Looking at my boxed 17" mbp

Just purchased and wanted to let everyone know that it was a hard choice for me.
I do some gaming (Metal of Honor, ect) and almost decided on the imac 24" 3.06

I liked the led backlit of the mbp better and am thinking I could upgrade the hd when apple releases bigger versions.

The biggest hit is the GPU, but watched youtube and seen where people were even running crysis on the mbp.

I might add a hp 23" monitor to make my wife happy when watching movies.

What do you think, did I do ok?
Should I open the box.

 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooo dont do it man !!!!!!

Get eithe r the imacc or the dell precision M6400 which can take a quad core CPU + 16GB of RAM + Quadro FX3700 with 1GB of dedicated ram

The M6400 runs linux well too.

 

You can upgrade the HDD right now. User replaceable.

And congrats.

 

1 for
1 against
You did not say why the imac

 

I never really was into imacs. When the screen goes out you just have a big underpowered computer.

Also its a b*tch to change the hdd out of the imacs. Also no LED backlighting.

 

Thats why I decided on the MBP because of the led backlighting
I figured I paid a good 500 dollars more to get th eled and portable feature vs the imac.

 

I have an iMac and a 15" Macbook Pro.

I'd rather the macbook pro because of its nice LED screen and portability like you said.

If you're not a demanding gamer then that MBP should be fine.

 

Thanks for the encouragement, I thought the led had richer color, but who knows

 

The M6400 has a RGB LED screen; better than the white LED screen of the MBP

 

osx ftw. makes it worth it over the dell IMO.

 

It really depends on the OP. If he wants the ultimate in gaming then he should use the money he spent on that Macbook pro and get a decked out PC tower with a 24" monitor for his wife. Win Win.

But if he wants OSX...thats a different story.

 

god noooooooooooooooooooooo get the imac the ati 4850 is very future proof for a mac. dont do it!!!!!!!!!! wow why do i care so much? lol

 

You can install Linux on the M6400. I have done it, and its pretty painless.

So, if you get Vista downgrade XP, you basically can have 3 OS's. Vista, XP, and Linux

Also, I forgot to mention, dual HDDs, for 1TB of storage

 

You do know that that combination is over 4K. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice machine, but Linux isn't the same as OS X.

 

You can get good deals if you are deligent enough. That config (except for the HDDs, ram) was sold here (at NBR) for $2500.

You are right linux isnt OS X, but the question is, how much are you willing to pay for it ? $1000 ? $2000 ? For just the OS ?

 

I agree, a little looking around will really pay off, and will fetch a better price than impulse buying. It depends on who the user is. If I wanted to save money and go with Linux, I wouldn't have anywhere to take it to get some software help or any help with Linux. If I had OS X, I could take the computer to an Apple store, and they could help sort out the problem. If I had Windows, I could get a Geek Squad appointment, and mabye they could help with registry errors and defragments gone wrong in Windows.. It really depends on how computer illiterate you are.

 

f.e. you can get mbp for much cheaper from ebay also,m6400 is ~2x heavier then mbp,and their precision line quality Sucks compared to thinkpads and elitebooks.

 

We're talking about a 17" MBP. With a 3 year warranty.
Precision quality is quite good, I have both thinkads and the M6400.
Full metal chassis, full metal cover; you should play around with the M6400 before bashing it. The elitebooks may be better built, but not by mch.

Plus, if you can add accident protection to dells, you cannot for macs.

Its all about cost/feature tradeoff. Typically we have the law of diminishing returns, for a small incremental benefit, the cost required is disproportionate.

 

which is why...

I didn't bash m6400,but I am comparing my m4400 to elitebook 8530w,HP compaq 7400,tx4400,Thinkpad x200,t400 and IBM X40(all business notebooks I have) and it has worse quality.

 

The M6400 is better built Different design.

 

doesn't m6400 have the same lid "cover" as m4400?

 

M6400 is in a world of its own. Good build quality, but the corners are a tad sharp and jagged.

I also found the keyboard a little flimsy. Two different M6400's, and both had keys come off.

Outside of that, thing was a tank, dismal battery life (Expected with the X38), and phenomenal cooling. Don't forget the 4 memory slots so you can have 16GB if you want.

And yeah, the RGB screen was ridiculously awesome.

It comes down to:

Want OSX?
Want a 17" very LIGHT weight computer?
Top notch performance (IE Games) isn't a high priority?

Open 'er up.

Anything else, return it.

 

added few +,hope you don't mind.

 

I like the pad, but it isn't a deal maker or breaker. Small charger is a huge plus. The M6400 comes with a boat anchor like most of the big, hot and heavy gaming laptops on the PC side.

 

No, its a different lid.
Are you unhappy with the M4400 lid ?

BTW, some discussion in the following thread that robustness of the MBPs has taken a huge hit with the unibody design.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=364547

They have now started offering a "slim profile charger", dunno how small it is (but its sure to be bigger than the applpe charger.

Adding to the pro con list:
MBP Pros:
-OSX
-a 17" very light weight computer
- excellent battery life
-Multi-touch trackpad
-Small charger
Major cons: Not so rugged due to unibody design ?
-- Weaker GPU
-- No accident protection + battery non-user serviceable

M6400 Pros:
-- XP+Vista come bundled together
-- RGBLED
-- Quad core
-- 4 sodimm slots
-- 2 HDD bays
-- Quadro FX 3700 GPU with 1GB dedicated ram
-- Accidental protection warranty available
-- Very well built (rugged)
-- Runs linux very well
-- Dell on site business warranty service
-- Trackpoint
Major Cons:
-- Heavy, big charger, pointed edges
-- Flex in keyboard
-- Bad battery life.

 

You can use a smaller adapter, but it won't charge the battery as fast, if at all, under load (The M6400 will tell you if the adapter you're using is not the big boy). The adapter is "smaller" but still pretty beefy in comparison to the 17" adapter.

You can get Vista w/ XP "downgrade," but if running OSX is your primary concern, it is moot and you can still run Vista on the Mac.

So basically every con for the M6400 is a pro for the 17" MBP. So it really does come down to if ergonomics are a priority, weight, noise (Under load, the M6400 can put out some decent noise...nothing on the level of some notebooks, but the 15/17" MBP are much quieter in comparison).

I mean, if weight, size, battery life and running OSX are not issues at all, the MBP's quickly loose a lot of their "oomph," but those are the very selling points Apple emphasizes.

Just like if you're looking for cutting edge gaming, Quad Core support, expandability and user configuration, the MBP is a terrible choice.

 

I found no proof of that in that thread.

unhappy...no,its not the right word-it feels wrong-kinda fragile...

 

hey guys, just want to remind you that you are going a little off on topic ^_^.

 

Useless to compare these things. There is no better or worse that's absolute.

For example, I carry my 17" in my backpack at all times and leave the power adapter at home. Would that be possible with the Dell hardware? No. Because the battery doesn't nearly run long enough, and even without power adapter that thing weighs over 8lb.

With a uni discount you can get the MBP 17 for under $2500 as well.

A good comparison that's pretty neutral without absolute judgement is here:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/gadgetreviews/?p=2811

I completely agree with the conclusion: While there is no absolute best or cheapest, you can definitely see that the MBP is competitively priced for its features - the Apple tax is a myth. Yes it's expensive - but if you want all the features in the MBP 17" you will have to shell out just as much for a PC, save for some features that don't even exist on the PC side, like the battery. 12,500 mAh FTW

BTW the MBP 17" screen is gorgeous. The article declares it at least as good if not better than the Dell's even though it's "only" using white LEDs. I haven't seen the Dell screen but the MBP screen is a sight to behold - the picture is breathtaking, really. Best I have seen on a desktop or laptop.

The Dell also has a pro graphics card. That's great if you are into finite elements calculations (I did that in a previous job) or need professional 3D for some other reason, but the Pro cards are usually not as good at gaming as their price would suggest, and in this case I am sure that it eats way more power than the one in the MBP so it would never fit in the size / power consumption envelope. I am not saying the Dell is worse - it's just a different thing, making different trade-offs.

 

Hey back on topic, YES OPEN THE BOX.

This laptop, for me, is a new generation, a breakthrough, and more than the sum of its parts. It's oozing quality too. The glass screen doesn't scratch, so if it's dirty, get out a tissue and scrub it to your heart's content. I have been waiting for this day, no more velvet gloves around the display.

The unibody feels rock solid - however, knowing Apple and it's less-than-stellar quality record, I would definitely absolutely get the 3 year warranty. The hinge looks like the only part that can conceivably break. There is a lot of stress on that hinge- I am sure they knew that and designed it to be very strong, but in my experience that's the kind of thing that nobody can know until some time has passed and the thing has been tested in real life.

The warranty also protects you in case the battery doesn't live up to the promised 3 year life span. I don't care because should it fail prematurely I am going to make Apple replace it under warranty.

If you are not big into battery life then what you are left with is still a phenomenal laptop with a gorgeous screen. And if you have the cash, why not. User-replaceable hard drive is a big win too, because you can make the jump to SSD relatively painlessly. I am expecting the SSD value equation to be good enough for me to make the jump in 2010. That's when I can get a reasonably priced 256GB SSD that doesn't suffer from any weird quirks like small random write lag or anything like that.

 

The 3700M in the M6400 is equivalent to a downclocked GT280M exactly on a slightly larger die. It pulled a 12k 3DMark06 versus the 9600M GT DDR3 in my old MSI 1722-ID1 which managed ~5700 (Both were equipped with a QX9300 CPU). Gaming wise, there is no comparison, period. The GPU in the M6400 just slaughters the MBP 17" in every way, shape form. The 1920x1200 native resolution on the MBP will just tax the poor, mid class 9600M DDR3 GT even more.

I can definitely, like you pointed out, see the market for the MBP 17" It is purdy, very, very light, and the screen is very pleasing. I found the RGB-LED in the M6400 better, but the screen in the MBP 17" was better than anything I had seen except the RGB-LED. It is using what is pretty much a top end Dual Core chip (2.93ghz is wicked fast), is *very* quiet and I kept looking at how thin it was over and over in the store.

If I wanted a portable, state of the art gaming power house, the MBP 17" isn't it. Not even close in any way, shape or form. Will it run modern games? Absolutely, but at 1920x1200, if you want consistent 30-40+ fps in games, you will be turning down various elements or running it at a lower resolution (or both). But the compromise makes sense.

I said in a post awhile ago Apple designs the ergonomics first, then fits the best hardware it can in there while remaining true to physical form. There's a certain beauty in that.

 

Well put.

1.
I didnt like that "comparison" very high level.

2. Not with a 3 year warranty.
And if we are talking about a university discount, I got the precision M6400, 2.66Ghz, RGBLED, 250GB 7200 rpm, Quadro FX 2700, 3 year on site warranty+3 year accident protection for just under $2000.

3. Apple tax is not a myth. If you're looking for concrete quantitative justification for it, you can look at the profit margins of dell and apple. Appl'es are like 2-3x that of dell; and the MBP are apples highest profit margin products.

 

not for those who understands them.also,there are cheaper places to get macs-ebay f.e.!i got my 2.4 mb for ~1000$-can you find something better for that price?

 

Yes, at dell outlet; or again on ebay

Macbooks are more reasonably priced.

 

right, I can adjusted the cost for going to the MBP with better & bigger screen, better graphic cards. but I still want it

 

You know whats really funny about the M6400? It doesn't even run 64 bit vista. 3 GB of ram max. Wow thats one really powerful laptop!!

 

You need to check your facts before posting. If you are referring to the Dell M6400, it can be configured with 64bit Vista and up to 16GB of RAM.

Also, you need to be more respective of other users on this forum. Calling people trolls and insulting them constantly will earn you a permanent vacation away from this website.

 

What are you talking about? The M6400 supports 64-bit Vista / Linux and easily supports 4GB of memory. You need to start researching before you spout nonsense.

 

Dells outlet failed me 3 times.I m done.

I just checked ebay dells,and there were on same level as their website(actually,site was cheaper with coupons)

Also,I would like to see m6400 near mbp to make final judgment on the screen.

Don't get me wrong,I think m6400 is an awesome machine.I love it's design,even ordered one,but then I canceled since I understood that it is too heavy for me.

it's power can't be matched by most,but...

 

Er, he is a troll.

We got a bit off track here; my first post was in jest. OP, enjoy the 17" MBP, it seems to be a fine piece of machine. My only serious concern is with the durability issues raised in the other thread.
Both the 17" MBP and the precision M6400 have their (very strong) pros which cannot be matched by the other.

BTW, does anyone know if the battery is covered in the 3 year applecare ?

 

I agree, the portability of the MBP is very handy. I plug my 15" MBP into my 40" Sony Bravia television, it looks BEAUTIFUL and runs flawlessly.

Such a pleasure to use, there' no way I'd touch a PC for work/internet/movies. They are great for gaming though!

 

Yes, each system has their pros and cons. The Mac is stepping up in terms of gaming, with better and better video cards such as the 9600M GT and the 9400M.

 

It would be interesting if Apple decided to offer a laptop that was cutting edge with some trade-offs to boot. Maybe get an idea of their user base and see which Apple users would be ok with a big body laptop with modern day high end GPUs and a Quad knowing their desktops can come with 4850's and 8-core support.

 

Agreed, for all my day to day stuff my Macbook is all I use and I enjoy it. But I concede when it's time to do some serious gaming my pc desktop is where it's at.

 

Sorry I just skimmed through this thread, so to the OP did ya open it?

PS. I dont care what anyone else saids, the 17" unibody mbp blows any other 17" notebooks out of the water in terms of looks, usability and sexiness!

 

Yes, I opened it and the wife complained that she could not see the screen too well. I went to apple and purchased the 24" led.

Now I am shaking at the cost I have invested. I could have purchased too pc's.

 

wait a sec-what do you mean

 

We both wear glasses and have a hard time seeing small objects. 50's
I amjust not sure I did the right thing spending all this money. The mac is great, but net sure that the price for usage is needed. I could get a pc with tv tuner and 24" monitor for under 1500.00

 

yes you could.also,you could get other monitor for cheap...

 

what other monitor?