Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Upgrading from ibook 15 inch pb or 12 inch with external..

CaptainCaveMann

CaptainCaveMann

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Hey all, im updating from my 12 inch ibook to a pb. This will probably be my only comp except for the desktop pc i have in the closet. Should i go with the 12 inch pb for extreme portability and for at home hook it up to a 15 inch lcd i have? I also like the 12 inch because its cheaper. Or the 15 inch pb and have no external and slightly worse portability? I go to the library a lot and the coffee shops to study and write papers. I dont do any graphic intensive stuff mostly just flash and html for web design. A little photoshop here and there but not everyday. Wc3 every once in a while, and lots of MS Office. Help! 😉 I guess im just wondering if ill get sick of carrying around the 15 inch but im not sure. Any thoughts? My friend has a 15 inch tit and he says he wishes he had the 12 inch but what do you guys think? Thanks!
 
I understand your dilemma... I agonized over getting the 12" or 15" PB and in the end, being able to future-proof it just a little more was worth the small sacrifice in portability... the extra screen real estate didn't hurt either. If I had the money, I would buy both. 🙂

But from what you described, it sounds like you might be a little happier with the 12" PB over the 15" PB. It seems like portability is a big issue for you (it was for me, but maybe not to your extent) and you do have your friend's experience with a 15" PB as well. Maybe to help you decide, he could let you borrow his PB for an hour or two and see how it feels to you?

If I were in your position (doing a lot of studying and work in coffee shops) the 12" seems like a better fit for you... it, after all, has an extremely small footprint (little less than a 8.5x11" sheet of paper).
 
stonyc said:
I understand your dilemma... I agonized over getting the 12" or 15" PB and in the end, being able to future-proof it just a little more was worth the small sacrifice in portability... the extra screen real estate didn't hurt either. If I had the money, I would buy both. 🙂

But from what you described, it sounds like you might be a little happier with the 12" PB over the 15" PB. It seems like portability is a big issue for you (it was for me, but maybe not to your extent) and you do have your friend's experience with a 15" PB as well. Maybe to help you decide, he could let you borrow his PB for an hour or two and see how it feels to you?

If I were in your position (doing a lot of studying and work in coffee shops) the 12" seems like a better fit for you... it, after all, has an extremely small footprint (little less than a 8.5x11" sheet of paper).
Click to expand...
<Yea im starting to think the 12 inch is gonna be the best bet unless anyone can give me some good reasons why id be happier with the 15 inch>? Hows the 12 inch work out in clamshell mode? I think thats when you close the pb and just work using the external? Any gripes? Also im gonna be moving pretty soon and ill be sharing a room with a friend and i may not have a lot of room for a big desk or anything like that so thats another reason why i was thinking the 15 inch might be better?
 
15" or 12" is for the vast many users a very personal choice based on your own preferences. I highly encourage you to try out both in comparison.

Given you frequent coffe shops a lot and seem like a really mobile user I would have to think that the 12" is going to work best in your lifestyle. The battery and compact form make it a more mobile friendly powerbook.

In my case, I ended up with the 15" after much debate and purchasing a 12" powerbook first, which I later gave to my neice. Why? Well I intended to hit the cool hot spots and be a super mobile computing guy, but I as per usual only studied in the varous libraries around campus cause I prefer quiet. With the amount of studying I do, I really began to envy all the people around me who had larger screen realestate to work with. Now I study in complete comfort and since I only carry my laptop to campus a couple times a week, having the 15" works great. Plus I now have no need to buy a Imac which was the plan when I originally got the 12". It serves great as a desktop replacement and mobile computer for me.

However as I said figure out what works for you. But I have to admit after using the 15 inch wide screen I am hooked 🙂
 
shane-o-mac said:
15" or 12" is for the vast many users a very personal choice based on your own preferences. I highly encourage you to try out both in comparison.

Given you frequent coffe shops a lot and seem like a really mobile user I would have to think that the 12" is going to work best in your lifestyle. The battery and compact form make it a more mobile friendly powerbook.

In my case, I ended up with the 15" after much debate and purchasing a 12" powerbook first, which I later gave to my neice. Why? Well I intended to hit the cool hot spots and be a super mobile computing guy, but I as per usual only studied in the varous libraries around campus cause I prefer quiet. With the amount of studying I do, I really began to envy all the people around me who had larger screen realestate to work with. Now I study in complete comfort and since I only carry my laptop to campus a couple times a week, having the 15" works great. Plus I now have no need to buy a Imac which was the plan when I originally got the 12". It serves great as a desktop replacement and mobile computer for me.

However as I said figure out what works for you. But I have to admit after using the 15 inch wide screen I am hooked 🙂
Click to expand...
Thanks for your input everyone. This is really helpful. I to, love the 15 inch screen. But also take into consideration i am already acustomed(if thats how you spell it) to the 12 inch screen. I probably hit the library and coffee shops 4 times a week or more and carrying it in and out of the library and to and from my car i think is a joy with the 12 inch. But then sitting down to a 15 inch screen now thats a whole other joy. I have tried them both out at the Apple store many times. The first thing i thought to myself when i picked up the new 15 inch was "Wow this thing is light". But the footprint the 12 inch has, is amazing. And im already used to 1024x768. I dont know if i had the money id really buy them both haha. Do you guys know if when you close the powerbook does that make it shoot all of its video memory into the external then when you have the screen open it splits the memory between the two?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back