17”MBP really gone

[Doward]

I was in the same boat as the OP.

I picked up a 2011 17" BTO Late 2011 with AppleCare until Feb 2015 for $1400.

2.5Ghz Sandy Bridge, 8GB Ram, 750GB HDD.

I swapped the 750GB HDD to a Thunderbolt (Buffalo) enclosure, and installed a 250GB SSD.

My next upgrade is to move to 16GB of Ram (getting 3-4GB of swap outs when working heavy).

I honestly believe that configuration will last me happily until Fall 2014, when I'll likely sell this 17" with some AppleCare left on it, and either get a new 17" MBP should Apple release one, or I'll go with a Razer Blade if Razer has continued to update/improve it.

I've put my 17" Anti-Glare next to a 15" rMBP, and walked away happy with my 17".

 

[fskywalker]

Some people say rMBP may appear in the future, time will tell.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

I just got a hand-me-down 17" MBP from work, and it's easily the nicest workhorse I've ever used. As far as work goes, it's much nicer than the 15" rMBP, but I do wish it was less glassy and more anti-glare

 

[akdj]

Laptops are not a one size fits all affair. I used to buy laptops primarily because of the reduced space they took up on my desk and the drastically reduced power consumption. Now that battery technology and processor efficiency are at a point where all-day usage of a machine without a bulky extended battery is feasible, its portability is a lot more of an issue. As a result my last 17" was in 2008 (the first unibody model).

It's still just one piece of the puzzle, though- and I would consider buying another computer that large were the benefits sufficient. I would be strongly tempted to shell out $3500 for a 17" Retina with dual 1TB SSDs in RAID and 32GB of RAM. A machine of that calibre might even make my current docking setup redundant.

That would be a very sweet rig. I'd pay that in a heart beat...and I do believe a 4k 17" isn't out of the question. Who knows, maybe even along side the long awaited MacPro later this year?

After using retina displays...regardless of the size; iPhone 4/4s/5. iPad 3/4. The new laptops... After spending 'real' time with them, doing real work on them for extensive periods of time...the real benefits reveal themselves. Specifically in eye fatigue. They're just so damn sharp. So easy to read on. So quick at tasks, opening programs, transitioning between them....installing apps, the speed of externals, whether you use USB 3 or thunderbolt...the length of time from the battery, there are just so many positives. It's an exciting direction Apple is moving and a sweet, top shelf 17" would be really cool!

J