Buying a 17" Macbook Pro - good idea?

[ozone]

A long time ago, in galaxy far, far away, I bought a used Apple Powerbook 17 from a dealer a great price. A great laptop, but I didn't use it as much as I had hoped because of the Intel transition and found the computer wanting after a while. It was a bit heavy admittedly.

A returned MBP 17 (2.2 GHz, iCore 7, Thunderbolt) is being sold at a local shop at a $260 discount. Still comes with warranty. I've matured a bit (!) and have used several computers now and realize that I won't be traveling much with a new MBP 17. Mostly at home: occasionally outside at one or two select spots. My five year old 24" iMac (Core2Duo) is showing its age: screen is not quite a bright and I'm wondering if it's worth getting new RAM for it. I've got an old MBAir and a little Netbook for when I do need to travel, and half the time, I'm using a smartphone anyways. The catch is that I do photography as well, so the occasional (rare) on site editing is useful.

What do current 17" MBP users think about the machine? Worth to get if it can't get out of the house much? I've always had a soft spot for the 17" machine for some odd reason, but it's a lot of money even if at a discount...

 

[stefmesman]

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Got one last week, loving it, it is a beast that wil last you long. I take it all around the house. If you takeit outside of the house. Dont get a cheap bag. A good carrying bag is a must

 

[ozone]

Thanks... I guess I'm leaning towards it, but am wondering if the money is better spent on the update MBAir (or something) when it gets released for the "when-I-want-to-everything" on the go.

I think what I *really* want is a capable on-the-go machine plus a "mini-tower": some capability, but not a massive amount of space. I wish Apple would make a mini-MacPro.

 

[Dark Void]

a 17'' is nice because you can move it around quite easily from table to table or whatever and it's not limited if you want to take it somewhere in a vehicle/bag/what have you. obviously it wouldn't be too nice to carry it around as opposed to a 13'' but it's still portable with a lot of power and screen size. a 13'' and ACD/monitor is more of a hassle to transport than simply a 17'' laptop.

it's a great buy if you are going to move it around quite a bit but also use it somewhat as a desktop, when you're not restricted like a desktop.

 

[DocNYz]

a 17'' is nice because you can move it around quite easily from table to table or whatever and it's not limited if you want to take it somewhere in a vehicle/bag/what have you. obviously it wouldn't be too nice to carry it around as opposed to a 13'' but it's still portable with a lot of power and screen size. a 13'' and ACD/monitor is more of a hassle to transport than simply a 17'' laptop.

it's a great buy if you are going to move it around quite a bit but also use it somewhat as a desktop, when you're not restricted like a desktop.

Yeah I totally agree; I've had the 17s since they were available and although they're a little heavier, if you don't need to move it around much they're often more powerful and have much more screen real estate/higher resolution. And better speakers if you're somewhere without an external amp.

 

[ozone]

Great feedback... although I don't think I'm going to buy it just now, because I found out that a similarly spec'd refurbished unit from Apple is $250 less than the discounted one from the local dealer. I might just as well get one from Apple then...

 

[Young Spade]

Great feedback... although I don't think I'm going to buy it just now, because I found out that a similarly spec'd refurbished unit from Apple is $250 less than the discounted one from the local dealer. I might just as well get one from Apple then...

Good to hear; yea I've looked around from time to time at refurbs from different sites and aside from the occasional user who's selling it to make some money back, Apple generally has the lowest prices on their merchandise. You also know that it's refurbished by Apple and it isn't going to fail on you or arrive in bad condition.

I have a 13 inch BB myself and thought about selling it and getting the updated MBAs when they come out but the iCore MBPs sound great as well.