HP Envy 17: HP's MacBook Pro Killer?
by Dustin Sklavos on December 16, 2010 12:30 AM ESTHigh and Ultra Gaming Settings
We'll start taxing the Envy 17 at our "High" preset. The AMD Mobility Radeon HD 5850 shouldn't have too much of a problem with our gaming suite at these settings, even at the notebook's 1080p native resolution.
In every case but StarCraft II, the Mobility Radeon HD 5850 is able to produce smooth performance at the Envy 17's native resolution, and even in that case it's still fairly playable. As we're often keen to point out, though, again you can see the major difference in performance going from mainstream-class to enthusiast-class graphics in a notebook: there's no middle ground here. Unfortunately it seems like our "High" preset is near the peak of what the 5850 can do.
Once we start pushing the GPU at our "Ultra" settings, the weaknesses of AMD's mobile line-up are finally revealed. Lest NVIDIA get cocky, it should be noted that the Quadro 5000M doesn't fare that much better. We're near the top of the line in mobile graphics here, but the gulf in performance going from mobile to desktop graphics is absolutely tremendous. Only the Clevo X7200 is able to pull playable framerates across the board, but it also costs three times what the Envy 17 does.
Now's as good a time as any to reiterate what we said back when we initially reviewed the AMD Mobility Radeon HD 5870: AMD needs to get their act together. The state of modern high-end mobile graphics is pitiful, and "good enough" just isn't going to cut it anymore. AMD seems willing to barely compete at most, leaving NVIDIA to produce equally lazy parts like the GeForce GTX 480M. "Consolitis" has kept modern game requirements fairly reasonable, to the point where a desktop Radeon HD 5770 can for the most part get the job done at 1080p, but we're still having issues with mobile parts.
Without good competition and envelope pushing from either side, mobile graphics stagnate horribly and leave us with a mediocre top-end. The 5850 in the Envy 17 is adequate and should play most games at native, but we've been sitting at "adequate" for entirely too long. Here's hoping that the mobile variants of AMD's 6800/6900 series can leverage features such as PowerTune to give mobile gaming a shot in the arm.
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strikeback03 - Friday, December 17, 2010 - link
Well, given the chipset, they should be SATA 2, as it does not support SATA 3 and I would imagine there would have been more notice taken if it were running at SATA 1 speeds.Sebec - Thursday, December 16, 2010 - link
Dustin used "at the end of the day" twice in the conclusion for two different points. Seems repetitive. I think both statements could stand on their own without the need to use such a phrase.TheAdAgency - Thursday, December 16, 2010 - link
Indeed, he should have opted for a quick "All things considered, it is what it is..." the second time he was seeking for a hackneyed summary phrase. However at the end of the day, you are the most likely the only one who noticed.rwei - Thursday, December 16, 2010 - link
If you still have this thing on hand, I'd be curious to see what Dustin has to say about it, and especially in a comparison to the Dell Studio 17 (maybe that's what you meant by XPS 17 in your conclusion?). The Envy 17 is very comparable to that laptop (waaaay more so than the Macbook Pro) and I think it suits the use case which he described well:"Oftentimes when you get to the 17" form factor you're dealing with bulky desktop replacement machines that offer questionable value over just buying a desktop, or at least that was the belief I held before I started shopping for one. Now that I'm no longer in school I don't need a 14" "does-it-all" notebook; instead, I can use a 17" when travelling for extended periods of time as a comfortable workstation, or as a monitor when I'm out on a shoot. And when I want to be a complete dweeb writing in public in a coffee shop so someone can see me and be so curious, I can use a netbook or ultraportable notebook. And after a lot of research, I finally decided the Studio 17 was the one for me."
It's funny because I was exactly in Dustin's boat and went from a 14" Asus A8Jm to the Envy 17, for pretty much the exact same reasons. In case you were wondering what kind of user DOES love this laptop, consider my case as a recent college grad and Windows power user not intending to take a class again in the near future, facing the prospect of a tiny NYC apartment where a desktop probably won't fit very well, and who travels often enough to want a computer he can take with him. To me, the Envy offers:
- an amazing screen (as you pointed out)
- great build quality (as you also pointed out)
- solid, if not class-leading performance (again, you pointed this out). I play SC2 at 1080P High all the time and enjoy it tremendously
- messenger-bag-able weight and size (not "carry to 6h of class with several textbooks" weight, but "carry onto plane every few months" or "bring 10ft to couch" weight)
- great price: I DID consider the Macbook Pro 17 when I was making my purchase, and the deal breaker was easily that configured this way, the Envy 17 costs several hundred dollars less than the most basic Macbook Pro 17.
Dustin Sklavos - Thursday, December 16, 2010 - link
I wrote this review. ;)I like the Studio 17 more than the Envy 17 truthfully. I think the Envy 17 is slightly better looking and has a better screen, but the Studio 17 sounds slightly better, has a better keyboard, and has better connectivity. The Studio 17 also lasts way longer on the battery.
name99 - Thursday, December 16, 2010 - link
"HP Envy 17: HP's MacBook Pro Killer?"I'm sorry but ars is better than inane headlines like this.
One simple question: does it run OSX?
No? OMG, what a surprise.
It's no fscking MacBook killer then, is it?
I mean, christ, this is not an issue of Windows is better than Mac or vice versa --- it's the simple fact that people buy Macs to run OSX --- that's not opinion, that is fact. If you're not selling something that runs OSX, you might be in the "Vio killer" game, you might be in the "Lenovo killer" game, heck, you might even be in the Cr-48 or Samsung Galaxy killer game, but you are no freaking way in the MacBook Pro killer game.
The headline is as inane as "Focus 2011: Ford's Boeing 777 Killer?"
[Not to mention that the very fact of including an optical drive puts this in a different league from MacBooks. I fully expect the next round of Ivy League MacBooks, pro or otherwise, in Q1 next year to have no optical storage --- and to be that much more desirable because of it.]
Theguynextdoor - Thursday, December 16, 2010 - link
I don't own the Envy 17, but I do own the Envy 14 and on that one you can revers the default F keys back in the BIOS AND in the HP manager menu (although I deleted it).Solidstate89 - Thursday, December 16, 2010 - link
...in regards to hating the unified touchpad. I absolutely despise that design idea and I can't help but harp on HP for implementing it in nearly their entire range of notebooks.derPat - Thursday, December 16, 2010 - link
Is the Envy running OSX?No!
It is a nonsense to compare an Envy with a MacBook. It is like comparing a Ferrari Enzo with a Chevy Corvette just looking at the engine specs ...
I'm also sick of the "killer" bs, I expect an article like this on Gizmodo, not on Anandtech ...
strikeback03 - Friday, December 17, 2010 - link
lol, 2 people with essentially the same comment, and both not exactly the truth. As I work at a university, I see plenty of students who have Macbooks but don't really care one way or another for Windows or OSX, they just like the size/design/battery life and they are actually a decent price with the student discounts.This is an interesting comparison though, as both a ZR1 and an Enzo will get you around a track similarly quick, though one has more perceived value, costs a lot more now, and will likely hold its value far better in the future. Sounds familiar.