Questions about ENVY 15 before making a purchase.

Hi guys, I was considering buying either the ENVY 15 or the MBP. While I realize the ENVY 15 is a far superior machine, battery life, build quality and general convenience are more important to me than top of the line specifications.

1. How durable is this laptop? I'm aware it's relatively new but build quality should be apparent after spending a month or so with it.

2. How hot does it get during casual use? Casual use being web browsing, checking email, and IM.

3. Battery life ... I know it's not a strong suit of this machine but I would like to know how much you've been able to squeeze with and without the additional 9 cell slice. While on the issue of battery ... How (in)convenient is the additional 9 cell slice?

4. If I get this machine, first thing I will be doing is installing a clean copy of Windows 7. Have any of you had issues with drivers on the x64 platform? How about the x86?

5. Lastly, while I want to remove the bundled software I would like to keep the Instant On quick boot interface ... How exactly is this handled? Is there a partition on the HDD dedicated to Instant On. How do I preserve it while performing a clean install?

Thanks.

 

Have you considered looking though the Owner's threads? All of those questions are answered.

 

I know, I actually have been lurking that thread for a while ... It's just that thread is about 800 pages long. I haven't been able to find all my answers.

The 5th question I have is pretty specific, while it has probably been answered in that thread, I don't think it's a topic users will want to dwell on.

 

If you search, it will come

#5 -> http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5748545&postcount=5375

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=432564

Focus on the original Envy thread not the 2nd gen

 

So instead of just replying you go out of your way to tell him that you don't want to answer? Why not just let the topic die instead of posting at all?


1. Not bad. Generally very solid.

2. The i7 do get very warm, even on idle. The i5 on the other hand runs about as well as it should. Keep in mind that the magnesium alloy body does dispense heat all over the chassis. Internals are a different story though. Runs very cool, even on load.

3. The i7 can squeeze out maybe 2-2.5 at best. i5 gets about 2.5-3.5. The 9 cell will double the battery life, plus half an hour or so.

4. The i7 variant has a usb3.0 which wont be recognized until drivers are installed. you would have to use the esataUSB port. Driver hunting in general is a pain in the , I'd suggest just backing up the driver partition on the drive.

5. There is a partition. Just don't wipe in when doing a clean install. I would also create a backup cd/usb drive just to be on the safe side. if you recover that way all the bloat ware will be back, but so will the instant on partition and the drivers.

 

How about wait for 7 days before making a purchase. CeBit is next week and maybe something will be announced by other vendors or a refresh of something?

 

I doubt the Envy 15 gets refreshed only a month into its current generation and the Envy 14 (if it does get announced) might not be as powerful as the 15 for obvious product line placement issues.