macbook pro 13" or 15"

[macj]

Hi
I would like to ask macbook pro 13" users how they feel about the screen size. I'm about to get a macbook pro and went into the apple store today to see it for myself. I felt that 13" seems lil too small. How do you guys feel? I wanna get 15" but it is way over my budget. I'm going to be using this machine for school work, some gaming, a lot of video watching.

 

[sonspot]

well if you think its too small go for the bigger one, you can buy a 20'' monitor for cheap and use that at home to watch vids and what not. if you dont want to do that, go for the 15'' now, less regrets later on..

am fine with my 13" but i also have a 20" PC..

 

[alexsd123]

You already answered your question.

You like the 15 inch better.

You may love turkey sandwiches and I may hate them. It all comes down to personal preference.

I have the 13 inch and it is great (for me). I don't see a real difference in the 13-15 or the 15-17, but there is a very notable difference from 13-17.

 

[Andy_M]

http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/apple-notebooks/164950-guide-macbook.html

Use search feature, it helps.

 

[pigoo3]

Hi
I would like to ask macbook pro 13" users how they feel about the screen size. I'm about to get a macbook pro and went into the apple store today to see it for myself. I felt that 13" seems lil too small. How do you guys feel? I wanna get 15" but it is way over my budget. I'm going to be using this machine for school work, some gaming, a lot of video watching.

If you need a Macintosh laptop computer...and the 15" is out of your budget...then your only choice if you want a new laptop is the 13"!!!

On the other hand...you could probably buy a used 15" for less money than a new 13"...so that is an option to consider.

- Nick

 

[deathcloud]

Yea they have some sweet deals on the for sell section here for 15'' mac books or you could even just search online. Buy a refurb of a 15''. There are so many options of buying a used/refurb laptop. Just make sure you get proper apple care ect with it.

Also the reason I didn't buy mine used/refurb is because I like buying brand new (like my cars) cuz I know what I did/do to it and treat it nicely. Also bought from an authorized retailer so I could get extended warranty. I bought 13'' cuz that was my budget but I coulda done with a 15'' but the 13'' is fine FOR ME cuz portability and college laptop.

 

[pigoo3]

Also the reason I didn't buy mine used/refurb is because I like buying brand new (like my cars) cuz I know what I did/do to it and treat it nicely.

I can definitely understand where you're coming from regarding buying a used computer.

But then remember that when buying used you can get some really good deals.

My latest good/great used deals:

- 1st generation Mac Pro, Mac2sell value $1600-$1700, I got it (8-9 months ago when it was worth even more) for $1050!
- 17" MacBook Pro 2.33, Mac2Sell value $1300, I got it for $725.

- Nick

 

[macj]

Last question before I buy my first macbook

Sorry about keep on asking questions about questions here. I just want to make sure everything is good before I buy my first macbook since I will be investing a lot of money in this. My last question is is there a big difference in performance between new 13" MBP base model and new 15" MBP base model?
Thank you everyone for the comments
I really appreciate it

 

[Sur3Mac]

13 inch MBP

15 inch MBP

I'd say there's enough difference...in price too;D

hope this helps...

 

[macj]

I was looking into more of a real hands on experience but thanks anyways

 

[tenashus1]

The 15" is somewhat faster. The bigger difference is in the nvida graphics, and also the sound quality of the speakers from what I've heard. The 15" also weighs a lb. more I believe.

 

[macj]

If I do buy 15" i will be buying the basic one so graphics card wouldn't matter

 

[tenashus1]

I bought the 13" base model, and I'm quite delighted with it. Sleek and portable, and certainly fast enough for my usage.

 

[passat4012]

I bought the 13" base model, and I'm quite delighted with it. Sleek and portable, and certainly fast enough for my usage.

Ditto, I just bought my first MBP in june I bought the 13" 2.26 and 4 GB memory. I got the small 160 GB hard drive. I just upgraded that to the Seagate 500GB 7200 rpm yesterday. I love this thing. I will never go to a PC again.
Andy

 

[Mac Masta]

I switched from a 15.4 pc, to a 13 in MBP and I really love the smaller screen. It's a much nicer size, IMO.

 

[dmccloud]

I just switched from a 15.4" Dell XPS to a 13.3" MacBook Pro. Despite the smaller screen, the resolution is actually the same between the two machines. Consequently, I do not notice the physical difference in screen size at all. I'd also say that the MBP screen is much clearer and sharper than my Dell, and looks absolutely gorgeous.

 

[investinchad]

I had the same dilemma before I switched. Last week I bought the MBP 13 inch. I enjoy the flexibility of the 13 inch but now at a crossroad on whether to keep it or go with the 15 inch. I still have the option as it is still within the 14 days return period with Best Buy.

Maybe that's an option with you. Buy the 13 inch and upgrade if you feel the screen size is too small.

I take mine to work every day. That makes the 13 inch perfect for that purpose. However, I am 33 yrs old (I could say it freely now that I've come to terms with being over the hill) and my eye sight isn't getting better. Sad to say but my Superman power is quickly fading. I've occasionally increased the text when browsing the web and quickly realize that this habit may become old soon. I am seriously looking into upgrading it to the 15 inch.

I don't think the 15 inch is that much more of a weight and/or size to lug around. I hope my insight helps.

 

[jrichard012]

Get what your heart tells you to get. But remember, once you experience the Mac, you're gonna want to go bigger and faster. Spend now and be happy knowing you are prepared for the future. Go for the 15.

 

[deathcloud]

See I am fine for the portability of the 13'' mac and it is small and not that bad on my eyes cuz I am young I guess. But if you want to be happy then get the 15'' MBP and then if you can afford it. Only reason I didn't get the 15'' MBP is because it was really expensive for me (poor college student) however the 13" is just fine. But like I said it is a big investment and you want to be happy with what you get.
My point is we can't really tell you what to get because we are all different individuals and have differing needs. Some may like the smaller due to portability but you might think it is too small and wish you could have gotten the 15". So to really tell the difference you need to hold it, touch it, feel it. Is it too big? Does it weigh too much? (dunno how this could be unless you can curl 5 lbs haha) But what we can tell you is the difference between the different processor speeds isn't that significant unless you are doing high intensive photoshop rendering or intense gaming or have multiple windows open.

But what I have maybe over people in this forum is that I have got to play on my moms MBP 15" 2.53ghz and 4gb ram 250gb HD.

Now I am not going to talk about screen size because that is preference. (ie depends on your portability, weight, and size)

-from doing regular tasks as safari and email and other stuff it is fine it does the same as my 13" cuz its not really CPU intensive
-if you get the base model as my mom got it only has the 9400m which is fine... but if you want to do intense gaming then you have to step up to the one that has the 9600m which ends up costing you more than the base 1699.99 model so it depends on which games you are playing. But if it is high intensive gaming then I would go for the one that has the 9400m and 9600 GPU so you can have the available GPU power.
-you can always upgrade the hard drive on the 13" which I have done to a seagate momentus 7200rpm and have plenty of space and it is actually fast.
-ram is an easy upgrade that is usually inexpensive that you can do for the 13" if you feel it is necessary.

Hope this helps...... But again I stress that you should go in the store and see and play with it for urself...