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I'm buying a MacBook Pro Tomorrow [DECISIONS]

A

adamjackson

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jul 9, 2008
2,344
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Just from reading this forum for like 5 days now, I've come to a few conclusions between the new 15 & 17" MacBook Pros.

I currently have a 2.93 15" w/ SSD which I don't really like cause the SSD royally sucks and I only get 2-3 hours of battery life. Here's what I know about the current MBPs.

1. 15"
Lower Pixel Density than 17" (113 PPI)
SD Card (no express card)
7 Hour Battery life
1.5Gb SATA Bus (downgraded?)

Education pricing (3.06 w/ 7200RPM drive) $2414. w/o tax


2. 17"
Higher Pixel Density (130 PPI)
Better screen (based on these threads)
Express Card 3/4 (which I have tons of accessories for)
3 USB Ports
8 Hour battery life
3.0Gb SATA
Matte Screen Option
HEAVIER, IMPOSSIBLE ON AIRPLANE OR TRAVEL (big deal)

Education Pricing (3.06 w/ 7200 RPM drive) $2614


So $200 more for a little less portability and not any true speed bumps but monitor quality, expresscard and the possibility of having better performance (SATA bus speed) when I move to SSD and only $200 more.

Are more people here going 17" Why not? I want to make sure there's nothing bad about the 17" that I'm missing. If there is, let me know.

Thanks in advance!
 
You clearly got the wrong SSD. Is it an Intel X25-M/E or an OCZ Vertex (or the like)? Also yeah if it's full brightness, etc, it'll only last 2-3 hours...on the old battery tech.
 
CoffeeWarrior said:
What will you be using it for ?
Click to expand...

Typing things :p Honestly, that question has never been in my mind. I'm a gadget freak and spend way too much money on every piece of Apple hardware so 17" would just be more fun to use due to the larger monitor.

dr. shdw said:
You clearly got the wrong SSD. Is it an Intel X25-M/E or an OCZ Vertex (or the like)? Also yeah if it's full brightness, etc, it'll only last 2-3 hours...on the old battery tech.
Click to expand...

Yeah. it's a known fact that Apple puts the worst SSDs in the MBP (for some effing reason). From this review http://anandtech.com/mac/showdoc.aspx?i=3580&p=6

"My other major complaint is Apple's refusal to offer Intel's X25-M as an option on its MacBook Pro line. The Samsung drive Apple uses is the same drive Corsair is selling right now. It's a decent drive, offers good compatibility and reliability, but in terms of worst case scenario performance I haven't found it nearly as good as the Intel drive."

I'm just going to buy the 500gb 7200 RPM for now and upgrade when x-25 gets a 256GB flavor (hopefully this summer). apple's CTO SSDs SUCK!. I get worst performance than a hard drive (seriously)
 
adamjackson said:
Typing things :p Honestly, that question has never been in my mind. I'm a gadget freak and spend way too much money on every piece of Apple hardware so 17" would just be more fun to use due to the larger monitor.
Click to expand...

Buy a 13 inch white macbook then. Its more than powerful enough for typing things.
 
CoffeeWarrior said:
Buy a 13 inch white macbook then. Its more than powerful enough for typing things.
Click to expand...

I'm not getting into this argument today. I buy expensive computers because I like the latest technology and being "cool" It's an elitism factor that I like to have over others. Ok?

I just want to make sure in my comparison there, that I didn't miss any positive / negative points of both laptops. if I did, I wanted some extra tidbits from people here to make sure I wasn't losing out by picking one or the other.

Thanks in advance.
 
CoffeeWarrior said:
Buy a 13 inch white macbook then. Its more than powerful enough for typing things.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I never get these responses. He wasn't asking about a 13"...for some reason with computers people seem to think that you should only buy what you need...I have an SUV, but I suppose a Ford Fiesta would work
 
Alright, if you want the elitism factor get the 17 inch model and Max it out on your checkout. However if you carry it around it will be heavy.
 
if the 17 inch is too big and heavy, get the 15 inch. I''m confident Apple will fix the SATA problem.
 
adamjackson said:
I'm not getting into this argument today. I buy expensive computers because I like the latest technology and being "cool" It's an elitism factor that I like to have over others. Ok?

I just want to make sure in my comparison there, that I didn't miss any positive / negative points of both laptops. if I did, I wanted some extra tidbits from people here to make sure I wasn't losing out by picking one or the other.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

5b7has.jpg


I think you would be "cool" if you had this. Or are you not "cool" enough to afford it?
 
spaceboots06 said:
5b7has.jpg


I think you would be "cool" if you had this. Or are you not "cool" enough to afford it?
Click to expand...

There's 'cool' and there's 'more money than brains'. This is the latter :p

I'd buy the 17 - it's still surprisingly portable (I've taken mine on flights several times) and the extra screen real estate is invaluable for use with Photoshop and the like...
 
I understand what you mean. I think you covered all the positives and negatives. In term of portability i don't think there is a big difference between the 15 and the 17". So if you are between the two i will definitely go for the 17". $200 is nothing. Its like a restaurant bill ;) from what you are saying, i am sure you will regret buying the 15". Just go for the 17" and make sure it si fully loaded (ram and processor wise), i have tried it it is so powerful.
 
so you already have a MBP, but want another one due to the "slow" performance of the SSD? why not just buy both the new 15" and 17". If money is no issue and you like to buy new stuff every few months, id go with both. You could take the 15" to travel on planes and such and use the 17" at home or whatever. Sell them when Apple bumps up the specs in september, when SL comes out
 
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