Anyone use a unibody Macbook Pro 17"?

[Tyke Tiler]

I'm thinking of upgrading as I would enjoy some more niftyness in the processor department not to mention the larger screen merriment.

If you have one, what's your opinions and experiences like?

When I bought the late 08 MBP, it had some issues with external displays, are there any issues with the 17"?

Cheers

 

[Chappers]

Tomas, Not got a 17" but have a 15" MPB.

I had no problems with external drives or monitors. Although you may need an adapter to link to an external monitor, from the Mini port on the MPB. You may also want to get a extension miniport extension cable ( Not an Apple one) as the standard miniport to DVI is a bit short, if you don't want the thicker cable all over your desk.

Was running external drives via a SATA Expresscard but Snow Leopard isn't compatible with the chip on most cards card adapters, so reverted to Firewire 800.

Ran the MBP next to a PC for over a year, and had no problems at all. However took the plunge to an iMac in December, so the MPB is now relegated to just away shoots. Still a very nice machine.

 

[Peter_Hartland]

Have a 13" MBP but borrowed a 17" from a friend for a 2 week photo holiday. It was awesome, but as I have a27" IMac i7 couldnt justify a 17"MBP as well. My son uses his MBP on an external screen for his music work with NP

 

[Tyke Tiler]

Cheers Jon & Peter

I appreciate your thoughts chaps

I was contemplating another desktop, the imac I bought in 2005 was easily the most reliable and stable system I've ever used. Never crashed or locked up and only just this summer needed a repair replacing the HD.

I was going to invest in a mac pro a couple of years ago but then got a job were editing on site was vital, so it was a unibody MBP late 2008 which has done me proud, the battery has bloated though and needs replacing, the processor is a little on the slow side for the larger edits in photoshop and I'd rather upgrade before it gives up the ghost. My other half inherits my previous machines so she's got no complaints about an upgrade.

I do use the mobility side a lot, shooting tethered and editing on the fly so I'll have to go for another Macbook pro. The new 27" imacs look superb but I usually connect the laptop to an external screen when I'm at home anyway.

Cheers again for the input

So far I've not read anything alarmingly negative about the 17"

 

[RSMarco]

Not got the 17" but a 13"MBP as i bought a 27" imac too. Good comb IMO and the MBP is small enough to carry around.

 

[Tyke Tiler]

Not got the 17" but a 13"MBP as i bought a 27" imac too. Good comb IMO and the MBP is small enough to carry around.

Initially I was going to get another 15" but the 17" would be a better bet from a clients perspective, I shoot tethered quite a lot and there can be several crew crowded around the screen at any one time. I know it's a only a couple of inches but it should help a little.

My camera bag (Lowepro Fastpack 350) will also accommodate a 17" too.

 

[vaizki]

I have the 15" MBP and my wife has the 17" one, both are very good machines and the screens are amazing but the 17" has so much more resolution it's a different beast altogether. I kind of hope I'd gotten the 17" myself, it's not THAT much bigger or heavier. But just big enough not to fit into most bags..

Then again, I only use it for travel, I have a 27" imac at home and NOTHING compares to that Btw, the smaller imac is not a huge thing to lug around, needs a mains outlet of course..

 

[Tyke Tiler]

Btw, the smaller imac is not a huge thing to lug around, needs a mains outlet of course..

Cheers mate When I moved to Finland in 2006, I bought a great big pelicase for transporting my 17" imac, HD's, studio outboard and peripherals.

If I could have taken the stand from off the back of the imac I'd have taken it as carry on but that particular model needed to have the stand removed by a qualified mac tech or the warranty would have been invalidated

True though, aside from needed a mains outlet, the smaller imacs are reasonably portable. Still, for my needs not convenient as an alternative to a laptop.