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

[kingp1ng]

How is the screen on the xps? A higher resolution isn't that important to me if its not very bright. Personally I still say the Envy because of the size and looks alone. Feel like the xps was rushed to compete with the whole "thin and light craze"

Look for Samsung and LG to make a big push into the notebook market. Lots of good designs that haven't reached stateside yet.

I agree, I think that the xps was too rushed. Dell could have made the XPS thinner without compromising power and cooling. The XPS 15 is about the same thickness as Alienware m14x... and Alienware's is a gaming machine!

Then Dell came out with the xps 15z which is almost exactly like a MBP 15 except it has less performance.

I really hope that Samsung comes out with a beefier 15'' version of their 9 series.

[zachary1g]

Almost definitely won't have it. Spec sheets have been available everywhere. HP Malaysia website that lists the specs for the version it's selling doesn't have it. HP reps have said 1366x768.

Seriously, my advice is keep your notebook a bit longer if you can. Unless you need a new gaming machine, spend $100-$200 MAX on an SSD and pop it into your aging notebook and start looking into the LG P330 if it's going to be available in your country. Sad to say, it is most definitely the worthy successor to E14 first gen. IPS display, metal chassis, 3.64 pounds, decent dedicated GPU, etc.

Yep 2 days remaining, you would think if they could not produce high res or radiance screens they would of removed the 14" inch envy instead of the 15". I believe if they did that it would have been a great success but now people will just be left looking for alternatives for the most part but then again maybe there will be decent options for people from the USA for customizable laptops with better screens/gpu lets hope!

[leoaj]

I read a bunch of the posts but 47 pages is a hefty amount i must say. I am in the market for a laptop and I want one either now or within the next 2-3 months. From my research I've come to the conclusion that the envy 14 (refresh on the 15th) and the pavilion dv6tqe series(Sandy quad core) are the closest ones I can find to what I want. When the refresh finally comes out this week hopefully I can choose (after fiddling around with the customization of course).

I want a laptop 14.5"-15.6" with a good graphics card (if possible within class 1 of this list but high class 2 may suffice) for starcraft 2 in high/ultra settings. Less than 6 lbs, more than 5 hrs battery, and Sandy bridge Quad Core. Basically mid size for decent portability with the juice to handle starcraft 2 caliber games. And it can't be an obvious gaming laptop like alienware or msi b/c my parents would flip out(they think I have a gaming addiction as it is).

LG P330 sounds amazing if only it weren't so small... From my research the xps 15z just looks ugly and doesn't have anything compelling enough to pick over the envy and pavilion. Sony seems over priced for what they're offering. Asus and Acer seemed like only clunky computers could handle the specs i wanted. LG are too small and samsung/lenovo aren't customizable enough/didn't have a lot of sandy bridge laptops.

But I am here for your expert advice, am I missing something amazing (either out now or within the next 2-3 months) or is this pretty much the deal for laptops right now.

[zachary1g]

I read a bunch of the posts but 47 pages is a hefty amount i must say. I am in the market for a laptop and I want one either now or within the next 2-3 months. From my research I've come to the conclusion that the envy 14 (refresh on the 15th) and the pavilion dv6tqe series(Sandy quad core) are the closest ones I can find to what I want. When the refresh finally comes out this week hopefully I can choose (after fiddling around with the customization of course).

I want a laptop 14.5"-15.6" with a good graphics card (if possible within class 1 of this list but high class 2 may suffice) for starcraft 2 in high/ultra settings. Less than 6 lbs, more than 5 hrs battery, and Sandy bridge Quad Core. Basically mid size for decent portability with the juice to handle starcraft 2 caliber games. And it can't be an obvious gaming laptop like alienware or msi b/c my parents would flip out(they think I have a gaming addiction as it is).

LG P330 sounds amazing if only it weren't so small... From my research the xps 15z just looks ugly and doesn't have anything compelling enough to pick over the envy and pavilion. Sony seems over priced for what they're offering. Asus and Acer seemed like only clunky computers could handle the specs i wanted. LG are too small and samsung/lenovo aren't customizable enough/didn't have a lot of sandy bridge laptops.

But I am here for your expert advice, am I missing something amazing (either out now or within the next 2-3 months) or is this pretty much the deal for laptops right now.

Not missing anything, pretty pathetic the choices we have. For a sleek high performance 'luxury' laptop that is not bulky at 14"-15" the choices are very poor its absolutely pathetic.

[lovelaptops]

so the envy 14 will not have a 1600x900 option?

Almost definitely won't have it. Spec sheets have been available everywhere. HP Malaysia website that lists the specs for the version it's selling doesn't have it. HP reps have said 1366x768.

I have said several times on this thread that releasing the SB Envy 14 without at least a 1600x900 premium (read: as good as Radiance, if not better) screen will be tantamount to brand suicide! With all the excellent 15" and 17" FHD screens recently made available to value priced consumer laptops with brightness of 300 nit +, 600-800:1 contrast ratio, 85-95% adobe color gamut, how could it not be possible for HP, with the kind of volume they generate, to contract to have a 14" or 15.5" screen with comparable specs? I'll bet they would sell far more Envy 14s thus equipped than Dell will sell XPS 15s, maybe even than HP itself will sell DV6ts with the FHD screen option, so you can't say there isn't enough volume to make it worth their while. The LCD industry has enough players that HP has enough clout to get a premium screen made for the Envy 14 (possibly even making it a 14" screen that could be offered on the DM4 as well and, for the LCD mfr, unless HP paid for an exclusive, there would be many other takers for a premium 14" screen.

Yet is is increasingly apparent that no such premium screen is going to be available for the June 15 release - though I'm not sure the Malaysia spec sheet is definitive for the US market, especially if they are planning a huge surprise announcement - but the "brand suicide" approach is indeed looking more and more likely. Such a shame, and such a major corporate blunder if they do not have a premium screen whenever it's released in the US. They all but killed off the brand when they had the TWO Radiance fiascos: first, running out of them only 3 months after launching to rave reviews, then the January 2011 fiasco, when they all but gave away all the remaining 14.5" Radiance screens in existence so that they could not even do warranty replacements on the "orphaned" installed base! So now the lowly DV6 has a high quality (not just high res) 1080p screen, as does the Envy 17 3D (and the DV7), but the Envy 14 will be all dressed up with no place to go, as we saw that even its fine design and build quality with, for the time, pretty strong components, made it an also-ran in the market once there was no special screen anymore. What a blown opportunity! Tsk, tsk.

Seriously, my advice is keep your notebook a bit longer if you can. Unless you need a new gaming machine, spend $100-$200 MAX on an SSD and pop it into your aging notebook...

A great way to turn a year old E14 with Radiance into a speed demon. I believe you could also overclock the 5650, no?

Yep 2 days remaining, you would think if they could not produce high res or radiance screens they would of removed the 14" inch envy instead of the 15". I believe if they did that it would have been a great success but now people will just be left looking for alternatives for the most part but then again maybe there will be decent options for people from the USA for customizable laptops with better screens/gpu lets hope!

Yes, a fantastic, high volume, huge brand cache, destroyed. Man, can big companies ever be dumb!

[Naples]

The LG P330 is looking to be a beauty, it's just a shame that it won't be coming out during the summer since I need to buy a laptop before I head off to college in August.

[balkp]

We're in the final hours guys. Lets hope HP pulls a 1600x900 w/ 6750 out of their.... and has a surprise announcement.

[Tthursday]

I read a bunch of the posts but 47 pages is a hefty amount i must say. I am in the market for a laptop and I want one either now or within the next 2-3 months. From my research I've come to the conclusion that the envy 14 (refresh on the 15th) and the pavilion dv6tqe series(Sandy quad core) are the closest ones I can find to what I want. When the refresh finally comes out this week hopefully I can choose (after fiddling around with the customization of course).

I want a laptop 14.5"-15.6" with a good graphics card (if possible within class 1 of this list but high class 2 may suffice) for starcraft 2 in high/ultra settings. Less than 6 lbs, more than 5 hrs battery, and Sandy bridge Quad Core. Basically mid size for decent portability with the juice to handle starcraft 2 caliber games. And it can't be an obvious gaming laptop like alienware or msi b/c my parents would flip out(they think I have a gaming addiction as it is).

LG P330 sounds amazing if only it weren't so small... From my research the xps 15z just looks ugly and doesn't have anything compelling enough to pick over the envy and pavilion. Sony seems over priced for what they're offering. Asus and Acer seemed like only clunky computers could handle the specs i wanted. LG are too small and samsung/lenovo aren't customizable enough/didn't have a lot of sandy bridge laptops.

But I am here for your expert advice, am I missing something amazing (either out now or within the next 2-3 months) or is this pretty much the deal for laptops right now.

You've got the basic options covered. Really, though, all you need to play SCII on high is a GT 540M, which can be found in a lot of different computers in the 14.0"-15.6" range including the XPS (15") and Acer Aspire line (14"-15"). The Asus N53 has a GT 550M, which is a step up of course. And you can get a GT 555M in a Lenovo Y570. I don't know a whole lot about any of these options, but I'll throw them out anyways. And have you checked out Sager/Clevo's NP8130? XoticPC has some great builds with high-end graphics that are within the MSRP range of a dv6. You'll have to sacrifice a bit of weight and battery life though.

As a final note, have you tried talking to your parents? I'm actually in your exact situation - my parents don't want to buy me a "gaming" PC. But I'm going to argue with them until I'm blue in the face if it'll get my grubby paws on a M14x.

I have said several times on this thread that releasing the SB Envy 14 without at least a 1600x900 premium (read: as good as Radiance, if not better) screen will be tantamount to brand suicide! With all the excellent 15" and 17" FHD screens recently made available to value priced consumer laptops with brightness of 300 nit +, 600-800:1 contrast ratio, 85-95% adobe color gamut, how could it not be possible for HP, with the kind of volume they generate, to contract to have a 14" or 15.5" screen with comparable specs? I'll bet they would sell far more Envy 14s thus equipped than Dell will sell XPS 15s, maybe even than HP itself will sell DV6ts with the FHD screen option, so you can't say there isn't enough volume to make it worth their while. The LCD industry has enough players that HP has enough clout to get a premium screen made for the Envy 14 (possibly even making it a 14" screen that could be offered on the DM4 as well and, for the LCD mfr, unless HP paid for an exclusive, there would be many other takers for a premium 14" screen.

Yet is is increasingly apparent that no such premium screen is going to be available for the June 15 release - though I'm not sure the Malaysia spec sheet is definitive for the US market, especially if they are planning a huge surprise announcement - but the "brand suicide" approach is indeed looking more and more likely. Such a shame, and such a major corporate blunder if they do not have a premium screen whenever it's released in the US. They all but killed off the brand when they had the TWO Radiance fiascos: first, running out of them only 3 months after launching to rave reviews, then the January 2011 fiasco, when they all but gave away all the remaining 14.5" Radiance screens in existence so that they could not even do warranty replacements on the "orphaned" installed base! So now the lowly DV6 has a high quality (not just high res) 1080p screen, as does the Envy 17 3D (and the DV7), but the Envy 14 will be all dressed up with no place to go, as we saw that even its fine design and build quality with, for the time, pretty strong components, made it an also-ran in the market once there was no special screen anymore. What a blown opportunity! Tsk, tsk.

I commend your elegant prose! This is what a lot of people are thinking, I believe, but no one's said it better yet.

[namdo]

Man, I'm hoping it comes out in the UK same time too.

[Fiorella]

Man, I'm hoping it comes out in the UK same time too.

I'm hoping the date here (Scandinavia) isn't too far away either. Let's cross our fingers eh