What in the world is this envy doing here?! :O

Review HP Envy 14 Beats Edition Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

The Notebook check site today reviewed yet another hp envy today. And from what I've seen, it's literally an Envy 14 Beats with minor cosmetic changes and the headphones accessory -_-... Why is hp doing minor cosmetic changes 2 wks before next gen cpus and gpus come out in CES?! I really hope this isn't an excuse to not update their envy line soon after CES. Intel is reportedly forcing some laptop companies to still use Arrandales for a little longer instead of Sandy Bridge because of overstock -_-. I know it's not a big deal, but a premium laptop should hopefully use the latest technology soon after it comes out. This minor change in the Envy 14 Beats right before CES seems strange to me.

Oh and btw, this Envy model is supposedly hard to even find. What a mess...

Anybody have any idea what's going on?

 

Wasn't the Beats out for a while now? The reason no one buys them (I personally only know one guy that has a Beats lol) is that they no longer got Radiance and it was not worth the extra looks to get an Envy 14 w/o a Radiance.

I guess they reviewed it just now because the Europeans don't often the current revision of the Envy before or around our launch dates, so by the time they get their hands on a latest Envy, we are already on the next generation.

That being said, reading that made me regret not getting the Beats version of the Envy 15.

 

I know the Beats was out a while ago. But I think the one on the site I listed looked different than the usual Envy 14 Beats (e.g. Chrome sides instead of Black sides). Like I said, very minor differences, but different nonetheless. The reason can be the difference in regions. *Shrugs*

Do you guys think that Intel will force HP, among other laptop companies, to continue using the Arrandale processors for a little longer even after Sandy Bridge debuts at CES? I would hate for that to happen. ]:

 

I just got my new Beats Edition Envy today! It is the new version with the chrome on the sides. I did not know I was getting the new version but I am stoked that I did! It is better than my Macbook Pro. The fit and quality and speed is awesome! You get so much for the buck than with the Macbook Pro.
Merry Christmas! :=)

 

Sandy Bridge isn't going to be rolling out immediately after CES. Except till March or April to see revisions starting. However, don't underestimate Arrandales though. The benefits of Sandy Bridge only gets benefits on the quad-core line, not the dual-core line. Arrandales can keep up with the dual-core Sandy Bridges just fine.

 

Are you serious?!?! Uugghhhh darn it. How can a premium notebook line have components that are outdated by at least 3 months ]: ...so the envy 14 is still going to use that underclocked 5650 gpu til probably March 2011 too??? I am beyond disappointed.

Btw, I'm glad that you notice the benefits that sandy bridge brings to quad cores (32nm and integrated graphics). A lot of people generalize sandy bridge and brush it aside as totally insignificant.

 

off topic but is the i5 520 arrandale?

I don't mind if they refresh it at CES but I highly doubt that they will immediately. They will probably wait at least 2 months to get a new product build in order imo.

Yes the 5650 is underclocked but you can bring it back up with the MSI afterburner tool. Someone will have it laying around here somewhere.

Side note, this is an obvious question but is anyone else getting a hot right side vent/near the pg up keys? I'm assuming this is only normal.

 

I get the same hotspot on my Beats.....I'll bet that is where the CPU is.....

 

well the fact that theyre trying to clear out their Envy inventory with all these sales and promotions tells me that theres a refresh coming up..hopefully by the end of January

 

I'm going to use the coupon today and if I hear any news on a refresh during the 21 days return period, I'll return the laptop. But if not, I'll keep it.

 

the hotspot is where the gpu and the cpu are.

The manufacturers got their SB chips and mobos prototypes by Q3 of this year. This is when production for SB chips began.

You never launch a product without having it in productions for some months, specially in the computer business, due mainly to the volume of the sales, and due to manufacturing issues that might occur.

The SB chips where probably having their finishing touches even before the Arrandale cpus came out for the consumers, and that is why we always get those nifty ppt presentations indicating where the chip manufacturers are going to lead their products in a couple of years.

The engineering for a processor (of any kind) is one of high complexity, and it usually demands more than a year to get it done. The process is so money consuming and involves so many parts (the engineering team of the processor, the mobo, the chipset; the software team for the bios, the drivers; the team for the manufacturers, including the redesign of the mobos, the production engineers....) it is a very complex process, even not taking into account the economics of the thing, meaning supply chain, development of the product, branding, and so forth.

So it is up to the manufacturers to decide which lines are going to get he upgrade first, now you bow down to some choices:

-cheap consumer
-medium consumer
-expensive consumer

-cheap professionals
-medium professionals
-expensive professionals

Now between those 2 groups, mainly due to enterprise consumers having the moto: if it aint broken dont fix it. Those are usually the last to get the updates.

The different consumer subgroups you are going to prioritize are the ones that you can put a mark up on the prices without scaring them away, which means that the high paying costumer is the choice, meaning in this case that the envy line, as it has been shown will be one of the first lines to get the upgrade.

I do really hope that they start to present the choice, again, of some notebooks without the DVD drive, this would add to better cooling and to a more powerful gpu, I have the same performance of the envy 14 in a 2 year old notebook that is in dare need of replacement (not its big, and its 2.5kg)