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Going to buy first Macbook (15" pro 2017) - talk me out of it?

Y

Your Entertainer

Member
Part of back to school promo, I'm getting the following:

MBP 15, 2017
- i7 7700
- 555
- 512 ssd
- 16gb ram
- $2429
- Along w free beats solo 3s (which I actually kinda want)

I've always wanted a MacBook, and now I have the money. I value a nice screen, build quality, durability and battery life. I will be reading tons of PDFs so the screen size being 15 was more important. Producitivity, maybe photo editing in the future. There will be very little to no gaming. I want it to last 4-5 years. I've always used and love Windows 10, but am willing to get used to macOS as a big iPhone guy.

The only gripe is how damn expensive it is. The edu discount plus free beats made it a bit better value proposition. The other laptop I was considering is a dell xps 15 with the same proc, ram, storage, but 4K w 1060. It's windows, can do some gaming, and is 1800 which is way cheaper. But the dell customer service and known issues plaguing the line scared me away.

Any other thoughts?

UPDATE:

Seriously considering the 13" now.

Regardless, a spec I like (base everything w/ TB and only upgrading to 16gb ram) is nearly $1900 (but I get free Beats lol).

Seriously looking at the new 2017 13.3" Razer blade stealth. W/ a beefier i7 and 16gb of ram, it's only $1399 - plus it has ports, runs windows etc. But again, I feel like this is against my better judgement, as they seem notorious for issues and have questionable long-term support.
 
A

arab

Member
this computer will last you at least 8-10 years. and when you're ready to move on, you can sell it for more than a windows laptop. absolutely worth it.
 
H

hobozero

Member
I can't tell from the price, but if this is the version with the touch strip, don't bother. Its a useless gimmick. The fingerprint sensor is nice in a corp environment where I need to use my password a lot, but otherwise that bar is an expensive, useless toy.
 
A

admiraltaftbar

Member
Yeah if it's not breaking your budget (you want to spend $2,500 and have it to spend) go for it. Personally I'm not a fan of osx and much prefer the cheaper surface option but if that's not an issue the mac is a solid if not pricey choice.
 
D

digitalrelic

Banned
It's a ridiculous price for what it is, but it's a great laptop.

I'd go Surface Laptop/Dell XPS/HP Spectre over the MBP any day though. MBP is just sooo over priced.
 
Z

ZOONAMI

Junior Member
I would go for the xps if interested in any gaming whatsoever.

If you don't need a 15 inch screen I'd go with a 1440p oled alienware 13 r3. Can be had for about $1500, is the best display I've ever used. 13.3 at 1440p is pretty much perfect too. Plenty of real estate.

I upgraded to the alienware 13 r3 after having a 2012 MacBook r15 with Nvidia graphics for 4 years. Haven't looked back. Build quality is excellent, screen is amazing, and being able to add an ssd and ram is nice. Can upgrade it down the line to a 1tb ssd set up and 32gb ram if I want.

Also as far as I know you cannot get a gtx 1060 with an xps, only a 1050. Big reason I went for the alienware.

What's nice about Apple though is it will hold resale value really well. 4 years from now that MacBook will probably still be worth close to $1k. Will probably be lucky to get $500 for the alienware. Either way I guess you're losing about $1k in resale.
 
G

Glass Shark

Banned
If price isn't that much of a factor, go for it. If you need or want to save a little money, the Dell is a great second choice.
 
L

LeleSocho

Banned
The price is stupidly high but aside that you won't find much better.

But again, the price is totally stupid and you can spend half of that for a machine that is 90% if not more of what the MBP is.
 
Y

Your Entertainer

Member
ZOONAMI said:
I would go for the xps if interested in any gaming whatsoever.

If you don't need a 15 inch screen I'd go with a 1440p oled alienware 13 r3. Can be had for about $1500, is the best display I've ever used. 13.3 at 1440p is pretty much perfect too. Plenty of real estate.

I upgraded to the alienware 13 r3 after having a 2012 MacBook r15 with Nvidia graphics for 4 years. Haven't looked back. Build quality is excellent, screen is amazing, and being able to add an ssd and ram is nice. Can upgrade it down the line to a 1tb ssd set up and 32gb ram if I want.

Also as far as I know you cannot get a gtx 1060 with an xps, only a 1050. Big reason I went for the alienware.
Click to expand...

I'd be taking this to work which makes the alienware almost certainly a no go. Still have another pc lying around for gaming if I really want, but I don't have the time anymore :(
 
M

MaskingTape

Neo Member
I used to be a Mac guy for 7 years, went back to Windows for a bit.... Now back to Mac. I missed it. I had a Surface Pro 4 which should have been stable, MS makes the hardware and software right? Sadly it wasn't. Loved the hardware, hated the software.

Anyway, do it. If you need help just message me - I used to be an Apple Trainer.
 
P

PandaShake

Member
If you're wary about the price then don't get it. For what you need it for, it doesn't sound like a great use case for $2,500. Just get a cheap ultrabook for portability if you need it for research, papers, and read pdfs.
 
B

Bony Manifesto

Member
It's a really nice laptop, but I do wonder if it'll be overkill for your needs. If all you need is something to view PDFs and maybe some photo editing in the future, pretty much any Mac from the last few years will be just as capable.
 
Z

ZOONAMI

Junior Member
Your Entertainer said:
I'd be taking this to work which makes the alienware almost certainly a no go. Still have another pc lying around for gaming if I really want, but I don't have the time anymore :(
Click to expand...

I'd say go for the MacBook unless you can get the xps for sub $1500 (you could if you drop the 4k display, which you really don't need).

I'd also try calling Dell. You might able to get a rep down to about $1500 even with the 4k display.

I called them when I ordered the alienware and saved like $400. They still have phone sales and I'd imagine there's some commission involved so they really push to pull all the stops to close a deal if they can.
 
A

Acyl

Member
I have a Macbook Air (2013), and had a MBP before it. Then I got the Surface Pro 4 in 2015, and have been using both since. I like the Mac OS for the integrated terminal for work and iMessage. I prefer the Surface for just about everything else. If Windows 10 had a text messaging service that synced with the iPhone I'd drop my Macbook Air in a heart beat.

Based on what you said, I'd recommend considering a Surface especially because you said you want to read PDFs for days. It's a whole lot more pleasurable to hold the Surface like a tablet for reading PDFs, and using the pen if you're into that. It will also cost, what, 75% of the price you're looking at for the same or similar specs?
 
Z

ZOONAMI

Junior Member
Acyl said:
I have a Macbook Air (2013), and had a MBP before it. Then I got the Surface Pro 4 in 2015, and have been using both since. I like the Mac OS for the integrated terminal for work and iMessage. I prefer the Surface for just about everything else. If Windows 10 had a text messaging service that synced with the iPhone I'd drop my Macbook Air in a heart beat.

Based on what you said, I'd recommend considering a Surface especially because you said you want to read PDFs for days. It's a whole lot more pleasurable to hold the Surface like a tablet for reading PDFs, and using the pen if you're into that. It will also cost, what, 75% of the price you're looking at for the same or similar specs?
Click to expand...

Pushbullet works pretty well.
 
F

fury

Member
I bought an iMac after the refresh last month. I was trying to decide between that and a MBP. Ended up going with the iMac because I decided I won't need to take it with me anywhere.

Couldn't be happier. The 27" screen is absolutely gorgeous. I'd consider one if portability doesn't matter, and you can save a bit with better specs.
 
Y

Your Entertainer

Member
Bony Manifesto said:
It's a really nice laptop, but I do wonder if it'll be overkill for your needs. If all you need is something to view PDFs and maybe some photo editing in the future, pretty much any Mac from the last few years will be just as capable.
Click to expand...

I thought about the 13" - wonder what the battery life advantage would be

The portability would be nice but the larger screen would be nice. I know I can't justify the higher specs now per se, but what about in 4 years when it's starting to age? I think they'll show their advantage then
 
Y

Your Entertainer

Member
ZOONAMI said:
I'd say go for the MacBook unless you can get the xps for sub $1500 (you could if you drop the 4k display, which you really don't need).

I'd also try calling Dell. You might able to get a rep down to about $1500 even with the 4k display.

I called them when I ordered the alienware and saved like $400. They still have phone sales and I'd imagine there's some commission involved so they really push to pull all the stops to close a deal if they can.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip- might try that
 
P

PandaShake

Member
Your Entertainer said:
I thought about the 13" - wonder what the battery life advantage would be

The portability would be nice but the larger screen would be nice. I know I can't justify the higher specs now per se, but what about in 4 years when it's starting to age? I think they'll show their advantage then
Click to expand...

In four years, the pdfs are still going to be pdfs. It depends on what you think your use case will be for those specs in four years. A job in photo or video editing? Crunching numbers in excel?
 
J

Jeffrey

Member
If you have a local Microsoft store buy a laptop from them. If there are any issues you can just bring back and they'd service it. Beats shipping it somewhere else.
 
B

benicillin

Banned
They're really nice machines and you'll have it for a long time. I don't see a machine that powerful not being worth it in the long haul.
 
Z

ZOONAMI

Junior Member
fury said:
I bought an iMac after the refresh last month. I was trying to decide between that and a MBP. Ended up going with the iMac because I decided I won't need to take it with me anywhere.

Couldn't be happier. The 27" screen is absolutely gorgeous. I'd consider one if portability doesn't matter, and you can save a bit with better specs.
Click to expand...

Yeah but you could buy a Samsung 28" 4k display with a 10-bit 100% srgb for $300 and build a gtx 1080 rig and still be less $ than the iMac. Hell you can even find pre-built 1080 i7 machines for around $1k.
 
F

fuzzyset

Member
The 15" MBP are basically mobile workstations. Do you really need that kinda power? Other than that, they're great computers.
 
L

LegendofDragoonLives

Member
Actually get it breh.. I tried to save 300$ and bought a 2012 or 13 Pro last year, one of the worst purchases ever. It's a slow piece of shit and I hate it. Can't wait until Sep to buy extra RAM and SSD to hopefully get this garbage running on a reasonable level.

The one you'll be getting should fly though.
 
M

MaskingTape

Neo Member
Your Entertainer said:
I thought about the 13" - wonder what the battery life advantage would be

The portability would be nice but the larger screen would be nice. I know I can't justify the higher specs now per se, but what about in 4 years when it's starting to age? I think they'll show their advantage then
Click to expand...


Do you really need the 512gb SSD? That adds a lot to the price. And this is the non touch bar model right?
 
I

idlewild_

Member
I find the keys are too short, it took a while to get used to. The touch bar has been pretty annoying as well, I need my physical escape key dammit.

Other than that, it's quite nice.
 
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