Need some advice about cpu choice

First of al, sorry if these have been answered here previously, but I have searched numerous sites and threads and I have had conflicting answers and false information I just eventually gave up.

I recently purchased an HP Envy 15, and intended to include the quad cored i7-2670QM, however user error (my own lack of double checking and HP's inability to cancel an order that wasn't even being configured yet) resulted in it shipping with the dual core i5-2450M
I have since recieved the laptop and debate whether to return it for the quad core model, but I want to know what people think, if it is worth it in my case.
I game somewhat, no real demanding games (not that the 7690m would allow a wide variety anyways) but mostly mmorpgs and te occasional year or two old pc game. My main use is photoshop and video editing and encoding.
Am i suffering a large performance impact by sticking with the dual core for gaming, and photoshop/video editing? (I use Cyberlink Powerdirector)

Also HP was very vague in what discrete video card was in the HP Envy, and I didn't find out that the Envy 17 has a slightly modified version of the 7690m. Is the performance difference enough to warrant purchasing an Envy 17 instead if I decide to get a quad core i7 and return the model I have?

Just can't decide.

 

Don't worry about the GPU. The Envy 15's GPU is clocked lower by default, but you can easily overclock it to match the Envy 17's performance. The HD 7690M (XT on Envy 17) in both envy's are essentially identical but ship with different clocks. Technically, the Envy 17's GPU should achieve higher overclocks, but it's a minor concern. (you'll want to look into overclocking as it's an easy ~25% framerate boost)

As for the CPU,
For video encoding, you definitely will benefit from having a quad core CPU. The i7-2670QM has nearly double the multithreaded performance over the i5-2450M and should cut your encode times by some 40%. Photoshop should also benefit from the extra cores. Gaming performance probably won't change with a CPU upgrade because the i5-2450M is more than enough to support the HD 7690M.

As for other concerns,
the Envy 15/17 is expected to be refreshed with new CPU's and GPU's soon, so you may want to return your laptop to obtain the updated hardware. There hasn't been any official announcements, however, so the refresh may take up to a few months. We expect announcements in the next few weeks and the GPU upgrade to be pretty substantial (at least a 30% improvement or so).
The Envy 15's IPS display is also known to have a limited color gamut. Reds appear orange, and purples appear blue. This hardware issue can be lessened with software and doesn't bother everyone, but it could affect your video and picture editing and has justified many Envy 15 returns. The Envy 17 does not have this issue, and HP will probably change the LCD panel in the refresh.

 

Thank you for the reply, I had gathered as much but, eve any concrete answers. I understood before i bought that ivy bridge laptops especially were not far away, and that the envy had issues with color calibration for certain colors as well. My photoshop work however is done on a external display but unsuitable for light gaming (large disply generally gives me vertigo with moving images)
I suppose I will just keep the laptop though, I am in need of a workstation in the meantime as thats why I couldn't wait. I wil be able to afford a new laptop soon if new models and tech become available, as money isn't a big concern at he moment, productivity is.
Short of returning the laptop and losing more hours out of my work, is there much I can do to help boost the performance of this laptop til new tech arrives? (short of buying another laptop, as I prefer HP)
Would a SSD drive or more/clocked higher RAM offer any worthwhile gains or performance benefits to hold me over?
I work mainly with encoding 3 GB video files, and with photoshop, mainly it is retouching photos, batch editing and restoring old photos (scanned and enhanced for people wishing to preserve their photos from prints to digital mediums mainly)
Right now aside from the processor i mentioned, the drive is a standard 7200 RPM mechanical HD, and 6 GB of 1333mhz RAM, not exactly impressive.
Either that or just return this laptop and get a quickship model with a i7, though HP's memory and storage options are rather expensive, so that is something I will consider if only if its isn't feasible to be productive at a reasonable pace with what I have and just upgrading what I am able to.

 

Honestly, I would go with that last bet. Get a quick ship model and throw in a SSD of your own and maybe even upgrade the RAM. With video encoding as was mentioned beforehand would greatly benefit from the i7... Especially if productivity is your main concern. I put in a intel SSD into my 17 inch i7 Envy... And it's AMAZING! I cannot believe that I used computers without SSD's before! and with the RAM, that will make the laptop run smoother when you're working on those large video files, and things of the sort.

 

Good to know you're using an external monitor, haha.

Higher clocked RAM will make a very minor difference (~1%). Larger amounts of RAM can help in certain cases, but I don't think it will benefit you much. For serious video editing or working with extremely high resolution photos (eg for posters and large prints), large amounts of RAM can be necessary, but for standard photoshop use and casual video editing, 6gb is fine. It's rare to see photoshop use more than 3gb of RAM. I'm not too certain how much RAM size will affect your video editing, but if you haven't had crashes/slow downs due to low ram amounts, you'll be fine with 6gb.
Getting an SSD will greatly improve the general responsiveness of your computer, but video encode and batch edit times won't improve. The most noticeable benefit will probably be Photoshop loading up much faster. Note that the Envy 15 can only hold one hard drive, so upgrading to an SSD can make diskspace an issue.

If you can, I would buy the quickship (only $1177 on Amazon) and return the i5 Envy when the quickship model arrives.
However, if you're fine with your current encode/batch edit times, upgrading to the i7 might be unnecessary. It depends on whether or not you want to shorten your encode/batch edit times.

 

The default hard drive that comes with the envy is uber slow. That is one upgrade I did, and highly recommend. Its the biggest bottleneck of any system. im using a 750gb seagate hybrid drive

 

Thanks for all the help and the information.

I went ahead and ordered a quickship model jwith a quad core but went with the larger Envy 17, as well as one of the new ivy bridge laptop models, the Dv7t quad edition.

On Newegg I decded to get some RAM anyways, whether it helps much or not shouldnt be too much of an issue as RAM is cheap nowdays.

I bought 8 GB of 1600mz as afaik the board will only accept 8 GB of PC3 12800 and 16 GB of PC3 10600.

I also bought a Seagate Momentus XT, the model with 750 GB and 8 GB flash memory as well as a true SSD, i could only find a 256 GB model from a brand I like (Corsair, the pro performance series) but if i like overall performance I will by a 512 GB drive, albeit from a different manufacturer, I ust need to read about what one would perform the best. I know the ENVY 17 has 2 hard drive bays, but you need a caddy for it if I remember correctly, if anyone canconfirm that and provide a link to where I'd be able to order it, that would be great. I am also assuming I would not be able to use a Hybrid drive along with a SSD, but I am not completely sure on that, either way it is not a big issue, but any answer would be appreciated.

again thanks, I will test out every possible combination and hopefully end up another happy customer.