*HP ENVY 14 & ENVY 14 Beats (2XXX series) Owners Lounge*

[gunny5821]

Hey guys. So I just got a 2160SE and I was wondering what are some precautions I should take to preserve the life of this beautiful thing. I've read some of you have sent yours in for repairs which scares me. Right now I have the newest BIOS and have it configured to fixed graphics instead of dynamic. I game every now and then but use the power-saving GPU when I'm not.

I do hear the fan running quite audibly every now and then which worries me.

I'm considering the purchase of this same unit.. I just sent you a PM as well..

[LancerEvoX]

I've been playing The Old Republic for the past few days and it runs relatively well. But I begin noticing at certain parts of the game it would slow down and I thought it was the game. Today while doing a flashpoint, I had the game run in windowed mode and I noticed that CoreTemp was showing that my CPU was throttling down to 798MHz and the game would start lagging. I noticed it starts throttling at around 70-72C. Guess I'm going to start looking around for research but if anyone can help point me in the direction for more information or a solution it would be appreciated.

[kingp1ng]

Ugh, I have buyer's remorse now. After using it for 1 semester in college I should've gone with the Dell XPS 15z.

Nobody in my entire college (UConn) knows how to use this trackpad. All my friends are like "you're laptop is broken wahhhhh" and it pisses me off. The 1080p resolution on the XPS 15z would have been so convenient when working on Matlab. It's so frustrating trying to work with 2 windows on 1 screen at 720p resolution!!! The battery life isn't outstanding either... It's an 8 cell 59 Whr battery in comparison to the the XPS 15's 6 cell 56 Whr battery. , so much for a GOOD 8 cell battery... I get like 3.5-4 hrs on max brightness on my Envy 14.

So yea, even after using Reil's Software, the touchpad is still slightly frustrating. You can't always put 2 fingers down and navigate normally... it's hard to explain unless you experience it. My ultimate opinion on trackpads is to go either all or nothing. Either get a Macbook Pro with the best trackpad or get a laptop with a standard 2 button trackpad. Anything in-between is a constant struggle.

And, you can't install Linux on an Envy. The Envy trackpad in Linux is like trying to navigate the Space Shuttle with a toaster oven while blindfolded. As an engineering student this bums me out.

/rant

[gunny5821]

Ugh, I have buyer's remorse now. After using it for 1 semester in college I should've gone with the Dell XPS 15z.

Nobody in my entire college (UConn) knows how to use this trackpad. All my friends are like "you're laptop is broken wahhhhh" and it pisses me off. The 1080p resolution on the XPS 15z would have been so convenient when working on Matlab. It's so frustrating trying to work with 2 windows on 1 screen at 720p resolution!!! The battery life isn't outstanding either... It's an 8 cell 59 Whr battery in comparison to the the XPS 15's 6 cell 56 Whr battery. , so much for a GOOD 8 cell battery... I get like 3.5-4 hrs on max brightness on my Envy 14.

So yea, even after using Reil's Software, the touchpad is still slightly frustrating. You can't always put 2 fingers down and navigate normally... it's hard to explain unless you experience it. My ultimate opinion on trackpads is to go either all or nothing. Either get a Macbook Pro with the best trackpad or get a laptop with a standard 2 button trackpad. Anything in-between is a constant struggle.

And, you can't install Linux on an Envy. The Envy trackpad in Linux is like trying to navigate the Space Shuttle with a toaster oven while blindfolded. As an engineering student this bums me out.

/rant

You may want to try Snaptics "SCRYBE" ( SYNAPTICS | Scrybe ). I use it instead of the Reil's software since it is made by Snaptics and hooks in pretty tight.

Just a thought and suggestion you may want to try (Since it is free)..

[gunny5821]

I've been playing The Old Republic for the past few days and it runs relatively well. But I begin noticing at certain parts of the game it would slow down and I thought it was the game. Today while doing a flashpoint, I had the game run in windowed mode and I noticed that CoreTemp was showing that my CPU was throttling down to 798MHz and the game would start lagging. I noticed it starts throttling at around 70-72C. Guess I'm going to start looking around for research but if anyone can help point me in the direction for more information or a solution it would be appreciated.

Your use may be tied to your POWER PLAN. Access your Power Plan and choose "Advanced Settings". Scroll down to "Processor Power Management". Under this area, you should find 3 additional settings, but the 2 you want to look at are the; "Minimum Processor State" and "Maximum Processor State" settings. Under the "Minimum Processor State" settings, I have; On Battery set to 5% and Plugged In set to 75% (You may want to bump this one up to 100% if you still see issues with the 75% setting). Under the "Maximum Processor State" settings, I have both set to 100%. Click APPLY after you change your settings and than OK to exit.

See if this helps, it has definitely helped my gaming performance!

>>>>>> <<<<<< I hope this reply was helpful.. >>>>>> <<<<<<

[Somnio]

Ugh, I have buyer's remorse now. After using it for 1 semester in college I should've gone with the Dell XPS 15z.

I feel your pain. I have an old eeePC netbook with an Elantech touchpad that feels a lot more comfortable than Synaptic's.
The problem with the two-fingers gesture on the Envy is that you need to touch the pad before start dragging, also, the fingers need a small separation between.
By default the pad has a "blind zone" to avoid tapping while typing and a palm detection feature. Perhaps you can play deactivating those to see if improves.
Also, I use a lot the coasting option and the chiral scrolling to feel a bit more comformtable.

[kingp1ng]

You may want to try Snaptics "SCRYBE" ( SYNAPTICS | Scrybe ). I use it instead of the Reil's software since it is made by Snaptics and hooks in pretty tight.

Just a thought and suggestion you may want to try (Since it is free)..

Ok thanks! But, how do you download it? I clicked on the link but there's no option to download it. I also checked on HP's website and there's no download link. Help?

[kingp1ng]

I feel your pain. I have an old eeePC netbook with an Elantech touchpad that feels a lot more comfortable than Synaptic's.
The problem with the two-fingers gesture on the Envy is that you need to touch the pad before start dragging, also, the fingers need a small separation between.
By default the pad has a "blind zone" to avoid tapping while typing and a palm detection feature. Perhaps you can play deactivating those to see if improves.
Also, I use a lot the coasting option and the chiral scrolling to feel a bit more comformtable.

Hey thanks for the advice. I tried fiddling around with it more and I came across this.



What do these settings do? Are these the "blind zones" you are talking about? What settings should I use?

[gunny5821]

Ok thanks! But, how do you download it? I clicked on the link but there's no option to download it. I also checked on HP's website and there's no download link. Help?

If you click on the link and look at the lower portion of the page, there is the word "DOWNLOAD" with a link to download the file right under it... You cannot miss it!

[Somnio]

What do these settings do? Are these the "blind zones" you are talking about? What settings should I use?

Yes, (in my Envy 1xxxx they look a bit different, but the controls are the same).

The top control seems to be the palm check, intended to detect if your palm is touching the pad while typing. Leave it alone for now.
The advanced filters are intended to avoid touching the pad with your fingers while typing. Any tapping or pointing action must start on the green zone of the pad, otherwise it will be ignored. That means NO two-fingers scroll gesture outside the green zone. I've found this annoying and have both disabled.

I also use the middle and ring fingers to scroll. This way the gap needed between fingers feels more natural.
BTW: don't use Reil's while testing to avoid collisions. You can use those options on Linux too, editing X's configuration.