MacBook 17-inch 2.53GHz Review
Update after 2 months of use.
I am very happy. The extra screen estate is fantastic and there is no way I could go back to a 15" for my type of use (see below). I generally get about 5 hours of battery life in constant use.
Whenever we visit family now we take the laptop and do slide show or video presentations of family photos and video. The screen is just the best for this. I do not find weight to be an issue. But I am more careful and always put the laptop in a sleeve and carry it very carefully. It is so sleek I could imagine it slipping out of my fingers! But I no longer find it bulky or heavy.
For my business use I have not needed an external screen at all. I may eventually buy a cheaper Dell screen for my office.
The only con I found before buying it is that the higher resolution make menus and text small. The fixes I found have worked (see below) and for the few programs that I have not found a fix for, I just zoom the screen. Not ideal, but this is only a small portion of my working time. The ability to have two or three programs open at once to do your work is such a huge plus. The 17" really suits me as I move from office to office and from office to home. If I was a student using it in classrooms it might be too big. In airports the computer is the same size as the trays they use which makes it hard to get the computer out of the tray - you need two hands so the computer always goes through first. A small thing.
I have not found it hard to use while sitting on my lap on the couch. If anything the bigger size makes it more stable. I hate to say it, but I now like to do some of my work while sitting on the couch.
And I have to say it again - the screen is gorgeous. Everyone is blown away by it!
Here is the original review below.....
When considering to replace my 15" Powerbook G4 that I used with an aging cinema display I thought to have the same setup again. A 15" Macbook Pro and a 24" display. But my big complaint about my 15" was always that there was never enough real estate to do my work. Yes I could surf the web and it could sit on my lap. But for any meaningful work (and I normally need to coordinate between two or three programs) I just could not fit my work on the screen. For that reason I started to consider the 17".
FYI I run a midsize business from my home office and often travel to satellite offices. At home I prefer to work in the lounge in the evening to be close to the family. On the road I try to spend less time on the computer and more time with my clients. And I often make presentations.
I spent a lot of time demoing the 15" and 17" at the Apple Store and talking to friends in the computer industry whom I respected. They all gave me the same advice. Get a 15" and a cinema display. But I really found that with my 15", it spent the vast majority of its productive time hooked to a monitor and I wanted to get away from an external monitor.
The biggest issue I found with the 17" is that the screen resolution is so high that all text becomes very small. This is a major issue with a lot of programs such as mail unless you want to send all your messages as 18 high font. Mail and Calender are two important programs from me. I found a hack for mail that allowed me to increase the appearance of mail by 25% ( go to terminal and type in defaults write com.apple.mail AppleDisplayScaleFactor 1.25 and for calender I switched to BusyCal. With most other programs such as final cut pro and Aperture most of my time is spent focusing on the images on screen and the controls are second nature. Work and Excel allow you to zoom. Quicken is a problem and for this I just zoom the screen which looses some resolution, but I am not on the program forever. I may buy a cheap external monitor later.
So we have all read the negatives about the 17", that it is heavy and hard to move around. Well, that is true. If I was a student moving from class to class then the 15" or 13" would be appropriate. And if I was a road warrior constantly on the move, making presentations and using a projector then a 15" would be appropriate. If I did 80% of my work in one spot and another 20% on the move then I would consider the 13" and external monitor. But if you are semi mobile and looking for a laptop that allows you to fully and easily do your work anywhere, then the 17" is in a class of its own. I love being in my office during the day and if I do not finish my work I take my laptop home and finish in the evening. My wife is not upset because I am still near the family and I am happy as I can still do meaningful work.
Another issue raised is airplane use. Unfortunately in this day and age the seats are so close together that it is hard to open any computer. Unless I fly business class my 15" stays closed. If you fly a lot and in economy and need to work then the 13" does make sense.
The 17" is big, heavy, and bulky compared to the 15" but You do get used to it. And when not in use I keep it in the protective sleeve. I never did this with the 15". The 15" was my going into battle computer. The 17" feels like I am taking fine art to work and I want to take care of it.
The three best things about the 17"
1) The display is gorgeous. Aperture and Final Cut Pro are a joy to use with the 17". Forget hotel TV's if you want to watch a movie. And again in a hotel room I can do my business without compromise.
2} All my friends who advised getting the 15" are now really jealous. I think the real reason that more people do not opt for the 17" is that they are afraid to go to the extreme.
3) I was able to dispense with an external monitor and I actually feel more mobile as I never have to plug into a monitor.
If you are reading this then you are probably trying to make up your mind as to which laptop to buy. I think the choice is simple. The 17" is actually cheaper as you can dispense with an external monitor. The 15" without an external monitor is a compromise. If you are highly mobile or highly stationary then definitely the 15" is better (or even 13"). If you are semi-mobile then the 17" is just amazing and you will love yourself for having it every time you turn it on.
MacBook 17-inch 2.53GHz Feature
- 2.53GHz Intel Core i5
- 500 GB Hard Drive, 8x DVD/CD SuperDrive, 4GB DDR3 RAM
- 17 inch LED-backlit display, 1920-by-1200 resolution
- Intel HD Graphics and NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with automatic graphics switching and 512 MB dedicated graphics memory
- Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard Operating System
MacBook 17-inch 2.53GHz Overview
The new MacBook Pro 17-inch model sets all-new benchmarks for Mac notebooks. The 17-inch MacBook Pro feature Intel Core i5 processors, which boost performance up to 50 percent(1) and reach Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.33GHz. Next-generation NVIDIA graphics bring high performance to everything from 3D games to photos and videos. And the built-in battery lasts up to 10 hours (8 to 9 hours on the 17-inch model).(2) (1) Up to 50 percent faster compared with previous-generation MacBook Pro. (2) Testing conducted by Apple in March 2010 using preproduction 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo–based 13-inch MacBook Pro, 2.66GHz Intel Core i7–based 15-inch MacBook Pro, and 2.53GHz Intel Core i5–based 17-inch MacBook Pro. Battery life depends on configuration and use. See www.apple.com/batteries for more information. The wireless productivity test measures battery life by wirelessly browsing various websites and editing text in a word processing document with display brightness set to 50%
MacBook 17-inch 2.53GHz Specifications
Updated with Intel's Core i5 processor and next-generation NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics, the 17-inch Apple MacBook Pro is faster than ever and will keep you working longer away from power cords with an enhanced battery life of up to 9 hours of battery life. As with previous models, the new MacBook Pro features a precision unibody enclosure crafted from a single block of aluminum, creating a thin and light mobile computing workhorse (less than 1 inch thin and just 6.6 pounds) that's also highly durable. And it includes a 17-inch, LED-backlit glass display (instead of an LCD panel) as well as a glass trackpad that doesn't include a button (for larger tracking area) that features Apple's Multi-Touch technology.
The 17-inch unibody MacBook Pro (see larger image). | 
Now faster than ever with a Core i5 processor, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics, and automatic graphics switching (see larger image). |
The MacBook Pro also offers excellent graphics flexibility with two video processors--the discrete NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M processor (with 512 MB of GDDR3 video memory) for heavier workloads and an integrated Intel HD Graphics processor for better battery life on the go. And the new automatic graphics switching feature determines which graphics processor an application needs and switches instantly between the processors. It comes pre-loaded with Apple's Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard operating system--an operating system custom-designed for the advanced technology inside--and it also comes with the iLife '09 suite of applications, including iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, and iTunes. Specification Highlights |
- 17-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display with edge-to-edge, uninterrupted glass (1920 x 1200-pixel resolution).
- 2.53 GHz Intel Core i5 dual-core processor for smart performance with a Turbo Boost maximizing speed when you need it the most for demanding applications like Aperture 3 or Final Cut Pro (3 MB shared L3 cache).
- Dual graphics processors with automatic switching between NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M (with 512 MB of GDDR3 video memory) for demanding applications and integrated Intel HD Graphics (with 256 MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory) for power savings.
- 500 GB Serial ATA hard drive (5400 RPM)
- 4 GB installed RAM (1066 MHz DDR3; supports up to 8 GB)
- 8x slot-loading SuperDrive with double-layer DVD support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
- Built-in iSight camera for video chatting
- Wi-Fi wireless networking (based on 802.11n specification; 802.11a/b/g compatible)
- Gigabit Ethernet wired networking (10/100/1000)
- Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) for connecting with peripherals such as keyboards, mice and cell phones
- Three USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800 port
- ExpressCard/34 slot
- Mini DisplayPort video output with optional adapters for DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI, and HDMI output
- Multi-Touch trackpad for precise cursor control with support for inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three-finger swipe, four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap, and drag capabilities
- Full-size backlit keyboard
- Stereo speakers with subwoofers
- Dimensions: 15.47 x 10.51 x 0.98 inches (WxDxH)
- Weight: 6.6 pounds
- Up to 8-9 hours of battery life
- Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard
- Meets Energy Star 5.0 requirements
What's in the Box
MacBook Pro, display cleaning cloth, 85W MagSafe Power Adapter, AC wall plug, power cord, software DVDs, printed and electronic documentation |
The ports on the left side of the 17-inch MacBook Pro. |
Key Features
Enjoy a processor Turbo Boost and automatic switching to the fast NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics processor when using processor-intensive applications like Aperture 3 or Final Cut Pro.
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New Intel Core i5 Processor
The new Intel Core i5 processor boosts performance up to 50 percent over the previous generation. Based on Intel's latest 32-nanometer process technology, the Core i5 also offers Intel's Turbo Boost feature. If you're using processor-intensive applications like Aperture 3 or Final Cut Pro that would benefit from an extra performance kick, Turbo Boost dynamically increases the speed of one or both cores.
Built-in Hyper-Threading allows two threads to run simultaneously on each core, so Mac OS X recognizes four virtual cores instead of just two. When you're running multiple applications at once, the Core i5 processor spreads tasks more evenly across a greater number of cores--so you can get more done, faster.
And unlike systems that connect memory to the processor through a separate controller, the new MacBook Pro uses an integrated memory controller to connect memory directly to the processor. With faster access to memory, each core gets right to work on your data, rather than waiting for it to arrive.
Next-Generation Graphics
The latest MacBook Pro features the new NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M discrete graphics processor--the fastest graphics ever in a Mac notebook. With 48 processing cores and 512 MB of dedicated video memory, this graphics processor delivers even more horsepower than the previous generation. And you don't have to sacrifice efficiency for speed: The NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M is up to 30 percent more energy efficient than its predecessor. For even greater power savings, the MacBook Pro also includes integrated Intel HD Graphics.
Also new is the MacBook Pro's breakthrough automatic graphics switching technology, enabling you to switch graphics processors on the fly to give you performance when you need it (when you're playing the latest 3D game, for example) and better battery efficiency when you don't (such as when you're reading email). Whether you're using applications like Aperture, Motion, or Final Cut Pro or just surfing the web, your MacBook Pro always knows which processor to use. You don't have to log out, shut down, or change your preferences.
The beginning of every MacBook Pro--a precisely machined, single block of aluminum. |
Unibody Design
Traditionally, notebooks are made from multiple parts. With the MacBook Pro all of those parts with just one part--the breakthrough unibody enclosure. Every MacBook Pro starts its life as a single block of aluminum, which is precisely machined into the basic unibody design. Another pass and the unibody takes shape. Another, and the integrated keyboard emerges. When you pick up a new MacBook Pro, you immediately notice the entire enclosure is thinner and lighter. And it feels strong and durable--perfect for life inside (and outside) your briefcase or backpack.
LED-Backlit Display
LCD displays typically use cold cathode fluorescent lamps, or CCFLs, to create light and project a picture onto a screen, and this creates two problems--the lamps require more space and they take more time to warm up to full brightness. The MacBook Pro uses LED backlight technology to create the same amount of brightness in less space. And unlike fluorescent lamps, an LED backlight reaches maximum brightness instantly. Finally, a new, smaller iSight camera is concealed behind the display for quick access to video chats and snapping pics for uploading to social networks.
The entire trackpad is the button, so you can click anywhere. |
Additionally, conventional CCFL displays use mercury to create a backlight and arsenic to prevent irregularities in the glass. The LED-backlit display on the MacBook Pro, on the other hand, is both mercury- and arsenic-free. LED backlight technology also conserves energy: This display requires up to 30 percent less power than a CCFL display.
Buttonless Multi-Touch Trackpad
With no button on the durable glass trackpad, there's more room to track and click--left, right, center, and everywhere in between. Without a separate button, the spacious trackpad gives your hands plenty of room to move on the large, silky glass surface. It also incorporates Multi-Touch gestures--including swipe, pinch, rotate, and four-finger swipe--and even more natural inertial scrolling--an intuitive way to scroll through large photo libraries, lengthy documents and long web sites. If you're coming from a right-click world, you can right-click with two fingers or configure a right-click area on the trackpad.
Long-Lasting Battery
The new energy-efficient architecture in every MacBook Pro, along with automatic graphics switching, gives you dramatically longer battery life. On a single charge, the battery in the new 17-inch MacBook Pro lasts up to 8 to 9 hours. And you'll get up to 1000 full charge and discharge cycles--that's nearly three times the lifespan of typical notebook batteries. Advanced chemistry and Adaptive Charging allow the battery to maintain charging capabilities longer and determine the optimal way to charge the battery's cells. Because the battery lasts up to five years, MacBook Pro uses just one battery in the same time a typical notebook uses three. That makes for less waste. And that, in turn, makes for one environmentally friendly battery.
Environmental Considerations
Apple has worked hard to eliminate many of the toxins that are a common part of computer manufacturing. Apple engineers removed the majority of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from circuit boards, internal cables, connectors, insulators, adhesives, and more in the MacBook Pro.
Because Apple makes both the hardware and the software for the MacBook, they're designed to work together to produce a smarter product that uses less electricity. For instance, to reduce energy consumption, the hard drive spins down automatically when inactive. MacBook Air also decides which processor--CPU or GPU--is best suited to efficiently perform a task. The LED-backlit display in the MacBook Pro is another feature that plays an important part in conserving energy, consuming 30 percent less power than conventional LCD displays. And the display is designed to dim when you enter a darkened room.
The MacBook Pro meets the stringent low power requirements set by the EPA, giving it ENERGY STAR qualification. ENERGY STAR 5.0 sets significantly higher efficiency limits for power supplies and aggressive limits for the computer's typical annual power consumption.
Also, every MacBook Pro model has earned the highest rating of EPEAT Gold. The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, or EPEAT, evaluates the environmental impact of a product based on how recyclable it is, how much energy it uses, and how it's designed and manufactured.
Pre-Loaded with Mac OS X Snow Leopard and iLife '09
 | Every Mac comes with Mac OS X Snow Leopard, the world's most advanced operating system, and iLife, Apple's innovative suite of applications for managing photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music. Snow Leopard builds on a decade of OS X innovation and success with hundreds of refinements, new core technologies and out of the box support for Microsoft Exchange. iLife features iPhoto, to easily organize and manage photos; iMovie with powerful easy-to-use new features such as Precision Editor, video stabilization and advanced drag and drop; and GarageBand which introduces a whole new way to help you learn to play piano and guitar. Installed software
- Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard (includes Time Machine, Quick Look, Spaces, Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Photo Booth, Front Row, Xcode Developer Tools)
- iLife '09 (includes iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, iWeb, iDVD)
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*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Oct 26, 2010 18:58:25
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