HP Envy 17: HP's MacBook Pro Killer?
by Dustin Sklavos on December 16, 2010 12:30 AM ESTConclusion: Not a Killer, But a Great Alternative
As we mentioned before, HP's Envy line of notebooks are often touted in the comments on our reviews as being alternatives to Apple's MacBook Pro series. In reviewing the Envy 17 at least, we find that's not entirely a fair comparison. Apple's notebooks seem designed more for students and visual arts professionals than for the average user, and the fact that HP equips the Envy with a modestly powerful Mobility Radeon HD 5850 should be evidence enough that they're gunning for another market entirely. That market, however, will probably be very happy with the Envy 17.
While our favorite gaming notebook remains the ASUS G73Jh/G73Jw, the ASUS notebook doesn't quite share the Envy 17's style. Dealing in strictly hardware, the ASUS is going to overpower the Envy 17, and that's due largely to the comparatively anemic Mobility Radeon HD 5850. The Mobility 5800s weren't a great line to begin with, incremental at best over the previous generation (although lest I be accused of an NVIDIA bias, I'm keen to point out that NVIDIA's GTX 480M was almost a bigger disappointment than the 5870), but the lower clocks on the Envy 17's 5850 start to impact playability on the unit's native 1080p resolution.
That 1080p resolution is, by the way, an upgrade you will want to shell out for, no question. The screen really is excellent, and if you need any further excuse to drop the $100 on the upgrade, note that HP advertises the default 1600x900 screen as having a 42% color gamut. That's downright awful and ranks easily among the worst of the screens we have to test. At the same time, the sweet screen is backed by the healthy Beats audio speaker system. Jarred swore by the speakers in the Dell XPS 15, and I'm keen to get our XPS 17 sample in here to really compare the two. While I didn't hear the subwoofer doing a whole lot of work, this is still a healthy jump over the normally dire notebook speakers we're used to and if audio quality is important to you, this would be one place where the Envy 17 absolutely trumps the bass-heavy and mushy sounding ASUS.
At the end of the day, the price is right on the Envy 17 and you get what you pay for. I'm not a big fan of the keyboard layout and touchpad, but neither of these are deal-breakers, and in exchange you do get a fairly fast multimedia machine. Battery life sucks, but that pretty much comes with the territory when you're dealing with notebooks like these. I'm not as completely blown away by the Envy 17 as some of our readers appear to be, but it's definitely a fine notebook and if the stealth fighter-inspired ASUS G73 doesn't do anything for you, it's worth taking a look at. Of course, the smaller Envy 14 is arguably the more interesting option, and Vivek will be looking at that in the near future, so stay tuned....
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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.