MacBook Pro 17' [February 2011]

Hello guys!

Need quick advise:

There is Apple Macbook Pro 17'
Model MC725LL/A
Early 2011 [February 2011 if being exactly]
Standart specification [nothing special]

So there is a link to official specification:
MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2011) - Technical Specifications

Tell me please 2 things:

Are there big differences between this model and a last one 17 MBP?

The last one 17 MBP spec is here:
MacBook Pro (17-inch, Late 2011) - Technical Specifications

I mean something really worthy additional $ 700? I know the fact that my laptop will have a little little little bit weaker Quad Core i7 [2 generation though] and Video Card but it makes no differences for me. I am still in deal. But maybe there was some kind of breakthrough in technologies or suchlike in middle 2011 in Apple Macbook Pro which I missed because I am switching to OS from Win?

The last & more serious question:
Does it make sense to run Win7 on MacbookPro all the time? I mean what will be the main problems if I use BootCamp?
Battery draining, system performance slowing (why btw?), BT & WiFI ease switching & backlit keyboard lost [drivers problems as I understand], what else that can't be easily solved?

I hope I can easily switch to OS but I am online poker player and I need Win about 6-8 hours every other day if not every....
But Apple design of the laptop body is marvelous... Lion is all right. And I cant help me buying Mac except the mentioned 'Win running' problem.

Thanks!
ASAP!
And Happy holidays!

 

most poker rooms have mac clients now, and even pokertracker has a mac version.

the other major problem with windows on the mac is that the trackpad driver sucks.

 

While the trackpad isn't as good in Windows, it's waaay better than most other laptop touchpads. I used to run Windows 7 on my 2010 MBP13, and the touchpad was pretty awesome.

 

In answer to your first question. There is very little difference between the early and late 2011 macbook pro 17's
The cpu is 200mhz faster, which you would not notice in day to day us unless you are encoding a lot.
the gnu is 75mhz faster, again this will hardly be noticeable and if you use windows both over clock really well.

I run my gfx card in boot camp from 600/798 to 780/900.

To answer your second question, you could easily run windows 24-7 but you would miss a lot of the osx benefits. I run about 50-50, I use windows for all my gaming and do all my work/surfing/music/movies on osx.

Even if you ran purely windows it would be better than most windows laptops out there, and I have been through a lot of laptops through either work/home use

 

IMO, if you're not going to use OS X, don't buy a Mac. The only exception would be if you're absolutely, 100% desperate to have a notebook with current-generation technology and a 16:10 resolution (1280x800, 1440x900, 1680x1050, 1920x1200) display.

OP, a Dell XPS 17 or HP Envy 17 will do what you want. These notebooks are a bit bulkier, but you'll get much more machine for your money.

 

Thanks to all of You, guys!

I run HM for my gambling sessions so Win is only solution.
All the rest [entertainment & ordinary work] I intend to do in OS Lion.
I'm quite new to OS but it is all right at the first sight.

So if only drivers problems which cause BT, WiFi and trackpad issues - that's okey for me. Anyway I'm going to lower my gambling time to weekends session only.

Last thing: what will be final price for a good/excellent condition for this half a year old laptop? Amazon average price is now about $1800. I'm going to take it for $1500. Is it a good deal?

Happy holidays!

PS I have been watching Envy new 15/17 tread last 2 weeks so I am to say Envy is just parody on MBP. Sony S 15'6 is good enough but price is overestimated in terms of quality/performance. Sammy NP700Z is so so with a trashy display. So that why I am ready to take a used MBP.

Cheers! Have fun!

 

Yep, display is very important for my poker session. I'm multitabler and have HM Huds all over the tables. The MPB 17' screen is awesome. I hope under Win environment I can see max resolution 1920*1200p?

If You ment Ivy Bridge technology which rumors say won't appear in 1Q 2012 so I'm quite satisfied with Sandy Bridge since my last desktop which I used up till now had Pentium D and was quite all right except the times while I was gambling/HM multitasking ...

 

The 17" MBP's resolution won't change under Windows. I still think that, unless you are going to be in OS X 70% (or greater) of the time, there is no point in buying a Mac. Buying a Mac only to boot it into Windows for the majority of time really isn't worth it especially since you can do the same general productivity tasks in Windows. To me, there is no point in hunting down a notebook to run a specific OS (whether it is Windows, a Linux distro, or OS X) only to boot into a non-primary OS the majority of time especially when the primary OS can do exactly what you want.

In other words, I don't see a point in buying a Mac when it sounds like you will be in Windows most of the time only to have to reboot the system to check your e-mail, work in iTunes, etc. That doesn't make any sense to me. Instead, I think you would be better off putting the money towards a nice Windows machine. Although you think the HP Envy line is a "parody" of the MBP line, it is also a strong Windows competitor and they are fine machines. You might as well buy a machine that was built from the ground up to run an OS that you need/want instead of trying to make things work.

 

Still, the extra 120 vertical pixels is not worth the very steep price premium versus other 17-inch 1080p notebooks.

An alternative would be to search for a used or refurbished HP Elitebook 8740W/8760W. Those will have more than enough power for what you need to do, run Windows, have an available 1920x1200 screen, and can be had for half the price of a MBP.

 

Thanks folk! I can't see any laptop which can compete MBP in design. Only Samsung NP700 series has the same solid sturdy laconic design. But screen of this Sammy is just awful.

And I'm not against switching completely to OS, since I am not going to do on the laptop any special tasks and lunch any special programs like AutoCad or something. Only my poker activity makes me feel a little nervous.

And what about price? Is $1500 a good price for this laptop? If it only goes with AC adapter?

 

So you are willing to grossly overpay for a notebook and not use it as the product was designed simply because it has a nice design? It is your money so feel free to spend it as you see fit. Just know that you are going against the advice from others including Mac users. $1500 isn't a bad price so long as the unit is in a new condition. Just know that you can get a new 17" HP Envy notebook with very similar design along with a newer quad-core processor, more RAM, a larger hard drive, a built-in 3D Blu-ray drive, and a 3D 1080p display along with a two year warranty all for the same price.

The higher price would be worth it if you wanted to experience Macs as a whole and stick with OS X as your primary OS. That doesn't seem to be the case and I just see no point in booting into Windows (of which the experience will be sub-optimal) most of the time to run your poker program only to reboot the system just so you can browse the internet. Why go through all the trouble when there are Windows based notebooks that can do everything you want without you have to reboot them 5 times during the day?