My HP Hell Experience #2

In light of the previous post with the title "My HP Hell Experience" I decided to post my own Service review.
KEEP IN MIND THERE ARE MORE COMPLAINTS BUT FIGURED IT WOULD BE TOO LONG OF A POST INCLUDING: Several "call us back our systems are down" excuses, transferring to wrong departments, and others.

Background:

Spoiler

I purchased an Envy 17 on 2/23/2011, yes that's less then a month ago. I received and was quite happy with it until I noticed it overheated drastically, and had obviously quality concern issues.

Issues:

Spoiler

1. Temperatures easily hit 96c~ for the CPU, and over 95c for the GPU while playing a simple game of League of Legends (uses perhaps 80%~ CPU maybe less, and more then likely uses less then 100% of GPU usage).
2. Game throttling occurs every 20-30 minutes, probably from where the CPU downclocks itself to reduce TDP and cool it self.
3. Quality control issues: a gap between aluminum trim and palm rest on the let side allowing a light to shine through. Power button misaligned, and rust stain on one of the hinges (confirmed rust stain, removed via using oil+cloth and sure enough came back).
4. High component temperatures (CPU and GPU) can lead to other components failing such as HDD's/Ram/Motherboards/etc etc.

The Call
So I call in 1 week into using the notebook, after negotiations with Newegg (first they agreed to a store credit refund, but soon realized they would end up making me loose $100-$200 in shipping and other charges- so I told them no and they had lost a customer- wasnt first time Newegg screwed me over).

I speak with the regular support people, and I am run around with what I consider to this day the absolute worst fix given by a manufacturer. I was told to disable all services/programs on start up: This means no media buttons, no power options, no brightness settings, no internet, no nothing. Basically a netbook with a dim LCD and straight up locked usage. While it did knock out 5 Celsius from the temperatures, it also made the laptop nonfunctional.
I call in again and a repair is quickly set up.
I receive the box on Tuesday 3/8/2011 and ship it the same day. HP has it by Tuesday 9th of March.
I do more research meanwhile and find out the Envy 17 has a poor cooling system compared to every other notebook of similar specs that is in production and being sold.

Through out the process I check repair status and find out on Friday that HP wished to contact me. There are problems with getting a hold of me so I call in.

HP's Run arounds

Spoiler

The regular support agent tells me there was nothing with the notebook and after a few attempts to request contact with a technician and then a supervisor the support agent transfers me to contact a super visor. Low and behold HP's famous wrong department transfer.
Just as I said it the guy transfers me to a wrong department which then transfers me back to the Regular Envy support line. I hang up, and call another number.
A nice young lady answers the phone, and basically tells me almost embarrassed that their department wouldn't be able to:
Be able to put me through a supervisor.
Let me speak with a technician.
Do anything other then tell me what they have on screen.
Cannot give me any other number to call to escalate the issue.
Or to sum it up do anything but just set up repair orders or escalate the issue if it appears again.

I tell her to please make a note that if I received the notebook without the repair center first contacting me (Which was promised before hand), I would simply find an alternative to having this issue resolved including and more then likely follow up with a lawsuit with past records of 5 other HP notebooks+their delay attempts as well as a record of overheating=bad which would be enough to warrant it as the laptop was within 30 day purchase date, as well as past history.

HP's "FIX"

Spoiler

Apparently my note probably scared the repair department and when I check the next day I notice HP had "successfully replicated the issue and repaired or replaced the notebook". I call in to see why I had not been contacted and what was fixed. I am told the fan had been replaced and the issue which was replicated had been fixed. I received the repaired laptop just 3 days ago on Monday the 14th of March.
Now on Monday I picked up the unit after missing the delivery@ a Fedex office. It was night, so I never got to really mess with it other then to turn it on to insure it worked.
The 2nd day was a busy one and I spent most of the day installing windows on a new 500gb 7200 RPM hard drive I had purchased to take the place of the slow 5200 RPM hard drive that came with the notebook.
Throughout this time the notebook had been either in my cushioned protective backpack, or on a desk. -important-

Damage from HP repair

Today I finally check the notebook on the morning and find a nick in the aluminum trim, and a scratch on the LCD. HP way to go, I send in a pristine notebook and get back a damaged one. Now the nick and scratch were minor so I let it go and began to now check the laptop's temperatures. Actually I did not even bother to mention it to HP as they truly are minor, albeit I was a bit bugged they did not replace them.

The temperature issue was not remedied. I was still idling at over 70c, and on a quick Prime95 load reached 93c in less then 3 minutes on Prime95, without any GPU load.

I call HP explain my situation on how this notebook has been useless and my research concluded: poor thermal design (3 heatpipes (2 shared between CPU/GPU) and 1 fan.
I am told basically they will set up a repair order again, and will have an observational period which means they get to keep it for a while and play "switch parts until it's magically fixed" game.
I tell them it is unacceptable on a notebook less then a month old, and wish to speak with someone who can breathe without first asking for permission.

The Case Manager

Spoiler

Now in the past Case managers have almost always been worse then useless this is from dealing with out own Hp laptops and customer's own laptops for warranty repair. They have been deceitful, right down liars who's primary purpose has been to delay the repair or solution and then secondary purpose minimize the loss and rip off clients (inferior laptop replacements).

This time it was much more different, and I will say it was completely easier and took less then 40 minutes to reach a resolution.
The support agent that attended me, and heard me rant for a good 5 minutes setup a Case manager request and informed me since at the moment Case managers are out I would be called within 2-3 hours. So I wait, and wait. 3 hours go by, I decide to check my email to pull up some information so I could call in again and there was an email from a Case Manager saying they had tried to contact me. I was surprised and quite happy they had actually tried to contact me but were not able to.

Now it was NOT their fault that they could not contact it in fact it is my fault for having a blocked call feature on my phone which blocks many commercial phone numbers from calling my phone.

I call in, and ask to speak with Mario, my Case manager however I am told my by a woman named Katy that he is busy but she can help me out as she is a Case Manager herself. I say that is perfectly fine, and she asks me for information on my situation so she can by pass reading notes.
We discuss the issue with my notebook, my research, and my own experience as a computer technician (having serviced hundreds of laptops). She tells me HP has less then a 1% failure rate on their laptops, which is a blatant lie or a very deceitful statistic. After a while she falters and cuts down to the chase, and says that from what she understands I don't want a repair knowing it will be useless (she acknowledged this herself mind you) and that I did not want the laptop in the condition it was in nor was I interested in another Envy 17.

I tell her frankly I am looking to get a refund or a replacement model. She says a replacement model can be done since it is their policy that if a notebook is sent in for repair within 60 days of purchase you have the right to ask for a replacement.
So she begins to tell me what they can offer that more closely matches my Envy 17.
The DV7 Quad Edition (Sandy Bridge)
Or she suggests if I don't mind the smaller screen etc the Envy 14 (non Sandy Bridge).
I tell her the Envy 14 had caught my attention in the past but with the recent Radiance discontinuance that soon went out of the question.
The DV7 had little information in terms of the HD 6770 mobility so we conclude it's best if I take a look at the options and call back.
Both options were tempting however upon close inspection I found out the Quad Edition DV7 was stuck with: No Backlit keyboard, no 1080p screen, no Infinity display, considerably weaker GPU, limited software options, and possible chance of it being a plastic/metal laptop vs all metal on the Envy. In the end even a fully upgraded DV7 wouldnt be able to satisfy my needs.

The choice

So I call in a request a refund. Since then I have researched, did some very rough calculations and figured I'd ask for an Envy 17 Sandy Bridge replacement which should by all technical aspect provide cooler temperatures due to the Sandy Bridge architecture, cool sense technology etc.

The Resolution- Waiting to receive order confirmation/status.

I then think about it and figure I'd ask for a replacement model instead.
I spoke with Case Manager Katy. I asked her if it would be possible to receive an Envy 17 SB as a replacement, she said it would certainly be a choice and she would email me the configuration (still waiting for it- it has been 2 hours however I am sure she has other customers.
Hopefully they don't try sticking me with an inferior speced Envy 17 and actually match spec for spec my Envy 17.

UPDATE
Okay got off the phone again today 3/17/2011 (5 minutes ago) and told her basically the processor and battery specifications were wrong (she offered absolutely no resistance and from what I understood she honestly had made a mistaken). She immediately sent me a revised specifications with a quad core processor+6/9 cell battery.

Here is what I am getting: Now I just need to wait until the order goes through and I receive a way to check the status.

Another update: 4/6/2011
After receiving an email from my Case Manager about my order being delayed an additional 2 weeks I asked for a refund. Unfortunately HP's convoluted manner of dealing with refunds would have me waiting far longer then waiting for the replacement.
So I have been stuck with an Envy 17 which is unsuitable for anything other then playing around on facebook, or playing games as doing real work is just about as risky as driving without a seat belt. Occasional lock ups (one is alone unacceptable in a business environment), and throttling of the components (slowing down) make it a very unstable system.

At this point I am going to go ahead and buy a 2nd notebook (an additional expense that HP has indirectly caused by producing some of the worst customer support, and computer reliability I have yet to see.

Now I understand that it is illogical to think that a single case should result in my following conclusion but please keep this in mind. I have worked with thousands of computers. I have dealt with every manufacturer, except directly with Sager (dealt with Vendor). I have already gone through 5 personal HP notebooks through support/resolution etc, and dealt with dozens of computers on behalf of clients. HP has officially been the worst.


See Bottom

At this point as a computer technician, I personally am confident HP should be avoided for any type of market, personal or business. Not only because their support is terrible but because their unreliability of their systems makes you have to rely on that terrible support.

In the end the best way I can sum up HP is with a quote I came up with when I was speaking to my sister about fast food restaurants. We had just come from Braums, and they had of course messed up on our order, as they had every time we'd gone there.
So we began to delicately gather our experiences on who the more consistant and reliable fast food restaurant was. To make it short we found that no restaurant but one earned the title of most consistent and reliable. Braums.

Braums is in fact the most consistent and reliable Fast Food restaurant we have yet to see in that every time you go there, you will be disappointed.

So to end it.
HP is the most reliable and consistent consumer and business company we have yet to try in that EVERY TIME WE OR OUR CLIENTS HAVE BEEN DISAPPOINTED BY THEIR SERVICE OR RESOLUTIONS.

So HP have a good one because I will become the most reliable and consistent consumer in that I will not buy HP again, and I will be sure not to recommend my Client's an HP product nor service.

This may not even hurt you in any way however my intention is not to hurt you. In fact I wish you would do better in your service and products so that others won't be left out to hang to whatever sanity then have left when they deal with you. My intention to inform people to save them the grief of dealing with you, HP.

Luis G.
A human who spends too much time on computers.

Final update- 4/13/2011

Well I got the laptop on the 12th, and been rocking it ever since. So far the laptop runs significantly cooler and gives excellent battery life nearly 6 hours with the 9 cell battery using the Intel graphics and 30% brightness as well as using the speakers for a good chunk of time.

Overall I am pretty excited about the notebook as it also performs better in most games then the previous Envy 17 I had.
The only issue thus far is an annoying hiss I heard on my JVC HA-RX900 headphones, however from my reading it seems it may an issue with the way the headphone connects and the way the Envy's jack is receiving power. A bit annoying but I can always get other headphones.
4/14/2011
Okay the issue has not gone away even after playing around with just about all HP drivers. It's regretfully annoying. I am going to contact the case manager and will likely get it fixed.

Alright complete disaster, and conclusion to this hellish experience.

Basically the new replacement system was bad. It throttled for no reason causing it to slow down to a complete crawl (mouse froze, etc), more than likely the motherboard. Case Manager offered no real solution to the problem (repair, or replacement- taking 1 week or a few weeks accordingly).

I decided to get a refund, as HP has yet to fulfill their part of the deal. While I could always resell the laptop for quite a bit more ($300-$500 more) then what I will get from the refund, I am afraid I cannot in good conscious sell someone a laptop that will likely fail due to the terrible quality, QC, and support of HP.

Overall I am incredibly disappointed in HP's Quality Control, support, and resolutions. I never should have taken a chance with HP given their previous history with 5 other notebooks I've dealt with from HP.

Once again in conclusion:
I highly recommend as a computer technician to avoid all of HP's consumer laptops, and desktops. Their support, quality control (Envy being their top of the line) are all subpar compared to other manufacturers, hell even Dell's consumer line isn't this bad.

 

HI, OMG that is totally UNACCEPTABLE! I read through your post and I think HP should be shamed...seriously, Make sure u get the replacement!
U should really sue them if they don't

 

I guess my question is...if they are offering a replacement...fine...but get Envy 17 for Envy 17. They can match each element of your machine up with what is available in the Sandy Bridge one. Video cards match up...just newer generation. HDD...that's a funky one...but worse case scenario is the 1TB 5400 rpm...which you can replace if you want. WHY do you have to step down from an Envy into a DV7???? That just doesn't make any logical sense. Call customer care...keep escalating until you reach someone who can make a decision and make things happen. DO NOT TAKE NO for an answer. It's your money!!!

 

Bobmitch, glad you got it and passing what we learned to others, very cool of you.

KJ

 

Updated.

I know about the Dv7, that is why I denied it. Anyways it seems they will do the replacement with the Sandy Bridge Envy 17, they will not budge me.

Now I just hope the whole transaction can be done quickly and painlessly.

 

Please define they won't budge me!

Are you saying that they WILL send you a new Envy?

 

They will send me an equivalent or better Envy (preferably equivalent) or will satisfy by decision for a refund, that is what I meant that they will not budge me.

They have indeed confirmed an Envy 17 SB model as a replacement unit and I received the replacement's specifications for it.

Basically it's all the same as my current unit except for two parts.
1. The processor offered is a dual core vs a quad core that I have now. Probable accident since both the dual core/quad cores are i7 so it was likely a honest mistake.
2. The battery option they offered did not match my original unit which was a 6 cell+ 9 cell extended battery, instead they offered me just a singe 6 cell battery.

I sent an email saying if those two parts could be changed I would agree to the replacement, otherwise we go 1 vs 1 no gloves on. Just kidding!

So far I am VERY surprised how the case manager is handling the situation. Everything is answered, or I am called back in a very reasonable time frame and the resolution discussions were relatively brief.

Would I still buy or recommend HP to my customer base (hundreds)? Probably not, but I will give them a chance to redeem themselves with this resolution. Hopefully it is swift, and more importantly fair for BOTH parties.

 

If you have the i7 720 or i7 740, then you should at least get i7 2630QM. Granted a bit much faster than the old generation...but it is entry level to the Envy.

 

This and my own experiences w/ HP are reasons NEVER TO BUY AN HP LAPTOP.

Dealing with HP has been the worst consumer experience I have had in years. Awful awful company.

 

Well....(guess we all have stories of different companies) the only thing about HP I wish never happened was them getting together with Compaq. Now Compaq...that is a nightmare company, but yeah....I won't bother you with my horror story here, maybe another time.

KJ

 

Alright I spoke with Katy a lil ago and basically agreed to this replacement:

 

Nice! Welcome to our little Envy family! Hope you enjoy your system for a long time.

KJ

 

Way to go! You got it done!!!

 

Way to hold your ground, that's a really nice replacement unit. Here's hoping that it works out for you.

 

Anyone know the process for a replacement laptop in terms of when it's ordered and how you are supposed to track it?

 

Crimsoned, it should be the same as a regular order. Go to HP.com and log into your HP account or go my order number.... it should tell you the build and once shipped you will see a tracking number you can follow FEDEX/your package that way.

KJ

 

Well no order yet. Going to give the case manager a day to get me some info for now before I call in.

 

Crimsoned, I had a similar problem with my overheating Envy 17 (112C on the GPU, lol) and just got it back from HP repair. Apparently they just replaced the heat sink fan for me as well. Oddly enough, this helped as my GPU is now idling at 53C, and will only hit 78C with Furmark burn test.
I did notice that they downclocked my GPU to 500/900 from 550/900. However when I overclocked it back to 550/900, the max GPU temp is still in the low 80's, so I guess they fixed the overheating problem.
But the problem is not completely solved, since now my fan would run very loudly even when idling. The fan noise audible across the room when the computer is doing nothing, which is very annoying and quite utterly unacceptable.
What do you guys think? Should I get them to repair it again? I'm jealous that Crimsoned got a sandy bridge replacement, that's something I'm working towards getting out of this I guess.

 

ncc1701k, yeah, why not? Go for a SB replacement.... it won't hurt to call HP and explain the matter.... You just have to be lucky in getting a chill rep to symphatize with your situation. Idle laptops should not be heard across the room. Let us know how it works out.

KJ

 

Check the bios to see if the fan isn't configured to run all the time. The fan should only ramp up when its hot.

Otherwise good luck on fighting for a SB replacement.

 

I just disabled "fan always on". No use, fan still kicks into full 30 secs after booting into windows while doing nothing.

 

Just got off the phone with HP. Will be sending it in again for repairs. Crossing my fingers.

 

Alright I got off the phone with my case manager about how I would be updated.

She told me since the order number is internal there is no way to check the build order (service ticket) but she told me if I wanted any update to please call her.
Basically I had a few questions hence the call:
1. Shipping service:
Envy products may or may not ship Fedex overnight or 2nd day Fedex when replaced. Now which exact service she does not know but once she gets a tracking number she can look it up.
2. Would a replacement be new or refurbished?
Replacement would be a brand new product being built from the ground up.
3. Warranty would start off where I left off or?
No the warranty would actually start over, however would be whatever the standard is for Envy products then. So I get 2 years warranty now. \o/ That is great to hear.

 

Once again, good luck to you guys getting replacements. Crimsoned, nice to hear HP is working well with you and you're also getting a brand new laptop with new warranty from fresh! Lol, can't wait to hear good news when you get it.

KJ

 

I have had very good luck in the past going directly to the HP Resolutions Dept, who are the final arbiters of such things as refunds, discounts and new units to replace ailing ones. 888-227-8451. Ask for Long or Owee (pronounced Oh EE). They have been awesome for me in the past. Authorized new models to replace broken older ones (past teh 21 days, which is normally their limit of action) and throwing extra discount money your way. The key to a good result there is: speak slowly, don't get angry, stay respectful, repeat yourself as often as necessary. PM me if you want my name to use - they know me by name.

Sorry, haven't read every post and maybe you've gone that route already. Good luck.

 

I wish I knew about this, I could of gotten a better deal off the replacement Elitebook I am getting.

 

I'm on a similar boat like Crimsoned, but my case is with the EliteBook 8740w (a bussiness laptop - the VERY BEST of HP so far).

I suffered a real torture with the service center and "customer care" (that name is a joke, at least, in Spain). After being accused of *breaking* a DreamColor screen (a $1000+ repair, they wanted I pay that quantity, but my technician explained them it was not my fault), receiving a screen used by another client (with the aluminum cover of the lid unstuck and lacking the original DC sticker) and several other issues (including deviation on the right hinge causing play on the right side of the lid when is closed), HP will send me a new replacement. But a consumer complaint and a lawyer were needed to "convince" them and several calls to the service center and the bussiness workstation manager in my country. It was a horrible experience and I'm very disappointed with the "customer care", but the 8740w is amazing and I don't want anything else. No ETA has been given for my replacement, and I'm still waiting the arrival...

Well, at first I spoked "slowly" and I was polite, but then they exhausted my patience and I threatened them with a court if necessary. Finally, I had to calm down and be polite again (if not, they would not send me the replacement, only a full refund as option). So I'm agree with you, you must be polite, but sometimes there are cases you cannot, because patience is not infinite.

 

Not that easy! I too am (allegedly) getting an Elitebook (see sig) to replace my DOA E14 Radiance, but it was ordered 2-23 and has been delayed 4 times, though I have placed "dummy" orders for the same config along the way and the longest quoted lead time was 10 days.

Once you are outside the Home/Home Office division, and you are sucked into the Corporate Case management black hole/vortex, life gets really bad and never gets better!

Point being: the Home/Home Office Resolution staff cannot supply non-consumer replacements. Only a Corporate Case manager can, and let me tell you, after 14 purchases of consumer and business notebooks from HP in 2 years, I have NEVER had remotely such a bad experience as with this no-nothing, lying, do-nothing corporate case mgt group (on my 4th case manager there, each worse than the last!

RE: Crimsoned last comment:

"She told me since the order number is internal there is no way to check the build order (service ticket) but she told me if I wanted any update to please call her.
Basically I had a few questions hence the call:
1. Shipping service:
Envy products may or may not ship Fedex overnight or 2nd day Fedex when replaced. Now which exact service she does not know but once she gets a tracking number she can look it up.
2. Would a replacement be new or refurbished?
Replacement would be a brand new product being built from the ground up."

They do not and can not provide updates on these orders. One of my worthless case managers sent me a copy of my order ticket with the order #s whited out, but stupidly left it in a different place. Now I can track my order and I tell them what the status is and, after 4 delays, from 3/2 to 4/1 and no end in sight, all they can say is:

1) We can only email the production dept and hope they respond, which they often don't
2) We have no means of expediting your order, no means of getting action of any kind
3) We are the highest level of escalation in all of HP! You cannot speak to anyone above us - we don't report to managers, only to "HP" (whatever the f--- that means!)

I have never once before had this kind of experience with HP These corporate case managers have unimaginable powers of control combined with no willingness or ability to make anything happen. They have the poser, and have used it, to prohibit anyone from the line organizations from providing information on orders they are managing - and it works; people who have helped me countless times say they can't even speak to me about my order. I have written the CEO and Board of Directors.

I am completely out of ideas and contacts. My next step is the press. I just need to devise a more compelling story than: HP sucks. Their case managers are impotent liars!"

We need to have a sticky with names and contact info of HP executives who will intervene

 

Contract an attorney and/or send a complaint to a consumer organization in your country. It works, it worked for me.

Did you read my story? My lawyer (BTW, provided by the consumer organization) put pressure on them for a repair/full replacement and I got the full replacement (but I'm still waiting). It was not easy, I had to sign a legal agreement between HP and me, and send copies of this agreement via e-mail and postal service. So you have to be very, very patient.

My case is currently handled by the QA program manager in EMEA after scalation to the top level, and it's likely he's reading these lines. And I agree with you they have full control over all other departments, they can order a full replacement out of your 30-day return window (my case). But I'll try to be fair, as I told him, and I will post the (happy) ending of my case in this forum, in order to people see resolution of very hard cases, like mine, is possible too (hopefully).

 

I would appreciate it if you would share the name and contact info of the "consumer organization" you refer to.
Also, could you please post (or email me at: [email protected]) the contact information (phone, email, etc.) for the "QA Program" you refer to. Thank you.

As for the Resolutions Department, I did call them. They were very nice but told me that they are actually lower on the food chain than the case managers and cannot override them. They also said that they have authority to order replacements only if its within 60 days of purchase or delivery of the computer. They did say that case managers do have authority to authorize refunds or replacements and its entirely within their discretion to do so or not. (In other words, "Gilbert" is lying not only when he claims he never offered the refund, but also that he "does not have authority" to do so.)

 

Its amazing and quite sad how complicated and completely bloated a simple concept such as "Customer Service" has become at HP.

Seriously why can't they just have 3 different levels of departments (Low, Mid, and High Tier) with soldiers and supervisors within each tier?

Is it that hard to keep things simple?

 

I don't know if this will help anyone (I don't even know if it will even help me, as I can't reach them til Monday AM), but I did a netsearch and found the phone number for the HP "Executive Customer Service Department". The phone number is: 1-650-756-0608. When you hear the prompt telling you to "enter the number you were given in your instructions" (I don't have a clue what that means), hit "7". Presumably, if you call during business hours (8-5 PST on M-5 only) you will get a live human who will direct you to someone who will listen to your complaint. I was told that these people can overrule your "case manager" if they want to. So, if you are tired of getting the runaround from your case manager, give this number a try. I will post if I get any help from them.

 

@[email protected]:
Private message sent. I'm sorry, but I cannot help anything else.

 

So I just got the Envy 17 back from HP. They swapped the heatsink fan and somehow that resolved my problem of fan stuck on high.
But get this, (HP just never fail to surprise me) it took me over 25min to first boot into windows even though they did not make any software changes. Subsequent boot got a bit faster, but it now still takes 5 min to just boot into windows (about 4:30 of these are stuck in the welcome screen).
System restore time I guess. I'll be getting rid of this once everything is fixed. I'm done with HP for now.

 

Good idea. I won't be going back to HP either unless this new Envy 17 SB changes my mind. So far no update on my status other then an estimate date of April 4th.

 

Okay it is April 1st, I called in on the 29th of March to see if they had any updates.
According to my case manager the estimated date is April 4th, 2011 for them to finish building however she said in her experience the estimated date is usually the date that the customer receives the laptop. Either way I should have that laptop by next week, provided they don't bust out with delays over the Japan tragedy. (They claim they are not affected but others have been given very length delays already.)

 

Crimsoned, not sure if you had a chance to see it, but a recent post on NBR stated thet HP told that cutomer that the delay was due to the display being delayed. LOL, no not the Radiance obviously, but for the Envy 17 SB and Envy 17 3D SB..... Not sure if its true or not... with HP we learned take what they say with a hugh grain of salt!

KJ

 

Well I certainly hope that is not for my case. Otherwise I am going to be a bit upset, I can't even safely do my work on my laptop out of concern, I am having to save every few minutes. I experience by first major throttle yesterday were I was gaming and the whole game went down to like 5 FPS, temperatures were 98c on CPU...

 

Alrighty well my laptop was delayed with a new estimated shipping date of April 19th 2011. I have now requested for a refund instead. Waiting 13 days simply is not an option...
I cannot stress this enough. If you are looking for a serious laptop for work DO NOT buy HP. Just flat out, business nor consumer class.

Honestly if you want REAL service get a Dell business, or a Lenovo business class laptop or workstation. At least with them the 1st person you speak with is usually the last you need to speak with (They can just about issue refunds, replacements, repairs, etc).

 

That is my last email to HP. Basically I will be asking for a refund and I will be taking my own and my client's business elsewhere.

 

Whos your client? I thought the laptop was just for you?

 

It is my own. I meant by client's the people who come to me to get computers repaired, and bunch of other services.

 

Gotcha....well I hope you get a nice laptop for your needs. Like KJ stated in the other thread the Envy is definitely in a league of its own in my opinion and I think its worth the wait.

 

It's not in a league of it's own, unless this league is restrictive that no other laptop fits the bill. Such as having a floral design.

 

The Envy 14 is nearly in a league of its own with the radiance screen. Without, it's pretty much standard stuff really

 

The radiance screen is overshadowed by Sony's previous 13" 1080P displays. Actually the 17" Envy with the 1920x1080 screen has an even better pixel per inch ratio.

 

Laptop was shipped on the 9th of April. To be delivered on April 13th.
I am very very happy it was shipped before April 19th.

 

Alright I received the laptop on April 12th.
So far so good, no overheating even during high usage situations like games.

So far I haven't tested it completely.

 

Sadly, though HP wants you to believe otherwise, the people who answer this line CANNOT overrule a CM. In fact, ALL they can do is ASSIGN a CM, then if he/she doesn't perform they say "sorry, the CMs have more authority than we do. WARNING: DO NOT let them assign you an "Executive Case Manager" out of Ontario (won't tell me where), Canada!! They are the worst of the worst - arrogant, on a total power trip and rarely even return your calls or emails. I will not rest until I get to someone in higher management to get this group reviewed.

Sorry for the caps, but I really am SCREAMING! I've been waiting for a run of the mill Elitebook 8540w since January that they insisted on replacing my DOA Envy 14 Radiance with. I honestly doubt it will ever come!

 

Alrighty, well basically I got the new Sandy bridge Envy 17 back however it keeps producing a high pitched sound or static depending on the headphone. This is unbearable since I do listen to music a lot. I am contacting my Case manager to see what can be done. More then likely sending it in.

I think once I get it fixed I am going to sell it off. :/