HP / Hewlett Packard Envy 15-3040NR Notebook Computer (Black Aluminum)

Comments about HP / Hewlett Packard Envy 15-3040NR Notebook Computer (Black Aluminum):

Close to perfect design, but except HP's quality control is lacking.

Display is unbelievable. Audio is even more impressive than the screen. Gorgeous, powerful, yada yada yada...

But I got three bad Envy units in a row. First one worked great, but had a misaligned DVD drive; it wouldn't eject discs. Units #2 & #3 had identical problem - broken audio wheels; the Beats button would press in and get stuck permanently, and the behavior of the audio wheel scroll was erratic.

On the third unit, B&H said no more Envy units for me - either buy something else, or buy an Envy elsewhere.

Frustrating, but I'm stubborn enough, I still want an Envy, regardless of the hassles. It's simply the most impressive laptop I've ever used, outside of these initial issues.

Oh, and HP said they were willing to fix all three, but I didn't want to start off my experience with a week-long trip to a service center. Maybe I should have. =/

Comments about HP / Hewlett Packard Envy 15-3040NR Notebook Computer (Black Aluminum):

I got Envy to replace both my old laptop & desk top computer. It has a sleek modern design and looks very nice & professional. The high resolution screen makes everything looks so much more clear. The sound syetem is pretty good, too.
The imagepad will take me a while to get used to.

Comments about HP / Hewlett Packard Envy 15-3040NR Notebook Computer (Black Aluminum):

This is a beautiful computer. I love the design and features, but the keyboard is terribly loud. When I'm typing, some of the other keys rattle in such a way that it sounds like I'm shaking a can full of nails. I would not have bought this machine had I known how distracting the keyboard would be.

Comments about HP / Hewlett Packard Envy 15-3040NR Notebook Computer (Black Aluminum):

This computer is definately modeled directly after the MacBook Pro.

The keyboard is excellent for typing accuracy; the sound is fantastic and the audio wheel accurate and easy to use.
Graphics are good enough for most photo (serious hobbiest) editing. Even hubby (pro photographer) likes it for lighter stuff, just that the screen is a little too small to be efficient for heavy editing.
Touchpad is very good, but but a little touchy. Sometimes selects when you don't want, sometimes registers something completely different that what you intended. Getting used to it takes time, but I have worked around most of it by using a portable mouse instead.

Running Windoes 7 pro and it starts-up and runs like a little speed demon, though not as fast as a solid state drive would. Overall, I would highly recommend this.

Comments about HP / Hewlett Packard Envy 15-3040NR Notebook Computer (Black Aluminum):

Have had the machine for just under a week and have used it for high speed imaging, photos, music and movies. I think HP got this one right so far… cool design, great speed, awesome graphics and sound, with all the power packed into this laptop it runs very cool, hardly any heat seems to come out of it, much better than any other laptop I've owned. If it only had a Blu-Ray player…

Comments about HP / Hewlett Packard Envy 15-3040NR Notebook Computer (Black Aluminum):

For the few extra bucks, I decided to treat myself to some bells and whistles. I'd rather have the extra power and graphics in reserve than ever feel I was missing out.

Comments about HP / Hewlett Packard Envy 15-3040NR Notebook Computer (Black Aluminum):

I'm very pleased with my Envy. It's a great looking machine, with strong build quality. It's has more then enough processing power for daily use, plus some. It's battery life isn't amazing, but should be more then sufficient for moderate use when away from ac power. The screen is wonderful, with a crisp display. I would definitely reccommend this laptop.

Comments about HP / Hewlett Packard Envy 15-3040NR Notebook Computer (Black Aluminum):

I've searched for a laptop that had it all for the past few months, compared the Samsung 7 series, Apple Macbook Pro and Sony Vaio but decided with the HP Envy 15. This laptop has all of the requirements I needed plus more. With its i7 Quad-core processor, 750GB hard drive, 7690 AMD Radeon graphics, backlit keyboard, 1920x1080 screen and a dial volume control (Beats Audio) that looks really cool. First of all this laptop is fast, the boot time and the downloads from external hard drives are quick due to its processor and its 2 –USB 3 ports. The design of this laptop is top notch and excellent built quality, the feel is solid and durable, when open it looks exactly like the Macbook Pro but the HP has the Beats Audio dial to distinguish it from the apple. Working with programs and surfing the internet is quick and seamless.

The only issues I have with the Envy is its touchpad (it's not responsive at times) and its issue with not producing reds but I can live with those issues. If HP can fix those two problems I'm positive they will sell a lot more Envy's over their competitors.

Comments about HP / Hewlett Packard Envy 15-3040NR Notebook Computer (Black Aluminum):

Very pleased with this HP laptop. All the features we could want and more. B&H delivered very fast as well.

Comments about HP / Hewlett Packard Envy 15-3040NR Notebook Computer (Black Aluminum):

I use this notebook as a personal for watch movie and also in my work. 8Gb RAM perfectly work with virtualization. I have some images for work with it It's perfect!
Nice keyboard with wonderful backlight!!!
Display is very perfect!
Thanks BH ;)

Comments about HP / Hewlett Packard Envy 15-3040NR Notebook Computer (Black Aluminum):

I love my new Envy Beats! it is an awesome computer. It's fast and the sound is awesome!!

Comments about HP / Hewlett Packard Envy 15-3040NR Notebook Computer (Black Aluminum):

I have been an amateur photographer for the best part of my life.I used a Pentax K-1000 for more than 30 years and had my own darkroom rig for black and white film processing. Eventually, I got rid of everything, because I couldn't find time to use it any more.

Now that I am retired, I'm back to photography as a hobby. However, digital images are new to me. After quite a bit of research, I ended up buying a Nikon D5100, with lenses covering the 14-300mm range, a tripod and the usual polarizing and neutral density filters. Being no professional, I think it was a wise choice.

Taking digital pictures is only one part of the equation. Post-processing is another matter. I had to investigate again.

My "office" is an Asus eeePc netbook. I like it, because it's sturdy, inexpensive, light, tiny and portable. The battery lasts for a long time. It's the best travel companion you can have. It has a real keyboard as opposed to tablets. If one has to do heavy word processing or spreadsheet work, a real keyboard is a must. True you can setup a keyboard on a tablet, but you'll agree that you cannot easily use it on your lap!

Processing RAW images on an Atom processor with a 10 in. screen was out of the equation. I had to find something more powerful. I didn't want a desktop computer with a cumbersome and disgraceful tower. So, it had to be a laptop. 13 in. is a little bit small. 17 in. too big. 15 in. seems the best compromise. I like to keep my computers for at least 5 years. So I figured the processor had to be 64 bits quad core. 8Gb of RAM would not be too much for post-production software. Hard disk should be 7200 rpm and fairly big. USB-3 ports would be welcome too.

The MacBook Pro was a serious contender. I appreciate Apple products for their design. Their operating system is top notch too. But, they are awfully expensive. And unfortunately, they are plagued with serious overheating problems. For those reasons, I rejected Apple.

What was left? Did a decent looking and powerful notebook exist somewhere? I immediately rejected the outrageously expensive Sony Vaio. I considered the Dell XPS 15 for a while. I appreciated the quality of the display and the aluminium casing. But I was worried about that flimsy and cheap looking hinge, on a long term.

And then came the HP Envy 15. It has all the bells ans whistles I was raving about. It's well built.

It almost looks like a MacBook Pro: same aluminium casing. Same sleek appearance. Same backlit chicklet keyboard. A screen that's probably even better. A lots of power and then some. I was sold.

I ordered it from B & H. I took the habit to get my photo and computer equipment from them. Service is first class. Delivery is very fast, usually 2-3 days (I live in Quebec, Canada). Prices are good. Often better than anywhere else. I never experienced any problems with B&H.

Now, after I have been using it for a few weeks, what do I think of the HP Envy 15?

PROS

Price: this is a lots of computer for the money.

It's nice looking and well built.

The quality of the display is plain jaw dropping.

Keyboard: I am a fast typist, and this is one of the good keyboards I have used to date.

It's fast. Really fast. It runs Photoshop and ACR without complaining, even while processing RAW images.

It does not overheat. The fan system seems efficient.

The sound is more than correct, considering it's a notebook.

Ports: I appreciate the 2 USB3 ports and the HDMI, and DVI external screen ports too.

The flash card slot.

Windows 7 is the best Microsoft effort to date. It's a joy to use.

I cannot tell you about the battery performance yet, because I mostly use it connected to AC power.
The computer is fairly easy to take apart, if you need to upgrade some of the hardware. More onto that later.

CONS

The pad is clunky. But it may be a software problem, as the erratic behavior is the same for my Asus eeePc. Pad buttons could be a bit easier to push on.

Glossy screens are an absolute STUPIDITY.

You need a special screwdriver to remove the battery!!! But at least, you can remove it, unlike the MacBook Air...

The computer is heavy and the power supply is substantial. This is a "not so portable" notebook.

Recovery Disks are not supplied with the computer.

People who expect to carry their computer around should look for nothing bigger than 13 in.

HP SERVICE

When I got my computer out of the box, I plugged it and pushed the start button. Windows failed to initialize. After running tests, I realized that the problem was the hard disk. So, I called HP service line. To my amazement, there was no delay, and I could talk to somebody "en français, s'il-vous-plait"!!! They offered me two options: send the computer back to them or they could send me a new hard disk that I could fix myself. I went for the second option. 3 days later, Purolator was at my door with the new part.

Following the instructions, I removed the defective hard disk and put the new one in. All in all, everything went smooth, and all it took was the best part of 10 minutes.

There were recovery disks in the box. So, I put disk 1 in and initiated the procedure. After a while, the computer begged for disk 2. Software installation was almost complete, when the computer frooze. I waited for one hour, just in case a long process would be on the way. Nothing.

Back on the phone with HP service, they told me that a new set of recovery disk was on it's way. I had them 3 days later. That time, I went through Windows installation without further problems.

Now, I am very happy with my new computer. Nothing to complain about, so far.

THE DIGITAL DARKROOM

When comes the time to invest in a digital darkroom, lots of amateur photographers don't know what to get.

Hp ENVY 15 is definitely worth consideration. It would be perfect for tethered studio sessions.

Obviously, the 15 in. display is too small for serious post-processing. Besides, notebook screens are far from covering the full sRGB spectrum, let alone Adobe RGB. One cannot expect the printed photo to look exactly like the one displayed on the screen.

So, I got myself a (matte!!) Dell U2410 IPS 24 in. monitor. It's probably not good enough for the pro, but it's more than ok for the serious amateur. Anyways, I couldn't find any better for the money!

Working with a dual monitor configuration is a blessing, when processing photos. I use Photoshop Elements 9, most of the time. The Organizer is open on the notebook. The Editor is open on the Dell 2410. A real pleasure for an efficient workflow. Real estate is a plenty!

Of course, it would be silly to spend all that money without calibrating those monitors. So I acquired a Datacolor Spyder4 Express calibrating device. It does a decent job a fair price. The problem is that it is not intended to support dual monitors. After googling alot, I finally found the way to do it. Once you know the trick, it's fairly straightforward. And you save hundreds of $$$, not having to get the Spyder Elite or the Pro.

I still use a mouse, but eventually, I might get myself a Wacom Intuos4 digital tablet. Photoshop runs better with a dedicated scratch disk. Besides, one has to do backups, one way or the other. I use a USB3 Western Digital Passport 1TB 7200RPM external hard disk. It's perfect for both uses. A USB2 disk would slow down Photoshop a lot, and backups would take foerver.

I sincerely hope my own experience to be useful to somebody else.

Comments about HP / Hewlett Packard Envy 15-3040NR Notebook Computer (Black Aluminum):

HP ENVY 15-3040NR

I have been an amateur photographer for the best part of my life.I used a Pentax K-1000 for more than 30 years and had my own darkroom rig for black and white film processing. Eventually, I got rid of everything, because I couldn't find time to use it any more.

Now that I am retired, I have plenty of time to come back to photography as a hobby. However, digital images are new to me. After quite a bit of research, I ended up buying a Nikon D5100, with lenses covering the 14-300mm range, a tripod and the usual polarizing and neutral density filters. Being no professional, I think it was a wise choice.

Taking digital pictures is only one part of the equation. Post-processing is another matter. I had to investigate again.

My "office" is an Asus eeePc netbook. I like it, because it's sturdy, inexpensive, light, tiny and portable. The battery lasts for a long time. It's the best travel companion you can have. It has a real keyboard as opposed to tablets. If one has to do heavy word processing or spreadsheet work, a real keyboard is a must. True you can setup a keyboard on a tablet, but you'll agree that you cannot easily use it on your lap!

Processing RAW images on an Atom processor with a 10 in. screen was out of the equation. I had to find something more powerful. I didn't want a desktop computer with a cumbersome and awful tower. So, it had to be a laptop. 13 in. is a little bit small. 17 in. too big. 15 in. would be the best compromise. I like to keep my computers for at least 5 years. So I figured the processor had to be
64 bits quad core. 8Gb of RAM would not be too much for post-production software. Hard disk should be
7200 rpm and fairly big. USB-3 ports would be welcome too.

I have been looking for the MacBook Pro. I like Apple products for their design. Their operating
system is top notch too. But, they are awfully expensive. And they are plagued with serious
overheating problems. For those reasons, I rejected Apple.

What was left? Did a decent looking and powerful notebook existed somewhere? I immediately rejected the outrageously expensive Sony Vaio. I considered the Dell XPS 15 for a while. I appreciated the quality of the display and the aluminium casing. But I was worried about that flimsy and cheap looking hinge, on a long term.

And then came the HP Envy 15. It has all the bells ans whistles I was raving about. It's well built.

It almost looks like a MacBook Pro: same aluminium casing. Same sleek appearance. Same backlit chicklet keyboard. A screen that's probably even better. A lots of power and then some. I was sold.

I ordered it from B & H. I took the habit to get my photo and computer equipment from them. Service
is first class. Delivery is very fast, usually 2-3 days (I live in Quebec, Canada). Prices are good. Often better than anywhere else. I never experienced any problems with B & H.

Now, after I have been using it for a few weeks, what do I think of the HP Envy 15?

PROS

Price: this is a lots of computer for the money.

It's nice looking and well built.

The quality of the display is plain jaw dropping.

Keyboard. I am a fast typist, and this is one of the good keyboards I have used to date.

It's fast. Really fast. It runs Photoshop without complaining, even while processing RAW images.

It does not overheat. The fan system seems efficient.

The sound is more than correct, considering it's a notebook.

Ports: I appreciate the 2 USB3 ports and the HDMI, and DVI external screen ports too.

The flash card slot.

Windows 7 is the best Microsoft effort to date. It's a joy to use.

I cannot tell you about the battery performance yet, because I mostly use it connected to AC power.
The computer is fairly easy to take apart, if you need to upgrade some of the hardware. More onto
that later.

CONS

The pad is clunky. But it may be a software problem, as the erratic behavior is the same for my Asus eeePc. Pad buttons could be a bit easier to push on.

Glossy screens are an absolute STUPIDITY.

You need a screwdriver to remove the battery!!!

The computer is heavy and the power supply is substantial. This is a "not so portable" notebook.

People who want to carry their computer around should look for nothing bigger than 13 in.

HP SERVICE

When I got my computer out of the box, I plugged it and pushed the start button. Windows failed to
initialize. After running tests, I realized that the problem was the hard disk. So, I called HP service line. To my amazement, there was no delay, and I could talk to somebody "en français, s'il-vous-plait"!!! They offered me two possibilities: send the computer to them or they could send me a new hard disk that I could fix myself. I went for the second option. 3 days later, Purolator was at my door with the new part.

Following the instructions, I removed the defective hard disk and put the new one in. All in all, everything went smooth, and all it took was the best part of 10 minutes.

There were recovery disks in the box. So, I put disk 1 in and initiated the procedure. After a while, the computer begged for disk 2. Software installation was almost complete, when the computer frooze. I waited for one hour, just in case a long process would be on the way. Nothing.

Back on the phone with HP service, they told me that a new set of recovery disk was on it's way. I
had them 3 days later. That time, I went through Windows installation without further problems.

Now, I am very happy with my new computer. Nothing to complain about, so far.

THE DIGITAL DARKROOM

When comes the time to invest in a digital darkroom, lots of amateur photographers don't know what to get.

Hp ENVY 15 is definitely worth consideration. It would be perfect for tethered studio sessions.

Obviously, the 15 in. display is too small for serious post-processing. Besides, notebook screens are far from covering the full Adobe RGB spectrum. One cannot expect the printed photo to look exactly
like the one displayed on the screen.

So, I got myself a (matte!!) Dell U2410 IPS 24 in. monitor. It's probably not good enough for the pro, but it's more than ok for the serious amateur. Anyways, I couldn't find any better for the money!

Working with a dual monitor configuration is a boon, when processing photos. I use Photoshop Elements 9, most of the time. The Organizer is open on the notebook. The Editor is open on the Dell 2410. A real pleasure.

Of course, it would be silly to spend all that money without calibrating the monitors. So I acquired a Datacolor Spyder4 Express calibrating device. It does a decent job a fair price. The problem is that it is not intended to support dual monitors. After googling alot, I finally found the way to do it. Once you know the trick, it's fairly straightforward. And you save hundreds of dollars, not having to get the Spyder Elite or the Pro.

I still use a mouse, but eventually, I might get myself a Wacom Intuos4 digital tablet. Photoshop runs better with a dedicated scratch disk. Besides, one has to do backups, one way or the other. I use a USB3 Western Digital Passport 1TB external hard disk. It's perfect for both uses. A USB2 disk would slow down Photoshop a lot.

I sincerely hope my own experience to be useful to somebody else.

Comments about HP / Hewlett Packard Envy 15-3040NR Notebook Computer (Black Aluminum):

I've been using this HP for a few weeks now, and I love it. The screen is great, the sound is really fantastic, and the keyboard is great for me, someone who can use four or more keyboards a day (on average). The only gripe I have is the trackpad. I'd read reviews and knew it wasn't going to be as good as a mac's, but it's barely any better than my three-year-old netbook's. All in all I'd recommend it (and already have).

I haven't had to use it without being plugged in, so I can't tell anything about the battery life. It doesn't get overheated, though.