NOW AVAILABLE: ENVY 17-32XX Intel Ivy Bridge (AMD 7850M)

[nMIK-3]

I am wondering if they will touch the external design or if its going to be be exactly the same like the current 3XXX series, with different internals (Ivy Bridge and 7850).

[necrophyte]

since they belong to the same line (17-3000), there almost certainly wont be any exterior design changes, just hardware upgrades.

why i mentioned the 7870m was because now that the heat issues are (hopefully) solved, there is no need to take the lower 7800m gpu. especially since the 7850 & 7870 differ in more than just clocks. 128bit doesnt really matter that much as long as its GDDR5. 256bit would be far more expensive and is only limited to top-end gpus.

with the 17-1000s it was a different story as they got baked as soon as one started gaming because of the bad cooling design, so mobility radeon 5850 was actually "too much" already. but now theres plenty of room (thermally) to have a more powerful gpu inside the envy 17-3000.

however, a 7900m would be too much (it would also boost the price of the envy 17 noticeably!), im afraid, unless being heavily downclocked, which then rises legitimate anger because of having paid a price for something that doesnt deliver the performance it should. note that the 7970m is 2x the hardware specs of the 7870m, except for the memory.

[PaKii94]

dont get your hopes up on the 7970m in an envy... i highly highly doubt its gonna happen that card goes in big bulky gaming laptops. the 7870m might be closer tho :S im mainly concerned about the envy 15 and hopefully a 7850m

[TheAtreidesHawk]

I think they will change the design...or at least its my hope....

[PaKii94]

I think they will change the design...or at least its my hope....

i just want them to change up the lid... it seems too ehh for a premium line... but i highly doubt anything will change considering the new design has been out for less than half a year. its just going to be a simple refresh

[Jstr_MSFT]

I think they will change the design...or at least its my hope....

i just want them to change up the lid... it seems too ehh for a premium line... but i highly doubt anything will change considering the new design has been out for less than half a year. its just going to be a simple refresh

I thoroughly liked the etched metal lid on the 2XXX series, the plain black is too.... well plain for my liking especially when its over $2k without discounts with customization; at least they keep the illuminated logo haha. Not to mention that a design change would inadvertently alter the cooling of the notebook. Same design, updated heart and soul is best imo...

[PaKii94]

I thoroughly liked the etched metal lid on the 2XXX series, the plain black is too.... well plain for my liking especially when its over $2k without discounts with customization; at least they keep the illuminated logo haha. Not to mention that a design change would inadvertently alter the cooling of the notebook. Same design, updated heart and soul is best imo...

yeah some sleek design or maybe even just a little texture will make it stand out

[chinedooo]

since they belong to the same line (17-3000), there almost certainly wont be any exterior design changes, just hardware upgrades.

why i mentioned the 7870m was because now that the heat issues are (hopefully) solved, there is no need to take the lower 7800m gpu. especially since the 7850 & 7870 differ in more than just clocks. 128bit doesnt really matter that much as long as its GDDR5. 256bit would be far more expensive and is only limited to top-end gpus.

with the 17-1000s it was a different story as they got baked as soon as one started gaming because of the bad cooling design, so mobility radeon 5850 was actually "too much" already. but now theres plenty of room (thermally) to have a more powerful gpu inside the envy 17-3000.

however, a 7900m would be too much (it would also boost the price of the envy 17 noticeably!), im afraid, unless being heavily downclocked, which then rises legitimate anger because of having paid a price for something that doesnt deliver the performance it should. note that the 7970m is 2x the hardware specs of the 7870m, except for the memory.

What is the difference between a 7850m and a 7870m?

[Karamazovmm]

What is the difference between a 7850m and a 7870m?

the clocks basically, they are both based on the 7770 desktop gpu

[dzier217]

I think they will change the design...or at least its my hope....

The already published maintenance book that is tagged at the beginning of this thread shows the design is the same. Designs for laptops hang around for about a year these days, so HP most likely had that in mind when they released this in Dec 2011. The new Envy 4 and 6 will also get ivy bridge, but order today and it does not. It makes sense to me to not release every line as new when a chip comes out, so it gives opportunity to do updates on a schedule. I have a 17 3D (march) and I just got a 17. I might return the second for an ivy bridge if it comes out quick enough (next 2 weeks in my 21 days), but that laptop is only to manage my music. The i5, 8 GB 1600 memory, and the 300 GB sdd hard drive is blazing fast, and ivy bridge will not make a dent in the performance for what I do with it. Plus I never hear the fan running at all. I do more with the 3D, so the fan runs every now and then, but quiet.

Why is everyone so gaga about something only a rare few will actually see a big difference based on what you do with your laptop? Most users will not notice. This is why Apple may sell lower configured computers, but the software is so buttoned down, that they look at how the whole package functions together and don't need to worry about the tweeks people make.

If you want things like sdd's, or hybrids, or lots of memory, you can buy low and make changes. When one does that, and many do, so many post about the difficulties with the changes they are making. Or wait for a 33% off coupon and get it the way you want it. You will be happier in the end and not fighting to reconfigure what had already been set up.