My 2006 15" (purchased Aug. 2008): 2ghz core duo, 667 mhz, 512 mb ram, about 27gb available on hard drive. I looked this up on my laptop, and I think I scoped out what's important...
Anyway, my laptop has served me well for the past 4 years, but maybe it's time for an upgrade. It's certainly not as fast as it used to be, and applications (MS Word and Photoshop are used most often) take awhile to open and might be glitchy/sluggish every now and then. I get 20-30 min max on a battery charge if I'm lucky, though usually it'll only last 10-15 min unplugged. The battery also gets unbearably hot if I'm on the web (is this still a problem with the new models?). Also, this thing is heavy, and I dread having to take it anywhere with me. It would be fine if I were completely settled somewhere so that I could just use the laptop as a desktop of sorts, but I'll be leaving for Paris this September for about a year, and then, hopefully, will be continuing my studies the following fall, which would be another three or so years of transit.
I do really love this laptop though, and it's still goin'...albeit a bit slower than is convenient. I really like the anti-glare screen on mine, and wish the 13" had that option as well. One of my bigger concerns about the 13" is how well it can handle photoshop, and how the resolution of the 13" would compare to my old 15". If money and weight weren't an issue, sure, I'd go for the 15", but thinking about carrying that brick around makes me want to cry - especially going through airports with a year's worth of luggage. I've read reviews on 13 vs. 15, on whether or not having a core i3 would be beneficial for the 13", etc. - but nothing has really helped me make a concrete decision - more confusion, if anything!
So any words of wisdom on this? Should I get the 13" (most likely in August)? Just suck it up, get a new battery, deal with the weight, and wait until I get back from France to take advantage of any upgrades next year? I do use photoshop quite frequently, so will I be dissatisfied with a 13" size/res (I'm not a gamer, nor do I do any video editing or anything like that)?
(I've also considered getting a netbook...but no, that's not going to happen.)
Appreciate any help!!
Anyway, my laptop has served me well for the past 4 years, but maybe it's time for an upgrade. It's certainly not as fast as it used to be, and applications (MS Word and Photoshop are used most often) take awhile to open and might be glitchy/sluggish every now and then. I get 20-30 min max on a battery charge if I'm lucky, though usually it'll only last 10-15 min unplugged. The battery also gets unbearably hot if I'm on the web (is this still a problem with the new models?). Also, this thing is heavy, and I dread having to take it anywhere with me. It would be fine if I were completely settled somewhere so that I could just use the laptop as a desktop of sorts, but I'll be leaving for Paris this September for about a year, and then, hopefully, will be continuing my studies the following fall, which would be another three or so years of transit.
I do really love this laptop though, and it's still goin'...albeit a bit slower than is convenient. I really like the anti-glare screen on mine, and wish the 13" had that option as well. One of my bigger concerns about the 13" is how well it can handle photoshop, and how the resolution of the 13" would compare to my old 15". If money and weight weren't an issue, sure, I'd go for the 15", but thinking about carrying that brick around makes me want to cry - especially going through airports with a year's worth of luggage. I've read reviews on 13 vs. 15, on whether or not having a core i3 would be beneficial for the 13", etc. - but nothing has really helped me make a concrete decision - more confusion, if anything!
So any words of wisdom on this? Should I get the 13" (most likely in August)? Just suck it up, get a new battery, deal with the weight, and wait until I get back from France to take advantage of any upgrades next year? I do use photoshop quite frequently, so will I be dissatisfied with a 13" size/res (I'm not a gamer, nor do I do any video editing or anything like that)?
(I've also considered getting a netbook...but no, that's not going to happen.)
Appreciate any help!!
