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Apple's Lamesauce: Or How I'm glad I didn't buy a unibody MBP.

waywardsage

waywardsage

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 22, 2006
282
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CA
With every new macbook pro version that comes out, i get on my knee's and thank god that I was smart enough to buy my Early 2008 17" MBP.

Benefits:
Easy upgradability
Good graphics card, (Aside from the NVidia debacle)
DVI out! No massive HDCP issues.
Express card! Hey, i can use my OWN card reader adaptor, Esata Card, and pretty much any other card i want.
And I got a multi-touch trackpad.

Oh, and did i mention that this version has ROOM inside to install STANDARD sized drives and parts that don't cost a fortune? 500GB, 1TB hard drive? No problem. And how bout and internal blu ray drive? No sweat!

I just look at the new unibodies and aside from some external cosmetic stuff, (Which i think is terribly ugly.) it's a lot of bad moves on Apples part. Making the computer a few mm's to short to install standard sized drives?! Display port? What a pile! As a pro user, i know exactly why display port sucks major ass. I feel sorry for those who are handicapped with it. And, now with the exclusion of the Express card slot?!

Seriously. I know there will be unibody fans. But aside from some fancy marketing gimmick about how the design is more sturdy and has better battery life, I think the new designs are terrible!

Any thoughts?
 
I am lost, few of your comments are actually indicative of the comparable current 17". I don't like the look of the unibody, but it is def. a stronger machine.

I'll take the improvements to the battery as reason alone to upgrade.
 
waywardsage said:
With every new macbook pro version that comes out, i get on my knee's and thank god that I was smart enough to buy my Early 2008 17" MBP.

Benefits:
Easy upgradability
Good graphics card, (Aside from the NVidia debacle)
DVI out! No massive HDCP issues.
Express card! Hey, i can use my OWN card reader adaptor, Esata Card, and pretty much any other card i want.
And I got a multi-touch trackpad.

Oh, and did i mention that this version has ROOM inside to install STANDARD sized drives and parts that don't cost a fortune? 500GB, 1TB hard drive? No problem. And how bout and internal blu ray drive? No sweat!

I just look at the new unibodies and aside from some external cosmetic stuff, (Which i think is terribly ugly.) it's a lot of bad moves on Apples part. Making the computer a few mm's to short to install standard sized drives?! Display port? What a pile! As a pro user, i know exactly why display port sucks major ass. I feel sorry for those who are handicapped with it. And, now with the exclusion of the Express card slot?!

Seriously. I know there will be unibody fans. But aside from some fancy marketing gimmick about how the design is more sturdy and has better battery life, I think the new designs are terrible!

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

Wow, all that and no comment on the glassy displays? :cool:
 
shambo said:
Wow, all that and no comment on the glassy displays? :cool:
Click to expand...
There's nothing to complain about, it has always had a matte option.

I'm gonna take them on one by one.

1. Easy upgradability

Last time I check, the 17 inch (which I once owned), has 4 screws to get to the RAM, another 2 under that, 4 on each side, another 4 on the back and some on the bottom. The fastest I was able to open a 17" was no less than 3 mins. Basically what I trying to say, it is much harder to upgrade.

2. Good graphics card, (Aside from the NVidia debacle)

9600M GT is doing it thing. Its a bit faster, and we have the 9400M when you need to get a few more mins of battery life.

3. DVI out! No massive HDCP issues.

Well HDCP is just doing what it does. HDCP prevents from playing video on non-compliant devices. It's simple. If you have an HDCP monitor, (both of mine are compliant), then you won't get an error message.

4. Express card! Hey, i can use my OWN card reader adaptor, Esata Card, and pretty much any other card i want.

ummm... 17" uMBP has ExpressCard/34 too, no?

5. And I got a multi-touch trackpad.

But now its bigger.
 
Sorry, forgot about the crappy glass displays. I feel for the 15" guys too! For me, battery life is nice. But, i can't remember the last time i was doing a marathon session on my MBP where i needed 5+ hrs of battery life.

My whole life having laptops, i've been reasonably close to an outlet. So the battery thing is fluff to me.
 
thegoldenmackid said:
I am lost, few of your comments are actually indicative of the comparable current 17". I don't like the look of the unibody, but it is def. a stronger machine.

I'll take the improvements to the battery as reason alone to upgrade.
Click to expand...

I'm glad i upgraded because my 2008 MBP is much easier to upgrade on my own. And, had i waited..there would haven't been few reasons to wait that long for what was the end result: the Unibody MBP.

My other beefs are including the 15" guys.
 
Didn't we establish, several days ago that you can install 12.5 mm 2.5 disks in the unibodies?

I agree with you about the express card. I really miss that feature. IMO that and an e-sata port are much much more usefull than the SD card reader. Which being just SD doesn't make much sense for photographers either most of whom use CF.

I don't get your beef with the displayport. I have two monitors, an 24 inch 1080p with DVI in and a 27 inch eizo at work with higher resolution and I have no problem connecting the MBP to either one.

Enjoy your computer. I am really glad you like it. Nevertheless, I don't see any real flaw with the new ones...
 
waywardsage said:
With every new macbook pro version that comes out, i get on my knee's and thank god that I was smart enough to buy my Early 2008 17" MBP.

Benefits:
Easy upgradability
Good graphics card, (Aside from the NVidia debacle)
DVI out! No massive HDCP issues.
Express card! Hey, i can use my OWN card reader adaptor, Esata Card, and pretty much any other card i want.
And I got a multi-touch trackpad.

Oh, and did i mention that this version has ROOM inside to install STANDARD sized drives and parts that don't cost a fortune? 500GB, 1TB hard drive? No problem. And how bout and internal blu ray drive? No sweat!

I just look at the new unibodies and aside from some external cosmetic stuff, (Which i think is terribly ugly.) it's a lot of bad moves on Apples part. Making the computer a few mm's to short to install standard sized drives?! Display port? What a pile! As a pro user, i know exactly why display port sucks major ass. I feel sorry for those who are handicapped with it. And, now with the exclusion of the Express card slot?!

Seriously. I know there will be unibody fans. But aside from some fancy marketing gimmick about how the design is more sturdy and has better battery life, I think the new designs are terrible!

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

Are you just trying to pick a fight?...:rolleyes:
 
Inside_line said:
What's the benefit of having a non-HDCP computer?
Click to expand...

Being able to send sound and video to the appropriate discrete devices, and supporting resolutions higher than those of HDMI devices.

I really wouldn't mind the convenience of an additional HDMI port but if there were no MDP 2560x1600 would not be possible given the size of the DVI. How much would that suck?
 
waywardsage said:
I'm glad i upgraded because my 2008 MBP is much easier to upgrade on my own. And, had i waited..there would haven't been few reasons to wait that long for what was the end result: the Unibody MBP.

My other beefs are including the 15" guys.
Click to expand...

Wow. Just stop. Honestly please.

You can't truely be comparing your 17" to the new 15". Those aren't in the same section bud. Everything from size, weight, cost and much more seperate the two.

Oh and the new 15" displays have been voted as some of the nicest displays ever installed in a laptop. If you forgot the 2009 update brought panels that have a 30% increase in color gamut.

Fail on your part...
 
But the only benefit they have is the DVI out instead of Mini DP.

1. The newer machines are easier to upgrade than pre-unibody. Hard drive and RAM are both simpler and don't require any technical knowledge.

2. The 8600M? You claim that it's "good"? Have you even visited this thread? You're more or less doomed.

3. DVI out. If you have a display that's not HDCP compliant, it won't matter if you're going DVI out. You're still not playing that HD content on that display.

4. Express card slot. Like sneakz said, the unibody MBP has the same Expresscard 34 slot.

5. Trackpad. The unibody ones have the same multi touch trackpad, but with a 39% larger tracking area + it uses glass for a much smoother feel. And, you don't need Snow Leopard for 4 finger gestures.

6. You later mentioned the glassy screen. The 17" unibodies have been offered with an anti glare option since their introduction.

This seems more like a thread created to justify your purchase, rather than to cope with the fact that the newer machines are superior. I'm glad you're happy, but the newer machines are better built and more capable machines.

1920X1200 display, 8GB of RAM, faster processor, faster FSB, larger L2 cache, 8 hour battery, unibody construction, 60% improved display, larger trackpad, and the ability to use it with Apple's new LED displays. I don't see how you wouldn't want one of these newer machines as apposed to your old one.
 
Granted i refer the 'look' of the classic models and their slight edge in port options a la FW400/DVI. The Unibodies however, are far more sturdier and easier to upgrade IMHO (at least the late 08/early 09 models) and even somewhat cooler temp wise

I just swapped HDDs in my unibody and it was piss easy, which wouldn't be the case with the previous models as you'd have to remove a whole lot of screws and the top case, then fiddle with some tape/cable BEFORE you got to the drive. Even with the mid 09 models you only need to remove the bottom case

They also have a superior graphics card that hasn't been established as a ticking time bomb and will support all snow leopard GPU related functions.

I don't use DP so i can't comment on it, however i've seen many a unibody tethered to HD displays without issues

There's still an ExpressCard slot on the 17" (You're right though, Mid 09 15" owners are kinda screwed here with the latest model)

Finally, the multi-touch arguement seems weird to me, the unibodies are pretty much the epitome of multitouch trackpads so....:confused:
 
I used to prefer the non-unibodies, but I'm starting to warm up to the unibodies, particularly since they now have a matte option.

I now like the tapered effect of the UMBP screens. I think it looks better. I do agree that the lack of expresscard is a pain, but I've rarely used mine. It's still nice to have the option. Having the SATA interface on the optical drive is nice if you want to change it out for a second hard drive.

I absolutely hate the sharp edges on the chassis. You should see the marks in my wrists after using it. The larger track pad is convenient, but i'd rather have a dedicated button rather than the whole trackpad being the button: "ca-chunk!"

The longer battery life is nice. I regularly wish I had more battery power. Sometimes I'll work off the battery and then throw it in my case. The next time I pull the laptop out of the bag, it's dead because the power required to keep the MBP in standby has consumed the rest of the battery power.

This benefit is mitigated by the worry of the battery swelling up and exploding in the chassis. Not to mention, it's going to cost me money to pay a tech to replace it. Lame.

All in all, I'm on the fence.

The one thing that i miss is the fluorescent LCD screens. The LED's colours look colder somehow.
 
Worrying about your battery swelling in your chassis is like worrying that you might get skin cancer when you stand in the sun.
 
It's far easier to upgrade the HDD in a unibody machine than in the older style MacBook Pros.
 
waywardsage said:
Sorry, forgot about the crappy glass displays. I feel for the 15" guys too! For me, battery life is nice. But, i can't remember the last time i was doing a marathon session on my MBP where i needed 5+ hrs of battery life..
Click to expand...

Absolutely the most ridiculous thing I've read so far. Who in heck justifies a reason for NOT needing much battery life? Battery life is the number one concern for most notebook users. Sounds more like you're jealous that the Unibodies kick the crap out of your old 2008 MBP, especially in terms of battery. :p
 
its Cheap NOW.
hahahaha, no one want to get it, because failing graphics card.
 
DAMNiatx said:
its Cheap NOW.
hahahaha, no one want to get it, because failing graphics card.
Click to expand...

Mine failed last week after 18 odd months! I went out and bought a new MBP unibody and love it, when I get the other one back its going on ebay lol
 
Good for you man, let's see if you'll still think the same when your 8600M GT dies on you.
 
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