HP Envy 15 i7 heat question

I've been looking at the envy 15 and it really looks like a laptop I want. The only problem I've found about it(for me at least) is heat. While a lot of people say that with the i5 processors heat isn't an issue, I was wondering if with an i7 processor like the i7 820QM or i7 720QM the heat spikes up as compared to the i5 ones. Sorry if this just adds to heat questions but it seems a lot of people saying heat is fixed are people with i5 and I just wanted an answer from someone with an i7.

 

I was able to disable the cores and thread on i7 I suppose, msconfig > boot > advance > set number cores to 4 ( 2 cores 4 threads). I have not figured what are negative impacts it may causes yet

 

All i7 laptops (unless gamer caliber) tend to be very warm. Luckily though most real life tasks do not seem to benefit all that much from the 2 extra cores.

 

Well I do plan on gaming with the envy and I can handle a warmer notebook but if it starts getting hot like I've heard I might decide not to get it because all of the extra portability I get with this over a gaming laptop such as the m15x won't be worth it if it gets too hot.

 

unfortunately theres no i7 620 cpu available for the envies, although this would be the perfect gamer cpu, as its a dual-core (most people, including gamers, dont really need quads anyway) and still an i7, hence you get usb 3.0 and 16gb ram capacity.

however, i cannot imagine that this heat problem is such a problem. i must admit, i dont own an envy since there are some major cons that disqualify it definitely (usb ports on the right side only, additional keys on the left side annoyingly placed if using w/s/a/d/shift/tab/ctrl etc. while gaming etc.), although otherwise it would be a perfect substitute for the failed 8540p because of its crappy nvidia nvs gpu, which i wanted to take to continue my elitebooks lineup. but if you dont use the cpu/gpu excessively, which you actually dont when holding the notebook on your lap, theres no reason why to bother about heat, or am i wrong?! why worry about a desk getting warm??

these new notebooks are built well, especially those with an aluminum/magnesium finish chassis. and inside they wont fry, unless you oc something - normal usage is covered by the warranty.

so to sum it up - if you want such a flagship like the envy 15, you want it most likely because you want its power. and not just for surfing and office use, which you can do while holding it on your lap, and where no notable heat occurs. so when heat is likely to become a "problem", it wont be a problem since you wont have the heat on your lap, but on a desk, where it doesnt matter.

 

I have an Envy i7. I recently played Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age, and a few other games. The computer gets hot, but not overly so. I can still use it on my lap (if I am wearing pants, it would be very uncomfortable on bare skin) and the keypad gets warm, but not uncomfortable. Best gaming machine I ever owned - and I replaced a 1st Gen Alienware M15x with my Envy....

 

@ Blaine_Shadowrider

see?

great to hear that.
i really wanted the envy 15 as a replacement for my 8510p, but the cons mentioned in my previous post are terrible. i hope the refresh the envy 15 soon (maybe when the new i7 8xx cpus come) and get rid of the function keys on the left and put the usb ports etc. to the back or to the right side, so that eg. an usb mouse cable doesnt block your hand/mouse when having a mouse pad and a mouse on the right side, like i do, and probably most people do as well.

 

That's why I'd recommend a BlueTooth mouse, I don't think they are changing the case much soon. The function keys are easily changed if you can't get used to them (which hasn't been an issue), by the way. Use KeyTweak and remap them to whatever you want.

 

I never heard of that before. Were you expecting to reduce heat, increase battery life? Where did you hear of doing this? Would you kindly report what, if any, changes you notice? (I have a dv8 Corei7-720 and would greatly benefit if these improvements are achieved.) Thanks

 

@ThatGuyOverThereYep

I can't really get a bluetooth mouse because I just bought the Logitech Performance Mouse MX. It's a really great mouse but I paid about 80 for it so I won't be getting a new one anytime soon.

@wild05kid05

I would also really like to see the results of disabling cores, so please put those up whenever you get em.

 

I haven't done a battery test or anything but this is what I got

 

Just not a big fan of quad core i7s on a laptop. Except on desktop replacements.

For gaming there's usually no difference between the two thanks to coding. We keep hearing that more cores will be used, more cores will be used. But it's been almost a decade since dual cores were introduced and it's FINALLY starting to be utilized to it's fullest....

And its warm, it eats up batteries like a mofo. Seems kind of counter productive to put something that hurts portability (good cooling adds size) and low work time.

 

so does that mean it would be a better idea to go for the i5 processor which would increase battery life, lower heat, and be cheaper all with no real difference in game performance? Can anybody else back this up?

 

Well for CPU demanding games like GTA IV,it makes a huge difference

 

Well in the opinon of some envy owners should I go for the i5 or i7 processor?

 

Go i5 man. The i5 and it's four threads will destroy everything out there. You're not going to utilize the i7's 8 threads.

It's going to run as fast, run a whole heck of a lot cooler, and give you decent battery life.

 

Well whenever I think about getting the i5 I just get antsy because I feel the only reason I'm getting it is for the heat and that maybe the i7 wouldn't run that hot(I've read so many conflicting heat forums/reviews that I'm just not sure what to believe) and then I'm just kicking myself in the butt because in the i7's cores will be better utilized and I would like this laptop to last a decent amount of time.

 

Heat is there. There's a reason why so many are complaining about heat. I don't think there's anyone who would say the i7 Envy runs cool. Some might say "warm" but obviously, they have a little more tolerance for heat.

Just remember, the Core 2 Duos are like a decade old now and they're still comparable (real life performance wise). The GPU, HD and Screen Resolution will get outdated before the processor....

Get the i5, it's not even a compromise (unless you do a lot of heavy number crunching). You save money, gain battery life, and a stellar performance.

 

So everyone says the i5's aren't as hot as the i7's, but I'm trying to gauge how *much* better before I pull the trigger on an i5 Envy. I personally hate a laptop that's loud or has the fan running constantly - especially when the fan is on for just simple web-browsing.

Could any Envy i5 owners out there tell me...

• How often their fan is running? And what sorts of task will trigger the fan?
• Any discomfort when it's sitting directly on their lap?
• When the fan is running, how loud it is?

I'm also curious if the Envy heat issues are just as much due to GPU as CPU? Perhaps an i5 would only be marginally better with heat because the GPU is still fairly kick**s compared to most laptops. Anybody have some thoughts on that?

Thanks!

 

You can use it browsing on lap. I don't think you can lap gaming with either.

 

Ugh, The thing is I've been bouncing back and forth between this and the m15x more than the ball in a game of pong and it's getting annoying because I can't decide on what I want. The m15x is better in every aspect except weight, size, and maybe discreetness. Either would suit my needs but I would prefer the portability of the envy, but I'm not willing to replace that with something that runs way too hot. So it all comes down to how well they handle heat apparently and I've just heard too many different things about the envy to know.

 

I would suggest the i5 with the 5830. I think that is a great combo.

I have the i7, but I am purchasing the i5 version for my wife. Better battery and a cooler pc she can game on when ever she wants.

 

I think I'm gonna go with the envy i5 because that's still a good cpu and I'm not gonna be doing much in the way of stuff like cad software. From what I've read it'll fit my needs and not have heat problems with i5.

 

The i5 uses 25 watts while the i7 uses 35 watts. that's a like a 40% difference.

And remember the Alienware throttles and Dell has no intentions of fixing it because apparently, nothing you do can realistically be impeaded by the performance.

Would you rather get a computer from a company that shrugs off design flaws and refuses to fix it via simple updates or would you rather get a laptop from a company that has been regularly pushing out new drivers and bios updates?

 

Sorry, wildkid, but I can't find the origin of this thread. How did you disable two cores on the i7-720? Still no data to report on long term heat under load or battery life? Thanks.

 

Ok, now I can say with some confidence (a 30 min. test) that the net effect of disabling 2 of the i7's 4 cores is to run the power usage to a constant 55.04 watts from the more normal (95% of the time) 15.34 watts. You can almost see the battery draining visually! I can't remember what the objective was originally, but I think it was heat and power consumption, and I think the change had little effect on the former (I ran some unguine games) and a hugely negative effect on the latter. Still, interesting just to know it can be done. Wonder what the purpose of having that ability to toggle is? Anyone?

 

I notice the CPU squeezes into 2 cores and it runs hotter in my opinion

 

What's wrong with getting a laptop cooler? Yes, heat is an issue without one on the i7 but a cooler only sets you back £15-20.