Yes, the Razer line is the spiritual successor to the MBP line.
It certainly is for me.
My current MBP:
17" matte
32GB of ram (which I upgraded over time from 8GB in 2011)
1x 512GB SSD
1x 1TB HDD
3x USB (2 in use at this very second)
1x DP (in use via dongle to my external monitor)
1x Thunderbolt
Headphone jack
Mic jack
Ethernet jack (in use)
You know what closely matches the form factor, storage options, built-in ports, battery life and screen quality?
http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems/razer-blade-pro
3x USB, SD card slot, built in HDMI, audio port, ram I can upgrade when I want to, and internal space for 2 drives. Exactly the options I have now, but with a high quality 4K display with GSync. And a monster GPU of course. It looks like a black version of the exact MBP laptop I'm working on right now, thought it appears a bit longer.
And the best part is I don't have to downgrade to a 15" if I get the Pro. I'd prefer one with a lower GPU (1070M?), but oh well. Will still be money better spent than this new Macbook Pro can offer.
I lose the multitouch pad flexibility and Spaces. Battery life is probably about the same as what I'm used to with my 2011 MBP. I'm pretty sure I gain in other areas in orders of magnitude if I go this route, however.
No?
The bandwidth and flexibility of USB-C is not for casuals. But yes, it will be a difficult, dongle-filled transition. But Apple has historically always moved to ports earlier than the industry, so this is not unexpected. Though I'm not sure how I'll hook up my DisplayPort display to it yet...
That's the issue, though. The "pro" line should be more powerful while remaining somewhat conservative. Forcing professional users to have to manage an array of dongles is insulting. It's fine for casual people (Macbook/Air purchasers) as they rarely need to connect to multiple external devices or external monitors, right? They're using their machines on the couch or in classes. Pro users should expect a computer built around the sorts of environments that professionals are in. That means some USB3 ports, HDMI, headphone jack, thunderbolt, mic built in every time for at least a couple more years. The removal of these components (especially without providing multiple adapters in the box) makes these computers increasingly hostile to actual professional uses.
You're telling me that in order for me to adapt this computer to my current environment, I need to buy 4 dongle adapters right out of the box? I am currently:
- Using an external USB Yeti mic that I have to use
- Charging my iPad
- Connected to my external USB DAC (Nuforce Icon HDP)
- DisplayPort out to my monitor via dongle/adapter
- Power plugged in.
My Wacom tablet and external USB HDDs are on deck when I need to use it too. Right now on my 2011 MBP I can hook essentially everything I need up, no dongles required. So this becomes backward steps for me that cost me more money without any practical benefit for me. It's not going to make my USB hardware run faster. It's just going to cost me more.
