17" MBP Unibody
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- bort
Anyone that owns one of these...
Do you feel the screen resolution is too high? I was looking at one in the store and everything looked really tiny.
Are palettes in photoshop etc really small? They only had standard apps loaded (safari, iCal) on the demo so I only had a handful of examples to look at.
- MrDinky0
Yes
No
NoIts really a portable desktop replacement.
I have Macbook Air / Macbook Pro 15 (non-uni) / Macbook 17 uni.I use my 15 the most. I use 17 when I need to do more design work. I think buying a external display is more ideal with a 15.
- Meeklo0
you know you can change that in the settings right?
- dropdown0
I just got one the other day, and it does seem a little too small at it's highest resolution. The next size down seems to make images and text kinda fuzzy. I'm hoping that it will look better on the Apple 24" lcd screen when I get around to getting it.
- bort0
Yes, you can change the resolution, but anything lower than its native 1920 x 1200 looks smudged. Meeklo, are you speaking from experience? When I lowered the res on the demo at the store it looked like shite.
- Meeklo0
usually people complain about physical size and weight of the 17, specially freelancers or people that are on the go all the time.
The battery consumption levels is another concern, compared to more efficient models.
this resolution concern is very original.
- I can't tell if you're being a smartass. Personally, I think this res issue is the biggest problem.bort
- no smart ass, just being honest and joking a bit, but I was being honest.Meeklo
- battery life on the 17" is 8 hours, anything else is 7 hours.dropdown
- says the spec. sheet. we all know that those numbers are not even close. you will get 4 hours max.lvl_13
- mathinc0
Meeklo, all the non-native resolutions look like shit. The only one that is crisp is the 1920x1200 which is small. I've gotten used to it but when I first got the machine I was a bit disappointed.
Bort, be careful, I'd actually wait at least a month before purchasing. There is an issue right now with these that is not being addressed by Apple. If you get the 7200RPM hard drive there is a decent chance that you'll end up with the same issue I'm dealing with right now. Randomly my HDD will stall, click, beep. Happens approx 10 times an hour and it's a headache and a half. I've already had it replaced by Apple, only to have my replacement be delivered with the exact same issue. You can follow this thread to see when it gets resolved. http://discussions.apple.com/thr…
- bort0
Mathinc, is this just with the 17" macbooks? Or does it affect 15's too?
- pylon0
I've a 17" non-uni and, yes the resolution is tight but if you're eyes (or glasses) are good you're fine. I've never had a problem with the weight and regularly take it on planes and so on without any problems. Get a good, protective briefcase and you're good to go.
- any recommendations on the briefcase P?dropdown
- I have this and love it.. it's a backpack but it fits the 17" perfectly. http://www.goincase.…mathinc
- Zero Haliburton if you're throwing it in a car and/or flying a lot.pylon
- mathinc0
15's too.. the 7200RPM drive from Seagate has a feature that unparks the HDD when it senses a drop, but Apple has the same feature and the thought is that the two identical functions are conflicting with each other.. some people have gotten the non G-Force enabled drives from Seagate and replaced the ones in their machine.. which seems like it's fixed the issue although a couple people have said that they still get the click beep.
So if you need it now, I'd maybe get the 5400RPM and then put in your own 7200RPM, then relegate the 5400 to an external drive.. or.. if you have the cash.. get a SSD drive.
- Be sure to buy Seagate model with model# ending in ASG not AS.
G stands for gravity protection.raf - Actually the ASG model is the one with the issues because Apple already has a technology in place for protecting the HDD.mathinc
- The AS (non G-Force) is the one to get, at least until they fix the firmware.. but still Apple has a G-Force deal already so...mathinc
- Be sure to buy Seagate model with model# ending in ASG not AS.
- Meeklo0
I have a 15 unibody and no issues here.
love it.I only bought the 17 when the first powerbook came out, after I used my friend's 15 I been using them since then.
- blackspade0
my 15 unibody MBP batt lasts 1hr45mins using Photoshop, its only had 135 charge cycles according to Cocoa Battery (app) ie theres nothing wrong with it supposdely
Me: "how long should a battery on this model last?"
Cock *ahem* Genius at Apple: "About 7-8 hours"
Me: "Oh right, cos I ran a test this morn from 100% batt to less than 10% in 1hr 45mins using photoshop"
Cock at Apple "Ohhh using Photoshop, welll thats a different story"
So, in other words it will last 7 hours if you turn it on and place it on your desk and stare at it.
- with the screen dimmed to blackMeeklo
- ha yea exactlyblackspade
- bort0
All battery tests are run like that it seems. They do the bare minimum... word processing type stuff so they can bump the numbers.
- fyoucher10
I have a new 17" UMBP, just got it two weeks ago. I don't think it's 'that' small. You get more screen real estate with the higher res. If you don't need the real estate, switch the resolution. I'm not sure what the folks above are talking about, doesn't do that smudging stuff over here.
If you're going to be working on it all day and using it like a desktop, get a 24" ACD.
- pylon0
Guys, PS or any of the software we use is pretty processor intensive. This means more signals (electricity) and increased heat, which needs the fans to cool it (electricity). If you're just doing a presentation or taking notes or doing random email and so on it'll last for hours and hours. Working on a big INDD doc with Bridge and PS running as well: 2 hours, tops, on my machine. 176 cycles as of this morning, but it's a couple years old.
- lvl_130
not to beat a dead horse or anything...
but like most are saying, if you think you are going to get 7-8 hours of use with one charge, you are sadly mistaken.you could squeeze out 4(maybe) hours of some web surfing and just barely touching PS.
- kgvs720
My only beef with the Mac laptops is that the batteries are not easy to replace. Kinda becomes an iPhone/iPod. Time will tell, but I'm assuming a nice after market segment for these laptops.
I just have this weird feeling that Mac laptop will be SOL after three years. Apple won't take responsibility unless you have AppleCare.
"Battery no good, you need a new laptop." - Mac "Genius"