My imagination??

Valentia

Has the price of the 17" MBP gone up by€200 since yesterday? I may be wrong but I thought it was €2,499 than and it's €2.699 today.

I am thinking , only thinking mind you, of getting one. There are a few things that annoy me a bit though.

The price! Mad money really and if you want to upgrade, which you nearly have to do, an extra 2Gb of memory is nearly 700 shaggin euro ( my God is that really possible??). A faster HD is extra. For something calling itself "Pro" I'd have thought that a 7,200 RPM HD would have been standard. It's slow HDs that frustrate me with laptops.

And what is the difference between the standard display (matt & glossy) and the "Hi-resolution" options? Are they just trying to bleed every cent out of me?

Actually the more I type and think the more I ask myself am I mad? Is it really worth the massive price difference for a more stable, multitasking environment?

Excuse the stream of consciousness. I think I'm going off the idea. Though I'd love one I'm not sure my conscience would allow me to be sucked in like that. Might just suffer the few inconveniences of Windoze.

Anyone prepared to try and convince me. (I wouldn't mind )

440Hz

Valentia wrote:

an extra 2Gb of memory is nearly 700 shaggin euro

That's why you don't order it from Apple. You buy it separately and put it in afterwards. www.komplett.ie or www.crucial.com for reasonable prices.

Valentia wrote:

Is it really worth the massive price difference for a more stable, multitasking environment?

110% absolutely yes. It is an investment. I have not yet met anyone who has regretted going down the Mac road.

K.O.Kiki

Time to calm down & let me work through your little rant
Haven't checked for price hike, but it's rare that it happens without people NOT noticing/there being an announcement. More on that later (from others).

Apple charge the same as any OEM for built-to-order RAM upgrades; i.e. 2-3x RRP. Dell are just as bad, so buy yourself (it's piss easy to upgrade).
Slow HDDs are more to do with increasing battery life. If you can't stand it, do what they suggest & hook up a FW800 drive for any apps that would actually see a speed boost from that.

Differences between the displays are: glossy has basically a glass top on it, matt does not. Glossy is for viewing DVDs, but some people swear that Photoshop work had better be done with a matt screen.
And high-resolution is just an upgrade from 1680x1050 to 1920x1200 or so.

As for "worth it", are you sure you'd even NEED a 17"MBP, and not a MB (or 15"MBP). If yes: get your own RAM, worry not about the HDD, come back to us on the display option, and I doubt you'd need high-res.

440Hz

K.O.Kiki wrote:

Differences between the displays are: glossy has basically a glass top on it, matt does not. Glossy is for viewing DVDs, but some people swear that Photoshop work had better be done with a matt screen.
And high-resolution is just an upgrade from 1680x1050 to 1920x1200 or so.

As for "worth it", are you sure you'd even NEED a 17"MBP, and not a MB (or 15"MBP). If yes: get your own RAM, worry not about the HDD, come back to us on the display option, and I doubt you'd need high-res.

Danny from a photography point of view, stick to the matte screen, for accuracy. As for the display, while the 17" sounds like a yummy way to go, don't dismiss the idea of the 15" (widescreen), it works well, both my MBPs have been 15" and I find it's adequate. 17" in an ideal world, but I would find that too much of a nightmare for dragging around as well.

su_dios

I replied to your rant over on the laptop forum too. I really didn't understand why you would go for the 17"? May as well go for a desktop if you're going that big really as it becomes less portable.

I didn't think anyone bought manufacturers ram? PC are no exceptions..

I got the glossy display and I love it to bits now! Glad I chose it.

The 15" will give you everything you need

Valentia

K.O.Kiki wrote:

Time to calm down & let me work through your little rant

I honestly didn't start out with that intention

I would be using it almost exclusively for Photoshop, Lightroom etc. so a 15" is not an option and the "hi-Res" 1920x1200 seems like it could burn the eyes on a 17"?

440: I wouldn't have looked at it as an investment but........then again. I'm looking at it totally as a practical thing. Speed, stability image quality. Having checked the net the integrity of the display is another thing. I haven't been able to satisify myself yet that it can be calibrated properly. The best reviews have said that it is better than previous screens ( and that mey have been about the new 15" models). Has the 17" screen been upgraded in a while?

Not too familiar with the FW800. Are there external drives that perform well (fast) with this connection? Like a native internal?

Thanks for the responses and excuese the "thinking out loud" nature of the post.

Valentia

su_dios wrote:

I replied to your rant over on the laptop forum too. I really didn't understand why you would go for the 17"? May as well go for a desktop if you're going that big really as it becomes less portable.

I didn't think anyone bought manufacturers ram? PC are no exceptions..

I got the glossy display and I love it to bits now! Glad I chose it.

The 15" will give you everything you need

Maybe I have explained myself better since my first post. 15" would drive me scatty. From what I've read nobody recommends the glossy screen for PS work. Thanks all the same.

ZENER

Ya know 3 months ago I'd have said the 17" display wasn't really needed - that was until I got me a beautiful 17" Powerbook G4. Even though it has "only" a 1GHz cpu I use it more than my 15" MBP for web browsing, iTunes, iPhoto and other lightweight apps - plus -in a purely mine's bigger than yours' macho male kinda way - it impresses the sh1t outta people when you take it out and slap it on the table, heh heh

If you can afford it then go for it I say. Get the minimum RAM and smallest HDD options - these are much much cheaper elsewhere. The HD option I'm not sure about I haven't seen it but For those resolutions I'm thinking I'd rather buy an external 22" display and use it when at home.

You won't regret the move to MacOSX - few do !

I was in PCWorld yesterday and the 17" configuration was 2,549 iirc and I think the 15" was 2,229 or there abouts.

ZEN

440Hz

Valentia wrote:

The best reviews have said that it is better than previous screens ( and that mey have been about the new 15" models). Has the 17" screen been upgraded in a while?

The 15" MacBook Pro features new LED backlighting, the first for a laptop display this large. The 17" MacBook doesn't yet have LED backlighting, but Apple has announced plans to switch its entire display range to this technology.

LED displays have several advantages over traditional cold cathode fluorescent lighting (CCFL). They use less power than CCFL tubes, and aren't subject to fading over time. (CCFL tubes typically lose about half their brightness over each year of regular use, in a half-life decay pattern.) LEDs also need no warm-up time to attain maximum brightness and intended color temperature. So, an LED backlight should remain bright and true over the entire life of the display.

CCFL also tubes contain mercury, an environmental hazard. LEDs don't, so they won't contaminate landfills or require expensive reclamation when the laptops eventually reach the end of their useful lives.
The MacBook Pro display can be had with an anti-glare coating or a glossy option. The anti-glare version is matched to Apple's Cinema Displays and is the display of choice for design and press workflows where color matching to print is critical.

The glossy display features blacker blacks, whiter whites and hyper-saturated color; it is well suited to "enjoyment" applications such as movies, gaming, web and email, and family photos and slideshows. Business graphics and presentations look stunning on the glossy display, too.

I own an old screen model 15" and a new one and I am very happy with the change. It is much easier on the eye for prolonged use, and certainly easier for fine detail in graphics.

I would not buy a 17" now, as I would imagine they will upgrade the display in the near future.

I decided not to pay the extra 300 to go for the 17" because it would find it too cumbersome, I use a desktop for a widescreen display and I am happier with 15" on the move. Also, I really wanted the LED display.

K.O.Kiki

Didn't think of that suggestion -- yes, like Zener says, get a 15" & spend the difference on a big-ass monitor, then hook it up via DVI.
Bonus -- you can use your 15" laptop screen for all your brushes & whatnot

As for FW800, it's the only interface below SATA-types, and better than USB (bonus -- FW uses less CPU than USB as well)

Valentia

Thanks for the replies folks.

What is the basic MBP like speed wise? The idea of linking it up with my main display (Dell 20" WS) is appealing I must say. Thanks for that notion ZENER. Would the processing speed compare with a decentish Windows PCs. I'm still in the pentium 4 school.

Wizoom

Hi, didn't want to make a new thread for what is essentially a similar question, so I thought I'd post here. It's not my intention to hijack the thread.

Basically, I'm going to be starting college, all wide-eyed and naive and such, and am thinking about a Macbook Pro 15" 2.4GHZ for my college laptop. I'll be doing Computer Applications in DCU so I feel the power of it won't go astray, and I'm also fond of games - another reason why I'd prefer a Pro over the vanilla, but admittedly very sexy, Macbook.

Do you think this is a good idea for a college student? Also, I'm considering waiting it out until October to actually get the laptop as It'd be a killer as a poor student to have to buy an 150e OS upgrade a month after getting my laptop (and I want a fully supported Boot Camp), and I'm also half afraid Apple will update the Pro with Leopard. But, will my student discount still apply after the college year has started? Because without it I'm going to cut badly into money I have saved up for other things...

So I'm just looking for some general advice as to whether or not this is a good plan. I'm really looking forward to trying out OSX, Macs always look so stylish

Oh, and going on what I've said, is a glossy screen best or not? I can't decide if the better saturation and such is worth the glare dodging I'm going to have to do...

EDIT: Grammar

440Hz

Wizoom wrote:

thinking about a Macbook Pro 15" 2.4GHZ for my college laptop. I'll be doing Computer Applications in DCU so I feel the power of it won't go astray, and I'm also fond of games

Go for it!! I upgraded my 2Ghz to a 2.4Ghz and I can really notice the difference, really happy I went with the higher spec. Everything is so fast now, Photoshop opens in an instant and my audio programming in Matlab runs like a dream! xCode isn't hanging on me anymore and this is before I even bump the RAM. If you are doing any significant work programming which you will be, then pay the extra and go for it.

I'm also half afraid Apple will update the Pro with Leopard. But, will my student discount still apply after the college year has started?

They won't update the Pro in Oct. Perhaps update the 17" but not the 15" so soon. Student discount will apply until you are no longer a student.

Oh, and going on what I've said, is a glossy screen best or not? I can't decide if the better saturation and such is worth the glare dodging I'm going to have to do...

In your case, I'd go glossy, if you are into games etc. Main reason for the matte/anti-glare is for graphics and people working in offices hehe! I think the glossy looks nice, it would just not be right for my personal needs.

Valentia

Ah! Yes, that student discount. How much is it? For my daughter like

Wizoom

Thanks a million 440Hz, I'm so tempted to buy right now haha! Thanks for your excellent advice and speedy reply Last question, is Leopard worth waiting for?

Oh and Valentia, I believe your "daughter's" discount would be somewhere in the region of 8-10%, so enjoy

440Hz

Wizoom wrote:

Last question, is Leopard worth waiting for?

I wouldn't wait just for Leopard no. I use the preview and while there are so great things about it, there is certainly nothing that you could not live without. I'd buy now, get yourself nicely set up and used to your machine so that you don't have any 'system' learning to do when you start, and then when you have the cash to upgrade to Leopard further down the line go for it then. My personal opinion anyway.

Wizoom

Just to update, I ordered a brand spanking new, glossy 15" MacBook Pro today! Woo! I'm very excited, but I'll apparently be waiting till around the 12th-18th of September so a while to wait yet. Still, excitement!!

ZENER

I can only explain the excitement as akin to waiting for your first baby to arrive

Well done, you'll enjoy using it and of course you'll never need phone support when you've got boardsies at hand

ZEN

K.O.Kiki

Wait wait wait... I was under the impression that, after the honeymoon of the arrival, babies

• Are lots of work
• Will require reams in extra expenses to keep them going
• Smell a bit bad
• Don't do what you expect them too

Hmm, reminds me of a certain OS...