13 inch too small?

i'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this question, but i am really sick of PCs and know that i'm going to get a macbook pro for college. I am trying to decide between the high end 13 inch of the low end 15 inch. I know that besides the extra graphic card and separate audio in and out in the 15 inch, the only difference between the two is the 2 inches of extra screen space. Does anyone with the 13 inch screen think it is too small, or does anyone with the 15 inch screen think that the computer is too big to carry around for college life.

IBM, Windows XP

Posted on Feb 14, 2010 2:42 PM

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Posted on Feb 14, 2010 3:05 PM

Hi 10issguy,

Are you comparing the 13" MacBook Pro to the 15" MacBook Pro with the dedicate GPU or the 2.53GHz processor one that is essentially the 13" with the larger screen? Do you need the dedicated GPU? Any 3D animation or gaming?

Personally I went with the base 13" MacBook Pro and paid the extra $100 to double the RAM to 4GB. The CPU speed bump is unnoticeable for how I use the machine and the HD can easily be upgraded later for less than Apple charges.

In saving the $400 (as compared to the base MacBook Pro) I can easily get a larger external monitor (21"+) and still have money left over. The purpose of my portable is just that... to be portable. When I require the extra screen space I can setup the machine on my desk and get more for less.
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Feb 14, 2010 3:05 PM in response to 10issguy

Hi 10issguy,

Are you comparing the 13" MacBook Pro to the 15" MacBook Pro with the dedicate GPU or the 2.53GHz processor one that is essentially the 13" with the larger screen? Do you need the dedicated GPU? Any 3D animation or gaming?

Personally I went with the base 13" MacBook Pro and paid the extra $100 to double the RAM to 4GB. The CPU speed bump is unnoticeable for how I use the machine and the HD can easily be upgraded later for less than Apple charges.

In saving the $400 (as compared to the base MacBook Pro) I can easily get a larger external monitor (21"+) and still have money left over. The purpose of my portable is just that... to be portable. When I require the extra screen space I can setup the machine on my desk and get more for less.

Feb 14, 2010 3:19 PM in response to JasonFear

i was comparing the 13 inch macbook pro with 4 gig ram and 2.53 ghz and the 15 inch 4 gig ram and 2.53 ghz, so yea, basically the only difference is the screen size. I'm not going to do anything to extensive on it just web surfing watching movies, and light gaming editing, and word processing. If i do end up going with the 13 inch i think i will do the same thing you did and get the external monitor to go with it. Thanks for the insight

Feb 14, 2010 3:22 PM in response to 10issguy

It really depends on how you intend to use the computer, if your use is primarily surfing, mail and MS Office type applications I would go with a base model 13" and double the RAM.

If you do all of the above and also enjoy gaming then I'd go for a 15" 2.66 GHz machine primarily for it's graphics capabilities.

Those are priced at different ends of the spectrum so you really need to carefully look at how you intend to use it.

Regards,

Roger

Feb 15, 2010 11:59 AM in response to 10issguy

I have a 15" and find that it is completely portable. I don't have any problems slinging it around in a backpack - I carry mine every day. I am not a student, but I use my MBP for both home and work and need to be able to bring it wherever I need it, so it accompanies me constantly.

It is not heavy, and fits nicely in most backpacks equipped with a laptop sleeve. I have a Fishpond backpack for it which holds both the laptop and my purse and papers.

I do a lot of visually-intensive work (I'm a graphic designer) so I love the extra screen real estate over the 13". I agree with the other poster who said it's a good compromise between the 13" and the 17". I decided against the 17" because we have them at work and they felt big and bulky to me, plus other designers who have used the 17" felt that the portability wasn't the best because of the size.

To me, the 15" is an ideal compromise.

Just my two cents.

Feb 15, 2010 2:29 PM in response to 10issguy

Hi 10issguy,

I'll agree with wanting the most out of your portability. Out of curiosity, have you been to an Apple Store and done a side by side comparison? I really think that needs to be the next step if you haven't done that yet.

I think it's pretty safe to say based on the responses already that you're going to be 50/50 from the community. Not to mention all of our justifications on which machine we went with made sense to us (your reasons might be different than our reasons).

Feb 15, 2010 2:42 PM in response to 10issguy

I'm inclined to agree. I have both the current MBP13 and an older MBP15. There are situations where the bigger screen of the 15 is definitely a plus, but on balance the 13 (with a bigger external monitor available when needed) is in many ways the best of both worlds. Smaller computers are usually a bit "tougher" than big ones, too, in the sometimes harsh world of a campus environment.

Mind you, if you needed the performance of the separate GPU for video or 3D work, I'd certainly sacrifice a little portability for the sake of it and buy one of the faster up market 15" models. If it is a choice between the 13" and the base model 15" in your situation, though, I'd opt for the 13" plus external.

Cheers

Rod

Feb 15, 2010 2:57 PM in response to 10issguy

10issguy wrote:
I'm not going to do anything to extensive on it just web surfing watching movies, and light gaming editing, and word processing.


Based on that, you probably won't lose much getting a 13". The 15" is better for moderate multitasking because the 15" is just enough resolution to see side-by-side window or apps (Word plus email or chat, for instance). The 13" is better for filling the entire screen with one app.

The 15" is good for single apps with many palettes, like Final Cut or Photoshop. But many users, even some I know, have been downsizing from the 15" to the 13" ever since the 13" got elevated to Pro spec.

13 inch vs 15 inch Conventional wisdom has it that a laptop in the 15 inch range will usually offer photographers the ideal mix of features and size. Apple's press release for the new MacBook Pros backs this up, saying the 15 inch model offers the "perfect balance of performance and portability...."

The MacBook Pro 13 inch, however, might beg to differ. In its mid-2009 form, the 13 inch unibody laptop from Apple offers the key elements of the 15 inch, including a colour accurate display, FireWire 800 and more, only in a smaller, lighter and less expensive package. As we've used each model in the past 10 days, *the one we've kept gravitating towards is the MacBook Pro 13 inch*. This could well be the more enticing option of the two for Mac-based photographers wanting to *pay less and carry less*.

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=7-10041-10146-10160

Feb 15, 2010 4:36 PM in response to 10issguy

Completely wrong? Not at all! :-D But then I love small computers. I still mourn for my beloved little 12" powerbook which was one of my all time favorite laptops--and has done its best for two other people since I bought my new 13", both of whom adored that little laptop almost as much as I did.

Look, the 13" has a full keyboard and a great screen. It has all you want, is a pound lighter than the 15" and will fit on small desks. BUT, in the end, the lesson of Macs as compared to PC's is to always get what you're going to love. Given what you want to do, both computers will suffice in power, etc. But to some the 13" is too small and they love that extra bit of screen real estate. Meanwhile, to others like me, smaller and lighter is preferable. We can tell you our personal preferences from dawn till dusk, but in the end YOU need to play on both computers. There is no way for you to really decide this until you do.

I promise that if you play on both, that's when you'll know. You'll look at the 13" and say, "Hey, that's not too small. In fact it's perfect!" and nothing larger will be needed; or you'll look at the 15" and say, "I want!" and nothing less will do.

Macs are computer that you fall in love with. So pick the one that speaks to you. Because the last thing you want is to feel regret or remorse that you didn't get the one you really wanted. Take all the advice you're gotten here, keep it in the back of your mind--but decide only after you've gone into a store and had your hands on both--looked at them, lifted them, played with them.

Best of luck in your choice, and welcome to the World o' Mac!

Feb 15, 2010 5:20 PM in response to 10issguy

Personally, I love my 15" MBP. I got it for Christmas and have fallen in love with it. I used to use a 12" iBook G4, which was way too thick and "cheap-feeling", probably b/c of the plastic body. I have 4GB memory, 250 GB HD, 9400m GeForce NVIDIA graphics and a SD card slot, which serves me quite well. I probably use my computer on average 5-6 hours per day, and it provides me with combined portability and great functionality. The Snow Leopard OSX is gr8; the 12" screen on my old laptop was way too small for me. I'd recommend a 15"; at least for me, only 1" bigger screen is way too small to me.

Feb 15, 2010 9:42 PM in response to MacBookPro Lover

MacBookPro Lover wrote:
I used to use a 12" iBook G4, which was way too thick...the 12" screen on my old laptop was way too small for me. I'd recommend a 15"; at least for me, only 1" bigger screen is way too small to me.


Screen size is not the only consideration. One reason the 13" is such a winner is because the screen is not just physically bigger. The pixel resolution of the 12" iBook was 1024x768. The resolution of the 13" MacBook Pro is 1280x800 pixels. It may only be one inch difference diagonally, but because the pixel density increased, the 13" MacBook Pro has a quarter million pixels more screen real estate than the 12" iBook.

In fact, the number of pixels in the 13" MacBook Pro is about the same as the old 15" PowerBook G4.

Feb 16, 2010 6:43 PM in response to Network 23

im not worried so much with the quality of the picture i'm seeing because i think the difference between the two is too little to make a difference, im more worried with the amount of screen space available. Im worried that the 13 inch will only be able to comfortably fit one application on its display at a time, and i think that could get annoying

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13 inch too small?

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