Waiting on Envy 17 3D thread...

In the same boat as everyone else...
Ordered 11/11 and estimated 11/30
Actual shipout date= 11/29
Current estimated receive date= 12/03
Current status= stuck @ Anchorage for ~1day now and staying as Int'l shipment release

Another interesting link for all those curious about where their Envys are during the shipment:
FlightAware > Live Federal Express Corporation Flight Status

 

Joe, yeah I guess but what are the odds it could get damaged like that inside the box with all that other stuff around it?? Plus isnt that metal? I doubt it could get bent like that from just rattling inside the box unless these friggin people over there are throwing the boxes. This overseas thing leaves too much room for error. At least we can return on a whim and not have to worry about getting an exchange.

 

I had tried to talk to HP support about this and I got frustrated when the chat assistant spent 35 minutes not understanding the problem and deciding i should contact someone else. That's when I ordered the item above (yesterday). However, I got a confirmation email today saying that HP is sending me my "missing" part. Seriously, jaw dropped. They are sending me the HP original part to this for the hard drive caddy/cable and charging nothing for it. That chat support dude must have forwarded the request to someone more knowledgeable. Now I have to see if my order that I paid money for can still be canceled. Goodness knows I don't need TWO of these things...

 

WickedYeti! Whoa there... are you saying if we call HP we can all get a free caddie, cables, and screws to add a second HD or SSD on our Envy's??? This does not sound like the HP I know, lol, I do hope you are right.

 

I am still floored that they did that. It is showing up as a claim against my warranty (costs me nothing). I'm half expecting them to pull it back and be like "just kidding", or find out they just sent me a turd in a box labeled heatsink paste. Thus far it looks legit...

edit: I just looked up the part number they specified and it comes up as this:
http://h20141.www2.hp.com/Hpparts/S...54806&SearchIn=PartNumber&SearchPN=603772-001

If this is exactly what I needed, I will be writing them a glowing review on the HP store page where you buy the envy. Seriously, this shocked any ill will i had for their tech support out of my system. It may just be temporary but we'll see...

 

I guess it is arguable that the caddy count as a "missing part" since any customization have 2 drive slot whether it is filled or not

 

...also I forgot to mention that it came with dead pixel/s and the outer box had a big hole/dent. Temperature wise, it is between warm and hot in the upper left of the keyboard area (when playing video/games it is more hot than just warm... i'm concerned about how can this affect the laptop in the long term, specially considering this is a huge investment).

I already sent back my LOVE back (for another one ), and my sales "assistant" told me that the new one will have included a BD-burner + $50 refund , but with an estimated ship date 12/27 + a 2-day shipping so the estimated delivery date will be around 12/30 (which really sucks).

Now, the good news:
-SEXY and PROFESSIONAL laptop design (except for the dent in the hinge and dead blue pixel/s which I noticed immediately and made me so sad)
-SUPER MEGA ULTRA SEXY 1080p 3D @ 120hz display
-AWESOME/CONFORTABLE illuminated full size keyboard.
-Super fast i7 740 + ATI 5850
-Super fast wireless (...and that is w/ an old 802.11g router in my house)
-Fair weight for a 17" laptop

I Didn't tested:
-Ports: USB, HDMI, VGA, etc.
-BD player.
-Battery

I did noticed:
-Heavy fan activity when playing videos/games.
-1 time, the upper right zone of the display came darker than the rest of the display (probably a consequence from the dent damage) it fixed itself after a reboot, so could also be a driver issue, not sure).

I would say that the dent in the hinge was a production issue because the inner box didn't came with damages, but the outer box did came with a big hole/dent which could be during the shipping process.

Basically now I will have literally 2 month waiting for my sexy Envy 17... also if the SandyBridge version comes around January/February i will probably ask for a refund and I will buy the new one... mainly because of the heat issue and battery life alone.

Finally I want to say that this is a really good laptop, probably I just got a lemon (hopefully is not a massive production issue).

 

This is what I don't get.... you said it was "missing?" Of course it really wasn't missing, lol , you really did confuse tech support wow...was it India? I mean, you have a special number as an Envy owner for exclusive USA support from HP. Anyway, I would love to know what exactley you said to them ....and did you really say it was missing...I just don't get it....


KJ

 

Jose, well yeah, just having a dead pixel is an automatic NO NO!!! 100% for sure return. I'm glad you didn't give up on the Envy 17 3D!

 

I suppose I did refer to it as "missing" in my initial inquiry but I did fully explain it to the secondary smarter person that knew what I was talking about and even pasted them a link to the caddy at the 3rd party website.

this is cut and paste what I put in my email after the smarter person contacted me for more info.


Hello Jon,

I can't take a phone call right now but to summarize the issue I had yesterday, I was trying to see if HP could send me the mounting hardware and cable to attach a secondary hard drive to my HP ENVY 17 3D notebook computer. I tried to contact HP chat technical support and it took them about 35 minutes of not really understanding what I meant to finally decide that they couldn't resolve my problem and I'd have to contact someone else.

I ordered this laptop (order# *********) with only 1 hard drive because I knew I had a spare SSD that I wanted to add to it. I noticed that the notebook had an empty drive bay but no means to connect another hard drive. I assumed that HP had this hardware and could send it to me but the tech helper simply could not understand what it was that I wanted.

After my frustration with the chat helper, I looked around for others that had this problem and found this:

Hard Drive Caddy & Cable for HP Envy 17 (also works with SSD) [HP-ENVY-17] - $38.55 : NewmodeUS, Hard Drive Caddys for Notebooks

I ordered it and I guess it should solve my problem but I find it ridiculous that HP support could not identify the part and even if I had to pay for it, allow me to receive it. I find it a bad business practice to not include that extra bracket in the first place AND not have an easy place to order it on the website AND not educate the tech support about that sort of thing. Anyone that works with computers regularly should be able to understand that hard drives often need mounting hardware, especially in a laptop.

Anyways, I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.

Regards,


*********

About 30 minutes later I had an order confirmation in my mailbox telling me my missing part was on the way. The only part I haven't pasted was the transcript of the bungling chat support person not understanding my issue or what I wanted.

admittedly i was a little steamed at support ppl when i wrote this...

 

I would have been pretty sad with a dead pixel. Mine seems to be great. There is a very very slight warp on the panel above the keyboard near the hinge but not a big deal at all and it's dead center so at least it's symmetrical. Hopefully you end up better off in the end. I wonder if you can try to talk them into upgrading it at a discount while they have it in for fixing. Goodness knows they can change up the config if they are making you a new one versus fixing the old one. That might just be my terrible deal-exploiter mentality talking. Anyways, good luck Jose!

 

Thanks KillaJoe / WickedYeti, you guys make me feel like i'm crying in front of friends... LOL


/just in case, i'm not gay.

 

LOL

" There is a very very slight warp on the panel above the keyboard near the hinge but not a big deal at all and it's dead center so at least it's symmetrical."​

 

Everyone keeps talking about this Sandy Bridge thing. This machine is already a beast. Do you really need to have Sandy Bridge just because its brand new? This is perfect for what I need it for: movies, music, games, internet, some video editing" and for the price it cant be beat!

 

Jose posted earlier today that he sent it in and they are upgrading his BD drive to a BD burner too! and $50 credit that is sweet. Lucky guy.
I would assume the BD burner will still do 3D of course otherwise what's the point of a 3D lappy. hahah

 

SB is not about fast perfomance, but lower temperature and longer battery life, the new processors have an integrated graphics core that is very helpful for low-demanding loads and can also work with a discrete graphics processor for high-demand loads... all of this at the end ensure a longer life time for your laptop.

sorry for my bad grammar and/or if I'm not clear explaining this, but I posted a link from various sources explaining way better than me this.

 

Jose, I can see you really looked deep into sandy bridge. Anyway, I liked your explination. Also, people have to remember, that Sandy Bridge is also 32nm architecture, so its not mind blowing or as possibly significant as the 22nm in 2012.... I've stated earlier I would stick with my new Envy 17 3D which is by any standards today, a great laptop. In a few more years it would make sense to upgrade...but now to wait another few months for a bit of upgrade...bah....

KJ

 

My wife dropped the power brick on the cover of my laptop and gave it a nice dent. I call it a 'love dent' because whenever I need some love'n, I just show her the dent on my new laptop.

everyone... be careful, this laptop is very easy to damage.

 

So how is it that Sandy Bridge will cause an increase in battery life even though it has the same TDP as the current gen processors? is it because of the smaller 32nm architecture? If it is, then why does the size make a difference in power consumption?

Btw Jose, your English is damn near perfect.

 

Dude... I think you got it wrong Wang...
I think your wife dropped the power brick to remind you not to enjoy yourself too much with 3D Victoria Secret... So... that dent is to remind you to take your eyes off the laptop for a change...

 

...because SandyBridge (Intel i7 "second generation") has an integrated graphics processor right inside the i7 2nd. generation, when you're loading light graphics jobs (like flash videos, windows 7 animations, light photo editing, etc.) the system doesn't need to use the discrete graphics card (which use relatively more energy which btw generates more heat and consume more battery juice).

For example:
Current i7 (not integrated graphics processor):
-For light graphics activities (it use a discrete graphics processor)
-For heavy graphics activities (it use a discrete graphics processor)
All of this means that more energy is necessary to power the discrete graphics processor, so more heat is created, more fan speed is necessary and more battery power is necessary.

2nd Generation i7 (WITH integrated graphics processor)
-For light graphics activities (it use an integrated graphics processor)
-For heavy graphics activities (it use a discrete graphics processor)
All of this means that less energy is necessary to power the integrated graphics processor, so less heat is created, less fan speed is necessary and less battery power is necessary.

Besides this benefits, it is 10% faster (average) than currents i7s, because a more efficient design.

...and I think this is my final explanation about SandyBridge's benefits.

Also if the SB version of the i7 will be around a couple of weeks, instead of 6 month or 1 year, I think it is worth at least to be aware about it, in case we see another big discount coupons like the $400 off, or something similar.

Now, of course, when the next wave of 22nm Intel processors come out they will be even better, but then that will be like in 1 years or 2.... in that case that's tooooo much.

 

im only expecting this computer to last 3-4 years max and prob get bored of it and move on to next. And im sure many of you are too since you are on this forum. so I'd take what it have now and enjoy it, I dont think the envy line will be updated that soon, they might come up with a whole new series to have the new cpu on like how they replaced the HDX, voodoo 133, envy 13/15, and others.
On top of that, I am worried whether the laptop can take the newer games or future ones with the 5850 card. For example any1 run NFS 14 on this beast yet?

 

I'm 100% with you on this! I originally planned to keep the Envy 3D for about 4 years or so.... and I like what one person said on another forum...they will upgrade with the game they want to play demands a better system...haha Makes sense. Until then I feel this baby will perform well. After the 22nm or later things will change to higher degree than the Sandy Bridge now, being so new....I just don't feel it...and many on the other gaming boards are stating the same.... I'm gonna love my Envy 17 3D!

noodle9527, by the way, what is NSF 14? I tried to look it up, but not sure... I thought you meant Need For Speed, but they can't be it....its an older game no?

KJ

 

yea its Need for speed, i typoed hehe. And a newer version came out on the nov 16 this year, I just throwed that out as an example cause it looked really graphic intense on youtube and im thinking of getting the game. Even the e3 gameshow demo lagged a lil so I thought wonder if the 17 3d can run it smooth.

edit: just realized I typed it right NFS,hehe. 14 is the current new version but its called hot pursuit instead of 14, but its the 14th version.

 

noodle9557, ok I found it now. Plenty of nice trailers for the game. I saw a couple people say the game sucked, lol, but that could mean maybe their system sucks? You never know.

Here on the Tridef supported games, NSF hot pursuit is not one of them, so you won't be able to play it in 3D. TriDef 3D Ignition - 3D Games

Here is the official NFS Hot Pursuit site and what you need to play it...

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Minimum PC Specs | Need for Speed

Min Specs:
OS: Windows® XP SP 3 (32-64 bits) / Windows Vista® (32-64 bits) / Windows 7® (32-64 bits)
Processor: Intel Core® 2 Duo 1.8 GHZ or AMD Athlon X2 64 2.4GHZ
Memory: 1.5 GB Windows® XP / 2 GB Windows Vista® - Windows 7®
Graphics: 256 MB DirectX® 9.0 compliant card with Shader Model 3.0 or higher (see supported list)
DirectX®: DirectX 9.0
Hard Drive: 8.0 GB
Sound: DirectX 9.0 –compliant sound card
Supported Peripherals: Keyboard, optional controller


Recommended:
OS: Windows® XP SP 3 (32-64 bits) / Windows Vista® (32-64 bits) / Windows 7® (32-64 bits)
Processor: Intel Core® 2 Duo E6700 2.6 GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ or better
Memory: 1.5 GB Windows® XP / 2 GB Windows Vista® - Windows 7®
Graphics: GeForce 8800 GT or ATI Radeon HD 4700 or better
DirectX®: DirectX 9.0
Hard Drive: 8 GB free space
Sound: 5.1 sound card
Supported Peripherals: Keyboard, joystick optional (Xbox 360® Controller for Windows recommended)

Supported Video Cards at Time of Release: ATI® RADEON® X1950, hd 2000/3000/4000/5000 series NVIDIA GeForce ® 7 (7600 or better)/8/9/100/200 series.

Looks like you'll be ok noodle with the Envy!!! ahaha, try not to have too much fun, ok? J/K

 

Like I said in my mini-review, I used a Need for Speed Shift profile to play Need for Speed Hot Pursuit in 3D that I found from here, and while it had some ghosting especially in the menus, the actual game is very playable in 3D. Framerates slow down a bit because of 3D, but it's a cool effect as your car looks like an actual solid object in front of you (kind of like a Matchbox car you can reach out and grab) and the road looks like it's out in the distance. Still a nice showpiece for 3D gaming...

...and by the way, when not in 3D, the game runs at 1080p with maxed settings flawlessly. I haven't used FRAPS but just guessing, I would say it's between 45-60 fps. The game looks phenomenal, and I'm actually having a lot of fun with it, which is not surprising as I've always liked the series.

EDIT: OK, so apparently I was being a bit generous, as FRAPS says it's closer to 40-50 fps, depending on the level. Still, it looks very smooth to me, and plays very well.

 

I received mine yesterday and all seems to be fine with it so far, except, mine also has a very slight warp on the panel above the keyboard off to the right of the power button towards the hinges. I have not noticed any bad pixels so far. Tested out the 3D glasses with the demo and all seemed to work there. I am now running the recovery media creation (image split up into 7 DVD's); which will take a while.

 

That's some good news, thx killer and terminally

Btw I would love to be a cop if I can get a veyron as my ride

 

Whats this with the warps on the screens? Thats the 2nd person. Anyone else have this problem? Is this gonna be one of those mass produced items thats always gonna come with some sort of defect? I remember when the Sony PSP came out, like 9 out of 10 came with dead pixels. It was a mess. I hope mine comes perfect because I dont want the headache.

 

The warp is not on the screen, its on the panel that the power button is on. As far as I can tell, the screen looks just fine.

 

So I couldn't wait any longer on a review. I ordered it yesterday. (bone stock envy 17 3D) Build/ship date says the 21st. I'm sure there will be a review out by the time that I get it. That Sandy Bridge thing worries me though, but atleast I have until Jan. 15th to return it.

I also got the Coolermaster Notepal U3 to keep it cool while gaming. Hope it works.

 

Guys, seriously, check this vid out now!!!

YouTube - |HD|Medal of Honor Limited Edition|Multiplayer-HELMAND VALLEY|HD5750|DX11

Its of Medal of Honor Limited Edition, multiplayer on DX11!!!! I don't even have words for it.... better than Cyrsis? hhahaha no doubt, especially in performance....but damn, I have drool everywhere!!! On multiplayer it plays smooth, lighting and effects to die for... I will have to shell out the money for this game wow....seriously. wow....

P.S. Anyone own this yet, and if you do, I bet the 3D effects are killer hot!

P.S. What I find odd is form comments stating that this game on single player only uses DX9, but on multiplayer it can use DX9, DX10, or even DX11. I will have to look into it on their website, still amazing.

KJ

 

My Envy 17 3D order so far (ship date est Dec 21st)

Dec 2nd - placed order
Dec 3rd - order accepted
Dec 4th - order dropped to factory

 

That's a lot better than mine:

Nov 25th - placed
Nov 29th - accepted

Est Delivery just changed from 6 Dec to 11 Nov 2011!

Assuming it should be 11 Jan 2011 but even then that's a big delay.

 

I got mine a day early, Dec. 2nd and I, like Tudr, have a very small "dent" in the metal panel at the edge near the power button. I did not even notice it, a friend did. It is the only (very minor) flaw I have found so far.

I am having a problem getting Tridef 3d working with World of Warcraft, though, and I am hoping someone could help me out. I install the latest version, it recognizes I have then Envy 17 3D and activates ok. Google Earth works in 3D just fine. I have scanned and found WoW, and also manually added WoW, but when I try to launch it from Tridef, I get an error message:

The application was unable to start correctly (0xc0000142). Click OK to close the application.

I know I must be doing something wrong. It is the stock Win7 OS, no changes yet. I copied the WoW folder from my other laptop, which I have done numerous times without issue. WoW runs fine without trying it through the TriDef 3D Ignition. Any thoughts?

PS: Laptop is amazing. First Class all the way around. Do a CPU burn in for a few hours to allow the thermal paste to "cure".

 

Dec 2nd - placed order
Dec 3rd - order accepted
Dec 4th - order dropped to factory

Dec 5th - Order in production

 

Yeah I definitely had some issues at first but I'm coming to the realization that this is a really great machine. I did temperature tests when I got it and now after a week it is running a full 10-15 degrees C cooler than it was when I first got it.

edit: for example, when I got it, it was idling around 55-60 and went up to like 90 during gameplay. Now it idles at around 43-45 and only goes up to around 80 playing games.

 

Guys, just got mine!!!! Well, a couple hours ago.... and of course I read previous reviews about this lap...and paid attention to where the possible defects are...well, it wasn't hard to find... I have a similar issue with a few others....I have 2 dents above the keyboard. One to the right of the power button, and one below and to right of HP logo.

See link below for defect page with my uploaded pic!

Here is link to defect page where I posted the pic. Anyone with a defect please post pics if you have, thanks.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...17-3d-defects-other-concerns.html#post6946145

KJ

 

What is it with these dents on all these laptops???? Are they dropping them on the floor????

 

jwang had a great idea. He thinks maybe they are over tightening the screws where the battery goes.... and therefore it sucks the top metal downward..makes sense if its true. I might take a small screwdriver and try to loosen it up and see. but I am returning it anyway, because there is some space on the right side of the panel where it is attached to lower panel.

KJ

 

Im really getting nervous. My build date is 12/27 and the suspense of knowing f I'll have a defect or not is killing me. Im not one of these guys that can live with defects. Im a perfectionist and alittle thing like a warped screen or dents will urk me to no end. If these damn laptops were built in the United States of America like th ey should be this wouldnt be happening. Damn you HP.

 

well yes, but the good news is you can ask for $50 bucks credit and an upgrade, or some have even gotten $100 credit. So you win anyways, but yeah, you'll have to wait a bit for the new build.

 

...I guess the "Waiting on Envy 17 3D thread..." will continue for a long time.

 

Jose, lol we're all in it together if that helps.

 

I know we are all waiting on seeing game benchmarks for this thing, but have you read the reviews people are posting on HP?

Go HERE and click the "read all reviews" button. The latest review talks about WoW in 3D and how many frames per second he's getting. Impressive stuff.

 

I hate to say this, but I am already thinking in a plan B:

From Amazon ASUS G73JW-XA1 ($1,449.00) ( with EXCELLENT overall reviews/feedback)
Link
# 17.3-inch LED-backlit Full HD display for immersive cinematic experience with resolution up to 1920 x 1080
# NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M graphics with 1.5GB GDDR5 VRAM for unprecedented DirectX 11 gaming
# Intel Core i7-DD740QM processor with Intel Turbo Boost technology to automatically boost speed to your task at hand
# ASUS Power4Gear Hybrid that innovatively saves battery life and delivers extreme performance
# SuperSpeed USB 3.0 for quicker device charging and up to 10x faster transfers than USB 2.01
# 750GB 7200RPM hard drive and 8GB of DDR3 system memory for smooth computing and ample storage for all your games and media files
# Backlit gaming keyboard with ergonomic tilt-up design for comfortable control in any lighting environment
# Altec Lansing speakers and EAX Advanced HD Audio for premium gaming sound.

-Much less hot
-More Battery life
-Easier to upgrade/mantaining
but...
-Heavier
-Bigger / clunkier
-No BD (not a big deal in the futrure 'cause on-line streaming will be the standard)
-No 3D (not a big deal without a 3D HDTV)

Part of plan B is to see alternatives soon to begin selling SandyBridge (2nd generation i7s) + ATI 6000m series or Gforce 500m series

 

Both G73's (that is the one with 5870 & 460M do not have better battery life than ENVY (If you compare with 9-cell batteries).

 

Jose, you're just all over the place lol. Hang tight brother. Get your replacement system and give it a chance. It'll all work out.

 

this keyboard problem is some what annoying, i dont know if its a system design failure or just my unit. now every time i type on the number pad i can hear the medal panel shaking vibrating or whatever sound its making

 

The problem is anything thats mass produced in a third world country CANNOT be of good quality. HP is really killing me.