*HP Envy 15 Owners Lounge! PART 1*

Wow, that one looks pretty nice. Can you tell me how exactly you're going to be controlling the fan speed? =D

 

I got a thermaltake massive 23 cs and its silent.

 

that would rock

 

ill just splice the wires and solder (maybe, maybe just splice and tape...lol) a potentiometer on it
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-potentiometer.htm

Naturally you don't want this to be an on/off mechanism, as its just a resistor which will turn current into heat and if you have the max resistance set all you'll be doing is using electricity to start a fire or melt your wires so if you do it, definitely don't consider it an, on off switch. Just install a switch before the potentiometer if you're looking to keep your fans plugged in all the time.

 

wow that thing is massive. a 230mm fan is insane. Looks like the stand is essentially the same thing as the coolermaster as well.

 

I've always hated OEM thermal paste also...I might just make a video redoing the thermal paste using some artic silver. My desktop a few years back had a 5C or so drop in temps just from using a different paste.

 

It looks like a pain in the to open up the envy though, some screws are beneath the rubber feet. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y05sYNkzSLc

 

I redid hte thermal paste on my Inspiron 9300. I dont know how much it helped, but Dells cooling solution bordered on criminal. They had this little piece of what looked like tin foil between the CPU and the cooler.

Then again, I took off a thermal pad from my Inspiron 6000 northbridge heatsink and then the heatsink wouldn't actually touch the NB anymore, and I had to break all but one of the screw holders off and then bend it down so it would touch.

 

Doesn't seem too bad.

 

oh yeah I saw that video...I guess I'll need to have a long weekend and no use for a computer and nothing else going on. Crap like that I need to be patient and take my time and have everything organized. I'm pretty sure my desk is slanted so no doubt i'd lose half the screws if i don't set up an organized storage before I start lol.

 

I don't think you are supposed to have beer there when you do htis.

 

wow...so now im pretty interested in what HP is using as their medium...it may be worth while to open it up knowing at the end of the day its all about the bottom line for any company and they'll cut corners if they can afford it.

 

Haha, nothing a cup or a bowl won't fix =P

Wish the case was a little more end user friendly.

 

Just watched hte video and it actually looks a lot easier to take apart then my Inspiron 6000/9300. On the dells you have t oremove the LCD before being able to access the insides. Of course, on the other hand, you also had direct access to the ram, wifi, bluetooth and hard drive.

 

You think thats bad? The Lenovo U350 has a lenovo sticker between the CPU and the heatsink.


http://i27.tinypic.com/33kpugn.jpg
http://i30.tinypic.com/vo0gtt.jpg
http://i30.tinypic.com/rk8px5.jpg
http://i32.tinypic.com/155mnhh.jpg
http://i25.tinypic.com/11i25x2.jpg

From: http://www.notebookforums.com/post3078163.html

 

I had a Asus W3J before and it was a breeze to access all the goodies inside.

No idea about Macbooks, but I assume it would be surgeon friendly as well.

 

HAHAHA awesome! I wodner if any manufacturers use common household items like bacon fat or peanut butter. A nice smelling laptop is always a plus lol

 

you're not even supposed to be able to remove the battery in the mbp....im sure there are plenty of 'do not remove' stickers that probably get torn with the first screw you remove and the apple satellite is alerted and swiftly notes your position and kills you the first second you leave your house. just speculation, I have no proof either way, but it seems reasonable.

 

Yeah its really nice. Does not make a sound at all and cools really well.

 

One possibly doesn't-matter question:
So I am connecting to my speakers using 3.5mm-line-out - which the Beats Control Panel kindly recognises as a 'Headphone'. Anyone reckons this could lead to rather strange sound optimisation? (say even I don't mess with any of the EQ settings it still does something inside without showing me)
By the way, I vaguely rememer my old laptop's Control Panel let me choose what kind of speakers my output is, is such option available in the Envy?

Cheers,
Calvin

 

From what I gathered on this forum, the beats software just "optimizes" the sound EQ but you should be able to go in the sound control panel and select your specific output.

 

OK. but have you seen at any point somewhere which allow user to declare a specific kind of speakers he/she is using? What I have, at the very most, are 'Speakers and Headphones' and 'Independent headphone' in Devices which only offer crap options like 'Virtual Surround' 'Base Booster' alike.

 

I rememeber an article where they tested all sorts of compounds for heat transfer ... the best one was vegamite (I think my spelling is wrong).

 

should be in the control panel under sound options...unless its all been removed with HPs 'helpful' software.

 

Notice: Instant On Solution (HP IOS)

I see multiple people are angry that they cant install the IOS after a fresh install of Windows7.

The install is very simple, and HP has provided the files on your C drive. Make sure to put the install files on a usb stick or something so you can install them after you format.

I did it twice and the IOS works perfectly both times i formatted. The files are labeled HP ISO, instead of HP IOS... a misprint by HP i assume.

Just an FYI.

 

They increased the base price an extra $100 :-(

 

Very good to know. Thanks! +rep

 

wrong forum

 

For those interested, this folder is stored in the "SwSetup" folder.

From the HP out of the box thread, they recommend backing up this folder if doing a clean install or to just re-install software if removed when removing bloatware.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=432564

 

What's the wrong forum? Who are you talking to?

 

I think he was "deleting" his own post.

 

DANG, looks to me HP has been "helpful" this time :confused2:

 

right click the windows volume icon - playback devices - configure. That should let you choose what device you are using.

 

This cooler is an amazing deal at $15, but I worry that these types of coolers are too "angled" since the Envy doesn't allow the screen to bend back very far (what a ridiculous unnecessary design blunder!).

This particular cooler looks like it has an even steeper angle than the similar Zalman coolers (but the Zalman cooler has no ventilation in the one place toward the back that the Envy needs). People love the Zalman cooler (it has variable fan speeds), but it costs a lot more at $67:

http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-ZM-NC2000Black-Notebook-Cooler-Black/dp/B0012WXFO8

I played around with the Zalman cooler at Frys and I even put it under the Envy. I couldn't find a USB connector to even turn on the fans, but I noticed the Envy cooled down significantly over being just on the carpet-like surface that Frys uses! The top half of the Envy got downright cold (that's where the internal fans are), but the front still stayed warm.

 

Ya, thanks for reminding me of anotyher reason why I might be returning mine. The inability to pull the screen back is really annoying. Thinkpads can go over 180 degrees.

 

I see your point, but i'll have 21 days to play with the envy and the coolern plus I sit at about eye level wih my laptop at my desk so the angle doesn't need to be great, the angle is mostly a concern when the laptop is in your lap (about 135 degrees is good then)... My little secret is...I am going to play with the envy tell you guys all I can within thee 21 days and keep my eyes out for anything better, whether its from apple, or asus, or sony and if im not literally 100% satisfied I will return it. Definitely gotta see what revision 2 brings to the table. Maybe they've tweaked the case design as well. None of us know anything about anything other than the envy comes with USB3.0. After all who can blame them, 'normal' consumers are not concerned about the things we are concerned about.

 

Anyone try this notebook cooler (NotePal D1) with the Envy?

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Notepal-Notebook-R9-NBC-APAK-GP/dp/B001IZZ7MM

It seems like it would ideally cool the Envy since the fans are toward the back, plus it's not quite as angled as the NotePal U2. However, since there is no large single piece of aluminum that covers the entire bottom, it might not work quite as well as a passive/active heatsink.

 

Tried. But it only offers 'stereo' option. I have never had a multi channel system, so 'stereo' means 2/2.1 whereas it offers more options if it detects a speaker system of more channels is being plugged in?

 

What's up with the $100 price boost on the HP website??

 

Your question is unclear. If you are asking how do you get a multi channel output, such as 5.1 surround , then you need to use the HDMI output. You can control this by using the Beats control panel (double click beats logo) or go to control panel>sound (can't give further specifics because my Envy was returned) but one of the sound options lets you select and configure the digital output. As afr as I know the headphone / mic jack is only capable of analog signals which = stereo.

 

All of the ads for the big $500 dollar price drop had fine print showing that it expired 1/16/10.

 

This one tempts me at Staples:

http://www.staples.com/Targus-Chill-Mat-XC-for-Laptops/product_797240?cmArea=SEARCH

Although I am leaning towards a real basic passive version with no fans.

 

please don't buy targus. It would be more advantageous to light your money on fire. If you're looking for a low profile passive cooler, I would go with that coolermaster one pasted on the last page, or even test run your lappie for a few days just to see if you even need one.

 

HP pricing is now somewhat "volatile", and their envy site is littered with misinformation.

For example, they still do not mention that i5 is not upgradable to 16GB and only provides 2 dimm slots. One being non-accessible. They are only selling 4GB configuration - is that 2x2GB or 1x4GB? That would be nice to know, other words, maybe you have to crack the case just to upgrade your memory *sigh*.

They've also put another i7-620M option on the web page, except this is an Arrandale, like the i5's with only 2 cores and on die gpu. Whomever manages the site and pricing is apparently clueless in this regard as they are unintentionally price gouging:

http://ark.intel.com/Compare.aspx?ids=47341,43560,

difference is $107, but HP is asking $650 difference!!!

A modern cool running 32nm core will only allow max 8GB on this platform. Ift that is what you ordering, I think you have to start comparing this model to the model it copies - the MacBook Pro.

*battery - MacBookPro wins (7hr life and 1000 charge battery).
*cpu - HP Envy with slight edge on cpu (15-20%) for i5.
memory - identical.
*HD - HP Envy - ability to offer 2x1.8" drives.
*case - MacBookPro - still cleaner and aluminum > magnesium.
*graphics - HP Envy should rock at modern games.
*screen - 16:10 vs 16:9, slim edge to Envy, though i prefer 16:10 for documents.
*keyboard - MacBookPro - backlit.
*weight - nearly identical - especially if you have 2 drives in Envy.
*total weight - MacBookPro wins. HP has a monster power supply, you'll need 2 batteries to get > 3 hours of use, and an external DVD if you are loading software.
*price - Envy has slight advantage with coupon, but it is diminished by the need the need to buy external DVD and at least one additional battery.

Summary: if you are not buying the quad core i7, then you should consider mobility and gaming as your decison driving critieria. Envy will be superior at gaming, but MacbookPro wins the mobility challenge.

If you need quad core power and memory, Envy is the only player in town that offers a stylish design, weight, gpu, and dual SSD option.

 

If the Envy i5 has reasonable battery life, then it cancels the MBPs mobility advantage and one-ups it with better graphics, lcd, speakers, hdmi, esata and value.

Only a few more days before we start getting our hands on them, although I have to say that the lack of USB 3 is really disappointing. Of course, the new macbook pros are coming out in a week and a half.

 

Oh well I was mainly concerned, as I said in the first of these exchanges, that I connect my 2.1 speakers to the Envy through the 3.5mm line-out jack. But the Beats panel would recognise it as an 'Independent Headphone' instead of Speakers as they should be, with which I lately feel comfortable that this might cause it to make strange 'optimisation' (God knows what that control panel does secretly, honestly). All in all just kind of weird that it forces the plugged device to be called a 'Headphone'. Any thoughts?

Cheers

 

FWIW I think its pretty redonk to compare the MBP and the envy. the best the envy is doing is stealing the form factor, its technology is about 2 years newer than that of the newest macbook and considering we're talking a gaming machine, you MUST factor in that you'll dual boot windows soooo the battery life is 3-4 hours not 6-7 and once again mbp is looking mediocre using hardware and gaming as a decisive factor for buying a laptop.

 

get rid of the beats software and have it work like it was meant to?

 

For the people who have bought the Zalman cooler and used it with the Envy 15, do the fans match up to the intake positions on the laptop?

Come on HP, let us Aussies know when we can order the refresh!

 

Here is a link to my earlier post on how to get the built in speakers ~3x louder which should give you some guidance about sound settings in the Envy;

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=5668647#post5668647

Near the end of that post I mention about 'defeating' the EQ settings in the Beats control panel in order to listen to headphones. This should apply to external speakers also....choose the preset EQ curve (in beats) which has the flat response curve and this should give you the least processed signal. Whether the jack is labeled headphones or speaker it is still the pre-amp output for the analog audio signal.

Hope this helps.