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

hey, guess there's a reason why my beats laptop says "limited edition."

 

That's a shame, I liked the idea of the beats model. Looked bloody good too. Not worth extra coin though IMO unless you really needed the headphones.

 

Well the person who was helping me at HP said the End of Life caught his dept. off guard. Apparently originally it was supposed to discontinued at the end of Jan and the overnight pulling of the model was VERY short notice.

 

I suspect this is linked to the delays of the refreshed Envy. HPs forecasting department likely used very similar (if not the same) sales curves to predict volume of sales for both units (though the beats would have had a smaller multiplier). Thus as they currently have a shortage of parts for their standard Envy models, you have to assume that the multipliers used were too low, and it is likely this would have been the same for the Beats edition. Therefore they would have hit a volume of sales earlier than anticipated, and had to pull the plug earlier.

 

If that is the case, the Envy is a full success from HP...wow

Just like a little off topic, the original Owners' Lounge is around the 7K posts in 3 months, while some much older threads are half of it...so you get an idea.

Or the main forum yesterday had like 5 threads about the Envy 15.

Now, add this to the formula. HP must have under calculated the amount of laptops they would need to ship, and are delayed or having shortage. Pretty much like what ATI was going thru. Too many sells, not enough GPUs to sell. Difference is HP is still taking orders and delaying everyone.

Par contre, Dell takes the price on the shipping. They even have a sub forum for this. The original SXPS1645 took more than 1 month to arrive, circa 2 months in fact.

 

BTW -- not sure if it was covered here, but w USB 3.0, you can now charge items hooked up to it without turning on the laptop! BUT you do need to have the laptop plugged in. I am sure there is a setting to allow it in battery mode, but it is a niftey feature!

 

You guys really think the Beats edition is a good looking laptop? Based on the pictures and videos I saw online, I thought that it looked very cheap. Sort of like a Toshiba or lower-end HP you would see in Best Buy with those plastic, fingerprint-attracting cases.

What I love about the regular Envy (and MBPs) is the matte-finished aluminum/magnesium materials that speak mature, expensive and durable.

 

people say the wrist part of the finish is matte, so it's not all shiny

but really tho, each person has different tastes...

I like the standard edition better

 

I think coated metal feel differently from plastic if you look closer.

 

I just liked the color of the beats....the laser etching did not appeal to me. If they made an envy 15 without the laser etching, like the envy 13 I would have probably bought that. I actually got an apple magic mouse painted shiney black to go with the beats. Only issue is it disconnects every so often...probably bluetooth issue.

 

it feels like the alienware black m15x, except its all metal, not just the backplate. can get fingerprints on it though. but I put mine back in the Beats sleeve and the sleeve wipes the prints clean when inserting/removing the notebook.

 

So does the regular Envy 15 also come with a sleeve at least? I haven't ordered a case for mine yet as I can't really find one I like yet that will hold extras like an spare PS and such. I was thinking about getting some sort of Trgus bag but others seem to have a neg view on the brand.

 

Yes it does come with a sleve
You haven't seen any unboxing videos? lol

 

That is not a sleeve that is usable for transporting, it's a cheap fake velvet 'cover' that does not even close on the end. May help for scratch protection inside a proper sleeve or bag.

 

+1 . THat is the main reason for me holding off on the Envy.

I had i5-540, it is under 6lbs, it has nice resolution..a really good set of spec..sad design sucks.

 

Yeah, if you don't have a backpack or some case for laptop transportation, this sleeve wont do but I like it. And I actually have a targus back pack. I've had it for almost 5 years. The rubbers on the zipper handles tore off but I do use it almost everyday.

 

Actually no I haven't.

 

its a nice microfiber sleeve or "sock" that i use along with a targus case. the alienware came with a similar sleeve, doubles a a cleaning cloth.

 

(EDIT: Erasing this post, it's a double)

 

Make that +2 if the HP Envy 15 I saw at Bestbuy earlier today is truly the HP Beats.



As a relative noob to the HP Envy series, I have been exploring the Envy as a possible option to use during law school. My requirements were a lightweight laptop that would last me for three years and provide a good viewing experience for watching movies, good battery life, and have the extra durability and styling that other plastic laptops I've had in the past didn't seem to have. The two candidates so far are the Envy and the MBP. The Sony Z series from what I'm told is a bit price. My first encounter with the Envy 15 so far was a disappointment. Wondering if someone can give me some assurances, possibly dissuade me from an i5 MacBook Pro 15" that'll most definitely pop up in September.



When my brother and I first saw the HP Envy at BestBuy, my brother asked me why there a loud clicking noise coming from the laptop. Suspecting a faulty part issue, I put my ear closer to it and lifted the laptop up to discover a Belkin cooler running at full blast underneath. My first touch of the laptop told the whole story. The i7 processor paired with the 48xx GPU was causing the laptop to run so hot that BB had been forced to put a cooler underneath to prevent overheat. Putting that issue aside for the moment, I inspected the Envy closely. The coloring was a bit over the top. The surface area near the touchpad was rife with little dotted holes and a swampy, muddy shade of yellow. Though BB had a small stand for the HP Envy 15 and its little 13" sister, it definitely didn't stand out to me as an attention-catching laptop. I also understood that the average joe would most likely have fewer heating issues with the most recent updates and the offering an i5 alongside the i7 as a possible option. But my first encounter with the 1st-gen Envy (think it was that, correct me if I'm wrong) was a disappointment.



But when I walked over to the Apple booth and touched the MBP 15" for what must have been at least the 20th time over the past 3 years, I still couldn't help marveling the design. Despite being a full-fledged laptop with a GPU (albeit an older 9600M), I was still impressed by the thinness, the smoothness yet elegance that came from the simplicity of color and design, the nice touchpad, and above all the way the LCD screen doesn't rise up toward a black border the way the HP Envy did.


Someone please tell me that the one I saw with the laptop I saw at BB with the underwhelming muddy color and the plastic frame was the first gen Envy 15 and that the 2nd Gen is different and better! It's bad enough that the touchpad has gotten a reputation for being cumbersome and if things aren't that much different with the 2nd Gen Envy, I may have to continue lugging my brick of an Asus G50VT until September when Apple refreshes its MBP line. I'd rather save the extra $300-400 I'd pay with the Envy 15 and bear a compromise or two than go all out with the MBP and put up with learning how to use OSX!


Some close up photo shots by owners of the 1st and 2nd Gens would help!



Disclaimer: Despite the way my experience was written, I am not an Apple fanboy or some Apple corporate shill. I've used PCs all my life. But it seems as though in terms of design and touchpad usability, Apple seems to hold the lead!

 

MBP gets refreshed next wednesday. No one has a 2nd gen envy yet. they come in next week, or so its been said....

 

Well first off if the case was a brown color then sounds like the Beat Edition. As far as I know the Envy only comes in 2 colors a bark brownish case which I think even has a red "B" on the cover and the basic silver/metal color with a etched(?) pattern.

From posts I've seen in this thread supposedly a recent driver update has improved/fixed the touchpad issues.

I'm still waiting on mine, which will have the I7 820QM, so I can't say on the heat issue yet. If it does get toasty I'll probably get a cooler from CoolerMasters.

 

My understanding is that the Best Buy software they run on their machines was probably the reason that the Envy 15 was running so toasty warm. I believe the machines runs remarkably cool under normal conditions, though they get hot (but not as the MBP) when under heavy stress.

 

I got my cooler master cooler yesterday, amazingly quiet product.

Can't wait to sit the Envy 15 on it's pedestal of glory. =P

 

Which one did you pick there were 3 I was considering but hadn't made a final decision. I've actually beta'd some stuff for CoolerMaster so I know they do decent work and stand behind their products.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002NU5V4A/ref=oss_T15_product

I got it for 15 bucks. =D

 

Ah, I looked at that one but because of ppl complaining the screen didnt tilt back much I was afraid the angle might be too sharp. Iwas thinking of one of these 3 but couldn't decide:

Notepal X2 Notebook Cooler
http://cmstore.coolermaster-usa.com/product_info.php?cPath=18_32_35&products_id=366

Notepal X1 Notebook Cooler
http://cmstore.coolermaster-usa.com/product_info.php?cPath=18_32_35&products_id=187

Notepal Infinite (BLUE) Notebook Cooler
http://cmstore.coolermaster-usa.com/product_info.php?cPath=18_32_35&products_id=356

 

I'll stay updated for news on the new MBPs. Thanks for the heads up!

Beats, eh? That explains it.


It'll be tough for me to find a 2nd Gen Envy I can play with. I'll probably stick with the i5 Envy and put the laptop through rigorous "heat tests" in the form of 3-4 hour stints on Left 4 Dead 2 and regular usage like playing music and typing up documents. If the temps get too high, I'll have to return it and tell the CSR no can do, if the i5 gets too hot, then expect more calls from people with similar situations.

Makes sense.


Thanks for the replies, guys! You guys rock!

 

Best Buy software?

Never heard of that.....

 

Monster now has the DiddyBeats headphones, so maybe HP is going to do a new version of the Beats with those.

 

It is a fullscreen thing that tells you hte specson hte machine.

It is so tilly programmed though that it bogs everything down and makes them all run hot.

 

Yep. It's programmed in flash and that's why its sucking so much CPU juice.

 

It also cripples various features. Touch screen, multiouch, screen brightness, etc

 

That's reassuring. Thought i7's were supposed to be able to downclock when the extra clock speed wasn't need. Explains why they would need a cooler on a display model!


Even then, I'm opting for the i5 if I decide to choose this over a refreshed MBP.

 

I received my shipping notification about 2 hours ago!

 

MEEE TOOO!!!! Yeah! Origonal ship date was 1/29 so ahead of schedule but 3-5 day on shiping time, once Fedex has it I'll know actual ETA

 

Oh please don't tell me that people who ordered before me are getting their laptops first.
Edit: I mean after

 

lol. Ordered before you or after you?

 

??? If they ordered before you then of course they should go out before you

I know what you meant tho In my case I've had one or another computer on order for a long time so when they finally got things straightened out the put in a request to expedite the build to make up for all the confusion and delay. My original order was supposed to have shipped 2 day by the 22nd till it got canceled.

 

Yeah, that is MAJOR bs.

My original ESD was 1/19 for the order I left uncancelled and it still shows "In Production".

3 more days before I cancel this one and tell HP to shove it up their a$$

 

LOL, you know if you cancel now, this is what they will tell you.

"Oh you want to cancel? Why?" You respond then "please hold"...then "If we give you a $100 more off would you be willing to keep the order." You say yes then they say "So you are accepting my offer?", you say yes then they say "please hold" again then "Have I answered all your questions and concerns today?"

 

Any reviews of this yet?

The first gen was really bad. Really bad battery life and else was not good too.

With switchable videocard and an I5-CPU, it should get X-times better regarding battery life, so it can be used as a business notebook.

 

switchable graphics on the i5 Envy has not been verified that it exists yet. We have yet to have this confirmed by whoever receives their fist Envy 15 (i5) non beats edition.

 

I'd like to think that HP Premium line has its distinctness from consumer laptops, the advantage of the IGP is absolutely useful in term of battery life, but if you don't mind 2lbs extra get the slice it gives you double the battery

 

They told me that with my other order and I said nope. I told them to cancel.

I have a M17x R2 on order with VERY nice specs for $2k so unless this system ships soon AND wows me, I am cancelling.....

 

That's logical thinking, unfortunately HP lacks one. The Envy 15 uses PM55 chipset for both i5 and i7 configurations thus the lack of switchable graphics. They do however offer the dv4i with switchable, but it uses the HM55 chipset.
Another major let down is the way they segragate the quad from the i5 configurations in the Envy line. The quad gives you 4 mem slots and USB 3.0, but the i5 doesn't. They couldve used the same board for both configurations since either way we are nit getting switchable graphics, which is the strongest selling point of the i5.
Honestly, HP has really did it thus time.

 

oh jealous.. when did you guys order?

 

:O

My shipping date was supposed to be the 18th, but my order hasn't been confirmed yet T^T

 

@AnXioZ: In my opinion, HP wants to arrange their customer's usage into categorizes ; Power House and Daily Home Use/Business. I personally don't think USB 3.0 is needed at this time of the hi-tek era, bear in mind this is what I have in mind

 

they told me my order would ship tomorrow and I couldn't cancel bc it was in production. If it doesn't ship tomorrow I don't care what its doing its getting canceled unless they want to pay me to keep it, meaning it ships in a box of cash with a greater amount of money than what I owe them.