I have a Sandy Bridge-based HP dv7 that I'm going to have send back soon because of the chipset issue (I have till April 30th from everything I've read.) I purchased this for slightly over $900 after a $500 off $1399 coupon.
The current system is a i7 2720QM, 8gb RAM, 640gb HD, DVDRW, 1gb Radeon 6570M w/1gb GDDR5, Beats audio, and 17.3" 1600x900 screen. Basically HP took their 2010 chassis and put in new internals, so no USB 3.0.
A new chassis has been announced and should be out soon--it adds extra speakers, USB 3.0, and HD webcam, and an optional Radeon 6770M graphics card. From all indications, I really oughtn't pay much more if any at all to get a system with the new features plus the same specs as before.
However, from what I've heard, if you call HP to return your defective SB laptop, you can often get them to apply the $500 off coupon to an Envy even though the original terms of the coupon excluded them. I could get the Envy 17 3D (the regular Envy 17 hasn't been upgraded to the new chips yet) base model for about $200 more than what I paid now. I'd have to drop down to the 2630QM, which is much less aggressive with its turbo modes, and down to 6gb RAM. (The other option is the 2820 for $350 extra--too much for my budget.) On the other hand, it does have a 6850 graphics card, Blu Ray, and a 1080p 3D screen.
I've honestly never dealt much with an Envy--is the build quality advantage and the rest enough to justify the pro-con tradeoffs above AND an extra $200? Or should I just wait for the new dv7?
The current system is a i7 2720QM, 8gb RAM, 640gb HD, DVDRW, 1gb Radeon 6570M w/1gb GDDR5, Beats audio, and 17.3" 1600x900 screen. Basically HP took their 2010 chassis and put in new internals, so no USB 3.0.
A new chassis has been announced and should be out soon--it adds extra speakers, USB 3.0, and HD webcam, and an optional Radeon 6770M graphics card. From all indications, I really oughtn't pay much more if any at all to get a system with the new features plus the same specs as before.
However, from what I've heard, if you call HP to return your defective SB laptop, you can often get them to apply the $500 off coupon to an Envy even though the original terms of the coupon excluded them. I could get the Envy 17 3D (the regular Envy 17 hasn't been upgraded to the new chips yet) base model for about $200 more than what I paid now. I'd have to drop down to the 2630QM, which is much less aggressive with its turbo modes, and down to 6gb RAM. (The other option is the 2820 for $350 extra--too much for my budget.) On the other hand, it does have a 6850 graphics card, Blu Ray, and a 1080p 3D screen.
I've honestly never dealt much with an Envy--is the build quality advantage and the rest enough to justify the pro-con tradeoffs above AND an extra $200? Or should I just wait for the new dv7?
