Still MBP 17" worth it?

[appleuserfan]

I want to move to a bigger macbook, now i'm on a 13" MBP.
My choose would be 17 but i can evaluate also the 15".
The only problem is that the 17" is not produced anymore so i have to find an old one, even with maxed out specs.
But do you think that is a good choice the 17"? My usage will be light-medium

 

[tubeexperience]

I have a 17" MBP. It's a very nice and upgradeable machine. I could put 16 GB RAM and 2 TB SSD if I wanted.

I tried the 15" Retina MBP, but it doesn't cut the mustard.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Personally I would say no, buying 5 year old specs now seems like step backward to me and from a longevity view failure rates go up rapidly after 5years so it may last a few years or may die tomorrow.

You will get a LOT of people on here with big love for the 17 inch but it's just past the point of being a sensible buy these days.

USB 2, Bluetooth 2.1, n wireless and TB1 mean that all of its connectivity is out of date, it's big thick and heavy in modern laptop terms and scaled view on the 15 inch retina will give you the same real estate with better clarity, and if you don't need portability (a distinct possibility if you are considering a 17 inch laptop) then an iMac is a better option.

Just my tuppence worth, but buy what you like logic seems to hold little sway on many peoples buying habits.

 

[Trey M]

I'd agree that buying anything 5 years or older is not a great idea. You'll pay a premium for the device since they are rather rare nowadays, and you'd be getting a machine which you know very little about. As the poster above said it could last 5 more years or it could die tomorrow. Not something I'd want to spend more than a couple hundred bucks on.

I find the 15 inch great for all-day usage at a desk or whatever it may be. It's big enough for me and the flexibility of different retina resolutions is great and really easy to change. If you must have a bigger display, I'd recommend just getting an external monitor for when you're using it at your desk, etc. 17 inch laptops really aren't too common these days so I think you'd find a better value and feature set in a 15'' or smaller notebook.

 

[JTToft]

I'm also going to say no. 2010 and earlier are too slow, 2011 is plagued by GPU problems, and 2012 doesn't exist.

 

[appleuserfan]

it's just that i don't travel a lot so i have no problem in portability terms. Also i prefer to have a bigger screen even when i have to travel. I already have an iMac for my office so i'm ok.
But yes, i will follow your advices and i will not buy the 17"!
I will see if the 15" satisfy my needs!
Thank you all guys

 

[Krafty]

The only reason I'm willing to buy the new rMBP (IF APPLE RELEASES ONE....sorry...) is because I'd rather have more raw power. The 17" I have was a base one but now that I can buy my own, I'd rather get a beefed up 15".

If my 17" was beefed up I would care what Apple released (or won't release).

 

[nStyle]

it's just that i don't travel a lot so i have no problem in portability terms. Also i prefer to have a bigger screen even when i have to travel. I already have an iMac for my office so i'm ok.
But yes, i will follow your advices and i will not buy the 17"!
I will see if the 15" satisfy my needs!
Thank you all guys

Or the 13" since you have a desktop already Save money and get better portability.

 

[iCyprus]

still have mine and it works fine! The Samsung SSD 250GB + 16GB RAM make it work perfect!

 

[tubeexperience]

I have both a MBP 17" and a rMBP 15".

My MBP 17" in the one I use daily.

There is just no substitute for a larger screen.

 

[justin216]

I'd not invest in a 5 year old laptop, Apple or not. Batteries fail, motherboards/GPUs are known to fail, dead pixels develop, etc. Yeah, you can get parts and fix them, upgrade them, etc, but you're effectively on borrowed time.

I'm not opposed to buying "legacy hardware", per se -- such as people buying older Mac Pros and updating them, but there are (IMHO) less failure points and even more upgrade possibilities in that specific situation. Laptop, you're looking at memory and storage more or less, or swapping motherboards, displays, etc. Far more complicated.

Don't get me wrong, I own a MBP17, I run it as a management client in one of my server cabinets and love it, but I'd not buy one today just for the novelty or display resolution. Especially not for the $600-1200 they seem to still command on eBay for decent condition.

 

[mountain]

I agree. I would not invest in a 5 year old laptop. I wouldn't even pay 300 for it.