*HP Envy 15 Owners Lounge! PART 1*

just be polite and they'll help you out.

 

Has anybody tried to ask the people at that number about USB 3.0? I've seen the video and all, but still suspicious as the specs have still not been updated yet...

 

So I pulled the trigger on an i5 last night but I went with the standard hard drive. I really want an SSD but I don't think I can deal with a "special" version that doesn't update with Intel's official firmware. Is there any way to install my own SSD without voiding my warranty?

 

hm, I don't really have an accurate way to weigh it. I have nothing less coarse than my bathroom scale.

 

Yup. Just buy and install your own. Plenty of people do it. Doesn't void your warranty. Might want to keep the original hdd just incase you need to send the notebook in for repair someday, you can swap that in just for the repair.

 

I guess my concern is whether or not they'll void the warranty because I open it up. I've replaced plenty of laptop hard drives and usually I don't care, but since it's my money and not my company's money... I want to be safe

 

Plenty of people here have opened theirs up and sent it back for a return without problem. You'll be fine as long as you don't break anything.

 

Hey all, long time stalker, first time writer. Just decided to unload my Dell XPS i7 for the Envy 15 i5. The SXPS was just too buggy for my liking. And to confirm, I placed my order via telephone and the coupon was accepted without any hesitation (this is as of 6pm Central time)


______________________________________________________________________________
Returned 1/9/10 -Dell SXPS 16|i7-820QM|6GB DDR3-1.333GHz|ATI MRHD 4670 1GB|16" WLED|500GB HD|4x Slot BD Burner|Intel 5300 Wireless)|3-year Service|Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit|

Awaiting - ENVY 15 i5-540M processor (2.53GHz, 3MB L2 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 3.06 GHz

 

I just tried to order by phone (4:30 pm PST) and was told the coupon was no longer valid. The sales agent sounded like she was just entering all the info into the web form so no real surprise that it didn't work. She also told me that tech support said the ports are still USB 2.0 and that the dual SSDs are not in RAID.

 

as for the tech support, half of them don't know what they are talking about and read off the website. the new machines will include usb 3.0 ports, this was confirmed from cnet.

 

Just got off the phone with HP. Had a long discussion about the lack of specific details available on the new ENVY 15 i5 release and how this is causing a lot of confusion for potential customers. Then went on to explain that without a way for 'us', the potential buyers, to get answers to these questions HP was basically losing out on new orders for this model. This got their attention.

While HP has no formal way for the consumer to get answers to "unofficial" specifications (unofficial meaning not yet published by engineering for the sales or tech support personel) we came up with a way to get these questions in front of management and hopefully expedite the release of the final specs from engineering.

The plan is this; Someone from HP sales will monitor this site later today. We decided that a post should be made with the top 10 (or fewer) questions that need to be answered in order for people to make the decision to place an order or not. This list needs to be clear and concise. These questions will be taken to upper management and hopefully they will force engineering to provide specific answers quickly.

In order to get things started I am taking the liberty of listing what I think are questions we all want to include on the list:

1) Will the i5 models support 8 GB of DDR3 RAM (4GB x 2DIMM)

2) What is the RAM speed

3) Where are the DIMM slots -- user accesable?

3) Speed and type of GPU RAM?

4) USB v3.0 ports ? How many?

5) Confirm 'on the fly' switchable graphics -- discreet to integrated

6) Is anti glare display same quality as the glossy (gamut / bightness)?

7) Battery life expected -- 6 cell & 6 cell + 9 cell

8) Make/model/ RAID config options for dual drive models - SSD & HDD

Ok that's the major questions as I see them in no particular order. Please review and post additional questions to add or deletion requests and I'll review it in a couple of hours to finalize what we want to post for HP.

Once we have the final list I am supposed to post it using a bold lime green heading so it iwll be easy for them to spot. This may seem like a round about way to get answers but please consider that HP is a huge corporation and the left hand and right don't always know what the other is doing. I found a contact who agrees that we need answers and he got with his supervisor came up with the idea -- coming from a large forum should give them ammo to get answers, especially if they can show it will book more orders.

One last thought -- if the answers are what we want/expect maybe we could ask for a one time extension of the $300 off coupon.

 

May I suggest:

1. CPU full specs
2. IGP specs
3. GPU specs
4. Switchable engine information
5. Memory slots available and maximum capacity
6. RAM type and specs
7. Storage options and specs/info of options given
8. Display specs, resolution, brightness, etc
9. Expected battery life using IGP, using GPU
10. USB types and specs
11. Shipping and availability information
12. Motherboard and chipset specs

For now that would be all.

 

I think clarification on the horizontal lines shown in the screen should be asked about. Does the new anti-glare screen address this problem? Will Ultra-Brightview (glossy) screens shipping now also have this fixed? This problem is prevalent and reading through just a few pages of the this thread will highlight how many users have experienced this. Even the HP support forum (The Next Bench) has a thread regarding this.

Also, with the SSD's, the random read/write speeds are much slower than should be (see post). My factory installed RAID 0 dual Intel G1 SSD's are giving roughly 10 MB's random reads and write, which is slow for these drives. G2's should definitely be an option going forward, but regardless of Intel drive used, it seems the problem with read/write slowdown is caused by something else. According to this thread, the way to solve the problem is to disable the C1E option in the BIOS. However, in the Envy 15, there is no way to access this option in the BIOS. Even the Intel RAID manager can't be accessed (press ctrl+I at POST screen) - I've tried many times to access it, but it's not possible even after putting a 20 second lag for the POST screen and disabling the IOS.

HP should address both of these matters or at least let us know when they plan to have a refresh that fixes them. I realize they are not specific to the i5 refresh, but purchasers of the i5 version will still be concerned with these issues if they continue to persist on newly shipped machines.

I just returned my $3,100 Envy 15 because of these two issues. I like the Envy 15, but until these issues are addressed I am not buying this laptop. If I pay a premium for something, I expect a finely tuned, well refined product and I did not get that with the current Envy 15.

 

Sounds good but aren't items 1 and 2 fully available from intel already? And on #11 could you please clarify? My build date was 12 days from order placement or do you want info on availability outside the U.S.? #12 may be a bit to much to ask (motherboard I mean) I don't think we even can get that on the current models. Don't want to overwhelm them for complete data sheets etc. at this point, just some specific answers to the unknowns...

I will be out for a few hours. Would you mind keeping an eye on the responses and maybe consolidate the top questions that get posted?

Bye the way, are you back to being the forum moderator?

thanks,

JJ

 

Can I suggest a separate thread, to keep it clean and organized, since I dont think any HP person will want to read thru 4114 posts...

 

I see what you mean, but still some clarifications are needed, for example how much RAM do they support, at what speed is the IGP running, since it uses the system RAM this can vary depending on RAM being used. About 1 and 2.

11. I mean if this is going to be in Europe too, when, and the information, and I would LOVE to know if HP is finally giving us the WUXGA, or do they have us still stuck with that crappy WXGA.

12. Hey, why not push the limit a little and see where we can get?

Something else to add is
Software Included (please less bloatware)
And I want to know if anything in the design was changed (I mean, since the Arrandale has a much smaller heat output, did they remove a fan or re-organized de interior, and since it has 2 RAM slots apparently, some moving might have occurred, this is me hoping dual 2.5" drives instead of 3 fans...)

But perhaps I am being a little picky on this. The more the better.

And you could say so, I am back for the time being.

 

I suggested this but the contact who is going to look for this wanted it on the main thread, he knows it will be after page 410. I believe he wanted to be able to show the activity level on these issues to management. Good example is the above post from 'knightofdarkness'

 

Ok, very good points. I'm running late for a dinner meeting will touch base in a few hours if your around.

Welcome back 'for the time being'.

 

The CPU and IGP specs are completely available. Knowing what chipset it is would be nice, as well as if there are any BIOS limitations to RAM installed and such. We do have reliable information that there are only 2 slots on the i5 motherboard, and 4 on the i7, so we only really need the max module size supported. The display specs... not sure what else we'd want out of it. The resolutions are all there (1366x768 or 1920x1080), so all the display info would be a "nice to have". What concerns me more is if they have fixed the issues with the lines that I've heard about from the previous model. I'd also love to see if they modified the 5830 (clock or bus speed) at all from what ATI specifies for the chip.

 

Should have integrated slot load optical drive to complete the laptop. Its awkward to carry the calf (external optical drive) always

 

Agreed, there are extremely useful posts here, filled with info and notes.

And thanks, I am still unsure of things, but as they are, seems like I am staying.

 

We do have them, but have they been tinkered? Remember this is a very thin metallic laptop, and to keep temps under control they could have done terrible things, that is why I want confirmation, especially on the IGP area. Ok, wont push with it...just a suggestion...

Do we know the location of the 2 slots? IIRC I read that they weren't user accessible, that means that the case has been modified, right? (removing the 2 slots near the battery, perhaps there is even more space for a larger battery...sorry...my mind is always looking for a "what if" and optimizing space, side effects of what I study...

Battery life is very important now, can they reach the original 7 hours now? In theory, using the IGP, low CPU usage, and low brightness with the slice on, should be possible, right?

 

i just use a 16gb flashdrive... never really needed an optical drive. they add extra bulk, and are noisy

 

How about this instead:

Send me my laptop right now, and then I will tell everyone here what the specs are. I promise.

If you don't want to do that, then here we go:

1. What is the max res supported by (HDMI / Displayport)?
2. Are any of the USB ports powered when the system is off(for charging gadgets)?
3. Are VT-x, VT-d, VPro, and all those other CPU features fully enabled?
4. You don't really need to answer this one, but why is there no hard drive encryption? All Core i5 laptops should come with encryption enabled by default now seeing as how it is fully hardware accelerated.

And can I point out, it is pretty ridiculous for a company to charge this much money for a laptop without letting anyone see it, touch it, or even read the spec list. If it wasn't for the return policy, there is no way I would have pushed the order button.

 

Something crossed my mind,

The lid, what is the design? Or is it plain?

 

Has anyone tried the new touchpad drivers today? The two finger scroll is kind of flakey (not as great as the mac) did they get it right yet?

 

I forgot to order the blu ray drive along with my envy. Is there a way to buy that from HP? Their chat support mentioned it is not possible since I couldn't provide the product number (Product Number is not listed on the envy configuration process).

 

1. USB 3.0 yes or no
2. expected battery life w/ and w/o slice
3. which ssd? single ssd only option?
4. Switchable graphics??
5. Will the envy 13 be getting an core i5 (or any Core i? series processor) soon?
6. IF yes to 5, please repeat 1-4 for the envy 13

 

I am using them. Still not Apple-like, but it no longer HAS TO BE VERTICAL to read it, you can have a 30-40 degree of the vertical and still read the scroll down and up to. It starts reading when angled the scroll down, but I cant get the scroll up to work when angled.

 

This is what I have noticed too. The scroll down works pretty good, but the scroll up still is flakey, and they are both not buttery smooth like an apple. I dont understand why they couldnt get this right, unless they cannot do it like apple does due to patent constraints.

 

Don't buy it direct from HP since it is a rip off. Get this one from newegg for under a hundred bucks. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...5198&cm_re=usb_blu_ray-_-27-135-198-_-Product

 

I did that for a DVD burner, what a fail.

It uses 2 USBs out of 3 I have, and has none. The HP one uses one and gives 2 extra just to compensate.

 

Fine, but I think with the $100 you save you can probably afford a USB hub that you can duct tape on top of it. If you have money to throw around though, the HP drive is pretty nice.

Anyway, I personally wouldn't buy a Blu Ray drive right now, I want to wait and see what happens with USB 3 on the Envy. If they put it in a full power USB3 port then it will be able to more easily power an external optical drive.

 

After doing some research, I don't think the Newegg one is USB powered. The $150 is actually not a horrible price on a USB powered Blu-Ray drive. Best I can find elsewhere on something that doesn't need external power is a hair over $100, and the case won't match

As for not having an optical drive... I was actually quite happy about that. I never use the thing. It just takes up space, weight and blocks airflow when I'm not installing software from disc.

Then again, that's a damn good question to ask... if it is USB3, does the included Blu-Ray drive use USB3 to full effect?

 

Awesome job!

HP, I hope you are reading this thread. I did not pull the trigger today because YOU had too much contradictory information out there about the Envy i5.

I'd love for HP to solidify i5 specs and re-offer the $300 coupon.

I also want to know why the i5 is being limited to a 4GB initial configuration. 4GB + 64 bit applications = less available memory than 3GB + 32 bit application. A silly step in the wrong direction, for such a high end notebook.

Also, a buyer who defaults to 4GB, but who read the opening spec page on the Envy would be mislead into thinking it could support 16GB. That was me before I read this thread.

We also need to know if the SSD drives are G2, since apparently Intel apparently will not support Trim support on G1.

Which of the drives listed on the Hard Drive option page are 1.8" vs 2.5"? Since the Envy can handle 2 x 1.8" drives and we might want to leave room if that is a choice.

Why can't we choose between the having the super game smashing ATI card or those extra 2 dimm slots? Lots of virtualization sessions, editing big photos, working with large databases in memory, all benefit from lots of memory. Not everyone with 2k to drop on a notebook needs or wants a 31 Watt monster graphics card in lieu of memory The ability to expand this machine is important to us! 8GB closer to the norm for 64bit OS and 16GB gives us some leg room.

 

Im not saying that via HP is better, but that the one I got a Samsung slim DVD drive uses 2 out of my three USBs, and that is somewhat bothersome to me when using it, but I dont use it regularly so, no biggie...it is a matter of personal usage.

 

isn't TRIM irrelevant if you're going to do a raid with SSD's?

 

That's not really accurate. 64bit doesn't double everything... the VAST majority of memory that any application has loaded is data, and that size doesn't change just because you now have 64bit memory pointers. The executables can (but don't have to) take 10-20% more space in memory, but that's about it.

 

I love the fact that this has no internal optical drive. If it did, it would weigh quite a bit more. I set the limit at 5lbs and was going to buy a Thinkpad 14" instead, but this way I get a LOT more power, and it is just as portable as a T400.

As for SSDs, I wouldn't buy them direct from HP either, not unless they list the specific model number. It is too much money to risk getting a bad drive. Of course, I am perfectly comfortable opening up my system, other people might not be.

 

Using a i720qm on a youtube hd vid my cpu is around 85% maxed out. I wonder how the i5 will do? I'm kinda concerned now.

 

that doesn't sound right. were you using firefox?

 

How can you hit 85% of the 720?!?! Running Orthos I got to 50 only, and I have never been over that...

 

does anyone know exactly how easy it is to swap out a hd and replace with dual ssd's? i don't feel comfortable ordering g1 ssd's so i'm considering ordering an hd for now and replacing it later when ssd prices hopefully have dropped a bit.

sigh and if only they let us use 8gb ram too :[

 

Yep. On an Alienware M15x.

Maybe it's because I'm using a beta build 3.6rc1.

 

I'll give $5 to every Envy i5 user if the motherboard doesn't support at least 8GB of RAM.

 

Maybe. Either way, Core i5 should be more than capable of handling youtube HD, same for i7. Besides, just update to Flash 10.1 and it can be accelerated by the GPU.

 

I've got a 14.1" T61 here, and I just got out the tape measure... looks like the Envy will be about 2" wider, an inch deeper, and about as high. Not bad to go from a 1440x900 to 1920x1080 screen, along with all the other major performance boosts.

 

Another question: does the refresh actually improve the heat situation? I have a replacement i7 on order, and I would love a cooler machine...

 

The point is that neither laptop is small enough to just throw around, but neither one is as ridiculously large and heavy as the Dell I9300 I used to have. That thing weight about 8.5lbs with all the upgrades I added. And battery life was 1.5 to 2 hours.

I hope the new i5s have a smaller power brick too. The 120w one looks like a pain to carry around.

 

Thanks. I'm getting 10.1 as we speak.