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"I wanted to say 8.5 but this is still an amazing machine."
4.5 starson by bigmc6000Pros: Excellent feature set, massive upgrade over previous version but same cost
Cons: Questions still remain about underclocking, when will they switch to the x1800?
Summary: First thing is first - I want to point out that CNet is being completely dishonest and extremely misleading by saying a Dell Inspiron is "hundreds less." If you go spec to spec with the standard MacBook Pro (2799) the dell ends up at 2795 - not exactly "hundreds" now is it. (For those of you wanted to spec it yourself here's the add-ons you need on the dell. (Spec'd with 100 GB 7200 RPM drive, 256 nVidia go 7800, blue tooth, 9 cell battery, remote control, 1GB DDR2 at 667MHz RAM, DVD burner, Audigy sound card (MacBook has optical in/out)).) Also, Dell doesn't have gigabit ethernet (willing to bet that's worth more than $4) and the MacBook Pro has the iSight and iLife. So with that out of the way I'd like to say this is a beautiful machine and it's a serious upgrade over the previous version that was the same price. The addition of FW800 and the return of the 8x DL DVD writer is very nice. Hopefully with the 2 airvents they haven't underclocked the GPU this time. If that's the case it's certainly a worthy adversary to both the top of the line Inspiron and the 17" XPS (with 256 card obviously).
- 8 replies to this review
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I upgraded from an earlier 15 inch MacBook Pro to get the extra real estate and the new glossy screen, and am I ever glad I did! The screen on this computer is the best I've ever seen on a laptop; the thin form factor and light weight make it seem much smaller when carrying than it is. FW800 and the extra USB port are all to the good; performance is outstanding, since IBM sold ThinkPad to Lenovo the build quality of Apple's laptops is without peer, the keyboard is also the best in the portable world.<br><br>What's not to like? Well, there's no media card reader as on many other full-size lappies, but with Sandisk's flip-out USB connector on some of their SD cards that becomes a non-issue. Price could always be lower, and a numeric keypad, if tatsefully integrated, would be a plus.<br><br>But the advantages of the current design abound: by using large speakers for a laptop the MBP 17 has sound you can actually enjoy. Oh, yeah, the C/Net video conveniently forgot to mention that you can set the trackpad to recognise a two-fingered tap as a right button mouse click; the two-fingered scrolling feature is fabulous also.
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HELLO ALL, I WORK IN PAKISTAN WITH REFUGEES AND THE POOR, I'M IRISH, I'M A DOCTOR. I GOT MY FIRST MAC IN 1984 AND HAVE NEVER EVEN CONSIDERED ANOTHER COMPUTER, I'VE BEEN MARRIED TO MAC AS IT WERE. I AM STILL WRITING TO YOU FROM MY OLD MAC POWER BOOK 1999 MODEL. FINALLY AFTER YEARS OF WAITING I DECIDED TO GET THE NEW MACBOOK PRO 15" IT ARRIVED MADE BY FACTORY W8 IN CHINA, AND OVERHEATED SO MUCH IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO USE, I ALSO GOT A SHOCK FROM IT, MY DEALER ORDERED MORE AND FOUND THE SAME PROBLEMS AND SUGGESTED TRYING OUT THE 17", IN LOADING MY DATA THE 17" OVERHEATED TO ABSOLUTE UNTOUCHABILITY AND REMAINED SO FOR FOURTEEN HOURS AFTER, I HAD TAKEN OUT THE PLUG AND FINALLY THE BATTERY FINISHED. I WAS NEVER ABLE TO OPEN IT AGAIN, I THINK IT FRIED INSIDE,<br>SO HERE I AM, KNOWING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT OTHER COMPUTERS, HAVING BEEN ABANDONED BY APPLE, MORE OR LESS DIVORCED, AND I HAVE TO FIND AN ALTERNATIVE.<br>SUCH AN AWFUL HASSLE, WILL MY DATA TRANSFER ON TO SOMETHING THAT'S NOT A MAC, WILL IT BE COMPATIBLE, I REALLY HAVEN'T A CLUE.<br>SO FOR ALL THE OTHER UNFORTUNATES WHO'VE PURCHASED A COMPUTER MADE IN FACTORY W8, I'M TERRIBLY SORRY. MY DEALER HERE IN PAKISTAN IS A WONDERFUL PERSON AND HAS MADE MAC FLY HERE IN PAKISTAN WITH HIS HONESTY AND GOOD SERVICE AND HE HAS DONE EVERYTHING TO FIND A MACBOOK PRO THAT DOESN'T GO CRAZY WITH OVERHEATING, THEY WARP, PROGRAMMES DON'T WORK, ETC. ETC. SO IN TWENTY TWO YEARS OF MAC, FOR THE FIRST TIME I JUST HAVE TO SAY "THIS IS A FIASCO". I'M A VOLUNTEER DOCTOR, MONEY IS NOT EASY TO COME BY AND AFTER YEARS WAITING FOR A NEW COMPUTER, THIS HAPPENS?<br>NOT HAVING HAD A SINGLE HOUR OF RUNNING SMOOTHLY FROM EITHER THE 15 OR THE 17 MODEL, I HAVE TO RATE THESE COMPUTERS "ZERO".<br>HAS ANYONE ANY SUGGESTIONS? I'M REALLY DESPERATE AS MY POOR LOVELY OLD POWERBOOK WHICH HAS SERVED SO WELL IS ON IT'S LAST LEGS.<br><br>GOD BLESS ALL,<br><br>MARY.
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Dell is still cheaper by HUNDREDS! Just look around dell has $750 dollar coupons weekly for systems that are $1999 or above. So in the end Dell is always much cheaper. The MacBook Pro is still top of the line but if you have the money to spend go for it. Dell uses OK parts but the main thing for them is their affordable prices with their weekly coupons that are all over the internet. I found coupons on the dell website. They are pretty cheap and noone can really compete against their prices all the time.
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Note that Dell is a sponsor on the CNET page. So it's unlikely, CNET is going to bite the hands that feed them.
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I'm glad someone mentioned the true cost of a well-equipped Dell machine. It is an issue where supposed "experts" misstate information and further propagate the expensive Mac philosophy. As usual as well, CNET places very little value on size and weight. Dell's heaviest machines are almost always their top picks. Although just my opinion, since the computer is a laptop there should be relevance placed on size and weight. With their attitude, Mac's will always score lower because they neglect to take this into account when comparing price as well as other features.
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I just wanted to note that I configured the Dell Inspiron mentioned in the review and the 17" MacBook Pro. It came out to the Dell being $9 more expensive, and that was after an automatic discount from Dell, and that's with Media Center Windows, not XP Pro. So I'm confused as to how cnet was configuring their Inspiron.<br><br>Plus, the Mac is lighter and thinner.
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the macbook is more expensive, but do we really need to make a list of features and goodies that it has and things it can handle that a PC cannot, no matter what price point?
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This computer is barely out for sale. I have a hard time believing you actually own one. This user reviews section is for people to get first hand impressions from retail consumers, not for you to drool over the specs. You are doing consumers a great disservice with YOUR dishonest and misleading post. I love Apple computers too, but review one if you actually have one, not just based on what you think it will be like just by looking at its dimensions.
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