NOW AVAILABLE - Updated ENVY 15, ENVY 17 / ENVY 17 3D

The only source showing the comparison performance between the envy 15 and 17 so far is that HP article. Seeing as we now know that the XT is a slightly faster 6770m, if that HP article is correct, whatever would be in the 15 would be something really gimped.

 

Here's some screenshots, all menus are in Swedish but i will comment all screenshots to explain what they do.


1. Standard setting, power cord inserted, high perf gpu automatically selected but will automatically switch to low perf gpu when on battery:




2. I unticked the automatic switching and locked it to the high perf gpu (7690):




3. I unticked the automatic switching and locked it to the low perf gpu (Intel):




4. Furmark opengl benchmark, automatic switching on, power cord connected, running on high perf. gpu (7690):

 

Wasn't the 7690M already better than 6770M? I don't remember anything saying that the XT is a faster 6770M.

However, I do remember seeing that the 7690M is a faster 6770M, and that the XT improved upon that speed.

 

GPU-z has not been properly updated to read these, same with 3dmark 2006. It wouldn't surprise me to find out that some of GPU-z info is inaccurate since it doesn't know how to read these. We will just have to wait till people have their hands on both the 15 and the 17 in order to compare.

 

wish the 15.6 came with a number pad though but seems like they will rival the xps if they get battery life sound quality and performance right ....... but ill wait for the dv 6 to get backbite keys and buy one of those

 

Here's a screenie of the WEI scores:

 

Thanks. Graphics scores seems low and on par with the older video cards. Oh well no big deal.

 

Meh, performance isn't gonna get any better at HD resolution sadly.
Or lets play games in 960*540 res yeaaa.

 

Well if they are shipped from China to the US via FedEx, I would not be surprised if they got to most people in 2-3 days. I live close to Chicago, so FedEx would probably fly it into Chicago (being the closest major metropolitan area) which would take a day and I would probably get it the next day.

 

well, if I remember correctly, the 6850m on the Envy 17 got a 6.8 score, so this is a slight improvement in a much lower power envelope (tdp). I love this level of efficiency and performance we are seeing with the new 7690m XT (if battery life holds true)

If you get a chance Stefan, can you test the battery life and give rough estimates please

 

Agreed, a battery test would be great. Use the Battery Mark program they use, which simulates continued usage. Thanks so much

Either way, it seems the XT is better than the 6850M, which is fine by me. I don't need more power than that.

 

I hope as well that we get some better hardware detection from the next version of GPU-Z. This is all very confusing with the component names, rebranding, and benchmarks.

 

Here's a 3dmark11 score:

 

what are your thoughts around the sound since they made a point with 'omgz 6 speakers!'

also - fan noise?

 

Man, I sure am glad I don't give two flying hoots about the graphics card!

If I did I think I might be pulling my hair out reading this, lol!

 

I did some comparison between all the 'important' GPU's on Notebookcheck using the Vantage GPU values. I used the graphics part of Stefan's Vantage score.

7690XT: 6226
6770: 5186
5870: 7614
5850: 5365
5830: 4242

Now most of those are average scores where some are higher and some lower depending on system but the 7690XT isn't that bad at all. As soon as there is an Envy 17-3010oe version available I think I'll place my order since I now have an old Envy 15 and the speed bump to that one is for me great.

If you counting the average of the full Vantage score of Stefan's Envy to the average score of the 6770 systems:

7690XT: 7465
6770: 6081
(5870: 7929 - though all of the systems there are having the earlier generation CPU's).

And as others have pointed out: the 3dmark06 score is ~2000 higher than the 6770 while only being like 700-1000 lower than 5870.

Good enough for me.

 

The idea of anyone caring what WEI scores say makes me laugh. Those numbers are completely meaningless, and it should not be taken as a serious benchmark.

 

Stephen, I have a favor to ask! (like everyone else, lol)

I made an audio file to kind of test the crossover point for the subwoofer/general speaker output for the new Envys, would you mind giving it a quick play and telling me the following:

Do you hear anything at all?

If you hear something, is it coming out of all of the speakers or only the "subwoofers"?

How loud is it while coming out of the subwoofer?

If it comes out of other speakers, how loud is it then?

If at all possible leave any kind of EQ settings or anything audio control wise flat.

Thank you SOOOOO much if you get time to do this!

Heres the audio file: Envy (2012) Crossover Test


(PS: If by some random miracle chance you have an SPL meter and could measure the output of that clip I would love you eternally)

 

I haven't really tried the speakers yet but of what i heard so far the sound is very clear and loud if i crank it up. I will try some music tomorrow and do some subwoofer tests.

Fan runs all the time, they are quieter than my dv7 by far but still audible. I guess when there's some ambient sounds (i am in a quiet room right now) they will almost be inaudible.

 

so the 7690m XT is 50% faster than the 7690m? Ouch!

 

I don't know why people keep saying this. The only place that was stated was the totally untrustworthy HP article.

As far as I'm concerned, GPU-z has shown that the 7690m and 7690m XT are botht he same card, and they are simply slightly faster versions of the 6770m.

 

Oh OK, well hopefully that is indeed the case. I read that article and has about as much credibility as my dog.

 

GPU-Z is not calibrated correctly to read these new cards, and even then it is reading only that information. Just because they seem the same on paper does not mean they are the same in action.

I believe that no matter how retarded the company is, they would not simply add an XT to a GPU name and expect to get away with it without legal action against them.

 

Keep those rose colored glasses on. Until I see something definitive that says otherwise, this is the most reasonable info I have.

 

It's clearly audible but not very loud, i can max the volume without problem. I cant really say if i hear it on the speakers because the chassi transfers the sound in all directions but the strongest output is from the bottom where the sub is.

 

I can understand that - but honestly, do you really think any company would sell the same exact card under two names to try and get people to buy one of them more?

I think that the XT is better than the regular one, we just need proper tests to show it - which is something we can't get yet because nobody here has their 15 yet.

 

HP has been completely underhanded and evasive about it so far. I have no reason to expect anything than pure BS from them at this point.

 

His 7690M XT scored 1407 in 3DMark11, the most up-to-date and valid of the synthetic benchmarks.

The 6770M scores over 1300 in this same test.

This lines up with expecting the XT to be an optimized and higher clocked Whistler, and nothing more.

 

100 points is probably within the margin of error for that test too.

 

I trust stefan's benchmarks/gpu-z, however i don't trust the ones from HP or that sketchy chinese website showing 7690M gpu-z info. What worries me now is what if the performance on the 17 is actually 50% better than the 15. If so we got a crap card in there for sure.

 

Yep, 50% slower than the XT means complete dogsh*t, might as well be intel integrated.

But if that's the case, the Comp USA near me has the Samsung series 7 on sale for 999 right now, I'll just get that instead.

 

It is a higher clocked Whistler, and nothing more. There's nothing else it could be.

 

I sense a potential return especially if the 15 is slower than the 6770.

 

Ugh.. I've already gone through a return on my MALIBAL Lotus.. This cannot be happening.. I have to go across the border as well just to pick it up...

So the XT is nowhere near as good as a 6850 then...? I thought the 7690M was the one that was closest to the 6770M..

Ugh...

 

i never play games on a laptop...but really whats the difference? they're all kinda crap cards when compared to a desktop release anyhow?

 

I really don't think your attitude is necessary. HP is not conspiring to pull the wool over our eyes. We know AMD announced at the last minute that they were going with the 40nm process and that no doubt threw a wrench in the works on a line that had been counting on a 28nm process.

The HP rep on this forum told us what he knows. Could it be wrong? Sure. Should we raise a stink if so? Sure, and send back our laptops. But this constant 'HP is out to get us' business is souring this thread quite a lot.

If the GPU is a step down from previous Envys then I (like many people here) will be sending theirs back. I'll be annoyed at HP but the problem here is AMD, not HP. It takes more than a week or two to plan a lineup like this, and the delay of the 28nm line screwed them just like it screwed us. HP had to put something in its place and this is what they got. No reason to take it personally.

 

because a 20% difference with these cards is the difference between somewhat useful for light gaming, and completely worthless. Why pay for a brand new laptop that has exactly the same or less performance as the one you could buy for the same price months ago? A slightly shinier new body and a half hour extra battery life maybe?

 

Sure HP had to make do with what they had. What excuse is there for them to not explain what that product is though? There is no reasoning for that other than pure bad faith. At least a small number of people have actually received their release product now, and still can't make heads or tails of it. I don't know how everyone is so okay with that.

I will say that I want these laptops to be good. I really want to like them, they look great and everything. I won't however, pretend something isn't messed up when it is.

 

I have the last generation Envy 17 3D with the 6850m and my scores are, 7.1 for both "graphics" and "gaming graphics".

 

We have no idea. You are speculating on it just like everybody else. They could have an NDA with AMD. Or their marketing people could be disconnected from their product people. Or they thought they had a shot at adding a better part at the last minute and were hedging their bets until just recently (perhaps why they didn't list the GPU type on the purchase site?).

And perhaps they made the 'least bad' call. We've seen one machine in a foreign market when it's also quite run of the mill for international markets to have different hardware. It sure beats rumormill but it's not definitive.

Finally, even when it is definitive, nobody is 'okay with that,' but trashing the HP rep on this thread (whose fault it is not) and acting like the big bad corporation is out to get you doesn't add anything. They've got a 21 day return policy and free shipping. What more do you want?

 

Simply because you have issues with their handling of it, doesn't mean you have to preach it to everyone in the thread. Some people will keep the computer because it will still work for their needs, some will return it because they were expecting more.

As long as the card is better than the 6770M, I'll be okay with it - it will be enough for me. Would I have wanted something more? Of course I would have! But since we still aren't sure that what we have here, I'll wait until I get mine to make my decision.

Like I said before, GPU-Z still has not been configured to know these cards properly, we also have not run our own tests with actual games to see how both the 15 and 17 compare to each other.

Patience is a virtue, wait for actual results before you start shouting "THE END IS HERE - THE END IS HERE!!!".

 

To know what I'm buying before I buy it.

How about you go to the car dealership to buy a BMW. But they won't let you look under the hood. They just say, oh yeah it's fine don't worry about it. Would anyone buy that car?

 

If you wanted to know what you were buying before you bought it, you should have waited to see.

Well, that wasn't to hard to answer.

 

If they let me take it home, look under the hood, and then return it if I didn't like what I saw at no cost? Sure.

I don't disagree with you that this is a concerning issue. There's just no reason to get pissed off about it.

 

How about you go buy your samsung and rant and rave in thier forum. Getting old...

 

lol ok guys.

 

They've got a 21 day return policy and free shipping. What more do you want?


Really people get a grip.

Like it = Keep it
Hate it = Return it

It is that simple and will not cost you anything to try it for yourself!

It is only a laptop, not the end of the world.

 

Every now and again someone in the Samsung thread would do the same thing. I don't see the point. Choose what works best for you and move on.

 

HUGE props to Stefan for enlightening us with unboxing the pics and stats. Thats what makes this forum so great. Thanks for taking the time.