HP Envy 15 Owners: Sell Me

So, I have narrowed my choices for a new laptop to a Dell SXPS 1647 and a HP Envy 15. I have done a lot of research, read these forums a lot, and frankly, I'm still a bit unsure.

Currently, I have an Envy configured. The specs for that are...

Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-820QM Quad Core Processor (1.73GHz, 8MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to3.06GHz
8GB DDR3 System Memory (4 Dimm)
320GB Dual Solid State Drive Flash Modules (SSD 160GB + SSD 160GB)
1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5830 Graphics - For i7 Processors
15.6" diagonal Full High Definition LED HP Ultra Brightview Widescreen Display (1920x1080)
External Slot Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer with 2 USB Ports

I guess what I'm looking for here are testimonials, good and bad, regarding the Envy. I have sifted through the threads here, but there is too much muddled to really get impressions.

I do own a SXPS1640, and I like it a lot. But my girlfriend's Mac went to hell, giving me an opportunity to upgrade.

Hopefully, you can help me out. I am not in a major hurry to purchase, but with the gf's laptop situation, the sooner is the better.

As an aside, how often do coupons come about for the Envy 15? I get a discount through my gf's second job, but it comes out to just 8%. Any information on this would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for any future assistance provided.

Sincerely,
John

PS: I have posted in the "What Laptop Should I Buy?" forum. That was only a slight help, as I already know what machines I want. This is why I'm coming directly to this forum, to ask about this specific machine. I just wanted to head off any posts telling me to go there. I already have. ; )

 

Customer service is horrible but the actual machine runs like a champ

 

I am not an HP Envy owner yet but done the same research as you...

I've looked at many laptops and narrow down to the top 3

1) HP Envy 15 2nd Gen
2) Dell Studio XPS 16
3) Sony CW

I wanted something portable, easy to carry around, and at the same time being able to do Photoshop, Lightroom, Nikon NX2 raw conversion, and some gaming.

Of those 3, I narrow further down to top 2

1) HP Envy 15
2) Dell Studio XPS

The Sony CW is a strong contender (the one available @ bestbuy). It has the nVidia 330m and i5-520m for under $1000. Not too shabby.

HP Envy is lighter than Studio and Thinner
Studio has the RGBLED and slot Blu-Ray
HP Envy with EPP spec for spec cheaper than Studio
HP Envy has the ATI 5830, while Studio still uses the 4600 series. ( LINK TO STUDIO SPEC)

At the end of the day with all of the spec comparison, weight, size, price, and power ratio all taken into account, HP Envy 15 wins it for me.

Where can you find a laptop with that much power for under 6lbs and 1" thick?

 

Thank you both. I appreciate it.

With the SXPS16 I own, I have the RGBLED and Blu-Ray. I love the screen, of course; the Blu-Ray is good (as I have a PS3), but I find myself using Hulu and Netflix Online more and more, rather than the drive. So, I'm not entirely sure that having one in the system is needed (I would want the external, though).

How is the USB 3.0? What about battery life? How is the slice?

As far as Customer Service goes, eh. I've had good experience with Dell, and I would get the higher-end service, since I'm buying a higher-end machine.

I do want my machine to be futureproof, and the Envy seems to be more so than the SXPS. Are the parts within the Envy user-upgradeable? The big issue I have with the SXPS is that you can't upgrade the GPU unless you upgrade the motherboard, because it's soldered on.

I appreciate the responses so far, and look forward to those to come!

 

After a (literally) three hour fight with Dell's customer support, I finally got them to agree to return my Studio XPS 1645 (i7, 6gb ram, mobility HD 4670, RBGLED). The computer had the standard issues that all 1645s are facing: throttling and underpowered 90w AC adapter. Dell just released a bios update on Friday that either entirely fixes or nearly fixes this issue, and will ship you a new 120w AC adapter. The computer also had issues that some others have reported as well: its screen would randomly turn entirely pink (you can see pics of it over in the XPS threads) and the insane amount of heat that was being given off of the unit vents straight up onto the lower left corner of the LCD screen which was causing some minor discoloration issues that I could easily see worsening over time. From the throttling to the heat and screen issues, it just seemed like a poorly designed system to me. I called tech support and they had me run diagnostic tests which also showed that my motherboard was bad and needed to be replaced.... yet they still fought me on returning the system as defective.

Anyway, I also bought an Envy 15 with nearly the same specs (i7, 4gb, mobility HD 5830). The Envy was several hundreds of dollars cheaper, which was nice.

The things I miss about the XPS 1645 are: 1) back lit keys, 2) internal DVD burner (though not really an issue since I don't use a DVD drive very often and an external one is sufficient), 3) all the extra ports (no mini-fire wire, etc.), and 4) port placement (the Envy puts all the ports, headphones included, right where you use your mouse).

I haven't shipped my 1645 back yet so I was able to look at them side by side. I kept reading about the fancy-schmancy RBGLED on the 1645 and though I'd miss this, but the Envy's screen is almost exactly the same. I could see no real difference between them as both are gorgeous. Plus, now I have a much more powerful graphics card with the 5830, which will be nice for gaming (30% improvement, from what I've read).

All in all, the Envy 15 just seems better designed to me and has the guts to do better gaming. It benchmarks significantly higher than the XPS 16, so that should go without saying. If I had a fully functional and working XPS 16, I think this would be a harder call, but the edge would probably go to the Envy because of the graphics card. That's a mythical premise, however, as there is no such thing as a fully functional XPS 16. Just go read the dell forums over here.

 

Danjak, do you have the anti-glare screen or glossy on the Envy? Interested in your comment saying Envy screen is just as good as RGBLED.

 

I have read the forums about the throttling. I have the 1640 (T9550) with the 256GB SSD, and haven't had many issues.

I guess this brings another question: How are the SSDs with the Envy? I am a bit torn between the two 160GB SSDs and the 410GB option. Most likely, I'd get the two 160s, then maybe sell one of them and get a 7200 RPM drive to replace it (I do not want a 5400 RPM drive). I have enough external drives that the 160s should be sufficient, but if I want to make some money back, this would be a decent route (one would think, at least).

Anybody have thoughts on the HD setups?

 

I was looking at something like this. I am debating on the SSD at the moment.

Starting price $1,793.99*
Price epp price $1,668.41*

# Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
# • Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-720QM Quad Core processor (1.6GHz, 6MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.8 GHz
# • 6GB DDR3 System Memory (3 Dimm)
# • 320GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
# • 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5830 Graphics - For i7 Processors
# • 15.6" diagonal Full High Definition LED HP Anti-glare Widescreen Display (1920x1080)
# • Webcam Only
# • Intel Wireless-N Card with Bluetooth
# • HP QuickWeb, Corel VideoStudio Pro X2, Corel Paintshop Pro X2, Stardock My Colors
# • HP Color Matching Keyboard
# • 6 Cell Lithium Ion Polymer Battery
# • System Recovery DVD with Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
# • No Productivity Software

 

I have the glossy. If there is a difference b/w the screens, I can't see it. The RGB one may get brighter (not sure right now, at work), but both were bright enough that, when on full, I felt like I was at a tanning salon.

 

I know this is not responsive to your question, but I got the 128 gb SSD on my XPS 16 and the 500 gb 7200 rpm drive on my Envy 15. I haven't really put my Envy through the paces yet, so I'm not sure I'm fit to comment on the difference b/w the two just yet. All I know is that the 128 gb was way too little storage for me, so that (and cost) was the deciding factor. The Envy has room to add a second drive, so you could put a SSD in there later if you can get the bracket situation figured out. I was thinking I may do this in the future if I really care about this.

Buy as for your idea of getting dual SSDs and selling one: that's a really good idea and I wish I'd thought of doing that. I hear the two drives cost 500 from HP, but sell for 500 each on the market. :-/

 

The drives in the Envy are the 1.8, if I recall. There are some 7200RPM drives at that size, so I could still get what I wish.

I'm just not sure how much I'd feel like going through the process, once I actually have the machine (if it's the one I do end up getting).

 

One last post comparing my XPS 16 to my Envy 15:

I haven't had a chance to bench mark the two, but I can tell you the results of a "real world" test. I played Age of Conan on both and, with the exception of AA, I set both to max settings with all the DirectX 10 enhancements turned on. I left the AA to off since it's such a big performance hit and I preferred all the other enhancements (deep shadows, god rays, etc.) to the sharper lines.

Anyway, on my XPS 16, it was an absolute slideshow. Completely unplayable. I immediately had to scale things back and ultimately had to turn off nearly all the DirectX 10 enhancements to get to a playable 20fps.

I then tried the Envy 15. Right out of the gate, with all the max settings, it was already "playable" at between 10 to 13 fps. Obviously not ideal, but WAAAY better than the XPS 16. I then turned off one setting in the DirectX 10 enhancments (the volumetric lighting, I believe), turned the god rays down to about 20%, and it was playable at between 17 to 20 fps. I'd still like my fps to be a bit higher, but I'm so loving all the graphics enhancements, that I think I'll just leave them on and play like this. The game is gorgeous and I'm thrilled that I can play it like this. It looks far, far better on my Envy and with a better frame rate to boot.

 

Hmmm, that might be because of the 4600 series ATI vs the 5800 series ATI on the Envy