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17" MBP Swapping out the Motherboard
- Thread starter kayzee
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The answer is no regardless....but I just want to clarify...you for whatever reason want to put your Retina 15" motherboard in a 17" Macbook Pro. I know the screen is smaller, but you have a 4x better display and the option for more screen real estate if you used a scaled setting. Why would you even consider doing this.
im 6'8" and have really big hands, i just like the feel of wideness on the keyboard and extra space on it, was thinking i could have used the 17" set up as a shell. its more of a comfort to me physically, and i know the keys arent spaced any different, just like the extra space when working hours on a laptop at a time in remote locations
A 17" at native 1920x1200 is arguably more comfortable to work on than a 15" retina at a scaled 1920x1200. You don't get more screen real estate without a third-party hack, and then most interface elements are too small to use. Also for the trackpad-averse, the deck on the 17" provides a large enough surface to use a small mouse (sitting on a couch, on an airplane, wherever you don't have additional hard space.) The 15" doesn't work so well for that.
As to the OP's question.... anything is possible with a dremel and some duct tape but I really doubt the necessary display and keyboard connectors would be remotely similar.
(be careful singing the praises of the 17"... Apple says you don't need it, therefore you don't need it. Unless they deign to make a new one one. Then it will be revolutionary and everyone will need it.)
In this case, it's really not possible. Almost all of the internal connectors will be different. The ports aren't even the same.