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Boe11

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 12, 2010
516
23
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?
 

Fultonpics

macrumors member
Jun 21, 2010
40
0
i went from the 17" to 15" retina. I mostly leave it at work hooked up to a 27", but i need it for weekend photo work and travel. the 15" is much nicer to carry and the screen allows me to load up several spreadsheets and word docs. I don't miss the 17" at all.
 

vpro

macrumors 65816
Jun 8, 2012
1,195
65
Went back.

I had been working and producing tons of work on the early 2007's 17" MBP till earlier this year when I bought a new 2011 late Oct. 2.5Ghz 17" i7 MBP and upgraded the heck out of it. Only having had the maxed out 15" r-macbook for 14 days - I quickly realized it wasn't living up to my expectations so I returned it and brought another 17" MBP and gifted it to my nephew in med school, and also maxed the heck out of it for him. I am proud that I returned the 15". Waiting for the return of the PRO of the MACBOOK PRO 17" MBP for June 2013.
 

akdj

macrumors 65816
Mar 10, 2008
1,186
86
62.88°N/-151.28°W
I've got a pair of 17's from 2011--2.2 & 2.4. I put an SSD in the 2.4. Love em both. But...when the retina was announced, I bought! Couldn't be happier. My 2.2 is going up on Craigslist tomorrow AM. I'll hang on to the 2.4--as we use them in the field. Other than the price premium, I've never been happier with a computer. It's awesome.

I've been using 17" MBPs for the past 5 years. Thought I'd miss the 'real estate' of the screen. The high resolution of the rMBP more than makes up for that 'loss'

Good luck

J
 

AlvinNguyen

macrumors 6502a
Jun 23, 2010
820
3
I had both the 2.3ghz i7 early 2011 and 2.5ghz late 2011 17" MBP before selling them to get my rMBP 2.6/16/256 and I don't miss the 17" at all - well except when using photoshop but hopefully adobe will fix that soon.

The rMBP really shines for editing on the go. I also edit on a 27" tbd anyways so 15 vs 17 screen size doesn't matter as much. In any case the resolution on the retina makes this point moot
 

Macman45

macrumors G5
Jul 29, 2011
13,197
135
Somewhere Back In The Long Ago
I've nearly caved twice now. I've go hands on with the Retina, the screen is nice, I have several people who want my 17" but something keeps holding me back.

My MBP is heavy to cart around, but the real-estate is what keeps me holding on.
 

rev.b

macrumors regular
May 1, 2009
232
0
Portugal
I worked a bit with a rMBP and 15" is simply too small to have a 1920x1200 workspace. Shortsighted people will sympathise.

I's much more portable than the 17", but I wouldn't trade my '11 17" for a 15" rMBP.
 

nephilim7

macrumors regular
Jun 13, 2008
210
0
I went from a 2010 17" hi-res to the 15" rMBP. I was very put off by the 17's apparent disappearance from Apple's lineup, and I thought that my preferred resolution (1920x1200) would be too small on a 15".

That said, I am very happy with the rMBP 15", I should mention I have better than 20/20 vision (at age 40 no less, knock on wood).

The machine I have was made 3 weeks ago, has a samsung panel, and suffers from none of the problems I have been reading about. This is the best machine I've ever owned.
 

jcmendes

macrumors regular
Aug 22, 2012
153
105
Portugal
I bought last summer a 17 "MBP, could have bought a rMBP15" but preferred the 17 ", then bought a disc SSD of 256 and 16G of ram.

The resolution is almost retina, the definition is very good, and we have good grafica for resolution.

Right now, who get a good price for the MBP 17, still on the market (as I could) think it will be an excellent option.

In my case it works more like a desktop, and the same weight and size, compared with other portable 17 "is more than good
 

Boe11

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 12, 2010
516
23
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. :mad:
 

vpro

macrumors 65816
Jun 8, 2012
1,195
65
Regardless...

My experiences has been that saving money and upgrading the heck out of the late Oct 2011 17"MBP ended up being that I saved a lot to get an even more powerful, productive and beautiful system out of it, that is perfect for me and my musical production needs, live and in the studio, on the road, plane or on my bike. My new late Oct 2011 17" MBP 2.5Ghz i7 beauty, runs blazingly fast, silent, runs cool, maintaining long battery life (up to 13.4 hours) and gets every thing done at just the right amount of time needed. I'll wait for the retina 17" MBP. It is on its way ^_^
 

rev.b

macrumors regular
May 1, 2009
232
0
Portugal
And with a cMBP you can easily add more storage, near impossible and very expensive with rMBP.

I have a 256 Gb SSD + a 750 Gb hdd in optibay. It's a near perfect storage solution and I fail to see how I can do something similar in a rRMB...

As my Macbook pro is my main computer (despite having a nehalem Xeon @ 4.0 Ghz / 12 Gb RAM windows machine under the desk) I really like a SSD/HDD combo solution.
 

rmcguinness9894

macrumors newbie
Nov 1, 2012
22
0
Please don't listen to @vpro for anything. He has a serious obsession with the 17" MacBook and gives completely biased answers. He goes on everybody's threads and says why the 17" is perfect for him. Congratulations buddy, not everybody has the same needs as you. The reason people ask questions is because they want them answered as they pertain to them. I hope Apple never makes a 17" retina model just because I don't want him to be pleased.
 

thekev

macrumors 604
Aug 5, 2010
7,005
3,343
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. :mad:

I can understand you concerns over pricing. That probably contributed to lack of sales at the 17" level. Around the powerbook era, top spec options were tied to 17" models. Since then the average notebook cost has dropped considerably. The primary thing I wished to mention was that Sandy to Ivy wasn't anywhere near the difference of Nehalem to Sandy. Gaining quad cpu options was a huge gain. As a point of reference, the refurbished 15" models have been around $1200-1400 since the debut of ivy. Upgraded configurations still cost more, but at that point it might be more logical to look at a refurbished ivy.
 

Jazwire

macrumors 6502a
Jun 20, 2009
900
118
127.0.0.1
I did.

Honestly sometimes I do miss the sheer size of the 17" screen, gaming,photoshop.

My wife still has my 17" and its just so heavy compared to the rMBP, it feels awkward to use now, also the rMBP doesn't get as warm.

Having both, I would keep the 15" rMBP, though if they came out with a 17" rMBP i might be tempted.
 

vpro

macrumors 65816
Jun 8, 2012
1,195
65
Understand that...

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.
 

rev.b

macrumors regular
May 1, 2009
232
0
Portugal
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.

Yes, and that's why it's a great mistake for apple to cancel the 17" cMBP. They will loose many professional costumers that were willing to pay for it. It's obvious that apple canceled 17" to force these customers to go rMBP, but they do not have any use for a 15" laptop.

17" cMBP R&D costs should be more than covered now. It wouldn't hurt to keep the classic line, market diversification is the rule and apple should know better, they invented iPod, iPhone and iPad, and those are paying the bills, not macbooks.
 

underblu

macrumors regular
Apr 19, 2010
167
12
I love my 17. I got to use a rMBP 15 and liked the form factor a lot but still prefer the larger AG screen of my 17. Performance was similar between both machines. I will likely buy the rMBP 15 at the next refresh if no 17" version is introduced.

The way I see it is like this I know lots of folks connect their MBP/MBA to bigger screens. To me the great thing about a laptop is to take your desk anywhere. Whether I'm out on my deck, in bed, in the kitchen, in the living room. I'm not tied to a desktop and the 17" is just large enough not to make me really want a larger dedicated monitor. So for me the 17" is perfect balance of screen size and form factor.

Now don't get me wrong, if you are on the go, using your MBP for work/school toting a 17" around all day will get tiring fast. It is not the ideal form factor from a mobility standpoint. And the 15" while better as mobile laptop still falls short of the MBA and 13"rMBP.

So ideally, I'd go with the MBA as my take around and the 17" MBP as my main machine.

However, if you can have just one, then the new rMBP 15" is probably the ultimate compromise fairly light and compact extremely powerful. It is the gold standard for laptops. I mean performance, design form factor battery life their is really nothing that can touch it. Except as I mentioned a MBP/MBA combo.
 

vpro

macrumors 65816
Jun 8, 2012
1,195
65
Thanks both above!

The more I think about it, how productive can one be while in transit (like in a moving object) with their notebooks? Having said that, anytime you use them you are doing something - so that is good. I know I am always editing and mastering my music on the go as I am away from my "desk" often and yes the 17" MBP is like bringing your desk along! I wish it has a built in toaster oven like the 15" rMacBook did. I kid I kid !

I usually save my work and antsy fingers till I get to my destination to do my work on the 17" MacBook Pro, I carry her all over the place and the more I did, the less I felt she was with me - which meant I gained more strength from it that's all.

The way Apple pays their bills with all the iOS devices is great, which means more money for them to develop greater and greater PROSumer machines like a new 17" rMBP ^_^

Today I'm the birthday girl soooooo that is one of my wishes!

I wish you all good health, prosperity, joy infinite and so much love. Please love one another more than you ever have!


Thank you!
 

zackkmac

macrumors 6502a
Jul 7, 2008
879
129
Denver
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. :)
 

vpro

macrumors 65816
Jun 8, 2012
1,195
65
Congrats!

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. :)

Woohoo!!! HAPPY Day yeah ! Congrats !
 

mac jones

macrumors 68040
Apr 6, 2006
3,257
2
Gosh there's a lot of threads with people asking about this sort of thing, saying they already have bought and returned them more than 4 times.

I mean, i just got off a thread in the iPad forum, where the guy asked if he needed an iPad if he already has a MBP and an iPhone.

thing is, he's already bought and returned iPads 6 times.

No wonder the OPs need to ask questions like this, cuz they certainly don't have an answer. :D
 

wethackrey

macrumors 6502
Feb 27, 2007
259
17
Redondo Beach, California
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?
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.
 
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