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Maxed out 17'' MBP as desktop replacement?

Joko

Joko

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 30, 2008
281
0
For use in a relatively basic audio studio using Logic 8.

I need portability at the moment so a laptop is a no-brainer. But should I buy a low end spec MBP for the interim until I add a desktop to the setup..or should I splash out on a maxed out 17'' MBP - 4GB RAM, 7200 HD, Hi Res (maybe) - instead and save having to buy a desktop later?

I will only be portable probably once a month, so the bigger slightly clumsier 17'' isn't really an issue to move around.

Thanks.
 
I got 17" mbp 18 months ago because I needed power and portability but now I don't need the portability I am thinking about getting a mac pro.

I'm suprised how fast and cheap the mac pro seems compared to the mbp
 
Joko said:
For use in a relatively basic audio studio using Logic 8.

I need portability at the moment so a laptop is a no-brainer. But should I buy a low end spec MBP for the interim until I add a desktop to the setup..or should I splash out on a maxed out 17'' MBP - 4GB RAM, 7200 HD, Hi Res (maybe) - instead and save having to buy a desktop later?

I will only be portable probably once a month, so the bigger slightly clumsier 17'' isn't really an issue to move around.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Splash out! Splash out! Desktops are so inflexible it's not even funneh. Don't bother buying a MP or something, I mean, the MBP may lag for ~30sec each day. Not a big deal.

What you'll gain:

Portability
Nice, big screen built in
iSight
Essentially a UPS, it can run on battery for both portability and the cause of not getting fried during a surge
Arguably, it looks cooler.
Lastly, I have seen countless Craigslist ads saying "I love this desktop but no i need a laptop for ___." It's very, very change-proof.

Hope this helps.
 
timmillwood said:
I got 17" mbp 18 months ago because I needed power and portability but now I don't need the portability I am thinking about getting a mac pro.

I'm suprised how fast and cheap the mac pro seems compared to the mbp
Click to expand...

Yeah, Mac Pro all the way. The MBP may be considered a "desktop replacement" only if what you're trying to replace is an iMac.
 
I love how a lot of people on these forums make remarks about the 17" MBP "portability". I had a 15" Dell Inspiron for years and that thing was WAY less portable than the MBP. Yes, it's a little big, but not in weight. I have textbooks that are heavier. It may be less portable than the MBA, but people need to wake up and realize that Apple makes their laptops way easier to carry around than almost any other manufacturer.
 
17" MBP weights the same as most 14" or 15" wintel laptops, so the MBP is definitely portable.

If you only need to move it once a month, then you might want to consider an iMac, and use the original box to move it. I did that for awhile before getting a 17" PowerBook and now can't do without a 17". Current have 17" MBP.
 
Thanks for the replies so far. Perhaps 'clumsy' was the wrong word, I was just referring to comments I've heard here and on Wikipedia.
The size is great, I have no problem with it, although I've never owned one but I'm sure it's awesome.
As to whether it's powerful enough to use professionally is more important..
 
Joko said:
Thanks for the replies so far. Perhaps 'clumsy' was the wrong word, I was just referring to comments I've heard here and on Wikipedia.
The size is great, I have no problem with it, although I've never owned one but I'm sure it's awesome.
As to whether it's powerful enough to use professionally is more important..
Click to expand...

EASILY quite powerful enough for whatever you can throw at it...
 
I don't use Logic, but I do use a maxed-out 17" MBP (high res) as my primary computer / desktop replacement / whatever. It's vastly faster than the 'Pro' G5 tower I was using up until last year, and handles everything I throw at it with ease (I do a lot of work in Photoshop and InDesign, working with some pretty large images at times).

I'd say go for it - it'll handle everything you need.
 
tersono said:
I don't use Logic, but I do use a maxed-out 17" MBP (high res) as my primary computer / desktop replacement / whatever. It's vastly faster than the 'Pro' G5 tower I was using up until last year, and handles everything I throw at it with ease (I do a lot of work in Photoshop and InDesign, working with some pretty large images at times).

I'd say go for it - it'll handle everything you need.
Click to expand...

Splendid news! Thanks.
 
I run Logic Express on my 15" and it runs great! Very snappy, loads in a couple of secs and if you need more real-estate you can pick up cheap TFTs for a dual desktop environment.
 
digitalpencil said:
I run Logic Express on my 15" and it runs great! Very snappy, loads in a couple of secs and if you need more real-estate you can pick up cheap TFTs for a dual desktop environment.
Click to expand...

Thanks. That is also a good idea. Do you find 15'' display to be sufficient on it's own?
 
Ok nice one, thanks. I think I am leaning towards the maxed out 15'' with a nice big external display :)
 
Joko said:
Thanks. That is also a good idea. Do you find 15'' display to be sufficient on it's own?
Click to expand...

I find the 17" to be more luggable then portable so I opted for the 15 & it serves my needs fine. That said, I work in web/artwork development so tend to use an ext 22" for most things when i'm at home/office.
 
Joko said:
Ok nice one, thanks. I think I am leaning towards the maxed out 15'' with a nice big external display :)
Click to expand...

I was thinking that too...but Leopard doesn't seem to like external displaces along with spaces. Suddenly there are 8 spaces and it's a pain to drag stuff around.
 
A bottom-of-the-line "Late 2006" Macbook Pro, I find, still beats the pants off my old PC or my work computer. :)

I have added more RAM to it, and soon I'm going to upgrade the hard drive. I use a USB-to-PATA IDE cable to plug in my old drives from the PC.

Windows XP in VMware is about as snappy as XP on my old computer, and, when native-booting, XP screams. And of course OS X is superior to XP in ease of use and reliability.

So, yeah, my MB Pro is serving quite capably as a desktop replacement.
 
Maxed out 17" 2.6ghz, 4 gig ram, 200gig 7200 rpm drive is very fast -- faster than my Quad G5 at solo apps and nearly as fast in multitasking.

Speedy machine. I don't run Logic, but I do run video apps, flash, photoshop, inDesign, etc.

It moves.
 
You'll be amazed at the performance of the Santa Rosa machines compared to ANY PPC Machine.

If you do decide that a laptop is necessary get rid of the obvious bottlenecks such as slow hard drive and 2gb ram. Although 2GB is alot, every bit counts considering you don't want to page out if possible.

Sounds like you were already ready to address those issues right off the bat so I would imagine you'd be very happy.

What you really need to decide is, will you ever need portability and is that something that will happen more than once a month?

Then get the laptop end of story. Otherwise spoil yourself for the same $ and get a Mac Pro with additional speed and upgradeability......
 
brandonshough said:
You'll be amazed at the performance of the Santa Rosa machines compared to ANY PPC Machine.

If you do decide that a laptop is necessary get rid of the obvious bottlenecks such as slow hard drive and 2gb ram. Although 2GB is alot, every bit counts considering you don't want to page out if possible.

Sounds like you were already ready to address those issues right off the bat so I would imagine you'd be very happy.

What you really need to decide is, will you ever need portability and is that something that will happen more than once a month?

Then get the laptop end of story. Otherwise spoil yourself for the same $ and get a Mac Pro with additional speed and upgradeability......
Click to expand...

I actually owned a 2.66 Mac Pro 3GB RAM up until 2 months ago before I sold it. Sold because I'm moving overseas. Haven't moved yet but the immanent move is part of the dilemma. The Mac Pro was a good machine, not as powerful as one would expect, but good. I would be interested to see how the maxed out top end MBP compares..
 
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