Help needed with Envy 15 purchase.

Hello everyone! I have been saving up for a bit and the time has finally come to purchase a quality laptop. Based on my needs for both decent gaming performance and design quality, I have narrowed my options down to the HP envy 15.

However, I am a bit confused by the wide variety of HP 15s available in my price range (900 dollars or less) I am looking to get one that will work as well as possible for my needs. Here are the criteria

- Needs to be 900 or less
- Needs to be able to handle battlefield 3, on medium, with at least 30 fps but 40's would be much better if possible
- New or Refurbished is fine, but I'd rather not get used.

Of the ones, currently found on Ebay as of 7/28/2012, for 900 dollars or less, which one would be the best bang for my buck?

Also, are all these models 3D capable or is that only for the newer, more expensive, ivy bridge ones?

And lastly, if anyone here has a HP envy 15, can you tell me how your experience has been when running battlefield 3?

All help will be GREATLY appreciated, and I thank you in advance

 

I don't see any 3200 versions on that list for under $900 so my advice DON"T get any of those. You said you wanted to play Battlefield 3 at decent framerates right well look at the picture I posted. For a $150 more than your budget you can get the newer version with Intel's Ivy Bridge and the new AMD 7750m. This will allow you to play Battlefield 3 with very good FPS. It's your decision not mine but just remember the non 3200 series had alot of problems weather it be the screen not displaying colors property or the 7690m card which was given NO drivers support whatsoever. Plus the AMD 7750m card overclocks well since the 3200 version has excellent cooling... Make your decision soon since these coupons tend to go fast...

 

It kills me to hear you say that I have to hurry to get that deal because hurrying isn't a option if i'm spending anything over my budget. I would have to save it and have no way of getting it anytime soon. It would be couple weeks at best.

Looks like I may be stuck with something from the old series. I am at peace with the reds look slightly orange issue, that isn't a big deal to me, as I wont be doing any editing or anything where that will really bother me, the problem seems to fall on the video card. The one I was leaning towards before I posted this was the one with the 7690MXT, do you happen to know of any issues with this version of the card?

I really wish it was within my means to get the one in your picture, that looks much nicer than what I am going to be able to get.

Thanks again for replying!

 

Hey if you can wait a couple weeks before buying then you'll see the 33% off coupon that comes every month or so. That will bring the purchase price down to around your budget. If you really need to have a laptop then go ahead if not save up a couple hundred more and you'll be able to get one of the newer models... I had the other envy 17 that came with the 7690mXT and it was good but not great. There wasn't any drivers for it. Not AMD or HP would update their drivers for that model since AMD says HP has to release them which they never do. If you want look up my YouTube channel adamdoom89 and see the videos I have posted with the Radeon HD 7850m card and you'll get an idea of what to expect with the Radeon HD 7750m card... Hope this helps...

 

My advise save up your money dude at least until the 33% off coupon comes out. If you have enough money by then you'll be happy you waited. When I purchase something this big I expect it to last quite a few years. You don't want to buy an older model and then regret it later when the difference would've been a couple hundred. You'll be kicking yourself...:laugh:

 

That does help! Help to make me long for that version of the envy lol. I likely will hold tight till the deal comes.

How did battlefield 3 gameplay compare on the mxt? You said it was good but not great, what frame rates did you see in b3 and on what settings?