Any Point In Buying A MacBook Pro 17?

With Apple not producing the MBP 17 any longer, would it be wise to purchase a late 2011 MBP 17? Since the Ivy Bridge processors, USB 3.0, newer graphic cards, etc. are out now, is it worth it? I have the opportunity to purchase a late 2011 MBP 17 for $1600. I have been looking at the new Samsung NP700Z7C which is almost like at MBP 17 in terms if size and weight. The Samsung has all the newer technology. I can get it for $1500 including tax. Which is a better purchase? Thanks

 

Do you want an Apple computer with a larger screen than the MBP 15, but smaller and more portable than the iMac? If so, the MBP 17 might be right for you.

Lol, if you don't need the absolute fastest Macbook available and you need a large screen, the MBP 17 is a good choice. It's not outdated by any means, and Apple will continue to support it for years to come.

 

When buying a Mac, you have to look at more than just the technical specifications as Macs will almost always lose when comparing price and hardware. Many, many, many, many different companies offer similar (or better) equipped notebooks at lower prices.

You have to factor in OS X, aesthetics, and general use. The main reason for anyone to buy a Mac should be the use of OS X. Want Windows? That's great, go with a Windows machine. I see absolutely no point in buying a Mac just to run Windows. OS X was developed specifically for Apple's hardware (which happens to lineup with hardware used by others) to provide their ecosystem. Secondly, Macs offer aesthetics that are still second to none. I know this is generally a small reason why people buy a notebook but Apple's designs are often imitated by other companies yet remain unmatched. Lastly, their usability is really nice. The MacBook line offers the best trackpads on the market with some of the best keyboards. I doubt you will find a better trackpad and keyboard combination from anyone else.

The 17" MBP is still not a bad machine though I am not sure if I would buy one now that newer MBPs have been released. For me, USB 3.0 would be enough to deter me from buying the 2011 models. You can pickup a 15" MBP for a little over the price of the used 17" MBP. Then again, if you are happy running Windows and have no plans to move to OS X, you might as well just get a Windows machine.

 

Why would USB 3.0 keep you from buying a 2011 model? Doesn't the 2011 models have Thunderbolt?

 

It probably isn't relevant to your needs, but you can use eGPU with it.

 

As much as I love all 17 inch Macbook Pros I would get The new 15 inch rather than spring for a 17 inch. But I already have a 17 inch non unibody Pro so I feel my opinion is a little bias lol


Sent from my iPhone 4S using Tapatalk

 

Focusing on hard drives, the absolute bare minimum cost to attach one to a Mac via Thunderbolt is about $200 (assuming $50 for a Seagate GoFlex drive, $100 for Seagate's Thunderbolt adapter, and $50 for the cable, all of which are sold separately). That's why you'd want to use USB 3.0.

 

I prefer more screen real estate than higher resolutions.

 

a bigger screen just makes pictures bigger. Its running an actual higher resolution that gives you more screen real estate

 

The new MBP Retina has a higher resolution than the MBP 17.

Sent from my HTC One S

 

You'll just never know what models will be left out of the party on the next OSX update. I was pretty surprised Apple already decided to kill the iPhone 4 by leaving out some of the big iOS 6 features, so I wouldn't put it past Apple to kill off models they deem obsolete much more quickly from here on.

 

Apple still supports the C2D Macbooks that were manufactured 5 years ago.

Sent from my HTC One S

 

Yes but you can buy an external 500GB USB 3.0 hard drive for $50, the same price of a single Thunderbolt cable. USB 3.0 has become a lot more common and is even popping up in thumb drives. Thunderbolt is nice but external devices that use Thunderbolt are either expensive, require an additional expensive accessory (such as Seagate's options), and at least one $50 Thunderbolt cable. Even desktop 2TB USB 3.0 hard drives can be purchased for around $120. Although USB 3.0 is nowhere near as fast (or capable) as Thunderbolt, it is a lot more common, less expensive, and more than fast enough for everyday and even heavy use. Thunderbolt may reach that point but it won't be for at least another 3-5 years.

That hasn't really been established yet. I don't think OS X even supports eGPU Thunderbolt configurations at this point.

 

I got a USB hard drive dock pretty cheap a long time ago (was like $20ish), i can just slip in any 3.5 or 2.5 SATA drive into it and run it off USB3. Buying OEM drives to use in it is cheap, just I have to keep them in antistatic bags... but I only use a couple. i always used it USB2 before, but dang it is fast on my MBP-R. I had 400GB worth of stuff on my old machine, and I did a migration to my new machine off the the Time Machine drive running on that doing USB3, and it took about an hour and it was ready to go. Last time I did that on USB2 it took like 4 hours.

 

Which is one reason why I am probably going to wait and buy Belkin's Thunderbolt dock when it is finally launched in September. Three USB 3.0 ports, one FireWire 800, and one 6 Gbps eSATA port along with a few other things I won't use (except for the secondary Thunderbolt port so I can daisy chain my MBA to my HDTV). That essentially covers everything I need as I have a 1TB portable USB 3.0 hard drive from Seagate, an eSATA hard drive dock from my previous Windows machine, and a 2TB FireWire 800 desktop drive when I had a MBP. All of those are now hooked up via a USB hub and things are painfully slow especially when I am moving data from one hard drive to another. Belkin is essentially bending customers over a barrel but it's pretty much the only option for people with MBPs and MBAs from 2011 without buying new storage all over again (which would be much more expensive than plopping down the $400 for the dock and $50 for a Thunderbolt cable).

Plus that takes me just one step closer to my ideal setup where I come home, essentially plug in two cables (Thunderbolt and power), and turn my MBA more into a desktop having fast access to a bunch of different accessories.

 

I got the 2011 MBP 17" just recently. Buyer's remorse? Not really. It's very fast, upgradeable (ha!) and since I don't plan to take it out much, the size and weight, while hardly bad by 17" standards, are not real factors.

I am not crazy about the "tick" side of the tick-tock of tech development. I'd rather wait a generation or two for the Retina display and the other "first time" things in the new MBP to mature. My last MBP ran perfect for three years and I sold it still perfect. I see no reason why this one should last less time. I'll check back in 2015 when the MBPR 3.0 is around. 8)

 

Pretty much every software revision has left out a few features for older hardware with iOS. Compared to the rest of the market, this is a non-issue. The fact that the iPhone 3GS can run iOS 6 and iOS 6 apps, on day 1 no less, is a near-miraculous feat. Not getting all features of a new OS doesn't kill the device. It can still run the new software, which means it will be compatible with new apps.

 

Mobile hardware also makes more leaps and bounds than what is found in computers. Apple went from an alright processor in the iPhone 3Gs to the 1GHz A4 and then made the progression to dual-core with the A5. Each revision has been able to one up the previous generation by leaps and bounds. It isn't like Intel's processors where a Core 2 Duo can still give solid performance when running Windows and OS X. It may not be as good as the Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge offerings but it is still pretty good and perfectly fine for everyday activities.

Smartphones are completely different as they seem to make huge progressions every 6 months. There will probably be a time when they too kind of hit a peak similar to x86-64 CPUs from Intel and AMD but ARM mobile processors are still in that rapidly developing phase. It is kind of like taking the whole progression that Intel did starting with the Pentium M in 2003 going up to today but completing that in 5 years instead of 9.

 

I understand if it's an actual hardware limitation, but they've already hacked the iOS 6 flyover and nav to run on the iPhone 4, so the hardware is definitely capable. Also FaceTime over 3G and Siri.

 

So, is the late 2011 MacBook Pro 17 a good buy for $1600.00 or would the Samsung be a better buy? The highlights for the Samsung are: Ivy Bridge processor, nVidia 650m GT 2GB video card, 8GB RAM, 1TB hard drive, USB 3.0, real nice matte 17.3 screen, lighter than a MBP 17 and nearly the same dimensions.

 

You have to ask yourself if you need/want OS X or if you are better in Windows. The Samsung offers better technical advantages but it runs Windows whereas the MBP will run OS X (unless you put Windows on it as the primary OS, then you might as well just get the Samsung). The $1600 price is actually very good for a unit that cost over $2000 just a couple weeks ago but it doesn't matter if you are more comfortable in Windows.