Apple Unveils 17" MacBook Pro

Status
Not open for further replies.

Darkness Flame

Distinguished
Feb 24, 2008
58
0
18,630
I have to admit ... as much as I dislike Apple, that looks to be a very nice laptop. Expensive, yes, but well equiped nonetheless. In all honesty, though ... if I ever got one, I'd wait until Windows 7 came out, and then install that, so I could use the multi-touch trackpad more. No offense to all those Apple fans that read my comment here, but I just don't like how OS X works.
 
G

Guest

Guest
So, the world's lightest 17" notebook, 1080P display, up to 8GB of RAM, and a 7-8hour battery life is a fail??
In my work where I need to support OSX and Windows, this looks like an optimal machine for me, and the graphics and CPU are fast enough to do 3DSMAX work as well as Final Cut Pro and Shake. All that in a slim and light notebook is a winner for me.
 
I do wish they would put a number pad on those things, there is still plenty of room for speakers elsewhere

8 hour battery life would be pretty sweet tho as long as you can still get at least some intensive work done while keeping above 5 hours.

 

smalltime0

Distinguished
Apr 29, 2008
309
0
18,780
[citation][nom]nukemaster[/nom]I do wish they would put a number pad on those things, there is still plenty of room for speakers elsewhere8 hour battery life would be pretty sweet tho as long as you can still get at least some intensive work done while keeping above 5 hours.[/citation]
Thats the problem, we dont know under what conditions you can get the 8 hours...
I'll reserve my judgement until it comes out, but unfortunately I just bought a notebook :(
 

Darkness Flame

Distinguished
Feb 24, 2008
58
0
18,630
According to Apple's site, it's 8-hours wireless. I think they mean wireless from an outlet, though, as I'm pretty sure Wi-Fi would drop it some. But like nukemaster said, I also kinda wish there was a keypad ... I mean, if the thing had some amazing speakers to fill in that space, that's one thing. While the speakers on past Macbook Pros aren't bad ... they've never justified the lack of a number pad ...
 

seboj

Distinguished
Mar 31, 2008
403
0
18,790
[citation]So, the world's lightest 17" notebook, 1080P display, up to 8GB of RAM, and a 7-8hour battery life is a fail??
[/citation]

If you don't mind paying $5,000 for all that, having a non-removable battery (8 hours if it's sitting idle doing nothing at all), and the ruggedness of a 3 year old's plastic toy, then yes, it's a win.

Oh, and don't forget: you'll be paying Apple anytime you want to upgrade the RAM, HDD, disk drive, wireless, etc.
 

Anthony20022

Distinguished
May 16, 2008
24
0
18,510
[quote}If you don't mind paying $5,000 for all that, having a non-removable battery (8 hours if it's sitting idle doing nothing at all), and the ruggedness of a 3 year old's plastic toy, then yes, it's a win. [/quote]

First, since when does $2799 equal $5000? Are you rounding to the nearest $5000 or something? And also, since when is a solid aluminum enclosure weaker than the vast majority of cheap plastic PCs? Have you ever actually used (or broken) one before? I've been using Macs for a very long time, and never had one break, even after being dropped.

However long the battery actually lasts, its still a great improvement over the previous model. Combine that with the fact the most people don't even know where the battery is on their computer, and I think this will not be much of an issue in real life.

Finally, I don't know about this new 17", but the almost identical 15" has very easily accessible RAM and HDD.

Why would you ever have to upgrade the wireless for the life of this machine? Its already using 802.11n, and at the IEEE's current rate, this computer will be far obsolete before there is a new spec.
 

Anthony20022

Distinguished
May 16, 2008
24
0
18,510
Ohh, by the way, about price: I just configured a slightly slower Dell XPS 17" system and it was only $300 cheaper. Not to mention the many features / included software it lacks vs. the macbook pro.
 

Tindytim

Distinguished
Sep 16, 2008
1,179
0
19,280
I find this hilarious.

The whole idea of a non-removable battery is just more fuel in the greedy Apple fire.

What do you think will happen after your 1000 charges? Considering how much they like to screw you with all the other upgrade prices, it will either cost an ungodly amount, or you have to do what every Mac user had to do when they want an upgrade. Throw out the Old and spend another few thousand dollars.
 

zak_mckraken

Distinguished
Jan 16, 2004
1,592
0
19,780
[citation][nom]seboj[/nom]If you don't mind paying $5,000 for all that, having a non-removable battery (8 hours if it's sitting idle doing nothing at all), and the ruggedness of a 3 year old's plastic toy, then yes, it's a win. Oh, and don't forget: you'll be paying Apple anytime you want to upgrade the RAM, HDD, disk drive, wireless, etc.[/citation]

Like Anthony said, it's 2799$, not 5000$. That's a 2201$ right there. Furthermore, it's pretty easy to upgrade the RAM and HDD (why would you "upgrade" the optical drive?) by yourself with a simple screwdriver. Just buy some Kingston RAM and you'll save a lot of money right there. The HDD is a bit tricker to upgrade, I'll admit, but if you're not afraid to open your case, you can have yourself a nice 7200rpm 500gb HDD for almost nothing.
 

E7130

Distinguished
Nov 20, 2008
93
0
18,630
Like a few have noted what happens after 3 years of use? Will the battery simply die and leave you contacting Apple to get a replacment with extra cost? The battery life that they promote is in best case situations and not realistic in my opinion.
 

wymer100

Distinguished
Feb 7, 2007
47
0
18,530
MACNN.com is reporting that a battery swap will cost $179. If the battery really does last 5 years, I probably would go through two batteries (at ~$100 each) by then so it's not a bad deal. The 1000 charges for the battery is the average time that it takes for the battery to go to 80% efficiency so it'll still be very usable even after then. As for TIndyTim's comment about upgrades, the RAM and HDD are just standard parts and usually very easy to access in macs.
 

blasko229

Distinguished
Feb 25, 2008
23
0
18,510
Why couldn't they add a number pad? Isn't it a mac "Pro". I think function should never be sacrificed for form.

As for the battery, I always leave it plugged in anyway.

I think Apple makes a good computer, but when there is some kind of error, the OS pretends it never happened, no warning message, just a hypnotizing rainbow circle. I guess that makes it more "polished".
 

seboj

Distinguished
Mar 31, 2008
403
0
18,790
First of all, have you built one yet? STARTS at $2799. The RAM upgrade and a 256gb SSD alone puts it over $5k with taxes. Yes, that's a $1200 RAM upgrade from Apple.

Secondly, I have owned Macs, and they do break. My fiancee has a 15" built in 2008 that I'm afraid to take out of the house for fear that it will break again. It's currently shipped off to Texas getting repaired. At least the damn thing came with a warranty.

$179 to have the battery replaced? I don't even have to add anything to that one.

Why would I upgrade the optical drive? Have you never heard of Blu-ray? Some people actually do upgrade their laptop's hardware.

I'm not even going to mention how easy it is to upgrade almost anything on other laptops by simply removing 2 screws. Well, ok guess I will mention it.

Have you actually seen the underside of the new 17"? No removable battery means no easy replacement. And given that it's Apple, I'm sure opening the notebook will void any warranty.

Here's a website with pictures, since you obviously can't read. Educate yourselves. http://i.gizmodo.com/5124539/17-macbook-pro-unibody-first-hands-on
 

crom

Distinguished
Aug 20, 2007
378
0
18,780
No sensible mac user buys components like RAM from Apple. Its well known that they overcharge for those things, and outlets like New Egg or Mwave are much better for getting those items. You're also talking about the solid state drive from them. It's the same expensive price from Dell.

I can't say I'm too fond of having a permanent battery for the system however. I'm sure it's saved Apple in machining costs for the unibody frame, but c'mon. For business travel you're always better off bringing a spare battery or two, particularly if you fly to asia from the states. At this point I'd stick with the 15" computer from Apple if I was in the market for a new laptop. At least you don't have to deal with crapware like Vista with it.
 

zak_mckraken

Distinguished
Jan 16, 2004
1,592
0
19,780
The "5000$ for all that" comment is totally irrelevant since nowhere in the article, or nowhere in the user comments, do someone state a 256gb SSD and 8gb RAM upgrade. Yes, putting all that stuff from Apple will probably raise the bill a lot (I won't even check by myself). However, a 256gb SSD drive WILL cost a lot to anyone in any machine. Apple charges a lot for it's upgrade and I find it ridiculous as anyone, that's why I say you can buy parts elsewhere and do it yourself. It might not be for the average Joe but it's very feasible.

Now are you bitching about the actual laptop or are you just comparing it with other offerings? It's hard to follow your line of thought.

To add on the battery, if they can back up the claim of 8 hours (let's even say 5 for the fun of it) and 1000 charges, I think it's a pretty sweet deal. The average life of a laptop battery can be between 2 and 4 years depending on use so paying 179$ for a replacement (compared to 129$ for the "old" Macbook Pro) is not a big deal. The downside is you have to send the laptop over for the replacement if you don't live near an Apple store.

It's funny that I am defending Apple since I'm not even a Mac user. I guess I'm just easily attracted to empty comments. Sorry for the typos, if any, I can't read what I just wrote.
 
G

Guest

Guest
well at least they're not lying on its power consumption. The commercials state it takes "1/3 the power of a lightbulb" Physically impossible with current PSUs at 70-85% efficiency, CPUS with 100-170TDP lol. Atleast MacWorld doesn't like about most of the shit like Apple does. Hope Hand Jobs dies soon so Crapple can finally die.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.