Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Questions About Macbook Pro 17inch!!

I

itsmejaehoon

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 15, 2009
2
0
Hi, I am really new to mac and trying to order one MBP 17inch soon for College...

first question I have is what case I should get to protect the palm rest, trackpad, keyboard, screen , bottom and the top..
second, I am trying to decide on the screen: either glossy or anti-glare... which one should I get?? (I am mostly going to use the laptop in my room and outside probably)
third, I am trying to order 500gb 7200rpm to save money for ssd later. If I get the SSD and install it, does that avoid my warranty? and any SSD recommendations??

Thank you in advance!!
 
I have the glossy 17" UB (bought it at the end of Feb.). I upgraded from a matte and thought I couldn't live with glossy. But, the added crispness is a bonus for reading text and I really don't have any real complaints of glare or reflections.

The hard drive is user upgradable - Apple includes the procedure in the user manual. As for SSD, if you don't need it yet, wait - the price will come down quite a bit (as usual) over the next year.

I bought mine as stock 320/5400, as I needed it right away and don't mind opening the machine at all. I've since upgraded to the WD 320GB 7200RPM Black Scorpio. Installation in this machine is FAR easier than the pre-UB models.
 
I am in the same situation. Deciding between anti-glare and glossy is a real tough decision. There is no doubt that everything looks better on the glossy screen; at the same time, there is no doubt that there is much more glare/reflection.

I think it comes down to how attractive you rate your face. If you are ugly like me, you probably want the anti-glare feature to save yourself from the constant reminder that your laptop is the prettiest thing on your person.

:cool:
 
Another very positive aspect of the glossy is the black border. Now that I have it, I can't imagine gray. Overall, I'm very happy with it. I haven't done much photo work with it, yet, but I will. Hopefully, it'll stay relatively close in calibration with my Epson 2200 (I never really did my own - I just did a couple of standard "tweaks" and the prints were fine). I also made a 2.2 gamma cal file, figuring I might as well get used to it since SL will switch to it from 1.8.
 
my thoughts...

I just a bought a 17" uMBP a few weeks ago with an "anti-glare" (matte) screen. It is a very beautiful screen. I don't know how the "glossy" screens look, but the chance of glare that I won't be to do anything about short of turning the lights out or adjusting the angle of the screen was the single reason why I chose the "anti-glare".

Most desktop LCDs are "anti-glare", so using an "anti-glare" notebook screen is normal to me.

Oh, and the silver border around the "anti-glare" screen is fine...it might not be as attractive as the black border, but it still looks very professional and well-made.
 
I have to warn you that the anti-glare screen is not completely free of glare. However, it is a GREAT improvement over the glossy glass screen. You definitely won't be seeing any reflections off of it, but there is still a little glare off of the surface.

Go to an Apple store and check out both side by side. They usually put them back-to-back, which is annoying, so you may have to shuffle them around.

You will be surprised by how much better pictures are on the glossy version. I just don't get how adding a piece of glass makes the screen better. I am almost certain something else is going on--despite what Phil Schiller and everyone else says. I just don't think a panel of glass can have that effect.

What I plan on doing is getting the anti-glare screen, and getting a glossy 24-inch monitor for my room. This way, I get all the benefits of anti-glare when I am on the move outside (where I have little control of the lighting conditions), and I can come home to a superior image at home (where I can control the lighting so I have no glare).
 
NovemberWhiskey said:
....
You will be surprised by how much better pictures are on the glossy version. I just don't get how adding a piece of glass makes the screen better. I am almost certain something else is going on--despite what Phil Schiller and everyone else says. I just don't think a panel of glass can have that effect.
Click to expand...

The clear glass reduces diffraction, which essentially blurs the image edges. It's the same effect as printing a photograph on matte vs. glossy paper. The glossy prints always look "snappier".
 
gr8tfly said:
The clear glass reduces diffraction, which essentially blurs the image edges. It's the same effect as printing a photograph on matte vs. glossy paper. The glossy prints always look "snappier".
Click to expand...

How is adding glass going to counteract the diffraction?

I can understand what you are saying about photograph paper, since there is only one medium; but with the glossy screen, after light passes through the glass, it will still be diffracted by the matte screen.

Unless the glossy version doesn't have the matte screen underneath...
 
NovemberWhiskey said:
How is adding glass going to counteract the diffraction?

I can understand what you are saying about photograph paper, since there is only one medium; but with the glossy screen, after light passes through the glass, it will still be diffracted by the matte screen.

Unless the glossy version doesn't have the matte screen underneath...
Click to expand...

It doesn't. The glass doesn't counteract any diffraction. It just doesn't add any. The "matte" comes from the texture of the front "element".
 
gr8tfly said:
It doesn't. The glass doesn't counteract any diffraction. It just doesn't add any. The "matte" comes from the texture of the front "element".
Click to expand...

Yeah, and to my understanding the anti-glare is achieved by simply removing the glass and adding a bezel, meaning that underneath the glass you still have the same matte texture that would produce the same effect.

Unless Phil's description over-simplified things.
 
NovemberWhiskey said:
Yeah, and to my understanding the anti-glare is achieved by simply removing the glass and adding a bezel, meaning that underneath the glass you still have the same matte texture that would produce the same effect.

Unless Phil's description over-simplified things.
Click to expand...

Maybe. But, the "naked" LCD always has a front "element" - either one with a diffusion and/or polarization coating or one that, in the "glossy" case doesn't (And, from what i've seen, just about everything in between.). I think what Phil was saying in the keynote was the display was new as far as the gamut was concerned, but the finish was the same as previous models - meaning the front "element" was the same anti-reflective type. I don't think he meant there was no front at all.

Anyway, the main thing I noticed was the sharpness - not so much the difference in contrast or saturation. From what I can see, even the default calibration is pretty similar to my previous MBP 17" C2D. And, of course, as soon as I get use to that, they're gonna change the gamut to 2.2. I use to argue like crazy even in the early nineties about the more "natural" look of the Mac because of the 1.8. That was in the days when ColorSync was just starting out though. Now, it won't really be much of a problem since it's so widely supported (especially in Photoshop & Aperture).

Task #3 this week: change cal to 2.2 and start prepping for Snow Leopard.

(Task #2 and #1 are installing iPhone 3.0 on Wednesday on my 1st gen and unboxing my 3G S⃣ on Friday :))
 
Review of my 17 3.06 mbp :)

I just wanted to share my experience with my new 17 mbp.

It arrived yesterday so I immediately installed my intel SSD into it.

The screen is almost perfect with no defects. It came with a dirty screen (dust) but I cleaned it and it is perfect with almost no backlight bleed and no dead pixels or dust under the screen.

The keyboard is also nice and the build quality is excellent.

I question why they put such a thin piece of aluminum on the bottom of such a large laptop. It does seem to flex a little more than I would like. It seems counter intuitive as most of the weight of the laptop rests on the thin piece of aluminum that is the whole bottom cover.

Performance is also very good and it supports SATA 2 3.0 Gigabit. Is it much difference than the 2.93 I sent back? no. The screen is definitely nicer because it has no defects.
 
It's called anti-glare for a reason. If I am looking at a screen, I don't want to see myself.
 
mmoran27 said:
I just wanted to share my experience with my new 17 mbp.

It arrived yesterday so I immediately installed my intel SSD into it.

The screen is almost perfect with no defects. It came with a dirty screen (dust) but I cleaned it and it is perfect with almost no backlight bleed and no dead pixels or dust under the screen.

The keyboard is also nice and the build quality is excellent.

I question why they put such a thin piece of aluminum on the bottom of such a large laptop. It does seem to flex a little more than I would like. It seems counter intuitive as most of the weight of the laptop rests on the thin piece of aluminum that is the whole bottom cover.

Performance is also very good and it supports SATA 2 3.0 Gigabit. Is it much difference than the 2.93 I sent back? no. The screen is definitely nicer because it has no defects.
Click to expand...
Mine came with the dust as well. Very weird.
 
Yeah, Apple is telling you that the glossy has a glare to it. They are admitting it because they have an "anti-glare" version.
 
walshlink said:
I just a bought a 17" uMBP a few weeks ago with an "anti-glare" (matte) screen. It is a very beautiful screen. I don't know how the "glossy" screens look, but the chance of glare that I won't be to do anything about short of turning the lights out or adjusting the angle of the screen was the single reason why I chose the "anti-glare".

Most desktop LCDs are "anti-glare", so using an "anti-glare" notebook screen is normal to me.

Oh, and the silver border around the "anti-glare" screen is fine...it might not be as attractive as the black border, but it still looks very professional and well-made.
Click to expand...


Oh I see... how is anti-glare treating you so far?sucessful at refelction?
 
itsmejaehoon said:
Hi, I am really new to mac and trying to order one MBP 17inch soon for College...

first question I have is what case I should get to protect the palm rest, trackpad, keyboard, screen , bottom and the top..
second, I am trying to decide on the screen: either glossy or anti-glare... which one should I get?? (I am mostly going to use the laptop in my room and outside probably)
third, I am trying to order 500gb 7200rpm to save money for ssd later. If I get the SSD and install it, does that avoid my warranty? and any SSD recommendations??

Thank you in advance!!
Click to expand...

Anyone that is really debating over the gloss vs matte should go into a store to see them in person. It is too expensive of a machine to buy on a hunch. Personally I would opt for the +$50 matte option.

Good luck and choose your specs wisely!
 
I noticed reflection on my 17 as soon as I pulled it out of the box. I got used to it very fast and dont even notice it anymore. Did the same with my 15". I definatly got used to it. I imagine if you were in a bright situation or out in the sun it would be a little more obvious. Im in a typically lit room or in the dark normally. I also like the maintenance of cleaning a glossy glass screen.
 
Was looking at both - i'd recommend going to a store and looking at a glossy andthe matt side by side, running your usual apps, some video etc, and looking at reflection in different angles of light etc. I prefer the matt, but would love a black bezel, oh well :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back