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

New WiFi and Touchpad drivers just posted on the 'drivers' thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-compaq-voodoo-pc/426181-drivers-hp-envy-15-intel.html

 

So that means even there is no AHCI controller, AHCI still enable??

By the way, can anyone please post a picture of Device Manager with subheading?? Thanks a lot!!

 

Pics up by request, also a video of my dashboard using dreamscape plus the beats logo.







http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm265/2boysMommyRN/beats/IMG_0498.jpg

 

beats :: IMG_0503.flv video by 2boysMommyRN - Photobucket

to see the desktop, its pretty cool.

 

Thanks for your quick reply...but what i need is the DEVICE MANAGER picture which sould be found from the Control Panel>System>Device Manager...

 

If you don't like glossy finishes, stay away. But if you like black and sexy like a sports car with a high gloss finish, then this one's for you. I really don't know of many other notebooks out there with painted metal and a clearcoat.

 

you never specified what you wanted a pic of, will get that for you tomorrow.

 

Thanks!
Just use cap screen to get it easily

 

Wonder if the feet come with glue or adhesive backs, or nothing.

 

hey can any point me towards a amazon link where i can buy the hp envy 15 compatible RAM..........??thks

 

@yashasvi08

And 204pin DDR3 1333MHz PC10600 should work fine.

For more info, try here in Amazon, NewEgg or try Crucial.com.

Depends on your model also. For that I highly suggest using crucial.com and run a scan on your system and they'll tell you which type to use. Another alternative is CPUID's CPU-Z and check the SPD. Check attachments.

Hope this helps!

 

I am 99% sure they come with an adheshive backing, you just peel off and stick them down. The factory shipped feet are obviously from that type of 'peel and stick' process, the adhesive stays on the rubber half when you remove them.

I got mine from here: SuperBiiz.com - Memory, Computer Memory, Notebook SODIMM

The second part down is what I am running in my i5 envy (2 x 4GB). They are actually on sale right now for $121.99 (for the 1333Mhz 4 GB module) if you use the $10 off coupon which expires 5/16....

If you have an i5 processor you only need the 1066Mhz version but the samsung 1333Mhz above work perfect for me, they just downclock to 1066Mhz since that's the max speed the i5 can run at, if you have an i7 then it can run up to 1333Mhz memory speeds

 

just installed the latest wifi drivers and have been just casually surfing the web for about 30 minutes then got a BSOD for no apparent reason... that was strange

 

Was the BSOD internet-related? What were you doing?

I just installed mine on ym 5100 AGN and no problems, it even feels more stable.

 

I'm not sure why it happened. I only had firefox open with a couple tabs

 

Strange thing. I installed mine over 2 hours ago, and haven't had any problems, and even think range has improved as I get 5 signals now versus the 3 I used to receive in the exact same spot.

When installed the new driver, it didn't give any problems, right? You did reset the machine also?

Forgot to mention, when I installed mine, the desktop and my lower bar disappeared suddenly, and it kinda gave me a crash, and after some seconds it came back up and running, asked me to restart the machine, so I did, and voila, it works just fine!

 

I actually hadn't restarted the machine. But it's been working fine ever since

 

Did a clean install of Windows when moving to the SSD here, and even with the latest drivers I still can't re-enable the touchpad after disabling it with the double-click. Lame.

If you have the "Intel(R) ICH8M-E/ICH9M-E/5 Series SATA RAID Controller" device, you have an AHCI controller. It won't even do compatibility mode AFAIK. Just make sure you install the latest Intel Storage Manager driver.

He wasn't talking to you. This thread isn't all about you, there are other conversations going on.

 

Yep, same here, well uninstalled all synaptics anyway. Still won't re-enable touchpad. Then I started having a problem with the 2 finger scroll not working after waking from sleep mode, tried all 4 driver options that the new package installed and none would work with scrolling after waking from sleep, Grrrr. Finally just did a system restore to get back to version 15.0.09 which was working just fine except for not being able to turn the touchpad back on which was not a big deal since I disabled the tap to disable feature.... Getting really tired of HP not providing fully functional driver updates

 

Oh Pitabread, that was a liittle harsh...


On other news, sorry if this was asked before, but this is the 2nd Gen thread. Can someone please tell me real-life performance of USB 3.0? Is it really as fast as announced?

 

Sorry if this comes off a little ignorant or whatever, I just don't tinker around with pc innards... but why would you want to constantly update the BIOS?
I've read that it can improve stability and performance... but it seems here in the Envy's case to be doing more harm than good? Are performance gains THAT significant?

 

The BIOS is the one that controls the components, for example the temps via the fans, some basic functions, etc.

From Wikipedia:

Why upgrade? Well, it can give a little more stability, better temp control, less crashes, etc.

But yes, I have to admit the HP Envy team is trying to make it quieter but as an exchange we are getting penalized with extra heat...

 

Forgive the repost here, but I didn't get any replies. I'll let the question die if no one has any answer this time, promise!

 

some people just like to tinker. but there is serious risk of bricking.

personally i'm not messing with it since i have no problems with F1A. i have the fans turned off in the bios anyway so it runs a little warmer. 45-50C.

 

I'm curious about that too but eSATA seems equally capable for external hard drives. transfer speeds are limited by the drive speed not the interface. i imagine USB3 will be more useful when its implemented on cameras/camcorders since Envy doesn't have any other high speed ports to import big chunks of video.

 

The Envy charger use what they call a 'smart pin', which is a center pin in the barrel of the connector, this carries a 3rd conductor which somehow tells the envy what the power output capability is of the charger. This is why many aftermarket chargers do not work with the envy even if they have the proper output power.

My guess is that your external battery is not equipped with a center pin or if it is that it most likely is not sending the proper signal to the computer....

Hope that helps.

 

with the kensington charger #33197 the N19 tip looks exactly like the N30 tip, including center pin, however the N19 tip does not work at all. Envy does not recognize it as being plugged in. N30 tip works as expected with Envy. the N19 tip does work with my Dell laptop however. i guess there is some volt/amp difference between the tips.

checked the power bricks, dell's is 19.5v, 4.6a while Envy's is 18.5v, 6.5a

 

yep, you need an N30 tip. Kensington adapter works great, by the way. I wish they would send a Bios Update for the GPU that would set the standard clock speed higher (the 5830 was meant to run at least 1000 on memory)

 

ATi is extremely conservative on memory clocks for some reason. on the Envy I can OC from 800 to 1100 no problem. and i have a 5850 in my desktop that i can OC from 1000 to 1300.

5830M core clock seems about right at 500 since i can only get to 550 at default voltage. assuming they are shooting for 90% of potential then default memory clocks should be ~1000.

...
OT but I just tried out the Envy's headphone port and it has some serious power! i have Sony MDR-7506 (63 ohm) and volume at 30% in Winamp is about all I can tolerate. These things are usually a challenge for portable sources. Sound quality is very clean. avatar related

 

Just an FYI but a little off topic, I was able to boot from a USB attached drive with a full Win7 installed in a VHD. Unfortunately doesn't seem to work with the USB 3.0 ports only the 2.0 port.

Now we have potential of a portable bootable full OS. Hopefully with Win 7 SP1 the USB 3.0 drivers will be included.

 

the headphone jack works great. used it with my now obsolete sennheiser pxc 310 headphones (tried to sell here). just upgraded to the bluetooth version. love noise cancellation with my envy beats.

 

Are you guys aware that are GPU memory runs at 2 x the clock speed? At the standard 800 Mhz memory speed it is running at an effective 1600 Mhz. Considering, AFAIK, the memory on the board is GDDR3 1333 Mhz then it is actually running, at a default settings, at +20% OC speed. And also remember this 5830 is a mobile version designed in part to use less power, not fair to compare to a desktop 5850 (with GDDR5 ??)....

Here is a screen showing the 'effective' clock speeds:

 

obviously 5830M/GDDR3 ≠ 5850/GDDR5

the point was, in both cases the memory can OC by 30% and that seems to be fairly typical.

i am simply curious as to why they don't increase the default memory clocks since there are performance gains to be had and the additional power draw is negligible.

 

Firstly, AMD has no control over the actual memory the OEM (HP) uses on the mobo, and they spec'd the 5830 to be a 800 Mhz max. memory speed (with no GDDR5 support). If the OEM wanted to spec a higher performance part they would need to jump up to the mobile 5850, If they spec'd the 5830 with higher clocks then it would cut into sales of 5850's.

Secondly, If you look at the benchmarks thread, you will see that not everyone has been able to O.C. anywere near +30% on core or memory speeds. There is quite a range of O.C. capabilities based on the grade (bin) of the actual GPU die that meets the 5830 specs. By using a rather conservative clock speed spec ATI gets a higher yeild of parts that meet the spec and therefore less 'scrap' which makes for lower cost of manufacturing etc....

Third it is common practice in any design to under specify performance output, you get better reliability, stability and longer life. True for almost any product from GPU's to speakers to car engines etc, etc, etc.....

 

ATI's official spec for the 5830 is 800MHz. Anything else is overclocking.

 

So are there any updates of people who sent back their Envys due to the high pitched noise issue? If so, did they fix it? or is it not worth it to send in for repair and just return it?

 

Is it possible to buy an i5 envy and swap in a i7 820qm cpu?

 

Yes, you can but I don't know why you would do such a thing since the i7 Quads kills the Envy's already dismal battery life and turns your Envy into a grill with its massive heat dispersal. Unless heat and battery life are not your concern, then the upgrade is possible.

 

Are you saying that upgrading to i7 would result in worse battery life and heat than buying a preconfigured CTO model with i7? I have an i7 and I have absolutely no problems with overheating and with the slice battery in I can get up to 8 hrs on low performance setting.

 

Thats good to hear its possible, I only wonder because on the hp config page it lists two gpus one for i5 and i7 and also the i7 has the different board with usb 3.0 on it.

I want to swap because I happen to have a spare 820qm. Also I was planning on getting a slice.

I'm also curious if the 5830 can play assassins creed at 1080p with all options turned on? I know the GTX 260 can

 

that squeel is from the CPU itself (the throttling action, specifically) and it's audible because of all the vents around the perimeter of the chassis. i don't think an exchange will help. it is fairly annoying in an otherwise quiet room, i agree.

 

So I just got my Envy 15 after sending the original back and it has the exact same defect: There is a slight wobble because the laptop doesn't lay perfectly flat on a surface. It's as if the lower left hand rubber foot is slightly (1 mm or so) smaller than all the other feet.

Does anyone notice this on their laptops? It seems strange that I would get the same exact defect twice in a row.

 

The 5830 is a little bit slower than the 260. I'm not sure about the performance as I refuse to buy Ubisoft PC games what with their DRM crap.

Now, as for what you're proposing... the i5 version only has 2 RAM slots, while the i7 versions have 4 RAM slots and a USB3 port. You can put the 820QM into the i5, but you will also be limited to 8GB RAM max (vs 16GB for the i7 motherboard), and no USB3. I'm not saying you should go one way or the other, just making sure you're aware of all the tradeoffs.

 

When others have reported that issue it's usually because one(or more) of the rubber feet are slightly off center. Double check to make sure all of them are centered in the correct position. Also, be sure you are on a level surface

 

double post. sorry.

 

I have this same exact problem. Hopefully my 2nd one doesn't have this same problem.

 

I didn't want to deal with ubisoft either but really wanted to play it i got it the pirate bay way The game plays perfectly at all the settings turned on to 3 or 5 (maxed!) with aa at 4x


But on the other hand When I tried the new stalker I could barely play that game at medium settings because it kept lagging like no tomorrow where as my friend with a desktop c2d and a ati 5470 plays it just fine at 1440x900

 

you can readjust the rubber feet to correct this. I had the same problem, after readjusting the feet, it corrected the issue.

 

Any idea what a i7 820 with the slice battery would do while websurfing? is 5 hours realistic with both batteries?

 

Where did you get that info? The CPU does not make any noise, and throttling has absolutely nothing to do with it. The only time your CPU is 'throttled' is when your on battery power.

It's been reported by some that the high pitched noise comes from the DC to DC converter circuitry. It seems to be a very rare issue which has not been 'fixable' and several others who have had this noise have ended up getting a new replacement under warranty.