*HP Envy 15 Owners Lounge! PART 1*

Then the manual is wrong, since it clearly states USB 3.0 (as well as USB 2.0). If the manual is wrong about that, it may be wrong on other accounts as well (single HDD?). There's also a question about the PM57 chipset - that chipset was supposed have been cancelled... Intel doesn't have any product info for such a chipset either.

I guess I'll just have to wait until I get mine. Too much contradicting information and no one has even seen the final hardware - not even the HP support employees themselves. Examining pre-production units isn't that useful.

 

Internal HP Service Media Library.

 

This forum is starting to give me headaches... The Best Buys near me better get this laptop in soon so I can give it a try, otherwise I need recommendations for other options in the same screen size range.

 

The Envy 15 isn't going to have USB 3.0... but you can confirm yourself when you get it.

 

This forum is giving me 3 headaches. There is NO core i7 laptop currently without problems or drawbacks (Alienware - stuttering, etc., Clevo - RAM issue, Asus G51J - not even released yet) But if we would make a contest which model/brand is most fracked up, envy 15 would definitely win.

 

I don't disagree. I'm just pointing out that if the manual is wrong on that then it can be wrong on other things as well. I'm saying that at this point no information should be trusted as hard fact and no pre-production unit should be taken seriously either.

We'll have to do check for ourselves when we get the final hardware.

 

Oh my goodness people, seriously NO USB 3.0. Yes, we know it says it in the manual, but we also know for a fact that USB 3.0 hasn't even been released yet. So yea people, geez, lay off the "noooooo ur WRONG, its 3.0, cuz it says so in the manual". The fact is, a lot of the manual is copy and pasted literally from the manuals of other hp notebooks, so there are bound to be discrepancies (Who want's to write a completely new manual?). It was most likely a typo, or perhaps it meant something else, like an ESata/USB port or something like that.

 

I'm sort of surprised and amused at the consternation in this thread. I can't help but smile every time I hear "How can HP expect me to pay $1,800 for a 1" i7 laptop without [arcana X]?"

Maybe I'm delirious, but $1,800 is pretty much what I would expect to pay for a notebook of this size, this CPU, this GPU. Except for the trackpad, the machine I used at BB felt and typed exactly like my wife's Macbook (except it didn't get nearly as hot), and the screen was perfectly bright.

The slice seems to be a problem -- but that was once seen as a luxurious extra for this machine, not a deal-breaking essential.

It's just funny to see how the expectations of this very thin i7 notebook keep getting higher and more peculiar.

 

It has nothing to do with expectations (at least from my side), it's all about FALSE INFORMATION (from HP). I always expect to get what was declared, nothing more nothing less.

 

I probably would have cared a lot more if there wasn't 25% cb

 

Well, I agree with that. But no information isn't the same as false information. The most egregious thing I've seen is the dual-bay thing -- but that was never promised by official advertising, as far as I know (I may be wrong). The only time I heard promises of two drives was in some rep's "walkthrough" video. Otherwise, the direct orders will have E-to-E, etc... am I missing something?

Edit: Actually, the "Help me decide" info on the website does suggest 2 hard drives, so I could see that legitimately angering somebody who was interested in it...

 

LOL, why are people getting so hung up on the USB 3.0 thing just because I quoted it from the manual? I'm not saying I want it or that I think it has it, I was just quoting notable points from the manual. Read the manual yourself - it's on page 10, section 1-4 - and it's very clear on it (not to be mistaken for the separate USB 2.0/eSATA port, 3 amps, or anything else).

Another misinformation (?) is when Kevin Wentzel from HP says how you can put in two SSD drives configured in RAID 0 (YouTube video from IDF 2009). Then we have Futureperfect here on this forum saying it only has room for one HDD because he has read something different somewhere else.

Etc. My point is that some of the information about this machine is contradicting and obviously wrong - whether it's HP who is wrong or us forum members.

 

Page 5-4 of the service manual relating BIOS Diagnostics says this...

Select To do this
Primary Hard Disk Self Test Run a comprehensive self-test on the primary hard drive.
Secondary Hard Disk Self Test (select models only) Run a comprehensive self-test on the secondary hard drive.

 

The official product brochure from HP also says you can have dual SSD:

http://h20424.www2.hp.com/campaign/consumer_notebooks/ap/en/resources/HP-ENVY-Brochure.pdf

Check the last page. Envy 15 is the right column. Those specs also says that the GPU memory is GDDR3... hehe

 

this thread has gotten extremely tense. personally i like hp laptops and feel good about my purchase. i am a bit confused about the hard drives and concerned since i already purchased a seperate ssd.

most of the reviews i have read on this thread sounded good to me even if the person said they hated it. track pad - dont use them, flex on the back of the screen - ummmmm ok??, edge to edge - not important to me, heat - i am thrilled about what i have heard about the heat, weight - my current lappy weighs 15lbs, keyboard - requires personal hands on for decision. usb 3.0 - laughs and laughs i think perhaps that was written a while back and they expected it to be out by now??, screen tilt - i have an hp netbook with the same hinge and it tilts far enough maybe not as much as other hinges but its not even close to a problem, screen brightness - if there even is a brightness problem then im sure it the sensor which can be disabled one way or another.

i feel confident that there are 2 hard drive bays but if there arent that is the only big deal for me. these are just my opinions.

 

Sorry for the long post. Tried to find data HP marketing or otherwise has put out on the Envy 15. Our primary source is the September 'Hands On' articles HP organized.

Most of the September 'Hands On' articles mention dual HDD options (sources below). A reasonable person would assume what they buy from HP on launch day is substantially similar to the machines used for these September articles. If the major features in these previews are not in the production machines shipping to us this will be a massive blunder by HP.

Dual Hard drive was brought up by HP rep in the youtube video interview with notebooks.com ( http://www.notebooks.com/2009/09/24/hp-envy-15-specs-video-and-photos/).

Corresponding article written by interviewer:
"The Envy 15 can be configured with an Intel Core i7 processor, up to 16GB of RAM and dual 160GB solid state drives installed. Buyers can also opt for dual hard drives for up to 1TB of storage."

http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/15/hp-envy-13-and-15-bring-luxury-to-the-everyman-look-like-macboo/
"It[Envy 15] keeps the ENVY 13's unibody-style construction, and, sadly, the single button glass trackpad, but also works in a new Core i7 processor, makes room for dual SSD drives..."

HP's help me decide:
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/popups/moreInfo.jsp?category=HARD_DRIVE&catUid=m_c_3
"500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection. ... FEATURES: 500GB (250GB x 2), 7200 RPM speed. "

http://gizmodo.com/5359331/hp-envy-hands-on-macbook-pro-clone-better-than-the-real-thing
"it'll [Envy 15] have Intel's next generation mobileCore i7 processors, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830 graphics and support for up to 16GB of RAM. The beast will also have two hard drive bays, which you can fill with SSDs."

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/handson_hps_envy_13_and_15_notebooks?page=0,3
"Other specs include an ATI 4830 graphics chip with 1GB of video memory, up to 16GB of system RAM, and two hard drive bays (no internal optical drive)."

http://www.chipchick.com/2009/09/hp_envy13_hp_envy15.html
"You can configure this system with up 16gb ram, two hard drives (for optional RAID configuration), and a 1GB dedicated video card!"

Notebookcheck does not mention dual hard drive options (does mention 15's Edge-to-edge).
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Hands-On-HP-Envy-13-Envy-15-in-Review.20675.0.html
"Concerning the installed hard drives, HP is talking about using a 250 GB HDD in the Envy 13, respectively a 500 GB hard drive in the bigger Envy 15. Details are unknown right now. Nonetheless, you can assume that there will be some configuration options available or fast 7200 rpm models."


2 Hard drive option (~2:30 in), also mentions Envy 15's raised bezel (1:38)
Video at bottom:
http://blog.laptopmag.com/hands-on-with-hps-drool-worthy-envy-13-and-envy-15

This is a basic media blitz, where they push out to these sites the information that want consumers to hear. You can see they were all provided the white background 'press shots', some basic text to fit into the article, and some took additional photographs of the live machines they were given to play with. I could probably keep searching and find more sites that did articles with info from HP's marketing group.

I am not particularly concerned with a edge-to-edge flat screen, but imagine there can easily be many Envy 15 screen options. They should all share one body type though. BestBuy's floor units and these preview sites seem to have received displays with raised bezels. HP site is claiming edge to edge glass on the 15 ordered from the site like all the Envy 13 screen (preview and retail display models).

 

nice. way do some research +rep

 

Thoroughly disappointed in the sense that there seemed to be something wrong every key feature. The Trackpad is nice but offcenter. They keyboard is nice but key arrangement isn't great. Screen is nice but doesn't tilt back far enough, cpu is great but runs too warm. Battery life is great but slice makes it heavy and thick. Sound quality is supposed to be good but speaker placement is bad, etc, etc.

I think the expectation for it was so high, I know mine was, that it led to being thoroughly dissapointed. I currently have a Thinkpad W500, tried the W700, tried the Studio XPS 16, I was hoping the Envy 15 was the one.

Also, doubly disapointed (see now I'm changing it from thoroughly that I don't get to keep the great BCB discount I got on it.

 

LoL! I'm staring at the only media information for all Envy 15's says only one will be available. This is going to be great when I get one to work on too bad I wont be able to trouble to walk anyone through it. It still says that its not allowed by agents to help w/ swapping. Maybe that will change as well.


I'm going to speak w/ some people higher up here in a while. find out the answer and why MY information is like this. If im totally wrong on this im going to feel like a .

 

If you get to talk to anyone who knows anything more, please have them take a look at the official product brochure from HP here:

http://h20424.www2.hp.com/campaign/consumer_notebooks/ap/en/resources/HP-ENVY-Brochure.pdf

"Hard Drive: 320 GB SSD (Solid State Drive Flash Module), Dual SSD: 160GBx2, SSD 160GB + 250 GB - 5400RPM, 250GB/320GB/500GB - 7200RPM"

That's not from any third-party media outlet. That's straight from HP.

 

All companies are notorious for poor consistency in terms of specifications and prices. Lenovo and Dell also have these common mistakes in dozens of their pages. Just sit back and wait for a proper NBR review for the facts instead of speculating...

 

well i am stating a fact when i say that when i ordered mine the more info on the hp website said 2 x 250gb hdd. now it could have been a typo but it was there and that is a fact.

what is taking so long for a review?

 

Heh, no one has ever seen the final hardware yet. There are no final Envy 15 to review. Once we get our laptops we can check it out properly.

 

For those jumping ship. Have you been able to successfully cancel your orders? I know HP makes it a bit difficult in this regards. Would love input. Thanks!

 

i meant from a formal source like NBR or engadget. the 13 had a review a couple of weeks ago

 

I had no issues canceling my order. I couple questions and 'Are you sure?' I got my cancellation confirmation about 2 days after canceling.

 

I take it you called resolutions dept right? Think I am going to hold out and wait for the order, but I am getting a bit of cold feet. Especially with the GDDR debate since I plan to do some gaming on it.

Edit: Forgot to say thank you for the reply..

 

I suggest everyone that ordered an Envy 15 from HP itself, don't cancel yet. See if the finished product is up to par when it reaches you. There is a 21 day return policy after all. Once the Envy is in our collective hands we can investigate further.

 

Well I just ordered through Hp Direct through Paypal. I hope it all turns out good!

 

The limited angle of the LCD is bothersome. Hmmmmmmmm

 

TNs are supposed to have a narrow viewing angle though, right? If they're marketing some of the screen options as "Wide Viewing Angle", could they still be TN? "TN film" like MBPs?

 

It's funny you mention this. The Best Buy model I was looking at was low in relation to me (because I'm standing and it's on a table), so I was alarmed when I couldn't push the screen past 45 degrees, or whatever it was. But then I realized it didn't matter because the looming viewing angle I was at presented the screen without distortion; i.e., just as well as a perpendicular view.

 

Well, the "Help me decide" text is probably the least reliable source, since a lot of those are clearly cut-and-paste jobs from a general template, in the same way that the image of the supplemental battery on the customization page still shows that bulbous 12-cell.

But it's still irresponsible of HP to leave misleading info lying around like that (if indeed it turns out to be. And I imagine there are some buyers out there who really would be under the impression the supplemental battery looks like that projecting 12-cell!)

And I completely agree with your previous summary of the whole situation, by the way.

 

I'm speaking from total ignorance here, but I was under the impression that while GDDR is indeed faster, it is so only by a factor of 10% or so...?

 

In any case, the GPU memory is operating at a higher clock frequency than the normal CPU memory. What is it, 25% higher clock frequency? It's probably pretty decent GPU memory, performance wise.

 

Pretty much all notebooks use TN panels. Anything else that they say is most likely marketing gimmick (ie. Apple's TN "film").

 

futureperfect was saying there is no evidence from HP to support that there are 2 hard drives.
i was simply saying that there clearly is evidence from HP of both 2 hard drives and 1

my netbook has the exact same hinge. i have never had a problem. and unless your standing while working on a low table then you wont have a problem either.

 

For those of you who couldn't order directly from HP and don't have a local Best Buy, you might be interested in checking out some of the Envy 15's on eBay. There were about 3 different listings last time I checked. Here's one of the listings...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...67441&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT#ht_586wt_1165

 

Chillax (chill+relax) people!

Here is some information, direct from NotebookCheck, that I contacted yesterday (NOTE: the email sent was the same to Engadget)

Here is my response:

And the final answer from them:

I know it is not very helpful, but it is the first to reply.
NOTE: The resolution IS WUXGA on the Envy.

And I read about the 250GBx2 right? I am sorry to say but the 500GB is a 250GBx2 platters together, so is the 320 a 160x2. I am just hoping they were not that @#$%^ and claimed dual HDDs while it was dual PLATTER HDDs...

 

If you stay very quiet, you could hear certain people biting their nails (the ones who ordered their machines and additional SSD's). Just a little cheer to the thread

 

heh... looks like somebody is trying to make some cash from their Bing purchase...

 

Hey guys,

I checked out the machine today and it was quite slim considering how powerful it is!

Just wondering, is upgrading the RAM and hard drive an easy thing to do? I ask because looking at the back of the machine there weren't any obvious compartments.

 

Check this posts 298 and 297 and there are some attachments with pics from the manual.

 

Thanks Serg,

Correct me if I am wrong but it looks like access to the RAM and hard drive is by opening up the keyboard? This is going to be annoying and a "not as easy as it could be" process. Oh well, still a great machine nonetheless.

 

2 RAM slots are hard to get. the other 2 are very easy to get.

About disassembling the keyboard I have no idea. I would seem that you dont need to, but it is posted if you ever need/want to. I think you can remove the entire top layer with the keyboard still in position

 

Oh okay, that sounds promising regarding the ease of upgrade

Anyway, with 4gb or 8gb pre-installed RAM, I am sure one wouldn't really need to upgrade for a few years to come.

I am inclined to buy the 4gb version for now and wait for the price of DDR3 RAM to fall. The gap in price is approximately $400 (US) here in Australia.

 

We need to invent some sort of new psychosis for potential Envy 15 buyers. I'm going insane waiting for BB's near me to get them in. I liked the way it looked on the laptopmag.com video posted by peppe1 a few pages ago though!

 

Yes, a psychosis for potential buyers, but also for those of us who already bought and are waiting: I envy my own Envy. Just try to find that in the DSM-IV!

 

LOL! DSM-IV article on Envy-envy:"A psychosis resulting from waiting for the arrival of one's own Envy 15 laptop or from waiting for reviews of said laptop by other early adopters."

 

played with it again......the screen does not go back far enough for me im 6'3...useless for me. nail in coffin....