"The addition of Blu-ray Disc drive and Beat Audio just completes the package, making the HP Envy 17 3D an all-round entertainment system."
Rosie Khdir
HP has entered into the 3D market with the new and improved HP Envy 17 3D laptop.
3D technology is relatively new to the consumer laptop market but 2011 looks set to be the year of triple dimensions and HP has embraced the fact whole-hearted. We take a look and see if it’s worth the hype.
What we like best
The HP Envy 17 3D used the latest ATI graphics that work with the active shutter glasses to produce a 3D image. All the 3D technology is built into the machine so no dongles or external gadgetry is necessary!
The 17.3 inch Full HD widescreen display makes the movie viewing experience a pleasure, even with the unflattering 3D glasses on your face – they are quite comfortable!
The HP Envy 17 3D can come with high processing power in the form of the Intel Core i7 chip, as well as 4 Gb of RAM and a 500 Gb hard drive. Connectivity is good, as it sports a VGA, HDMI, 1 USB 3.0 and 3 USB 2.0 ports as well as Bluetooth and an HD webcam.
The addition of Blu-ray Disc drive and Beat Audio just completes the package, making the HP Envy 17 3D an all-round entertainment system.
The cherry on top is the design. Clearly taking inspiration from the Apple MacBook Pro, the chassis is brushed aluminium with rounded black chiclet keys.
What we like least
Although ATI produces crisp visuals that we cannot complain about, it is not as widely supported as NVIDIA, with only around a dozen games that are currently compatible.
This model is quite weighty, which is only a down side if you plan on going travelling with a 3D laptop, otherwise it is more of a replacement desktop entertainment machine.
Battery life also drains quite fast, but with such a high spec machine this will be expected. It lasted just over 2 hours without being plugged in, so only just enough time to watch a film.
Overall we were rather impressed with the HP Envy 17 3D experience. It is a powerful entertainment laptop, that gives you the very latest in video technology – complete with glasses! It is quite pricey but for the quality of spec, it’s worth it. Not a portable machine but still an impressive piece of kit.
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Processor Speed
1.6 GHz
Processor
Up to Intel Core i7 720QM Processor
RAM
Up to 8 Gb DDR3 RAM
Screen Size
17.3 inch LCD/TFT
HD 3D Ultra BrightView
1920 x 1080 resolution
Graphics
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5850 Graphics
Up to 3835 Mb total graphics memory with 1 Gb DDR5 dedicated
Hard Drive Storage
Up to 500 Gb 7200 RPM hard drive
Battery
6-cell Li-On
Multimedia
3D Glasses
Beats sound system with integrated subwoofer
Integrated HD Webcam
5-in-1 card reader
Multi-gesture trackpad
Blu-ray player
Ports
1 x VGA port
1 x HDMI port
1 x stereo headphone-out
1 x headphone-out/microphone-in combo jack
1 x USB 3.0 port
3 x USB 2.0 ports (3rd shared with eSATA port)
1 x eSATA + USB port
1 x RJ45 ethernet port
1 x Mini display port
Weight & Size
416mm (W) x 275mm (D) x 3.17-3.87 mm (H)
3.87Kg
Connectivity
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth wireless networking
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
The HP Envy 17 has been revamped and put back onto the market with 3D capabilities and oh boy are we all excited to see it here at PC Site.
HP Envy 17 3D
The HP Envy 17 3D is the first HP entry into the 3D laptop arena and it is packed full of great entertainment features.
Firstly the HP Envy 17 3D uses ATI graphics to power the built-in 3D technology with the help of the 3D glasses that come with it.
The HP Envy 17 3D has a Full HD widescreen display that can now handle 3D content, whether it is movies or games. They run smoothly too, thanks to the HP Envy 17 3D’s Intel Core i7 processor and 4 Gb of RAM (upgradable to 8 Gb).
The 17.3 inch HP Envy 17 3D also comes with a Blu-ray player and HP’s famous Beats audio system which really makes the entertainment experience complete!
To find out more about this 3D laptop read the PC Site HP Envy 17 3D review.
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