Just Order Envy 14

Just ordered a brand new Envy 14 online direct from HP (so I could get the 21 day "free look"). See my signature for it's specifications.

Since I only have 21 days to initiate a return, I'm wondering if you fine folks could give a list of things to look out for in the most recent revision to this tank of a laptop.

 

Okay, then...guess nobody wanted to be helpful.

No matter, I guess, like with nearly every techology company on the planet, I'm really on my own, despite any appearance to the contrary.

My Envy 14 has arrived and is in hand as I type this on it. The build of my unit is solid with no visible seams or build flaws. After using a Vaio Z for so many years, this thing really seems HEAVY!!

I guess I have 20 days left now to see if I can come up with enough reasons to send it back...

 

My experiences with the enny14 tend to just be:

Screen look good?
Trackpad work well?
See any visible blemishes, dents or gaps in the assembly?

If NO to all 3 then you are all set.

 

Check to make sure the keyboard backlighting is uniform, and make sure there isn't a "bubble" in the panel where the display and the area behind the keys meet. Also, see how loose the display panel hinges are; what I mean is if you pick it up while the laptop is open, will the display panel fall backward or open more?

I've had a couple issues and a couple replacement ENVYs, but those were coincidental. Those things I listed above are the most common physical defects I've seen so far.

Welcome to the ENVY club!

 

I purchased the 2nd gen envy 14 in late June, just a couple days after it came out. I returned it couple days later and I'll list some of the issues that bothered me while I used it:

1) Similar to what you said, the computer is very big for a 14.5". I thought the envy 14 was supposed to be a slim & light, and although it may be smaller than the XPS and other 15.6", the screen size, for me, did not justify its bulkiness.

2) The fan was noisy even when during minimal tasks such as word processing. I took my envy to the library and could not get over how loud it was compared to my old macbook. Hopefully I just had a bad computer, or maybe there's a way to fix the fan.

3) The trackpad was not as smooth as I expected. I loved my macbook's trackpad (the previous non-glass type), and was expecting HP to at least match that quality.

Needless to say, I was fairly disappointed as the envy was supposed to be HP's "premium" laptop. Please don't take my post the wrong way, I'm not bashing HP or the Envy at all, but just wanted to point out a few aspects that really ruined the computer for me and hopefully yours won't have these problems, or you won't care about them.

 

Thank you, it's great to join the all-metal club (a.k.a. the full metal jacket)! So far this thing does seem pretty durable...like a tank, really. I've had pretty good luck so far on my battery tests. I got about 5-6 hours out of the extended battery slice with nonstop wireless usage before the computer automatically switched over to the main battery (as it automatically does once the second battery reaches 7%).

Oh, and this thing boots FAST! I also like the keyboard, and the fact that I can turn the back lighting on and off whenever the mood strikes me to, though I have noticed that the back light "bleeds" around the keys when I lower my head towards the keyboard (but who does that when they're typing?).

I do have 1 question, though: I'd like to test how long I can game on only battery power (2 batteries), but I can't seem to force the ATI graphics to stay on when the computer isn't plugged in. Does anyone know the best way to go about that? Is it enough to just turn of ATI Catalyst's "Power Play" option (which I've done) and configure Catalyst to use performance mode for the game? I mean, I could just manually go into device manager to disable the Intel Graphics in Device Manager, but I'm thinking that there has to be a less "brute force" way to achieve my goal. Ideas?

 

Glad you're happy with it! I love the keyboard too. It'd be cool if the backlighting could switch between levels instead of off and on, but oh well.

To answer your question, go into the BIOS when it boots (press and hold ESC) and switch it from Dynamic Mode graphics to Fixed Mode. Dynamic mode will switch on a per-program basis while Fixed switches between battery /AC power and on an ad-hoc basis when you choose. So after doing that, go into Configurable Graphics when you're in Windows and you'll see that you can switch it manually. Let me know if you need more specific instructions (not sure of your level of expertise).

 

Thank you for your help!

I'd like to think of myself as somewhat of an expert (a couple weeks ago I replaced the motherboard of my son's HP Mini-Note 2133), so I should be able to waddle my way through the BIOS settings.

Are you saying that in Fixed Mode that I can decide when to switch modes at any time? If so, that sounds perfect to me. It sounds like Dynamic Mode is intended for people who are more "hands off" and Fixed Mode is more for the control freaks (like me) who don't want other people making your decisions for you.

Thanks again for your help!

 

Yup, that's exactly what I'm saying. Have fun, no problem!

 

Did you really get 5 hours on just the slice? I've been thinking about getting it, I have the same processor as you and I get between 2 and 3 hours of battery life

 

Yes, I sure did!

The only downside is that it does add a fair amount of weight to an already heavy laptop. This is because HP stuck with the all-metal, built-like-a-tank design approach; the entire exterior, including the side that will contact the underside of the laptop, is all metal. Honestly, I'm pretty sure that you could kill someone by swinging that battery slice at someone's head without even damaging the battery (not that I suggest doing that ). It's like the whole Envy line was meant to deflect bullets...Seriously, if someone was about to take a shot at me, I would try to hide behind my Envy. Think about it, with the battery slice attached, that would be 5 layers of metal the bullet would have to penetrate to get to me.

 

Consider yourselves lucky...I have an i5-520m and only get 2-3 hours...