HP Envy 17 Laptop-Test: GeForce GPU bespielt schickes 4K-Display im Multimedia-Notebook

[Redaktion]

Ein großes Display mit hoher 4K-Auflösung im schlichten Gehäuse, dazu Rechenpower aus Intels 12. Generation, 32 GB DDR4 RAM und eine dedizierte GeForce GPU – das Paket des HP Envy 17-cr0079ng klingt interessant. Ob der Multimedia-Laptop auch in der Praxis überzeugen kann, verrät unser Notebook-Test.

https://www.notebookcheck.com/HP-Envy-17-Laptop-Test-GeForce-GPU-bespielt-schickes-4K-Display-im-Multimedia-Notebook.691408.0.html

[NikoB]

Let's start with the screen, because we have to look at it for many hours and for years! What do we see?
1. Glossy terribly glare screen.
2. Despite the fact that the screen is glossy(!) the shameful contrast is below 1000:1! Although the minimum we expect from a glossy screen is 2000:1+ in 2023!
3. The response time is obviously measured incorrectly. BOE simply doesn't have 4k@60hz panels with that small time of response. At best сase it is 25-30ms.
4. Terrible backlight uniformity - only 86%, although we expect more than 92-93+%.
5. Low brightness, resulting in no HDR400 support (as minimum) in 2023...

Go ahead, go to the ports:
1. There is no RJ45 for 2.5-5Gbps in the obviously office/home (damn it's 17"+  with a lot of weight!) model. For a business series, this is generally nonsense! In offices, no one connects via Wi-Fi for security reasons!
2. If you look at using it at home, for example, on sofas and beds, there will be obvious problems for left-handed people due to the idiotic usb-c power connector sticking out perpendicular to the body. HP stop this stupid newfangled practice of "optimizing" power ports! Do like Acer in the Aspire/Travelmate series and your G8 855 earlier - 2 power sockets - one reliable round one with an angled power plug (from the very edge - left or right, it doesn't matter), or make a power plug and a usb-c socket for it strictly on back of  laptop.
3. Again, from the point of view of right-handers, the audioport socket is located correctly. But what about lefties? It's inconvenient for them. Though they are a minority on the planet. Why is it a pity for you to put 2 audio sockets on the left and right, especially since they often fail and the second one will be a backup, and connecting a quad system of 2 pairs of analog speakers will be much easier.

We go to the processor. For 2000 euros, the processor is completely weak in performance in 2023. At the same time, the cooling system is inadequately noisy. Although with Intel and their infamous 10nm+++++++..., it's obvious.

The question immediately arises - for such a price, it was quite possible to put R76 6800H/6900HX there. Why not AMD? After all, HP, according to old series, has priority access to bulk purchases on AMD, judging by past years.

Again stupid savings on matches in a laptop for 2000 euros! What idiot in development and design (fire him/her!) came up with the power button to put in the main block next to the backspace? And the keyboard is again truncated by the narrowed keys Esc, F1..F12. Why, if there is so much space on the case for a full-fledged one?

The cooling system must not exhaust to the screen panel, because. all new panels have a critical temperature of only 50C! Which can lead to premature failure of the panel.
----
As a result, we have an unfinished, really idiotic, in ergonomics and design, laptop, with a clearly bad screen, the purpose of buying which (as well as the target mass audience - otherwise why this series?) Is not clear to me.
===
HP, we, potential buyers, are waiting for a modified version from you:
1. with matte 4k@120Hz with full support for VRR from 30Hz (real response time no more than 8-9ms on G2G/B2W) and native contrast ratio of 1500:1+, brightness of 500+ nits with HDR400 support and viewing angles of 178/178 (for example, Lenovo supplies such screens to Legion Slim 2021)
2. A normal full-fledged keyboard (key travel of 2mm, of course, leave) with full-sized keys in height and width and a separate power button.
3. USB-c power port on the back or good old angled power plug, for the comfort of both right-handers and left-handers. It is desirable to have RGB backlighting for each key separately. in many programs this is a real advantage.
4. RJ45 port for 2.5-5Gbps is MANDATORY and there is enough space for it on case, if you do a normal redesign of the model similarly to the Thinkbook 16p from Lenovo (unfortunately, the latter simply not made the 17.3" models and no 18" for home and office).
5. We don't need weak and hot Intel - give us Zen3+/Zen4 Phoenix chips. And of course, instead of TB4 ports, there are 2 USB40 ports with similar functionality, including eGPU support and 40Gbps video traffic tunneling. We wait for DP2.0+ with full 80Gbps  + TB5 120Gbps or USB40 2.0 (80Gbps).
6. The cooling system must not exhaust to the screen panel (50C+ temperature for newest panel is critical limit!). A complete redesign is needed, and of course without hot SoCs from Intel.

p.s.,
I want to make a remark about the 2 year warranty in Germany. Which is constantly written as a kind of advantage (compared to 1 year in the USA, for example) - in reality, according to German consumer law, the warranty period during which not the consumer, but the seller (manufacturer) proves the counterparty's guilt is only 6 months. After this period, the consumer must prove both the presence of shortcomings and the absence of his guilt in their appearance, and this changes everything. In Germany, there is no full-fledged 2-year warranty for a new product, as in some other countries, and in reality, the warranty period is 2 times less than the full warranty in the USA.

[RobertJasiek]

3. The response time is obviously measured incorrectly. BOE simply doesn't have 4k@60hz panels with that small time of response. At best сase it is 25-30ms.

On what information do you rely your statement?

In Germany, there is no full-fledged 2-year warranty for a new product

Germany has
- Gewährleistung (mandatory warranty) according to German law (BGB = Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch = German civil code law) 6 months proof by seller, then 18 months proof by buyer
- similar according to EU law
- Garantie (optional warranty) by manufacturer and / or seller for any specified / granted or agreed / possibly negotiated and agreed / paid period and conditions

Große Tastatur gibt keinen Grund für Kritik

Doch: kleine Pfeiltasten.

ein guter Allrounder

See NikoB and the notebook's other obvious flaws.

[NikoB]

On what information do you rely your statement?

If you can find one 4k@60Hz panel with less than 10ms response time on panelook, I'll admit I was wrong.

Germany has

I have previously clearly and written - a full guarantee of 2 years in Germany does not exist by default. I have previously written about this in detail. For example, in France a socialist country ;) - real 2 years, when the seller (manufacturer), and not the buyer, proves the buyer's fault in the appearance of shortcomings, and not vice versa.

In Germany, the real full warranty (as described above) is 6 months for all new gadgets, unless the manufacturer itself has assumed such obligations under German law. In the USA, for example, 1 year of a full warranty and in some cases it is written about a "limited" warranty. But there are also some nuances ...

[NikoB]

To make it clearer to inexperienced laymen the essence of my complaints about this model written above, I specially cite a fresh review from the same site on Thinkpad P14s, priced at 1500 euros - notebookcheck.com/Test-Lenovo-ThinkPad-P14s-G3-AMD-Laptop-Workstation-Leichtgewicht-ohne-dGPU.700028.0.html

By screen:
1. contrast - in P14s 1948:1, and this is a matte screen, and not a monstrously glare glossy screen in HP, which should give contrast MORE than matte. HP has a measly 987:1, i.e. 2(!) times worse.
2. Brightness - in P14s ~ 430 nit, in HP 385 nit and this is again on a glossy panel!

CPU performance:
For P14s with AMD 6850U (in a much smaller package and weight of radiators!) - In CBR15 - 1750+ points, for HP with i7 1255U shameful ~1350 points, i.e. almost 23% worse!

Noise of the cooling system:
Y in P14s 23/23/23/30.8(medium load). HP 26.5/28.9/28.9/29.7/39.5. Those. even outside the gaming load with 2050 HP is much noisier, despite the fact that it loses significantly in terms of processor performance and has a huge and heavy case compared to P14s!

Need more comments to understand how bad HP's 2000 euro model is? And even 1500 it is clearly not worth it?

The only plus of the HP model is the 4k panel, which gives the best picture in static (retail price for this panels in stock ~130-140$). But it is clearly not worth the money, given all the shortcomings described...

[reader_1234567890]

[...]
p.s.,
I want to make a remark about the 2 year warranty in Germany. Which is constantly written as a kind of advantage (compared to 1 year in the USA, for example) - in reality, according to German consumer law, the warranty period during which not the consumer, but the seller (manufacturer) proves the counterparty's guilt is only 6 months. After this period, the consumer must prove both the presence of shortcomings and the absence of his guilt in their appearance, and this changes everything. In Germany, there is no full-fledged 2-year warranty for a new product, as in some other countries, and in reality, the warranty period is 2 times less than the full warranty in the USA.

That is not true. There are many (!) resasons to criticise european consumer protection law (likely a reason, that prices are so much higher then in US). But your point is not one of them.
First of all, the 6 month period is outdated, since the last reform it applies to animals (§ 477 I S.2 BGB) & 1 year for any other product. After 1 year, consumer has to prove that the product had a fault at the time of purchase (unless it is a 'product with digital elements' "Ware mit digitalen Elementen", then the time limit is extended further, although only in regards to software issues). Therefore, after one year, your situation as a european consumer is just like in the USA during the 1 year warrenty period.
Seller's guilt  must only be proven if consumer seeks damages, not for repairs/ termination of contract.

[NikoB]

You yourself have confirmed that the guarantee in Germany is not complete. Because the full implies, as the right to repair (elimination of all defects, according to the definition of a defect in the law), the right to a replacement and the right to a refund of the full amount paid for the goods. The Germans are deprived of the last option of restoring the right within 1 year, if they themselves do not prove this right, which greatly reduces the ability of an individual (in most cases, obviously the weaker side of the dispute), compared to a legal entity in litigation. It is the difference in opportunities that requires the presumption of guilt of the manufacturer / seller in relation to the retail consumer-individual in order to equalize opportunities in a litigation.

You can refer to a section of German law that guarantees German citizens at least for a year the opportunity to choose any of the 4 options for restoring their violated right to own a quality product. And the quality of the goods, as it should be clear to everyone from the outset, is always determined by the buyer, with his legally significant declaration, to the seller or manufacturer, at the time of purchase and nothing else, because the buyer pays money to the buyer and decides alone which goods are of high quality and which are not, not taking into account, of course, some minimum quality standards introduced at the federal level.
Namely:
1. The right to self-repair the goods and the right to demand commensurate compensation for losses due to this from counterparties under the contract for the sale of goods.
2. The right to repair the goods at the expense of the counterparty.
3. The right to replace the goods at the expense of the counterparty
4. Right to a full refund. Especially in the case of significant shortcomings, i.e. those that reappear after an attempt to eliminate them or that cannot be corrected without significant (inadequate) costs relative to the total retail price of the goods.

[reader_1234567890]

You yourself have confirmed that the guarantee in Germany is not complete. Because the full implies, as the right to repair (elimination of all defects, according to the definition of a defect in the law), the right to a replacement and the right to a refund of the full amount paid for the goods. The Germans are deprived of the last option of restoring the right within 1 year, if they themselves do not prove this right, which greatly reduces the ability of an individual (in most cases, obviously the weaker side of the dispute), compared to a legal entity in litigation. It is the difference in opportunities that requires the presumption of guilt of the manufacturer / seller in relation to the retail consumer-individual in order to equalize opportunities in a litigation.

You can refer to a section of German law that guarantees German citizens at least for a year the opportunity to choose any of the 4 options for restoring their violated right to own a quality product. And the quality of the goods, as it should be clear to everyone from the outset, is always determined by the buyer, with his legally significant declaration, to the seller or manufacturer, at the time of purchase and nothing else, because the buyer pays money to the buyer and decides alone which goods are of high quality and which are not, not taking into account, of course, some minimum quality standards introduced at the federal level.
Namely:
1. The right to self-repair the goods and the right to demand commensurate compensation for losses due to this from counterparties under the contract for the sale of goods.
2. The right to repair the goods at the expense of the counterparty.
3. The right to replace the goods at the expense of the counterparty
4. Right to a full refund. Especially in the case of significant shortcomings, i.e. those that reappear after an attempt to eliminate them or that cannot be corrected without significant (inadequate) costs relative to the total retail price of the goods.

An interesting legal theory, perhaps de lege ferenda, but not de lege lata. I am suprised at your interest in german civil law :) Lord knows there are perhaps more interesting subjects...^^
 To what constitutes a defect I'd refer you to § 434 III BGB. In most cases (buy something on the internet, or in a store, especially a Laptop) you will not negotiate the quality of the product. You will chose a product with certain specifications and buy it. The specifications (like advertised, if not given by seller) will becone part of the promised product. Any (not complety insignficant) diversion from them constitutes a material defect.
If it can't be used for what a buyer would expect, that also constitutes a defect (There is of course more...).
If manufacturer says: battery of laptop holds for 20h, that battery life becomes part of the contract (which is why NO manufacturer says that. They say "up to 20h", or "20h under certain conditions", though that will lead to the expectation that battery life [e.g. doc editing, no wifi, min.brightnes] is longer then 50 minutes)
However, the buyer entering a store, buying a product and assuming certain qualities, their absence does not constitute a defect, unless of cause, buyer was led to that belief by statements (either by seller or even by manufacturer).
Now, if product has a defect, buyer has to give seller a secound chance (§ 439 BGB). He can't simply demand a full refund. Seller must be given a chance to either repair or replace the product. However, it should not come at a significant inconvinience for the buyer.
If seller fails to do that, buyer can demand a full refund.
However, by european law, buyer can also demand a full refund for certain products within 2 weeks if bought on the internet, without the need of a defect. Why is that? pacta sunt servanda.

If buyer dosen't give seller that oppurtinity, and repairs product himself, he can't demand the expanses from seller. (A lot of people think that he should be able to do that, but thats what the courts say... roma locuta causa finitia est).

A right to repair does not exist (to the best of my limited knowledge). There were some heated discussions, but in the end, only a very watered down version made it into law.
I agree with you, that this is (generally speaking) unfortunate. Though, perhaps, depending on the product, some exceptions would be neccessary (although such exceptions would be a dangerous loophole)

To be clear: the assumption of product's defect upon time of purchase extends for 1 Year. After that, your situation regarding burden of proof is similar to US.
The quality of product is not determined soly by the buyer, but by both parties. If only one agrees, you dont have a contract.

Oh, and btw: I totaly aggree with your criticism of the laptop.

[NikoB]

The quality of an item is determined solely by the purchaser and no one else (with the exception of federal or local minimum quality laws). The buyer pays the money, so the king in this decision.

The parties to the contract are formally equal, but in practice you understand perfectly well that this is not the case - the version of the contract on the part of the seller (or manufacturer or, for example, a bank / broker, etc.) is a public offer, where the buyer of an individual is a priori a weak side and nothing especially cannot change in such an agreement with a legal entity.

In some countries, the seller (as known, by law, a qualified party), the manufacturer, are required by law to answer all the questions of the consumer, clarifying the technical characteristics of the product (in this case it is impossible to refer to a trade secret) and, accordingly, refusing to transfer such exact data, at the time of the conclusion of the contract (of course, all this is in a legally fixed form), then after the conclusion of the transaction with a lack of information (and in the absence of a choice of product models) will be considered in court as the advantage of the buyer, automatically.

Manufacturers intentionally and slyly do not convey to the buyer a lot of precise characteristics, but the refusal to provide exact characteristics upon request immediately puts an end to their good faith from the point of view of society and the judicial system.

Well, anyway, I constantly suggest that buyers legally fix all the characteristics published by the manufacturer (at least marketing assurances - after all, in this case, the seller cannot insist that the buyer is crazy, right?) And additionally make official requests to the manufacturer for an item of interest its additional precise data about the product. Failure to share this accurate data with the consumer, manufacturer (or seller) in the event of a litigation greatly increases the consumer's chances of litigation.

Now they are trying to introduce the right to repair in the USA, but so far it has been unsuccessful (the corruption of top politicians in the same state of New York is already obvious to everyone where an unsuccessful attempt was made). With the fall in the purchasing power of the majority of the population (and in the US it has been falling since 1970 in reality, it's just that now everything is accelerating significantly) the pressure on politicians will only increase from the society. I hope so. If the people themselves do not want to organize and force through laws that prevent the unscrupulous practices of manufacturers, especially TNCs, oligopolistic collusion (many of which have been proven even in the European market, although the sanctions were ridiculous and did nothing for affected consumers) and monopolies in the market, then who will help this passive population in each individual country? Maybe only the inhabitants of Alpha Centauri...

[NikoB]

Some Clarifications:
Public offer or, more precisely, an accession agreement.
The buyer decides a quality product or not  - at the time of purchase, after purchase everything is much more difficult...

[Capone2412]

Diese Glossy-Seuche bei hochauflösenden Displays...

Warum können die nicht einfach zumindest eine Option für ein mattes Coating bei der UHD-Variante bringen? Dass das Bild dadurch vielleicht etwas verschwommener wirkt, darauf pfeif' ich.

Andere Hersteller bekommen es schließlich auch hin. Leider viel zu wenige.

[NikoB]

Some people like glossy because of their higher contrast, brightness and juiciness of the picture (especially in total darkness). But the shamefulness of the situation for HP is precisely in the fact that it was clearly shown above that in Lenovo in P14s with a semi-matte screen (matte does not exist now), the contrast is 2 times higher, the brightness is sufficient to fulfill the minimum requirements of at least the HDR400 crutch.

Those. in fact, here the gloss is not just a meaningless option, but obviously harmful to the eyes and useless in comparison with the best semi-matte screens.

It would be better if HP did not dishonor with such a screen.

Of course, if you believe the measurements of both models on this site ...

I personally will never buy a laptop with a glossy screen. But for example, all AMOLEDs (not only do they flicker with a real contrast of more than 100,000: 1 and have a 2 times worse burn-in resource and often even lower color resolution than on IPS) are glossy on laptops, i.e. there is no choice at all. Although some claim that semi-matte AMOLED monitors already exist. I have not seen such.

The screen itself is the main thing in a laptop. And behind it is a high-quality full-fledged keyboard. If you fully work on the laptop screen and keyboard.

There are a lot of models on the market with 15.6-16 "with 2.5k/4k screens, but you can find a universal laptop for home / office with 17.3-18" 4k@120Hz+ (actually, the response is no more than 8 ms) with a semi-matte IPS matrix and a contrast of at least 1500:1 and 450nits+ (HDR400) with VRR support from 30Hz is next to impossible! But these are the most popular models for the home as a replacement for desktops and easy dragging around rooms and sofas / beds. This will not work with the desktop, so they are not interesting to anyone outside of games (and some professional activities).

It is not clear to me why the fools of layout experts do not understand this point-blank. After all, it is obvious that they will be in mass demand in such configurations with 2 memory slots and 2 M.2. A good screen with high ppi, a full keyboard with good tactile feedback, a separate power button, a well-placed full set of ports (convenient for both right-handers and left-handers) and of course silence in office workload and surfing - this is the secret of success for sales of multi-million (piece) parties in 2023+.