Which Laptop you Recommend among these 2 HP Envy?

Before a good recommendation can be given I need to know your primary and secondary uses for the proposed laptop. I don't really consider any computer "bad". They all have a given area in which they are useful, some more than others.

This is probably a stupid question, but I have to ask it to feel better. Question: "Is it a necessity for it to be a laptop?" The reason that I ask is that a desktop simply offers superior performance in basically every category. With that said, I will go ahead with my pick of the two laptops, along with an explanation as to why I picked it.

Seeing as the computers seem to be identical except for the SSD, I would choose the one with the SSD 1,000 out of 1,000 times. If you have never used a computer with even a "ho-hum" SSD, then you will be ELATED with the performance that it offers! Albeit that it's a small SSD (I'm guessing that only the OS is on it), you will love it. As a matter of fact, I would strongly recommend that you at least look over and consider a computer with an SSD as the primary hard drive, while purchasing a good external drive for storing very large and/or rarely used files. A good candidate for this external drive would be this 1TB, 63 dollar solution from WD. As you can see by the reviews, it is a very good product. And no one can argue with the price! This hard drive is in the relatively still new field of "Portable Personal Cloud", another good addition to computer technology.

http/www.amazon.com/Passport-Ultra-Portable-External-Backup/dp/B00EAS8KSW/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1396212960&sr=1-4&keywords=portable+cloud+storage

The SSD (in my humble opion), is the greatest thing to happen to computers since the invention of the internet. They deliver performance that a conventional HDD can only dream about.

If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask.

One more addition to support my recommendation:

Your main uses are in the fields that really make an SSD effective. While not necessarily great for gaming, SSD's are literally 10 times as fast or faster at loading the OS, programs, and large files. You in particular will benefit greatly from this due to your uses of the computer.

As a rule of thumb, I simply do not upgrade laptops. My reasoning is that you are EXTREMELY limited in what you can update anyway. Besides a new hard drive and better RAM, you're stuck with what you bought. This is ESPECIALLY true when it comes to GPUs. Laptops have the GPU soldered in and are a permanent fixture in the machine. It is best when buying a laptop to overkill and go for a bit more than you need, as this will give you better usable life from your machine. If you get only what you need now, in 2 years you could be stuck with a computer that doesn't get the job done anymore. With a desktop, you can simply upgrade. But unfortunately this just isn't an option with a laptop.

If you already have a portable 1TB external drive, then the only thing that I would settle for is a laptop with an SSD as the primary drive. I do not mind helping you to locate a suitable model that incorporates this. It seems that you are wanting an HP Envy, which is a good computer, so I will try to find an Envy model that is identical to the ones that you have picked out so far, only with an SSD as the primary hard drive. If your primary use of the laptop would be for gaming, then I wouldn't really worry so much. But your uses will enable you to get the absolute most out of the abilities and strengths of an SSD. Give me a few minutes and I'll be back with the results of my search.

I cannot find your model, so what is the price of the laptops you picked out? I will simply plug your desired components into a design while keep the price similar.

No worries about this computer being able to game. My primary purpose of encouraging the inclusion of a SSD is because of your main intended uses is because you will see a huge gain in performance. While this computer will certainly be able to game, the SSD will not affect gaming that much. But for your main uses, you will see a HUGE jump in performance.

And what was the price of the 2 laptops that you picked out? I want to make sure that I stay at least close. My design will be slightly higher because of the primary drive being an SSD, but it won't be outrageous. But I need the price so that I have a standard to go by.

Windows 8.1 requires 20GB in the 64 bit version, so that 24GB is pretty much only for the OS. As with any hard drive, the whole 24GB is more than likely non-usable.

I am unable to find an HP Envy model with the option of having an SSD installed. I wouldn't be so determined to find you a laptop with an SSD if I knew that it wouldn't really make the difference between having what you consider a good machine and having a great machine. If having an SSD included in your computer isn't an option, I would even go so far as to contact HP through live chat and request to order a computer WITHOUT a hard drive and just purchase one on your own. I really do feel that strongly about it. If you had even a 250/256GB SSD in your computer, it would be sufficient. That would leave you plenty of room for OS, frequently used programs and frequently used files. And you can get one of the very best SSD's on the market in the Samsung 840 Evo for around 140 US dollars. If you can get them to ship you a computer without a hard drive (and without the cost of a hard drive included), you can get out paying little more for a computer WITH an SSD. Buying the right computer, one that fits your specified, personal needs is a big deal. You are making a substantial investment and I would hate to see you get something that isn't perfectly tailored to your needs. ESPECIALLY since the price difference isn't really all that much.

Here is a link to the SSD that I would recommend for you. I am also going to find a comparison between this drive and a conventional HDD just to show you how much more performance and speed that you will gain. Give me just a few minutes on the comparison.

http/www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electronics-EVO-Series-2-5-Inch-MZ-7TE250BW/dp/B00E3W1726/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396217234&sr=8-1&keywords=250gb+samsung+840+evo

Well, he IS going to be using/loading/saving larger files from what I gather. I mentioned somewhere that an SSD isn't that big of a deal with someone who only games, but his application of the computer will certainly gain a great deal of performance with the use of an SSD. I've said this before and I'll say it again......people who have not fallen in love with the performance of an SSD are people who simply have not used them to any extent. Read/Write speeds are at LEAST 10 times as fast, they fun absolutely silent because they have no moving parts, and their lifetime is longer than that of an HDD now. Earlier models had a problem with lifespan, but they have GREATLY improved on this, now exceeding that of conventional hard drives. Some models even boast over 1 million hours of life.

SSD "naysayers" are almost always people whose main use of a computer is gaming (because that isn't where their true strength is), or people who are just unfamiliar with them and haven't used them to any length of time.

That's just it! He CAN afford to go with an SSD. He has the computer picked out that he desires, make and model We were just trying to figure out how to get an SSD in it instead of an HDD. We've been working on this for about an hour. I'm going to get back to trying to figure out a solution for him now. Thanks for your input!

I am very aware of this and have been from the very beginning. Read the posts. What I am TRYING to do is to get it shipped from the factory with a true SSD in it. Having it shipped without a hard drive at all is another thing that was discussed (if you read the posts). The 24GB partition is just big enough for the OS. 250GB SSD as the primary drive is the goal. And no offense, but again I find myself having to repeat. Please, no hard feelings, but repeating myself isn't getting anything done! I really do appreciate you offering help though.