so where did you get the $999 price? here in NL HP officially announced the envy14 for July with the base model costing EUR1550 ($1950) and the high end EUR 1750. at that price i would get a MBP. i love the specs of the envy though and sub 1000 it would be a no brainier.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
MBP 13" Base or Hp Envy 14.5"?
- Thread starter OriginalNot
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I don't even know why these "should I get a PC" threads pop up on mac centric forums. What happened to the good old days of diehard mac enthusiasts? I wish we could go back about 8 years.
it looks like apple is lagging behind the competition in some market segments.
there is absolutely nothing wrong with this, a company allocates its finite resources in whatever brings good profits. apple is definitely succeeding in this, it makes many customers happy with most of its products.
a minority of the potential buyers want to put their money on the latest technology. there is absolutely nothing wrong with this either, especially considering that is a personal choice.
i think that people asking here "should i buy brand X" are actually acknowledging the quality of apple design by using it as a reference for comparison.
to the OP, if you're not in a hurry wait for some reviews of the new envy, just to be sure there are no bad surprises.
I though about getting the Envy 14 instead of an 15" MBP because it saves money and is faster. Especially the 5650 with 1GB VRAM and Eyefinity sounds nice. Also the 5650 has a lot of overclocking headroom. BUT
You have to wait still a little longer for the Envy. You need to read a review first. HP notebooks sound good on spec sheets but in reviews they don't look too good sometimes. I found an slightly used looking Envy 15 in an Electronic store and well if the Envy 14 is not significantly better that does not compare to an unibody MBP. The display lid is thicker and looks not as good but who cares. The base is also very solid but the keyboard was well terrible. It wasn't perfectly new but even so a keyboard is supposed to last and after 3 years of use it should still be okay. Every key was wiggly. The keyboard gave you a feeling of some really cheap crap book. Definitely wrong in a notebook that used to sell for about as much as the 15" MBP a while back.
I have seen decent solid really good HP office books were aside from a not very amazing screen and no dGPU there was absolutely nothing wrong but this keyboard even if some customers typed away on it for a few months or weeks was just wrong.
You have to wait still a little longer for the Envy. You need to read a review first. HP notebooks sound good on spec sheets but in reviews they don't look too good sometimes. I found an slightly used looking Envy 15 in an Electronic store and well if the Envy 14 is not significantly better that does not compare to an unibody MBP. The display lid is thicker and looks not as good but who cares. The base is also very solid but the keyboard was well terrible. It wasn't perfectly new but even so a keyboard is supposed to last and after 3 years of use it should still be okay. Every key was wiggly. The keyboard gave you a feeling of some really cheap crap book. Definitely wrong in a notebook that used to sell for about as much as the 15" MBP a while back.
I have seen decent solid really good HP office books were aside from a not very amazing screen and no dGPU there was absolutely nothing wrong but this keyboard even if some customers typed away on it for a few months or weeks was just wrong.
I faced the same buying decision last week. Both machines are very competitive with one another. The Envy gets the nod on the fact that you can swap out up to 2 batteries. No such swapping with the MBP (I dont like the built-in battery as I feel as though I have no control if the thing dies on me). Also, the Envy runs Win 7 which I believe is a good OS. On the other hand, the MBP runs OS X which is also good but the Envy cant (legally) run OS X. Furthermore, I have the option of loading Win 7 should I care to do so.
In the end, I ended up getting a MBP for two reasons:
1. I was replacing a defective HP notebook that died due to a known design flaw - overheated video chip on the motherboard caused by poor heat-sink support. I wasnt anti-HP over that per se because I have had (and still do have) other HP products that have worked out well for me. Still, when I fiddled with the Envy at the store, it did run hot compared to the MBP which did not run hot. No pun intended but once burned, twice shy...
2. I was able to take advantage of Apples back-to-school iPod touch offer along with educational discounts. The cost differential was pretty much a wash in my opinion.
In the end, I ended up getting a MBP for two reasons:
1. I was replacing a defective HP notebook that died due to a known design flaw - overheated video chip on the motherboard caused by poor heat-sink support. I wasnt anti-HP over that per se because I have had (and still do have) other HP products that have worked out well for me. Still, when I fiddled with the Envy at the store, it did run hot compared to the MBP which did not run hot. No pun intended but once burned, twice shy...
2. I was able to take advantage of Apples back-to-school iPod touch offer along with educational discounts. The cost differential was pretty much a wash in my opinion.
Before I purchased my MBP, I too was debating on getting an Envy. (Not the 14 at the time.)
I ended up dropping that option completely since almost all the HP machines I have had end up having problems, with the exception of my Pavillion Elite. (In my sig)
Plus, you have to use an external optical drive.
You may not care about the drive, but think of the build quality when you decide. My experience with Apple computers has been MUCH better than my experience with HP. My next PC purchase will probably be a thinkpad.
I ended up dropping that option completely since almost all the HP machines I have had end up having problems, with the exception of my Pavillion Elite. (In my sig)
Plus, you have to use an external optical drive.
You may not care about the drive, but think of the build quality when you decide. My experience with Apple computers has been MUCH better than my experience with HP. My next PC purchase will probably be a thinkpad.
For the average user, one who does not do the hardcore video+photo/encoding stuff and playing the latest games - this baby is fine.
I am an average user. I use word for essays, excel for spreadsheets, safari for youtube/facebook/forums/research, iTunes for music, Vuze for torrents, some minor photo editing and that's it.
I honestly don't see how the cpu is going to come close to being inadequate for users like myself....This is coming from no gaming perspective however.
The only thing I'll do to this computer will be to throw an SSD in it at the end of the year. Even though I don't need it
I'll sit on it until my applecare runs out, and then update - but seriously, there is no 'future proofing' think of the computers back in '07
For you, I'd probably say the Envy for your uses, especially the gaming aspect.
But, MBP's touchpad is a dream, so is OSX
I am an average user. I use word for essays, excel for spreadsheets, safari for youtube/facebook/forums/research, iTunes for music, Vuze for torrents, some minor photo editing and that's it.
I honestly don't see how the cpu is going to come close to being inadequate for users like myself....This is coming from no gaming perspective however.
The only thing I'll do to this computer will be to throw an SSD in it at the end of the year. Even though I don't need it
I'll sit on it until my applecare runs out, and then update - but seriously, there is no 'future proofing' think of the computers back in '07
For you, I'd probably say the Envy for your uses, especially the gaming aspect.
But, MBP's touchpad is a dream, so is OSX
How important is build quality to you? I was at Best Buy earlier today and saw the Envy. Compared to the MBP, it looks and feels like a cheap POS (as you'd expect from an HP product). In fact, if I didn't know that the case was made of aluminum, I would have assumed it was some low-grade painted plastic.
The MBP also has a much better trackpad.
I played with both Envy models at Frys the other day. While clearly they are better stocked than any of the MBP models, they are HP made. Cheap looking, creaky and with the absolute WORST first year failure rate in the industry.
If you want great specs in a disposable package, get the Envy. If you can live with lesser specs and want a good investment, Apple gets my vote and dollars. Keep in mind as well, it takes less horsepower for a great OSX experience than it does for a great Windows experience.
If you want great specs in a disposable package, get the Envy. If you can live with lesser specs and want a good investment, Apple gets my vote and dollars. Keep in mind as well, it takes less horsepower for a great OSX experience than it does for a great Windows experience.
This comes directly from the HP demo of the product. The video is widely available on youtube. Here's a link to it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPNFQX1JYOU
gives some details on specs and price point.
Before I purchased my MBP, I too was debating on getting an Envy. (Not the 14 at the time.)
I ended up dropping that option completely since almost all the HP machines I have had end up having problems, with the exception of my Pavillion Elite. (In my sig)
Plus, you have to use an external optical drive.
You may not care about the drive, but think of the build quality when you decide. My experience with Apple computers has been MUCH better than my experience with HP. My next PC purchase will probably be a thinkpad.
Actually with the envy 14" there is a built in slot loading optical drive just like MBP. Currently unreleased, but due out on June 27 i believe.
Actually the next gen ENVYs are very different from the 1st Gen ENVYs.
They supposedly improved the trackpad a lot. It'll be interesting to see how it does on the review circuit.
They supposedly improved the trackpad a lot. It'll be interesting to see how it does on the review circuit.
I hope you like talking to India when (not if) your HP has problems. That's a HUGE reason to NOT buy one.
I'm not too worried about break downs on the envy. I take good care of my stuff and know how to fix it if need be. With apple though anything I do to it could easily void any warranty that I do have.
As long as you're well-read and computer literate, I wouldn't worry too much over tech support systems. If the only reason that you'd ever call would be to get a box/schedule repair, there's little to be concerned about. Both have quick and reliable turnaround times for in-warranty repair service.
Look OP, you've said everything to convince everyone here you would rather have the Envy. In fact what I haven't seen is much love coming from you in terms of the Macbook Pro so go ahead and get your HP Envy. What do you want people here to do? You've given us every great point about the HP Envy and that you don't care about it's shortcomings so again, pull out your credit card. I don't think anyone here would be upset about that but each time someone gives you an opinion as to why the HP wouldn't really be a good buy you rebuttal it with good points about it. Sounds like you've made up your mind.
Look OP, you've said everything to convince everyone here you would rather have the Envy. In fact what I haven't seen is much love coming from you in terms of the Macbook Pro so go ahead and get your HP Envy. What do you want people here to do? You've given us every great point about the HP Envy and that you don't care about it's shortcomings so again, pull out your credit card. I don't think anyone here would be upset about that but each time someone gives you an opinion as to why the HP wouldn't really be a good buy you rebuttal it with good points about it. Sounds like you've made up your mind.
I love the macbook pro too.. it just seems like this isn't the place for that kind of conversation. It would be along the lines of Me:"MBP is sexy" Forum Goer:"I totally agree". There's no point in having a conversation where you both agree. I do love the MBP it's design wise glorious, OSX is a great thing. The one hardware one system is another great thing.
I know some of the arguments for getting an envy, but I'm trying to incite some discussion on as to why I should get a MBP.
Why on earth would I come to MacRumours to convince myself to get an Envy? I come here for you to convince me that MBP is a better deal will be better suited to my needs and such.