*HP Envy 15 Owners Lounge! PART 1*

Exactly...no reason there can't be a detailed spec sheet forwarded to every CSR that can then pull it up and answer any questions we might have. Im sure the engineers know what goes into the laptops. I wonder if they intentionally suck that way if you get a laptop with mixed up components, like the guy with the i7-820 and 1066mhz ram, they have plausible deniability and lessen the chance for a return.

 

Well as far as I am concerned, give me the PM55 chipset!

http://www.intel.com/products/laptop/chipsets/index.htm

It appears the QM57 is more geared for businesses with centralized IT and the HM55 doesn't have RST (Rapid Storage Technology).

 

My thinking as well. Plus it is a lot easier canceling the order after receiving the delay notification than it is to go through the trouble of requesting a return, justifying it to Customer Service, and then bothering with all the shipping, and STILL have this long silly wait until I receive it. I'll just wait until the delays are cleared (probably a few weeks to a month) and won't have lost that much time anyway, and we will know a lot more about it by then.

 

I didn't mean to imply race. I simply was focusing on the cost cutting aspect of being competitive with laptops in general. Prices and margins go down, customer service also seems to go down.

My main point is that I had trouble extracting accurate information from every other brand I had cross shopped. I almost forgot Dell...they couldn't answer my questions either.

As part of this general trend, you have manufacturing in China, CSR in India, engineers who knows where, and what appears to be mass confusion.

 

With all due respect, anyone can say that he's received an i5 Envy 15 and say whatever he wants about the internal components. This is why people have been asking for screencaps of different specifications of the laptop. For example, some cpu-z and gpu-z screenshots and a device manager screenshot.

Many people won't believe until they've seen screenshots as proof, at the least.

 

Let's not be too hasty on returning your products.

First of all, a number of people on this forum asks johnnobts to post screen shots of his new envy 15 i5 series, and yet he just post normal messages with no pictures to back them up. I'm not trying to bash him here, but you know what? for all i know, he could be posting false information on about envy 15 i5 series.

Just wait a few more weeks until you receive your version of i5 envy 15 and test it out yourselves. you have 21 days for you to return it anyways.

better yet!

Guess what guys? I received my Envy 15 i5 series!! yay... It has everything! it even allows me to travel to mars and back! sorry no screen shots tho, it just too hard to capture the beauty of it. oh and the battery life last over 10 years!! that's right 10 years!! Cause I posted on this forum, YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE ME!!

Would you actually believe that? no right?

 

Very true. Which is why it'd be nice if HP themselves got off their ***** and provided answers about their product by now.

 

Except that johnnobts is a pastor. I think they tend to frown on lying and such, and I'm offended for him that you'd imply such a thing. Feel free to think what you will, but I don't doubt what he's posting. I'll still reserve judgment of the machine until I myself receive mine, but that's a vastly different thing than essentially accusing him of lying.

Don't forget, a number of us have lives outside of computers and can't (or won't) just jump when some twit on a forum says "I wan da screenies or ur a lier!"

 

Exactly I was thinking the same, when a couple of plp here gets their i5 and show us more screens then I guess we all will be pleaced.
We just have to wait in calm till more plp get it.

 

Well I too will be canceling my order. I already have one envy that is not what I want. I am just going to have to wait a few more moths before a usefull laptop comes out... I am now pulling for lenovo to update the w700ds with new hardware.

 

1K for HP's flagship?? Davidixon, by no means cancel it. That price is unbeatable for what you are getting!!

Perhaps is the case, or there is a shortage on HM55 chipsets, after all, it is an all-new thing around. If you have your laptop already on order, let it arrive and see for yourself how it behaves. You have 21 days to return for a full refund.

Same happened when mine came out, this is typical from HP. As said, if already ordered, stick to it for now.

Would you mind downloading CPUz and posting a screen please? I want to check some technical data on it, such as RAM, chipset, motherboard, CPU, etc...thanks! And congrats on your laptop! Hope you enjoy it!

Listen to Pitabred. For the price, the GPU/CPU and screen you are getting are almost unbeatable. Worst case scenario is no IGP, still the i5 is quite powerful (more than what 80% of people need), only affected would be the battery life somewhat.

 

I agree that canceling your order is being hasty, but the lack of IGP is a big issue. One of the main reasons I wanted a laptop is that I'll be using it on the go. While I don't need 12 hours of battery life, something reasonable around 3-4 hours would be expected under real world conditions. Using the ATI discrete for non-gaming purposes seems like a waste when the IGP would be far better suited for normal excel/web browsing.

 

Please, stay on topic. Racial posts are not going to be tolerated in these forums. And let us lower the tone of the discussion please. Refer to the Forum Rules for extra information. Thanks!

You are right. It is best if not rushing based on a post. No offense John, BTW. But all I am saying is that give HP a chance and try it out.

Have you cancelled yet?

Can I ask all of you who are canceling your orders to post exactly why are you doing so, and what was the price you were paying for it?

 

It's not about finding an alternative that beats the Envy feature for feature. It is about finding something that does what I need it to.

I can live without a discrete graphics card, but I can't live with a a two hour battery and a giant power adapter.

I also don't want to buy a sytem that will be obsolete in a couple of years due to a lack of USB 3, or an ExpressCard slot which allows me to add it in.

 

I will be keeping my order for now and see how it performs on 6 cell battery. Do to recent posts it seems like the non-switchable graphics may be a deal breaker for my needs. I have a target of getting 3 hrs with photoshop CS4 and lightroom at 90/nit brightness, if it's much below this I'll have to persue other options....

Just found out that Dell now has i5-520 thru i7-620 variations of the studio XPS 16 available to order (with E2E & RGB-LED etc.). Called them regarding switchable graphics and was told you currently have to switch via BIOS selection but they are working on a software selectable solution (have requested written confirmation).

This may be an option for me if the envy does not work out. For those interested I'll try to add a screen shot of the quote they sent me (hope this works);

EDIT: Screenshot on next post.

 

Trying attachment again:

 

For a number of reasons, but primarily it comes down to a single issue: I am not interested in paying $1283 and wondering what I'll be receiving in the box. Unpacking it should not be a surprise (read: "disappointment") when it doesn't have the features that multiple representatives have claimed it will have.

When it comes down to it, I'm actually OK with the i5-model not having switchable-graphics, only 2 RAM slots, no USB 3.0, etc. That's HP's decision and the market will judge them for it accordingly. That's not really my complaint.

I'm willing to accept that perhaps I just ordered too early (the coupon-code made me do it! ), and I probably should have waited until more official information was released and/or more people can give first-hand accounts of the hardware. As it stands I'm actually much more likely to re-order an i7-model instead now as it seems it will be more feature-rich, because as so many others have posted, it is hard to find a really comparable alternative to the Envy. I just want to know what I'm getting in the box before it is delivered.

 

So dell did confirm that the i5 has switchable graphics? I didnt know that.

 

Yeah, I know. And that's with the 1080p anti-glare screen and external DVD drive.

I think I'll hold off on canceling until the 27th to see what Apple does. Or maybe try to sell it on eBay or somewhere. Without the IGP, and other potential issues like the processor throttling, I don't think I'll have much use for it. Also thinking bout holding out for that new Vaio Z. I could talk myself into spending the money but I'd like to get a new notebook sooner rather than later.

 

Studio XPS 16 does look nice. Not sure why Dell went with the HD4670 though.

 

I would keep it, but that is because mine came very good.

AFAIK, the potential CPU throttle is with Dell rather than HP. My 45W CPU and 25W (or so) GPU have never been throttled, and I finally got to fully push the Envy to 100%

 

Exactly. I'd consider it but the 5830 is a very attractive card.

 

Well he sounded like he new what he was talking about....but after my experience with HP....who knows. lol

Actually I just asked if it had switchable graphics and he explained about the BIOS option and working on software solution, so it sounds more promising than what HP has said (or not said)...Have requested confirmation in writing which he said he will request from tech support and email to me, will post it when received.

Looks like you've had one of these. How is the build quality overall and what was the ~whieght with the 9 cell battery?

 

Of course they do. The chipset they use with the Core i5 is HM55 thats why. It's all down to driver support for them.

Shame on you HP, shame on you. You took what could have been one of the most attractive laptop offerings on the market and you made it just "OK". I bet that they will update their configs later on to feature switchable graphics and USB 3.0, but early adopters will have to sacrifice those features. Luckily for me I'm going back to my country in a few months where I can sell my Envy for quite a nice profit

Here is the chipset chart btw...

 

Serg, as I posted earlier my observation is that the Envy i7 throttles when on a weaker 90W power adapter. With the 120W stock adapter there seems to be no throttling (although it's possible that it opens up even more when on a 180W power adapter).

Battery charging also seems to be a bit slower with the 90W adapter.

All this is of course by design - a fully loaded machine with 16GM memory, running full load on GPU as well as GPU, and charging a battery, will likely draw more than 90W.

 

To me, this is GREAT news. I want to use this laptop on my lap (I've already had kids). That's why I ordered the i5 520 and the SSD drives. If it's too hot, then it's unusable to me.

Did anyone see this warning in the Envy manual:

Safety warning notice
WARNING! To reduce the possibility of heat-related injuries or of overheating the computer, do not place the computer directly on your lap or obstruct the computer air vents. Use the computer only on a hard, flat surface. Do not allow another hard surface, such as an adjoining optional printer, or a soft surface, such as pillows or rugs or clothing, to block airflow. Also, do not allow the AC adapter to contact the skin or a soft surface, such as pillows or rugs or clothing, during operation. The computer and the AC adapter comply with the user-accessible surface temperature limits defined by the International Standard for Safety of Information Technology Equipment (IEC 60950).

 

FYI power draw of the LED backlighting seems to be less than 5W. I measured a difference of about 4 W between max and min brightness. Those LEDs are efficient. This is also inline with LG's published spec of the LP156WF1 panel at 7.0 W power draw, if that's the panel HP uses.

 

Those disclaimers are pretty much standard on all laptops from my experience

 

That's why the industry has tried to move away from calling them laptops. Notebook is the prefered nomenclature.

 

Coming from Dell, I can tell you that the reps over there are no better than Hp's. The laptop itself has a great built quality and the screen is amazing, however; its on the heavy side its about 6.4lbs. I could be wrong, but If indeed it had switchable graphics it would have been all over the xps16 forums. I dont think this rep had his coffee today

 

to add to it, there's no option other than the 9-cell battery, which kinda makes the whole XPS1645 less sleek.. When I had my XPS1645 it was just too heavy, and kinda awkward if using the laptop on your lap with the 9cell batt... thats why I'm on the Envy Boat....

 

So has anyone thats gotten their order gotten the Anti Glare screen? I curious as to how it looks

 

Yeah, pastor john has one but he refuses to give out any comments on the matte screen.

Disappointing....

 

Actually they do offer the 6 cell battery.

 

Give the guy a freakin break, man. He doesnt have to do anything.

 

Many of you are talking about returning your Envy's because it does not Integrated graphics, yet all of you knew before buying that the Envy was not a Integrated graphics notebook in the first place. You have no one to blame but yourself for buying the Envy. The Envy is a quality computer for a great price. There is not a single computer in the world that compares to the features it has at its price, weight, and class level. I travel a lot, so for me its a mobile desktop replacement which will be great for games( I ll just keep it plugged in), its durable and its light and perfect to carry to a lan party). If you want something with integrated graphics get a netbook. Its a nice complement to the ENVY. Other than that I have nothing else to say.

 

No breaks here.

I have contributed enough around these boards so I can ask for some simple comments about a darn screen

 

QFT. I really hope that the HM is in my machine so I can use the integrated GPU, but given what johnnobts has reported, I'm still not upset. It's not like my current notebook is any better. I think it's a horrible design decision on the part of HP, but given what I plan to do with it I'm still quite happy with it. Especially for the price... can't kick that in the teeth at all. $1400 for what's in my sig? Go ahead, find ANY other laptop that comes near that kind of power at that price (it has the dual battery option).

I reiterate... some of us have real jobs. We can't jump when some twit on a forum says jump. I'm sure the good pastor has someone he's dealing with who needs his help much more than you need a screenshot.

 

Well, when Intel releases a CPU WITH AN IGP ON THE SAME PACKAGE, I am sure most of us expect to be able to use it.

Common sense?

 

Nobody owes you anything I'm sure he will be happy to comment. We basically all jumped him with a million questions; he will get back to us.

 

I think its more of false expectation, at the rate that hp has released its product, did you really expect them to make use of the onboard graphics (its not as easy as turning on a switch), a lot of time has to be spent in R&D and testing. HP wanted to get the product out to customers fast, for those who wanted the Envy for the CPU (not the GPU). They did that, there is no other laptop on the market that has use of the I5 integrated graphics feature out on the market (find me one). They might implement that in the future, but they provided a part of the market with what they wanted (a cheaper, comparable, alternative to the I7). Why is everyone judging HP's laptop when they have not even tried it. Its just a bunch of garbage to me.

 

that's all well and good but they could have used a chipset that would support it, thus releasing a driver/bios update to make use out of it down the road. they dropped the ball here, and there's really no excuse

 

True. It's a marketing practice, so their i7 QM doesn't compete with the i5. Simple as that.

 

If I wanted a laptop with good performance, high temperatures, and poor battery life, I would have bought the Envy a long time ago. The i5 version was supposed to fix the flaws and add USB 3. It didn't do either, so I don't see why I should buy it.

There is also the issue of only having two ram slots, and the inability to get anything higher than 1080p out of the HDMI port. The whole thing just feels slapped together.

 

Like it or not they are setting a pace, all computer manufacturers will start following (they might even make better computers) but just remember its not always easy to please your market and always being the first to release the product. For me I got the I7, usb 3.0, radeon 5830 (on a freaking laptop for a great price... still amazing to me), come on 1080p screen, and a durable and light chassis. Performance, and durability. Not to mention the price. Many of you may not like HP but from my experience they set the benchmarks for how computers should at least be.

 

I agree it seems they just wanted to be the first.
HM55 might have need a slight redesign of the mainboard and since you can put both i7 and i5 on it they didn't change it at all. Switched the GPU and CPU only as it seems and added a USB 3 controller on the expensive version.
Maybe they also wanted to avoid that people choose the cheaper Dual Core Version if it has significantly better battery life.

I really thought this might be my almost (Displayport is missing) perfect Notebook, but I expected something different. Decent drivers and a serious high end Notebook. Not too long ago this was almost more expensive than a MacBook Pro.
It seems I will go back to wait for the MBP refresh and unless they come up with some similar dealbreakers I probably get one of those. I really would have liked a Envy with 5-7 h battery life on the 6 cell and with the slim fit a whole day of battery life, to go in the summer out into the nature for studying and forget about stupig power plugs.
MBP battery life is good but can't easily be extended. This would have been a nice plus for the Envy. And the Envy has better Windows drivers.
Stupid HP. This could have been a really competitive product.

 

Jesus people! HP had the Core i5 and the chipsets to play around with loooong time before you even knew that the Envy was getting refreshed. However you put it, the lack of switchable graphics is a huge disappointment. I agree that nobody has promised me switchable graphics, but also nobody promised me USB 3.0 support for the i7 right?

 

Thanks for that.

Just sent an email to dell to confirm this in writing.

Looks like you had the 720QM model, has anyone actually recieved i5 models from Dell yet? ship date for new orders are 2/2/10.

 

Feel free to get something else. Its your decision, but you bought an Envy already based on speculation, rather than facts. Your going by what other users say, why don't you try the refresh model out with the I5 (which should run cooler) and then decide for yourself.

 

many people, as in you?

yeah, i'm telling you its a pm55 for the fun of it... will post screenshots when i get home tonight. or better yet, won't bother to post screenshots or answer questions. This will give me more free time to actually use the laptop. I was just as eager to get my laptop as you all are, and thought I could confirm or maybe alieviate some of your fears concerining the i5. You know the saying, "Blessed are those who have not seen but believe?"