Need to replace my old Powerbook

[Pietro Jona]

Hi all,
I 've searched on this forum and I found out that many people are disappointed about the new Macbook pros. Expensive, no express card on the 15" and so on. I'm disappointed as well but I'm willing to stay with Apple and I need to change my old g4 Powerbook, that simply can't work well with my EX1. What would you do, get the 15" and a separate reader for the SXS cards or get the 17" and enjoy the higher def screen? I am going to be using the laptop not only for downloading cards of course (FCP, Color and Compressor).
Thanks for any imput

pietro

[Liam Hall]

17" with SSD.

[Pietro Jona]

SSD is the only optional I didn't consider (thinking about i7 processor, 7200 rpm drive and non glossy screen). I'll be using external drives anyways and the SSD is very expensive.

[Mathieu Ghekiere]

I don't think a SSD is really necessary. It's VERY expensive, and probably not worth the money.

But do go for a 17" though.
I have an older non-unibody 15" with Expresscardslot, and with the EX1 the workflow is fantastic. Cards get offloaded REALLY quickly and that's one of the big selling points of an EX1 workflow. So if you have an EX1, definately go for a 17", just because of the Expresscard slot (indeed a pity that you have to buy that laptop JUST to have that slot, but that's Apple for ya).

[Robert Lane]

Peitro,

MG's suggestion is spot-on. And it *is* damned unfortunate that only the 17" incher comes with the EC34 slot. God help all serious AV pros if dear 'ol daddy Jobs has yet another brain fart and deletes it from that model as well in the next serving of "updates" to the MBP.

[Matt Rickman]

I wish the current MBP's had an express card slot, but that is a minor annoyance at best. (Heck, just get an express card to USB adapter).

I have the i7 15" (8GB RAM, Matte screen). I absolutely love it. Best mac I have ever owned (and I have had about 30)

For me the 17" is just a tad too big to lug around all of the time (i take my MBP with me ever day to my office). Otherwise, if you don't take your MBP with you a lot, then I think the 17" is a bargain for the slight price increase.


matt rickman

[Mathieu Ghekiere]

Matt, the solution to just buy an Expresscardslot to USB adapter is, no disrespect, stupid.

The reason of the Expresscard slot is to have full speed. Offloading an EX1 16GB card in under 10 minutes. I've heard with USB it's 7 (!!) times as much.

And it's about connecting RAID's trough eSata, which is faster than Firewire800. Many raids are only with eSata connection and need that speed.
USB just doesn't cut it.

[Robert Lane]

Not to mention USB is not an option for high-bitrate transfers as it's nowhere near as data-stable as FW or the EC34 option.

Yep, dear 'ol daddy Jobs really loves his glossy screens and "put as few holes in the side as possible" design. ugh.

[Pietro Jona]

Too bad there's no FW reader in the market. I'd love to go 15"..

[Mathieu Ghekiere]

Originally Posted by Robert Lane

Yep, dear 'ol daddy Jobs really loves his glossy screens and "put as few holes in the side as possible" design. ugh.

The strange thing is, although I believe this statement is true, the way they put the Expresscard34slot into the old 15" or new 17" is really tasteful, designwise. You almost don't see there is a slot in there.

[Don Miller]

Anyone see tests of the apple supplied ssd?

The current 'best' ssd for many people is going to be the just released OCZ Vertex 2. But some macbooks have performance problems with SSD. Also I don't know if there's a trim command utility for osx that works with the vertex.

I too am very disappointed with expresscard being available only on a $2500 macbook pro. My idea of an ideal setup is ssd internal with video on a fast external setup (for me raid 0).

I looked at Consumer Reports the other day. Macbooks were the highest rated laptops. In the 17 inch category the mac was on top at $2500, the second most expensive was $1000. Ouch. I do have to admit that my Macbook Pros have lasted longer than my win laptop.

[Matt Rickman]

Originally Posted by Mathieu Ghekiere

Matt, the solution to just buy an Expresscardslot to USB adapter is, no disrespect, stupid.

The reason of the Expresscard slot is to have full speed. Offloading an EX1 16GB card in under 10 minutes. I've heard with USB it's 7 (!!) times as much.

And it's about connecting RAID's trough eSata, which is faster than Firewire800. Many raids are only with eSata connection and need that speed.
USB just doesn't cut it.

OK. I stand corrected. And the 1000's of people out there doing this are stupid. I get it now. Thank you.

(I wasn't suggesting it was ideal, but it is possible)


matt rickman

[Sherif Choudhry]

I agree. I have the 17" but at home I use my 32" monitors. When I am away from home i invariably try and get hold of a 19" monitor, so now when i upgrade I'll get a 15" i7.

Originally Posted by Matt Rickman

For me the 17" is just a tad too big to lug around all of the time (i take my MBP with me ever day to my office). Otherwise, if you don't take your MBP with you a lot, then I think the 17" is a bargain for the slight price increase.


matt rickman

[Pietro Jona]

Thanks to all who replied.
I'm sure I'll miss the express card slot on a 15" but I'm afraid I'll go that way.
Probably more robust, smaller and therefore more portable.
Any opinion on monitors, is the non glossy one worth the extra $/€?

[Tom Cadwalader]

You may have ordered your laptop by now, but I found this article interesting in my research. The benchmark test shows a Macbook Air with a core duo and SSD faster than the i7 and i5's with regular hard drives in some areas. ( can't recall if they tested a 7200 rpm or not)
AnandTech.com - Apple's 15-inch Core i5 MacBook Pro: The One to Get?
Tom