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About to pull the trigger on a C2D MBP but I have a couple reservations...

S

somevelvet

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 13, 2006
63
2
After a couple of months of thinking about it and doing my homework (for reals... this isn't an urgent upgrade so I was waiting for everything to go Rev B) I've decided to get a 15" MBP--was going to go for a MB, but I realized that I'd really like that extra screen real estate, especially as I will be doing video/photo stuff on it. Plus it's my only computer (although I'm upgrading from a 12"PB so I'm used to being, uh, economical with my desktop).

Anyway I am THIS close to pulling the trigger, but I have a couple of worries... one is that I've heard of some screen issues (graininess, uneven illumination) on the MBPs, and I'm kind of reluctant to drop the cash if I'm uncertain of getting a 100% good product. Any idea whether there's any credence to this screen business or if it's just a handful of complainers (I have noticed the same names popping up on the "grainy" threads in multiple forums)? If so, should I wait for it to get sorted out before making my purchase (and conceivably having to deal with getting it fixed/replaced)?

Or anything else I should bear in mind?

Thanks!
 
somevelvet said:
After a couple of months of thinking about it and doing my homework (for reals... this isn't an urgent upgrade so I was waiting for everything to go Rev B) I've decided to get a 15" MBP--was going to go for a MB, but I realized that I'd really like that extra screen real estate, especially as I will be doing video/photo stuff on it. Plus it's my only computer (although I'm upgrading from a 12"PB so I'm used to being, uh, economical with my desktop).

Anyway I am THIS close to pulling the trigger, but I have a couple of worries... one is that I've heard of some screen issues (graininess, uneven illumination) on the MBPs, and I'm kind of reluctant to drop the cash if I'm uncertain of getting a 100% good product. Any idea whether there's any credence to this screen business or if it's just a handful of complainers (I have noticed the same names popping up on the "grainy" threads in multiple forums)? If so, should I wait for it to get sorted out before making my purchase (and conceivably having to deal with getting it fixed/replaced)?

Or anything else I should bear in mind?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

the grainy threads are only an issue in a VERY small number of the mbp, odds are you rmachine will be 200% and will have no issues what so ever.
good luck with it :)
 
The MBP is a great machine. The complaints you hear are a loud minority, no question. There were some bad Powerbooks too. It's a computer. But at the end of the day, the MBP is awesome - hands down one of the best, if not the best, notebook on the market. Buy with confidence.
 
You only hear of the complaints, not the compliments a lot of the time.

When you get a MBP, you will of course have a year warranty in case something acts up.
 
somevelvet said:
After a couple of months of thinking about it and doing my homework (for reals... this isn't an urgent upgrade so I was waiting for everything to go Rev B) I've decided to get a 15" MBP--was going to go for a MB, but I realized that I'd really like that extra screen real estate, especially as I will be doing video/photo stuff on it.
Click to expand...
Do you mean you're thinking instead of the 17" MBP? Personally, I would go for the 15" and get an external monitor - right now, as of writing this, Dell have a 20" monitor for $246, although that's not one of their better class of monitors. Their UltraSharp 20" is $339

Anyway, that way, you get the extra mobility if you ever have to take the laptop somewhere, while getting the extra screen real estate at home.
 
You'll miss the UBER-portability of the 12" PowerBook, but that 15" display
is beautiful.

If you're doing any color correction photo work, you'll want to go for the matte display over the glossy.

Upgrade the RAM to 2 GB and future proof yourself a bit with the extra VRAM
if at all possible.

The stock HD is O.K., but I would go for the 160GB perpendicular drive if at all possible.
 
FFTT said:
You'll miss the UBER-portability of the 12" PowerBook, but that 15" display
is beautiful.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I went from 12" to 15", and boy is it good. :)
The uneven lighting is worse than the "grainy" imho, but your personal preference may differ. I feel that both are tolerable on my computer. I would suggest you buy a stock model so that you have the option of returning it straight up if you don't like it.
 
I'd go for the MacBook over the MacBook Pro and buy an external LCD for home. There's a $600 difference between the 2.0ghz 13" MacBook and the 2.16ghz 15" MacBook Pro. The difference between the two is 2" of screen space, 0.16ghz, and a dedicated graphics cards for the Pro. That's hard to justify for that price. I wish they would put a dedicated graphics card in the MacBook and then it would be a no-brainer. I just can't see how a graphics card boosts the price $600 when everything else is apples to apples.
 
awhitaker said:
I'd go for the MacBook over the MacBook Pro and buy an external LCD for home. There's a $600 difference between the 2.0ghz 13" MacBook and the 2.16ghz 15" MacBook Pro. The difference between the two is 2" of screen space, 0.16ghz, and a dedicated graphics cards for the Pro. That's hard to justify for that price. I wish they would put a dedicated graphics card in the MacBook and then it would be a no-brainer. I just can't see how a graphics card boosts the price $600 when everything else is apples to apples.
Click to expand...

On top of the graphics card you also get FW800, back-lit keyboard, expansion-slot, higher resolution on the bigger screen and IMO a better design in the MBP (of course the last is very debatable). Probably some more differences as well - those were just of the top of my head.
 
awhitaker said:
I'd go for the MacBook over the MacBook Pro and buy an external LCD for home. There's a $600 difference between the 2.0ghz 13" MacBook and the 2.16ghz 15" MacBook Pro. The difference between the two is 2" of screen space, 0.16ghz, and a dedicated graphics cards for the Pro. That's hard to justify for that price. I wish they would put a dedicated graphics card in the MacBook and then it would be a no-brainer. I just can't see how a graphics card boosts the price $600 when everything else is apples to apples.
Click to expand...

RAM. Plain and simple. The ability to put an extra gig of RAM in the MBP makes it well worth the extra cash if you're going to use it with any kind of Pro App. Photoshop, Final Cut, Aperture, and a laundry list of others, are all RAM whores and that extra gig makes a BIG difference. Not to mention that while Rosetta is in the picture, it too is a RAM whore and it relies heavily on free RAM to run at top speed.
 
Buy It

somevelvet said:
but I realized that I'd really like that extra screen real estate, especially as I will be doing video/photo stuff on it.
Click to expand...

Can I give a little advise, I am typing this on a new C2D 15" MBP and I love it. I do the same things you do, FCP Studio and Photoshop. You need to stop worring, I got a stock w/ 160GB HDD, I have no problems with backlighting and only one dead pixel in the very bottom corner. Do yourself a favor and press "BUY", I'll love it.

JohnMC
 
Thanks everyone!

To the person who asked if I was thinking about a 17"... it briefly crossed my mind but I think it'd be too much of a pain in the ass to cart around, as I tend to split my work between three different locations, often in the same day!

To the person who suggested a MacBook; yes, this is the question, but ultimately even though it seems a little bit too much to pay for the extra screen/graphics/RAM capability, as this will be my only computer and I can afford it now (and I'm hoping to use it for video, possibly HD and everything else for as long as I can), I figure I might as well go for the top of the arc.

To the person who suggested getting a stock model: good point but I really want that 160GB HD! (I guess this is one of the MB advantages, but hey...)
 
And yeah, I will be going for the 2.33 model, meaning 2GB of RAM, though I'm not ruling out going up to 3 in the future if and when it goes down in price (I'm close to busting the budget as it is).
 
Haha I guess the only question now is glossy or matte! (I'm pretty convinced the latter is the way to go given my needs)
 
somevelvet said:
Haha I guess the only question now is glossy or matte! (I'm pretty convinced the latter is the way to go given my needs)
Click to expand...

I thiiiiink I prefer matte but I wouldn't be too *crushed* (lol) if I got glossy. It's really a matter of preference, no right or wrong answer.
 
Matte not Glossy

You really should get a matte screen if you plan to do video and photo. Like I said above I do work with FCP studio and Photoshop and the matte screen looks just fine and the colors, IMO, are very good.

JohnMC
 
Thanks John.

If I'm planning to buy with the Edu discount does it make sense to wait for Black Friday?
 
You won't get both the Black Friday retail discount and the education discount, but you might watch for rebates and specials on other accessories.

If you have any money left over at all, I'd go for AppleCare.
 
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