*HP Envy 15 Owners Lounge! PART 1*

em this is probably off-topic, but does anyone have idea how to disable windows media player's network sharing function? have gone through the preferences several times but still can't find it...

Cheers

 

If my i5 unit arrives with USB 2.0 its going back, no doubt about it. I can live with Intel G1s (in RAID ), and the integrated graphics can go either way, but its got to have USB 3.0. Knowing how corporate types are, my suspicion of the cNet article is that she is saying with the *5830* will come USB 3.0, as opposed to units still in the retail channel that still have the 4830. Mine's supposed to ship Monday...

N

 

I just called since my return label expired and I spoke to a CSR. He confirmed that USB 3.0 is only available on the i7 model that I ordered.

 

Wow.

Demanding that USB 3.0 be in your system and it just came out makes no sense. It's not like HP advertised it and you got something different.

What if those articles never appeared about HP having USB 3.0?

Would you still have ordered it?

Also, what devices do you use than need 3.0? Especially since there is an esata port. Just curious

I hope all of you cancel your orders so mine can be built quicker

 

No, I wouldn't have...I was under the distinct impression from CES that the Envy 15 would have USB 3.0.

 

You should really wait for some real announcements and not CES specualtion next time.

Just a little tid-bit of advice.

CES is known to show products that aren't yet available or products soon to be available with very little details (see M11x).

 

Hi Serg - Is there an application that Crucial provides to check the max memory supported?

 

Probably, but the m11x is not available for ordering, but the Envy 15 is - therein lies the difference. I also was drawn by the $300 coupon

I'll wait and see what it is when I get it...

N

 

That doesn't represent the situation though.

I ordered knowing that USB 3.0 my be in the cards for this Envy revision. I subsquently decided (seemingly wrongly) that the i5 edition would be the most likely candidate to receive the upgrade first, as the i7 processor was not of the newer "arrandale," but of the previous batch.

Knowing that your ordered config was a $75 processor upgrade away from USB 3.0 is a bit distressing. It's, however, not a huge deal at this point, as long as I can confirm the i7 exclusivity and re-order with the original coupon.

 

The word "only" was never used in that article. Just because she says you can configure an i7 with ATI 5830 and get USB 3.0 doesn't mean it won't come on the i5 configurations. That could just be Marketing talk to hype up the fact that consumers can get an Envy 15 with some pretty bad-a$$/high-end modern componentry.

Plus with all the conflicting information out there, I wouldn't believe it until I see specs updated on HP's website or someone who has the newly shipped models in-hand confirms it. Maybe we should ask that CNET writer to hit the Reply button and ask the HP person specifically if ONLY i7's are getting it or if i5's will ship with USB 3.0 too.

 

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-10433273-64.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0

usb 3.0 only in quad core config.

 

hi, has anyone ordered the hdd and ssd setup for the envy 15? is the os installed on the os or the hdd?

 

i don't care about usb 3.0 i really don't know what it would be use full for right now. My mouse and keyboard only go so fast anyways

Maybe when more USB thinb drives come out for 3.0 I will changemy mind.

I really wish i would have ordered the dual ssd's though I would order it now and send the other order back but fortunately paypal is holding a bunch of my money right now due to their new sh**ty policy so i do not have the funding for it right now. Guess I will have to wait until either paypal stops their sh**ty plocies or until i receive this one and then return it and get my refund.

I cant believe paypal sucks so bad

 

USB 3.0 would be extremely nice since it is the new standard. I can live without it though and compromise if I get better battery life with the i5. This could still be a matter of the customer reps still not fully knowing all of the information.

Are the i5 chipsets the same as the i7 chipsets or do they have different motherboards per processor? This could explain the lack of 3.0. Since i5 is kind of a newer processor the chipsets for 3.0 might not be fully rolled out as much.

 

actually we went by what was said. they said that envy laptops would be shipping with usb3.0. now we see they confirmed it for the i7... but we have no idea about the i5. as for people calling hp support and sales... no offense to the fine people that work there,but most of the people there know nothing about the products they sell...

 

Log into the bios, its right in there to change it.

 

There is no chipset out there that has USB 3.0 support. They are using some kind of USB 3.0 hub controller, which is part of the motherboard.

 

I just haven't put a premium on USB in a long time.

My drives run very well with USB 2.0 so I'd rather have the new arrandale proc over USB any day.

Just my .02

 

Of course, this brings up the unanswered question of whether or not the i5 model supports switching graphics on the fly. Some have said that HP support says it does, but until someone gets it in hand, we won't know for sure.

N

 

Does anybody have any experience with 'Super Talent' memory? (spec below)

Placed order ewiz yesterday for Samsung p/n M471B5273BH1-CH9 (4GB x 2 1333 $162ea) to upgrade my Envy 15 i5-540m. These were the same parts HP uses in the Envy 15 i7.

Today they sent acknowledgement for the item below. After calling I find out that ewiz / superbiiz claims make thier own memory modules now using samsung chips, they say they meet or exceed samsungs performance specs and lifetime warranty blah..blah...

Have requested latency info on these. Not sure if I am comfortable with the 'bait and switch' they tried...

Any thoughts??

Super Talent DDR3-1333 SODIMM 4GB Samsung Chip Notebook Memory
Specification
Mfr Part Number: W1333SB4GS
Type: DDR3 SODIMM
Capacity: 4 GB
Speed: PC10600 1333MHz
Pins: 204pin
ECC: No
Registered: No
Chip: Samsung

 

I don't see how HP can disable the graphics core of the die package.

From what I have read, it is switchable via driver.

 

The CAS latency on DDR3-1333 is almost certainly larger than those on comparable DDR3-1066 modules. Taking into account your i5 order, if price is the same (or near), I would advise going with 2x4GB 1066 modules.

 

Good sir, I am contemplating on making the same purchase. What is the CAS latency on the modules? I've had very good luck with Samsung memory as with all their products in the past. I will make this same purchase most likely. 90% sure

 

Would I be able to order the i7 with 4GB (2 dimms) and add two of those 4GB sticks to have a total of 12GB RAM?

 

^^

yes....

 

Correct, many people do, in fact.

*Edit* Oops, too late.. but seems I can't delete a post.

 

I've used Supertalent-branded memory in the past. A few DDR2 SO-DIMMs and some DDR2 & DDR3 desktop DIMMs. No problems with any of it.

 

Any1 know if a 920xm would work in the i7 version?

 

I don't see any reason why that isn't possible since 16GB is Max support which is 4x4GB sticks. This is the primary reason why I ordered the i7 rather than the newer cooler (literally) i5 since the price difference was only $75 albeit the i7 runs a a slower clock speed but gain 2 extra cores.

Here's hoping that USB 3.0 is indeed included on the these notebooks as per the CNET article today.

 

For whoever was looking for a key program a while back, there's a program called keytweak (google it, it should be the first thing). It lets you reprogram keyboard keys, so maybe it'll be of help.

Also, about the i5s not having USB 3.0, the CNET article doesn't say the i5s won't have it. The HP person just says if you configure it with an i7 and a 5830, you'll get it. My guess is that this is just playing with words to get people to think it's i7 only in order to get people to get the upgraded system. It doesn't make sense for them, economically, to release the new ENVY15 revision without USB 3.0. If they did this, they would have to make a refresh soon with the option, as other companies will start incorporating the ports into their systems as well. It wouldn't make sense to make a new revision without a technology they can already include and have designed a motherboard to include, only to put it in later.

Just my 2 cents :]

 

Just curious - has anyone's order status changed from 'Order in production'?

 

Not yet!

 

No, has said it for a while now on my order.

 

Do you guys think it would be too risky to install an i7 920XM into an Envy 15?

I found a good deal on one, and it's only a little more than the upgrade cost HP charges for the 820QM.

 

You could be right, as the Envy 15 lacks an express card slot which would otherwise allow for aftermarket USB 3.0 expansion. I would also imagine physical port stratification among differing configs within the same model line to be an uncommon practice.

However... "Watson said consumers can get an Envy with USB 3.0 'if you configure it with the new ATI 5830 graphics and quad-core i7 processor.'"

...and there IS an otherwise entirely arbitrary distinction between the 5830 for the i5 and the 5830 for the i7 in the configuration utility.

I'll give it till tomorrow afternoon to see if anyone's able to verify one way or the other, then I'll attempt to re-order. It sounds small, but this to me is a front-line notebook, and I just feel that locking myself out of USB 3.0 when it's so near you can taste the gold-plated contacts... is just not an option.

 

Does replacing the 2.5" spinning platter drive with 2x aftermarket Intel X18-M G2 SSDs invalidate the warranty?

 

Just so everyone is clear, these are Super Talent brand memories using the same chips samsung uses on thier own modules. (They also offer Hynix variations)

The latency on the 4GB 1333's is CL-9 with the Samsung chips, they may have a Hynix version that is CL-8 (will know tomorrow)

The 4GB 1066 Samsung version is CL-7.

Price difference for me is $162 ea for 1333 or $172 ea for 1066. The $10 difference is do to a coupon I used for $20 off that is now expired, they will let me apply it to the 1333 only.

So is the larger latency (9 vs 7) going to be an issue with envy 15 i5? I assume it is coming with 1066 speed modules?

Thanks for that.

See above and your thoughts on the latency would be appreciated. Don't want to run into problems later for saving $20 now...

 

The bump from 820 -> 920 increases TDP by 10W. Now TDP doesn't necessarily translate 1:1 to an actual observed increase, but I expect that this will actually increase the heat. There's a very slim chance that supplying the extra current may be a problem since this notebook can't be specced with the processor you want. Overall it's not too risky, but personally I'd be waiting to see if some other brave soul had success before I risked it myself.

 

I don't think so.

I do wonder if you can setup your own raid0 or if it is something only HP can do.

 

CL7 and CL9 are relative to the clock speed of the memory. So while CL8 1333 is lower latency than CL9 1333, CL7 1066 is actually higher latency than CL8 1333 and only very marginally lower latency than CL9 1333.

 

There's always the possibility that they're talking about the 4830 vs the 5830 GPUs, since in retail and anything not HP store, the 4830 is the only graphics card you can choose from.

 

Well the article clearly states that USB 3.0 is currently available in some Envy configurations. Then goes on to mention what the configurations are: the ones with i7.

But we'll have to wait until someone gets a machine to know for sure.

 

Well, the "some" is written by CNET and not HP. (maybe they made an assumption)

The first HP statement about the ENVY doesn't even mention the processor of the ENVY, saying "'HP Direct (our online store) does now sell the Envy 15 with the USB 3.0 along with the new ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5830 Graphics (DX11).'"

I know there's a follow-up statement that mentions the i7, but it seems weird that they'd dodge the i5 CPU altogether and not make a clear statement about it.

You could be correct, but I really really really hope I'm right (since I ordered an ENVY with the i5 in it)

 

What ever happened with the tech rep from HP that was supposed to come and read the forum and answer some of these configuration questions?

 

Well, the i5 and i7 use different motherboards, so it is quite possible that the i7 motherboard is the only one that has USB 3.0 hub controller. I wont believe that, however, until I get my Envy 15 i5.

 

BTW, if you get raid0 can you still have two partitions on the drive. Like one for OS and one for storage?

 

Thanks.

Based on re-reading the positive test results of a new Asus K42 that has the i5-540m and 4GB of 1333 RAM I am going to order the 1333's (4GB x 2) and see what happens.
( http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/mobile-core-i5-arrandale,2522-6.html)

 

You can partition it anyway you like. The operating system recognizes the raid array as just one hard drive.

 

you can partition the drive any way you want.

 

I had little faith that he would materialize. The best chance you have to get your questions answered is to attempt to social engineer your way up the ladder of customer service.

Let us know how it goes. One convenience, if you end up returning the i5 system to configure an i7, you can always simply throw them into the new system.