HP ENVY dv7 Review Discussion

The old HP Pavilion dv7 is dead. Long live the ENVY dv7! This update to HP's popular 17-inch multimedia laptop might pack enough value to be a true heir to the PC throne.

Read the full content of this Article: HP ENVY dv7 Review

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You can always tell it's a noob reviewer writing the article - fan cleaning/removal still requires a complete tear-down of the chassis. At least HP provides their service manuals online complete with parts list for ordering spares.

 

The review was not aimed toward NBR forum, majority of people do not pull out their fan to clean even if it is one screw.

HP's "ENVY" line cost/performance has fallen ratio behind lenovo(y580,y400,y500) at the end of 2012. dv7 is "safe" since lenovo don't make 17" and XPS have different problems.

 

Hey, I'm not that noob! I've posted reviews on NBR as far back as 2006: Dell Inspiron 1501 Review

I hear what you're saying with the review being somewhat high level and avoiding details such as fan cleaning, but as baiii mentions, the reviews on the main site have to strike a balance between complete technophobes and the technophiles here in the forum. You're right that it's certainly not as easy as taking off a screw to get to components outside of the RAM/HD/PCIe but I agree it's decent of HP to show you how to dissect your laptop should you be so brave. Lenovo does the same thing, I don't believe Dell is so generous.

I agree, Lenovo has really stepped up the game with pricing and offerings and HP needs to watch their back. Rather, all indications are it is too late and Lenovo has taken the lead in PC sales, apparently HP has decided to protect their profit margins a bit at the expense of market share. The pricing on HP ENVY laptops are not as good as they were 12 months ago, but they're still fair. And as you say, the 17" market is quite limited so the dv7 has no real consumer competition from Lenovo at this time.

 

Excellent review Andrew, very thorough and detailed. I'm in full agreement that HP missed the ball by not offering a touch screen option. I consider that essential for Windows 8; a mouse and keyboard are usable of course but not optimal; ideally you have both. I personally wouldn't buy a Windows 8 notebook without a touch screen.

On a side note I think HP is being quite confusing by changing the name of their Pavilion line to ENVY. Consumers are in for a surprise if they think this "ENVY" is anything like the actual "ENVY" notebooks. Bait and switch rings a bell. I can only speculate whether they planned to buff the ENVY line up with high quality products and then rename their mainstream consumer line "ENVY" and hope the reputation rubs off. Not a fan.

I'm unsure whether or not you're being sarcastic.

 

Agreed, it's like Toyota taking their Camry and reintroducing the same model as a "Lexus Camry", or Ford rebranding their Focus as a "Lincoln Focus" with no changes. Something doesn't seem quite right about it. I'm no marketing genius, but I'd say they've screwed up the branding message and confused consumers.

 

But they can still make it up by sticking something that sounds powerful to their real ENVYs like RAPID ENVY.

 

I don't think HP is the only one doing it. Lenovo slaps ThinkPad on their Edge notebooks. The Edge have a tenuous connection to a historical ThinkPad at best, other than the PointStick of course. Isn't Dell expanding what qualifies as a XPS notebook too? A laptop enthusiast will understand the distinction while a novice will not. In the long run they'll dilute the value of the brand.

 

I feel as though HP are in a bit of a frenzy and was a little confused on the direction of their new products. At one points the now HP Spectre Ultrabook 14 was called the HP Envy 14 Spectre. And now they have separated the two, but discontinued the Envy we have known and replaced them with the more powerful Pavilions.

 

Hi, would you recommend this HP laptop for 3D rendering. I am using kitchen design software and want to render in HD.

Thanks in advance.