Apple Releases 17'' MacBook Pro [Archive] - Page 4

zenvision

Apr 26, 2006, 06:14 PM

Thanks - I'll definitely keep you posted when I get it. I can't wait!

Be sure to let us know if you experience any of the problems that plagued (perhaps thats too much of a strong word) the 15". I'm especially curious to see if Apple have resolved the dreaded whine (I'm sure the heat will be less of a problem than the 15", due to the larger area to dissipate it)...

As a design student the 17" has definately become a more desirable option for me, especially with its price compared to a maxed out 15" (and the lovely student discount).

Fingers crossed it's all worked out...

bgd78

Apr 26, 2006, 06:16 PM

Bus-powering a 3.5" hard drive (presumably on battery power, otherwise what difference does it make?) is a bad idea. The typical desktop hard drive sits at around 11-12W. Firewire in theory peaks at 15W, in practice somewhat less. That leaves you very little overhead, not to mention the strain on your notebook's battery (which raises the temperature--enter fans, etc...). A typical notebook computer consumes 30W altogether (17" MBP maybe slightly more) when active, so you can see that you stand to lose more than 1/3 of your battery life by running a desktop hard drive (by comparison, you'd be looking at roughly 5W for a 2.5" hard drive). Of course this is a bit simplified for brevity's sake.

Yes, it's possible, but no, it's not advisable unless you plan on recharging every two hours or less, which consequently shortens your battery's life as well--500 power cycles is going to come around a lot faster. If you plan on taking full size hard drives on the road, buy a spare battery and expect to replace them relatively often.
Nice and useful information. I knew the Firewire buses unlike USB buses allowed for this possibility, but didn't know about the specific details nor the available solutions. The only thing that worries me is the issue of the narrow overhead, what exactly could this mean to the HDD, is this a potential risk factor that could damage the HDD?

I don't agree at all though that using buspowered 3.5" HDDs on battery power is a bad idea. It all depends on what you're using the HDD for. If you're simply using it as an external storage unit from/to which you occasionally transfer files, then you only keep it buspowered for the time it takes to transfer a certain file and no longer...

I also think you're underestimating the benefits of not having to use additional power bricks for external HDDs, even when the laptop is AC powered. It's a matter of convenience of being able to position the HDDs freely any way you like not having to deal with additional cable clutter. There are many people who choose external 2.5" HDDs over external 3.5" HDDs not primarily because of their smaller footprint but because they don't require a separate AC adapter when in use...

Alone2Gether

Apr 26, 2006, 07:17 PM

Happy with my last rev 17" PB but waiting for the Intel version of PowerMac. It is going to be incredible!

bloodycape

Apr 26, 2006, 07:30 PM

not fair....I want a 12" or 13" macbook now......awwwww come on apple.....I'm dying to switch and cant hold on any longer....
+1

Plecky

Apr 26, 2006, 07:44 PM

+1 (for a friend I've been telling to wait since March thinking it would happen on April 1st or the following week for their 30th anniversary. Unfortunately another one couldn't wait any longer and gave into a 14" iBook but got it for a good deal, $850 so I can understand/sympathize)

heisetax

Apr 26, 2006, 07:53 PM

17" ??? Get an external monitor for goodness sake. :p

I use my 17" G$PowerBook with my 30" LCD Display much of the time. I only wish that the 17" screen would be larger, like 20" or even 23". I used to carry a 50 lb computer setup before I got my first PowerBook a few years ago. To me 10 lbs would be an ok weight for a 20-23" model. That would give enough room for larger battery or two, maybe a second hard drive, a numeric keypad (wanted most after a larger screen), an eSATA port, or many other items.

Everybody does not want a small portable. Many want & need more desktop space. About all that will come in my size wants & needs is the 20" iMac or a Mac Mini with a 23" screen. But they both do not have a Pro Speed connection like: FW800 or eSATA or both.. No PC Card or equivilant expansion capabilities.

I'm for bigger screens, so I could say why only 17"!

Bill the TaxMan

matticus008

Apr 26, 2006, 07:58 PM

Nice and useful information. [...] The only thing that worries me is the issue of the narrow overhead, what exactly could this mean to the HDD, is this a potential risk factor that could damage the HDD?
Glad to be of assistance. What it means is that if for some reason your computer requires more power than normal (say the fans kick in, the internal hard drive spins up, you're burning a DVD and the display is on full brightness), and you plug in the hard drive, you can potentially overload the battery and cause your computer to shut down. Also, if your Firewire bus happens to deliver insufficient power (for example if you try to connect anything other than that one hard drive) at the wrong moment, it can cause data loss on the hard drive if it's doing a write operation at the time.

I don't agree at all though that using buspowered 3.5" HDDs on battery power is a bad idea. It all depends on what you're using the HDD for.
True, but I was assuming that the only reason to buy a 3.5" bus-powered enclosure was because a 2.5" didn't offer enough storage space, in which case you would need the drive connected at all times to use the data on that drive (large video projects, for example).

I also think you're underestimating the benefits of not having to use additional power bricks for external HDDs, even when the laptop is AC powered.
Not at all. Bus-powered drives are very convenient. 3.5" bus powered drives, however, are not. For one, they're large and bulky. Also, giving up the power cable is impractical. I'm all for wireless keyboards and mice and I think wireless webcams are not far off, but anything that requires more than a few watts and doesn't have a hardcore battery should be plugged in. I've never found that I'm limited in my hard drive placement because of cables (4ft power cable, 3ft data cable roughly matches the length of my PowerBook cable with the extension bit (which I generally don't need anyway). For people who want minimal clutter, a 2.5" drive is great. But if you need the storage of a big drive, it's best to put up with that one extra cable for the sake of reliability.

bgd78

Apr 26, 2006, 08:49 PM

Also, if your Firewire bus happens to deliver insufficient power (for example if you try to connect anything other than that one hard drive) at the wrong moment, it can cause data loss on the hard drive if it's doing a write operation at the time.
I assume you mean that can happen by daisy-chaining several Firewire peripherals through the same Firewire port? However, am I right in assuming that there should be no problem with using two bus powered external 3.5" HDDs simultaneously on the 17" MBP, one through the FW800 port and the other through the FW400 port considering that they are powered by separate controller chips? Let's suppose the laptop is on AC power in this setup ;)

janstett

Apr 26, 2006, 08:55 PM

You do understand that DVD-HD will be the winner right? Industry analysts believe that DVD-HD will occupy 67% of the high density DVD market by the end of 2007. Blu-Ray will be the losing format. Why? Simple economics. DVD-HD is about 50% Cheaper on all fronts.

See, I think it's the complete opposite, HD-DVD will lose and lose badly.

Sure, it has more support in the computer camp and got to market first, and it's easier to manufacture. It has computer friendly options like a legal rip option.

However, Blu-Ray has the support of more movie studios, including many who were formerly only in the HD-DVD camp. In other words, many of the HD-DVD studios are hedging their bets and supporting Blu-Ray too. The reverse cannot be said. On the movie front, it looks like Blu-Ray has already won. Also IIRC Blu-Ray can store up to 50 GB per disc while HD-DVD is limited to 30 GB. Finally, there's the adoption rate and how the next-gen consoles fit into this. Microsoft has claimed it will support HD-DVD through an upgrade for the X-Box 360 at some point and at extra cost; Sony's Playstation 3 will have Blu-Ray support at launch. Given the $500-$1000 cost for the first wave of players, I'd say game consoles will be the trojan horse that speeds adoption of HD discs.

From my point of view, HD-DVD has already lost.

matticus008

Apr 26, 2006, 08:58 PM

I assume you mean that can happen by daisy-chaining several Firewire peripherals through the same Firewire port? However, am I right in assuming that there should be no problem with using two bus powered external 3.5" HDDs simultaneously on the 17" MBP, one through the FW800 port and the other through the FW400 port considering that they are powered by separate controller chips? Let's suppose the laptop is on AC power in this setup ;)
I'm not entirely sure how Apple implements its FireWire bus on the MBP, but it's highly likely that FW800 and FW400 are on the same bus and subject to the same power limits (this is the case for the PowerBooks). It wouldn't make sense to provide 30W of FW power on a notebook--that's almost as much as the entire MBP itself uses. So no, it would not be possible to power multiple 3.5" hard drives, even on AC power. On AC power, you're limited by the power adapter (I think they're 80W on the PowerBook/MBP line) overall, but the FW bus still can't exceed 15W.

bloodycape

Apr 26, 2006, 10:05 PM

How do we not know the smaller or budget Mac laptops will not use the ATI X700, 800, or even 1300 series chips or something? *wishes for the X1300 128mb with DDR2 or# ATI now has an X1800 series out and I am suprised the 17" doesn't use this chip.

Surreal

Apr 26, 2006, 10:22 PM

jaydub

Apr 26, 2006, 10:35 PM

i was too, until i considered that they underclocked the x1600 in the 15"I wonder if there will eventually be a way to overclock it.

Surreal

Apr 26, 2006, 10:40 PM

I wonder if there will eventually be a way to overclock it.

heh, so you mean bring it up to it's stock speed?

bloodycape

Apr 26, 2006, 11:05 PM

I wonder if there will eventually be a way to overclock it.
If you can do it on a windows pc fairly simple with some software mods, so hopefully the rght hacker/programer will come along and bring out some oc software. I have seen such a software for the current i and p books.

FFTT

Apr 26, 2006, 11:35 PM

jaydub

Apr 26, 2006, 11:50 PM

heh, so you mean bring it up to it's stock speed?
hehe precisely. I'd surely be too chicken to do it, especially in a $2800 laptop, but I had no qualms about chip overclocking my old G3 back in the day!

bloodycape

Apr 27, 2006, 12:38 AM

I would be very careful about over-clocking anything in a chassis built to such exacting close tolerances.

Not only will you immediately void your warranty, but the additional heat created could damage your logic board and then you're in deep cow pies.

Windows users do it all the time with out a worry or a problem. I currently have my AMD cpu and ram oced(bios settings), my ATI(software) card oced and my ibook's ATI card(software) oced with out a worry. I think if you know what you are doing, have proper cooling, and dont' go overboard you should be fine and at a safe level.

Plecky

Apr 27, 2006, 12:39 AM

I would be very careful about over-clocking anything in a chassis built to such exacting close tolerances.

Not only will you immediately void your warranty, but the additional heat created could damage your logic board and then you're in deep cow pies.

I don't know about the voiding warranty part, or how exactly they'd prove it or what extents they'd go to to prove it... That being said, I personally wouldn't do it because I wouldn't want to risk it - even if AppleCare covered any damage caused, it would still be a hassle to be without my computer and what comes with the process. Also I wouldn't do it because from what I've read in forums and articles of people who have done it, it decreases battery life by about 30 minutes (which when you're getting 3.5 hours in a MacBook Pro is a pretty substantial amount in my opinion, maybe not so much if the 17" really does get 5.5 - but I have a feeling it'll be more around 4.5 hours at most with regular usage for most people). Besides battery life, it does kick the fans on much faster and makes your near-silent-MBP (unless of course you have one of the many known whines from screen, processor, or other) much louder then it needs to be and then apple intended it to be. So personally, besides the risk and really no-need for me to do it (maybe if you were a serious PC gamer, and even then you'd probably be in Boot Camp overclocking it with the windows software that's out there) but otherwise no real point. I am fine with the GPU as it is, it could even be weaker and I'd probably still be fine. I like max battery life and as quiet/cool as possible, and as hot as it already gets (and I doubt the 17" will be much different, at least underneath the battery and processor) I can do without more heat, worse battery, and more fan-noise. Then again maybe that fan noise is a welcome change to drown out the many whines? Personally I'm not going to do it, and even if I had need to do it, I'd still be pretty hessitant to try - even if the tools for OSX were there to do it... That's my View, and it's much better then Starr Jones'! ;)

Multimedia

Apr 27, 2006, 01:26 AM

I wonder if there will eventually be a way to overclock it.ATIccelerator II (http://thomas.perrier.name/index.html) Will Let You Overclock Your X1600. No warranty. You could destroy your graphics processor in the process. But the tool does exist. :)

rxse7en

Apr 27, 2006, 07:11 AM

zenvision

Apr 27, 2006, 07:23 AM

Click for story (http://www.ehomeupgrade.com/entry/2467/does_apple-s_17-inch)

Found the potential pricing and release info quite interesting. Really, we could be seeing the Merom bump by June/July at the very earliest.

B
Merom chips by the end of May (according to that article)? Blimey, that is way WAY earlier than I'd heard before. Wishful thinking perhaps. Still, I would LOVE a 15"/17" 2.33Ghz Merom MBP by June...

Photorun

Apr 27, 2006, 07:36 AM

Merom chips by the end of May (according to that article)? Blimey, that is way WAY earlier than I'd heard before. Wishful thinking perhaps. Still, I would LOVE a 15"/17" 2.33Ghz Merom MBP by June...

It isn't just wishful thinking, it's fanciful thinking... and a bit off. This is Apple, a chip price cut only means more profit for them. Also the 2.23 (or whatever) Yonah chip is due in June. Though Merom is RUMORED to be early, it's coming fall early, not early summer early.

rxse7en

Apr 27, 2006, 07:42 AM

It isn't just wishful thinking, it's fanciful thinking... and a bit off. This is Apple, a chip price cut only means more profit for them. Also the 2.23 (or whatever) Yonah chip is due in June. Though Merom is RUMORED to be early, it's coming fall early, not early summer early.

September for Merom? (http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=31150) Lots of conflicting release dates out there. I'm assuming a September Merom en masse release, with smaller amounts released earlier for prototyping/testing. I'm thinkin' a September release of Merom 'Books. Another article I just read assumes the Merom laptops (15" with dual hard drives) running for 5.5 hours on battery.

Surreal

Apr 27, 2006, 08:12 AM

apple is charging me tommorrow. (my available balance just went down the price of the MBP 17". if it ships tommorrow...

this can only be good news.

eVolcre

Apr 27, 2006, 09:19 AM

NICE!! I need to check my bank account too. How does it normally work? They charge the card the day before it ships???

eV

Surreal

Apr 27, 2006, 09:25 AM

NICE!! I need to check my bank account too. How does it normally work? They charge the card the day before it ships???

eV

my bank shows that the money is going to be taken out. so apple doesnt actually have it yet. that is why i say tommorrow.

eVolcre

Apr 27, 2006, 09:42 AM

:confused: my bank shows that the money is going to be taken out. so apple doesnt actually have it yet. that is why i say tommorrow.

What do you mean 'about to be taken out'? :confused:

Like a preauthorization?

eV

tedhogan

Apr 27, 2006, 09:58 AM

I ordered the day it came out. They have the est ship as on or before May 8th.

I just called to upgrade my shipping. They said that it "could" ship as early as May 3rd and that only 2 day business class shipping (not overnight) is available because it is comming from an overseas distribution center.

The ability to run Windows XP is HUGE for me. This is my dream machine, I can't wait!

The money was taken out of my account the same day, so it has nothing to do with when it ships... sorry guys... believe me, I wish it did!

T

ZigFilm

Apr 27, 2006, 11:09 AM

apple is charging me tommorrow. (my available balance just went down the price of the MBP 17". if it ships tommorrow...

this can only be good news.

Have you received an "Apple Invoice" via email? I ordered the MBP and some software. They called my credit card to authorize the entire purchase and then just charged me for the software and sent that out the next day... The big money still hasn't been taken out, though.

tedhogan

Apr 27, 2006, 11:15 AM

Just to let you guys know....

The 1GB upgrade sells for $270 on Apple's site.

OWC has a 1GB memory module that is compatable w/ the 17" MBP for $129.

That's what I ordered. ;)

mpw

Apr 27, 2006, 11:18 AM

...The money was taken out of my account the same day, so it has nothing to do with when it ships... sorry guys... believe me, I wish it did!...
That depends on how you paid and where you are.

In the UK, and possibly elsewhere, they can't charge your credit card (ie Visa/MasterCard/etc.) until they ship but they can take payment from a debit card (ie Meastro/Visa Delta/etc.) at the time of order.

eVolcre

Apr 27, 2006, 11:24 AM

That depends on how you paid and where you are.

In the UK, and possibly elsewhere, they can't charge your credit card (ie Visa/MasterCard/etc.) until they ship but they can take payment from a debit card (ie Meastro/Visa Delta/etc.) at the time of order.

So what's the US rule again? Can someone break this down. I ordered on 4/24 and received an order confirmation email.
Next thing I got was an order acknowledgement. And I finally got an Apple invoice for my Applecare that specifically said that my VISA was charged.

I'm assuming that once the card is charged, they ship the product right? As of right now, they have an estimated shipment date of 05/08 with delivery by 05/12. Think it will come through sooner?

eV

Surreal

Apr 27, 2006, 11:37 AM

That depends on how you paid and where you are.

In the UK, and possibly elsewhere, they can't charge your credit card (ie Visa/MasterCard/etc.) until they ship but they can take payment from a debit card (ie Meastro/Visa Delta/etc.) at the time of order.

i paid with both. same thing on both. outstanding authorization on my debit card for most of the purchase, outstanding authorization of the remainder on my credit card.

eVolcre

Apr 27, 2006, 11:42 AM

ZigFilm

Apr 27, 2006, 11:49 AM

Good thing I checked. Logged into Apple and there was a problem authorising my card. You'd think they would send me an email or something ...

Anyway, they authorised my card today for the amount of the MBP, I'm assuming it ships tomorrow or so. (it definitely wasn't authorised the day I ordered, they only tried it this morning ... )

eV

My card was authorized on Tuesday for the MBP but it hasn't shipped yet. Once you receive the Apple Invoice, then it will go out that day or the next...

Multimedia

Apr 27, 2006, 12:05 PM

Just to let you guys know....

The 1GB upgrade sells for $270 on Apple's site.

OWC has a 1GB memory module that is compatable w/ the 17" MBP for $129.

That's what I ordered. ;)You guys are obviously not reading all of the 789 posts here. OK Once more with feeling.

You LOWER your ram order from Apple by $100 ($90 ed) to the two 512 sticks 1GB option. Then you order TWO 1GB sticks - CAS 3 OPTIVAL - from Omni via Ramseeker.com (http://ramseeker.com) for $146. Total cost for the 2 GB "upgrade" $46 ($56 Ed). Any quesitons?

Let's see Apple wants $270. If I follow Multimedia's advice it cost me $46. I wonder which way I should do this? :p

I forgot to mention that you have lifetime upgrade for the price difference priviledges from Omni to 4GB (two 2GB sticks) this way. Now who here is going to tell everyone else here not to follow this plan?

eVolcre

Apr 27, 2006, 12:08 PM

OK Once more with feeling.

You LOWER your ram order from Apple by $100 ($90 ed) to the two 512 sticks 1GB option. Then you order TWO 1GB sticks from Omni via Ramseeker.com (http://ramseeker.com) for $146. Total cost for the 2 GB "upgrade" $46. Any quesitons?

Let's see Apple wants $270. If I follow Multimedia's advice it cost me $46. I wonder which way I should do this? :p

I forgot to mention that you have lifetime upgrade for the price difference priviledges from Omni to 4GB (two 2GB sticks) this way. Now who here is going to tell everyone else here not to follow this plan?

Right. Except when I call Apple if and when I have an issue, I have to open up the machine and remove the 3rd party RAM. No thanks.

Some of us don't mind paying money for convenience, especially, if you travel a lot and have problems on the road ...

To each one his own ...

eV

Multimedia

Apr 27, 2006, 12:14 PM

Right. Except when I call Apple if and when I have an issue, I have to open up the machine and remove the 3rd party RAM. No thanks.

Some of us don't mind paying money for convenience, especially, if you travel a lot and have problems on the road ...

To each one his own ...

eVNo you DO NOT. Putting 3rd party ram in a Mac DOES NOT VOID THE WARRANTY. Where that rumor got started I have no idea but it is BLATANTLY FALSE. Apple doesn't even ask what kind of ram you have in there.

I have not had the experience of being asked to put in original RAM with Applecare. But I see your point. The savings does not make up for potential inconvenience you might have with non-Apple ram based on your experience. I've never had that issue come up. So I am not afraid to use Omni Ram.

I have been on the Mac since early 1984 and have always used third party ram with no problems. I have never upgraded a Mac with Apple's supplied higher capacity overpriced ram and always upgraded the ram after receiving the computer with third party product. This has never led to a defective ram related problem. Lucky me.

eVolcre

Apr 27, 2006, 12:16 PM

No you DO NOT. Putting 3rd party ram in a Mac DOES NOT VOID THE WARRANTY. Where that rumor got started I have no idea but it is BLATANTLY FALSE.

I didn't say it voided the warranty Multimedia. I said that if you call Applecare with ANY issues, the first thing they make you do is take out any 3rd party Ram. Not to mention, I leave the country on May 29th. I don't have the time to dick around with faulty memory chips etc. With the Apple installed RAM, I know that if there's an issue, I call one person.

I'm not saying your idea doesn't save money and makes sense. But, for some people, the mone saved isn't worth the headache ..

eV

AppleWine

Apr 27, 2006, 01:59 PM

Hey guys,

I have a 15" MBP and like it, (although it's hot as hell and I can only cull about 2 hours out of the battery,) but I find it's a bit too small for my needs.

I've read through many posts on here that the 17" is impracticle for a laptop and you might as well have a desktop because it's so big. Well, living in NYC where every square inch counts (and costs) I just can't have a desktop. So I'm considering getting a 17" and giving my 15" to my girlfriend.

It seems as though the 17" is just a bigger version of the 15" with features they should have put on the 15". My question is what features would you like to see on a "new" 17" MBP that aren't there yet? HD display? Merom (why?) T1000, different HD? Different kind of battery? Like, what kind of features/spec/redesigns do you see coming down the pike from Apple in the next few months that might be worth waiting for?

Thanks!

Multimedia

Apr 27, 2006, 04:26 PM

...So I'm considering getting a 17" and giving my 15" to my girlfriend.Brilliant! She will love you for life.Merom (why?64-bit lower power consumption a little faster (2.33 GHz) but the wait is probably until September-October.) T1000Mobile PowerMacs have had T1000 Ethernet for years.Different HD?160GB Seagate would be nice. Different kind of battery? Like, what kind of features/spec/redesigns do you see coming down the pike from Apple in the next few months that might be worth waiting for?

Thanks!Nothing else I can think of besides dual 160GB Seagates. But that isn't likely because of Apple's Ultra Slim design. I say pull the trigger now. I agree the 17" is the real Pro system and your 15" is something to gift to the woman you love right away so you can get the real deal. Plus you will get a lot of special extra love. How about putting a Desktop Billboard up that says "Will You Marry Me?" the first time she starts it up when you present it to her?

zap2

Apr 27, 2006, 06:57 PM

Well Jobs thinks we all want a MPB because it bitchen':cool:

iGary

Apr 27, 2006, 07:00 PM

I have not had the experience of being asked to put in original RAM with Applecare. But I see your point. The savings does not make up for potential inconvenience you might have with non-Apple ram based on your experience. I've never had that issue come up. So I am not afraid to use Omni Ram.

Yeah, that's one of the first things they ask when things start to get deep.

Your tone is really condescending, do you realize that?

D*I*S_Frontman

Apr 27, 2006, 07:26 PM

I use my 17" G4 PowerBook with my 30" LCD Display much of the time. I only wish that the 17" screen would be larger, like 20" or even 23". I used to carry a 50 lb computer setup before I got my first PowerBook a few years ago. To me 10 lbs would be an ok weight for a 20-23" model. That would give enough room for larger battery or two, maybe a second hard drive, a numeric keypad (wanted most after a larger screen), an eSATA port, or many other items.

Everybody does not want a small portable. Many want & need more desktop space. About all that will come in my size wants & needs is the 20" iMac or a Mac Mini with a 23" screen. But they both do not have a Pro Speed connection like: FW800 or eSATA or both.. No PC Card or equivilant expansion capabilities.

I'm for bigger screens, so I could say why only 17"!

Bill the TaxMan

I have said the same thing for years. Call it MacBook Portfolio™ and market it to graphic designers, architects, HD video editors, etc.--anyone who needs to work on a big scale while having the portability to make impromptu presentations with it (without the lugging/set-up/focusing of LCD projection). Heck, even ship it an a leather portfolio case, like an artist or designer might carry around.

It would not be a big seller, so it would be pricey, I'm sure ($4k or so), but what a fun flagship!

Photorun

Apr 27, 2006, 08:30 PM

September for Merom? (http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=31150) Lots of conflicting release dates out there. I'm assuming a September Merom en masse release, with smaller amounts released earlier for prototyping/testing. I'm thinkin' a September release of Merom 'Books. Another article I just read assumes the Merom laptops (15" with dual hard drives) running for 5.5 hours on battery.

I'm with you rxse. And a good two years or more before one REALLY reaps the rewards of it's 64 bit, if not longer. Short term though longer battery life and slight chip architecture (i.e. for speed) wont hurt.

AidenShaw

Apr 27, 2006, 08:52 PM

And a good two years or more before one REALLY reaps the rewards of it's 64 bit, if not longer.
Well, there are *other* operating systems that are already true 64-bit, with 64-bit high end applications available.

But, two years to wait for OSx64 is probably not too far off the mark.

Multimedia

Apr 28, 2006, 03:39 AM

Yeah, that's one of the first things they ask when things start to get deep.

Your tone is really condescending, do you realize that?No. Not my intention. I'll watch it. Thanks for pointing it out. Sorry everyone.
Multimedia came out of nowhere to become probably the most prolific contributor lately.
I did not come out of nowhere. I've been here for almost 5 years. Just didn't post as frequently until I got my Avatar status. :D Photorun has made TWICE as many posts (since 9-01-2003 Total Posts: 1,216 - 1.25 posts per day) as I have (since 7-27-2001 Total Posts: 687 - .4 per day) in half as many years. So he's a lead dog in posting often here. Congrats Photorun. I Love New York.

rxse7en

Apr 28, 2006, 06:18 AM

Tell ya what, I'd buy the MBP 17" now if Adobe CS was available as UB. Kinda weird that you can install WinXP and run CS faster than the Mac version in OSX. My G4 'book started showing its age yesterday...HD started making chunking noises and I had so many large files open and all of the apps running that the machine was crawling. Again, if the current crop of 'books offered a proc slot I'd be all over that 17".

Now it looks like Merom (http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=31316) will be shipping in August! Sweet! New 'books next Tue....August!

B

aswitcher

Apr 28, 2006, 06:38 AM

Now it looks like Merom (http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=31316) will be shipping in August! Sweet! New 'books next Tue....August!

B

So 64 bit and I guess more grunt.

rxse7en

Apr 28, 2006, 07:03 AM

So 64 bit and I guess more grunt.
Tests I've seen--where they swapped a Merom into a Mini--were showing 25% speed gains without optimization. I'm thinking, with optimized mobos tailored to Merom we'll see better than 30% speed gains, longer battery life, ad nauseum by August. :D I'm only optimistic because, if I hadn't said it already, I REALLY WANT a Merom 'book! :D

B

CanadaRAM

Apr 28, 2006, 11:30 AM

Then you order TWO 1GB sticks - CAS 3 OPTIVAL - from Omni via Ramseeker.com (http://ramseeker.com) for $146. Total cost for the 2 GB "upgrade" $46 ($56 Ed). Any quesitons?
Yeah.
How do you plan to get that RAM to work in the MacBook Pro?

Omni's DDR2-667 MacBook RAM is 2 Gb $259.98 for the cheap stuff and 2Gb $359.98 for their "superior performance" (which is itself a crock as all RAM will run at the same MHz speed)

Multimedia

Apr 28, 2006, 11:32 AM

Tests I've seen--where they swapped a Merom into a Mini--were showing 25% speed gains without optimization. I'm thinking, with optimized mobos tailored to Merom we'll see better than 30% speed gains, longer battery life, ad nauseum by August. :D I'm only optimistic because, if I hadn't said it already, I REALLY WANT a Merom 'book! :D
BWow! Me 2. That's a lot more than I've read so far. Link?

All this informed speculation that the whole Intel Processor line is accelerating toward an earlier shipping date and that Merom will immediately bump the speed up 30% makes waiting for Merom much easier. Of course we are also speculating that Apple will move aggressively toward a Merom MBP line ASAP. I hope that's the case. I guess Steve will have more new products to introduce at WWDC than ever before plus the Leopard feature set debut. Going to be an amazing Monday August 7, 2006.

yellow

Apr 28, 2006, 11:36 AM

No you DO NOT. Putting 3rd party ram in a Mac DOES NOT VOID THE WARRANTY. Where that rumor got started I have no idea but it is BLATANTLY FALSE. Apple doesn't even ask what kind of ram you have in there.

There's no mention of voiding in the warranty statement at all.. However, in the nebulous legal terminology of the warranty:

http://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/hardware.html

This warranty does not apply: (a) to damage caused by use with non-Apple products; (b) to damage caused by accident, abuse, misuse, flood, fire, earthquake or other external causes; (c) to damage caused by operating the product outside the permitted or intended uses described by Apple; (d) to damage caused by service (including upgrades and expansions) performed by anyone who is not a representative of Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider; (e) to a product or part that has been modified to significantly alter functionality or capability without the written permission of Apple; (f) to consumable parts, such as batteries, unless damage has occurred due to a defect in materials or workmanship; or (g) if any Apple serial number has been removed or defaced.

Both (a) and (d) could be used against you by Apple repair to deny warranty work on your Mac. Which is, in effect, tantamount to "voiding the warranty" (temporarily). The onus would be on you, the consumer, to prove that your 3rd party RAM (HD, GPU, whatever) didn't cause the problem.

While this is rare, I have had (on 2 occasions) powerbooks sent in for warranty work sent back to me, unfixed, with the 3rd party RAM in a static baggy. Of course, the other 8+ times, I've had no problems. I imagine it depends on how far the stick in one's ass extends.

Multimedia

Apr 28, 2006, 11:41 AM

Yeah.
How do you plan to get that RAM to work in the MacBook Pro?

Omni's DDR2-667 MacBook RAM is 2 Gb $259.98 for the cheap stuff and 2Gb $359.98 for their "superior performance" (which is itself a crock as all RAM will run at the same MHz speed)No, it's not when you go through Ramseeker.com (http://ramseeker.com). You can't get the lower price by going to Omni directly. They're PC2-5300 DDR2 ram running at 667 MHz.

I just tripple checked it and the price for MacBook Pro CAS 3 OPTIVAL is $72.99 per 1GB stick when you go through ramseeker.com (http://ramseeker.com). I don't even know how you came up with those much higher prices. At the top of Ramseeker.com you choose MacBook from the popup menu for Mac ram. Then you press the "Go" button. Then down in the list of prices for 1GB sticks is $72.99 across from the words "Omni Technologies™ OPTIVAL®". NOTE: You DO NOT click on those words. You have to click on the PRICE $72.99 to get the link to Omni where you will see it queued up for you to buy at that price.

Here are the images of both the Omni Specs and the Ramseeker chart you will find when you search for MacBook Pro ram there with the link to Omni highlighted.

I have nothing to do with ownership, friendship nor promotional employment for Ramseeker.com nor Omni Technologies. I'm just trying to help everyone save money for good ram. The lower right graphic includes the price and their toll free number. So if you need more reassurance just phone them toll free and ask them about whatever concerns you may have directly.

rxse7en

Apr 28, 2006, 11:44 AM

Wow! Me 2. That's a lot more than I've read so far. Link?

All this informed speculation that the whole Intel Processor line is accelerating toward an earlier shipping date and that Merom will immediately bump the speed up 30% makes waiting for Merom much easier. Of course we are also speculating that Apple will move aggressively toward a Merom MBP line ASAP. I hope that's the case. I guess Steve will have more new products to introduce at WWDC than ever before plus the Leopard feature set debut. Going to be an amazing Monday August 7, 2006.

25% framerate increase shown in Quake 4--Yonah vs Merom. My 30% comment was based on my assumption that the proc he used was a prototype at 2ghz and that the shipping Merom 'books would probably be faster and the mobo tweaked for Merom.

B

Multimedia

Apr 28, 2006, 12:19 PM

25% framerate increase shown in Quake 4--Yonah vs Merom. My 30% comment was based on my assumption that the proc he used was a prototype at 2ghz and that the shipping Merom 'books would probably be faster and the mobo tweaked for Merom.

BMy uderstanding is that Merom's fastest speed will be 2.33 GHz. Thanks daneoni. Link to that test please?

daneoni

Apr 28, 2006, 01:13 PM

My uderstanding is that Merom's slowest and starting speed will be 2.33 GHz. Link to that test please?

The slowest merom speed is 1.66 and the highest is 2.33. Intel is keeping the current clock speeds. There is an article on this in wikipedia i think.

Here's the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core

daneoni

Apr 28, 2006, 01:21 PM

Slightly off topic but how do people encode HTML in this forums. The way i do it everywhere else doesnt seem to fly on this site

<a href="www.abc.com">abc</a>

Isn't this the format?:confused:

yellow

Apr 28, 2006, 01:23 PM

No, vBulletin (and most other Forum softwares) have their own style. Inside tags.. Use the buttons in the advanced edit screen to see what the tags are.

rxse7en

Apr 28, 2006, 01:28 PM

My uderstanding is that Merom's fastest speed will be 2.33 GHz. Thanks daneoni. Link to that test please?

Last post in this thread (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=91459&page=5).

B

daneoni

Apr 28, 2006, 01:34 PM

No, vBulletin (and most other Forum softwares) have their own style. Inside tags.. Use the buttons in the advanced edit screen to see what the tags are.

Thanx. Soooo which of the tags do i use and can you give an example test

yellow

Apr 28, 2006, 01:42 PM

Thanx. Soooo which of the tags do i use and can you give an example test

Unfortunately, I can't give a good example because any tags I use as an example get parsed automatically.

Like I said, just "Reply To Thread" and look at the buttons above the text area. If you hoer over them with the cursor, you can see what each one does. Click it for an idea of how it gets inserted into the post.

For example:

[ url=http://www.appple.com]Apple[/url ]

(sans the space before url and after /url)

Is one way to use URL tags.

Multimedia

Apr 28, 2006, 01:50 PM

Thanx. Soooo which of the tags do i use and can you give an example testIt's really easy. You can highlight the text you want the link to become active on and then simply click on that Green Planet Earth Globe that has a chain link on its lower right - to the left of the link with the red x immediately below the smilie. That will reveal a dialog box that lets you paste in the link you have saved to your clipboard or you can type in. Then press "return" or "enter" and your link is automatically entered correctly for all those words you highlighted. :)

Then you can see the syntax used here for all URLs around your highlighted word or words.

daneoni

Apr 28, 2006, 01:56 PM

Got it. Thanx. Here is the Merom (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core) configurations link.

eVolcre

Apr 28, 2006, 02:36 PM

It's really easy. You can highlight the text you want the link to become active on and then simply click on that Green Planet Earth Globe that has a chain link on its lower right - to the left of the link with the red x immediately below the smilie. That will reveal a dialog box that lets you paste in the link you have saved to your clipboard or you can type in. Then press "return" or "enter" and your link is automatically entered correctly for all those words you highlighted. :)

Then you can see the syntax used here for all URLs around your highlighted word or words.

You keep equating the cost of RAm to our 'intelligence' and I think you're way off. What works for you cannot be translated to what works for us? Your 'multimedia way' is nonsense for a lot of us.

You seem to think it all depends on the dollar value. Some of us value convenience higher than a few dollars saved. Don't make assumptions that we are 'stupid' , like your posts seem to suggest.

If money was THAT important to me, maybe I wouldn't be buying a MAC. There are cheaper alternatives right? To me, money isn't a factor when compared to convenience. I travel a lot and do NOT need the hassle of taking out my memory when I call APPLECARE.

When I'm spending 3 grand, what difference does a few hundred make?

Your 'multimedia' way might work ... for YOU ... stop insulting those of us who value convenience over cost.

One of your posts said that 'if you have money to waste, go the 'non multimedia' way. Do what you want to do , for YOURSELF, quit projecting your OPINIONS on me.

eV

CanadaRAM

Apr 28, 2006, 03:01 PM

No it's not when you go through Ramseeker.com (http://ramseeker.com). You can't get the lower price by going to Omni directly. Omni does not yet offer 2GB sticks for the MacBook Pro. I don't know what you mean by that question. It works.
Following your pricing method - giving the price for 2 x 1 Gb modules. I never thought I would have to spell it for you....

I don't even know how you came up with those much higher prices.
That would be, the price that the Omni site gives you when you choose MacBook Pro

At the top of Ramseeker.com you choose MacBook from the popup menu for Mac ram. Then you press the "Go" button. Then down in the list of prices for 1GB sticks is $72.99 across from the words "Omni Technologies™ OPTIVAL®". NOTE. You DO NOT click on those words. You have to click on the PRICE $72.99 to get the link to Omni where you will see it queued up for you to buy at that price.

All of which you neglected to mention with your original link to ramseeker.
Any other method, like, for example, "lowest price PC2-5300 SODIMM" or cliking the Omni ad in the centre of the page, does not come up with that omni price, but gets you the standard Omni pricing I quoted.

Personallly, I don't give much credence to much of what that company says on their website - They claim CAS Latency 3 on their generic 667 MHz RAM.
I can guarantee you that nobody is building DDR2 SODIMMs capable of CL3 at 667 -- not at anywhere close to $80 or even $200
CL5 is standard.

Here's what another vendor says when you try to buy their generic $73 module:
"WARNING! - Because the MacBook Pro is a low power consumption notebook and is very sensitive to voltage regulation we highly recommend using one of our more voltage stable modules, which are our Factory Original or Major Brand selections. You may have stability issues with our Generic memory modules."

In other words, that vendor is honest enough to say - we just advertise this **** to get the lowest price on RAMseeker. We don't really think you should put it in your MacBook Pro.

regre7

Apr 28, 2006, 03:12 PM

One of your posts said that 'if you have money to waste, go the 'non multimedia' way. Screw you pal. Do what you want to do , for YOURSELF, quit projecting your frigging OPINIONS on me.

Burn, baby burn.... disco inferno!

I personally prefer first party or reliable (Crucial, Corsair) RAM, even if it costs a little more. I don't really need that much RAM anyway, maybe 1GB for the occasional video edit.

Multimedia

Apr 28, 2006, 05:12 PM

I personally prefer first party or reliable (Crucial, Corsair) RAM, even if it costs a little more.Chalk it up to no negative experience with low priced ram.

I see your point and will consider paying more for ram in future.

Please note that my instructions on how to get a low price from Omni also extends to all the other brands listed. You will find that by going through Ramseeker.com (http://ramseeker.com), you will be offered a lower price, with a link for that price to the vendor's website, than by going directly to any of the vendors' sites first. The overall point I wanted to make, but didn't explicitly, was that you will almost always save money - no matter which brand or quality of ram you buy - by going through those ramseeker lower price links.

bloodycape

Apr 30, 2006, 02:04 AM

I wonder when Apple is going to start using DDR3 that be beast of a machine.

matticus008

Apr 30, 2006, 03:02 AM

I wonder when Apple is going to start using DDR3 that be beast of a machine.
Probably some time after DDR3 becomes available...

Anonymous Freak

Apr 30, 2006, 02:45 PM

Does anyone know if the Merom upgrade speed increase was comparing an equal speed Core Duo and Merom, or was it comparing, say, a 1.5 GHz Core Solo to a 2 GHz Merom? If it was comparing faster GHz, then OBVIOUSLY it will be faster...

But, there is supposed to be SOME speed increase just from moving to Merom, even at the same speed. I just hadn't seen any hard numbers on what the improvement really was. (Also, moving to 64-bit will improve another 10-sih percent. So moving from 32-bit Core Duo to 32-bit Merom will have one speed boost, and from 32-bit mode Merom to 64-bit mode Merom another speed boost. But that would require a 64-bit compilation of the Mac OS for Intel.)

daveL

Apr 30, 2006, 04:08 PM

Here's a good place to compare the last PBs and the new MBP specs:

http://macspeedzone.com/html/hubs/specs/powerbook/macbookpro_1_06.shtml

daveL

Apr 30, 2006, 04:12 PM

DHagan4755

Apr 30, 2006, 05:43 PM

matticus008

Apr 30, 2006, 07:50 PM

Multimedia

Apr 30, 2006, 07:55 PM

Does anyone know if the Firewire 400 and Firewire 800 ports are on the same bus, or are they each dedicated?

I read somewhere in a forum where a user was debating on whether to get an iMac Core Duo or a MacBook Pro for video editing, it was recommended that the MacBook Pro would be a better choice since you could add another Firewire port on a different bus, which would be better for throughput.

Help, I'm confused. Thanks!There is no second FW bus on the iMac. On the 17" MacBook Pro there are separate FW800 and FW400 buses. One runs twice as fast as the other as long as you keep all the devices on it FW800. If you add any FW400 devices to the FW800 port it will throttle down everything to the FW400 speed. So you would run your camera in the FW400 port while you run your external scratch HD in a FW800 case hooked to that port. If money isn't an issue, the new Western Digital Raptor 150 GB drive in a FW800 case would be super fast in the editing-rendering phase of the video process.

matticus008

Apr 30, 2006, 08:00 PM

On the 17" MacBook Pro there are separate FW800 and FW400 buses.
Based on what? The PowerBooks all had single Firewire buses and there's been nothing to suggest that the MacBook line is any different.

nitynate

Apr 30, 2006, 08:06 PM

I want a 17" mac book pro, well, I will get a job this summer... :p

Multimedia

Apr 30, 2006, 08:58 PM

Based on what? The PowerBooks all had single Firewire buses and there's been nothing to suggest that the MacBook line is any different.Based on nothing. You may be right. So do you have to use only the FW800 port with only FW800 devices to get that 800mbps throughput? Once footage is captured at the FW400 rate from the camera, you can use only the FW800 drive hooked to only the FW800 port to get the faster throughput? I take it the two ports run into the same bus so if you use any 400 devices on the slower port, both ports run at 400. Is that right matticus008?

DHagan4755

Apr 30, 2006, 09:47 PM

bloodycape

Apr 30, 2006, 11:01 PM

I wish apple could do something like this spec wise that is. The color is ugly but 240gb and a fast gpu according to cnet the specs has my vote.
http://reviews.cnet.com/4660-10621_7-6513240.html?tag=vid&autoplay=true#mgallery

mishi

May 1, 2006, 12:10 AM

Unless of course you don't want to lug about a 7lb 'laptop'.

Come on Apple, where's the true laptops?

anyone who complains about the weight of the 17" powerbook/macbook really needs to go to the gym...or somthing......seriously half the 15" pc laptops weigh more than the 17" macbook/powerbook

in addition you will not get a PC laptop with equal performance and 17" screen that will weigh less than the 17" macbook!!

:D

mishi

May 1, 2006, 12:25 AM

ok, dont get me wrong here, both the macbooks are great gaming machines. but i would like to add that there are certianly *better* gaming laptops out there on the market. although as i have stated already, you will have a hard time finding a 15" PC laptop that is 1 inch thin with dual core 2Ghz and a X1600 PCE video card. however, you will have a harder time finding a mac laptop with a 7800GT or X1800 (whatever floats your boat).

i understand that it would be extremely difficult to fit either of these high end cards in the 1inch form factor of the macbook. but who said apple needs to stick to thair old laptops (i.e 12"ibook, 14"ibook, 12"powerbook, 15" powerbook 17" powerbook). they could make a larger version of the macbook spcifically aimed at gamers (or anyone who wanted a mac for the good looks and OSX, but wasnt willing to sacrifice performance for the small (or thin) form factor)

this was sort of what i thought the 17" macbook would be, not nearly identical to the 15" in terms of performance just with a few extra little ports and a better burner for all the yuppies to pretend they need.

kkty

end of rant:p

DragonHeart

May 1, 2006, 05:56 AM

hello, i was wondering, since the speakers on the macbook pro 17" are bigger than the ones on the 15,4", will the sound be of better quality? thanks

edesignuk

May 1, 2006, 06:09 AM

hob

May 1, 2006, 10:03 AM

Electro Funk

May 1, 2006, 10:24 AM

I never really liked the idea of a 17" laptop, the MacBook Pro 17 along with my computing "habits" may change that.

Firstly I don't actually ever take my laptop with me anywhere, it's either on my desk or on my lap while lounging :D So the size isn't really an issue. Then you look at the price, and although expensive it is definitely better value than the 15.

mmmmm....

I have to agree.. these are looking more and more appealing... especially since my lappy just took a dump on me... although i was really hoping to see a bit of a price drop on the 15's... without it, the 17 is clearly the better purchase...

Multimedia

May 1, 2006, 10:34 AM

My mind is a little fuzzy on what I read and where I read it...

But I thought I read that for video capture, esp. HD, that it was better to get the MacBook Pro because the iMac had two firewire 400 ports that shared the same bus, as if they didn't on the PowerBooks with FW 800 ports. Shared-bus FW ports are apparently not good for HD video capture throughput? Further that the MacBook Pro had ExpressCard/34 to add the Firewire 800 omitted making for a sounder choice in the HD video capture, editing, devices, realm. It doesn't specifically bother me per se. I just thought I would ask since I thought it was an interesting discussion relative to the Mac and HD video editing which is one of the things I believe the 17-inch MBP is aimed at. :)If by HD you really mean HDV then FW400 will be fast enough for capturing while recording. And if you capture while recording to the FW800 drive on the 17" MBP, then you can edit from that faster drive afterwards without an Expresscard/34 needed.

On the 15" MBP you would connect the camera to the FW800 HD connected to the FW400 port with a FW800 to FW400 adapter or cable using another adapter for the camera unless the FW800 case also has a FW400 port on it - which some of them do. To edit with the faster FW800 speed on the 15" MBP you would need an Expresscard/34 FW800 card which is going to cost about $100-$150 more.

edesignuk

May 1, 2006, 11:17 AM

You're getting one?Not yet, my 15" AlBook is still serving me well, as is my iMac G5. When the time comes to replace one or the other, the MacBook 17" may well replace them both.

Mikido

May 1, 2006, 01:36 PM

$2799 is frickin INexpensive! What Planet Are You On?

Makes the Refurbished 15" MacBook Pros look expensive. . . :rolleyes: :eek: :D :p I thought it would cost at least $2999. And I was very worried that FW800 was history. Thank GOD somebody in engineering put their foot down and insisted on it. The extra USB2 port is also very helpful. I can see using all three for a USB Mic, External Keyboard and media card reader on the desktop. In the field where there is no broadband, I can see needing the third one for an analog modem in a pinch.

Anyway I am wondering why you think $2799 is not a bargain MacKeeper? Please enlighten us with your wisdom. Should it be FREE? Or what? . :rolleyes:

It is very very expensive !!! Look at HP, same hardware, but an ugly cheap design. does the aluminum case make the $1000 difference. Don't think so. In les than 3 years you are gonna replace it anyway.

edesignuk

May 1, 2006, 01:56 PM

It is very very expensive !!! Look at HP, same hardware, but an ugly cheap design. does the aluminum case make the $1000 difference. Don't think so. In les than 3 years you are gonna replace it anyway.This is the highest level professional laptop we're talking about here, for £1999. Go and see how much you can pay for a top of the line Thinkpad.

edit: here's one, £2.3k (http://www5.pc.ibm.com/uk/products.nsf/$wwwPartNumLookup/_UT0FBUK?OpenDocument). Not widescreen, slower CPU, smaller HDD, though it does have a better video card (I think :confused: ).

MacSardine

May 1, 2006, 07:16 PM

ZigFilm

May 1, 2006, 08:21 PM

Are the 17" MBP's in stores yet? I can't seem to find anyone talking about owning one yet. I'm just curious because I'm heading to Chicago this weekend and would like to pick one up while I'm there...a little better than ordering it :D

Not yet (or at least not at the stores around me). According to the guy at Apple I called and the guy at the Apple Store I called, both said they wouldn't have the 17" MBP at the stores until next week, at the earliest. They both said that ordering online would be quicker. I ordered mine the day it came out and it hasn't shipped yet..........I want it now!!!

DHagan4755

May 1, 2006, 09:25 PM

Not yet (or at least not at the stores around me). According to the guy at Apple I called and the guy at the Apple Store I called, both said they wouldn't have the 17" MBP at the stores until next week, at the earliest. They both said that ordering online would be quicker. I ordered mine the day it came out and it hasn't shipped yet..........I want it now!!!
Yeah, Apple told me it would ship this week to customers who ordered online and be in Apple Stores next week.

MacSardine

May 1, 2006, 10:15 PM

Not yet (or at least not at the stores around me). According to the guy at Apple I called and the guy at the Apple Store I called, both said they wouldn't have the 17" MBP at the stores until next week, at the earliest. They both said that ordering online would be quicker. I ordered mine the day it came out and it hasn't shipped yet..........I want it now!!!I noticed you ordered the MBP 17" with the 7200 100 GB HD. Is that supposed to be much faster than the 5400 120 GB?

ZigFilm

May 1, 2006, 10:49 PM

I noticed you ordered the MBP 17" with the 7200 100 GB HD. Is that supposed to be much faster than the 5400 120 GB?

Well, according to some people here, it isn't really that much faster. I went with the 7200 just to be sure...

Surreal

May 1, 2006, 11:09 PM

i thought i could make it the TWO WEEKS AND CHANGE without stress...but i want the computer now apple...

i really do.

and i am not even halfway there yet.

dualsyste

May 2, 2006, 09:23 AM

A good 20 odd pages behind, but I wanted to post a reply.

People complain about the lack of a "true" laptop, and ask why oh why Apple! But its part of their incredibly clever strategy, the one they've flogged to death since the iPod. Market skimming strategy. When the iPod first came out it was close to $900AUD, and people who wanted it, would buy it. Now they slowly dropped the price to lure in as much people as they could at the higher price.

Now with these new laptops, they're unveiling the top of the line FIRST, because people just might not be strong enough to resist the temptation. And what if they can? Then you get threads like this which continue to enforce Apple in people's minds. This way they'll make more money, and later on they'll release the bread and butter laptops, which will open the floodgates, and when that happens, everyone will want one. Even people who have even bought a LARGER version (fooling themselves into thinking they want a true portable). So it's a win win strategy, as a long as Apple keep up the high levels of quality and build they've been known for.

And yes, they dont have DL and FW800 in the 15" because they're reserved for the 17" only (for now). Doesn't anyone remember the exact same strategy they pulled with the G4 laptops? :P

ninethirty

May 2, 2006, 09:39 AM

I chose the 5400 because our Mac IT guy here showed me the difference between a laptop with 7200 and one with 5400. The 5400 ran cooler and used less battery, while the exact opposite was true with the 7200... it was a no brainer for me.

Well, according to some people here, it isn't really that much faster. I went with the 7200 just to be sure...

yellow

May 2, 2006, 09:48 AM

There's been a couple folks on here (and other forums) that did some comparison tests and (they) found that the battery-life difference between the 5400RPM and the 7200RPM drives amounted to about 30 minutes.

Regardless, for anyone in the future reading this thread and considering getting an MPB for "professional" use.. do yourself a favor and get the 7200RPM drive and cope with the heat/battery. It makes a BIG difference when you're swapping to the HD (which you will), or reading/writting off the HD.

eVolcre

May 2, 2006, 09:55 AM

Yeah, Apple told me it would ship this week to customers who ordered online and be in Apple Stores next week.

Who told you this? Someone at a retail store or sales support on the phone? It'd be great if true ... I'd have it here for the weekend

eV

ZigFilm

May 2, 2006, 10:44 AM

Who told you this? Someone at a retail store or sales support on the phone? It'd be great if true ... I'd have it here for the weekend

eV

I know this wasn't direct at me but, when I called Apple to get an RMA number for something, I asked him if the 17"ers were going to ship soon. He made it sound like they were going to ship LAST week. Obviously, this isn't the case. Maybe they are holding them so the time difference between when online people get them is around the same time the Apple store people can get them...

eVolcre

May 2, 2006, 10:49 AM

I know this wasn't direct at me but, when I called Apple to get an RMA number for something, I asked him if the 17"ers were going to ship soon. He made it sound like they were going to ship LAST week. Obviously, this isn't the case. Maybe they are holding them so the time difference between when online people get them is around the same time the Apple store people can get them...

At this point, I'm taking anything APPLE says with a grain of salt. Make that a sack of salt ... :(

eV

fowler.

May 2, 2006, 04:04 PM

What's the shipping date that Apple is saying now?

DHagan4755

May 2, 2006, 05:11 PM

To repeat, an Apple sales rep told me that they would ship this week. Don't forget that this week runs through Friday. I wanted to pick one up in store, and she said that it wouldn't be available in store until next week.

fowler.

May 2, 2006, 06:05 PM

yeah yeah, I was referring to the "estimated ship date" that they give you once it's been purchased.

but i already have an answer. thanks.

dollystereo

May 2, 2006, 09:35 PM

I saw a video of a MBP 17 startup time incredible fast, my MPB 2.0 starts in 25 secs!!!
this one is like 7, take a look:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzx3jMQbDe8&search=macworld

Surreal

May 2, 2006, 10:06 PM

I saw a video of a MBP 17 startup time incredible fast, my MPB 2.0 starts in 25 secs!!!
this one is like 7, take a look:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzx3jMQbDe8&search=macworld

about 20 from the time he presses the button.

that is attractive. my G4 450 takes...well..i am not going to restart just to count, is how long it takes.

jaydub

May 2, 2006, 10:48 PM

WOW indeed @ that video.

I just had to restart my AMD64 2.0GHz machine (running WinXP) and it took one minute, seven seconds. My HP printer notification also crashed upon restarting.

zenvision

May 3, 2006, 04:17 AM

I saw a video of a MBP 17 startup time incredible fast, my MPB 2.0 starts in 25 secs!!!
this one is like 7, take a look:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzx3jMQbDe8&search=macworld
have you noticed theres no isight camera on that? weird, because the trackpad seems to be from a MBP

mpw

May 3, 2006, 04:28 AM

have you noticed theres no isight camera on that? weird, because the trackpad seems to be from a MBP
Ooh, conspiracy theory ahoy!

You’re right, what gives?

dollystereo

May 3, 2006, 06:04 AM

Is a Powebook!, no IR and isight

stew400523

May 3, 2006, 10:49 PM

Hi I haven't posted much but please don't flame me. I only post when I think its important. I was wondering what are other people's estimated shipping date for their 17" MacBook Pro? Mine is scheduled to ship by May 10th and to be arrived by the 17th. I called an apple rep and he even said that it could be shipped as early as the 5th of May.

iwamas

May 4, 2006, 01:01 AM

Mine says estimated ship date may 9th.... estimated delivery May 12th.... Haven't spoken to Apple, but hope they will ship out sooner...

daneoni

May 4, 2006, 02:03 AM

have you noticed theres no isight camera on that? weird, because the trackpad seems to be from a MBP

Thats definately a Powerbook and there is NO WAY it can start up in 7 seconds!. The video has been modded.....or maybe the computer has

mpw

May 4, 2006, 04:19 AM

Thats definately a Powerbook and there is NO WAY it can start up in 7 seconds!. The video has been modded.....or maybe the computer has
I'm guessing he's running a sped up video of a standard startup to give the appearance of an actual start-up.

BWhaler

May 4, 2006, 08:11 PM

There is no second FW bus on the iMac. On the 17" MacBook Pro there are separate FW800 and FW400 buses. One runs twice as fast as the other as long as you keep all the devices on it FW800. If you add any FW400 devices to the FW800 port it will throttle down everything to the FW400 speed. So you would run your camera in the FW400 port while you run your external scratch HD in a FW800 case hooked to that port. If money isn't an issue, the new Western Digital Raptor 150 GB drive in a FW800 case would be super fast in the editing-rendering phase of the video process.

um...what?

Please at least do a Google search before answering someone's question in an authoritative manner.

Thanks.

EDIT: Saw your comments that you were simply speculating the new few posts down. Friendly advice: say you're taking an educated guess and trying to be helpful. People will love ya for it just the same.

BWhaler

May 4, 2006, 08:18 PM

Well Jobs thinks we all want a MPB because it bitchen':cool:

I think he actually said, "hot as a kitchen"

icecavern

May 5, 2006, 04:19 AM

eVolcre

May 5, 2006, 08:54 AM

I assume the shipped email should arrive before I get my MBP?

When I ordered it said ship by the 8th and delivery by the 10th so I assume it'll ship to me on Monday... I hope it arrives on Tuesday, I want my new toy :D

Pete

Icecavern, I don't want to take this thread off topic but the machines are shipping today as per Apple. Check out this other thread I started ...

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=2378514&posted=1#post2378514

eV

rsg2

May 5, 2006, 09:46 AM

i just checked on my order status and they have just shipped it this morning. WOOHOO! Finally, the wait is over!!!

here's an email i got this morning:

Hello **********,

We wanted to let you know that your order has shipped. If you ordered multiple items, you may receive separate shipments with no additional shipping charges. An invoice for your shipped products will be emailed to you shortly. Visit Order Status to review your order at any time.

Best regards,
The Apple Store Team

Surreal

May 5, 2006, 10:55 AM

Shipped.

:D :D :D :D

myhappiness is a flowing river.

ZigFilm

May 5, 2006, 10:56 AM

eVolcre

May 5, 2006, 10:59 AM

Just when I thought I would never see my new 17" MBP, I get an email saying it has shipped today and I should get it by May 10th!!!!! :D :D Maybe my delivery plane will get some nice tail winds and it will turn up on the 9th....

Mine doesn't have a delivery date. Just that it shipped. I checked the order tracking and it was 'received by FedEx after cutoff"

Do they ship on Saturdays from China? If yes, I'm hoping to get mine by Monday at the latest ...

Excitement builds ...

eV

ZigFilm

May 5, 2006, 11:19 AM

Mine doesn't have a delivery date. Just that it shipped. I checked the order tracking and it was 'received by FedEx after cutoff"

Do they ship on Saturdays from China? If yes, I'm hoping to get mine by Monday at the latest ...

Excitement builds ...

eV

Mine actually says the same thing on the FedEx website. The email I got from Apple says "Estimated Delivery by May 10th" so maybe that means it might come a bit early.

I wonder if they work on Weekends... I assume it would ship on Saturday. I can only hope.... I have a job interview that requires FCP and After Efx on Friday the 12th (neither of which I am that good at) so I have to get this and fine tune my skills so the sooner I get it the better! :eek:

eVolcre

May 5, 2006, 11:29 AM

Mine actually says the same thing on the FedEx website. The email I got from Apple says "Estimated Delivery by May 10th" so maybe that means it might come a bit early.

I wonder if they work on Weekends... I assume it would ship on Saturday. I can only hope.... I have a job interview that requires FCP and After Efx on Friday the 12th (neither of which I am that good at) so I have to get this and fine tune my skills so the sooner I get it the better! :eek:

Yup, I just checked the email and my estimated delivery is also May 10th. Which is wierd since I paid extra for the 2 day shipping ...

eV

matticus008

May 5, 2006, 11:44 AM

Yup, I just checked the email and my estimated delivery is also May 10th. Which is wierd since I paid extra for the 2 day shipping ...

eV
To answer someone's question, the answer is no as far as shipping on weekends. FedEx does some deliveries on Saturdays, but no pickups as far as I'm aware. A Saturday drop will go out Monday from most places of business--especially international ones, since pre-customs clearance only happens on weekdays.

Also, if your computer is coming from China, the 2 day shipping isn't going to help. The customs and import procedures can and often do take a day or two themselves. All 2 day shipping means is that FedEx will complete all moving legs (that is, the parts where it's not sitting in customs or waiting for pickup) in 2 days' time from package receipt...which is not the same as it being delivered in 2 days.

eVolcre

May 5, 2006, 11:48 AM

To answer someone's question, the answer is no as far as shipping on weekends. FedEx does some deliveries on Saturdays, but no pickups as far as I'm aware. A Saturday drop will go out Monday from most places of business--especially international ones, since pre-customs clearance only happens on weekdays.

Also, if your computer is coming from China, the 2 day shipping isn't going to help. The customs and import procedures can and often do take a day or two themselves. All 2 day shipping means is that FedEx will complete all moving legs (that is, the parts where it's not sitting in customs or waiting for pickup) in 2 days' time from package receipt...which is not the same as it being delivered in 2 days.

I see. But what if it has allready been received by FedEx, Friday evening Shanghai time. Would FedEx do anything with it on Saturday? Or is it going to sit in the warehouse until Monday?

eV

Surreal

May 5, 2006, 11:48 AM

Yup, I just checked the email and my estimated delivery is also May 10th. Which is wierd since I paid extra for the 2 day shipping ...
eV

as did i...

if fedex has it... i don't see why they wouldnt move it on saturday. especially when i paid extra just so they would ship as quickly as possible.

eVolcre

May 5, 2006, 11:49 AM

Something similar happened with my 15" MBP. I got the email Friday mornign that it had shipped, it was delivered to me in Indiana on Monday morning. Quite a quick turnaround

eV

matticus008

May 5, 2006, 12:09 PM

I see. But what if it has allready been received by FedEx, Friday evening Shanghai time. Would FedEx do anything with it on Saturday? Or is it going to sit in the warehouse until Monday?

eV
It will probably go out on a flight as long as it's in FedEx's possession before the weekend starts. But when it arrives Stateside, it'll sit around until Monday before customs processing will even start. Sometimes they get through in a day, sometimes it takes a few days. It depends where it's going and which office has it and how backed up they are, etc. Sometimes the flights just line up and packages get through to places much faster than they should. It doesn't hurt that Indianapolis is a big shipping hub and that the major FedEx facility in Kentucky (or Tennessee?) isn't far off.

if fedex has it... i don't see why they wouldnt move it on saturday. especially when i paid extra just so they would ship as quickly as possible.
They'll move it during the weekend, as long as they already have it before the weekend and the package is in a facility that does weekend work. You didn't technically pay for them to ship it sooner, you paid for faster delivery after the point of shipping, but again if it's coming from China, it's not guaranteed to be faster.

ZigFilm

May 5, 2006, 12:36 PM

Yeah, I think getting it Monday would be a miracle... Tuesday is a possibility if it gets through customs fast - which I would imagine it would. It's not like an individual sending a random package and it gets stuck in customs. I'm sure Apple gets these things through pretty quickly.

asaraiva

May 5, 2006, 07:14 PM

Did anybody receive a shippment information email from Amazon yet?

I order mine there and I am really willing to receive it before the 12th... :)

BWhaler

May 5, 2006, 08:21 PM

Congrats to all of those who got their shipping notification.

I want one of these beauties so badly, but given everything I have read about the 15", I just didn't have the balls to order one.

I'm waiting for the reviews.

If there are no noise, heat, airport, bluetooth issues, I'll probably buy one.

TAV

May 5, 2006, 09:52 PM

I'm not really a review geek, but as I've been interested in the performance of this model (as are others) and since I already own a MBP 2G and a 20" iMac, I figured I'd just give you peeps a quick first impression, for what it's worth.

I got my hands on a 17" MBP last night. I should have written this fresh last evening, but I was dead tired. Anyway, here's what I recall:

Config was 2G RAM, 120GB HD. I had an opportunity to do a few things with it. This was a social setting and more of an iPod/iTunes dump, so I didn't really have an opportunity to run everything through it's paces.

As it wasn't my machine, I didn't have a copy of anything graphic/CPU intensive (like a nice nasty PPC photoshop session) to install and really give it a beating, however I put a copy of Handbrake on it and did a DVD conversion while also on Safari, with iTunes open and using iSquint to convert the video output of a recent surf session to H.264 for iPod.

I had it side-by-side with my old G4 17" (did not have my 2G MBP with me at the time), so this review is a bit slanted and it's not fair for me to try and "remember" last night's thoughts and compare now with my current MBP except in a few instances - and hey, I'd been drinking.

It connected via the home ethernet seemlessly, instantly and connection speeds were on par with every other machine running in the house.

I found the screen res and overall appearance to be much better than my G4 17".

Encoding FPS versus what I get for my 20" iMac were on par - with all apps running as outlined above.

I tested all the standard iLife apps, everything was snappy off the dock and worked well.

Speaker sound was superior to my G4.

No sticky keys. When prompted, paired with a wireless mouse with no issues.

Heat? What heat. My G4 was hotter just sitting there. I picked them both up a few times and did the lap test. The total time both were running (both idle and testing) was about 2 hours. Both machines were on a wooden kitchen table. Home temp was around 62F give or take.

Battery life was not tested, as we were plugged in.

Whine? Silent as a Church mouse. Typical drive noise when inserting a DVD, but nothing abnormal. I honestly could not hear the fans or drives at all. My good old G4 is pretty silent and the MBP was no different.

Overall quality? It seems better constructed than my current MBP, but that comment might be skewed as I was just happy to play around with it. But I did open and close the screen, walked around with it a bit, and it seems more "solid" than my current MBP.

Note: This is one machine and only my casual observations and first impressions.

Surreal

May 5, 2006, 10:45 PM

I got my hands on a 17" MBP last night...

you in china?

TAV

May 5, 2006, 10:47 PM

Southern Cal - after a brief stint with a MBP 17" from Santa Clara (or around there)....

stew400523

May 5, 2006, 11:31 PM

Has anyone noticed that the 17' MBP now say ships 3-5 days. This morning I know it was 5-7 days. I can't wait to get mine

Kace

May 6, 2006, 12:40 AM

1
MBPRO 17/2.16/1X1G/120/256VRAM/SD-DL-AUS
19/05/2006 25/05/2006

Mine ships on the 19th and ETD 25th. Sucks to live in australia.

DeVizardofOZ

May 6, 2006, 07:27 AM

Hi all,
looks like TAV has been lucky. My impression is that the 17" profits from errors made with the 15" MBP. In may also be that the 17"is made on a different assembly line where the quality control actually works:p .

What I have heard so far about the 15" model quality has devastated me. Wanted to get one for my wife and then a 17" for myself, preferably with the MEROM processor, due to be available later in 2006.
So here is a prospective customer, turned off because of quality issues, and only when these are resolved will spend 5 Grand for the lot. Even with the old PB's there have been plenty of issues, like a flickering screen, battery problems, bad keyboard quality.

Here's a bit of laptop history for you gals and guys:
TOSHIBA, build like a TIGER TANK... haha:D
My (very) old Toshiba 780DVD (10 TEN!! years old, and yes it already had a DVD drive, never had hardware problems, and still works fine today, considering the age and slow processor. It even came with a camera attached.... But this :) "luxury"had its price... At the time I bought it the tag was US$6.000.
10 years ago I could sit in my hometown in a cafe and connect my Toshiba to the WWW via mobile phone, collecting my mail, etc. Though it was slow, it worked fine.

Let us hope, that in the near future APPLE MB's and MBP's are not just on the outside build like tanks...;)

CIAO:D

Herfnwolf

May 6, 2006, 08:10 AM

DHagan4755

May 6, 2006, 08:37 AM

Yup, I got my shipping notice too! Finally! I should have it by Wednesday. :)

ZigFilm

May 6, 2006, 12:51 PM

Left Shanghai heading to North Carolina this morning.

Details
May 6, 2006 1:55 PM
Left origin
SHANGHAI CN

1:48 PM
Picked up
SHANGHAI CN

Package received after FedEx cutoff
8:44 AM
Package data transmitted to FedEx

I think picked up and left origin simply means it was picked up from the Apple plant and is now at the FedEx distribution center. Mine actually has "left origin" listed before it has "picked-up." When it actually gets on a plane, I believe it usually specifies enroute to destination or something... I hope I'm wrong, though! It would be nice if they were all on a plane on their way to us. Of course, they could be on a plane and the website just might not be updated.... :D

matticus008

May 6, 2006, 03:33 PM

I think picked up and left origin simply means it was picked up from the Apple plant and is now at the FedEx distribution center.
Yep, you're right, that's all "left origin" means. Note the "received after cutoff" message there too, specifying that it wasn't going anywhere on the 6th. Also, the tracking website is tricky. May 6th was actually yesterday in China, and I think all date/time specifications are done in time local to the current location of the package--so the time zone changes as it moves across the planet. That means you can conceivably (as I have experienced) have all package progress marked on May 6th even though it spans two "real world" days of travel.

Surreal

May 6, 2006, 06:22 PM

Yep, you're right, that's all "left origin" means. Note the "received after cutoff" message there too, specifying that it wasn't going anywhere on the 6th. Also, the tracking website is tricky.

why would they say recieved after cutoff AND left origin?

anyway, this speaks against the idea that they arent moving

this is mine

May 6, 2006 2:34 PM
Int'l shipment release
ANCHORAGE, AK

May 5, 2006 8:25 PM
Picked up
SHANGHAI CN

Package received after FedEx cutoff
8:25 PM
Left origin
SHANGHAI CN

6:29 PM
Package data transmitted to FedEx

Cryptography

May 6, 2006, 06:23 PM

Getting closer.....On US Soil!

May 6, 2006 2:26 PM
Int'l shipment release
ANCHORAGE, AK

matticus008

May 6, 2006, 09:25 PM

why would they say recieved after cutoff AND left origin?
Because "received after cutoff" means that it missed outbound flights for the day, and "left origin" means that it left the origin location (the Apple warehouse or original pickup location--not the country).

anyway, this speaks against the idea that they arent moving
Who said they aren't moving?

ZigFilm

May 6, 2006, 09:47 PM

Getting closer.....On US Soil!

May 6, 2006 2:26 PM
Int'l shipment release
ANCHORAGE, AK

4:59 PM
Departed FedEx location
ANCHORAGE, AK

2:34 PM
Int'l shipment release
ANCHORAGE, AK

Looks like mine is heading to L.A. already! I wonder if I will get it on Monday!?!?!? :D :eek: :confused:

buddhahacker

May 6, 2006, 10:37 PM

4:04 PM
Departed FedEx location
ANCHORAGE, AK

2:34 PM
Int'l shipment release
ANCHORAGE, AK

At this rate it is already in Texas getting staged for a Monday delivery by 4PM.

SWEET!!:D

Eldentistfuturo

May 6, 2006, 11:16 PM

dgoss

May 6, 2006, 11:44 PM

So...

I knew I was getting the 17" the second it came out and especially once I say FW800 was retained. I do editing on it w/FCP and we've upgraded to 5.1/Universal. I ordered on the 27th from Amazon to save tax and get the $150 rebate.

So then I get a project where I need to be cutting a lot right now and I'm dying to do this on the new machine and not the 1.5 G4 17" I have now. I end up stalking the three local Apple stores each morning thinking that they'll get one and I'll just bite the bullet on the savings and pick one up (and cancel my Amazon order when I do).

So now the Apple stores still don't have it and they're telling me I'm better off getting it from the online store. I spoke to the guys there and was able to get a professional discount that I wasn't aware of and in the end the price is pretty close to the Amazon one. Why didn't I do this on day one...

So now I have two online orders, waiting to see what ships first: Amazon on April 27th and Apple today (May 6th). I'll be done with the project by the end of next week when I'll probably get a machine from someone...

Anyone think Amazon's first ones will come in before this new order? Has anyone had experience for how long those guys lag in getting their first batch from the Apple-direct orders?

I'll post an update when something ships... or the local store gets one...

Jealous! :) Enjoy on Monday!

d.

BWhaler

May 7, 2006, 07:25 AM

can't wait to hear the first reviews.

Me too.

I really hope for Apple's sake there are no massive and embarrassing flaws.

It take a long time to build a great reputation. And only a moment or two to wreck it.

buddhahacker

May 7, 2006, 11:39 AM

4:04 PM
Departed FedEx location
ANCHORAGE, AK

2:34 PM
Int'l shipment release
ANCHORAGE, AK

At this rate it is already in Texas getting staged for a Monday delivery by 4PM.

SWEET!!:D

It's been sitting in Memphis for 4 hours now. If it gets to Texas this afternoon then there is a chance for delivery tomorrow. Otherwise, it's Tuesday.

wmealer

May 7, 2006, 05:46 PM

Mine was shipped from Shanghai 5/6, arrived in Anchorage 24 hrs. later (still 5/6), arrived at the Memphis hub this morning, and as of 3 pm, was listed as "in transit." Estimated delivery date still says 5/10, but it looks like I may get delivery tomorrow! Woo-hoo!

This will be my first laptop, and I picked a doosie. Long overdue after being stuck with this iMac DV Se for so long. I've been lurking here on this site for years, but I'm so excited about this purchase, I finally decided to register so I could post!

I'd better hurry up and order my bag: http://www.booqbags.com/Detail.bok?no=444

Surreal

May 7, 2006, 06:10 PM

Mine was shipped from Shanghai 5/6, arrived in Anchorage 24 hrs. later (still 5/6), arrived at the Memphis hub this morning, and as of 3 pm, was listed as "in transit." Estimated delivery date still says 5/10, but it looks like I may get delivery tomorrow! Woo-hoo!

I'd better hurry up and order my bag: http://www.booqbags.com/Detail.bok?no=444

I think a great many people will get theirs tommorrow. i live in new york, mine made it to jersey yesterday, i will have it tomorrow

just in case some people get so happy they forget, no one should forget about this ever so important procedure. (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86284)

ZigFilm

May 8, 2006, 11:46 AM

Just got it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

I won't get a chance to play for a few hours.

Woo-Hoo!!!!

powerziggy

May 8, 2006, 12:31 PM

Hi! I have just registered to this forum after lurking for a while. I have just received my new Mac book pro 17", and I have been playing with it for about an hour. So far an hour. So far so good. The computer is absolutely quiet (my surrounding is dead quiet). There is no whining noise or anything. The screen is so much better than my Powerbook 17". The wireless network works beautifully, and I would say the web pages load much faster. The ac adapter works really well so far, and it gets slightly warm, but not hot. The computer doesn't get hot either. I am so pleased with it so far, and I am glad I took the plunge. I will fill it more as I get to spend more time with it.

wmealer

May 8, 2006, 02:40 PM

knifegun

May 8, 2006, 04:03 PM

Same here. :)

I love it. For my first laptop, I'm confident I waited for the exact right model, and I couldn't be any happier!

I pick mine tonight. They tried to deliver it today but I was on my way back from the Kentucky Derby :)

eVolcre

May 8, 2006, 05:02 PM

Same here. :)

I love it. For my first laptop, I'm confident I waited for the exact right model, and I couldn't be any happier!

:(

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=199235

Surreal

May 8, 2006, 05:42 PM

silent. cool. but it's only been on for a few hours. i havent used any ofmy audio programson it yet, i didnt mail in the logic crossgrade yet, but i am priority mailing it today.

airport reception is nice.

i won't post much review wise because my other computer is a G4 450 powermac. so almost everything is "snappy" but i do use a G5 t work and this is a bit more respive even with only 512 RAM ( i have 2GB modules but am calibrating the battery first) and the battery life seems to actually be round 3 hours, which i very happy with.

so... happy.

ZigFilm

May 8, 2006, 07:04 PM

So, this is my first Mac laptop since '91 so I don't have a large frame of reference, so, that being said, my 17 incher has been on for about 4 hours. I have been installing Final Cut Studio for the last 90 minutes and this thing is HOT! It's been working pretty hard installing this software and I still have 45 minutes to go, but I hope this isn't how it's going to be every time it's on for longer than a couple hours. It's VERy quiet though! I don't even hear a fan (maybe that's why it's so hot - they forgot my fan!). The whole thing is hot (well, not the monitor). Anyway, I'll let you know if it's this hot with just some average use.... Pretty cool computer though!

McBookPro

May 9, 2006, 01:02 AM

I ordered it on 24th April, and it is still stuck in China, since 6th May!!!!! :mad: There is a potential delay at Pudong Intl Airport today (8th May)!!!!!
After it leaves the underdeveloped world, it will have to face another one: I live in Paris, and I guess one of our frequent strikes can delay its arrival a little bit more........
In the meantime, I'll read your reviews ;)

ZigFilm

May 9, 2006, 05:39 PM

buddhahacker

May 9, 2006, 06:15 PM

The MBP arrived yesterday and 40 minutes later I was dual booting. Cool stuff. My initial thoughts are that it is big, fast and a bit toasty. I have been exercising the machine loading software and music so it's probably running hotter than normal. I also have the 7,200 RPM drive which runs a bit on the hot side.

So far so good. The boot time for OSX is fast. I have noticed that the battery life when running OSX is much longer than that of XP. More on this later.

dgoss

May 9, 2006, 09:04 PM

So the local Apple store called and said they had them so that beat both Amazon and the Apple online store. They would hold it for two hours until I could get there and then they told me they didn't have any for sale - there were just five for display! They ended up selling me one as I explained they had called and I cancelled my other outstanding orders and lost my place in line.

Just getting it setup, beatiful so far. Replaces my 1.5GHz G4 17" and the first thing other than the cool built in iSight that I noticed is the remarkably better screen. So far so good.

d.

YS2003

May 9, 2006, 09:06 PM

I know I don't need another laptop (I am out of desk space, as you can see in my sig); but my basic instinct has been calling me to get a 17" MBP. But, I feel "resistance is futile" power to which I am gravitated if I may use a very geeky metaphor. I have 12" and 15" Macs and a 17" will make it whole. By reading threads on MBP, it seems 17" is behaving more mature than 15" as I read countless complains about heat, noise and other issues with a 15" MBP.

By reading the initial reviews of new 17" MBP owners, this MBP iteration is a solid machine.

I have extra iSkin for my PBs. Can someone confirm MBP's keyboard layout/dimensions are identical to our good old yore's Power PC Macs (ie. PowerBook and iBook)?

gooberone

May 10, 2006, 08:29 AM

grenoble

May 10, 2006, 10:16 AM

Just found out it's been picked up by fedex this morning in china and it's on it's way. A lot faster than the estimated shipping date given to me of May 15th. I put in the order May 4th. I'm going out of the country end of May so I'll be able to take with while I travel..yeaaaa! :D I upgraded to the 2 day shipping so I hope I can get it by this Friday. For those of you that have yours, how long did it take for you to receive yours?

What did you order (memory/hard drive ?)

I ordered mine May 5th and it gives me a shipping date of May 16th ... Maybe it will ship tomorrow :-)

gooberone

May 10, 2006, 11:46 AM

1 gb memory and 120gb 5400 hd. I just checked fedex again and I have an estimated delivery of May 12th at 10:30am. Glad I took that day off...woohoo!

I'm glad I ordered online, but didn't think it would ship this soon. I was going to wait until they arrived in the apple stores but I kept getting the "next week" answer every time I asked. First time I inquired was april 29th and they said arrival should be that following week. Then I call may 4th and again they said following week so I just said the heck with it I'll order online. :p

MacSardine

May 10, 2006, 02:22 PM

Just found out it's been picked up by fedex this morning in china and it's on it's way. A lot faster than the estimated shipping date given to me of May 15th. I put in the order May 4th. I'm going out of the country end of May so I'll be able to take with while I travel..yeaaaa! :D I upgraded to the 2 day shipping so I hope I can get it by this Friday. For those of you that have yours, how long did it take for you to receive yours?
This is great news for you...and me as well. I ordered mine a day later than you and was given the estimated ship by date of May 16th. If I do the math, that means I might see mine this Saturday or Monday. Thanks for posting the good news.