HP Envy 17 or new Samsung Series 7 17"?

[jda2631]

I'm getting a new laptop for school. want it to be a 17", i don't mind carrying the extra bulk around but really like having the extra screen size.

the 2 laptops I am looking at are:
the new samsung Series 7 NP700Z7C-S01US
and HP Envy 17

i would get the samsung immediately because of better graphics, ivy bridge, and smaller dimensions. my only draw back on it, is i want it to have 2 HDD bays so i can add a ssd for windows and programs then still have a 750-1000gb for storage.

the envy has a worse graphics card, sandy bridge instead of ivy bridge, and is a little bigger. but it has dual hdd bays so i can add an ssd.

has anyone used both? can you give me some feedback of both of them and which they prefer?

are there any other pros and cons between them?

[maverick1989]

I am not sure how much an SSD will help if you have a Sandy Bridge and a 7690 XT. I'd suggest going with the Samsung. Or even better, look at some other options like Sager. The NP9170 would fit your budget.

[Karamazovmm]

Sincerely the new envy 17 should come out in soon, how soon I dont know, and it will be much more powerful than the 650m that the series 7 packs

[jda2631]

Maverick, that sager looks nice, and I love the customization you can do on it. but it's almost twice as thick as the samsung and weighs 2lbs more than it. I know i said bulk doesn't matter, but I will be carrying it around a lot and that is pretty significant.

[maverick1989]

Maverick, that sager looks nice, and I love the customization you can do on it. but it's almost twice as thick as the samsung and weighs 2lbs more than it. I know i said bulk doesn't matter, but I will be carrying it around a lot and that is pretty significant.

Is this the website you saw? The Samsung Series 7 Gamer is between 7.72 and 8.39 pounds if engadget is to be believed and is about 1.96 inches thick. The Sager, on the first link I provided, is between 1.69 and 1.72 inches thick and weighs about 8.6 pounds, only 0.21 pounds more than the upper limit of that Series 7.

[Karamazovmm]

the model number that he posted id from the series 7 chronos, it comes with a 650m

[jda2631]

yes, I am referring to this one it is roughly 1" thick and 6.3 lbs (according to spec sheet). I'd say that 1.4-1.5" and 7.5 lbs would be as big as i want to go, which is still pretty big for a laptop i will be carrying every day.

I'm leaning towards getting the samsung, and if after i get it i still feel that i need an ssd for speed, i can get like a 128gb ssd and then get an external case for the 1tb that comes with it. was just trying to stay away from having to keep an external with me.

anyone have anything bad to say about the samsung? any cons about it?

[Karamazovmm]

check the samsung lounge here at this forum, some guys already have it, there are videos and all that jazz in there.

I would still wait a bit for the envy 17 before making the purchase, they are going to be released, I think, soon

[fenris_12345]

Well of those 2 choices I would go Samsung, as it is supposedly returnable within 21 (or 30??) days. HP is pretty good about this too, but the gfx card in the Envy 17 is pretty weak - compartively to the new stuff comming out.

HP is generally considered somewhat lower overall on reliability, although I think it has improved some. And, to be honest, notebooks are fiddly bits of hardware indeed. Most are likely to have/develop some quirks over time - especially in the non-business class / gaming notebooks. The difference between best and worse reliability is like 7-8% or so iirc. I have no idea where samsung rates, but I have seen a fair bit of complaints over the latest rev of the Envy. Although they may have straightened it out by now. You might want to check out the forums for both models while you ar at it.

HP does have a 2 year warranty, and they honor it very well in my experience. I have bought several HP dv7ts and ASUSes over the last few years for the family. And HP actually fixes stuff and does not argue (much) about issues. ASUS on the other hand... Well, I have a problem child G73JH so that may skew my views. And just to show how things can be different from statistics, ASUS actually has the best reliability and HP was low so go figure.

Two things to note however. First, HP always has coupons. Wait for deals they always happen with HP. :P I got 2 dv7t with 6770M for like $875 each for the wife and kiddie. And speaking of deal, you can get a dv7t with 650M/Ivy and two bays now too. I am looking at new lappy(ies) and a quick config was like $1190 ish with 650M(gddr5 varient - which you want over the ddr3 one) and Ivy - no coupon applied yet, so that will be lower for sure, prob < $1000. So, if price/performance does matter, you may want to consider dv7t as well.

As to SSDs? Everyone I hear that gets one swears buy it. SSDs will greatly increase your standard usage stuff and boot times. So my next lappy will have one. Newegg had a crucial 240GB Sata III SSD for $199 last I looked. A pretty good deal I think. Which does bring a point that if you are going to add one, and have media to install the OS... Buy it from anyone but the PC maker - they usually have lots of markup on their SSD options.