***POLL: What is the Quality Condition of your new Envy 14?***

Ok, well I got my Envy earlier today. Cosmetically, it's in great shape. Don't really see any defects, keyboard flex is nothing really, it moves down some but eh. There are a couple spots of yellowy goop, but that's no biggie either. I did, however, get the same f'd up hp logo as that korean guy which kind of pisses me off, even though it's not THAT big of a deal
My main gripe is the CPU whine. When I plug something into the usb, it whines. A high pitch whine that frankly is very annoying. I'm hoping to have this laptop for many years and IDK if I can handle that.
USBs are stiff but who cares, it's kind of nice. Keyboard is great, trackpad suffices. I love the laptop, but I just want it to be perfect, so I think I may end up RMAing it

 

if you can't stand the cpu whine, and well since there's other damage RMA it I guess.

 

I can't believe how many small imperfections there are....

 

Mine was fine until I noticed my battery cover wasnt on all the way and was a little loose.
When I tried to take it off so I can put it on all the way, the latch wouldn't open it and eventually broke off when I used force. Getting an exchange.

 

Mine is in good shape. I do however have some small screen non-uniformity. Just to the right of center there's an area that appears either brighter, or more green than the rest of the screen. Its most noticeable when browsing these forums an looking at lists of messages. Does anyone else see this on their unit?

 

Personally, i think CPU whine is, in and of itself, a good enough reason to RMA.

That said, all electronics are susceptible to this whine effect. It has been discussed at length over at silentpcreview.com. They have found instances of it in everything from LCD panels, to CPU's, to VGA cards, to sound cards, to Power supplies. You name it and if it has electronics on a PCB board, chances are it is susceptible to this effect.

From all the discussion i have seen it's all based on frequency of power, and if all the stars align in just the right way, and at the right frequency, you get an audible whine.

I don't really think you can say this is HP's fault per-say, but i do believe they could probably patch the bios and fix most of these issue's by tweaking voltages to components on the mainboard.

 

Mine has been great so far. I did a clean install and no issues.

 

Everything perfect except for a single dead pixel... Not sure if I'd rate that as "poor," but I do understand and would likely return the laptop if I were in your position.

 

Well, that one pixel would be highly irritating.

It's like you've met the perfect girl, but then you find out she has chlamydia

 

I wonder what the problem is.
Are the workers being lazy or are they over-worked? Maybe quality-control is not so strict...

 

I thiugt I had a great condition one, untill I tried to check out the
battery. The latch would not move at all and I didn't want to break so
it's going back

 

I voted for great condition... only because my CPU whine is somewhat noticeable. Would've been perfect if I had no whine.

 

Mine was in great condition except for the screen uniformity. There was an area to the right of center that had a greenish tint, followed by an area with a slightly pinkish tint. It was pretty minor except when viewing white or gray backgrounds, i.e. every time I was browsing the boards. I ordered a replacement and will wait as long as possible to RMA the first one so I don't have to be without a pc for 3 weeks.

 

Got my Envy 14 yesterday and so far it looks absolutely beautiful. Been using it for about 12 hours and no whine so far. Slot loading drives are great and I would recommend this laptop to anyone. Don't get me wrong I do have a slight amount of keyboard flex but it is not even noticeable unless I'm really pushing down on the "O and P" keys. I'm still getting use to the touch-pad, but for the time being I'm using a wireless blue-tooth mouse. My BatteryBar does tell me I have a 4% battery wear but I'm coming from a Gateway T-1620 that has 78% battery wear after only 2 years. All in all I'm very happy with my purchase and this was a great buy for me. I hope all the people still waiting for their E-14s get ones in great condition as well.
Best Wishes,
-mac

 

I got in badddd condition, on first power up, windows failed to run, tried repair disk and boot from CD, then it started installing vista and random neon chinese message popped up when 2 random VISTA PE Loader cmd windows were running

 

Got mine yesterday. The machine is in good shape- the viewing angles aren't wonderful but otherwise I don't have the characteristic whine or quality problems.

 

Did it look like this?

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You wouldn't listen to people trying to help you or you could have fixed it yourself.

 

There should be an option for small imperfections, requesting RMA - it's what I would have selected, anyway.

This laptop is awesome, guys. The brightness of the screen really surprised me. It's so tasty. Really wish I could keep it...

It does have the cpu whine, but it's very faint on this one. I'm really only able to hear it when I hold it up to my ear, or if the room is super quiet. It's not that bad and is something I could live with.

Here are the only problems I've found:

Some scratches near left hinge


Discoloration/gunk




Gap in front of trackpad




Honestly, I don't care about any of the "problems" above. They're only noticeable when you're really looking for them.

Here's the reason it's going back:
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I opened it up to see if there was something causing it to stick, but didn't find anything. /sigh. I use a mouse 99% of the time, so this wouldn't be a big deal for me. But knowing that it's there will absolutely drive me crazy. OCD FTW hah...

At least I didn't have that crazy logo problem

Spoiler

UNF...

 

my envy got the logo problem. i feel like returning it

 

Just got my 2nd envy, first one is going back because I got a better one through bcb. Aside from a loose battery cover everything else is perfect. No keyboard flex, no whine, etc. Originally I voted Small imperfections - NOT requesting a RMA. because of the keyboard flex on the first one, but my new vote is for Great/Perfect Condition - No RMA or Return in sight.

 

That's good to hear
I took advantage of the BCB as well... should've gone for the 520m and not the slice
I'm getting delayed because of it (the slice), and I might've been able to use the 520m's VT-d

 

Mine is in perfect condition that I can tell so far. Issues I have with it are more design related than anything else. A bit disappointd in the low spec clocked HD 5650. I wanted to achieve at least 8000 3DMark06, but seems only ~ 6500 stock and maybe low 7000's with the luck people have had overclocking.

This is replacing my Sager with 10000+ 3DMark06 with no overclock. I am ok with the GPU compromise for the weight and battery life though, but I was expecting an easy 8000 score. Oh well.

 

only issue i have is on non-normal angle i have some spots with rainbow discoloration. not a deal breaker because it is not noticeable when your viewing it normally. anyone else has that? other than that my laptop is fine, no noise, no gaps, etc.

 

I got my Envy 14 today. It works great. However:
I took off the bottom lids and noticed that the ram was not seated properly. Someone put one of my 2gb sodimms in partially. I reseated both ram cards and everything was fine.
There was random yellow stains in some small places. No bigee, cleaned with rubbing alcohol.

Otherwise, great so far!

 

keyboard flex around P area is really bad...
and hissing thru the phone-jack

screw up logo




im returning it for full refund. im probably never going to get an HP again...
truly disappointed..

 

^ that actually looks kinda cool, i wouldn't mind having one like that, just to be different from the rest

 

the light really doesnt really look like the last pic it looks more like the 1st and 2nd pics.

i can really see the plastic light part of the logo. it look really crummy in person.

 

I voted poor and RMAing but the laptop itself was actually almost perfect except for a dead pixel, so if there was an option for "Small imperfections -requesting RMA" that would have been more accurate.

 

Bleh.

We received our 2 Envy 14s today. Both are going back for replacement.

E14 #1:
- Trackpad won't click at the edges - only near the center, making it difficult to use effectively.
- 4 Dead pixels

E14 #2
-6 Dead, 2 stuck pixels

I was concerned about the reported quality issues, but didn't actually expect to encounter them myself; certainly not on both of the units. Very disappointed and unhappy. Now I'm very worried that the chances of getting a dead-pixel free screen AND a laptop that is physically free of defects is going to be slim, bordering on impossible.

 

wow this thread is making me a bit nervous. I have a feeling mines will be perfect but if it isnt, looks like ill just get a refund and go buy a tosh portege 700

 

Plan to withhold my vote until I get more time to inspect, but I had about an hour last night to check mine out. Didn't notice one single issue or imperfection on mine upon first inspection. Hopefully that will turn out to be the case once I get a detailed look at it.

 

I was happy with my Envy until I saw this in the corner of my screen.







It's not just a dead pixel. It looks like piece of crap stuck in my screen. I was very happy with my Envy beside this. Does the warranty cover this..? Then again I would hate to wait another week or two for them to fix the screen.

I really need a laptop for school so I cannot RMA this... so I am very annoyed.

 

It looks like it's a bit or dust or something trapped under the glass on the screen. If there is an easy way to open the display, you could probably clean it yourself, but I'm not sure about these flush edge-to-edge panels...

 

Yes.. That's exactly what I was thinking also. Opening the screen seems very daunting. Has anyone ever tried this successfully?

 

i cant really tell if 2nd batchers are getting better results than the first. they seem to range from flawless to pretty bad from what i can tell.

 

Using this thread's criteria I was an idiot to be happy with the laptop i've had for 4+ years! There was a scratch --- that big on the bottom cover. I'm feel so betrayed, it is a complete RMA.

 

If you had a scratch like that on the paint job of your brand new Mercedes would you think 'hey, no big deal?' or would you ask them to fix it? For many of us, computers represent a significant investment and there's no reason an item with obvious cosmetic defects (improperly aligned logo, dirt under the screen) shouldn't be exchanged.

 

Just got my envy today. Everything seems to be fine except for this one little scratch. I'm not sure if I should ignore it or not.

 

pic? 10char

 

I usually don't sweat small cosmetic stuff - such as minor scratches, glue spots, etc. Things that effect the functionality; off-center/misaligned track pad, screen problems, gaps in the case etc are the ones that make me fill out a return form.

 

yer same here... i'm just hoping for an envy 14 that won't have any dead pixels, trackpad is near enough flush, no gaps in case or cpu whine.

 

Mine better be in good quality because of how long I've been waiting.

 

i would say mines is near perfect. the track pad is raised ever so slightly and i can see 3 minor nicks on the edge of the body.

 

My Envy looks and functions perfectly. No raised track pad, no whine, no scratches (though I didn't look for them with a fine toothed comb)... There is a tiny bit of keyboard flex if you press hard in the ASD region, but none at all if you're typing or gaming normally.

I'm still getting used to the track pad being so big, but I'll get over it. The Scrybe gestures thing is really cool and helpful actually... The screen is really gorgeous. CoD MW2 looks and plays great with dedicated graphics (very choppy on integrated, as expected).

I'm really happy with my purchase and would recommend the system to others.

 

So finally got my Envy 14! =]

Great condition!

 

Mine is also from the second batch. Here's what's going on with mine:

-No trackpad issues.
-Gap where the palm rest surface meets the bottom casing that starts below the trackpad and goes to the bottom right corner.
-Moderate keyboard flex in the "klo" key area. It's not noticeable while typing.
-Keypad is raised on the right side and isn't flush with the casing.

 

I voted poor, because I am returning this one, but it's not a major issue, rather than some minor bending/warping and seperation of the handrest and the lower frame. It is likely minor enough to where many (perhaps most) wouldn't really notice it, but I am pretty anal about stuff like that. I figure, I spent money it, so it should be close to (if not) perfect. Any damage, no matter how minor, can effect resale value as well.

I am still trying to decide if I am going to get another one, or try the Vaio Z. It will somewhat depend on how HP responds to our questions over the video card and low clock rate. I did buy this with the intention to do some gaming and already have hit some stutters in SC2 on moderate settings. Being that the game plays similar on the Sony, I might as well consider the smaller/lighter form factor.

 

Argh upon closer inspection, I noticed scratch marks where you placed your wrists and the edge of the laptop mark. They're not big, but it's discolored - specks of gold where everything else is silver.

Furthermore, the touchpad is not flush with the surface; it's raised on the left and right side the most. Furthermore, it's not centered. One user also documented the problem; there's a half mm gap between the right side of the touchpad and the laptop allowing you to see into the laptop (I see what appears to be some copper strips).

I might decide to exchange this laptop after i make my recovery discs and play around some more.

 

Just got my e14. It's great the only problem I can see so far is that there is a bit of a gap on the left side of the touchpad and no gap on the right. Otherwise it's great. There's no whine or anything.