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17 inches

mrmister

mrmister

Suspended
Original poster
Dec 19, 2008
655
774
I'm wanting to get a 17 inch mac book pro, exclusively as a tv substitute in the living room of my apartment. It would run Hulu, Netflix, and VLC. I have an existing SSD I would put in it to speed it up.

What's a reasonable price for a 17 inch MBP from 2011? What about a C2D from 2009 or so?
 
mrmister said:
I'm wanting to get a 17 inch mac book pro, exclusively as a tv substitute in the living room of my apartment. It would run Hulu, Netflix, and VLC. I have an existing SSD I would put in it to speed it up.

What's a reasonable price for a 17 inch MBP from 2011? What about a C2D from 2009 or so?
Click to expand...

If it's "exclusive" as you say, why not get a small TV and an internet connected player? That would be cheaper, easier to obtain and probably give you a better viewing experience overall.
 
Last edited:
mrmister said:
I'm wanting to get a 17 inch mac book pro, exclusively as a tv substitute in the living room of my apartment. It would run Hulu, Netflix, and VLC. I have an existing SSD I would put in it to speed it up.
Click to expand...

This is wrong in so many ways.
  1. Display is wrong aspect ratio (16:10) for TV
  2. low power TN display technology is good for energy saving but has limited viewing angle which isn't good for TV viewing.
  3. Attached keyboard makes it awkward to use as a TV, much better would be monitor + Roku (or other box) or monitor + Mac mini with a bluetooth keyboard and mouse if you really need VLC.
  4. It takes away a 17" MBP from someone who really needs one.
  5. An SSD won't increase the speed of Hulu, Netflix, or VLC.
 
WOW. Some of you had questions; some of you were rude. I'll answer all of it.

"do not get a 2011 model."

This is because of Radeongate—good advice, thanks for reminding me of that.

"If it's "exclusive" as you say, why not get a small TV and an internet connected player? That would be cheaper, easier to obtain and probably give you a better viewing experience overall."

Except it doesn't. I have a 15" MBP I currently use on that coffee table. I love the fact that I can close it and put it away simply. No small TV I have heard of actually vanishes.

"Yes, or get a 23/24" in monitor, it can be had for under $200 these days."

Yes, if I had no sense of aesthetics or design in my apartment. And in my apartment, a laptop dedicated to viewing is a lot better for me than a 23" monitor. I actually have an old 23" Apple display—I don't want to use it for this.

"This is wrong in so many ways."

Jesus, you're damn rude. But please—tell me.

"Display is wrong aspect ratio (16:10) for TV"

By "TV" I mean I use it to play all sorts of media, many of which are movies.

"low power TN display technology is good for energy saving but has limited viewing angle which isn't good for TV viewing."

I'm using a 15" for this purpose now, and it's great. And I like the energy savings. I abhor giant ****ing TVs. I don't understand how everyone has learned to live with them.

"Attached keyboard makes it awkward to use as a TV, much better would be monitor + Roku (or other box) or monitor + Mac mini with a bluetooth keyboard and mouse if you really need VLC."

Well, of course I need VLC—I bittorrent a lot. (Gasp! Shock!) Again, none of you know my NY apartment. I don't want a damn monitor in the living room except when I am watching video. I certainly don't want more bluetooth keyboards and mice—jesus, it would be so cluttered.

"It takes away a 17" MBP from someone who really needs one."

Who are you, a humanitarian? You don't answer any of my actual questions, and then I'm supposed to not buy a used 3, 4, or 5 year old computer for fear that a more deserving person should have it? Bizarre.

"An SSD won't increase the speed of Hulu, Netflix, or VLC."

It will help compensate if the device runs the OS more slowly, which is why I mentioned it.

If any of you wish—go back, look at my actual questions, feel free to get back to me with answers.

And thanks for reminding me about the 2011 debacle, the helpful people who did that instead of telling me how everything I want is bad and wrong.
 
mrmister, I'll be honest in that I didn't see anybody being rude in response to your thread. Perhaps some comments were deleted. Anyway -- a gentle reminder that it's very easy to misinterpret meanings when it's text only. If I may provide some assurance that I don't think anybody meant to be rude or patronising.

But I digress: back to the topic in hand.

Definitely avoid the 17", and instead get an external monitor/TV which will be much better for your use.
 
mrmister said:
WOW. Some of you had questions; some of you were rude. I'll answer all of it.
Click to expand...

Not meaning to be rude. I've used monitor+mini, monitor+ROKU, monitor+Apple TV, an iMac, a "smart" TV, and a 15" high-res, antiglare MBP all for viewing TV and movies and the MBP was the worst of the bunch. I'd also expect the price of a 17" MBP to be unreasonably high because it has a base of professional users (mostly videographers, photographers, and graphics designers) that still clamor for them.
 
I get your ideal

I understand why you want what you want but it is still a bad buy, the price will be high, it is prone to GPU failure in all the 2009-2011 versions and it is not teh best thing to watch TV and movies on.

Why not go for one of the older imacs 21.5 inch it'll look good, can be considered a feature and doesn't take up much space.
 
You are impossible, you forum.

Look at my question again. I'm just asking how much a 17 inch laptop costs in the current market. I ask about 2011 and 2009 ones.

My mistake was telling any of you what it will mostly be doing, because then I get a lot of being told not to do this...which is totally your right, absolutely, but man it is annoying after I just pointed that all out.

"Definitely avoid the 17", and instead get an external monitor/TV which will be much better for your use."

I...sigh.

I just explained, at some length, repeatedly, why I didn't want to do that. Unless you have a line on an external monitor that folds up and can be put away in a moment, ideally with a battery so I don't even have to always plug it in if I don't choose to, and runs VLC and Transmission locally...

...but that sounds like a laptop. I know, because I do it NOW for years and years.

"I've used monitor+mini, monitor+ROKU, monitor+Apple TV, an iMac, a "smart" TV, and a 15" high-res, antiglare MBP all for viewing TV and movies and the MBP was the worst of the bunch."

I suspect you didn't have a big priority on putting it away so that your living room isn't full of screens.

I am interested in the monitor+Apple TV...is that possible with a 23 inch Apple monitor? I'm a little curious. But mostly I'm not into it.

"I'd also expect the price of a 17" MBP to be unreasonably high because it has a base of professional users (mostly videographers, photographers, and graphics designers) that still clamor for them."

Right—but how much are people asking now? What does the market bear, in people's experience? This was the only thing I was asking about.

"bad buy, the price will be high"

How high?! That was the question I'm asking, not how I live my life.

"it is prone to GPU failure in all the 2009-2011 versions"

Actually, I'm pretty sure that's just the 2011 versions.

"Why not go for one of the older imacs 21.5 inch it'll look good, can be considered a feature and doesn't take up much space."

Why is THAT so much better than a MBP? Also—I can't put an iMac away easily AT ALL.

I'm sorry I'm being pissy—but you all can't stop telling me I'm doing it wrong. I don't think it's very rare for people in NYC to watch video on a laptop.
 
People here just don't want to give bad advice. You shouldn't have said what you were using it for if you didn't want that sort of advice.

However a look on EBAY at sold, functional 17" MBPs are in the $400-$500 range. Powermax.com, which refurbishes them, has 17 in stock starting at $679 (and going way up from there).
 
If you had checked the completed auctions on eBay you would have found newer 17" models going for $1,200 to $1,500 and a bunch were 2011 models. Some of the older models sell for about $800 - $1,000.

As an aside, I happen to like my 67" DLP TV. Fits well into my house. People on screen are about the same size as if they were in the room with me. Very life like. It cost me less than my 15" MBP.
 
"If you had checked the completed auctions on eBay..."

I did. I came here because I thought people might have something to add.

"You shouldn't have said what you were using it for if you didn't want that sort of advice."

NOTED. ;)
 
mrmister said:
"This is wrong in so many ways."

Jesus, you're damn rude. But please—tell me.

"Display is wrong aspect ratio (16:10) for TV"

By "TV" I mean I use it to play all sorts of media, many of which are movies.

"low power TN display technology is good for energy saving but has limited viewing angle which isn't good for TV viewing."

I'm using a 15" for this purpose now, and it's great. And I like the energy savings. I abhor giant ****ing TVs. I don't understand how everyone has learned to live with them.

"Attached keyboard makes it awkward to use as a TV, much better would be monitor + Roku (or other box) or monitor + Mac mini with a bluetooth keyboard and mouse if you really need VLC."

Well, of course I need VLC—I bittorrent a lot. (Gasp! Shock!) Again, none of you know my NY apartment. I don't want a damn monitor in the living room except when I am watching video. I certainly don't want more bluetooth keyboards and mice—jesus, it would be so cluttered.

"It takes away a 17" MBP from someone who really needs one."

Who are you, a humanitarian? You don't answer any of my actual questions, and then I'm supposed to not buy a used 3, 4, or 5 year old computer for fear that a more deserving person should have it? Bizarre.

"An SSD won't increase the speed of Hulu, Netflix, or VLC."

It will help compensate if the device runs the OS more slowly, which is why I mentioned it.

If any of you wish—go back, look at my actual questions, feel free to get back to me with answers.

And thanks for reminding me about the 2011 debacle, the helpful people who did that instead of telling me how everything I want is bad and wrong.
Click to expand...

You really come off as clueless.
 
Beginning of September I paid $1700 on Ebay for October 2011, non-matte screen, excellent condition, 512GB SSD, 8GB RAM, 2 more months of Apple Care...which was in the ballpark of where I expected it to be, after having watched the prices for a couple of weeks. Part of the problem with figuring pricing is the different variations in RAM, Hard Drive, matte screen, overall condition, Apple Care, how much you trust the listing/seller, etc.

But you really shouldn't use it to watch movies. (Just kidding!)
 
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