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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Is the 17" Macbook Pro coming back?

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Alex Kiritz

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There have been reports that Apple is using the highest end integrated intel graphics processors in the new 15" Retina Macbook Pro, partially for the purpose of eliminating discrete graphics.

It is also likely that they will be killing off the old style macbook pros soon. Since they'll be killing off two models and likely removing discrete graphics from all current models, it makes me think that this would be a good time for them to bring back the 17" model in retina form and make it the truly pro model with discrete graphics.
 
I missed my 17" a LOT, but must say that the new MBP retina 15" blows it away, yet I would very much like to have the 17" back!!

Either way looks like Apple is looking to have the maximum GPU power as possible in their next Gen. MBP's which is a good news for us self DIT Warrior junkies traveling the corner of this beautiful planet, and with a Portable RRX Thunderbolt Inclosure we could be in for a good run.
 
I used versions of the 17" for 6 or 7 years and then gave it up for the MBPR. I gotta say, I don't miss it. I thought giving up the screen real estate would drive me nuts, but with Retina's greater resolution, I really don't miss it. In the past Apple has updated the 17" after the other sizes were well into production (Unibody), but they really don't seem interested in keeping the line alive. Doesn't it sometimes feel like Apple is trying to funnel us into a 1-Computer-Fits-All scenario? 1984 indeed.
 
I have a 2012 MBP and love it.

But with Apple going the way of soldering the ram and other formerly user replaceable components onto the motherboard, i will never buy a new one again.
 
Maybe. Maybe not. The death of the 17-inch notebook seems to be starting as sales of smaller screen sizes and tablets are steadily rising. A few PC makers have reduced or killed off 17-inchers.
 
My Mid 2012 non-retina MBP rocks! Got it instead of the Retina so I can eventually upgrade the RAM to 32GB ;-)
 
God the 17" MBP was GLORIOUS!

Unfortunately, I think they killed it. Only 15" sold from here on out.
 
As fast as the new Intel integrated graphics chip is (it rivals the NVidia GPUs in benchmarks), the issue is that a lot of the software that was use (Da Vinci, Adobe, etc.) is programed specifically to utilize NVidia.

The good news, if this is important to you, is that the new Haswell chips that'll be in the next round of MBPs offer, at best, 5-10% improvement in terms of speed. Haswell is geared more towards power efficiency than power, so it'll probably offer a good deal more battery life. Meaning, if you know you'll often move and then plug in, and you need a discreet GPU, get a current-gen MBP, and not the upcoming one.

Just food for thought. I'm in desperate need of a new computer. If they unveil a MBP that only has integrated Intel, and the Mac Pro is over my budget, then I'm gonna have a tough decision to make.
 
Nick, all the software you are thinking of has moved/is moving to OpenCL. Only older versions will be "Nvidia Only".
 
I actually prefer the 15" for overall size and mobility/ utility. That said, I miss the 17" for when I can plunk it down on a desk and not have to move very often. I would gladly take a 17", especially if it had >4K resolution. Would love to see a "retina" 17" with 5K horizontal resolution -- enough to playback UHD in a window with some extra tools on screen. Eventually we will have systems that can do this. It's just a matter of time.

At the time it seemed a bit odd for Apple to kill of the 17", but looking back on it, especially with the retina MBP 15", it made sense. I do hope they bring the 17" size back for an ultra kickass option...

Love my 15" retina model, probably the best laptop I've ever owned or used. Even prefer it to my 17" HP EliteBook w/ Dreamcolor display. That thing is nice in its own way, but such a beast. My only complaint about the 15" MBPr is that we can't have more than 16GB RAM. It really needed a 32GB RAM option. I won't buy another Apple laptop to replace it until I can get at least 32GB RAM installed. Preferably 64GB.
 
Im sitting right now rendering out heaps of work on my good old 17 inch with a 27 Tbolt screen to help out see the small stuff.
I will have a very hard time giving this good old work horse up. But its time has come...Just not yet..
 
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