*HP Envy 15 Owners Lounge! PART 1*

Sure, but I might not be able to play again until Sunday night (grrr -- stupid Reality!)

 

Well I ran a time demo for crysis with all settings at medium and 1920 x 1080 resolution with no AA or AF

http://s921.photobucket.com/albums/ad53/Genryu/?action=view&current=CrysisTimeDemo.png

Got about 28fps or so, not too shabby. My subjective feeling is that the game runs just fine and looks pretty good doing it when actually playing. The time demo seems to have issues with a lot of the detail just popping up, but that's probably due to it being 32-bit and a pre-release.

 

Hey! Welcome to the HP Envy 15 Owners Lounge!

Congratulations on your purchase!

If you have something to share, feel free to do so. And if you want me to put in the front page, send me a PM or let me know.

 

I have BatteryEater running now with the slice attached... looks like this is going to go awhile if I am interpreting the tool correctly. I believe it is estimating the test will be 3:35:44. (h:mm:ss).
I'll post the results when it's done. After this I want to run an experiment with the slice & external DVD playing, and then the slice & DVD played from HD.
I'll try and post charging times too when I have them.
btw... I am now accepting reps...

 

Ok people! I am off for tonight.

As some of you already know, I am regularly fast at replying PMs and I have updated the OP several times today.

Keep me posted and dont hesitate to contact me via PM if there is anything I can do for you, whether it is a suggestion, an update, a correction, more information. Just PM me and I will get back to you ASAP.

Good night/afternoon/day (not sure what it is on the other side of the world ^^) but here, it is time for me to go early.

 

The test ran for ~3hrs (wifi on, BT on, display on), test terminated when Battery #1 (6-cell) was @ ~20% and Battery #2 (9-cell) @ ~2%. Not quite sure why it ended with so much battery left, but that's the result. When they charge back up, I'll run another test.

 

Genryu, what resolution did you use for the 3dmark2006 test? 1028*1024? thx

 

Wasn't doing anything Just finished setting up windows.

anyone else feels like the screens bezel is cheap ?

Another issue, I cannot seem to get both batteries to charge at the same time. it will say one of them is not charging.

anyone else getting the clicking\screaching noise


edit: the left fan is on all the time. hasn't even turned off once. and that's when the envy is idle with 0% cpu usage.

 

I ran it at the default resolution and settings, which I believe is 1280 x 1024.

Don't trust the 3dmark scores too much, because they really do undervalue the performance of the envy in actual games. I'm running left 4 dead 2 right now with every setting maxed out and I've never had even show the slightest hint of slowing down except because of lag.

 

Do you mean cheap because of the materials they used? I think it looks alright, but I would have preferred a different finish.

Some others with the slice reported that the base needs to click in properly to be detected. And perhaps both batteries are treated as one, with one charging before the other? Feel free to correct me on this if anyone knows otherwise.

No clicking or screeching noise, but it sounds like it could be the hard drive. Just double-check to make sure it's not damaged.

As far as the left fan always being on, you can switch to passive cooling selectively so that should cut down on fan noise, but it's never been nearly loud enough at idle for me to take serious notice.

 

I think the slice is supposed to work like that so nevermind that. How do you switch to passive cooling via the bios perhaps ? I'm not next to the envy right now to check that out. I did find a dent on the left side of the palm rest. If I manage solving all the other issues do you think I should request a replacement? When I bought the p-7805u I had so much less problems. I bought the envy even though there were a lot of complaints figuring it has exactly what I need and that usually people report the bad stuff.

 

OMG, my Bing Cashback just popped back into my account!!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for using Bing cashback to make your recent HP purchase.
According to our records, your cashback earned from this purchase was incorrectly canceled. We sincerely apologize for any frustration this issue may have caused, and thank you for your patience as we investigated the matter. At this time we have reinstated your cashback in the amount of $500.00 which should reflect in your account within 48hrs. If you have not received your cashback in this time frame, please reply to this email and we will investigate the matter further.

 

Click the battery icon --> more power options --> change plan settings --> change advanced power settings --> processor power management --> system cooling policy

Are you sure it's a noticeable dent, because I thought i had one too but I realized it was just the lighting on the palmrest+hand oils (or at least it looked like that). On a forum like this you're going to get a lot of opinions including all the complaints. I personally have had nothing but a great experience so far, but I can understand others frustrations with dealing with HP in general.

The bing cb deal cancellations, the no dual hdd or edge-to-edge display despite prior advertisement or claims of such features left a bad taste for a lot of people with the envy and hp. If you look past that you still end up with a great product I feel, but I agree it does suck that hp went back on their word with things. I decided a while ago that the news wasn't enough for me to cancel my order (I got it with 25% off) and I'm really glad I did. It still is a great computer as long as you're willing to live with some compromises.

Congrats on getting the bing deal back kevroc!

 

Wow I'm very glad that it worked out for you! Enjoy your Envy when it finally arrives .

 

Yeah, well too bad I already sent it back...but there is going to be additional controversy because I'm sure some people would have kept theirs if not for the cashback cancellation. Now they'll be upset all over again...

 

It's actually more like 1 charge before the battery starts to degrade. Standard batteries begin degrading almost immediately, the new Sonata batteries are supposed to last 1,000 charges and come with a 3 year warranty and supposedly do not degrade until the end of their life span.

 

So what does passive cooling do? Is it worse overall for heat reduction?

 

Passive cooling I figured was just to cut down fan noise when it's not needed and you're just doing something light. It might lead to things getting a bit warmer overall based on what you're doing, but the goal is overall noise minimization.

 

All batteries will decrease over time starting with the first charge (i'll believe the sonata batteries claim when i see it proven) its just a question of how long they take to degrade significantly which is affected by temperature and discharge (and probably charge) rates, different types of batteries will degrade at different rates. I know the A123 cells (lithium ion nano phosphate) that are used in the tesla roadster and dewalt drills are rated to 1000 discharges but at that stage they down to about 80% max capacity (from memory that was at 1C discharge rate)
If you can find the details of the cells you mite be able to find the charge cycle capacity graphs.

Also im guessing the envy will fully charge the internal battery first then charge the slice and discharge the slice fully then discharge the internal battery. (This is just a guess, i dont have a envy yet, im hoping to pick one up in the next couple of days)

 

I don't know who else has tried to run crysis, but my framerates are going a lot smoother when I put it at 1920 x 1080 than at a lower resolution. I don't know if it's a vsync issue but I'm not about to complain about the solid performance I'm seeing. That's been true for other games I've tested including left 4 dead 2, for which everything maxed out ran the smoothest. Is anyone else feeling this way/noticing this?

 

I purchased a used 15" MacBook Pro for my business on Saturday and then I received my personal HP Envy 15 on Monday. It has been a very fun week. Both machines are very nice, and it has been very interesting to compare the two.

Here are some of my impressions of the Envy 15.
The Good:
I love the keyboard. It feels very nice. It is spaced very well, and the keys have a very nice feel. I really can't say enough about how much I like the feel of the keyboard.

The machine is very snappy. I haven't done anything to really stress the GPU, but everything feels very snappy.

The design of the laptop is very nice. The materials are very high quality and the design is excellent. The etched pattern is very nice. As other have said, it is much more tasteful and subtle than pictures on the web indicate. It just doesn't photograph well.

The display is very nice. Every time I turn it on I think it is just too short for the high resolution and I should hate it, but it ends up being very pleasant to use with the DPI set at 125% (which is the default setting on the machine) and a few other adjustmets for specific apps. I actually think most of the OS looks better with this setup than at standard DPI on a desktop LCD.

The Bad:
I think we all know the letdown on some of the specs. No dual 2.5" hard drive bays, no edge to edge glass. I have a 120 Gb Vertex SSD that I was planning to put in it, but I wanted to be able to have a drive for some data as well (especially considering no internal optical).

The heat. This is very subjective, but the machine does seem to be fairly warm under normal usage. Not unbearably hot, just annoyingly warm. I don't use a cooler, but I use a lap desk that has a built in mousepad and flip up supports to allow air flow under the unit. I could probably use it without the desk, but it would get a little uncomfortable after a while. I think it is probably just a tad warmer than my old Asus V1JP.

No backlight on the keyboard. This is a feature that doesn't matter most of the time, but now every time I have to squint at the keyboard it makes me very irate.

The touchpad. Actually, the touchpad is mostly very excellent. I have two issues. First, the two fingered scrolling isn't quite there yet. I have installed the updated driver as well, and it helps a little, but there are still issues. In some applications, the scrolling just doesn't work. These applications also don't scroll well with Microsoft mice, but they do work great with logitech mice or the apple touchpad. Weird, I know. It also requires that your two fingers be at the same vertical position on the pad, which isn't natural. Secondly, the touchpad feels like it should be working just like the apple one because when I press hard it actually clicks (both the feel and the sound). But of course it isn't actually clicking. It's very annoying.

Build quality. This one is surprising, because the build quality seems like it should be excellent. The materials and design are premium, but everything is not put together completely right. The touchpad has issues as identified above. The palmrest on the right side has play along the edge and creaks and clicks when you press on it. The lid also rocks and creaks when the laptop is closed and you pick it up.

Overall though, I really do like this machine. The few niggles are very frustrating to me though, escpecially on a machine this expensive and with the option of just using the MBP I picked up for work. I may end up returning this and using the MBP (running windows!) until the next refresh, but every time I think about sending it away I get sad!

 

To all those reporting unusually warm laptops at idle... I found something that helps me.

Turn your laptop off. Unplug it from the wall. Turn your laptop back on. Plug it in after it has finished booting.

My CPU idle temperatures are about 54 C if my laptop was plugged in during boot, but get down to 38 C if my laptop was unplugged during boot. Also, Intel "turbo boost" does not work for me unless my laptop was unplugged at boot as well. I have the 720QM processor. My laptop is now comfortable on my lap for light use AND performs better (as long as it wasn't plugged in at boot)!

Also, I have the F.05 BIOS. I think that if you bought your laptop at a brick-and-mortar store, you might have the F.04 BIOS that has additional issues related to ACPI thermal zones, P-states, C-states, and fan operation. My BIOS is not yet available from hp.com. I purchased my laptop on Oct 18 at 17:30 EST from hp.com. It arrived at my home the morning of 2009/11/02.

 

Yep as I'm waiting for my money to come back from hp, I'm seriously debating over this or the Asus g51j, the Asus is 600 bucks cheaper, but it's much heavier, has a non existent battery life and i think it looks like crap.

 

Larry if I could point to concrete specifics from users who have the machines in unison with specific sources at HP I could somehow authenticate, or a review that might answer all of this for you beyond doubt on all the speculative posts on this forum I would.

Unfortunately I do not know of any.

I think the sales lady was dodgy because she perhaps did indeed not know the differences, but HP has gotten some volume of calls about what these differences might be. She did confirm that, as did another HP rep.

Now having said all that, the other thing that killed it for me, was her repeat reading of some script describing how beautiful the notebook is, rather than answering my question. My question about mfg (vs retail or quick ship prebuilt HP models )was posed as do you know anything about this, in a yes or no fashion. Rather than getting a yes or no, each time instead I got a small parable, but no answer. After the third time, I got a bit frustrated and nervous, wondering what really IS up, and what I would be getting for my 2gs.

Again, I probably will end up owning one of these, but she also acknowledged my order would probably not ship on time, and that 2 day shipping, in practice never turns out to be 2 day shipping 90% of the time. 3-4 day, but not 2 day.

I am reading with interest the recent posts of new Envy 15 owners, and note one that says NO edge to edge glass, and a few mentioning heat.

 

No problem at all, I'm glad you guys liked it. If you have any questions or want me to test/look at anything feel free to ask.

 

Yup nice job Genryu, already repped.

 

Any reason cpu-z says my cl is 9.0 when it's 4.0 on OP screen shots. also it says the speed is 667 mhz, I thought the ddr3 in it should be 1333

 

Anybody body know when the Envy 15 with the full HD resolution 1080p is to be released in the uk?
(resolution of 1366x768 sucks) :-(

 

When I talked to the sales guy here in Sweden he said that the normal model cycle is like 3 months, so I could at least expect a new model in January or February and that that would have full hd resolution.

Other than that, I just hope that HP realizes that it was a mistake to try to push out a low res screen in Europe and correct that by launching a full hd model before Christmas, but I'm not counting on it.

 

Yeah, that was a serious mistake. I won't even consider buying without full hd.

 

mmmm Can't wait that long that long...... Sorry HP but I'm going to have to buy something else....

 

Yeah me neither.

 

Unfortunately the scripts they read are required by HP. It blows I know. But being in tech support myself, it's just a requirement. Nobody likes it, not the customer, not the person reading it, but it is what it is. hehe. (no I'm not tech support for HP. If I was people wouldn't about poor tech support quite as much) hehe.

And while we do get advanced information sometimes. We're not allowed to disclose it. Most companies will terminate on the spot for doing that.

 

Hey all, just picked up my HP Envy15 1050-CA yesterday. Beautiful packaging, but who really cares about the packaging… I got this thing up and running within 15 mins and was installing all the necessary software on it. It chews through multitasking like it were nothing and then asks for more. A few things though...

1. When i tested the webcam on msn... there was a distinct purple hue to the image. It was very noticable... do i have to do something in settings to get it to show color correctly?

2. The touch pad is fine. I don't know what people have been whining about. The gestures are a bit trickey... but i've never used them before so i'm assuming there's going to be a short learning curve. Does anyone know where i can get the latest driver for the touch pad? I'd like to see what the changes were.

3. Heat problems... so far there were none! I know! I was pleasently surprised too. While pushing this thing (about 50% for all cores) the fan came on but was blowing reasonably warm air out (not cook ur thigh temps like people have suggested). The bottom DOES GET HOT, but it won't burn you. It is uncomfortable though so be warned. I'll probably never have this thing on my lap when doing demanding activities but for regular surfing and office work (the kind of things i have my laptop on my lap for...) it doesn't look like it'll be a problem.

I'm so happy with my Envy =D, this is a completely different experience than the one i had when i got my SXPS16 a few months ago. One thing after another comepletely ruined that laptop for me. I'd like to thank HP for so far making the user experience very pleasent... could have used a discount though =P

 

Hey, everyone!

I've been looking into getting a notebook for college next year (I know it's very early, I'm just a bit curious) and from what I've read, the Envy 15 seems like my best bet.

It's light and thin, making it perfect taking around from class to class.
It's also seems like a fairly decent gaming computer. While I classify myself as a hardcore gamer, I don't need a machine that will play absolutely everything at max settings. I'd like to play games like Dragon Age: Origins, Aion, Fallout 3, and Modern Warfare 2 at max or near max settings. With the envy 15, it seems like I will be able to get a good balance between portability, appearance (this thing looks damn sexy) and gaming performance. So, that leaves me with two questions:

1) I won't be purchasing the laptop until June or July of 2010. Are there any rumors or known plans of HP refreshing the Envy line with updated components. Specifically, can we expect to see a newer Envy with a better GPU?

2) Am I overestimating the performance of the Mobile Radeon HD 4830? From what I understand, it will be able to run most games fairly well.

Thanks in advance for your time and understanding.

 

By next June/July, the Envy line will probably have been refreshed at least once and upgraded several times. There's no way anyone can give you an answer that far into the future. The good news is that there's little doubt you'll be betting a more powerful computer for less money.

 

According to a member here, chrixx the Envy is due to get dual 1.8" HDD or SSD configurations and E2E screen probably.

About the GPU, by the time you need the laptop you will have (if things go ok) fully mainstream ATI 5000HD.

 

What is the best keyboard protector for this thing?

 

If you need it for school checkout the Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007 Office promotion. You get pretty much the entire MSOffice suite for $60 as long as u have a Student email address at a qualifying colledge/university. I got it last night... its definately the real deal.

 

You can find the latest touchpad driver here......please let us know if you see any noticeable improvements!

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...&dlc=en&cc=us&product=4036976&os=4063&lang=en

 

Thanks for the recommendation, I'll def. check that out!
From what I hear, there are different deals for different schools. Some schools will provide a free copy of Office and some even give ya some money towards a laptop.

Does HP run a student discount on their machines?

 

I find it interesting about the edge to edge situation...I personally liked the envy 13's beautiful flush screen. Seems like HP is getting a lot of feedback in this area and MAY think of adding edge to edge on future models according to the administrator at the official HP forums.


Re: Edge to Edge Screen
Options

posted yesterday PM

"Due to the feedback we've seen I would say that we'll consider it - no promises though."


check it out here:
http://www.thenextbench.com/t5/HP-Envy-Notebooks/Edge-to-Edge-Screen/td-p/49630

 

MY ENVY HAS ARRIVED!!!

Though I must wait for it to get to me in EU...but who cares.

Officialy I am an Envy 15 owner!

 

Congrats! Soon food will taste better, colors seem brighter, you'll experience life like you've never experienced before!

...k not really-- BUT ITS GOOD!

 

Congrats Serg. I hope your envy will be perfect and issue free.

 

Hey I was wondering what is the average time frame its taking to receive the laptop? I am waiting for Black Friday to buy this laptop but I am going out of the country by christmas time and I am curious if I will get the laptop in time before I leave...

 

They do. The base config of the 15 with (no DVD or slice) is about $1655 plus tax. Shipping was free last time I checked.

 

That is quite good. Considering I got the same for 1800+tax

 

Yes they do, I was able to get a nice discount on the Envy 15 because I am currently working on my Master's degree at a local university.

Check out the HP Academic Purchase Program at http://www.shopping.hp.com/academy/ That page will walk you through the process of creating an account which will give you the academic discounts.

 

that is unacceptable. I don't understand HP's marketing. I was pulled into this laptop because it was hyped as the fast but thin and light laptop. Sorry its not. When it all boils down to it, it is a 7lb 3 hour machine. Is there a way to run the 6 cell down then add the 9 cell when you get low? Wouldnt that get you waaaay longer battery life?