*HP Envy 15 Owners Lounge! PART 1*

Typically GPUs get hotter than CPUs, when they are being stressed of course.

 

does anyone know where to download and reinstall the instant-on-solution? I didn't see it on the envy support page.

 

hi im rendering with 3dsmax design and have photoshop and illustrator open at the same time - no problems yet. I do use a wireless mouse and touch the keypad to do basic shortcuts, the heat doesnt bother me. only thing bothering me is my screen keeps getting bright and dims on its own.

 

Ya, I'll definitely be using a wireless mouse with it. Good to know it isn't bothering you.

Isn't there an ambient light sensor on this? There's gotta be a way to disable it.

 

The other tests I've already posted earlier and have the numbers on them for my review. As far as crysis goes do you know if there's a time demo I can run through the demo?

The easiest way to not deal with the auto-dimmer is to switch to a different power mode other than the HP one over the battery icon. I picked power saver and this one should be entirely controlled by you and will stay at whatever you set it to. This way you can enable it for when you want it and turn it off when you don't. See the post below mine for a more permanent solution.

 

You can turn off auto-dim in Power Options > Advanced Settings.

 

Did you check the envy SD card? It might have the information in there.

 

Stupid Fry's... I'm still waiting for them to get more in stock... and due to the whole restocking fee thing i'm stuck with a gift card instead of a refund and I have to get it from them... Even though it broke, I still like it a lot...

 

thank you! i knew it was there somewhere! it was the enable adaptive brightness checkbox!

 

http://downloads.guru3d.com/HOC-Crysis-Benchmark-v1.5-download-1885.html
http://www.crysisdemo.com/download.htm

The first one is a tool to run the benchmarks, the second one is the demo game. It is a pretty big file though...nearly 1.8GB.

 

It looks like you cannot download it at this time:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=426181&page=2

Once I get a replacement laptop I'm going to try to figure out how to back it up and restore it. If I get a working copy of it I'll post how to do it.

 

Before you guys send your machines back to HP could you try the latest touchpad driver? It is supposed to improve the touchpad performance. Thx.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...&dlc=en&cc=us&product=4039598&os=4063&lang=en

 

The cnet article I read said all the install discs (at least home to ultimate) contain the same code. The product key is what sets the feature sets.

If you use the trick of not entering a key during install and not letting it check the internet it will let you do a clean install and then active with any key.

Cnet also said the Vista method of double install still works. Where you install once with no key and then upgrade that non activated install with an upgrade install using your upgrade key.

 

The install disc will only install the version it says it will.

But you can rip the disc to an image, and delete a particular file within (I think it's located at \sources\ei.cfg), and then burn the new image to a disc. Then it will allow you to select which you want to install.

I used a modified image of Professional to install Home Premium on my dad's computer using the upgrade key that he got from the pre-order. Worked fine. Ultimate and Starter were also available in the list, but I don't have keys for those.

 

you should see how much heat my desktop workstation puts out. its enough to warm up my apt!

 

Just downloaded the left 4 dead 2 demo and so far it's running quite smoothly at 1920 x 1080, 2x AA, 2x AF

 

it's the 3rd mine should be shipping today, it's 8 20 and it's not ARRGGGggg!!!

 

My G key keeps falling off and won't stay on. So cheap. And, my system completely froze during normal use. no taskmanager, nothing. Had to cold reboot. Scratches/dents on this thing too. Power brick is WAY bigger than my Dell SXPS 16.

 

well they are having some issues with customs. mine was supposed to ship on 10/28 and has been delayed.

 

Ordered the 1050 last night. Hope I wont be dissapointed with screen quality and battery life.

 

When do you think ours will ship? I ordered on the 28th and was delayed as well.

 

I need my lappy, and I need it for school. They didn't give me any info on delaying it. I'm gonna call them tomorrow if they haven't shipped by tonight. If I knew it was gonna be delayed I would have gotten the m15x instead, it's bigger, but seems to be better built from what I read.....

 

Having seen and played with both, I would say the Envy 15 is much better build quality. However, as with all notebooks, you will get the occaisional "bad egg" so to speak.

If you need something for a deadline, you should always always always order so it will arrive substantially before you need it (which would have meant choosing a different notebook), or buy from a retail outlet. This is especially true if the item has only just been launched; delays will be expected to a degree. Mail order has come on leaps and bounds in recent years, but at the end of the day it is still subject to unannounced delays which, believe it or not, probably frustrate HP just as much as it does you. It is far easier to win bad publicity than it is good publicity; and WOMM (word of mouth marketing) is still one of the best forms of marketing.

 

Oh thats good to know, NOW HP SHIP ME MY DAMN NOTEBOOK!

 

Thanks, let me know. It would be nice if they'd drop an installer for us. It seems there's a BIOS option to enable it, but without it being properly installed, it drops an error during bootup.

In related news, for those who installed a fresh, clean Windows 7 to dump the crapware, which drivers and packages did you find necessary, and which did you ignore? For me it has been...

IDT Hi def audio codec - Sound seems to work fine without it, but this gives the Beats audio panel.
Video drivers - At the moment, the Catalyst on HPs site is the only that works. I assume that the 9.11's will be fine.
Synaptics TouchPad - BIG difference with this driver installed. I THINK it is a newer edition than the one from synamptics' site.
HP quick launch buttons - strangely, it seemed the buttons on the left worked without this. What I'd like to be able to do is define them as other macros or launchers. I don't need a button dedicated to a calculator!
Intel Chipset - Not sure if this was necessary or not, but i installed it.
Intel Matrix Storage - Not sure if this is necessary or not, but I installed. Interesting to note that the Matrix GUI tool says there are 2 internal SATA ports and 1 external.
Realtek USB Card Reader - Haven't tried this so I don't know if there's any point to installing drivers or if Win7 can handle it.
HP IR Webcam Drivers - seemed like a good idea.


I abhor crapware so I try to only install what is needed for functionality.

 

Yes it was the one.When we checked it in the morning it is working.Launched ie and some folders also but later the whole fiasco happened and shut it down.Seems it is no longer booting into windows and continuously giving message

 

Ahhh, just too many problems reported with this notebook. Especially with this small of a sample size. Hopefully we are unlucky and our sample percentages of mishaps don't apply to the rest of the population, or HP is going to have a lot of returns.

Btw, has anyone successfully configured 2 hard drives into the notebook without any problems?

 

err... unless you bought the machine off a sketchy looking guy from the back of a truck you should be able to return it and get your money back, or at very least a non-defective model back. Who cares about the size of the power brick? the SXPS16 is a way bigger, thicker, heavier and uglier laptop than the envy. I know... i had one... and it had scratches on it... and i got my money back and bought an Envy 15

 

I just color calibrated my display and it made quite a bit of difference compared to what I got out of the box. I'll post up a color profile for it if anyone's interested once I'm finished up with my review.

 

Hi everyone, this is my personal review of the U.S. model envy 15. I ordered with the 25% BCB (luckily it's still pending) with slice battery and external DVD drive.

The Good:

1. Performance is good, i7, 6gb ram. The ATI 4830 runs fast, I played Red Alert 3 on 1920x1080 with everything set up highest but shadow at medium, the game runs fine, but it was slowing down when many units and actions were happening on the screen.

2. Chassis build quality is very good.

3. Viewing angle of the screen is very good. It's actually better than 13" aluminum macbook pro.

4. Not much bloatware to uninstall.

5. All internal components worked out of the box flawlessly.

6. Very light for such powerful notebook.


The Neutral:

1. Keyboard keys are spread out, need some time to get used to.

2. No E2E screen, I put this in neutral b/c although E2E screen looks nice, but it adds glare and weight.

3. I was expecting the HP logo on the back of the lid will light up just like on the DV3. But no big deal.

The Bad:

1. This machine is super hot, even at idle. The metal chassis conducts heat from the inside. I don't think you need heating gloves to type in the cold winter. And you can fry some egg on the bottom (should this be a good thing? )

2. No VGA port, most projectors at school and work still use VGA. And you have to pay extra $$$ to get one (on top of the already expensive $1800 price tag)

3. No backlit keyboard. Backlit keys should be standard on such a premium notebook.

4. The touchpad is tricky to use, gestures are not smooth.

5. The harddrive produces a high pitch noise when running (I think I have bad luck)

6. The design of the slice battery is horrible. The locks get loose easily. The one I got has poor build quality, the connector on the slice does not contact with the notebook's connector when the slice is attached. I have to push up the slice from the bottom in order to get connected, which is useless and not portable at all.....(bad luck again)

7. The power connector comes off easily.

8. The magnets that hold the lid close are not strong enough.

9. Did I mention the notebook runs very hot even at idle?


I paid $2200 after tax (before BCB, damn CA tax) for this notebook. I expect a premium experience from such premium price, I didn't expect so much problems. I am going to return this notebook and look for something else during thanksgiving.

 

Is the screen glossy at all? How is the glare? (or lack thereof?)

 

Hello guys. I'm having a sinking feeling that my built-in webcam isn't working. Do I have to enable it in the BIOS, or from one of the special function keys, to switch it on? When I start the "HP MediaSmart Webcam" app it says it doesn't find a video device. Where should it show up in Device Manager? Does it appear on the Device Stage in Windows 7?

 

You can try checking the device manager and see if its maybe disabled there. Do you need help finding this?

 

is there anyway to upgrade to Win7 Ultimate (or professional) without loosing the IOS? I need the XP compatibility mode.

 

What category would it be under in device manager?

 

I see the HP webcam under imaging devices.

 

Any one else getting weird sounds from the hard drive? My Girlfriend just got her Dm3t and whenever, she changes the webpage the hard drive accesses and there is a weird mechanical sound. Is that what you're getting too?

 

I have the same ship date and as of nearly midnight no status change still...

 

So after I reported some subtle horizontal bright lines appearing on the top section of the display, I went over to best buy to check the floor model and see if it has the same issue. Well, it doesn't. the display there is perfect.

I called HP and they said how sorry they are that my new laptop is not working as it should and they offered to replace it with a new one. when I asked when the new one will be sent to me, they said it'll take two weeks to build a new model and after it's ready for shipping, they'll use fedex 2 day shipping to ship it to me. that's 3 weeks on top of the 2 weeks I already had to wait for this machine.

I said that I am sorry but this is unacceptable. I shouldn't wait over a month (total) for a machine. they said that they can ask the factory to expedite the order but they can't promise anything. at this point I told them that I don't want to wait and I want to return my laptop and get my money back.

So I'll be sending my envy back. it's too bad. it's a nice laptop but it's not without faults. I was willing to live with the screwy "touchbad", the warm temperature, the big, heavy and bulky "slice" battery (more like a brick battery) but I wont live with the bad display and I am not going to wait 3 weeks for a new machine, especially when black friday is coming soon and I am sure I can get a better deal.

So I'll be on the lookout for another machine. it could be an envy again if I can get a good deal on one but I am open to suggestions....

 

Have you gotten anything yet? It's 3 in the morning and nothing. Ugh Dell is tempting me just gave me 100 bucks off over the Student 10% i get off on the m15x......

 

Sorry to hear that, can I ask what was wrong with your touchpad?

Also...Left for dead 2 demo runs a treat. Native res, everything maxed with v-sync on I never drop below 60 fps.

 

http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/04/hp-envy-14-on-the-horizon/

lol check this

 

Yep, sounds good. I was just getting ready to post that news.

 

I had issues with the touchpad as well. Normally when I use a laptop touchpad, I rest my thumb on the left click button. You can't do this on the Envy. It recognizes even a light touch or rest on the touchpad as input. As the left and right click are integrated into the pad. This causes the cursor to go psycho and jump all over the screen. You have to use the pad with your thumb off of the touchpad until you want to click then you have to move it back off of the touchpad after clicking and before you move the cursor again. I also had issues trying to left click and hold and then drag such as when I scroll down on the scroll bar on a web page. You can use taps, but I prefer to use the buttons on a touchpad and not taps.

There may be better ways to use this touchpad such as gestures--I don't know. Also I might have been doing something wrong. I do know that I am not willing to relearn how to type or use a touchpad to accommodate poor design and implementation. I am also unwilling to have a mini-instructional class every time my wife, child, or anyone else uses my laptop. I asked my wife who uses a laptop all day (a non-Envy HP) to come and try the touchpad. Her first words were "oh no". I said "I can't deal with this and I am sending it back." She said "I see why."

This touchpad was not designed in my opinion for function. It was designed for aesthetic reasons. And it does look really nice as long as you don't use it.

 

Glossy. You can wave to yourself with any black/dark background in almost any lighting situation. Didn't bother me too much, but it may be more distracting to others.

 

Windows 7 can be upgraded at anytime without an install. If you have an ultimate product key there is a section to 'change my key', which will unlock the additional features as soon as a new key is entered.

There is also a section to upgrade your current edition to ultimate through microsoft for less cost. Its like $80 to go from Home to the next level and I think $100+ something to go from home to ultimate. That should be cheaper than you can buy a key/media on the open market.

 

Has anyone had better luck with the touchpad after installing the latest driver?

 

What were the issues with the older drivers? I could rotate, scroll and click just fine with the original drivers.

To rotate, just move your finger and leave your thumb in the same position.

I blame the documentation on how to do the gestures rather than the software

 

Yep, fine for me too

 

Many people here complained about unexpected behavior from the touchpad if you look at previous pages. It could very well be because they were used to standard single-touch pads. So, wondering what their experience is with the latest driver. HP/vendor must have fixed/improved something in this version of the driver.