Refurbished or new e14?

Hi everyone. I've been lurking for awhile now and I am almost ready to pull the trigger on a refurbished e14 w/ Radiance screen.

BUT, I found a $200 off coupon for the E14.

when I called the refurbished sales line they said they could not apply the $200 off coupon and offered me 5% off.

What would you guys do?

Refurbished E14 w/Radiance or $200 off E14/Brightview?

Anyone have any luck negotiating the price down more with the refurbished business center?

I would think the would want to get rid of all the refurbished stock anyway they could.

Any input is appreciated

 

Ahh yes before everyone asks heres a link to the coupon:

E14
Exclusive $200 Coupon HP ENVY 14 Laptop | Envy 14 Review - LogicBUY

E17:

Exclusive $200 Coupon HP ENVY 17 Laptop + Envy 17 Review - LogicBUY

Hope that helps

 

I don't think I'd want my Envy 14 if I couldn't have the 1600x900 screen. Having 1366x768 on a 14.5" screen is just too low resolution. My phone has a 3.7" screen with an 800x480 resolution. I'm saying 1366x768 should no longer be standard, especially with a "premium" laptop.

 

You could always purchase the E14 with the coupon and install an after market Radiance display. The coupon would probably equal the cost of one off of eBay or HP parts store.

That's what I'm planning to do at least.

 

Where would you find these after market displays? I looked at both eBay and the parts store and could not find any.

Thanks

 

Where did you find a refurb with a Radiance screen? I'd be all over one of those.

 

I'm sure you won't be able to find one anytime soon, HP was once offering Radiance standard, and when the demand came for more of them and their supply dwindled, they cranked the price up to 300$. They lost the company that was supplying them.

You'll have to wait until someone wants to sell their broken Envy14 for parts, or HP gets a new supplier and you buy it through the store. You're taking a gamble though, if it's a new company, chances are the screen dimensions won't be the exact same as the displays that were used in previous editions of the Envy.

If the Radiance display is a MUST have for you, you are probably better waiting for an Envy refresh, purchasing through an outlet, eBay, or just being patient until HP finds a new screen manufacturer.

 

Thanks for your reply. It convinced me to pull the trigger! I felt like I missed out when I didn't order the Radiance display when I had a chance.

I ordered from Marcus. I got the 5% off and I sprung for the 3 year total care w/ADP which an extra 2 years of coverage is added by my CC. So 5 total years of coverage. I wanted to be sure I was covered with a refurbished product. The Envy will be obsolete by that point but with a toddler running around things are bound to happen long before then. HAHA!

I went i5-450, 300gb HD, 8gb RAM. Hopefully I get a nice surprise like you did when I check the system specs!

How long did it take your Envy14 to arrive?

Thanks to everyone who replied. I was contemplating waiting to see the next Envy upgrade, but waiting for technology is a never ending battle...hahaha!

 

Anyone have extension for Marcus? also what number did you guys call to get to a person? Anyhelp would help greatly, and be appreciatted. Also did he verify radiance displays on the laptops?

 

When I called and he said his name was Marcus I was kind of surprised. He was a nice guy and friendly. I tried to convince him to go lower, but he wouldn't budge, haha!

Actually i spoke to another rep earlier in the day and he also offered the 5% off with a little persuading, but I decided to call back later in the day to see if I could get a better deal by talking to another rep.

Slick 77, the direct # is 18002778988, and Marcus' ext is 7815432.

I agree with aestch that you dont need to speak to Marcus specifically, and you never know, you might have better luck with someone else.

 

i shortlisted three models of envy 14 and forwarded the details to my uncle in USA to place the order if any one of the models is found with radiance..
later on when i read that they come with 90 day warranty.. i called my uncle again and asked him to buy warranty as well.. hp site lists that i can buy 2 year warranty for my envy for 100 bucks ... right?

 

aetsch, and Cdub, thank you both for the information. I really appreciate it. 5% afterall is better than 0%.

 

I paid a visit to the Outlet store, they have pretty good deals and also the 5% offer as stated is better than nothing.

 

refurbished laptop have 90 day USA warranty !!
May not be extended out of USA (in europe) ?

 

Think I read somewhere on the refurb site that you could extend the warranty with a Care Pack. HP called me today regarding this but I was away so will hopefully hear from them tomorrow again.

 

You can extend the 90 day warranty with any of the usual HP care packages...

 

Just a FYI for anyone considering ordering from the refurbished outlet.

I ordered i5-450, 300gb HD, 8gb RAM

I received i5-520, 320gb HD, 8gb RAM!!!

Love the Envy/ Radiance Display. No build quality issues. No scratches on ANYTHING.

The ONLY problem is I do have CPU whine...It drives me nuts...

Is this something I should call HP about? Can they do anything? Is there a fix?

From what I've read there is no fix...

 

yeah.

the whine is probably why it was refurbished.

you can try jjb's ssd tweak and mess with the power settings and see if that makes it quieter. http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...-intel-series-4-5-965-chipsets-jjb-tweak.html

this messes with the power states and stops ssds from running slow due to how the power states and win7 interact with some laptop chipsets

otherwise well, the reason it happens is because the lower power states for the processor is causing a capacitor or resistor or something on the motherboard to resonate and make noise.

sometimes plugging something into/unplugging something from the usb ports/all the usb ports can stop it (or turning on/off the bluetooth).

otherwise you my have to deal with it or get HP to swap out the motherboard somehow. But..yeah. GL there.

 

MagusDraco,

Is you unit quiet without whine? Is this just a hit/ miss issue with the ENVY 14?

Thanks

 

it's just a hit/miss issue.

mine has no whine.

it's got something to do with the lacquer that's coated on the capacitors or something not being applied correctly/getting knocked off or something when the motherboard was assembled and shipped to HP's factory.

the motherboard's an HP variant of an intel chipset so...hell if anyone knows who screwed it up. It just happens to some of them.

I still think it's pretty rare and it isn't an hp only thing.

it's happened to several different laptops if you look around on the internet.

 

thanks for the info. I'll see what happens when I give HP a call...wish me luck HAHAHA!

 

good luck.

you in the US? I had luck with the envy/hdx/touchsmart/firebird phone number

Contact HP - Phone assistance


my computer didn't have a bad cpu whine or stuff, but the toshiba hdd was defective (failing short drive self tests, hard freezing windows left and right, etc. they sent me a 320gb scorpio black as a replacement one)

 

yep, in the US... Thanks for the #...we'll see what happens(crosses fingers)

 

the 450m does show up as the 520m sometimes depending on what you're using to view it.


you may have to update cpu-z/hwmonitor or something

 

Another piece of info:

On the box that the laptop came in there was a white sticker on the outside listing the specs of the computer(screen res, RAM, HD, processor, etc.)

On that sticker it also said i5-520m.

Aestch, maybe you can check your box for the sticker?

That would lead me to believe that we really received the i5-520... at least i hope so...

 

well if that's the case you probably got the i5-520m

 

Would like thoughts on this....

I called the HP Business Center to confirm a quote on an HP 14 w/ Radiance display. The Rep was quick to inform me that documentation on units did not say "Radiance" -- it just stated the 1600x900 resolution. I pressed him on this, trying to confirm that it was one and the same (trying to figure out if somehow these refurb units had different displays than the original Envy 14s). He just acted as if he didn't know what I was talking about, so I gave up and decided to call back later.

Anybody else have this issue / concern? Are these the same Radiance display units?

 

AFAIK, 1600x900=Radiance Display, that is what I received when I ordered mine.

 

until they come out with a new 1600x900 screen for new envy 14s, the 1600x900 on any envy14 is the radiance display.

so far they haven't done that so..yeah. it's the radiance until it's added again to the build options for a new envy, then it could be anything.

 

Hi all,
Are those of you that ordered refurb units to get your hands on the radiance display seeing much in the way of quality issues? I'm really close to placing an order but am wary of receiving a unit with blemishes similar to those seen on other threads here.

Also, if anyone has received a damaged/poor quality envy 14, did HP give you any hassles in regard to returning the unit to the refub biz outlet? Thanks!

 

I received my refurb envy 14 last tuesday. Unfortunately, I haven't had time to test everything I wanted and today is the last day to return it (which I have no intention of doing).

What I can tell you is that my machine appears clean with no scratches, no dead pixles that I have been able to detect, all usb ports working, wired internet working, detecting wifi (all locked, however), no noticeable whine (either I don't have it or don't notice it - same thing in my book), 6 hr battery life with bluetooth off, wifi on but internet off, and no programs running. SD drive worked too. I haven't tested the webcam or speaker ports.

I don't know much about computers (this is my first laptop ever!), but I updated the bios with no problem and burned my recovery disks (wouldn't work at first with my ancient 4x dvd+r disks, but worked fine with new 12x or 16x dvd+r disks). I have not installed or attempted to play any games and i am sure I am missing some other things to check.

But overall, (again, 10 days of ownership so ymmv) I am pleased with my purchase. The machine is beautiful. Honestly, I couldn't tell how nice the radiance screen was until I placed it next to a laptop with a lower res display. I am planning to install office professional 2010 (the trial office that came on new envy was no longer on the refurb).

Good luck!

 

One thing I did was purchase my refurb envy with my visa card. Visa has a program where they will double an original manufacturer's warranty for free and sell you 3 or 4 yr extended warranty (no accidental damage) for very reasonable price (cheaper than HP or square trade warranties). Entire purchase must be on the visa card for this to be valid. I talked to two different visa warranty reps on two different days and they both assured me that their warranty could be used on refurbished items. I guess you don't really know unless you try to make a claim, but it gave me a little peace of mind.....

 

How does refurbished different than the new one? Is it necessarily worse or it could be even better?

 

Okay, yes we get it you had a bad experience with HP. Everyone has bad experiences with every laptop/desktop brand, you can't expect a brand to be flawless. Obviously, your envy laptops were not up to scratch we understand that but don't (Just because of your ONE experience) completely brandish the line as junk.

There quality machines with quality parts, we feel sorry for you because of the faulty product but please be nicer next time.

My thoughts anyway, back to the original topic.

Go for brand new, If your buying a refurbished one it means that either A) the person returned it or B) product had a fault of some kind.

Yes, they have the radiance display but I'd rather get one now knowing its brand-new than hoping its not a faulty one. Besides, if they ever re-introduce the radiance screen Im sure you could ship it off to HP and they would be happy to install one; for a fee of course.

 

Why lurk in a forum for junk computers?

 

I like how he complains his i7 based envy had a bad battery life, no s*** buddy. i7's were NEVER known for their efficiency, quite the opposite actually.

 

That is one of the most laughable statements on here. So you are mad because? hint hint..... there is no onboard graphics card on an i7. You blamed HP for your own ignorance....lol

 

What would be the difference in percentage between i5 and i7?

 

where did you find this policy? I am very interested

 

I think it depends on what the benefits of your specific visa card are. But by calling visa customer service, they will be able to tell you if you are eligible and there is also a website for visa warranty manager - they can help you too.

Only problem: I dont know anyone who has made a claim for a refurbished laptop (or any other item, for that matter) using this service, so I don't know how good the service is.