Ordered Envy 15 gen 2 motherboard to replace my Gen 1 motherboard.... USB 3.0?

Hi.

Don't know if anyone will know the answer to this or not, but....

I have ordered a new motherboard for the Envy 15 in my signature, upgrading to the Gen 2 motherboard to make use of the HD5830 and USB3.0. I have a couple of queries:

- Will I now have USB 3.0 since I am upgrading to the Gen 2 motherboard? If so, which port(s) have USB 3.0 functionality?

- Can I expect much of a performance boost in games with the 5830? If so, what is the ballpark? 10% (more? less?).


Thanks

 

What would you be comparing the 5830 mobility to? And I'm guessing the usb 3 will be marked

 

Comparing to the Gen 1 Envy in my sig (ie: 4830)...

 

Write a PM to JJB from this forum. He seems to know everything there is to know about the 1. and 2. gen Envies.
I've read that there is about 10% difference in performance between the 4830 and the 5830, but do not have any valid facts to back it up.

Enabling USB3.0 is depending on what processor you are going to be using with the 2. gen motherboard. I see you have an i7, so USB3.0 should be enabled. Did you order a board with 2 or 4 dimm slots? USB3.0 might only be installed on the ones with 4 dimm slot as they are shipped with all i7 based Envies.
The two USB3.0 enabled ports are the ones that are closest to the HDMI port. The eSata port is USB2.0 only.

 

wow, since when did envy 15 gen 2 come out?
i just purchased one few months back. i wonder if its gen 1 or 2....

 

The 1. gen has a ATI 4830 graphics card where the 2. gen has a 5830.

 

o ok. sweet. thanks

 

Board shipped today... coming from the US so I will likely see it next week. I'll update once it has arrived and is installed

Can anyone explain how I can test if the USB ports did end up converting to USB3.0 once I have it installed?? I don't have any USB3.0 devices as yet (and would only look into it once I know the ports are working).

Thanks

 

The ports are physically different and they have their own controller chip. Install drivers and see if regular usb2 device works, then should usb3 work too.

 

@KLF: I don't see any physical difference between the USB3.0 ports in my Envy 15 and the USB2.0 in other computers.
I guess the only way to tell if USB3.0 is enabled/installed on the motherboard is if the drivers install when you try to do that. The USB3.0 controller is called "NEC USB3.0 Controller something..." in the device manager.

 

Cool, thanks for that

 

Let's see if my image-linking skills work

There's more connectors in USB3. Regular USB2 plug connects only to the first four connectors, while USB3 plug is a bit longer to connect with all connectors. First one on that picture is the usual USB3 plug.

Peek in with a flashlight, those second set of connectors should be visible. USB3 connector in computer will accept USB2 plugs too, it's backwards compatible.

 

FYI, my new system board arrived (These are AU times) on Monday and after making final backups, etc, I swapped it over on tuesday, reinstalled windows, drivers and programs.

All working perfectly thus far. The USB3.0 ports are attached to the motherboard (I didn't know whether they were or not orginally... thought they could have been attached to chassis and cable connecting them to the mobo hence my original question), and seem to be running fine.

Temperatures with the new board seem slightly lower, which is a bonus, although I think I applied the AS5 a bit better this time so that is likely the reason.

Nice little performance boost in games from the existing HD4830, so that is good also

So I can confirm, ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEM TO UPGRADE THE ENVY GEN 1 TO A GEN 2, so long as you can get your hands on a gen 2 mobo.

 

Great to hear, this is a great post Sakor! Can you advise where you ordered the mobo from, what the product ID is for the 2nd gen and some of the steps to replace?

 

No worries.

I ordered from dectrader.com during a recent sale (so got a good price), you can also get the parts directly from HP parts website and a number of online parts sellers.

Part number for the Gen2 motherboard is 597597-001. Ensure that the description is 'with intel PM55 chipset' not 'with M97' (the M97 one is the Gen1 Envy motherboard. However it is a different part number, so as long as you get the right part number you should be fine).

Installation involves taking much of the laptop apart, but is fairly simple if you follow the directions in the service manual: http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c01911053.pdf

One major tip I can give is to have some Arctic silver or other thermal paste with you when you are upgrading, as you will need to replace the paste on the CPU and GPU.

 

I wouldn't need to do any soldering, correct? Just need a PC screwdriver?

 

Sakor: when you were taking apart the casing, you didnt see what was preventing the screen from moving back to a greater angle? Looking at it externally there's definitely room to spare. I'm guessing that its just a plastic clip in the joint preventing movement.

I'm asking because a few degrees more would really improve things.

 

Correct. no soldering whatsoever required. All you need is a small phillips head for most of the screws, and a flathead for relasing and locking in the CPU.

Sorry, did not look specifically so can't comment.

 

That is really cool sakor1! I was wanting to do this since i got an envy 1st gen and then soon as i got it, the 2nd was released! So, to verify, the gen 2 boards match up with all the ports on the gen 1 case and fit without any modifications? Just want to verify before I go get this board! Thanks for finding this out and it would be much appreciated if you could let me know this info!

 

Yes, everything lines up, etc perfectly. Simple drop in replacement. No mods or other changes are required.

 

thanks sakor1! i appreciate it. i think i will go ahead and do this then.

 

Sakor1,
Did you have any issues with drivers and the new MB? Did the new chipset give you any headache?

In other words, how did you deal with updating all the OS drivers to the new MB?

thanks a ton (and sorry this is a late post to an old thread),

 

I'm a bit confused as to why anyone would do this? You state you see a ten percent increase in performance, for $500.00 US? First of all, it is quite easy to overclock the 4830 to beyond the stock 5830 speeds. Second, do you have a specific need for usb3.0 externals? I note you said you didn't have any and didn't anticipate getting any until you were assured the 3.0's worked. I guess it might make for a fun exercise, but having paid 1100.00 for my Gen 1 with all the accessories, I can't see my self spending another almost 50 percent more for what in the end seems a questionable performance increase. But, since you are pleased with your results, then I guess that's all that matters.

Oh, and as for the cooling, it is possible to reconfigure the fan profile so as to drastically decrease the operating temps of the Envy 15 Gen 1, even when pegged to the limit during intense gaming. About a year ago I had occasion to test about 20 different types of external notebook coolers to see what difference they actually made. I found that if you match the external to the specific notebook you can achieve a reasonable decrease in cpu/gpu operating temps. Further, its often the cheapest/simplest coolers that functioned the best.

seer

 

Hi
When you say:

"Oh, and as for the cooling, it is possible to reconfigure the fan profile so as to drastically decrease the operating temps of the Envy 15 Gen 1, even when pegged to the limit during intense gaming."

How do you do that? I'm very interested!
Thanks