Random "forums could go down any moment" post...
In early 2012 I bought my Nth Mac, the Late 2011 17" MacBook Pro. Base config: 2.4ghz i7 CPU, 4GB RAM, whatever hard drive, glossy screen. The RAM didn't last long, it went to 8GB before first bootup, along with a Seagate hybrid 750GB drive. Keyboard protector laid over the keys, plugged in, perched center stage in my office room in my condo. I used it daily as my main web browsing, mail, music, chat, etc. device. I eventually bumped it up to 16GB and a 512GB SSD, and the logic board got replaced (free) when its number came up in the 2011 AMD GPU failure lottery. When I saw in 2012 they discontinued them, I was not so much shocked as just accepting. I knew they were not huge sellers, and their form factor didn't really seem sturdy enough for their thinning of the 15" and soon 13".
I ended up replacing it with a 27" iMac last year. I never even moved the thing, it had been sitting on my desk. It had TWO cycles on the battery in five years (Apple added a cycle doing the logic board replacement.. jerks). I removed it from iCloud, clean installed Sierra, put it back in the original box, and Craigslisted it. No serious buyers (no I'm not selling it for $400 sheesh). Tried a few other sites, nothing. After a few months, I figured I'd use it for testing out some admin stuff I was playing with. I forgot just how.. unhindered.. the GPU is. It's 1920x1200, and a piece of cake for the GPU to handle, unlike the Retinas where particularly the early ones were really struggling to drive those 3K panels. The screen does have a very visible screen door effect now (hey, a 5K iMac spoils a person), but it still looks pretty good if not a bit weak on lighter colors. Eventually I stopped that testing and set it up as a nightstand laptop, of which it takes the ENTIRE nightstand. 8)
This is still a good looking laptop. It's comfortable to type on (even with a new keyboard protector) and it's still perfectly functional for any task I'd do on it. Despite horribly managing the battery, the charge is still 'good' and the drain is slow and predictable. I know there will never be a 17" Retina. A 4K 17" Retina with a Xeon, workstation graphics, 32GB RAM and 1TB high-performance flash storage in space grey? The world is not ready. I'm just hoping they can get the 15" models to a point where I feel as attached to them as I do to this one.
In early 2012 I bought my Nth Mac, the Late 2011 17" MacBook Pro. Base config: 2.4ghz i7 CPU, 4GB RAM, whatever hard drive, glossy screen. The RAM didn't last long, it went to 8GB before first bootup, along with a Seagate hybrid 750GB drive. Keyboard protector laid over the keys, plugged in, perched center stage in my office room in my condo. I used it daily as my main web browsing, mail, music, chat, etc. device. I eventually bumped it up to 16GB and a 512GB SSD, and the logic board got replaced (free) when its number came up in the 2011 AMD GPU failure lottery. When I saw in 2012 they discontinued them, I was not so much shocked as just accepting. I knew they were not huge sellers, and their form factor didn't really seem sturdy enough for their thinning of the 15" and soon 13".
I ended up replacing it with a 27" iMac last year. I never even moved the thing, it had been sitting on my desk. It had TWO cycles on the battery in five years (Apple added a cycle doing the logic board replacement.. jerks). I removed it from iCloud, clean installed Sierra, put it back in the original box, and Craigslisted it. No serious buyers (no I'm not selling it for $400 sheesh). Tried a few other sites, nothing. After a few months, I figured I'd use it for testing out some admin stuff I was playing with. I forgot just how.. unhindered.. the GPU is. It's 1920x1200, and a piece of cake for the GPU to handle, unlike the Retinas where particularly the early ones were really struggling to drive those 3K panels. The screen does have a very visible screen door effect now (hey, a 5K iMac spoils a person), but it still looks pretty good if not a bit weak on lighter colors. Eventually I stopped that testing and set it up as a nightstand laptop, of which it takes the ENTIRE nightstand. 8)
This is still a good looking laptop. It's comfortable to type on (even with a new keyboard protector) and it's still perfectly functional for any task I'd do on it. Despite horribly managing the battery, the charge is still 'good' and the drain is slow and predictable. I know there will never be a 17" Retina. A 4K 17" Retina with a Xeon, workstation graphics, 32GB RAM and 1TB high-performance flash storage in space grey? The world is not ready. I'm just hoping they can get the 15" models to a point where I feel as attached to them as I do to this one.
