15 or 17 inch

Mr Sprout · Dec 12, 2005

I'm ordering a brand new powerbook this wednesday but am undecided as to whether to get the 15 inch or 17 inch model. I like the high resolution on the 17 inch model but i'm worried about it being too bulky and heavy. I'm after portability as well as a high resolution screen. So... my question is. How portable is the 17 inch powerbook?

sarahsboy18 · Dec 12, 2005

I have the 17" as a desktop replacement and I've found it to still be very portable... It's plenty thin enough that the larger width isn't too bad.

That being said... If you are buying primarily for portability the 15" will offer a much better solution. The battery life is considerably better on the 15" and if you do alot of flying then you may find the 17" can get in the way... especially in coach.

Mr Sprout · Dec 12, 2005

apple claims they both have 5.5 hours battery life. on the new models anyway...

Benjamindaines · Dec 12, 2005

If you have the money go for the 17 inch. Also if you are doing anything that need precision graphics go for the 17 inch. The 15inch has horizontal lines on the screen that will get to be very annoying for photo editing. But as SB said if you are traveling you may want the 15inch. The 17inch is more of a desktop replacement. I find the battery life on the 17inch to be very good (but I have the original model not the new one)

Mr Sprout · Dec 12, 2005

Uggh this decision is killing me! I'll be editing standard resolution videos in FCP on it and also images in photoshop, but not very often for the images. Do all the new model 15 inch powerbooks have these line issues?

Benjamindaines · Dec 12, 2005

Only the new ones have the line problems. You could get a referb. That would save you money and you wouldn't have the line problems.

Mr Sprout · Dec 12, 2005

but I also wouldn't have the increased specs, higher resolution and brighter screen..

Benjamindaines · Dec 12, 2005

The 15inch doesn't have the increased resolution, just the 17. Apple's official word is that the 15inch doesn't have a brighter screen, but people have reported that it is brighter so its anyone's guess as to what is actually in there.

sarahsboy18 · Dec 12, 2005

Mr Sprout said:
Uggh this decision is killing me! I'll be editing standard resolution videos in FCP on it and also images in photoshop, but not very often for the images. Do all the new model 15 inch powerbooks have these line issues?

There is a boost in the resolution of the 15"... basically the 17" has the same res as the 20" iMac and the 15" has the same res that the 17" used to have.

That being said... If you are doing any final cut stuff... and you can afford it go with the 17". The screen real estate is well worth it when you have a timeline you are fighting with.

As far as the battery thing.... I have the last revision before the new screens... And there is a substancial difference in battery life between the 15" and 17" on those. Considering the size of the screen I assume the 17" still has a somewhat shorter life... although I don't know for sure.

Mr Sprout · Dec 12, 2005

According to apple's site. The 15 inch does have increased resolution. It's now higher than that of the 17 inch imac g5 (just)

Mr Sprout · Dec 12, 2005

sarahsboy18 said:
There is a boost in the resolution of the 15"... basically the 17" has the same res as the 20" iMac and the 15" has the same res that the 17" used to have.

That being said... If you are doing any final cut stuff... and you can afford it go with the 17". The screen real estate is well worth it when you have a timeline you are fighting with.

As far as the battery thing.... I have the last revision before the new screens... And there is a substancial difference in battery life between the 15" and 17" on those. Considering the size of the screen I assume the 17" still has a somewhat shorter life... although I don't know for sure.

Seems odd, couldn't they have put a bigger battery in the 17 inch seeing as it does have the exact same specs as the 15?

sarahsboy18 · Dec 12, 2005

Mr Sprout said:
Seems odd, couldn't they have put a bigger battery in the 17 inch seeing as it does have the exact same specs as the 15?

I could make the same arguement for why they should have put a larger battery in my 17"... but they didn't..

neye: Of course for me I do enough graphics and video that I was glad to give up 30-45 minutes for the larger screen.

Benjamindaines · Dec 12, 2005

Mr Sprout said:
According to apple's site. The 15 inch does have increased resolution. It's now higher than that of the 17 inch imac g5 (just)

I stand corrected.