HP Envy 15 review

Hardware

The Envy 15 packs plenty of muscle with a 1.6GHz Intel Core i7-720QM processor, 8GB of RAM, an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830 and speedy 7,200rpm hard drive. It's a powerful system, but that Core i7 generates a lot of heat -- more on that later. Ports-wise it's pretty much all laid out on the right side of the laptop with a hybrid audio plug for headphones and/or a mic, a eSATA / USB combo jack, two USB ports, HDMI and Ethernet, while an SD card slot is nestled on the front bottom lip. (The Envy 15 actually comes with its user manual on a 2GB SD card, which we... read thoroughly. Right after we popped it into our camera.)
The 15.6-inch, 1920 x 1080 resolution screen under the lid is incredibly nice on the eyes, and although it's not as intensely bright as the Envy 13, we found it to still be super crisp. Watching a downloaded 1080p clip of a Killers' concert made us feel like we were front row at the show; we could see the beads of sweat beaming off of Brandon Flowers' forehead. We would have preferred if the screen had a flush glass bezel, rather than the thick raised plastic border that surrounds it, however. Above the screen is a a "nightvision" VGA camera that uses infrared LEDs to provide illumination in dark environments. We'll let you, kind reader, imagine what this could be used for, but we will report that the cam lives up to its promise; a Skype call made in the dark was actually visible and our face was illuminated and discernible.

We'll admit that we're happy to see the keyboard deck is void of any finicky brightness or volume touch controls, though you can change those settings with function keys. There's also a column of dedicated shortcut keys for opening the browser or e-mail client. Overall we enjoyed the typing experience; the keys themselves feel sturdy and had a nice bounce as we wrote this review on them. But HP, why no backlight?
The award for most improved touchpad goes to HP's ergonomics team. The trackpad itself is the same glass multitouch unit with integrated mouse buttons found on the Envy 13, but the software's thankfully been updated since our last experience with it -- it takes a bit of getting used to, but most of the issues have been sorted out. Pinching to zoom gestures were responsive, but two-finger scrolling was still a bit choppy in Firefox and Internet Explorer.
Still, we generally plugged in a mouse when we used the Envy 15 -- the trackpad might perform adequately now, but the palm rest got hot. Uncomfortably hot. And this wasn't just when the system was under a lot of stress: the wrist rests and bottom would heat up with just a browser open, and temperatures got hot enough after an hour that we took it off our lap and set it on a table. We surmise this is a result of the Envy's very thin design and hardcore performance parts -- there could just be too much going on underneath its short-on-space-hood. We aren't the first to complain of the heat either, users who have purchased the system also find it quite toasty.
Software, performance and battery life

Software complaints aside, multitasking was incredibly snappy; running iTunes, TweetDeck, Skype, a number of tabs in Firefox all while a DVD played in the background was no challenge for the Core i7. Though not a likely scenario, playing a 1080p video in QuickTime with a DVD playing in HP's MediaSmart software didn't cause either of the videos to lag. As for gaming, our WoW gnome his new 1080p life, running around quite happily at 35fps. Of course, playing games meant the system once again got insanely hot -- we simply couldn't use the Envy on our lap while slaying orcs.
Performance comes with battery sacrifices, however. While writing this review in Google Docs with a few additional Firefox tabs open, the system lasted just under two hours on a charge. That's pretty abysmal for a larger laptop: the Core i7-equipped Dell Studio 17 gets close to three and a half, while the 15-Inch MacBook Pro gets just about 4 hours. And without the ability to switch off the discrete graphics, there are no battery saving measures. We'd be more forgiving if the power brick weren't so damn large and heavy. It's the kind of charger that belongs underneath a desk, rather than stretched across a bed. Sure, you can always get HP's neatly designed nine-cell slice which fits right on the bottom of the laptop, but that will cost you an extra $125 bucks, and add additional weight and size.
Wrap up




























Crazy Foos! This is a Macbook
@MrT
Ever since your first posted I wondered to myself " hmmmph, I wonder how long that is going to take to stop being funny and start being annoying..."
That time has come.
@MrT I suppose its very clearly mentioned that its hp ..hey look at the image again ..
Thanks,
daina
@dainathomas
I honestly stopped reading once I read this thing does not come with an optical drive.It's nothing more than a supercharged netbook imho. I'm in the market for a new lappy, but I'll pass.
This sounds like a laptop best suited in cold weathered New York.
@Special Agent Steve No joke, it keeps your hands warm!
@Special Agent Steve
It's a feature!
@Special Agent Steve
I heard this thing grills some mean slider burgers too
It's gorgeous!
lol less than 2 hours of battery life? typical HP... i'll never buy from you again!
@Peytral
What do you expect from an i7? I'd be surprised if you got 1 hour manufacturer aside.
Which is probably why you won't see an i7 in a MBP for awhile, or ever.
@Peytral Hot damn, you designated the battery life of a i7 processor on a computer you don't own to be the basis of your future HP purchases?? LOL
@Peytral
okay, you do know that you have an option that can increase your battery life 2 or 3 times over right? The battery slice that was downplayed in review is actually a decent option. The argument that "It will add bulk" makes little sense when the review noted earlier that the laptop was super thin. A few millimeters should be no big deal for hours of extra battery life, right?
@PBB
You’ll likely see an i7 in the MBP come early 2010. The HP Envy has a 45nm “Clarksdale" i7-7xxQM with a 45W TDP that was released in September 2009. The next MBP will have the yet unreleased 32nm “Arrandale” i7-6xxM with a 35W TDP.
This will match the current MBPs and will save some power due to the lack of a separate Northbridge, which I read has a max TDP of 8W.
The Envy uses a power hungry quad-core while the MBP will have a more power efficient dual-core. Some will scoff at this but it’s a wise move for most notebooks at this time. Just look at the battery rating of this Envy to see why.
@Peytral
If that is actually your picture and if you are over the age of 21 then I want to marry you.
@Bender Bending Rodriguez Oh, now you don't want power? Fuck yeah, i'll take the quad-core over the dual-core any day!
@fanboykiller
you need to spend more time on 4chan. then again, no, nobody does. nevermind.
@fanboykiller http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/4453/zoechloe210am2.jpg
You're welcome.
@Johanu
Any day? Then you don’t understand how processors work. More cores don’t equate to more performance. Are you also still stuck thinking that more Hz equates to more performance?
@Bender Bending Rodriguez
All things equal, more cores and higher clock speed absolutely equals more performance.
im gonna have to agree with her or him (peytral). i currently own an hp laptop, its not rockin a i7, but a crappy 2.2ghz amd athlon dual-core, and it STILL generates an abundant amount of heat and sucks battery charge like a motha!
side note: bender you sir are an idiot!
@tonicboy
But that's not what the real world is like. A quad-core is only going to be more useful than a dual-core if the software takes advantage of it, I'll agree it's more future-proof but that doesn't mean it's currently the best choice. In a desktop sure, but in a laptop where heat and staying-power are the prioritise (it's supposed to be portable, not plugged in all the time!) then I'll agree that dual-core are the better option until we get chips that suck less power and generate less heat.
@Bender Bending Rodriguez
You realize that the extra battery that you can buy (and just clip onto the bottom of the laptop) makes the battery last about 2.5x longer, right?
@contagioned And it adds more weight, more thickness and more cost. Not exactly a balanced machine for the average user. Face it, Quad-core i7 is not for the average user.
"it's the first PC we've seen that really equals the MacBook Pro's unibody design"
Yeah, aside from the design on the top and that pesky break so you can remove the battery, it looks just like it.
Personally, I realize aesthetics are far from absolutes, and I recognize many laptops as being superior in design to the MBP, and realize other people think differently and have different opinions. But I'm not responsible for writing reviews that are presumably supposed to be unbiased, so what do I know?
@(Unverified)
"think differently"
I see what you did thar...
@(Unverified)
"Yeah, aside from the design on the top and that pesky break so you can remove the battery, it looks just like it."
You purposefully misinterpreted what "equals the MacBook Pro's unibody design" means, but I'm still interested in what other laptops out there come anywhere near the current MBPs in aesthetics, let alone surpass them.
@n2whyteguyz
No, I didn't confuse it at all. I was poking fun at some of the faults of the MBP, and pointing out the reason the reviewer thought it compared aesthetically is because it looks nearly identical to it. Had it come from a no-name in China, they probably would have slapped a KIRF label on it.
As for the answer to your question, I would say the most recent series of Asus gaming laptops are some of my favorites. The Dell Studio XPS laptops are pretty slick too. HP has some AMD Neo low cost thin computers that are black with chrome edges that look pretty slick, too. I've seen a lot of other laptops I like better, I just don't keep track of models.
Now you may be appalled by the laptops I claim are aesthetically superior to the MBP, but apparently you stopped reading my post halfway through and missed this key part: "..and realize other people think differently and have different opinions." I seriously like those laptops I mentioned better than the MBP. And I know others think they are plastic abominations. My point is, aesthetics are not universal, and people reviewing laptops should keep that in mind and check their bias at the door.
Ugh, after owning a 17" inspiron 9300 with barely an hour of battery life, the 2 hours of battery life doesn't worry me too much.
What does worry me is how the overheating could shorten the lift of the harddrive, something I experience after owning a gateway with poor ventilation and replacing the HD 2 times.
Here's to hoping an Envy 15 rev. 2 will solve their cooling / power problems!
@seltzered also, I wish they sold this with a matte screen. I couldn't stand the glossy-ness on my 9300, and fell in love with having an led-backlit matte screen.
@seltzered
Strange I also have a 9300... and my hard drive has held up perfectly over the past 5 (is it 6 now?) years. The thing has taken quite a licking and just keeps on ticking. I use it everyday pretty much all the time too, banging it into walls while moving it (it was rather LARGE afterall) and not a problem at all. Currently dual-booting XP and win 7.
The batteries and chargers on the otherhand are a different story. The batteries don't last 5 minutes so it's basically a portable desktop. And i've had to buy 2 new chargers because they eventually don't report to the computer correctly and give an error saying that the computer will run with a lower processor speed. Very annoying.
That being said, it still runs fast and smooth, great computer.
@ramifications I actually wasn't complaining about the 9300, I still have it and it runs well, just showing it's age after being in use for over 4 years. The only thing I don't like about my 9300 was the glossy screen.
I was just shuddering from an old Gateway laptop I had before the 9300, which overheated very often (leaving it on my bed would cause it to shut down due to overheating).
I was seriously considering the envy, the price doesn't annoy me nearly as much as the heating/cooling issues it supposedly has. That, and some bios issues I've heard about that prevents it from supporting acpi in linux
@seltzered Have you considered a SSHD ?
@seltzered
They sell this with an anti-reflective coating
@WasAPasserBy are you sure? I just tried going to the hp shopping website and didn't see an option for an "anti-reflective" coating for the envy 15. If you're referring to the 9300, yes, they did have matte options - i don't recall it being there for 1920x1080 screens though.
I think this laptop is quite nice. The battery life is a bummer, but then again, my 1.5 year-old Macbook Pro only lasted for 4 hours for about...6 months. Now it barely makes it to 2.
Have these guys EVER given a positive review to a non Apple machine?
why do I see "apple" all over the place?
why do we need to compare almost everything we see to them?
they do crappy things
@baze: When it's better, sure they do. This one isn't - the compromises they chose make this a terrible laptop. 2 hours is simply unforgivable when just about ANY other model has 5 hours plus. And laptops are kind of hard to use when they're searing your lap and wrists.
@(Unverified) I don't know about ANY other model having 5 hours plus. Only Netbooks and Macbooks are the ones I see having 5 hours plus. Normal notebooks I've seen run around 2-3 hours and 4-5 hours if you have a 12 cell battery.
The innards of an HP Envy is a Core i7 and a ATI Mobility Radeon 4850. I think it makes more sense comparing this thing's battery life to something like an Alienware M15x or low-end M17x.
It just doesn't make sense comparing the battery life of a Core 2 Duo, Geforce 9600M GT equivalent notebook to a Core i7, Radeon 4850 or GeForce 9800M GTX equivalent.
@(Unverified)
My Thinkpad W500 with a 9-cell battery gets about 5-1/2 hours with the brightness at 2 notches below the top and WiFi enabled on the integrated graphics. If I disable CPU throttling (full 2.4GHz all the time), enable the ATI discrete graphics with powerplay disabled, turn the brightness to max and use WiFi and Bluetooth that goes down to a little over 3.
If I actually attempt to save power I can easily make it past 7 hours.
@mcc
Forgot to mention that I have the CPU undervolted with the RightMark CPU clock utility. The performance is the same, it just uses less power. My power gradient on the P8600 CPU is .875v to .95v.
At normal power savings with the integrated graphics enabled the fan will often turn completely off. It's simply not needed.
@(Unverified) I am really sick of people comparing different configurations and complaining that there are different outcomes. The mbps, all the way up to the 17" do NOT house mobile core i7 cpus. They chew through more power. The envy is coupled with a higher end gpu, and more memory, do people think those SUPERIOR performance components ought to use less energy? And comparing the battery performance to LARGER core i7 notebooks is bad analysis as well. The chasis of the envy 15 is VERY thin, the standard battery that fits flush with the machine is going to be SMALLER than the standard battery that would go on a SEVENTEEN inch dell, that is also thicker. If you want more battery life, then get the one they optioned, the slice, that "bulky" form factor of a flat battery, and the neck breaking added weight of what, a pound?
Stop comparing higher end components with lower end lower power draw cpus. There is NO OTHER core i7 machine in as small a form factor, that means with the stock battery, more heat, and lower battery life.
The heat is a legitimate concern, NOT the battery. Think clearly people.
@(Unverified)
Every laptop manufacturer that makes business class notebooks have machines that can easily break the 5 hour mark.
Appropriate name considering what it's trying to look like.
So, do a fresh install of Windows 7, turn the heat down, get the battery slice, and you've got the perfect 15-inch laptop! Get to it HP!
Depth of field is a tool, not a crutch.
@maxxed
Seconded.
I want one! I 'envy' those people who won in the black friday giveaway!
Finally, a good ENVY trackpad!
$1800 is way expensive, but I guess that's the i7 tax. Loving the HD graphics, screen res, and the media/gaming playback. I also heard that some units ship with an external drive. I'm still not so sure.
I'll have to do some deciding between this and the Studio 15 i7 because the Studio's battery life is longer, but of course it's running the 4570. Also, the Studio spec'd to my liking is $1300. I'm certainly heading to BB to get a further analysis.
Good review Jo.