HP/Compaq :: An Interesting First Impression (HP Envy 15)
May 3, 2010
So I purchased a 2nd Generation HP Envy 15 laptop about a week and a half ago, and it finally arrived today. I had been humming and hawing over a few different brands and decided to go with the Envy as I liked its overall score on my charts the best.
It came this morning, and I obviously was very excited. I had ordered it through an ebay power seller (also a NBR forum member that is well known) so didn't have any doubts it would have problems pertaining to the order. Well, it didn't really. Pertaining to the order.
Upon opening up the laptop box, I inspected it, and all was fine. Looked good, new, etc. This was the 2nd Gen Envy 15 so I couldn't buy it in Canada yet, thus the online order.
Well. I start up the laptop, and when it asks me to create a Username for the PC... THE KEYBOARD DOES NOT WORK. AT ALL.
No lights will turn on. No keys work. Nothing. No response from anything, even loading the laptop up I cannot enter the BIOS because the keys do not work.
I plugged in a USB keyboard and finally got Windows loaded, etc, and tried to re-install the keyboard drivers, but they say everything is working fine still, and the keyboard still does not work.
I just got an HP DV3T to replace a Dell Studio 1555 laptop. I liked the Studio 1555 but I wanted a smaller size laptop and the HD 1080p screen, while beautiful, made text a real chore to read.
I received the DV3T a couple days ago and wanted to share my initial impressions for anyone else considering this laptop as there don't seem to be many on this forum who have it. I use my laptops for word processing, light photo editing, watching Hulu etc and general websurfing.
Things I like about the HP DV3T:
Size: It's perfect. Not too small yet small enough to be portable and lighter than a 15 inch laptop. Build quality: It's very sturdy and does not feel fragile at all. I would describe the build quality as excellent. It does have a shiny finish however which is a real fingerprint magnet. I like the design (I have the black model) although the silver circles on it make it look like it was designed by Target.....
I'm having an issue with my Dell XPS m1710. I was having a problem with my computer overheating. So a few days ago I decided to take my computer apart to clean the fans and now I'm having another problem. Something I unplugged caused (I think) my bios to go back to a previous version. When I initially turned my computer back on after reconnecting everything correctly (before Windows XP started up) a window appeared asking me something about my bios. And I was in a hurry to do something so I passed the window up to get into Windows XP. Now I'm having some weird issues. For example:
a) The clock in my system tray will not synchronize with time.windows.com b) When I connect to a secure website with Firefox it will take me first to a page that says "This Connection is Untrusted" c) When I try to log in to some websites a window will pop up and say "Secure Connection Failed" and it will give me the option to either "View Certificate" or "Cancel"
The laptop about one month ago had the power jack smashed (cable was stepped on) someone plugged the cable back in, in doing so the main power pin (surrounding the center pin) was bent over so it now made contact with the (data) pin that tels the laptop what power supply is connected and if it is a genuine Dell.
This in turn shorted out the circuitry in the laptop that can read this 'data' line.
So no matter what power supply I use the laptop will always state that the wrong adapter is connected and will not charge. (strange also is the PCMCIA slot has no power. Everything thing else works.
What I have tried,
Tried my battery in another D600 (charged and ran no problem (my laptop would run from the battery but still no PCMCIA power.
Tried my charger on another D600 worked fine so the data pin is fine on it. Tried another charger on my laptop same problem.
I already fixed the power port.
Last I tried the laptop in a Docking station and same problem (wrong adapter type) This is fed through the bottom of the laptop not the power jack.
So this tells me the problem lies in the logic circuit on the main board.
So...
Is there a simply surface mount fuse that may have blown? or am I looking at a bad IC.
Just wanted to give this info for M1210 owners out there because I found it pretty interesting.
I recently changed my M1210's thermal assembly, new motherboard (due to failed Go7400), and the new one I obtained to replace it was a new revision, A02... the old one I removed is A00, so it seems there have been two design changes to the heatsink since my computer was assembled.
I haven't been able to identify any other differences yet, but one obvious difference is that it uses a different heatpipe .....
Disassembly, Bluetooth Install and other interesting findings:
A view from above find the tabs holding the keyboard in on the top edge above the F keys:
There are 5 of these tabs on the top row of the keyboard. Press in the middle one with a micro flat head, and use another to pry up the back of the keyboard. Press the rest of them in and they will bow the keyboard out. Only pry from the middle, as this will enable the keyboard to slip under the 2 tabs on the sides.
Once the keyboard is popped out, flip up the black tab to release the ribbon cable. Set the keyboard aside.
Remove the screws at the yellow dots, and disconnect the ribbon cables in the red squares. Simply stick your fingernail under the black tab and gently pull up. They are the same style as the keyboard connector.
Flip over the machine, and remove all screws at the yellow dots. The red dots are rubber stoppers that must be pulled out of their holes to expose the screws below. They come out fairly easily using a small micro flat head screwdriver to pry them out. There is double sided tape on the bottom to keep them in place, and it is good for more than one application, so you need not worry about them falling out later.
Take off the hard drive door and the memory cover and set them aside. To remove the hard drive itself, lift up the black plastic tab and gently pull on it. The whole unit will come out.
Remove the battery, and under the battery there are 2 smaller silver screws in plain sight. These must be removed also.
Flip the machine back over, and gently pull the top plastic piece off. This is one of the easiest laptops I've ever disassembled. DO NOT use a screwdriver to pry the pieces apart, you WILL mar the plastic and it will look bad. There is still 1 small pair of wires connecting the top to the motherboard, but there is enough slack to set the top off of the bottom, exposing the motherboard........................
My brandnew DELL Vostro 3300 has arrived, some days earlier than expected.
First impressions:
- Notebook is quite small, although somewhat bigger than I thought. (But that may come from the fact that I did much webbrowsing on a Motorola Milestone yesterday :-)) - Build quality seems okay. For the price in fact good. - Notebook is very lightweight. I have to measure the exact weight, but it feels much lighter than a DELL Studio 15. - Power supply unit is very small and lightweight. Seems to be the same as the Studio 15's. - Display is bright, colours are bright, seems to be an exact (smaller) copy of the Vostro 3700 with the same very limited viewing angle (not much of a problem to me when you do mostly office work and software engineering with dark letters on bright background, but could be a problem if you want to play games with mostly dark background). - Keyboard is backlit, surprisingly good. - Display and keyboard have relatively much flex. - Battery is 4 cell, seems to last approximately 2:30 (with maximum brightness, WLAN on and light office work) - It's very fast. - It doesn't emit much heat, feels quite cool. - It's relatively silent, so far.
Picked up one at Futureshop in Toronto. Originally I wanted to go directly through Dell so I can upgrade to the 7200rpm sata harddrive, and possibly WLED display. In the end I couldn't want to wait x weeks for it to arrive (for work reasons).
Overall impression, very happy!
-I chose this mainly for the keyboard. Very simple english-only keyboard, with hardly any multi-functions on one key. No crazy labels and colors, just plain jane. Loved how all needed working keys are included like pgup/pgdn/home/end/del/backspace/etc... I find it infuriating on other laptops when any of these keys are missing, combined, too small, etc. Love the seperate numpad.
-Yes, the keyboard is 'flexy' but I don't think it warrants the amount heat ppl are giving it. I kind of like it flexy actually. Maybe they are on to something in terms of tactility or useability.
-Biggest disappointment: no backlit keyboard included !!!!! Was a shocker to me which I only discovered 5 hours later at night. If you order directly from Dell in Canada, do you get a backlit keyboard? Is there anyway this can be added or upgraded?
-Yes, it does have an eSata port! Some people have said only the 15" Studio version does does.
-Love the power and find-network buttons on either side of the display hinges. They got a rubbery touch and the placement makes sense.
-I am pretty sure I got a regular CCFL LCD with this, as Futureshop doesn't have the option to upgrade to WLED or RGB LED backlighting. I'll say I'm very happy with it, and my at home I am going to connect to a CRT anyways, which I can do colour correcting work on when I need to. I think I spent too much time worrying about upgrading the display when the regular CCFL LCD is fine.
I have had a small amount of time with this machine, Dell latitude E6500 2.4ghz Dual Core, 160GB Hard Drive, 7200RPM Free Fall, NVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M DDR3 ram - I have 2gb ram, and will order another 2gb chip tomorrow, but so far I am thoroughly impressed I ordered a 2.26, but it seems that I got a 2.4 instead... I don't think I'll be calling in a complaint..
Extremely well built solid construction, keyboard is amazing, the best I have ever used on a laptop (some people say it has flex but I haven't noticed any), feedback is absolutely perfect, with a very soft noiseless click to report a keystroke. I have never been able to type this fast... Impressive... Back lit keyboard - sexy, secure fingerprint access works perfect, 1 swipe read every time I use it... far less screen flex then I have had on any other laptop I have used. Speakers are something to be desired, but I don't listen to music with them, I have 40K in home theater gear, so nothing lost to me..
Hinges on screen are completely solid, not worn in enough yet, takes 2 hands to open it, but I'm sure that will smooth out over time. LED screen is very impressive, resolution 1440x900 is really crisp and clear... colors are brilliant. I haven't run any tests, but 2.4 dual core is plenty fast... I'll know better when I try to extract something... Haven't done that for a long time.. Back of screen is brushed black aluminum, from what I understand, they are coming out with a Blue, which I saw online and it looks beautiful, I preferred that look, but the Black is flawless.... Its really a sleek looking laptop. First time I have used Vista, running 64 bit and so far I have 0 issues with it. Works as fast as my XP if not faster, only running 2gb ram but have 2 more on order.
Gripes, the transition from wrist rest to front of computer could be more tapered or smoother like the HP's, can be a bit rough, but certainly not a deal breaker. The mouse pad is a touch small, I am used to a larger one, but I'll get used to it, also I need to get used to the control of it, somewhat touchy, I find I'm highlighting stuff all the time, but again I'm sure that is something that I just have to get used to. I am happy there is no gloss anywhere on the computer, minimizes fingerprints.......
I have just received an Acer 8935g and as there seems very little info on it I thought I would post up my initial impressions and add some photo's later.
Reasons for buying - I wanted a desktop replacement with decent sound quality and decent gaming quality so I can finally ditch my desktop. I have bought plenty of laptops in the past which have all been great for the odd LAN parties but would never replace my desktop. I am happy to say so far so good.
So first things first, Acers website is shocking and is very short of info. I spent days trying to dig up info on this model with very little success. The main thing that had been holding me back is the gfx card, in 1 sentence it says 4670 and in the next it says 4650. My main concern was that the 4650 would contain ddr2 ram.
I am pleased to confirm my model has the 4670. I went for the lower end model with P7350 as I already have a decent CPU to switch into it.
Build Quality - I have heard rumours of poor build quality and poor QA from Acer but I am happy to say my laptop is perfect, the construction seems solid and no defects to be found. It is very heavy at 4.1kgs but this is a desktop replacement for me, I wont be lugging it around on a daily basis ( I have a Dell studio 1555 for that)
Screen - The screen quality is average at best. It is far lower quality than my dell 1555 1080p screen. Although it is LED it does not have great brightness so I wont be using this outdoors. Also it is very glossy so lots of reflections. The contrast is also only average and colours look a little washed out. That being said Blurays looked good and 3dmark06 looked good, I am yet to install any games.
Keyboard - The keyboard is very good and easy to type on, it also has all the keys of a full size keyboard (so no Fn plus key for home etc). The keyboard is also backlit, I always thought backlit keyboards were a gimmick but now I have used one I would never go back, especially if like me you use your laptop in low light...........
Just purchased the Acer Timeline 4810T from Staples. This is is the 14.1 inches variant, thought I might post some initial impression for all who are interested.
Spec Intel Core 2 Solo SU3500 1.4 ghz, 800 Mhz FSB, 3MB L2 Cache 4GB DDR 3 ram 320GB 5400rpm Western Digital DVD+RW super multi Wireless A/B/G (Atheros) 14.1 in 1368 x 768 LED (720P) Windows Vista Home Premium 64 bits
HARDWARE Contained the Acer Timeline, small form factor adapter/charger, 6 Cell 5800mah, 63WHR battery. manual and the usual documentation. No operating system dvd nor driver disc were included, however, the laptop did give me an option to create recovery discs.
The initial inspection of chasis was favorable, as you can see in the picture, it is thinner than a white macbook, roughly same thickness closed as the aluminum macbook. Chasis was rigid with no flex, the only part of the laptop that exhibit any kind of flex is the keyboard. Should you type hard, you can see the center of the keyboard being compressed downward. The chicklet style keyboard however, remained very usable and responsive.
Sound is loud and clear unlike tinny netbook speaker.
Mine comes with 3 USB port, 1 VGB, 1 HDMI, 1 ethernet port and 1 DVD+RW super multi. It also has a 5 in 1 memory card reader towards the front. 1 headphone output and 1 microphone input..........................
I am a big Asus g-series fan since getting a g51vx-a1 gaming laptop needless to say i sold it and have a g73 on preorder and an m11x due both next month. In the meantime they keep pushing EDD on both so I need to game right? and since I sold my beloved G51 (early Feb) and was currently using either a vaio fz470 OR an asus f3sv to game. I wasn't happy with the results i was getting raidwise in WoW ,basically all settings set to low
I looked around for a cheap laptop with these specifications:
better than average cpu, gpu with dx11 support, HDMI and cheap
I looked at other offerings from Asus but many i was looking at N61/N71 were also on pre-order sad times indeed.
surfing the local comp store web I decided to search for something with the ati 5650 which i read got great reviews for gaming. up pops the 5740 and its big brother 7740 since i wanted cheap i opted for the 5470:
I'm shopping for laptops right now and I'm pretty much stuck between these two. My main question for the 14 is will it be able to do full hd? I know 1920x1080 is a bit much to ask for on a 14.5" screen but I haven't been able to find a solid answer for this question. The 14 has more features and the internal cd drive is a plus, but not a dealbreaker for the 15 since the cd drive isn't used too much. Taking out price, which one would be a better buy?
I have a couple of questions about the Envy v2. I'm certain the answers are somewhere in the massive owner's thread but it's way too long to want to go through at this point.
My questions are:
1) Audio quality of external speakers. Is there enough bass in them? Do they sound "tin-y"?
2) Noise from the fan when the GPU is in high use. How loud is the fan? Has anyone put a decibel meter to it?
3) Temp of the GPU. My Studio 15 is hitting a high of 70c when running and was wondering how the newer ATI is.
The first I heard about the Envy line was that it was a gorgeous laptop with a great display and above-average speakers. However, it was fundamentally flawed with a horrible trackpad and overheating issues(present in the 13, but further aggravated in the 15). After the spectacular fail of a release, I dropped the Envy out of consideration.
To the present, I've recently started looking at a huge array of laptops and have taken the Envy into consideration again. From what I've heard, the Envy 15 is in its second generation(I need a full-HD laptop and won't be considering the Envy 13). It now comes equipped with a i5 processor and the HD5830.............
I pulled the trigger and purchased an envy with these specs,
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit • Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-720QM Processor (1.6GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 1333MHz FSB) w/Turbo Boost up to 2.8 GHz • 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm) • 320GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection • 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5830 Graphics - For i7 Processors • 15.6" diagonal Full High Definition LED HP Ultra Brightview Widescreen Display (1920x1080) • Webcam Only • Intel Wireless-N Card with Bluetooth • HP Color Matching Keyboard • 6 Cell Lithium Ion Polymer Battery
Tech specs known at the moment: - Intel CPU - Windows 7 OS - Lithium Polymer battery with optional extended external battery - Interfaces: HDMI, 2xUSB, hybrid jack audio
How does the 1/6 GHz processor stack up against the more traditional core duo? Is it roughly equal to a 2.53 GHz processor? I love windows 7 and might trade my Macbook Pro for one.
HP's envy 15 line with the ATI 5830 GPU (i7-720/820). I do have one big concern however, and that is heat. Could anyone post their max GPU / CPU / HD temps they usually get while running an intensive game / benchmark?
I need to connect my HP Envy 15 to my TV`s VGA port, and I'm looking for the best alternative. This is because I only get a stretched picture when I connect it to the DVI port through a HDMI > DVI-adapter.
HP has an official HDMI -> VGA adapter. What's people experience with that? Perfect? Problems? I see that Envy 15 is not listed as a supported model for it, but does that matter?
Is there a way to lock the Fn function in for when I am playing a game and need to use the function keys. I keep kicking myself out of a game because on instinct I use the function keys still.
I came across an Envy, and it looked really light and cool.
The Envy 15 seems to have good specs, with the 5830 and i5's or i7's, 4 sodimms (right?) 1080p screen.
The Envy 14, however, seems to be a bit weak..
Is there a special feature in the Envy 14 that I better wait for? or, is the Envy 15 still a reasonable machine that I could aim for in my trade?
I can't really find the part that explains the refreshes of the Envy 15..
I really want to know if the Envy 14 is a different league than the Envy 15, or if they are in the similar league so that I should wait for the 14 model.
I'm already playing with the clock speeds i didn't bother with a full reinstall. i got rid of all the bloatware, fixed the stupid fn key function keys thing, and it runs fine. i didn't get the 10.3 preview driver due to a lot of instabilities i keep hearing about. gonna wait for it to come out. i'm still using the original driver version that came with the computer. i got amd gpu tools, and oced to 520/1050 just to start. so far my temps never went above 70C how do i keep this clock speed when i restart? also, i notice the default settings downclock the gpu when it's not doing anything intensive, and they go up to 500/800 when they need to. if i lock in my oc when i restart (if i can), will it still downclock when it doesn't need the speed?
The prices of the Envy Line have dropped and the Envy 15 now features i5-520M + ATI HD5830. If that implies switchable graphics than the battery life problems of the Envy are gone
