17 inch MBP

T

TYR

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Any good reason NOT to go for the 17 inch?
Would not be carrying it around too much (was actually considering an iMac, but the MBP just seems more practical). The 15 inch seems to be more popular, but I would really like a higher res screen and it sounds like the "special order" 1680x1050 could take up to 6 weeks. 1920x1200 is still better anyway.
 
Nope, it has none of the disadvantages of a regular 17". It's super thin, very portable and light, and the battery life is excellent. Quite expensive of course but it's a fantastic tool.

PS. If you're spending that much on your laptop do yourself a favour and check out the Intel X-25M SSD's.
 
An reason not to? You might spill coffee on it and wreck the whole thing. Other than that you will love every minute of it. Once you go Mac you never go back.
 
Can I connect more than 1 Apple Cinema LED display to a Macbook Pro? I think that it only has 1 mini-displayport...
 
Yeah it only has one output. To get more displays you have to resort to other hacks like Matrox or USB display.
 
17" is kinda small for a desktop display. If it was me I would go for a 13" or 14" with a 24"+ external display + keyboard&mouse. This way you can have the best of both worlds.
 
Don't want to burst your bubble, but I bought the 15 " core i7 recently while in the USA, and paid the $ 200.00 extra (or whatever it was) to get the special order, high resolution screen. Right now, I am typing this on the core i7 with High Res screen, and I have my slightly older 15 " MBP with the regular screen. Both are the non-reflective type. I have been comparing the two side by side, and I don't see a whole lot of difference between high res and standard res. I have tried zooming in on the same picture on both MBP's, and they look very close........so does text etc - unless there is another application where the high resolution is more noticeable ? like graphic art or large tech drawings ?

Oh, I must add, you are doing the right thing by getting a mac. If you were not going to take it out the house/office, I would prefer a big 27" iMac. But if you are thinking of taking it with, when you leave the house, then the MBP is an excellent choice. I have just been buying the 15 " MBP's, 'cos they seem to be the right size to be portable, and yet are large enough to do serious work on. I would find the 17" a bit bulky to take on a plane, cart around hotels etc. But that is a personal choice.
 
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I'm going for the top spec 15" with the high res screen.

Should I rather go for the 17"?
 
Ok, in terms of performance, is there a lot of difference between an i5 MBP and an i7 MBP, if they have the same amount of RAM and HDD? The 17" MBP comes standard with the Intel i5 processor. Is there any reason to:

a) upgrade the processor to an i7 if I'm not doing any gaming?
b) add more RAM, increasing it from the standard 4GB to 8GB?
 
No, there is a slight increase. But you'll see a much bigger difference in speed if you swap out your hard drive for an Intel SSD.

Depends what you want to do with it. Generally 4gb is fine, and 8gb is only better for a few purposes
 
SO should I go with the 17" rather?

The 15" has a better processor but if that doesn't make much difference...
 
Synaesthesia said:
No, there is a slight increase. But you'll see a much bigger difference in speed if you swap out your hard drive for an Intel SSD.

Depends what you want to do with it. Generally 4gb is fine, and 8gb is only better for a few purposes
Click to expand...

Thanks. :-) I'd like to run Windows on a MBP, and not via a VM. I'd probably use Bootcamp to install Win 7.
 
Pooky said:
SO should I go with the 17" rather?

The 15" has a better processor but if that doesn't make much difference...
Click to expand...

How many times a day do you change your underwear? :D

Get what suites you needs best. Seems like you are picking up lots of stompies followed by chopping and changing.

WHAT DO YOU WANT?
 
My wife has a 15" and I have a 17". I use both of them regularly usually without any preference.
If its just for general computing you wouldn't regret the 15". It's easier to carry around and the screen real estate is perfectly adequate.
Otherwise the 17" does feel somewhat more luxurious and is nicer to view movies on.
 
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