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

New 15" MBP or Refurb 17" MBP

P

Peshwari

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 2, 2008
16
0
Hi

Need a bit of help deciding which to get. I'm a graphic designer with a nice new mac pro which is in my studio. I'm looking for a macbook to take to client presentations and to take to my business partner house so we can work together now and then.

New MBP 15" is £1299
2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
# 2GB memory
# 200GB hard drive
# 1440 x 900 Res
# NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB

Refurb 17" is £1369
2.4Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
# 2GB memory
# 160GB hard drive
# 1680 by 1050 Res
# NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB

Refurb 17" HD Display is £1,549
160gb Hd @ 7200rpm
What are the advantages of the new MBP 15"? the 17" refurb is a bargain
but my only concerns are portability and battery life

any help would be welcome

Cheers
 
I would think the 17 would be better for client visits bigger presentation. I put the 17 in my bookbag and it didn't seem that much bulkier than when I tried the 15.
 
Matte. You could always get a glossy screen protector later if your inclined, but I think you will be happy with a matte.
 
Been in that boat for the past two years. Got a 15" and loved it. Glossy screen loved it, truly an amazing machine. But that 17" screen size was just so appealing and I regretted (slightly) getting the 15" so I grabbed the new 17" with HD matte display.....

I LOVE IT!

I will probably never get a 15" ever again. You WILL gain a lot of screen real estate with the HD option and it doesn't get hotter than the 15" at all. The battery life is actually better than my 15" as well. (both heat and battery life due to new chips)

If you have the choice of getting a new 17" GRAB ONE you will never regret it. The 15" is nice for those that think it's lighter and just enough, yadda yadda yadda, but you won't know what you are missing until you have a 15" and someone brings a 17" and sits it next to yours and you see how much more screen they have to use, and how it weighs just about the same, and is just about the same size.

Get the 17"
 
The 17" is nice for the extra resolution, but it's much heavier and bulkier. Everyone I know that got a 17" regret not getting the smaller 15" simply because it's not a good solution to carry all day around with you, it's too big for planes, smaller tables, etc...

+ you end up getting a refurb...

Go with a new 15" Penryn and put 4 gigs of ram in it, it's going to be faster and most portable. Just get a 23" ACD for when your at home.

And unless you get the HD your talking about only a few pixels... Look at them side by side before making you decision.
 
I believe the battery life is about the same. 17" is nice for more screen real-estate, and is nicer if you are doing the presentations on the laptop. Otherwise, the 15" is a bit more portable, and around 5% faster.
 
The MacBook 17" is more svelte and light then the HP Pavillion 17" I hauled around for three years, so I'd get the 17", personally. Battery life will be a bit less (larger LCD and not as efficient backlighting), but those extra 2" and pixels will offset that as you use it, I expect. :D
 
When you look at the HD 17 inch next to the regular 15" screen you will be a convert. If you can't manage to carry the extra 1.2 pounds of weight then maybe the 17" isn't for you.

If you have ever seen the 17" next to the 15", you will see that it's but no means bulky, wide, yes, bulky no.

They are right about the table issue though, that may be a problem if you hang around a lot of small, hole-in-the-wall coffee shops or dinners. But if you are getting the new 15" book over a refurbished 17" (last year's) then you may want to go with the 15". I doubt that it's 5% faster than the 17" but it is noticeably faster than the SR model (last years) and really improves on battery life.
 
The 17" HD is a matte screen

Saw the 17" HD screen in a store but it was glossy looked the business! and reflection wasnt too bad, need to see it next to a matte sceen to see what the difference is.

Just had a client cut the cost on one of our quotes otherwise i was thinking of just going out and getting a brand new mac daddy 17" HD glossy, but with finances the way they are think i'll have to get a refurb?

What are peoples experiences of Apple refurbs?
 
If you think you really need the pixels of the 17", but the extra width doesn't appeal, then perhaps you should wait for the next update to see if the 15" has a resolution increase? 1440x900 is beginning to look a bit low now that other manufacturers are squeezing 1920x1200 into 15" screens (admittedly not LED though). It'd be nice to see Apple bump up the resolution to 1680x1050. Coming from a 1280x800 Macbook, I find low resolutions a real pain in the backside.
 
hmmm dont think I want to wait much longer, I dont think they'll update the MBP for a while, unless you know something I dont... would be cool to have extra res and a blue ray drive!

What are the main differerences in the processor Santa Rosa vs Penryn?

Are the trackpads on the new mbps the same size? the macbook air looks bigger?
 
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