m630

New Pro books out today...Think its time to upgrade, looking at the 15" or 17", thinking about the i5, so, who knows the pertinent differences between the i5 and i7 processors?

Id like a SSD but still way too expensive for the useful life of the device so going with a 7200rpm drive

Gotta play w/ the 17", like the screen but the keyboard is a bit wierd with the size and location as compared to the 15"

Comments/ideas!?!

swajames

I'm certainly pretty tempted... I have a 17" MBP with the Core 2 Duo, and it's been a tremendous machine, but the upgrades here do seem pretty significant.

m630

Is the 17" comfortable to use?
I also have a 15" pcbased laptop from work that i use to work remote and i like the size, the 17 looks/feels so big by comparison...

swajames

If I were to get a new one I'd actually get the 15" (most probably the one with the optional higher-resolution display). The 17" is a great machine and a great desktop replacement but it's really too big to be truly portable. If the new MBP 13.3 had the i5 processor I'd possibly even go for that one just for portability purposes. That said, the best bang for the buck and the best blend of features/power/size has to be the 15".

Let us know if you decide to pick one up - I'd be very interested in your feedback!

m630

Thanks! I agree that the 15" is great for its portability and flexibilty..im going to order one this week, i spec'd out the fastest i5 w/ 500G ATA @ 7200, also going for the high res screen, probably glossy though i wanna see the matte finish to be sure, and a mighty mouse... also upgrading my home network as i finish the build out of my complete home theatre/ multi room audio system, so im going with a 1TB Timecapsle for wi-fi and backup ...now i just need to wait for the new iPod touch and will be done! (for now!)

I'll let you know when i get it and how it works out

swajames

Sounds like a great setup! Perfect spec on the MBP. Just one thing, I have the Timecapsule and it's really not great for backup or as a server, it's really very slow... As a WiFi and router device it works great, but something's not quite right with it as a backup/time machine device. I now use it only as a redundant backup, I've got an HP MediaSmsrt server with 3TB of storage and that's been a much better server. It works with Macs and functions as a Time Machine back device and also an iTunes server. It's well worth a look.

For the multi room audio, have you looked at the Sonos? It is truly awesome. I use the HP server as both my main iTunes library and as the NAS for my Sonos (the same library serves both). It doesn't require a PC to be on, the sound quality is great, and there's a free app for your iPhone/iTouch to let you use it as a controller. Just a fantastic system.

m630

Thanks for the heads up! I know they've made an update to the timecapsle for N spec and speed so I wonder if its any better at this point? Either way, it will be primarily for wi-fi, the backup is just a bonus so to speak, but if i have issue like you're noting, id also go the servertype of backup

As for the audio, you know it! Im getting 4 zones Sonos! Thats in addition to my home theater setup which is really really cool, we're using an Integra receiver that has internet capabilities and will be hardwired, a cd changer, blu-ray and so on, the subwoofer is insane, a 2400watt Velodyne Op 8, Artison Sketch front speakers, then 3 different Definitive's sets all around the house; then im doing 2 pairs outside, one Definitive set and one set of Niles rock speakers powered by an Episode amp...they're hooking it all up to a Home Theater Master MX-980i LCD universal remote which is also very cool looking, in addition to the Sonos touchpad controller...(and iPod touch)

One question, did you try/what was your experience with the timecapsle as your NAS server? I was thinking to use it as my Sonos library as the router is always on and doesnt need the mac, though they had recommended a Buffalo drive for this in addition...let me know your thoughts on whether it would work

BetterMakeWay

I would for sure get one but not because that i needed to replace my Late 2009 model but because it was stolen. That one was maxed out with the 3,06 GHz Core 2 Duo and 256 GB SSD and 8GB of RAM. Sad and i miss it since i lost it from February, but i'm glad i waited. Will most likely get the same 15" model with the i7 Nehalem and the 512 GB SSD. Cannot go back to HDD, as i got too spoiled by the almost 0 delay in the SSD in launching apps. Also boot time i recorded my lost MBP to 13 seconds which was

Question is: High screen resolution screen glossy vs matte? I didn't find too much glare for my need with the glossy and i think the colors really look richer and deeper with the glossy.

m630

Wow, sorry to hear for the loss of your baby, the SSDs are awesome to have, its just soo costly that it doesnt justify it from my point of view..
As for the screen, if you choose the hi-res option you can choose to get either the glossy or matte option...im probably going glossy, let us know what you choose...

BetterMakeWay

Yeah...it's a big story (that also involved the stealing of the X6) but i managed to recover the car but not my suitcase along with the MBP. So the big baby is ok now

PS: From then on i will never own a Mac again without FileVault turned on. I wanted to turn it on but hesitated prior to the steal.