Questions before I buy Envy 15

Hi there, long time lurker here, first official post...
I don't know if making a thread asking questions is frown upon- if it is, I apologize but I thought others may have questions in mind before buying this bad boy...

I think Envy fits everything I need, being a college student looking for a laptop that's portable yet premuimly built and solid specs... I'm going into Computer Sciences so I'm thinking of investing quite a bit of money... Envy 15 seems right... I'm also planning to do gaming on occasions happy with medium with modern games.

1) when is the best time to buy the Envy 15? I'm not in a hurry to get it; so i can wait a while... Will I still be able to buy the sandy bridge Envy 15 easily when Ivy Bridge comes out? How much cheaper will it be? (you think)
What are the times of the year HP have best sales....

Really really wanna spend less than $1,100 for full HD, i7, 8gb, and 750gb.

2) Do you think Envy 15 will last me 3 years + minimum? I'm not talking so much in terms of getting obsolete... but the laptop longevity itself, I know i'll have to replace the battery but... I've seen so many problems in this forums, should I be worried?

3) Is the SSD really worth it? Its so expensive and I don't want to pay that extra bucks, will i7-2670QM 2.2 with 8gb ram be enough for me to do gaming like skyrim in medium without having troubles with the laptop? I fear of overheating that totally ruins the laptop very much...

4) How good is HP Limited warranty? If the laptop just stops working properly on its own (not my fault) do you think it'll be very hard to replace/refund?
Should I buy extra warranty from HP? did you?


Anything else I should be aware of? I've done like countless hours reading about this laptop, many threads in this forums and blogs... I'm aware of red/orange, flex on asd, and generic things like that?

Thank you in advance for those who replys, deeply appreciate it.

 

I think I can ans some of the questions.

1) I believe that the best time for HP deals is around back to school and black friday. but there is almost always a coupon out for like 30% off or so every other week. Also I believe that it come very close to 1.1k in the past (I want same config so I am on the lookout but also waiting for ivy bridge)

You will probably be able to buy a quickship model at a discounted price when the ivy bridge comes out (the envy 14 is still in quick ship even tho its discontinued and spectre is out) Idk how much cheaper $200?

2) I don't know how long it will last but most of the problems in the owners lounge are cosmetic.

3) Do NOT get the ssd. SSD prices are falling and by the time u get the laptop, it will be much cheaper. there are constantly deals for less than 1$ per gb. the HDD is easy access and replace. my friend did it infront of me didnt take long. Also, if your planning on getting an ssd, why upgrade to 750gb for hdd?

4) I need the answer to this too lol. My school says to get a 3 yr warranty

 

I suggest you go to the stores to check the color issue before purchase. If you can bear the orange/red,blue/violet display, it is a perfect machine at around $1100.

 

I was looking to buy the Envy 15 after I ended up returning my Samsung Series 7 because of the graphics issue.

Should I wait until the "ENVY 15 feat. IVY BRIDGE and AMD HD 7750M 1GB" that is mentioned here on the forums? What is the anticipated date for this?

 

1Yeah I know with the 30% runs me about 1250$, 1200 if I use 450$ off coupon ATM, back to school huh? I'll prolly wait till then... Or at least for ivy bridge to come out... Really would love to save few extra hundred bucks, 200$ price drop would be amazing!
2-hmm I suppose but I see stuff with keyboard not working but I guess that's fixed with a bios update.... Hell I'm not even sure how to do that stuff but I'll prolly figure it out when I need to...
3-hmm alright thanks for the heads up man... I plan to get the upgrade to ssd maybe the end of this year or some time after I get the laptop then...
I'm getting the 750$ because it's just a bit more and once I take it out I can put it in a case and use it as a portable external HDD right? That was the plan...
4) xD

@htx I've seen the laptop before and love it but that was before I knew about the ips red issue :/... Closest best but is 30mins away? Lol feels lazy to drive there, from what I see it, I'm okay with it... Even though it's freaking orange :/... I mean idk any good alternatives I'd get... MBP is too expensive :/... Don't like series 7... Dell xps Idk much about though...

 

the dell xps is eh right now. the screen and speakers are good
but its bulky and gpu is bad

 

the envy will be the perfect machine for me if screen fix and upgraded gpu.
I made a list of the laptops im considering in this thread (at the bottom of the op) http://forum.notebookreview.com/wha...-gaming-but-light-portable-laptop-school.html

my budget is alittle higher than yours but u can always get the base configuerations of the ones i stated. check it out

 

I've seen some photos of the new XPS 15 with IB (where?) and it looks more like the XPS 13 than the former XPS 15 - which is to say thinner, sleeker than its predecessor, the current model. It's worth checking out because the screen, while not IPS, is one of the best available on ANY laptop, including Dell Precision and just a shade under the HP Dreamcolor. Also, the audio on the current model is hands-down the best among all laptops made. Worth a look before you decide. Don't know what GPUs they will offer, but neither the Envy nor the XPS are gaming rigs; they're "entertainment" computers with some gaming potential, IMO.

Another one to keep your eyes peeled for is the new HP DV6. The refresh has already been in pictures and apparently will be one of the first mobile IB's out of the gate. It is far more likely to have a strong GPU than the Envy, besides being less "luxurious," the DV6 and DV7 have been positioned as HPs gamers in recent years. Again, worth a look before you decide. Personally, I couldn't live with the "orange reds" but to many it's no big deal. I don't know much about the 1080p screen in the DV6 or DV7, but up till now they were not IPS, but they are matte, which I consider a big plus, and it's not clear what HP will put in the soon to be released DVs and I have not read anything that details the screens or the GPUs. My big question for the DVs: will HP finally put a d--ned backlit keyboard on them?!!

Oh, sorry to keep on and on but, it should be noted, if you can live with the SB versions of all the models in contention, I think they will be selling for prices that look like jokes before too long. From much experience with HP's past pricing practices, I would predict the current DVs with all the goodies (good screen, quad core cpu, best current GPU) to go down as low as $699 as the IBs are being introduced; With outgoing models, HP has a real "blow them out the door" approach to, well, blowing them out the door. Envy's not as likely to see such big discounts but still at least 20% less than the best deal seen yet for them. As much improvement as IB will be for some uses - much better IGP, better battery life - they will not deliver substantially more CPU power and there's nothing about IB that I know of that supports better discrete GPUs. Bottom line: if you're not focused on the Intel integrated gpu or on battery life, the IB updates should not deliver much more raw power than the outgoing SBs, which, as I've said, I believe will be selling below mfr cost before too long.

Sorry for droning on and on.

 

i think its rumored to have gt 640m dunno whether ddr3 or 5

 

According to this page (has a picture), the Dell XPS 15 (L521x) is rumored to have the GT 640m with GDDR5, so it should be noticeable faster than the GT 555m/635m and approach the GT 650m's performance.
I'm holding out on the Envy 15 to see how the upcoming XPS 15 does, which I think may come out sooner than the next Envy 15. The XPS 15 has been around for over a year now, so hopefully that entails a faster refresh.

 

Theres currently coupon code for %30 off on Envy Laptops!! The code is NBP9732 Thats a lot off!

EXPIRES 14 APRIL 2012!!

 

maybe guesiing refreshes will come april 15?

 

Thanks a whole bunch! I've learn a lot reading this and haha don't sweat on droning on I like reading personal views and thoughts..

I think I'm going to wait till the ivy bridge version comes out then decide what I'd want to do, more than likely I'll buy the SB version when prices gets dropped..I'll also definitely look into the xps too...

Another question, with you raising about dv6 and dv7...
I don't get it... I was told that those are not as "premiumly built" as Envies... That they're most likely not as durable and in the lower tier compared to envy...
When I look at it, if I have The exact same specs or better as envy plus blurry drive plus better gpu, etc the dv6t/dv7t still comes off as 300$ or more cheaper... So I assume the built quality is THAT different?... I want a very good laptop that will last me few years... Should I not look at dv6/7 as they're not as well built as envy and won't last as long?... I'm confused...

I've been following and looking for sale non-stop... The 30% thing is up like every other week, currently there's a 450$ I think that still hasn't expired too. It'd still be cheaper for me to buy the pre-built version at 1100$ i7,8gb,750gb,1080p the only thing is the prebuolt has one year warranty compare to customized 2years... Hmmmm

Not in a hurry overall! Waiting to see the IB version and what it offers... If its not that insignificant to me I'll just get a dropped price SB version

Is there a possibility of them Fixing the ips issue with IB version? D: