*HP Envy 15 Owners Lounge! PART 1*

Hp envy 15 review up on mobiletechreview.com

http://www.mobiletechreview.com/notebooks/HP-Envy-15.htm

enjoy!!

 

E2E makes a difference to be because a) it looks much better, but I can let that slide b)it's glass so more scratch resistant and c)because it's glass I think it'll do a better job stopping the screen from flexing.

 

Agreed. I have no idea why people think E-to-E glass looks better -- and the only practical consequence of it is that it creates more glare and more weight.

 

For those who are interested/waiting, my review with lots of photos and a video of the machine playing Crysis and etc. is finally up

Executive summary: I love this thing! An no, HP doesn't pay me to say this, and I had to buy the darned machine myself.

http://www.mobiletechreview.com/notebooks/HP-Envy-15.htm

 

Nice review! And damn, that thing has 3 fans!

 

Yeah I agree, a very good review. It makes note that the notebook runs very cool for such a powerful machine - great to know!

So do you guys think it is worth buying the "BEATS" edition? What's the pros of it anyway?

 

What are the odds one can change to a quick ship model and still keep the Bing cash back?

 

No ExpressCard expansion option .. What was HP thinking?

 

Thanks much -- Your review confirmed why I bought the thing in the first place. When I started looking, I felt I had to choose between a hefty powerhouse -- or forget gaming and just go for the portability I've always fantasized about. This was the only machine I've seen that could actually be both for under $2,000. (And I'm not into FPS, so I don't need the absolute top of the line GPU...) And the portability I need is not for airplanes, but the kind where you're essentially moving from one power outlet to another, so I didn't even bother to get the slice.

 

Thank you lugnut. I didn't want to speculate again before few buyers got it in their hands and we know the reality, but this seems legitimate and his explanation makes sense.

So, BB really didn't settle for visibly inferior specs as we see. The people still hoping for E2E screen might be up for a rude awakening.

 

I'm beginning to think the best buy models are the same models via as the customized ones with the exception of the extra battery being the only difference. Obviously not including any other changes.

 

The battery life is quite promising if it can run a 2 hour 720p WMV and only drop to 35% on the 6-cell. That'll definitely be meeting my needs as far as mobility goes. I'm a bit disappointed about the lack of a 2nd HDD, but I guess they couldn't throw it or an optical drive in without compromising the cooling. Thanks again for the great review!

 

65% of the battery was drained after the movie, leaving only 35% remaining.

 

Wow isn't 38 centigrade for the CPU and 48 centigrade for the GPU under load very cool?

 

Completely misread it, thanks for the heads up. Still better than I was expecting on a 6-cell.

 

I guess I'm not sure if I understand the value fo E2E glass. Personally, I would much rather have matte screen for laptops, simply makes them infinitely more usable outdoors. I've tried one of the new macbooks with E2E screen outside, anything except complete horizon to horizon thick overcast weather makes using it outside impossible. It adds weight, and the fact that the glass exterior extends to the bezel only accentuate the glossiness of it.

Is there really any practical reason at all for E2E screen?

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=5019455

Looks and aesthetics pretty much but I am not going to lie my next notebook is going to a have edge to edge display

 

Other than the aesthetic value of having a unified glass piece on the cover, it can help with giving rigidity to the screen overall (not 100% sure about this) and make it easier to clean. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong about anything, this is just from what I've heard elsewhere.

 

Wow.. confirmed that it has no edge to edge. Definitely cancelling tomorrow.

 

The model that was reviewed by mobiletechreview is the BestBuy model, so still nothing is 100%. But it is starting to look like a very VERY slim chance if one at all to have a E to E display.

 

In one of her earlier posts (in this forum), the reviewer stated that they recieved their test unit from Best Buy. From what has been said on the forum, the envy 15 bought from HP direct has got the E2E display, while the BB units only have the bezel style screen. I wouldn't cancel just yet if I where you.

 

Wait so none of these come with e2e?

If so it seems like HP really skimped in some areas when engineering this notebook, not to say if I had the cash I would not get one but if a studio 14z can get backlit keys and an Acer 3935 can get e2e (sorry been on the prowl for a new notebook) then why can this one note get those small luxuries

 

I'm betting a 90% chance all 15 inch models have no E2E display.

 

See my post on page 59. It wasn't added because of the extra weight associated with having a e to e display.

This is of course if the guy that replied to my question knows what he is talking about.

 

Because one of the primary selling points of this machine is that it is thin and light. If you start adding features because other notebooks have them, then you end up like those notebooks: not thin and light.

 

I'm sure it would have been like 0.1 lb or something not much i think for the added rigidity i would take it.

 

These are coming pretty standard on luxury notebooks lately but I am sure HP has its reasons, I doubt an e2e screen is going to add substantial weight but what do I know I don't engineer notebooks I just know what I like

 

With all the serious hardware this laptop carries, edge-to-edge is a non-issue for me. I just want to see some more benchmarks (with games like left 4 dead and GTA4), and if heat isn't a big issue, I'm going to consider this laptop for my next purchase.

 

Are you sure?

 

i'm just waiting eagerly on a phone call from work to let me know that they have arrived. Once that happens i'm shooting over there to pick it up!!!

Going for the envy 15-1021tx (here in australia). Still unsure whether it has the external cd drive and or/ slim fit battery. Hope *fingers crossed* it has both!!!

 

kinda off toopic, but where are you getting it from within australia? Are you importing a US one? coz I wanna get one ^_^

 

I'm in sydney. Chatswood area to be more exact. No I am not importing one. I work for Harvey Norman. We have ordered 5 of the envy 15-1021tx ($3299 rrp). There is also a lower model envy 15-1015 ($2799rrp). We also have to listing of the envy 13. I had called around a little bit on friday to see if any stores had recieved theres yet; most did not have ordered placed for the envy. Only Auburn and Bondi Junction had on order from the places I checked.

(all in aus dollars)

 

Yup so far the connector is very wobbly. And forget the slice on this unit. It keeps falling off. Putting the laptop on a flat surface and just try sliding the unit around and the slice will come off, or dislodged from the bottom. If your on Battery this causes a hard restart, weird I would have thought the internal battery would have taken over.

 

Ugh, after reading the review I am reconsidering

What is leaning me towards the laptop:

-the size
-the looks
-the graphics card
-decent battery life, even without the slice
-THE COOLING, I thought this laptop was going to be my bagel warmer in the morning, kudos to HP for keeping it cool. To keep a laptop of that caliber within moderate temps is really something. I'm happy about that.
-Because of cooling most likely ability to overclock (yes!)

What is turning me away:

-no dual hard drives, that is absolutely unacceptable, especially since they said that was what was in it. That is absolutely terrible marketing, and gives a bad taste of hp in my mouth.
-since there was no dual hard drives, there still wasn't an OD, which is kind of annoying.
-no E2E? I'm still not sure if its that much of a con, however it sounds like it would make it easier to clean. And dust getting in the screen would really tick me off.
-lack of firewire, VGA (this can probably be resolved with an adapter though)
-the weight of the slice (2.65 lbs, ouch)

I understand that some of the cons cannot be fixed without taking out one of the pros. If an OD or second HD was included, perhaps it probably wouldn't stay as cool. As the review stated, there was alot of room in there. This also might explain notebookcheck's temp recording's in the early hands on they did. Perhaps it was a test model with 2 HD's and HP realized that it just ran too hot with both of them in, so they decided to take it out.

This is all speculation, just my two cents. Still beats the living crap out of any Macbook

 

To me it depends on how the light hits it. If it hist it the right way it is very noticeable.

 

Pebkac possibly?

 

It's difficult to say exactly what the weight would be, as this depends upon the type of glass and it's thickness, however I think you'd be really suprised by how much glass weighs. Having worn optical glasses made out of glass and optical glasses made out of plastic, I myself really notice the difference in weight.

Your 0.1lb is approximately the weight of 9 sheets of standard weight A4 paper; which I think would be very very light for a sheet of glass. To make it weigh such a small amount it would have to be so thin that it wouldn't really add to the rigidity of the display.

 

im canceling my 80gb x25 ssd. im gonna need more space if there is only one bay. can anbody recomend a good performance ssd with decent price?

 

With everything HP was promising I would be much more upset then you guys are. The Dual HDD's and No E2E is a terrible marketing gimic and HP should be seriously reprimanded for it. If the unit din't arrive the way it was described I would be returning it ASAP. Don't get me wrong I like the Envy I really really do. But with the blatant lies from HP I would be extremely sour, maybe that is just me, I don't know. And I can assure you that the screen is not 300 nit.

How do you all feel about this.

 

Hey mate I saw a model at Harvey Norman for $AU2999 in Adelaide. Is there a third version of the Envy 15?

 

Not on my system. Only the two. 15-1015 (i7-720, 4gb ram, 500gb hd),15-1021 (i7-820, 8gb ram, 500gb hd).

There is some information here
http://h20386.www2.hp.com/AustraliaStore/SubCategories.aspx?plvl=Level2&pid=C887&

very limited. Doesn't list any important specs

 

Lol time for class action law suit? hahahaha. Oh well I guess we still gotta wait for the customized ones to arrive.

 

That's even better! Lucky I didn't buy it at $2999. I think the 4GB version should be sufficient Keep us posted on whether it includes the external DVD writer and also the battery slice.

I wonder how much an external blu-ray player would cost from HP.

 

is it me or does the 1015tx model with 4 gig ram have a lower res screen (according to shoprite.com.au anyways http://www.shoprite.com.au/shoppingcart/products/HP-Envy-15-1015TX-Core-i7-Powerful-Notebook.html)

damn it why can't they have a model with 4gigs of ram but have the 1080 res screen....I dun need the ram, but it'd be nice to have the better screen....

 

The HP site STILL lists edge-to-edge glass

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...odexp/hhoslp/psg/notebooks/ENVY/ENVY15_series

I'm reconsidering cancelling. I've been experimenting and I don't think the angle will matter... But I really want glass.

 

We will have to wait for segail11 to give us the answer. From the posts on this forum it appears HP's website is full of inaccuracies. Better off looking at the actual machine.

 

Heh.. I asked my friend, who works for HP, why info doesn't match. He says "These people are ****ing morons"

 

Yes, that was a great review from pdagal

But if what I have learned from tech support is correct (no reason for me to believe otherwise); then I'm 100% sure that the review unit, and in fact all review and display units seen thus far are only the early production model, which differ in more than traditionally configurable components. The word is still out on what it would look like in the later versions.

Of course, I don't really care much about E2E, but am much more keen about the dual HDD, trackpad, slice battery retention mechanism, and other issues. I'll definitely be waiting until it arrive then make the final judgement.

 

The most accurate thing in the whole thread from HP.

 

Judging from all the facts so far the conclusion is this: HP boned you good, boys By the way, I was the first to raise the question about the 2 HDD bay issue, sorry for that