Envy 14 price?

wasn't it supposed to start at $999? I guess they thought with all the "hype" they could get $100 more...

Yeah...though people were expecting the radiance display to not come standard and cost 100$ to upgrade so it comes out to $1099 anyway.

Not only did they raise the price by $100 but the 25% bing cash back went down to 5% so any hope of this laptop being at a reasonably good price compared to the hardware in it disappeared.

I'm waiting for BCB go to back to 20-25%, and I'll buy it even with a Core i7 840 option! Its awesome they manage to cram an 840 into such a small package, but nearly everyone seems to be thinking that the Quad core options will eat battery life horribly, and thus go for dual cores. The power reqs of the Core i7 840 aren't that much more than the i7-620 dual or the i5-5xxs, but you do loose switchable graphics if you choose a quad. For me, this isn't such a big deal as I never use the switchable options anyway, for the most part.

BCB expires on July 30, so we have to hope it goes up to 20% or more within the next month. I've still got 21 days left to return my MBP. I can configure a comparably equipped Envy 14 for over $500 less than what I paid for my MBP. That's before any BCB.

Out of curiosity, is BCB usually the only way to get [H]ot prices from hp?

Do they rarely run promo's themselves?

I am planning on getting the envy 14, eventually, but also want the best price.

Mr. Wolf said:

BCB expires on July 30, so we have to hope it goes up to 20% or more within the next month. I've still got 21 days left to return my MBP. I can configure a comparably equipped Envy 14 for over $500 less than what I paid for my MBP. That's before any BCB.

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I have been watching the Envy 14 for a long time and lately I have been leaning more and more to a MBP. After seeing the problems that the new Envy 17 with heat, construction, and customer support, I am sort of shying away from HP.

A comparable MBP 15 on macmall is $400 difference, but comes with a printer and parallels as well. This $400 difference was with a HP educational discount as well.

SnugglyFoo said:

Not only did they raise the price by $100 but the 25% bing cash back went down to 5% so any hope of this laptop being at a reasonably good price compared to the hardware in it disappeared.

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I think alot of people while not thrilled with the higher base price, are OK with it. Most people, including myself expected that higher res/quality screen to be an upgrade. If it was an upgrade it would have been another 100 dollars minimum.


Another issue is coming with an i3 base, but it is a faster than usual i3-370, which in most situations with the stock 2.4 GHz clock speed would probably be faster than the base i5 most of the time.

The i5 520 upgrade cost is a bit steep, and the slice battery is obscenely expensive at 200 dollars, but without that slice battery you can get a nice configuration for around the same price as a mbp 13.

I do not consider that an unreasonable price for the hardware, especially considering the fact that for similar money to a base mbp 13, you get much faster cpus, much better graphics, and a better/higher res. screen.


People may still go for another machine due to price considerations, or break for the mbp 13, but it won't be because the envy 14 is the less capable machine.

Ihaveworms said:

I have been watching the Envy 14 for a long time and lately I have been leaning more and more to a MBP. After seeing the problems that the new Envy 17 with heat, construction, and customer support, I am sort of shying away from HP.

A comparable MBP 15 on macmall is $400 difference, but comes with a printer and parallels as well. This $400 difference was with a HP educational discount as well.

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Heat and/or build quality issues are what make me hesitant to get an Envy. The first models had some serious problems. I hope we get some reviews of the 14 soon.

I ordered one earlier today so I will see first hand what the quality will be like. Based on specs alone, the Envy 14 offered the best balance of price/performance. Now, we just have to see if the build quality stands up. As for the heat issue, was that not specifically limited to the quad core models? I had not seen too much negative feedback on the dual core versions.

The bump in price to use the 1600x900 screen as the standard makes sense and may have simply been a last minute change for quality or supply problems. Either way, I am looking forward to getting my hands on this laptop.

HeavyH20 said:

I ordered one earlier today so I will see first hand what the quality will be like. Based on specs alone, the Envy 14 offered the best balance of price/performance. Now, we just have to see if the build quality stands up. As for the heat issue, was that not specifically limited to the quad core models? I had not seen too much negative feedback on the dual core versions.

The bump in price to use the 1600x900 screen as the standard makes sense and make have simply been a last minute change for quality or supply problems. Either way, I am looking forward to getting my hands on this laptop.

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I'm looking forward to you getting your hands on it, too!

I will definitely be reporting back on how well the Envy 14 works out. I have the Momentus XT 500 GB all imaged up and ready. Going to be a long two weeks waiting, however.

Related to the Envy 14, I'm wondering what the performance difference is between the dual core i5 and quad core i7. How does more cores and lower clock speeds stack up against fewer cores and higher clock speeds? I'm also wondering how the turbo boost figures into the equation.

I'm mostly interested in virtualization performance, but gaming isn't out of the question either.

Compared to the Envy 14 i7 options, the i5 options run at higher clock speeds and are significantly cheaper. If the i7 isn't that much better than the i5, I'd rather go with the i5 and save a few hundred bucks.

Not to derail the thread, but unless you plan to run more then 3 VMs at the same time I don't think you'll have much of a issue with the i5. It also depends on what exactly you plan to do with the VM.

So did someone's Envy 14 come in yet?

I think only one person on Notebookreview has gotten theirs who is in Alaska. No full battery life tests either which is what im waiting for. I ordered one with 30% bing cb luckily (Missed the first round). Upgrades were i5-450, 160gb ssd, 4gb single dimm. Hopefully I hear good things or else I will cancel the order. I couldnt resist the SSD upgrade. I hear its the x25-m g2, which, through HP costs 315- 30% bing = 220.5. I already bought a 2.5" enclosure as well planning on getting a traditional hd then upgrading to momentus xd or smaller SSD but the price was too good. Build date is the 23rd so hopefully a few full reviews come out in the mean time. Im not in any rush except that Bing is ending.

Also does anyone know the return policy on HP's? I think it was something like two weeks once you get it but is there a restocking fee? Thanks.

I ordered my Envy14 when the BCB hit 30%! Glad I waited. Price is 2121 when all is said and done, my state tax and shipping included. Built date is July 22, though as of 7/15 its at the factory. Upgrades for me are...

Core i7 840QM. Couldn't resist having a quad in a 14", 1" thin notebook! People freak about the loss of integrated graphics, but I used to have an Envy15 with a Core i7 820 + 4830 gfx and I got about 4 hours of battery life, non-gaming but without any specific battery tweaking. I can't imagine the Envy 14 is any worse! The Quad option is expensive though, but about par for what the processor costs. Nice its the newer 840 instead of the 820. Also important to note is that they do NOT offer top end duals, the 620 and 640, but offer both lower-end Quad 720s and 740s, for some reason. The 840 has been shown to have a considerable jump over the 7xx, because of its additional cache and speed, but the 840 to 920/940 Extreme is MUCH less, especially for the price!

4gb RAM, 1 DIMM. For only $25, this gives me the chance to put another stick of RAM of my choosing into my notebook. All notebooks should really offer this, as opposed to 2x 2gb. Wasn't worth it to get 6 or 8. I could buy it from Newegg for half or less.

5650 1gb Quad version - This is actually a zero cost "upgrade", but I thought I'd mention. Quad variant means losing switchable Intel Integrated graphic option.

500gb 7200 HDD - For only $15 more, a couple hundred gigs over the native 320. I find SSDs to be expensive and too small, especially as I plan to install Linux and a fresh Win7, dual booted. However, if you absolutely want the speed, it is reported that HP is using Intel SSDs, so they're not the crap many are installing.

Slice Battery - The Envy14 has a $200 option for the extended battery, but its unlike any other extended battery to date. The slice is a wide, flat battery that spans the entire bottom of the notebook and clips on and attaches to a special jack on the bottom. The Slice adds minimal bulk, but more battery life, compared to a traditional "Big giant bulge" battery. The Envy14 model is said to be a Li-Poly too, unlike earlier models, and attach more securely than the old Envy 15s. Its also nice to be using 2 batteries and being able to charge them both at the same time, instead of having to swap. One of the best designs HP has come up with. Sadly, I think it still has the same ugly power adapter. I'm going to see about picking up an after-market AC adapter. Loathe to admit it, but Apple's MagSafe adapter and brick are the best looking, light and easy to use/connect...provided they don't set your stuff on fire!

After Market Upgrades -

RAM - Going to buy another 4gb RAM stick. Unconfirmed, but I hear that Quads use 1333 and that duals run at 1066.
HDD - Considering buying a Seagate Momentus XT hybrid drive or a secondhand SSD. SandForce?
WiFi - Unconfirmed reports suggest the Wireless card is either a Broadcom piece-o-crap or an Intel 6200. If it is the former, I'll consider buying a 6300 or 6250 (WiMax) Intel model.

Laptop Messenger Bag - I've not had a laptop for such a long time, I need a new messenger bag for a Laptop and all my stuff. Chrome and Timbuk2 are some of the highest quality bags around from all reports, though they tend to be pricey. Chrome's Laptop offerings seem a bit slim and I'm not sure if the protection is up to par, though the bags themselves are great. I've decided on the new Timbuk2 "Command" model, which is their new highend with metal buckles and a ton of cool features. Its even TSA compliant, and has a nice little segregated laptop compartment, as well as a dedicated pocket for a power brick, a waterproof liner, tons of minipockets and a "Napoleon" pocket that lets you grab stuff from one of the minipockets without unfastening the flap.

Laptop sleeve - I like thin, bulk-free sleeves that provide great protection even against impact. Not an easy combo, but I found it years ago in a Japanese made "ZeroShock" sleeve. It is thin and uses memory foam to cushion your laptop. Not found anything to date that stacks up to it. If my new Envy doesn't fit, I'll have to buy a new one. Think they're up to ZeroShock III.

Edit: Return policy is 21 days from shipment, NO restocking fees.