Opinions on the HP Envy 14 Beats Edition ($900)

[etgohomeok]

Hey so the HP Envy 14 Beats Edition laptop is now $900 on Newegg (http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834157660) and I was wondering what people's opinions are on this. The specs are:

Intel Core i5-480M (2.66GHz)
6GB DDR3 Memory
750GB Hard Drive
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650 + Intel HD Switchable Graphics
8-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery

For me these seem pretty good for a laptop with a $900 price tag and Apple-like sex appeal (it has a sleek black and red design and is plastered with the Beats by Dr. Dre logo). I'm seriously considering purchasing this laptop now, as they seem to be going fast (Wal Mart and Sears just ran out of stock, Newegg seems to be the only place left).

Would you recommend that I go for it, or go for something else in the same price range? If the latter, what would you suggest?

 

[WR2]

HP Envy 14 Beats Edition Review
HP Envy 14 Beats Edition review
Review HP Envy 14 Beats Edition Notebook

 

[etgohomeok]

Those reviews are all from 2010. I was wondering more how viable of an option this laptop is in the context of right now (May 2011).

 

[WR2]

The laptop IS from 2010.
Core i5-480M / Radeon HD 5650 are 2010 specs.
For 2011 you'd expect a Sandy Bridgge i5-2410M and Radeon HD 6550M.

 

[etgohomeok]

Would I be able to get a 2011 model with that processor and graphics card for my price range? I heard something about the new Envy coming out in a couple of weeks with those but the article quoted the expected price as $1700.

I'm not looking for top of the line, I'm just wondering how this stands up as a year-old model. My current laptop has a Pentium M 1.6GHz single core processor, 512MB of RAM, 80GB hard drive... The Envy 14 is a huge upgrade for me no matter what.

 

[WR2]

It's still a Core i5-480M / Radeon HD 5650 and it's still pretty respectable.
You're right about it being a huge upgrade over your current laptop.

You haven't mentioned what your price range is...

The HP Envy 14" refresh should be out "soon".
"The updated ENVY 14 starts at $999 and is expected to be available June 15th"
The 17" Envy got it's Sandy Bridge refresh back in last month.

 

[etgohomeok]

Would you say that it's worth $900?

 

[WR2]

Personally, I'd wait for the 2011 Sandy Bridge model to go on sale @ about $950 and grab that.
Or go for a Toshiba Portege R835-P55 13.3-in "Sandy Bridge" Core i5 2.3GHz Ultra-light Laptop $800
Toshiba Portege R835 review
another Toshiba Portege R835 review