HP envy 14 problem survey including Linux

I don't own an HP Envy 14 right now. I am thinking about re-buying one. Yes re-buying one. I had one at one time when they first came out and returned it within a week. My other laptop at the time had broken and I needed a laptop for school. So I bought an HP envy real fast because really its the only one that I really liked for the size and specs. This was prior to the Sandy Bridge offerings. The reason I returned it had to do with the trackpad and buttons were driving me nuts. It just did not work right and what good is a laptop if the trackpad and BUTTONS does not work right? I currently own a Dell 620 which is old but the track pad and buttons work great. They both (Envy14 and Dell 620) are about the same size. I really just don't like most of the 15in laptops they are too big to carry in my bag all over the place and I do a lot of DJing for local house parties and what not.

I am also an avid Linux user. I would say that I spend more time on my Linux partition than my windows one. So I am trying to see what Linux users are going through to get the HP envy to work on Ubuntu or Linux Mint. I personally like to use Ultimate Edition the most. I know there are issues with the hybrid graphics, so I will most likely have to CHmod the Radian card out. Which is fine. I would like to use the Radian sometimes but I understand the drivers are crap for it anyways. I am not a new Linux user, I have been on Ubuntu since the 6.04 times. How are people doing with Wifi?

So I want to hear other users input on this. Would you buy yours again? Did HP fix the stupid trackpad and button issues? Because the first generation version and drivers were just horrible.

Can someone also explain to me what the deal is with the 878GB Dual Drive. Is this a 128 SSD drive and a normal 750gb in one slot or does this remove the disk drive and put a 750gb hdd in its place?

Is there any real difference between the Beats edition and the normal Envy other than looks?

Thanks
N

 

I have used Linux, but not on my Envy, so I'll reserve that for someone else to answer . If you haven't done so, I'd recommend checking out the Linux thread on this forum. I do glance at it from time to time for sheer geekiness, and recall seeing issues on graphics switching and general ATI drivers wonkiness (I don't even remember if they officially support Linux drivers anymore but you probably know that better than I do). I think I saw some stuff on screen brightness control too, but check that thread.

As far as your other questions... I haven't used the 1st gen, but I have a Sandy Bridge Envy 14. That being said, I did serious research before settling on this laptop, and that in combination with what I've read on this forum, the trackpad is significantly improved from the first one. It's not great, but pretty good. Can't comment on use of the trackpad in Linux.

The dual drive is a combination mSATA SSD and HDD. I have the smaller 580GB combo, but same concept. Not a super expert on SSDs as this is my first experience with them, but mSATA is an SSD implementation that fits in the (unused in America configure-to-order Envys) WLAN slot, so no crazy fitting of multiple regular-sized drives in the chassis.

 

Thanks for the answer Wetwillycf. That sounds real interested for the dual drive. Have you found any reviews or pictures on the net that show what is going on with that visually. I have been looking on the net but have not found it. I am guessing that this is a custom thing from HP? I asp because that seems like a really great solution which makes me wonder if I can make it happen in another laptop too?

I have been reading through the threads on the Linux stuff. They are REALLY long. With a lot of not current info. I guess I was more asking opinions. I am sure there are some users which have opinions on whether this is a good choice or not for a Linux rig. The problems with hybrid graphics are a problem for all laptop users. But there is a project called bumblebee/ironside for the Nvidia users that is getting some good results.

Anyone know if the beats edition is worth the extra? What do I get. I really don't like the red color board. I am worried that it will not be easy to see the keys.

 

Hey no problem. So I've heard that the Beats edition is only a cosmetic "upgrade" but I've seen in a place or two that there is a tangible audio difference. No idea, but I chose to stick to the basic one .

The mSATA thing is not unique to HP, but I don't know of any other mainstream machines that offer it from the factory. Again, I'm not an expert on the subject, but I believe an mSATA drive will work in a WLAN slot in any mainstream machine. Not extremely confident on that, but I think it's the case. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong. I know that if it is the case, a special mount is likely needed... for an Envy 14, if you order without the dual drive option, but want to add an mSATA drive on your own, you need to order the mounting kit from HP (the HP Parts Store).

The Envy 14 Service Manual has images galore. Forgive me, but I'm too lazy to look for it and link it for you, but the Service Manual for the SB Envy 14 is posted in an older thread on this forum. Just search for it... there's definitely pictures in there. And you can surely order mSATA drives all over.

I feel like the Envy straddles the border between niche and mainstream, so Envy-specific Linux implementations aren't going to be super common, but I would expect it to be pretty sweet for Linux. Unique features like controlling the backlighting (or really any of the special function keys) might be a bit wonky, and the switchable graphics are likely not any more crazy on here than any other machine with them. Not sure what specifically you do with Linux (networking, serving, etc.), but I'm sure that since for the price the Envy 14 is pretty sweet, it'd be the same for Linux.

Though it hasn't been released yet, depending on what you're looking for, the 15.6" Samsung Series 7 machines might be better though. Also, all the tech geek stuff I read, I'd expect HP to release an Ultrabook in the next 4-5 months too. Not sure on your timeline or what specifically you need your machine for, but it wouldn't surprise me (though I have no evidence to support this) if HP didn't release said Ultrabook as an Envy. Of course, with everything at HP so volatile, I could also see the Envy line easily going away too. Who knows? Right now it's an in-between time for HP and Envys.

 

I run archlinux on my envy ever since I bought it. Initially things were not as smooth, but now they are. I just turnoff Radeon card on boot and I can use switchable graphics with the opensource drivers. OSS drivers are not that good in terms of performance, but I heard AMD released drivers to work with switchable graphics. I haven't tried them though. You might want to ask in linux specific thread.
Everythin else, including trackpad, suspend, battery life (I easily manage 4+ hours) just work. Latest synaptic driver also enabled the touchpad LED (the one you double tap to disable the touchpad). Multitouch also works just fine.

I did take some time to setup things right but now it's all sweet. And arch being a rolling release distro, it stays that way. You might want to check with the ubuntu camp though, if that's what you're gonna use.

 

Thanks for the info on the Linux stuff. I figured I would just have to run with the intel gpu for Linux. So that is ok. From my understanding the ATi stuff is easier to deal with because it is not seamless switching like Nvidia. There is a whole nother can of worms going on there. I do run Ubuntu, but I am thinking of switching. The latest garbage with Gnome 3 and unity is pushing me away from Ubuntu. But to be honest I have been off stock Ubuntu for some time in favor of Ultimate Edition. But even the Ultimate Edition devs are having issues with the Gnome 3 garbage. Serious why can't we just keep the gnome 2.3 interface? I am hoping that Mate desktop will carry that on, but that is in the early stages. Linux Mint is currently taking Ubuntus top ratings slot because of this mess. I just read they are releasing LM 12 with the Mate desktop too. I was also thinking about going to a rolling desktop OS. But have not had to much experience, so its uncharted for me. I also worry that some of the more oddball programs that I like will not be ported over, like Clementine (amarok 1.4 revived and renamed).

Battery life sounds outstanding for a linux rig. Thanks for the info.

I am still worried about the touch pad. I had issues with my palms making the cursor jump all the time when I last had an Envy. Is that still the case?

As to the Msata drive... I tried to look up info about the parts kit and could find that no where on the net. Any hints on where to find it? Mainly because I really don't want to buy the HP version. Its WAY TOO EXPENSIVE. I can get a 128gb Msata drive from Newegg for 250, which is nearly 50% less that what HP charges. I would think by looking it, that it should just slide right into that port without a kit. Is that true or is there really a kit that is needed?

Also I know this is a side question. But does anyone know if the Ivy Bridge chips will have the same chip slot as sandy? Or does any one know if I can get a 2500 level i5 core from HP? I know the i7 is a step up, but I am more worried about the heat issues and battery loss and i don't render too often so I will rarely use all the capability of that chip.

 

If you do DJing, this generation of ENVY may not be usable since there are issues of audio stuttering due to high DPC latency.

There is no mSATA port available if mSATA SSD is not ordered together with the system since HP drops in an extra SSD connector board. So you decide...

The new IS 3 clickpad is way better, you can set palm check.

Nothing concrete, but even on the same socket, compatibility issues can occur due to electrical layout and old unupdated BIOS microcode.

5.5 hours to 6 hours on a single charge with i7-2630QM, you decide.

 

Yeah, my touchpad had the exact same issues. Not anymore though, patches have landed and now multitouch and even palm detect work work fine.

And as for clementine, it's available in the repos and git version in the AUR (Arch user repo). Arch thanks to AUR, has large and most up to date repos I've yet seen in any distro.

oh, I'm starting to sound like a arch fanboy! (I secertly am )

Most distros are making it harder to keep running gnome 2, arch included. I'd suggest to shift to XFCE, it's lighter and is compatible with most gnome 2 applications. or mint seems to be doing a pretty good job with gnome 3 extensions and stuff.