17" MBP Owners...huddle up!

[Hillskill]

My 2010 17" Core i5 MBP has been a power house for me. As a film maker having a mobile edit suite and data wrangler on location has been indispensable. Generally I find the speed and responsiveness on the unit to be great but I have found myself casting longing looks at the rMBP. The main thing about my 17" is the weight. Its truly a back breaker if I am also lugging around camera equipment aswell. On occasion I have wanted to started editing on the plane back from a shoot but the size of the 17" meant it just wasn't possible. The rMBP will be a massive reduction in bulk with the added bonus of Ivy Bridge and of course the higher res panel. However, I was using my 17" MBP just last week and thought just how remarkable it is to have a 1920x1200 resolution crammed into just a 17" screen. Is there much of benefit to be had with rMBP in this respect? I doubt it!
As it stands I have decided I can live with the bulk of my 17" especially considering I probably only take it in the field 5-6 times a year. I think I will probably replace the internal HDD with an SSD and replace the DVD Drive with a 1TB HDD. Should give her a nice speed bump and then perhaps I could pick up a 11" MBA later in the year for rough edits and data wrangling on the road and portability.
Any other 17" owners consider the rMBP and jump **** or did you decide to stick?

 

[Auzburner]

My 2010 17" Core i5 MBP has been a power house for me. As a film maker having a mobile edit suite and data wrangler on location has been indispensable. Generally I find the speed and responsiveness on the unit to be great but I have found myself casting longing looks at the rMBP. The main thing about my 17" is the weight. Its truly a back breaker if I am also lugging around camera equipment aswell. On occasion I have wanted to started editing on the plane back from a shoot but the size of the 17" meant it just wasn't possible. The rMBP will be a massive reduction in bulk with the added bonus of Ivy Bridge and of course the higher res panel. However, I was using my 17" MBP just last week and thought just how remarkable it is to have a 1920x1200 resolution crammed into just a 17" screen. Is there much of benefit to be had with rMBP in this respect? I doubt it!
As it stands I have decided I can live with the bulk of my 17" especially considering I probably only take it in the field 5-6 times a year. I think I will probably replace the internal HDD with an SSD and replace the DVD Drive with a 1TB HDD. Should give her a nice speed bump and then perhaps I could pick up a 11" MBA later in the year for rough edits and data wrangling on the road and portability.
Any other 17" owners consider the rMBP and jump **** or did you decide to stick?

I jumped ship from a 2010 17". Imaging cramming 2880X1800 into a smaller space than the 17" = You have the rMBP. I love the weight loss plan and smaller size, but it's also even more capable. While I loved having just the largeness, the retina display is unreal.

 

[-MRB]

I just recently got a late 2011 17" MBP. The reason I chose it over the 15" was for the real estate. However now I've finally set up my home office & will be connecting my MBP to an external monitor - I'm wondering whether it was a mistake to go with the bulky 17".

I don't have to take it away with me often, other than to work (which I drive)
I think if I had to commute by foot or cycle I'd have gone for the 15".

But as it's mostly sat on a desk at home/work - I don't think I should complain that much

 

[axu539]

My 2010 17" Core i5 MBP has been a power house for me. As a film maker having a mobile edit suite and data wrangler on location has been indispensable. Generally I find the speed and responsiveness on the unit to be great but I have found myself casting longing looks at the rMBP. The main thing about my 17" is the weight. Its truly a back breaker if I am also lugging around camera equipment aswell. On occasion I have wanted to started editing on the plane back from a shoot but the size of the 17" meant it just wasn't possible. The rMBP will be a massive reduction in bulk with the added bonus of Ivy Bridge and of course the higher res panel. However, I was using my 17" MBP just last week and thought just how remarkable it is to have a 1920x1200 resolution crammed into just a 17" screen. Is there much of benefit to be had with rMBP in this respect? I doubt it!
As it stands I have decided I can live with the bulk of my 17" especially considering I probably only take it in the field 5-6 times a year. I think I will probably replace the internal HDD with an SSD and replace the DVD Drive with a 1TB HDD. Should give her a nice speed bump and then perhaps I could pick up a 11" MBA later in the year for rough edits and data wrangling on the road and portability.
Any other 17" owners consider the rMBP and jump **** or did you decide to stick?

My last powerhouse was a 17", but I sold it since it was too heavy. I just ordered a retina on Friday. I played with the machine in store, and from what I understand you can set the 15" to 1920 x 1200 in a crunch. Sure it'll be a little bit smaller, but if you need the real estate, you can use that. In normal use, you can use the super sharp native resolution.

 

[Hillskill]

I think the other big factor for me was the price. I would be receiving sub £1000 for my 17" now if I sold 2nd hand, more if I did the SSD and HDD upgrades. So I would still have to pony up 50% or more to get a well spec'd rMBP. For the same money I could do the drive upgrades and get the 11" MBA. I know the rMBP screen would be delicious but the point I was trying to make is the 1920x1200 isn't a world away, its essentially the 2nd best laptop screen experience out there IMHO. Also, this 17" will happily perform all the tasks I throw at it for now.

 

[yusukeaoki]

I still have my 2011 17in and love it.
I was thinking to go retina but with all these bugs and problems, Id rather have this.

15in just wont do good for me.
As many would know, going from smaller screen to bigger screen is fine but the other way around is just painful.

I sometimes use my 11in MBA but it just hurts my eyes.

Waiting for Retina to settle on these problems and Ill hook it up to a external monitor.

 

[Hillskill]

Anyone used a 15" in a economy seat on a plane? 17" was completely unusable when I tried. Also bearing in mind your next door neighbours comfort, just how realistic is a 15" on a plane?

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I sometimes use my 11in MBA but it just hurts my eyes.

I have wondered about this. My use of it would be for doing rough video edits. Perhaps my expectations are completely naive

 

[yusukeaoki]

Anyone used a 15" in a economy seat on a plane? 17" was completely unusable when I tried. Also bearing in mind your next door neighbours comfort, just how realistic is a 15" on a plane?

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I have wondered about this. My use of it would be for doing rough video edits. Perhaps my expectations are completely naive

Mild video edits are fine.
But using apps like FCPX, oh man, Id rather use a 15in dell computer for that.
Editing photos and videos are just horrible on the 11in.
This is why you would need a external monitor for the Air.
And that is also why I only use my Air for mild work such as Microsoft office, web surfing, etc.

 

[clyde2801]

I think the other big factor for me was the price. I would be receiving sub £1000 for my 17" now if I sold 2nd hand, more if I did the SSD and HDD upgrades. So I would still have to pony up 50% or more to get a well spec'd rMBP. For the same money I could do the drive upgrades and get the 11" MBA. I know the rMBP screen would be delicious but the point I was trying to make is the 1920x1200 isn't a world away, its essentially the 2nd best laptop screen experience out there IMHO. Also, this 17" will happily perform all the tasks I throw at it for now.

How good are your eyes? I had a '11 i7 MBA, but found the screen quality and size somewhat lacking. I was taking a good hard look at the retina display (no pun intended), and it's a lovely screen, but I think my aged eyes are too shot to truly take advantage of the crispness at the resolution. I picked up a two month old late 2011 17" i7 with a glossy samsung screen for a song off of CL, and I LOVE IT! Maxed the ram for dirt cheap, and added a c4 crucial 512gb for less than $400, and I want for nothing. I see myself happily using this machine for at least the next 2-3 years minimum. After then, I'll take another look at the retina model(s).

 

[gentlefury]

the 15" rMBP screen is so clear I am using it instead of my 24" display. It is a major improvement over the low res 17" by leaps and bounds! And the system itself is a powerhouse! Beats my Mac Pro by a long shot!

 

[Dangerous Theory]

Anyone used a 15" in a economy seat on a plane? 17" was completely unusable when I tried. Also bearing in mind your next door neighbours comfort, just how realistic is a 15" on a plane?

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I have wondered about this. My use of it would be for doing rough video edits. Perhaps my expectations are completely naive

In my experience, a 15.4" laptop is pushing it in economy.

 

[zackkmac]

I still have my 2011 17" MBP and the difference between it and my rMBP is huge. When I first ordered my rMBP I sort of expected to not like it because of having to go down from 17" to 15" but really, it's a lot easier to carry around and you still get a higher resolution. When I use my rMBP for a couple days and then turn on my 17", the 17" looks and feels so outdated and the screen just looks awful to me.

Also, this 17" is not an ideal setup on planes...but I took my rMBP with me on a flight recently and it was a nice perfect setup on my tray. Only thing is I had to use the tray next to me for the USB SuperDrive. But if you don't want to watch a DVD it's great.

 

[gentlefury]

I still have my 2011 17" MBP and the difference between it and my rMBP is huge. When I first ordered my rMBP I sort of expected to not like it because of having to go down from 17" to 15" but really, it's a lot easier to carry around and you still get a higher resolution. When I use my rMBP for a couple days and then turn on my 17", the 17" looks and feels so outdated and the screen just looks awful to me.

Also, this 17" is not an ideal setup on planes...but I took my rMBP with me on a flight recently and it was a nice perfect setup on my tray. Only thing is I had to use the tray next to me for the USB SuperDrive. But if you don't want to watch a DVD it's great.

or if you tossed all your dvds years ago and have a drive full of movies its even better!

 

[Hillskill]

I'm totally over DVD drives. Would happily sacrifice them in all my Systems except one as I still need to deliver DVDs to clients sometimes. Outside of that I literally use one once a year.

 

[gentlefury]

I'm totally over DVD drives. Would happily sacrifice them in all my Systems except one as I still need to deliver DVDs to clients sometimes. Outside of that I literally use one once a year.

yeah I....very rarely am asked to burn a reel to DVD for interviews (most companies are in the present and have internet connections!! LOL) but on that rare ocassion that they need a DVD, I still have my Mac Mini for that.

 

[TimTheEnchanter]

I have a mid-2009 17incher. I was first tempted to sell/trade-up to the rMBP and welcoming the loss in weight and bulk, but I decided to upgrade the RAM and HD to SSD instead. With this, I got my needed speed boost I was longing for and put off buying new for another round or two on the rMBP. I figure by then they'll be rock solid and hopefully cheaper RAM & SSD upgrades too.

Since most of my use is desktop hooked-up to a 27" CD, my portable needs have changed (fulltime art director and part-time photographer) where I've even thought about re-equipping with a permanent desktop (iMac) and small portable (MBA or small MBP). However, I do like the simplicity of a single Mac that fits both needs and because of the work I do, the rMBP would be a great fit, but I can wait for now. (famous last words...we'll see how long I can withstand temptation)

 

[bniu]

Anyone used a 15" in a economy seat on a plane? 17" was completely unusable when I tried. Also bearing in mind your next door neighbours comfort, just how realistic is a 15" on a plane?

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I have wondered about this. My use of it would be for doing rough video edits. Perhaps my expectations are completely naive

The only times I've ever flown with my 17" MBP is in first or business class, so no experience of it in coach. There's definitely enough space for it in the premium cabins.

 

[whitedragon101]

I have an early 2011 17" MBP. No matter how you slice it 17" is significantly bigger than 15". I was going to wait until next refresh to get a rMBP but the more I think about it the more I realise that as this is my only machine, the real estate of the 17" is a trump card. A 15" of whatever clarity will feel like a downgrade.

I am thinking that I might wait a full 3 year development cycle until the next new MBP body comes out. Then hopefully technology will have moved on so far that it will lessen the blow of loosing the glorious 17" screen.

I would love to think in 3 years they will bring the 17" back. Fade to music ..... "we'll meet again don't know where don't know when, but I know we'll meet again some sunny daaaaayyyy........."

 

[eron]

In my experience, a 15.4" laptop is pushing it in economy.

I could use my 15.4" MBP comfortably in economy, on board Emirates and Singapore Airlines.

 

[phyrexia]

I have absolutely interest in a 15" laptop computer. I have said this before, I don't care if there are a billion pixels on the Retina Display, it's still too bloody small of a display.

 

[jdsingle]

I do not regret my late '11 17" at all. I do a lot of audio production work as well as a lot of financial analysis in Excel on this thing. 15" is not an option for me right now. Could care less about how "great" the rMBP or whatever people are calling it is. Unless I need that display to help me do my job better, it's nothing more than an overpriced gimmick in my opinion.

 

[InuNacho]

Early 2011 matte 17 inch here. Going from a measly 13 inch screen to this was the best thing I ever did, I can actually see what I'm doing without leaning forward and aching my neck/back when I'm away from my desk.

I did go to the Apple store and compared the rMBP with mine and I wasn't terribly impressed. I think the 17 inch's resolution is perfect for it's size the rMBP's on the other hand feels just too high for it's screen.

 

[wethackrey]

Any other 17" owners consider the rMBP and jump **** or did you decide to stick?

I jumped. I've talked about the decision elsewhere here. I've recently been using 17" anti-glare MBPs. I was concerned that I'd be losing critical screen real estate and also a bit concerned about possible glare on the retina. I have a third gen iPad and the glare on it is a problem sometimes. The bottom line is that I'm extraordinarily happy with the Retina MBP. After running both side by side for two weeks I bundled up my year-old 17" and sent it off to my business partner.

I won't go back to an anti-glare screen. "They'll have to pry my retina display from my cold, dead hands..."

 

[modoCosmo]

I own an early 2011 quad core i7 17 inch MacBook Pro...

I tried the rMBP but i need more screen estate. Doubling the pixels doenst work for me. The display is sharp but i prefer the native 1920x1080.

So i decided to upgrade to 16Gb RAM and an SSD drive for now.

I really hope there will be a 17 inch rMBP at some point.

 

[AlvinNguyen]

I've owned both the early 2011 and late 2011 17" MBP both with the highest spec processors (2.3 i7 and 2.5 i7) - and I don't regret moving to the MBPR at all! It was a no brainer - much much lighter footprint and weight paired with an insanely beautiful display. Just like the 3GS ---> iPhone 4 and iPad 2 ---> iPad 3 once I started using the retina display I couldn't stand the pixelated screens of all the other devices.

Oh not to mention I travel onto locations and through different cities almost monthly (fashion photographer) - and no longer feeling like I'm carrying a desktop in my bag. That 2.2 lbs weight saving is crucial!