is it OK to buy a macbook pro 17" now?

i'm somewhat interested in purchasing one... but hearing bad things about it lately.. aparently apple got class-action lawsuit for selling bad LCD with the macbook pro, along with other product (eg. macbook, imac 20")

so anyone has the new santa rosa mabook pro care to tell me if you happy with the purchase? how is the screen (is it good? viewing angel?)? is it still runs hot? any problem (whine?)? anything else you would like to add?

oh is the screen actually worst or better than the original macbook pro?

 

I got my MBP about a month ago and am very happy with it.

+ No Whine
+ Screen is excellent (I got the matte-style screen, not the glossy one)
- It does get a bit hot, but not painfully hot at all (average for me is 55 degrees celsius)
+ Its incredibly fast and quiet and portable

 

I have a coworker who got a 17" one at launch and thinks it's the best overall notebook on the market. I was impressed by what I saw, and the screen looked fantastic (despite being a glossy one). He got the glossy higher resolution one (whereas I'd personally get the matte lower resolution one, if I was getting one).

It was the best notebook display I've ever seen, which normally wouldn't mean much, but it was excellent. (I noticed the glossyness wasn't as bad as with other systems. I suspect they still apply SOME coating or something, though I'd still get matte).

 

I recently (well, 3 days ago) got the 15.4 MBP and I love it. I did get the glossy screen one, as I do a lot of video/photo work and play some games The glossy screen really shows off the vibrant colors too.

I think you will be pleased with buying one.

 

I have had this MBP for 3 months and before that I had a 2.16 MBP for almost a year. Neither MBPs had any significant problem. Nothing wrong with my screen.

 

i have had my 15 inch 2.2 mbp for less than a week and have had no problems and i can honestly say i wll never go back to windows..this is the best compter i have ever used.

 

Since you're interested in buying the 17" model you want people with one of those reporting on their screen, since it's not LED based like the new 15" Macbook Pro's and thus not really comparible.

I bought a 17" (matte) one today, and I must say I'm a little disappointed about the screen. First of, the bottom of the screen has a bright bar of light. I think it's called backlight leaking. And furthermore the backlight is not evenly applied: the sides are a little darker than the rest of the screen. This appears to be a common issue (reading reports on the official Apple forums), and it seems Apple is not willing to fix it (especially the bottom bar of light).

To me, that's not that much of an issue because I usually hook it up to a large LCD screen, but if the Macbook's screen was my primary screen, I'd be upset.

 

its always a good time to buy.

 

The suit wasn't really a big deal; and it was targeted at Apple but the reason for the suit was not Apple-only. Basically, the customers who decided to sue said Apple did "false marketing", where it states its screens can display "millions" of colours, whereas they ran a test and found the screen can only display a few hundred thousand "true" colours, and the "millions" are just slightly different shades of each colour. But this isn't only Apple, all manufacturers do this.

Anyways, considering there's no indication of 17-inch LED-backlit screens coming anytime soon, I'd say the 17-inch MBP is safe to buy right now. Nearly everyone who has one has said they love the new screen with its 1920x1200 optional resolution.

However, if you can wait say a few months, I'd suggest you take advantage of Penryn in Q1 2008 and possibly LED-backlit screens then.

 

thanks Sam, i think i will gather more information before i made my decision.

edit: you say all laptop has sub-standard screen? so if sayyy.... i buy another laptop is still has that sub-standard colour... if so, i think that the macbook pro is a non-issue for me if all laptop manufacturer do this. do you think it will get solved anytime soon?

oh, and i hear about the grainy screen issue. whats that all about?

how is the screen viewing angle on the MBP? because my current Macbook got horrible viewing angle that is nearing the point of being unusable.

 

I agree, the MacBook viewing angle isn't that great. I'd say only two people could watch a movie enjoyably at the same time.

From what I've seen, the MBP's viewing angles are better.

 

two?!? even one can't view it properly! if i want to see the top, the bottom is distorted, vice versa.

 

That sounds like the screen is defective. The two Macbook's I've seen had excellent viewing angles. The Macbook Pro's I've seen look great too.

And yeah, all laptops use 6-bit screens, as do many desktop monitors (all 22" models, and basically if you're paying less than $300-400 for a mid sized monitor).

 

I have had a 17" since June 30 and I cannot fault it. Don't have any bar or backlight leakage that others have mentioned and have flawlessly run Vista from day 1.

cheers

Dave

 

hmmm certainly promising i'm really interested in gettin one now... so no more backlight leakage on the MBP?

 

hey what is that 2 cd that comes with MBP? if i remember correctly my (CoreDuo) MB only has one CD containing MAC OS X.

 

Currently Macs come with OS X Tiger. Disk 1 is the OS X Install Disk which has the actual OS. Disk 2 is for Mac OS 9 System Support.

 

Are you sure? Current Macs can't run OS 9. I'd think they'd include a DVD with the iLife '08 stuff on it, or maybe that's all included on the system DVD?

 

You're right. The Applications are on Disk 2. I was looking at my iMac G5's (PowerPC) installer disks. Sorry for the confusion.

 

wait wait wait.... if i remember correctly my macbook only has 1 dvd, that contains all the stuff in it (incl. iLife). so what is this 2nd disk contains?

 

I'm not trying to be rude, but I think your question was already answered. Maybe your memory has betrayed you, I don't know . You asked about the MacBook Pro's Install Disks. Disk 1 contains the OS and Disk 2 contains iLife. All the files on Disk 2 are hidden except for a text file, but if you use Terminal to see what's there you'll find the Packages folder that looks like this:


I don't know if the MacBook has the same install disks as the MBP or not. Perhaps you should check your install disk(s) to see. Peace.

 

err.. sorry about that, my macbook does indeed comes with 2 DVD. both of them are mac os x install disc.

 

Yeah the labels for the MBP's disks read "Mac OS X Install Disk 1" and "Mac OS X Install Disk 2." Disk 2 doesn't actually say "iLife" on the label. I was trying to explain the contents, thought that's what you were asking.

 

thanks Xander i appreciate your effort

hey btw, couple of things on my mind before i will plonk down the money.

firstly, currently my mind is set to avoid OS X 10.5 "leopard" because if i get it in october, it is too new, there will be bugs and app compatibility issue? is this statement valid? should i wait for leopard instead, or am i correct and should buy before leopard comes out. how long will apple support tiger? and what happened if the support expired?

secondly, can i transfer using NTFS formatted external drive? so i understand it will be read-only and apple wont change even a single bit of the harddrive content/space, is this correct? and will the file be transfered without losing any data (i won't mind the change in the file name)(btw, i want to transfer .m4a itunes music files. documents and pictures, movies, and what not...)

otherwise i just move my most critical data like last time (using my iPod) which is a pain...

 

There will probably be some compatibility issues with 10.5, but who knows how major.

You should be able to use an external NTFS drive just to read stuff, but ordinarily you'd want to format it FAT32 if possible so it can be used on both. (Though NTFS and HFS+ are both better file systems than FAT32.)

 

i would probably buy the macbook (pro) this friday or next week. any last suggestion? i'm planning to get it at an apple store called digilife.... or should i go with a department store (david jones)?

if i don't need to customise is it better to buy online or at a store?

 

If you don't plan to customize, I'd say get it at the Store. Take it home right away .

 

Since you missed out on the ipod deal, there is no real benefit to buying right now.

Best thing to do is buy 1 week before Leopards release. You will probably get a free copy or a rebate on Leopard. That way your computer will still have Tiger equipped and you can load/upgrade to Leopard.

 

1 week before aye will that be a retail copy? i guess it is fun just to have it around just in case.

when will that 1 week before be?

 

No one knows as of now . Apple has not released any official information regarding Leopard's release date, other than stating that they are still on track for an October release. We'll keep you posted .

 

thanks sam.

hey if i buy from an apple store or department store; would i get a new or somewhat old stock?

 

Not sure on the retail store but if you order online they are made and ship from China. Mine is essentially the base model with the glossy screen but it was made and shipped from China when i ordered online.

 

and, will the 1920x1200 screen resolution makes things smaller? or is it any different in mac?

i still am not clear on the above question btw... yeah.... i guess i need to ask the store rep huh? but i want to know it before i actually go in the store.

i guess if i buy at a retail store... it is easier to get support if anything goes wrong?

 

Yes, if you get the 1920x1200 resolution, the Menu Bar, the text will be smaller. You can adjust text size and icon size, but yeah, everything will be smaller. At the same time, you can fit more content in the screen, because of this larger resolution.

It doesn't really matter where you buy your Mac; online, Apple Store, reseller...all service is still covered by Apple and regardless of where you bought it, you can take it to the Apple Store for repairs if necessary.

 

last time when i ask for a returned in their service center they said since i deal with apple i need to ask apple about it.

 

It does matter which channel you purchased through when it comes to the 14 day Return Policy. The channel must be the same for purchase and returns. For example, you cannot buy online/phone then return the MBP to an Apple Retail Store.

 

Yes, you're right, Xander about the 14-day return policy. Maybe I misunderstood wobble; he asked if getting the Mac at someplace specific would have better customer support.

My answer was its all done by Apple. Where you buy the Mac does not affect where you can get it serviced. You can buy it online, and if any issues come up and needs repair you can send it in or bring it into the Apple Store, etc.

 

You're good Sam I was just trying to offer further clarification. I didn't understand this quote:

 

ummm... digilife is an apple store but not own by apple probably... and the only apple service center in town is digilife too... so i dunno... its weird in here.

 

Regarding the resolution, 10.5 is SUPPOSEDLY going to have some form of resolution independence so that you can adjust everything to be the size you want regardless of the resolution (so stuff won't be too small on a super high resolution screen).

Who knows if that's actually going to be in there though, or if it'll actually work well. Supposedly Windows Vista has some form of this too, but I haven't heard much of anything about it since launch or if it actually works. It SEEMS like Apple would have an easy time with it, since they've been using 3D hardware to do the desktop for years, and it seems like you could use the 3D hardware to scale stuff as needed...

 

for colour accuracy which one better gloss or matte screen?

 

glossy for sure.

 

Matte. And it's better for everything else too as far as I'm concerned. "Glossy" is just a screen that hasn't been built properly...

 

Whaaaa? I'm guessing you wrote the wrong one by mistake

 

For color accuracy, the Matte screen wins hands down. If you're looking for a good technical review of the MBP's LED, check out Rob Galbraith's Evaluation. Peace.

 

Yeah, if you're looking for colour accuracy, its the matte screen. Glossy screens display colours with more richness than they actually are, which is why glossy is preferred for viewing photos and movies; but if you're in say the printing business, where you want the exact colour as you see on the screen, then its the matte screen.

 

yes, thank you! you've just confirm my suspicion. matte has better colour saturation don't they? (edit: the glossy has more over-saturated feel)

the reason i ask is that i read on this other forum website and alsmost 90% of them prefer glossy and said that glossy has better colour accuracy. and the matte is only good for anti-reflection. but from what i've seen, own, and experiences; this is not the case.

i'm very sure i like to get the matte screen now; because not only for colour preciseness, but alo for ease of cleaning (the glossy shows streak. fingerprints, dust, dirt, scratches). though in glossy screen defense; the reflection on the screen is not at all bad, infact non existent in my home (we used the standard light bulb) if there is; just turn up the brightness.

 

Yes, I think you're spot-on with respect to color accuracy and saturation. Or at least we share very similar viewpoints. The only reason to choose glossy, which I own, is for personal preference. I don't do much photo/video editing so I prefer the vivid colors (although inaccurate) of the glossy. You're right, the MBP's glossy is not as reflective as other manufacturers' glossy displays.

I really appreciate your dedication to detail in the questions you ask. Whatever decision you make, I think it's safe to say, you're well-informed. Cheers .

 

heheh, thank s a lot xander

yeah i'll think i'll get that MBP today or tommorow or next week... at the store and get all with the default option... or for some reason it didn't go as plan (they don't have one in stock) i'll just call apple and order them from there.

thanks a lot guys!

 

At this close to Leopard's release in October, I'd suggest you wait until then, wobble987 . Take advantage of getting Leopard pre-installed.