MacBook Pro 17" Review (Early Santa Rosa, 4GB, 160GB 7200rpm, Hi-Res Display)

you definitely need a line-out cable as well the DVI port will not put out any audio.

 

Well yea, hes right and circa is right if you just want to connect the MBP to a HDTV, you just need a DVI-HDMI. But that will work just for video.

If you want audio, you can either
- get 3.5mm to RCA (the red and white plugs)
- 3.5mm to 3.5mm if you amp or TV accepts 3.5mm inputs
- or one of the optical cables so you get digital audio.

3.5mm is just the name of the connector on the end of headphones, speakers,etc so its nothing fancy.

 

I haven't checked this thread in awhile, so I don't know if this was mentioned already. But it just occured to me, that maybe this review wasn't used on the front page, simply because it's an older model.
Either way, it's a very good review though!
Already repped the reviewer.

 

I told the Apple "genius" that the DVI-HDMI adapter will not put out any audio, but the guy insisted that no audio cables are needed and that only the adapter would suffice. Some genius!

 

Circa,if it is not too difficult,can u post more pictures of your screen?

 

i thought that the 2.4 has only 3 mb of cache and htat u can only get the 17 in with a 2.5 or 2.6 ghz proccesor.

 

that is true on the model that is currently available, but not the one I own.

 

with all the nvidia 8xxx series being defective.. I just recently sold my mbp and I'm so glad I dodged a huge bullet!

 

uh huh. . .

the 8600gt in my MBP is anything but defective, that is completely inaccurate and just irresponsible to say as absolute truth, or even news at all, "news" on the internet easily gets blown entirely out of proportion.

if I ever have a problem with the GPU in my machine, I highly doubt I would ever have a problem getting it fixed or replaced, and I will doubt I will even see a problem within the lifespan of the notebook.

dodged a bullet? more like took a exaggerated bit of "news" entirely out of proportion, and sold an excellent computer.

 

To be fair, stating that it isn't defective as truth is also speculation. Right now everything is pointing to a large majority, if not all 8600s being defective, and I think that if he sold it for this reason then it was a good one. A better safe than sorry situation, really. I have never had a problem with my GPU either, but if what's being reported is true, then this defect would really start popping up later in the notebooks life, not right away.

 

I just wanted to say that while a lot of people don't like the aluminum casings the new Mac's come in, Aluminum is an excellent thermal conductor. Meaning it draws the heat away from internal parts. I would expect that with some kind of Cooling pad you could run these things at full bore for hours at a time without worrying about heat build up.

 

I do that already without a cooling pad. The fans do a great job keeping the GPU at 80C under full load.

 

If this were true these forums and others would be flooded with hundreds of posters a day complaining of failures. I don't really think you realize exactly how MANY notebooks are sold with those two cards in them, do you?

 

I think its pretty preliminary at the moment, and more news will come out over time, similar to the Sony recall of batteries in 2006.

One of the news reports that doesn't paint a good picture of the matter: http://apcmag.com/nvidia_disaster_thousands_of_gpus_faulty.htm

 

Yes, I do. And as I said, if the stories are true this problem can be dormant until years into the laptops life, or not pop up at all(even if it doesn't pop up it doesn't mean the defect isn't there, you'd just be lucky). And BTW, I have seen my fair share of threads about people getting logic board replacements and such. I am not saying it's true, however to say it's untrue with 100% certainty is just as ridiculous. I don't think you realize exactly what the problem is, do you?

 

hey why dont you contact with Chaz and put this in the first page! you also got $ for writting this.
this is one of the best user review! rep u

 

If thats the case I'm sure when the time comes, Apple will replace those defective laptops even beyond the warranty period. I say, if you wish to get a MBP now just go ahead and get Applecare to be sure.

 

Outstanding review. It's so staggeringly thorough that I feel you should be paid for it. Truly, this is one of the most comprehensive computer reviews that I've ever encountered. Most are either shallow or focus entirely on benchmarks.

Well done

 

uh, don't tell your friends but . . .

seriously though, you think those dingleberries at cnet, gizmodo, engadget, could put a little effort into a review huh? as that is basically what they do for a living.

looking forward to getting my Mitts on a new MBP sometime soon, my roommate may be ordering a very high end 15" model very very soon. I hope Apple doesn't take to long to get teh 17" model ready to go, as the new screens and chassis design alone are enough to make me drool.