TRIM using the intel driver. Still waiting on my little adapters as the G2s have micro sata connectors and the little black cables that hook up to the motherboard of the envy are regular sata ones. <--- note to would-be ssd swappers.

Yep same problem. Also using a clean win 7 ultimate and the hp webcam drivers. My rig is 1050CA (first gen) tho.

 

I did not advise to remove the RAID drivers, I said you don't need the intel Rapid Storage Tech driver (formerly Matrix Storage...).

There is an intel " ICH8M-E/ICH9M-E SATA RAID Controller" under 'Storage controllers' listed in Device Manager; I could not confirm if this was needed for any other functions so I left it alone. If anyone knows if this is needed for anything other than RAID drive configurations please let me know....

 

To clarify;

1) read above post.

2) the actual SSD driver you need is from Microsoft Windows (not intel). My Win7 install loaded this by default so I am not sure if you will need to find it manually after installing your drives. If you install the drives in conjuction with a clean install it should load automatically (driver version in original post).

 

Gotcha... was actually reading something about windows 7 handling this properly.

 

SSDs don't "go bad". individual sectors will degrade, but, in theory anyway, the drive itself will remain operational for years, if not decades.

 

Tell that to the 3 dead ones on my desk at work, and OnTrack that spent 3 month trying to recover data from one just to tell me its all lost.

From the 30 SSD laptops I have at work, 5 of the drives died, that a high enough failure rate to keep me away from them.

 

Anyone uses Acronis? How the heck do you create a bootable recovery disc? Similar to HP recovery disc?

 

Smilepak,
I read your nice review on the Envy 15 2nd Gen. Why didn't you mention anything about the problems with the webcam (purple colors)?

 

Sorry but that is not true. To confirm the earlier post from 'altecX' I know 3 people who have had SSD's fail completely (non recoverable). That is why businesses and servers generally spec 'enterprise grade' SSD's which cost 3 to 5 times more, and they do not use RAID0.

While SSD's do have a much higher MTBF than HDD's they are by no means failure proof. In a RAID0 configuration this means that the chance (however slim) of failure and losing all data is twice as likely or 100% higher. That is not a chance I am willing to take with new photos that could be worth thousands...

 

I didn't mention anything about the webcam. I haven't tried it yet. Lol! I'll play with it tomorrow and see if there is a problem.

 

That is why I have photo on HDD and main on SSD. Plus using SyncBack, I have the HDD sync up with my NAS.

 

I do automated daily backups, so I am not afraid.

If you are a photographer, get anough SD/CF storage to be able to not have to Move the picutres over to the SSD. Keep the originals on flash cards and only make Copies on the SSD until you get home and can backup.

Personally, I wouldn't put any important data on my laptop, the chance of it getting lost/stolen is too high. All my photos are on my desktop and backed up on my server and/or DVDs.

Sandisk soemtimes has these enormous rebates that let you get their Extreme cards for really cheap. I got 3 4GB cards for $20 or so, and then I got 3 8GB Extreme III cards for about $30 total. Keep an eye out for one of those if you feel the need to unload pictures from your flash memory.

Besides, SSDs are too expensive to store 10mb RAW files on.

 

I think this begs the question not if they will fail but why they failed. My understanding is that the cells degrade but unless there is a defect in the electronics the SSD should last thru its intended lifetime.

 

Nice review, Smilepak.

Your temps are way off though. Use HWmonitor, there is no way your temps are that high...

 

Wrd. Buy a bulk pack of DVDs and a couple of WD passports. It all fits in a Bankers box.

Even though I've heard alot of bad, I've yet to have any issue with the Passport line.

 

I'm not sure what all applications he was running, but I cracked 80C on the CPU last night playing Borderlands.

I wish I had marked what CPU temps I had with my XPS, but this seems a bit higher. Overall though, it's still a cooler package.

 

Notice the minimum temperatures also, that screenshot makes it seem like it runs at those temperatures all the time.

Still very surprising you hit 80C...didn't think they hit that high.

 

my IR wouldn't turn on, fixed it installing the IR firmware from HP. it also occasionally goes purple but if I put my thumb by the cam for a couple seconds that usually snaps it back to colors or black& white for IR...funny.

 

It's also starting to get warm down here in Texas...might be a culprit.

Room temp was at 75F.

 

Thanks, Let me relook at that. That was temp was when i was doing the benchmark i think...

 

First, I was responding to your post that SSD's "don't go bad" and as I stated that is not true.

My company has hundreds of CF cards and we make at least 3 backups from all important shoots. The whole purpose of the notebook is to be able to have portable image processing and backup when we are on remote assignments. These can be multi day jobs in remote locations or on boats etc., we don't have the luxury of doing daily backups in the 'office'.

As to SSD's being to expensive for storage, that's your opinion. We use the notebooks as temporary storage and the SSD's sure make tranfering 2 copies of 50GB+ a lot less time comsuming.

By the way, CF and SD cards are much less reliable than SSD or HDD and IMO Scandisk has the poorest quality, we have had several failed CF cards from them and will never use Scandisk again. We have been using Delkin Devices cards exclusively for 2 years with no failures (except physical damage).

 

The SSD is a elctronic device like any other and it has electromechanical components as well. With dozens of components, hundreds of solder joints and millions of transistors there are numerous reasons it may fail. Remember that we are talking about consumer grade SSD's, if they are so reliable then why do businesses buy the 'enterprise grade' SSD's for 3 to 5 times more $ for the same capacity?? They are still much more reliable than HDD's but by no means are they failure proof.

In your case with the combo drives you would actually (in theory) have more reliable storage using the SSD until you back up to your NAS.

 

hey JBB, do you use any external esata drives while out on assignment?

If so, anything you would reccommend?

 

Not yet. Have been looking / waiting for a high quality esata portable that uses the new 'esata+p' interface, that is a trade name a few vendors have coined for the esata USB combo connector which uses a special cable that gets the power from the USB portion of the notebook connector, so 1 cable for both power and esata speed data. Here is a link to an enclosure for this type of drive if you want to make your own;

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?In...tm_medium=ShoppingSites&utm_campaign=HE-2521B

And here is an esata+p high speed CF card reader which a friend just recieved and says it works great, I may order one to test out...

http://www.addonics.com/products/io/adespcft.asp

P.S.: The Rocport SU series esata drives got a very good review in a recent photo mag but it requires 2 cables; USB and esata.

 

Ordered: i7-720, 320 (7200 rpm), Ultrabright screen, and everything else
standard

Envy 2nd gen owners I really need your help whether to keep or cancel my order.
Concern:

I'm a developer (.net/sql) so I plan to use this machine heavily (run multiple VMs, SQL, SharePoint etc). I keep reading that even with clean install and latest BIOS the palm rest gets uncomfortably hot . How accurate is this?
I've used MBP 13/15 and how does it measure out against MBP?

thanks for your time!

 

I might just build one.

I would have considered the CF reader, but I had forgot to consider what type of media the T1i uses. I had a 20d. Of course not more than a month after I buy it, the refresh with higher FPS comes out.

 

This thread is mainly for the envy 15 with i5 processors, you may want to post your request on this thread; http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=455493&page=183 Which has more i7 owners.

With that being said, the i5 models have no heat issues IMO. I had an original i7 model, which I returned for the i5. It did not seem to run any hotter than a MBP 15 2.8Ghz when doing demanding tasks.

 

It's hot when you use CPU at 100%. I think top side is still tolerable, but bottom side is not.

 

i can play modern games for hours and the palm rest does not get "hot". it is warm but not to much and that is when im gaming.

 

@ SHAZAM26

FYI: Not sure if you are aware of how the Envy 15 is throttled when used on battery power. The i7 gets locked at an x 7 multiplier or 931Mhz, so if you plan on using while away from AC power this might be a problem for you.

 

Here is my revised temp after using the laptop for 2 hours..surfing the internet..



Anything that keeps the CPU at 100% will be hot..that is just crazy talk ahahh

 

thats cooler than my desktop runs, or my macbook idles.

 

Thanks for your reply guys. So, what i hear is even during heavy load the wrist rest temp doesn't get to a point where it makes your palm sweat?

Also, this 2nd gen is worth the buy?

 

The palms surely wont, the bottom is a different story.

I've played Borderlands in my bed-on my lap, and if you're wearing basketball shorts, it probaly won't feel too good on the dirty bits.

But yeah, it's worth the buy. I can't think of any other laptop that really has everything in terms of power, looks, and portability that i'd rather want.

 

Can someone post their FPS for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Thanks!!

 

Smilepak:

WHOA. Those temps are down right chilly. How in heck did you get them so low? Is it in power-saver or something? You're a good 10c cooler than anyone else....

Ah. 8watts usage...must be power saver? Is it still fast in power saver?

 

Maybe he used it outdoor.

 

When doing a clean install is there any benefit to putting the OS on a separate partition? If so, how large of a partition is necessary for the OS install? Thanks.