Thanks for the feedback. I'm kind of on the fence. I've really enjoyed using the 17s over the years, but moved to the rMBP this year. I've now sent 4 of them back for various defects/issues and find myself missing the 17 that just seemed to always work. Regardless of resolution, I just really like having the extra screen size. It doesn't feel as cramped and there's something about stepping down from 17" to 15.4" that just changes the dynamic for me. I also miss my AG screen.
Having said that, it's tough to justify spending around the same price for generation old technology. If Apple had continued the 17" cMBP, I don't think there would have been any question for me at this point, but as fast as technology moves, I have a tough time dropping that much money on something that's already behind the 8-ball.
I wish the refurb store would have dropped the 17" prices by a few hundred, but they've pretty much remained the same or went up in some cases. At $1600-$1700 instead of $2100-$2200, this would be a more competitive decision.
Understand people that when you put 2 SSDs in a 17" MacBook Pro and upgrade the RAM to 16GB, it is now a totally different notebook, you do know that right? It becomes a class of it's own and my personal experience compared to my ex maxed out 15" rMacBook, was that there was no comparison, they are simply different from each other. The 17 incher ran faster, quieter, cooler, smoother, steadier and over all more efficient on battery, achieving maximum productivity.
You don't turn to a 17" MacBook Pro unless you know what you are getting into and how it will best serve your needs. People get the 13 and 15 inchers mainly for portability. But 17" is the best marriage of power and portability for the PROSumer.
Thank you.
I went from a 17" MBP (2.3GHz quad i7, 16GB RAM, 1TB HDD) to a 15" rMBP (2.7GHz, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD). But the image retention has gotten bad and overall I am just not happy with its performance though I love the size and weight.
I sold it and am now going back to a 17" 2.3GHz, same exact specs except it will have a 512GB SSD and AppleCare until 2015 with $1400 to spare. Very happy.
It seems this same question has been asked and answered on this forum a number of times. One of my earlier responses to it was here. The bottom line is, I was worried about losing screen real estate. That concern was completely unfounded. I'm a huge fan of the 15" MBPr.Just curious to hear some feedback from those who have made the transition. Are you happy with the new rig, or do you to have the 17 back?