Upgrade 17" MBP or Buy new 15" Retina Fully Loaded?

[alingerfelt]

Guys,

I currently have the last of the 17" Macbook Pros fully loaded. 2.5 i7, 16 gb of ram, 750 gb hard drive, 17" antiglare screen.

Here is what I'm considering: upgrading the internal hard drive to a 1 TB SSD (Samsung or Crucial) vs trading my laptop in and buying a new, fully-loaded 15" Retina maxed out.

I use my laptop for a variety of work: writing and research (large screen, easy to read resolution helps, plus having multiple things on screen simultaneously), Photoshop, Dreamweaver, & Premiere. I do more graphics and web work than video but occasionally I do video. I've got a 60 minute hour long video project coming up in December.

Thoughts? Pros/cons either way?

I know newer is better, but I have to say that I love this 17" screen.

 

[0983275]

If your 17" still serves you well, then upgrade it.

Having a REAL 1920x1200 screen is way better than upscaled 1920x1200 screen (it's not bad, but it's not the same) and you have bigger screen to work with, which makes viewing better.

 

[jfriedman8]

Keep if it suits you, but there are some really good deals out there on the 15" RMBP

 

[davidjearly]

I was in the same boat, and I decided to sell the 17" and get the 15" rMBP.

I don't regret it. As much as I love the 17", and was one of its biggest fans, the new rMBP allows me access to the same resolution, more power, and in a smaller package.

Personally, I think 1920 scaled on the 15" rMBP works beautifully.

 

[vpro]

I urge you to upgrade!

I urge you to upgrade.

The rMB's are great for the brand-craze, trend-craze fanatics and consumers, and a tiny number of so-called-pro photo magicians.

YES! Love your huge and glorious 17" screen - movies are just perfect on this size and productivity is GOLD, this 17" viewing area is simply Platinum. Viewing on 15" makes me feel so closed in and restricted, once you go 17" you can't do 15" because that just doesn't make any sense no matter how they always justify it. That is all it is, justification… The 13" inch however of the retina that is something amazing because it is very personally and I feel it is so private, like a girl with her diary in the 30's, it's mine, it is close to me, it is so tiny. I love tiny and I LOVE giant. But I never liked things in the middle size. Feels like I'm being told that I can't have more and I don't like that, I want bigger screens and I felt the release of this limited size form factor of 15" is an insult to my intelligence, restricting me of my valid needs.


My nephews love their rMBs for the status, they are young, they have a lot to learn. So I get them those gadgets they 'want'.

I don't regret updating and maxing out my 17MBP Late OCT.2011 2.5GHz Goddess machine one bit. She is so blazing fast, cool and sturdy.

You won't go wrong upgrading, because you 'can'.

All the best! ^_^

 

[Texxy]

I urge you to upgrade.

The rMB's are great for the brand-craze, trend-craze fanatics and consumers, and a tiny number of so-called-pro photo magicians.

YES! Love your huge and glorious 17" screen - movies are just perfect on this size and productivity is GOLD, this 17" viewing area is simply Platinum. Viewing on 15" makes me feel so closed in and restricted, once you go 17" you can't do 15" because that just doesn't make any sense no matter how they always justify it. That is all it is, justification… The 13" inch however of the retina that is something amazing because it is very personally and I feel it is so private, like a girl with her diary in the 30's, it's mine, it is close to me, it is so tiny. I love tiny and I LOVE giant. But I never liked things in the middle size. Feels like I'm being told that I can't have more and I don't like that, I want bigger screens and I felt the release of this limited size form factor of 15" is an insult to my intelligence, restricting me of my valid needs.


My nephews love their rMBs for the status, they are young, they have a lot to learn. So I get them those gadgets they 'want'.

I don't regret updating and maxing out my 17MBP Late OCT.2011 2.5GHz Goddess machine one bit. She is so blazing fast, cool and sturdy.

You won't go wrong upgrading, because you 'can'.

All the best! ^_^

I agree with EVERYTHING you said as I have a 17" as well BUT, I am upgrading to the rMBP fully specd out because of the weight above all else! The portability is so much better than the heavy duty 17". I agree it is a powerhouse and built like a rock. I feel nothing can damage it, but the weight has taken a tole on me as a user.

Depends what you need it for. Whether I get a 13" or a 15" I can always get a side monitor that is bigger and use that screen even.

You will save a lot more money upgrading the 17" you have but it all comes down to how much money you want to save/what you need it for!

It is not like the new rMBP is a bad machine. It pretty much will destroy on your 17" even when you upgrade it specs wise.

 

[johnnylarue]

Guys,

I currently have the last of the 17" Macbook Pros fully loaded. 2.5 i7, 16 gb of ram, 750 gb hard drive, 17" antiglare screen.

Here is what I'm considering: upgrading the internal hard drive to a 1 TB SSD (Samsung or Crucial) vs trading my laptop in and buying a new, fully-loaded 15" Retina maxed out.

I use my laptop for a variety of work: writing and research (large screen, easy to read resolution helps, plus having multiple things on screen simultaneously), Photoshop, Dreamweaver, & Premiere. I do more graphics and web work than video but occasionally I do video. I've got a 60 minute hour long video project coming up in December.

Thoughts? Pros/cons either way?

I know newer is better, but I have to say that I love this 17" screen.

My 17" MBP was stolen and I miss it dearly.

I would personally vote for a compromise: get 512GB SSD for your 17" ($350) and wait for next year's refresh to upgrade. Broadwell should, at least in theory, bring a more significant bump in performance than Haswell, so you'll feel the upgrade all the more when the time comes.

As for the 17" vs 15" retina, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by how much better the scaled 1920x1200 of the retina looks than the native 1920x1200 of the anti-glare display. The increase in sharpness more than makes up for the loss in size--provided your eyesight is good enough, of course.

 

[vpro]

*_~

I agree with EVERYTHING you said as I have a 17" as well BUT, I am upgrading to the rMBP fully specd out because of the weight above all else! The portability is so much better than the heavy duty 17". I agree it is a powerhouse and built like a rock. I feel nothing can damage it, but the weight has taken a tole on me as a user.

Depends what you need it for. Whether I get a 13" or a 15" I can always get a side monitor that is bigger and use that screen even.

You will save a lot more money upgrading the 17" you have but it all comes down to how much money you want to save/what you need it for!

It is not like the new rMBP is a bad machine. It pretty much will destroy on your 17" even when you upgrade it specs wise.

I've owned the early 2013 maxed out 2.8Ghz 15"rMB until recently when I gifted it to my nephew who is going into med school, it doesn't compare to my beefed up Momma Goddess machine the late 2011 17"MBP.

The savings from upgrading her meant that I could upgrade my entire music recording studio with all new gear all at the same time, rather than refreshing piece by piece, just to give people an idea of the savings.

It is still really early to adopt the retina macbook technology and that is just fact. Though they appear great and feel great, that is exactly what the red fruity company is all about now, they want you to feel good, when consumers feel good they will fall for anything and dish out any amount of money to get that feeling. That "new car feeling". It is all propaganda as it stands now.

The previous gens especially their 17" MBP represented something that is a dying merit with this company now. SO i really feel the value of my money's worth with this upgrade, I feel proud to be strong and productive with a machine that sits right with my morals.

These new retina MacBooks are GREAT for me to toy around with that is why I have my 13" 2.8Ghz 16GB 1TB diary notebook next to me, she is like that granddaughter of my 17"MBP ^_^

*Giggles*

All the BEST to you!

 

[Atomic Walrus]

Just to clarify, this is the 2011 Sandy Bridge quad core model, correct? I just upgraded from the 2010 Arrandale dual core, which made it a big upgrade, but I definitely would have held out a year if I had the 2011 model. Arrandale to Sandy was the largest CPU performance jump in recent history. Broadwell may have the potential to be a similar upgrade, though obviously we won't be increasing core count again anytime soon.

That weight is another issue, but if it doesn't bother you... I'd hold out for next year personally.

 

[vpro]

Just to clarify, this is the 2011 Sandy Bridge quad core model, correct? I just upgraded from the 2010 Arrandale dual core, which made it a big upgrade, but I definitely would have held out a year if I had the 2011 model. Arrandale to Sandy was the largest CPU performance jump in recent history. Broadwell may have the potential to be a similar upgrade, though obviously we won't be increasing core count again anytime soon.

That weight is another issue, but if it doesn't bother you... I'd hold out for next year personally.

Absolutely right. Sandybridge is soooooooooooooo stable, cool running and efficient in every single way!

I don't even notice the late 2011 17"MBP's weight "issue", I've been carrying around a 2006 17"MBP for years until last year when I picked up my new 17"MBP and it feels light as a feather compared to the 2006 model, oh, my niece told me cos I buffed up carrying around that brick, haha, she is a sweetheart, she knows her auntie has gained great muscle strength so nothing is heavy. If you have a really great back pack made for carrying good amount of "weight" and is well padded where it is needed in all the right places, you shouldn't feel the "weight" at all. Period.

I swim, run (track), rock climb, snow shoe and x-country ski, no wonder nothing feels heavy for me to carry around all day long. You just get used to it and it becomes totally unnoticeable !