What HP Envy 15 are you getting?

Which version are you getting and why?

 

i7-820qm....power!! and I want this laptop to last me at least 3 years preferably 5. I only have 4 gigs in it now, but I will update that to 16 as time passes and in a perfect world I would have a 500GB SDD RAID 0 setup in the near term and a 1TB SDD RAID 0 in the long term..right now im sporting the 320 gb HDD

Oh and by power, I mean ability to handle CAD/CAM projects easily and do my fun stuff too.

 

I got the i7 720QM and 4830HD...Im on the "old" side now... But that 320GB SSD from Intel has me drooling...but cant afford that.

 

The i5-540M. I have a beefy desktop (Phenom II 955,8GB) for large processing jobs, and a media center with a 3TB usable RAID5 for mass storage. This is gonna be a gaming, surfing and travel machine, so the 4GB will be more than fine for a while. And I wanted the battery savings that the i5 has with the integrated GPU and smaller process. The CPU itself should be more than fast enough given that it turbo's up to as fast as the 820M.

 

I bought the 720QM with the slice and dvd drive from a seller on ebay for $200 off the retail price, 8% bing cashback, and no tax. It saved me quite a bit of money than ordering through HP.

I wanted a quad core. Tried the Dell XPS1645 found the throttling issue unacceptable.

The $300 and $350 coupons going around and the price drop still make it more expensive to buy through HP due to tax.

 

THIS, exactly to the reasoning too. The Processor is not (easily) replaced, so went with the best. RAM & HDD are much easier to get replaced with superior parts when price/quality correlate.

 

i5 520m. Hoping to get some nice overclocking results

 

I went with the i5-540M for the better battery life with the IGP. I previously owned it with the i7-720QM but the battery life just was not hitting what I wanted it to and I just never found myself doing anything to actually stress the cores enough.

Granted now I'm thinking again about whether I should've gone with the 720 again for the usb 3.0. For now I'll just wait and see how the 540 fares before making a final decision.

 

720. Sales agent told me about how if I want to use it for 5-6 years it'd be necessary.

 

Edit: good choice, but who knows what will happen in 5-6 years

 

I'm getting the i7-720 after passing it over when the Envy was first released. Now equipped with a DirectX11 gfx card and USB 3.0 this will set it apart from all the other notebooks out there within a set budget. Asus is already selling a laptop with a Radeon 5870 but with a much larger chassis and undoubtedly Apple will sell a Macbook with a Core i5 or dual-core Core i7 but would not reach performance levels of the quad core.

 

If apple tried to cram an i7 into a MBP you'd probably end up with something you can cook eggs on if you ran the processor flat out.

That said, I'm happy with my HDX 18. If/when I need i7 Performance, i'll just put a desktop together; I don't need that much power to carry around

 

Yeah... but you carry around an 18" behemoth. The Envy is as big as I'll ever consider.

 

I chose the 720QM. I need a quad core, but I didn't think the price premium on the 820 was in line with the actual performance increase. I was also a little worried that the added power draw and heat of the 820 might make it a little less useful in portable situations (not sure if that really would end up being the case or not.)

 

I've got a desktop similar to yours, but I wanted more gaming power on the go than the UL80VT/MBP could give me. It'll be interesting to see how the Envy stacks up with the new 5830M in terms of gaming performance, and then see how long it lasts in minimal battery usage. I'd really like to see it be able to pull 5 hours on minimal brightness, wifi off, bluetooth off, idling with Microsoft office taking notes in class (my typical set up for taking notes in class). If it can pull 5 hours, rock on. . . .

Any word on whether or not FOR SURE we're going to be able to use the Intel HD integrated as switchable with the 5830?

 

540M since last year I was waiting for that processor Now finally I can pick one with it

 

5-6 years from now, Fusion from AMD is in 2011-2012, Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge from Intel. NVIDIA renaming the G92 core (pun intended), AMD showing off a Radeon 9000HD?

Even that, I find the Envy quite large, but I can deal with it, I would have very much loved a 14" chassis.

 

i5-540M. I have a powerful i7 gaming machine, and wanted something with a little more travel ability.

 

Is there any speculation for a 17 inch version with a 1900 x 1280p screen??
That I would buy in an instant. 15 is too small for me.

 

Another reason for the i7-820 was the intended use I have for this laptop. Performance matters when you're a computer technician going on site. Almost always plugged in so battery isn't an issue, nice speeds, and potential for usb3.0 (which will make data transfer beautiful in the coming years).

 

I know you've been pushing the integrated GPU and Intel CPUs, and I originally thought it would be that way before I checked the forums... Anyways after seeing NO MENTION OF IT ANYWHERE on the HP site, I tried tech support, I asked them if the I5 used the built in integrated graphics and they said no. I asked them to double check and they said no... So either they just lost my sale and probably others, or you guys are going to be really disappointed

 

Our Envy 15 notebook PC does not have 3.0 USB connection. It is still 2.0 USB connection. The graphics card is not switchable also.

That is for the i5-540M version.

 

USB 3.0 only on i7.
Switchable graphics on i5 only.

 

No I was trying to say I asked about the i5 CPU and HP told me they DO NOT offer switchable graphics...

Show me otherwise and I'll be happy, I've seen the specs of the I5-520/40 and yes there is integrated graphics, but HP is saying they are not switchable..

 

Someone called HP tech support and they said it was a right click menu on the desktop to change. Did it on their machine while he was on the phone.

Unfortunately, still no official published into one way or another.

 

There something in the DV4i manual about switching graphics though, and it has the i5. I can't imagine they wouldn't do it on the Envy but would on the DV4i. And I'd be VERY surprised if there wasn't at least a BIOS switch. I can live with that, at least in the short term until the drivers come out.

 

Well on the site it says switchable on the Envy 13, but not on the 15, seems like a huge waste if you couldn't use the i5 integrated graphics though for sure.... Anyways hopefully someone can prove me wrong, seems like an incredible machine in every other way.

 

http://hpfansite.com/hp-envy/alert-hp-envy-17-envy-14-elitebook-2540p-2740p-pipeline/

http://h20386.www2.hp.com/KoreaStore/images/public/091221_option/notebook_index.xls

'nuff said

 

I'm getting the i7-720qm on order for the extra cores and extra RAM upgradeability with the total of 4 DIMM slots. A 2x2GB Kit is under well under $100 while a 4GB DIMM will cost $250+. I'll move to 4GB DIMMs when they drop in price but meanwhile I won't be limited by the number of slots.

If the notebook comes with USB 3.0 that would be a bonus in my view but external accessories will cost a bit more until more vendors start selling SuperSpeed equipment hopefully by the second half the year.

 

Great news! I have been stressing over the switchable graphics and memory and called tech support for more info. After speaking with a manager he shared the following:

1. The I5 machines will have the ability to switch between the Intel and the discrete ATI video cards via a right click option.

2. I have the ability to add another SSD to my single and enable RAID. I can remove the non-SSD as well.

3. If the RAID is set up to back up on both drives there would be a minor performance hit vs the single SSD (assuming non-RAID0?)

4. The machine is upgradeable to 16 gb

Now I don't know about you all, but I was ecstatic and am confident about my purchase now. Hope this helps

I5-540M 4GB 160SSD + 250 1920x1080 anti-glare

 

A single 4GB DDR3-1066 SODIMM is only $200 at Newegg. Still twice the price per meg as a 2GB stick, but not quite $250+

 

I went with the i5 520m, anti-glare, and 500GB drive. I didn't think $75 was worth an improvement that wouldn't be discernible, and plus HP is more than doubling the markup of the difference between the 2. I would probably have still gone with the 520m if the 620m were available. However, I would probably take the 620lm over any other Arrandale as long as the different max clock speeds on the IGP didn't overly the gimp performance vs the "m" versions.

I went with the 1080p anti-glare, because I love high-resolution screens and do not like glossy displays.

 

I chose the i7 720, anti-glare, 320gb drive to get the benefits of USB 3.0. After looking up prices on newegg for hard drives and ram, I decided against buying them from HP and will do it myself if I need the space.

 

That's interesting they told you different from what I was told, I'll check back in tomorrow and see what they come up with, but good news!

 

Alright, I went back to the live chat and asked about the switchable graphics and told them about willautomatic's post and how the ENVY 15 did have switchable graphics on the I5, after waiting for quite a while and the agent checking up on it. She tells me:

"AgentAshley O.
If you are planing to switch the Theo between integrated and dedicated graphics card so that you can save battery, yes will have the option. "

So the I5 DOES have switchable graphics! Sorry for any confusion I caused earlier, I told this agent to speak with her department and hopefully be able to clear that up so everyone is told the same thing instead of two completely different things...

I also asked about the battery life and usage on the integrated Intel graphics, using the standard six-cell battery (I think using an SSD and not a regular hard drive since the agent kept pushing that when I asked about battery life) I was told:

"AgentAshley O.
Base on my calculation it will have up to 3.45 hours."

If you look at the specs, it's rated up to 2 hours on a six-cell, but I'm sure that's without integrated graphics, and possibly even the older 4830 and whatnot...

Anyways I hope this helps!

 

I think for me, I'll end up getting the i5-540 + 4GB RAM. I am so ready to order, but the only thing that holding me back is the design. I like the thin design and have no issue with the color, but the cover is a bit ugly. The beat model with all black is cool but pricey.

The sony CW looks attractive, but the LCD on the HP is better.

Sigh.

 

get a cover? fill it in with bondo sand over and paint?

 

From what I've heard, the design isn't nearly as obvious as pictures make it out to be. I'll take some photos of mine without a flash if you want, so you can see what it'll really look like.

 

I've play with the i7 version at bestbuy. Unless the i5 version is a bit different.

Would be nice if they offer it in Blue or Red. Would love those color heehhe. Like the Acer Ferrari or Sony CW

 

Once Australia gets the refresh, I think I'll be going for the i7 version. The extra grunt should be good for games like Sup Com, plus I should be near a power point for most of the time.

 

Other colors with plastic chassis make the "premium" laptops feel cheap,correct me if I am wrong

 

I noticed today that the Core i5 430M was the default option - I believe the 520M used to be, and this poll seems to indicate that, too. Can anyone confirm that? The choice of $100 extra price or 400 MHz of lost turbo power isn't too appealing!

 

I'm thinking about getting an Envy 15. Have they solved the heat problems? Someone told me they get extremely hot. Thanks

 

you are correct sir

 

Anodizing or powder coating would be much better. It's still an all-metal chassis as compared to the colored plastic machines.

 

I think the metallic look adds to the understated beauty/power of the laptop. It doesnt stand out, until you test it.

Plastic would only lower its "premium stand" to a more consumer and mainstream laptop.

 

I agree. But I'm just saying if you color metal it doesn't suddenly turn into something like those plasticky machines. It's still metal and nice, just colored.

 

Like the Beats? As long as it is mate, I have little problem. Those glossy, almost mirror, lids are terrible. You give it a bad look and it is dirty...grrr