HP Envy build quality :-(

I received my HP Envy 15 today (I was excited). As I proceeded to open the contents of the box I was impressed with the presentation and packaging of the system. After I got the laptop completely out of the soft-cloth cover case, I sat it down and began to inspect around the system. Looking around the laptop, before opening the screen lid, I start to notice black marks, scratches, and smudges on the case.

Some of these were production dust but some were actually scratches. Next, I open the lid to inspect the screen and noticed more smudges and a few hair-liner scratches on the lower part of the screen. At this point I am like ?!?! Upon further inspection of the screen, I noticed that the rubber screen spacers were peeling off. How did these issues pass the final Q&A check? Lastly, the bottom part of the plastic shell covering the screen was warped, as it was rubber-banding out instead of sitting flush against the screen.

I am disgusted, to say the least, to receive a $2000+ laptop in this condition . Since this is HP's high-end model I expected near perfection. So, after trying the Dell XPS 16 and now the HP Envy, I have to say that I am not impressed with the build quality of either system. I guess Apple or another PC brand will get my money. So long to Dell and HP!

 

You bought an overpriced consumer model. You want quality from HP you buy an Elitebook.

 

If you can get me an Elitebook with similar specs to my ENVY 15 for $1170 then I'd consider it. I have zero complaints about my ENVY build quality although the bottom part of my screen bezel was sitting away from the screen as the OP describes... I just pushed on it gently and it snapped into place and it's flush all around now.

 

Why should anyone buy a new laptop and have to make physical adjustments to the chassis/case/exterior out-of-box? It is one thing to have some dust marks here and there, but rubber spacer peeling and malformed screen bezel?

Come'on!!!

 

If your really that mad, just send it back with stated reasons and they'll send you another one.

 

I could do that but I don't know if I want to take another chance.

 

I'm thinking about getting the same system as you, except I'd like to get the brightview screen. But I want to ask, how's the performance of the 430m? Are there any slowdowns or anything when you multi-task? If you could shed some light on the performance of this Envy configuration...I'd love to hear it. If you had a Core 2 Duo system before, if you could compare the performance of the two also. I'm kind of worried the 430m is the same as the old C2Ds, and you need to jump to the 520m to get i5 performance...

IMO, at $1100-1500 or so ( if you opt for SSDs), it's a steal of a system. But when you get past that mark, it becomes overpriced.

 

hard to beat build quality of apple, even the buisiness line laptops in my experience so far

but then again after coupons , the price on envy is hard to beat as well =)

 

At the moment there is nothing else in the same niche as the Envy for the price, but quality is the gamble you're making. I had to send mine back on the day I got it for repairs, but since it's been back I've been quite happy with it.

If you're willing to get a slightly larger notebook (> 6 lbs) then there are probably better (or at least more reliable) choices out there.

 

Yeah, you just have no idea what you're talking about.

The Macbook Pros are built well, but not anywhere near as well built as the Elitebooks. The Elitebooks are way more rugged than anything Apple has to offer.

Aesthetics is blinding your judgment, they don't even have heating vents for crying out loud ... Radiative heat transfer? That was not an engineering decision, they took a chance on proper ventilation to make the thing look pretty. While it doesn't get hot enough to exceed the deratings of its components it does get hot enough to become uncomfortable to use.

Good thing Intel has managed to lower the TDP on the i series processors.

Edit: As for the ENVY thing ... I was considering one myself, but build quality is just as important as power and looks to me. I just couldn't make the plunge as there have been too many horror stories on here.

 

might not be able to get an elitebook for $1100 but you can get a G series for $600-. Same build 'quality'.

Fer gosh sakes stop buying premium casework.

 

Newsposter hates anything that belongs to a 'premium' line, no matter what the specs are or what the price is. He has a point if you don't care about the difference in specs (which, for the Envy, means you don't care about SSDs, a high-res or glossy screen, or the ATI 5830). The G62t has a great i5 lineup and costs half as much as the Envy and only weighs a tiny bit more.

In other words: if you want the higher end screen, GPU, or SSDs, you're going to pay a premium for them, and I wouldn't recommend it without use of a coupon for at least $200 off (and preferably more). If you already bought yours and didn't use such a coupon, and your Envy arrived with something wrong right out of the box, then call them and ask them to take a couple hundred bucks off your order.

I wouldn't go near the Macbooks until they refresh the line, and even then you're going to be paying a lot more for 'premium' with Apple than you ever will for a PC.

 

Apple advocates are just the worst.

Even knowing that the iMac has it's screen issues, they still advise people to buy it on the off chance that they are one of the lucky few.

Even after having several faulty iMac replaced and delivered to them, they still "try one more time" and deal with the hassle Apple is giving them.

I don't know where Apple went wrong with the iMac since they're usually known for their build quality in consumer models.

 

I haven't done any benchmarks but it feels faster than the T7500 in my Vaio SZ. I haven't noticed any slowdowns but then again I don't do tons of multi-tasking... I can switch between multiple firefox pages with Counter-Strike: Source downsized while listening to music with my zune software without a problem though.

I believe I read somewhere that the Core i5 series is faster than the old C2D clock for clock. The processor benchmark list on notebookcheck also shows that this is true.

 

I care very much about specs and price/performance and what a user is *really* going to do with their machine and thats ALL I care about.

'enhanced' plastic casework, ineffective support policies, and run of the mill reliability/return rates aren't worth a premium price.

 

HD 5830, i5-430M and 1080p screen at $950 with the $450 off coupon are great specs for the price.
With the coupon discount, the price just isn't "premium" at all.

 

Thats unacceptable on HP's part. I would be calling them ASAP and arranging a replacement. If you state a decent argument, plus ask for a refund, they might even try giving you a discount to get you to keep the laptop.

You lucky US folk get these laptop's so cheap with those coupons?! This laptop is an absolute must buy for $950US?!?! And to earlier posters, unfortunately the HP Envy 15 is the only machine offering decent spec's in such a thin and light package. Thats why I bought it. The Macbook Pro, as awesome looking as it is, is a rip-off for the spec's you're getting. If you want to go Apple, best to wait for the refresh.

 

I just got mine refund. It's true the packaging look nice everything look sweet but when you open the soft cover seems there is much like a little scratch and dirt. I got this problem too! will be because many complaint and returned envy 15? and we got an refurbished envy???

Now, I lean toward sony Z series

 

I swear the first thought that came to my mind is that they sent me a returned/refurbished Envy that was returned by another customer. Why would the rubber screen spacers be peeling off on a "brand new" laptop? Why would I have scratches on the screen and smudges everywhere on a "brand new" laptop?

I wonder if HP is now offering that whopping $450 off coupon because they have a warehouse full of returned Envy's they want to offload as new systems?

"F" that! I will wait for Apple's refresh and don't care if the laptop costs me close to $3,000 fully loaded. I NEED QUALITY AND PEACE OF MIND!

 

Well said. People seriously don't know what they are talking about when build quality is in question. Hinges on the MBP's are horrible, all so the lid can be lifted with 1 hand. This leads to hinge looseness rather quickly, and of course creaking and bad fit/finish on the lid, which btw Apple claims to be "within manufacturing specifications" which btw the specifications are not public knowledge.
Thermal dissipation is a joke. Intake and exhaust are both besides each other on the back. Put any type of wall behind it and you will get a very hot laptop (not that it matters since it runs hot while under real usage). The only worse thermal design I have seen is with a Dell XPS desktop from way back. All the heat from the processor's heatsink/memory/IGP were all blowing towards the HDD which idled at around 55c... Let's say the owners had swapped that hard drive out 3 times before they got to us.

Also Apple's QC is most definitely not the best, and their support is perhaps 3rd-4th when compared to business class support/standard warranty. It isn't uncommon for Apple laptops to come with defects out of the box. Point in case about the hinges, I know one person who had to have his MBP 17" replaced because the hinges creaked right out of the box. Countless of MBP's that have dents/scratches, and of course bent optical drive slots. At least with cheaper $400 laptops you can replace most of those parts for cheap, and on higher end business laptops it's often covered under warranty (every time I have a repair for my E6500 or M6500 I am asked if any parts need replacing like trackpads, plastics, etc).
Replacing the MBP assembly without warranty is quite expensive, nearly $240-$260 is the cheapest I have seen it... provided you can even find one.

Build quality is also an issue for me, thus if it can't taken a fall. Or at least the warranty/support to have it repaired or replaced asap.

 

If you have 3000 bucks to spend, then hell, you can get a quad core 8740w with Dreamcolor2 and Eyefinity!

 

^dana-

the original posting date is march 2010

 

Look one post before mine, though... somebody else revived the post, and I just didn't realize that. Anyway, let's let this thread fade away again.