Just Bougth ENVY 17 i5 3d without research what should i know?

As the topic says"

I went shopping today and since my bday is coming up i thought id treat myself with a envy 14..low and behold i came across the envy 17 with its gorgeous 3d screen I was blown away..I never ever buy without researching but this I just couldn't resist.
few things i shud know or want to know

1.can the ati 5850 play games in 3d with or without native support?? its my first ati lappy.

2. will the i5 be better with heat and more user frndly? (read about the i7 version)

3. 5850 is powerful indeed. but is their any downclocking or problems tht wud ruin my gaming experince?


4. I think Im gonna love this laptop.. have i been seduced by looks?

thank you for your help
it arrives day after tomorrow as i paid by cheque

 

1. I don't know how ATI sets up for 3D Gaming, so you might want to ask an Envy 17 3D owner about that.

2. Yes, the i5 should be significantly cooler than the i7's, however the cooling system in the Envy 17 in general are awful that you might still get some heat.

3. This might be the biggest disappointment but HP has crippled the 5850M in the Envy 17, primarily for it to refuse heat output. The 5850M is underclocked heavily vs. 5850M's used in other OEM's (like MSI and Alienware). The primary reason for this underclocking is due to HP setting the Voltage at 0.900V vs. the standard's 1.05V. Therefore, the clocks are reduced and OC-ing can only bring back some figures back, but never to the average ATI specifications.

That said, the gaming performance should be still excellent, but don't expect to run on all high settings on 1080p resolution. You might need to do some compromises between resolution and textures.

4. The Envy's are often very good looking and it has been one of their selling points that helps to deter people from the MBP's.

 

nielo, welcome to the Envy 17 3D family! Since StrikeSaber47 already answered questions 2, 3, and 4 very eloquently,
I would like to just mention the first one and the fourth.

1. If you mean can you play 3D games on resolutions other than 1920x1080? Of course. In fact, since HP underclocked the HD 5850, games will perform better (better frame rates) if you lower the resolution. It all depends on what game you play. You can increase the specs, AA, etc, but might want to play on 1024x768 for example. Again, experiment to find the "sweet" settings in each game, they vary.

2. Yes, you got seduced by one sexy laptop. But guess what? She is amazing, and fun.... besides games, pop in a bluray and connect to external high quality speakers, be prepared to be amazed.

P.S. Enjoy NBR, and feel free to ask any question on your mind. There are lots of great people here with helpful info.

KJ

 

Thanks alot for your help, I currently own a M15x but Iv realized despite being a good desktop replacement gaming rig ..its just too much bulk albeit out of necessity and it lacked applish premium touch (cant explain it). As long as I can game at

Med@720p 25fps I am a happy man. I can live with downclocked gpu too.
so im guessing this machine can handle it with some ease?

 

At that setting I would think most games would play very well. Some much higher than 25fps. You should check out the thread I have here...somewhere...on YouTube vids about the Envy 17 3D. I will try to check some pages back maybe I can find it. Have fun.


Edit: Found it! Here you go >>>>>> http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-envy-hdx/536870-regarding-envy-17-3d-youtube-videos.html

KJ

 

I was looking for my model number and it is listed as Envy 17 1201tx is this a newer revision by any chance or an old one as it not available in the US store. This is the india store link.

HP ENVY 17-1201tx Notebook PC (LD959PA) specifications - HP Home & Home Office products