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Going to buy first Macbook (15" pro 2017) - talk me out of it?
- Thread starter Your Entertainer
- Start date
Your Entertainer
Member
I've got the 2016 version and it's great.
What I love:
- Best trackpad on any laptop. Size is nice and big giving you lots of dragging room.
- OLED touchbar is pretty useful in supported apps and programs which aren't many atm.
- Speakers are way better than I expected. Loud and punchy, I'm actually impressed.
- Build quality is immense. Built like a tank.
What I don't love:
- After coming from Windows my whole life there are issues I have with OSX, mainly that it freezes quite often (once or twice per day) whereas I didn't get any of that nonsense in Windows 10 on my Surface.
- Needs more RAM. I'm finding that Chrome eats a lot of the 16GB I have and for this price I think 32GB should be an option.
- None of my Steam games run on OSX. Windows install is a must if you want to play anything.
So yeah, it's expensive but I have no regrets. I'll probably upgrade in a few years when they have 32GB RAM options.
What I love:
- Best trackpad on any laptop. Size is nice and big giving you lots of dragging room.
- OLED touchbar is pretty useful in supported apps and programs which aren't many atm.
- Speakers are way better than I expected. Loud and punchy, I'm actually impressed.
- Build quality is immense. Built like a tank.
What I don't love:
- After coming from Windows my whole life there are issues I have with OSX, mainly that it freezes quite often (once or twice per day) whereas I didn't get any of that nonsense in Windows 10 on my Surface.
- Needs more RAM. I'm finding that Chrome eats a lot of the 16GB I have and for this price I think 32GB should be an option.
- None of my Steam games run on OSX. Windows install is a must if you want to play anything.
So yeah, it's expensive but I have no regrets. I'll probably upgrade in a few years when they have 32GB RAM options.
CherryWoodFuton
Member
Billy_Pilgrim
Member
Do it. It's a fantastic bit of kit and I'm willing to bet it's the best computer you'll have ever owned.
Use the trackpad and learn the gestures. Every time I have to use a non-apple computer I despair.
Also it will last you ages. I have a 2013 15" Retina Pro, I got it just as I was leaving Apple (I worked there through uni) so I took full advantage of the discounts. This laptop is still the best computer I've ever used for work and I do computer stuff for a living.
The obvious downside is gaming, but if you can accept that it's not really a games device and more a tool then it's no issue.
Use the trackpad and learn the gestures. Every time I have to use a non-apple computer I despair.
Also it will last you ages. I have a 2013 15" Retina Pro, I got it just as I was leaving Apple (I worked there through uni) so I took full advantage of the discounts. This laptop is still the best computer I've ever used for work and I do computer stuff for a living.
The obvious downside is gaming, but if you can accept that it's not really a games device and more a tool then it's no issue.
OS X should not freeze up. I have my computer on for months at a time with no freezes. Chrome for Mac does suck, use Safari.
If you get Apple to replace the battery. They seem to last about 5 years.
Angelus Errare
Banned
The issue isn't your Macbook. Chrome on macOS is pretty...meh, Google has admitted as such and they're constantly "working on it". In it's current state Chrome will do the same with 32GB. Chrome is designed to use as much memory as the OS allocates to it/Chrome requests from the OS.
I highly recommend using one of these chrome extensions to control tab resource usage, they're basically required if you want to use Chrome on macOS really.
Great Suspender
TabMemFree
Tab Hibernation (still relatively young)
Yes, you could buy 2 great Windows laptops for this price. But OS X is fantastic and these things last forever (as long as you take care of them).
I'm typing this on my 2010 MacBook non-pro. It still runs great after boosting RAM to 8GB and installing a 256GB SSD. I will probably be using it for at least another 1-2 years, and even after that it'll still sell for a few hundred bucks. The hardware is fantastic across the board, good reliability, good support, and these things hold value.
Definitely consider the extended warranty if you ever take it out of the house/apartment/dorm. It only covers 3 years and can't be extended, but you only get 1 year otherwise. One of my clients has a 2013 MacBook Pro Retina whose screen just died; that's a $600 repair at the Apple Store. The screen alone can be had for $300-350 on eBay, but the repair is complex enough that I don't trust myself to do it.
If you want to consider alternatives, Toshiba is certainly worth a look.
Why not run Firefox? Better performance, plus it isn't from a company whose sole mission is to collect information on you and serve you ads.
I'm typing this on my 2010 MacBook non-pro. It still runs great after boosting RAM to 8GB and installing a 256GB SSD. I will probably be using it for at least another 1-2 years, and even after that it'll still sell for a few hundred bucks. The hardware is fantastic across the board, good reliability, good support, and these things hold value.
Definitely consider the extended warranty if you ever take it out of the house/apartment/dorm. It only covers 3 years and can't be extended, but you only get 1 year otherwise. One of my clients has a 2013 MacBook Pro Retina whose screen just died; that's a $600 repair at the Apple Store. The screen alone can be had for $300-350 on eBay, but the repair is complex enough that I don't trust myself to do it.
If you want to consider alternatives, Toshiba is certainly worth a look.
Why not run Firefox? Better performance, plus it isn't from a company whose sole mission is to collect information on you and serve you ads.
OP, I read your update and felt compelled to correct some misconceptions you have. The 2017 Razer Blade has an i7-7500U. The original MacBook you were looking at has an i7-7700. The 7700 is significantly better than the 7500U. You can search here for yourself. The 7700 scored a 10,797 and is in the top third of the page, while the 7500U scored a 5,243 and is almost at the bottom of the page. The whole thing about the U series of laptop cpus is that they're low powered to save battery.
Also, the Razer Blade does not come with a gpu. So gaming will basically be nonexistent, despite Razer's false advertising. But I know you said you won't be doing much gaming.
All that being said, the 7500U will certainly be enough for your needs if all you're doing is reading pdfs. You can probably get away with photo editing too. So I'm not necessarily dissuading you from the Razer Blade. It is a lot cheaper, after all, and has a bunch of sweet RGB. I'm just trying to correct Razer's shitty false advertising.
Your Entertainer
Member
I appreciate your post and tying to help.
I was comparing it to the 13" macbook in specs and price. I have started to have a change of heart - not needing gaming or the horsepower otherwise of the 15. Also the core seems neat down the line.
Ah, ok. I didn't catch that you were comparing the Razer to the 13" MacBook. The Razer does have a better cpu than the 13".
Thunderbolt 3-based MacBooks are getting official external GPU support in macOS High Sierra next spring (and many TB3-based GPU enclosures tend to be quite a bit cheaper than the Razer Core).
If you can afford it go for it. My 2010 MBP is still in one piece. Pretty sturdy hardware, the one you're looking at is stellar by comparison. I love the OS, cannot stand Windows and yeah I've seen the latest version of Windows running on a Surface Pro 4 so I am aware of what it's like and it just seems awful lol.
Shadowhelper
Banned
My 2012 MBP is still running very strong. Never had a laptop that lasted 5 years before.
OSX is a much better environment to be in than Windows imo.
Do the new Macs drive 4K and is that support built into Sierra?
OSX is a much better environment to be in than Windows imo.
Do the new Macs drive 4K and is that support built into Sierra?
The Albatross
Member
I have the 2016 rMBP 15" w/ Touchbar.
It's a good computer. One major delta, the thing gets fucking hot especially when I'm working on it. Gets so hot that the keys seem to "sweat." It's weird and really hot. Lots of reports of this, seems to happen when it's not connected to the AC power, they try to squeeze battery life out of it (which is only so-so) and they dont kick up the fans enough to compensate for the heat.
The build quality in Apple computers is excellent. I recently replace the battery of my 2012 MacBook Air, reformatted/factory reset it, and gave it to my wife (and I went to the 15"), and the thing runs -- seriously -- like new. It's unreal how well they're made.
It's a good computer. One major delta, the thing gets fucking hot especially when I'm working on it. Gets so hot that the keys seem to "sweat." It's weird and really hot. Lots of reports of this, seems to happen when it's not connected to the AC power, they try to squeeze battery life out of it (which is only so-so) and they dont kick up the fans enough to compensate for the heat.
The build quality in Apple computers is excellent. I recently replace the battery of my 2012 MacBook Air, reformatted/factory reset it, and gave it to my wife (and I went to the 15"), and the thing runs -- seriously -- like new. It's unreal how well they're made.
ElBoxyBrown
Banned
My MacBook has 8GB of RAM and Chrome runs fine. I don't run into too many problems. Also OP buy a USB-C AV adapter to connect it to a monitor. I find myself using my desktop less and less now.
You might want to get your laptop checked out if it is still under warranty.
Freezing is not something that should be happening often with a Mac. Both times that happened to me my computer died a little bit later. Both times it was a faulty logic board and no issues once replaced (one time they replaced with brand new iMac).
wumster3000
Member
Only for gaming. Everything else, Mac OS destroys Windows.
I have a 2012 Retina and a 2014 for work and I can't see myself using Windows for development. Now that Visual Studios is on Mac OS, I have no reason minus gaming, to use Windows.
You won't be sorry you got one. Plus, if you want to use Windows, use Apple's Boot Camp partitioning software to load it.
Fbh
Member
It's a good device and I'm sure you will be happy with it.
But since you want us to talk you out of it:
Do you really need it?
Like, if you just want it for general office stuff, PDF and some light photo editing, there are devices that are going to be good at that for like $700-1000 less than what are going to spend.
For that money you could get like a XPS13 which is a great device (or hell, one of the cheaper or slightly older MacBook pros) and then still have enough left to build a pretty good desktop PC that's going to destroy both this and the Mac in terms of raw specs.
What you are describing sounds a bit like the people that have one of those high end fully equipped 4x4 cars (Land Rover?...I don't know, I'm bad with cars)....and then use it to drive around the city. And, like, it's still a great car and if it makes you happy then that's great but if you just want to drive around the city there are probably smaller and cheaper options that are also going to meet all your needs.
But since you want us to talk you out of it:
Do you really need it?
Like, if you just want it for general office stuff, PDF and some light photo editing, there are devices that are going to be good at that for like $700-1000 less than what are going to spend.
For that money you could get like a XPS13 which is a great device (or hell, one of the cheaper or slightly older MacBook pros) and then still have enough left to build a pretty good desktop PC that's going to destroy both this and the Mac in terms of raw specs.
What you are describing sounds a bit like the people that have one of those high end fully equipped 4x4 cars (Land Rover?...I don't know, I'm bad with cars)....and then use it to drive around the city. And, like, it's still a great car and if it makes you happy then that's great but if you just want to drive around the city there are probably smaller and cheaper options that are also going to meet all your needs.
Your Entertainer
Member
Good to know...
I'm headed to micro center now, gonna be tempting to pass up the xps if they have it!
Visual Studio for macOS is pretty much just Xamarin.
Still ways to go until it gets VS proper.
I prefer OS X but I would not say it destroy Windows anymore.
MS really caught up with 7.
It's really a matter of preference now. To say OS X destroys Windows is a little bit of hyperbole to me.
Tech feels very stagnant to me these days.
Diprosalic
Banned
I might be the only person that had far more trouble with OSX/macOS than windows. That OS was so janky, had to fix stuff all the time. Wasn't the only one as there usually were big threads with people having the same problems.
Both are pretty good though.
Both are pretty good though.
wumster3000
Member
This is very true. I will say that the only thing that I miss from WIndows is a full fledged VS. But what we have now, is a lot better than XCode.
To each their own, but from a developers standpoint, I would take macOS with no question. Windows 10 is a very good start, but IMO, they have aways to go. I try to use both, but I can't help, but favor macOS.
https://www.slant.co/topics/3862/~operating-system-for-a-developer
It's super easy on top, but if you really want to dive deep, you can. Terminal allows you to have a great deal of control.
Plus Boot Camp allows me to install Windows on my Mac seamlessly.
michaelius
Banned
Well they did with 7 but they flushed it all down the drain with windows 10. I don't accept situation where I cannot use my computer because it decided to upgrade itself and I couldn't stop it.
Yikes you bought a 3 year old book and thought it would be okay? And now you are trying to pump more RAM and an SSD into in hopes that your CPU and GPU will get better? YIKES.
Angelus Errare
Banned
The quintessential definition of an L.
The CPU and GPU in a 2012 Pro are still decentish - if they have a model with a spinning drive, putting an SSD in it will almost certainly make it way faster.
Still, I would never invest in a spinning disk Mac at this point. macOS on a hard drive feels dog slow.
RandomExpletive
Member
I was gonna suggest looking at the 13" MBP, the 15s nice but the 13 (at least my model, a few years old, still going strong), feels great. Goos to see you went that direction already 
Honestly weather you go with the Razer blade or MacBook, you're gonna have a good time, they're both great laptops.
Honestly weather you go with the Razer blade or MacBook, you're gonna have a good time, they're both great laptops.
Gamespawn
Member
I was a heavy windows user and decided to change it up bc my ASUS started needing more and more repairs. Got a rMBP 13" 2015 model. Best laptop I've ever used. Boots quick, all the apps I used for college were on there including the Office suite (free bc school). Terminal along with GCD got me through my Linux C classes too.
Best build quality too. The only thing I would change if I went back would be to get the 15" bc of the dGPU. I'd actually like to try out some games on there every once in a while.
Best build quality too. The only thing I would change if I went back would be to get the 15" bc of the dGPU. I'd actually like to try out some games on there every once in a while.
Mammoth Jones
Member
How is the XPS 15 on battery life? I'll be needing a new laptop soon as my MBP is 5 years old and I just want one with more horsepower even though my current one does most of what I need (besides tons of steam gaming).
Does the high resolution display murder battery li8fe or cause any issues when gaming.
QuantumZebra
Member
I'm here.
If you want to be confined to a walled garden system running a horribly out of date file system and restrictive, well, everything, and pay more for less power, then it's for you.
Oh and office 365 runs like shit and has half the apps, and you can't game on it to save your life (unless you boot camp and have a dGPU) . But, they are shiny, though.
I'd get the beast laptop and throw Ubuntu and W10 on it and rock on.
Buy beer and / or tacos with the money you save and smile.
So the longevity that multiple posters have been touting in this thread about MacBooks is a lie?
QuantumZebra
Member
OSX is shit.
Even Apple knows it. There's a reason they're rebuilding the entire file system and framework.
Windows 10 is an amazing OS. Far better than 7 or XP even.
HandsomeCharles
Member
I have a 2010 MacBook Pro. I had to change the battery this year as it stopped charging, and have had to replace the charging cable once, but it still runs adequately for my browsing needs and is probably one of the best value tech purchases I have made!
Go for it OP. They're expensive but good quality!
Go for it OP. They're expensive but good quality!
Dreams-Visions
Member
Super late reply but:
1.) you may want to look into your freezing issue. I have a 2011 MBP and I have never had a freezing issue. You may greatly benefit by formatting and starting fresh.
2.) install The Great Suspender. It's a Chrome plug-in on the Chrome store. It will change your life. Thank me later.
Your Entertainer
Member
The XPS looked very nice. The store model was having issues waking....
I loved the build quality of the Mac and the screen was definitely nicer. Wish I could have seen the razer.
Edit: tried a 14" blade - the 1080 screen was lacking, the keyboard was mushy, big bezels and it was heavy, along w a bad trackpad. Chroma was cool. The smaller new stealth would remedy a lot of those problems hopefully - again wish I could have tried it.
I loved the build quality of the Mac and the screen was definitely nicer. Wish I could have seen the razer.
Edit: tried a 14" blade - the 1080 screen was lacking, the keyboard was mushy, big bezels and it was heavy, along w a bad trackpad. Chroma was cool. The smaller new stealth would remedy a lot of those problems hopefully - again wish I could have tried it.
Angelus Errare
Banned
He only saved $300 for a 2012 with a HDD. Longevity cannot be questioned; look at the asking price for a 2012 windows laptop versus it's 2017 variant for comparison.
He took an L financially because of the longevity. He'll spend more than $300 on a decent SSD + ram easily.
The freezing only happens when watching a fullscreen YouTube video on Chrome. It's really weird, but I think it's a software issue than a hardware one.
I really should just switch to Safari, but I've been fond of Chrome on multiple devices for years.
Shit. I was hoping the newer rMPBs were better at running cool.
opticalmace
Member
Is the touch bar optional if you want the newest spec'ed MBP?
I recently bought the Dell XPS 15
- Intel i7 7700 hq
- 16 GB Ram
- 512 GB SSD
- Nvidia GeForce 1050
- 1080p Infinity Edge display (There is a 4k model)
- Around 1.8kg
£1499 give or take.
Obviously there's the whole Windows vs OSX argument, but from a hardware perspective, from the price point, it's one of the best 15" laptops you can buy right now.
- Intel i7 7700 hq
- 16 GB Ram
- 512 GB SSD
- Nvidia GeForce 1050
- 1080p Infinity Edge display (There is a 4k model)
- Around 1.8kg
£1499 give or take.
Obviously there's the whole Windows vs OSX argument, but from a hardware perspective, from the price point, it's one of the best 15" laptops you can buy right now.
Non-touch bar 15" has Intel Iris graphics, 2.8 GHZ quad core processor up to 4.0 turbo (touch bar has a 3.1 GHz up to 4.1 turbo), and only goes up to 1 TB SSD (touch bar has up to 2 TB... for $1,200 extra ha!). Non-touch also is the old, thicker design with smaller touch pad and Thunderbolt 2 instead of 3.
I really would be interested to see how people like the touch bar now that it's been out for about 3/4 of a year. I personally feel it's a gimmick and I wouldn't miss it.
I actually really like it, but it needs more support. It's been very useful doing things like image and video editing. It's not a must have, but I find it to be a time saver when implemented properly.
FreshCakes
Banned
Do it.
Got a 2016 13" w touch bar a couple months back and no regrets so far.
Got a 2016 13" w touch bar a couple months back and no regrets so far.
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