*HP Envy 15 Owners Lounge! PART 1*

For anyone else using an antec cooler with this laptop, are you guys noticing that the back vents are sort of being blocked off by the base and that it is causing the laptop to heat up more quickly under load?

I noticed the palmrests were cooler because of the cooler, but im wondering if overall it's not working that great considering the vent placement on the laptop.

 

Will hp exchange my envy if I return it without the sleeve? I can't find it anywhere

 

It's not glass. It's plastic. HP Uses plastic on their E2E. (I'm staring at one right now).

 

Yeah, I've electrical-taped a couple of chopsticks along the vertical edges of my Antec, to give it some breathing space. Works much better.

 

fail to install windows xp, because there is no 4830 driver support.
( download a mod's from amd's forum, got bsod)

 

First full review of the Envy 15 on notebookcheck.net
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-HP-Envy-15-Notebook.22272.0.html

 

My comment was that not all "glass" edge to edge displays are plastic. How can we know what they chose for the Envy 15, glass or plastic, if they end up doing so at all?

Until they actually do so, we don't know either way. This really is my point. It's not available, it may never be available. Nothing new is being brought to the discussion, so why continue.

 

Do you have any pictures on how to do this? I have my antec cooler on order while I'm borrowing the one I have now. Heat is still going up when it shouldn't be.

 

Pretty much seems to confirm what a lot of people who've handled the notebook have said so far excluding the display section of course. The FullHD one in the U.S. is definitely not dim by any means, but I am a bit surprised at their low battery life numbers.

 

I updated the OP. Added an Optimization guide, found here too:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?&p=5496472#post5496472

 

I've been having an issue with the slice battery. It seems like every time I move the laptop with the slice connected the laptop shuts off. My wife was using it this morning and it did it to here twice in about 5 minutes. It also seems to be inconsistent in detecting that it is there. The battery is very firmly attached and doesn't seem to have any play. Anybody else seen this problem?

 

Has anyone done a direct comparison between the 1080 and 768 displays? I'm glad we go the full HD just worried i might be dim.

I guess the 1080 will draw more power too? im gettingthe 820 and 8gb ram (with 1080) so i guess my batt levels will be even less

 

The 1080p display is plenty bright. Great quality display ( for a notebook)

 

I ordered the same and am worried too - especially since I'm planning on relying on the slice battery to get through a couple of classes a day this coming Spring semester.

 

the battery life reported by NBCheck was really disappointing...

 

Just sit in the back row next to an outlet... then you wont have any problems. It got me through college with a battery that lasted less than 2 hours... plus they're less likely to notice if you nap in the back row

 

hey all! still getting used to my new envy, a few points:

1. The Slice battery fits on really well. Once locked its quite sturdy. I've been reading people complaining about it but i haven't run into any problems yet. Also it's perfect as a heat shield if ur putting this thing on ur lap!

2. I highly recommend the Synaptics driver upgrade for the touchpad. There was a very noticeable performance and usability improvement. I'm doing all the gestures with ease.

 

i've only go the standard battery! Slice was not an option downunder


good news ndkkdn, maybe its just a limited batch that have had this problem?

 

Laptops aren't frowned on at my university - a good number of students use them for notes.

 

Thanks for the quick notes ndkkdn! Sets my mind at ease again.

 

I have a similar issue, but mine always had a charged primary battery when Windows said the 2nd battery wasn't present, mine never died on me. If I lift up the laptop with the 2nd battery attached, the contacts between the slice battery and the laptop apparently lose their connection, and if I set it back down, the 2nd battery magically comes back.

I think you might be having the same issue as me, but since my primary battery wasn't discharged, it didn't go out on me. Do you recall the charge state of the primary battery? Did the laptop go completely out or did it simply go to sleep (which it should do when the 2nd battery isn't detected and the primary battery is < 7%, with default settings).

Did you be sure to remove the clear shipping film that's on the slice? It needs to be removed (per technical support). That made my issue a little better, but it didn't go away completely. So they were going to ship me a replacement slice battery to see if it won't lose connection to the laptop. It turns out I had another hardware issue so I'm sending mine back in for exchange (same configuration, etc), so I imagine the replacement shouldn't have this problem. I'll post details on that issue in a separate post.

So be sure you've removed that film, and if you still have problems, call technical support to try to get a replacement slice battery.

 

Do you have any specifics on the new motherboards? Or are you just tossing that out there, because a refresh or new models will probably have new motherboards?

I ask because of definitely seems like a small heat issue with these Envy 15s under load. Idle not so much it sounds like.

Again, I think the delays are partially a psychology things. Hp did not factor what the initial demand turned out to be, in with what they actually ordered for parts, or the number of parts HP got, if the shortage is caused by anything external other than demand.

Remember Vodoo was something of a niche, hobbyist manufacturer, HP is not, HP bought Vodoo, and the Envy is said to be an outgrowth of that purchase.

My point being, the shortage is partially caused because HP did not get enough parts, probably not certain of demand, or in part due to the bad economy. Also the huge thread on here, and ultimately the pent-up demand in the market for more powerful laptops with improved processor and graphics is definitely out there in the marketplace. Combine all that, and assemble a machine like the Envy 15, and you are drawing quite a cross section of buyers I would imagine.

They also have the benefit of being of the first to market, if not THE first to market, with a notebook that is this slim with a quad core and powerful specs. Other quad cores seem to be other there like the Asus, but the Envy 15 is slimn, and has other positives.

All good, means more business for HP.

 

As promised, an update on my Envy 15 issues: as noted above, I had first noticed a problem with the slice battery losing its connection to the battery terminal on the laptop when I lifted the combined pair off the desk. I called tech support on Tuesday 11/3 and they ordered up a replacement slice, which I was supposed to get on Friday 11/6, but I got a call that day saying the battery shipment was delayed but it would ship by 11/20.

The next day (11/4?) I noticed my webcam wasn't working. I called tech support again and they had me go through a few things. But nothing ever made it show up in Device Manager in Windows. The next step they were going to have me take was to reinstall the factory image, which I knew wasn't going to fix anything but it was part of their procedure and had to be done before I could send it in for service. Well, I had the laptop at work and wanted to at least make sure I still had all my data on my old desktop. So they gave me a ticket number and said I could resume the diagnosis (i.e., restore of the factory image) with them later.

Yesterday (11/6) I discussed the issue with a colleague, and mainly dreaded the idea of having to reinstall everything again, either after the reinstallation of the factory image or with a replacement laptop. So my work colleague told me about "Acronis True Image Home 2010" backup/imaging software, and it supports Windows 7. I picked up a copy of it at Best Buy today for $40 and made an image of all 4 partitions on the laptop. The software seemed to work well and I now have an image on an external 400 GB USB drive. Looks like I can even boot to the "Recovery CD" and make an image there, so I may try and make another, I'd feel better about that one since Windows won't even be running while the image is being made

So it turns out that after I made that image today I noticed something: as I moved the screen back and forth, the webcam would show up, but then in some positions disappear again. Not only it, but also all of the USB devices attached off the side of the laptop - my Blu-Ray drive, external keyboard, and external mouse - also disappeared from Windows! (Note: Windows was making the connect/disconnect sounds as well, though they were hard to hear.) So it appears there is some short, loose cable, or something else causing all these devices to drop out and reappear. So I called tech support, and they didn't even bother have me restore the factory image, they said I could either have it repaired or talk to customer service about just exchanging the whole kit, in which case my slice battery contact issue should also be resolved. So that's what I did, I'll be FedEx'ing my Envy back to them on Monday, and once they get it they'll start the build on the replacement. When I get it, I can restore my image and not lose all the customizations and installations I've already made, I'll just need to update Windows 7 with the new product key assoicated with the new hardware.

So hopefully all my issues will go away with the replacement hardware. Other than these issues this laptop has performed admirably. My only remaining issue is going to be my iPhone sync problem, which is a PM55 chipset / Windows 7 / iTunes 9 issue, not an HP Envy issue.

 

just giving my opinion, no evidence to back it up.

But i dont believe there will be an revision to it within in 3 mths, i'm just going by previous Envy systems they did not have significant updates.

When i put my order in (last week) i was told there is a waiting queue of 450 people before me so i should not expect it for at least a month.

 

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/psg/board...thread.id=22243&view=by_date_ascending&page=3

Linux users an those with with clean Win7 installs may want to be aware of this. Apparently the Envy's BIOS doesn't support ACPI correctly, which means power management and fans DON'T WORK, without workarounds. If they can't provide a fix for this I'm sending it back, sadly. I can live without E2E glass, but I can't have a laptop that melts when using my preferred OS or requires me to boot it unplugged in order to get turbo mode. There's also a discussion thread in the Linux forums about the Envy, and some of the posters from this HP thread are there.

 

Thats weird has anyone else tried it, is it true in order to get turbo mode you have to start it unplugged? The only thing I can understand is that if you start it unplugged it runs at 1.6GHz but and it can turbo it to 2.8 but if you start it in plugged it just remains clocked at 2.8?

 

That's scary with a new machine. I guess that may explain why so many say their system is and others not.

 

It happens with new machines, not completely unexpected. Give it a few months and the latest bios revs will be fine. I'm actually relieved to hear that heat issues are a bios problem rather than a hardware design flaw. It could have been a permanent problem, you know?

 

ChivalricRonin links provides BIOS F.05 but some Envy's are already shipping with that BIOS and still have the problem, hopefully F.06 comes out soon and fixes it, cause .05 does not

 

The battery issue is turning in to more of an issue than I first realized. While using the unit last night, I shifted my position slightly, and the computer lost all power and had to be restarted (bringing up the windows did not shut down normally screen). I can't live with that. Does anyone have a unit where the battery does not shift?

 

When running the Envy 15, what noises do you hear? I have the fan noise as expected but I am also getting a high pitched noise from the right / underneath the touchpad, is this where the hard drive is?

The noise is not constant but doesn't sound like a fan.

Either way its really annoying and I would not want to use this laptop because of this. I will get the laptop replaced but would like to know if anyone else gets a high pitched noise too?

 

From what I understand about the Envy 15 it really shouldn't turn off if the slice battery is disconnected unless the internal battery is totally depleted.

For those of you that have problems with their Envy 15's turning off when the slice battery shifts, Is it possible that the battery is shorting/bridging a couple of the contacts on the bottom of the laptop when it shifts? I'm thinking the laptop could be shutting itself down to avoid possible damage from the battery contacts being shorted together. Just a thought...

I don't have my Envy 15 yet (should ship this week) but I hope I don't have the problems with the slice battery that other's appear to be having.

 

Can anyone help me find the part #'s for the following items listed below, HP customer service has no clue.

Battery slice for envy 15
display port adapter to VGA or DVI


Thanks,

Greg

 

At Kevin: The noise is done by the HDD. I think it was a problem with the HDD and not the computers fault. Indeed the HDD is under the right palmrest.

At wbo: congratulations on your purchase. And about the slice, there is something to be removed before plugging it in AFAIK. Might wanna ask that.

 

Battery slice for Envy 15 is #576834-001 (2.8Ah 9-cell Li-Ion) $185.25 list price

HDMI to VGA adapter is #530607-001 $52.25 list price

I got these numbers from the HP parts website for the Envy 15 CTO model. The parts are probably the same for the other Envy 15 models.

 

Linux is a major operating system of choice now.
HP should come up with fixes or bios updates, but again these are machines manufactured with some niche technology from when HP acquired Vodoo. Vodoo was a favorite of laptop hobbyists, and turned unique, high-end product.

Does anyone know if all, most, or just a few the notebooks Vodoo manufactured fully supported the problems listed?

 

I was told by three different HP sales reps, that as of right now, you can ONLY buy the slice at system purchase through HP. I don't know if that included retailers or not, but I think I read at least one poster that had a slice for his retail Envy 15 purchase

 

The bb model is the same as the quickship (1050) thus, it includes the slice.

 

Im from the UK and Ive just purchased the Envy 15 with the 1366x768 screen. Overall I am impressed with it, the screen resolution was a disappointment but I soon got used to it.

Does anybody know how to overclock the ATI GPU on this? Rivatuner doesnt give me all the options and atitool wont work for me under "7" I cant even monitor the temps of the GPU using the usual tools (HWmonitor doesnt show it)

 

How come do you want to overclock it?
It can run Crysis with high settings at native IIRC. And at med when 1080p...

 

The primary batter was at about 60% with the secondary fully charged. The laptop didn't go to sleep, it turned off. The slice actually feels very solidly connected, I think that there is probably just enough flex and sag in the base that it looses contact when you pick up the laptop with the extra weight of the slice battery which triggers the shutdown.

 

Thank you for these, I've been looking for them for a while. I'm also trying to get the cheaper blu-ray external drive that's sold with the HP Mini 311 vs. the envy version, hopefully I can get that part number too for anyone else that's interested.

 

See http://qabe.net/envy15/ for more details.

Basically, if you have the F.04 BIOS, then you will have trouble running any OS other than Windows Vista or Windows 7. The F.05 BIOS resolves the most serious problems, but quirks remain (even for factory Windows 7 installs).

I've run Ubuntu 9.10 on my Envy 15 (w/F.05) since the day I received my laptop (2009/11/02). The experience has not been without trouble, but it hasn't been terrible either. I'll give more details to anyone who wants them.

 

It runs about 25-30fps but I found it very stuttery when in intense action scenes sometimes getting down to 10fps, I just thought a little overclock would smooth it out.

 

Is anyone else having artifacting issues when running certain games? I just tried out my arkham asylum demo and it has artifacts popping up everywhere. I'm not sure if it's a physx issue that I can't turn off or something else. Would appreciate any help, and I'm willing to download more up-to-date drivers if they are available. I just got what HP said was their most recent version.

 

If you're running it at your native res, the framerates should hardly ever drop that low even during intense scenes. I was running it at 1920 x 1080 with medium and I never saw it go below 18-20fps.

 

I havent noticed any artifacting in any games thus far. Ive tried both crysis, both stalkers, farcry 2, GRID, Oblivion.
All play exceptionally well except the first Crysis which seems to stutter a lot and is slightly laggy, Crysis Warhead on the other hand plays very well on gamer (high) settings

What other games does the artifacting occur in?

 

I'm seeing artifacting a lot in batman: AA, and also it happens every now and then with Left 4 dead 2 (the demo) at certain scenes. I'm not sure if it's a game issue or a driver issue with not being able to render that scene properly.

 

How about Supreme Commander? Notebookcheck says it drops even to 15 fps. Because it's a Core i7, however, this raises some questions. Has any of you guys tried that game? Artifacts, stuttering, low framerates, anything?

 

has anyone hooked up their envy to an external monitor? i hooked mine up to a dell 2408wfp throught the HDMI connectors and the colors were totally off. which brings me to my next question, whats the best way to color calibrate your screen?