I am looking at the 2.53 ghz version. Everything seems great except the screen size. Are there any problems with small text size and difficulty in reading the pages on the screen? This is what is making me want to buy the 15-inch version of the Macbook Pro.
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13-inch Macbook Pro for a college student.
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r.j.s
Moderator emeritus
JamesGorman
macrumors 65816
+1
It is very very portable. My friend has a 15" and wishes he had gotten the 13" simply because it is a lot easier to accommodate a smaller laptop to your surroundings.
I was in a similar boat to you. For my first two years of college i had a 13'' blackbook. I thought that it was fine. The screen was manageable. I recently got the 15'' i think that the additional weight is not noticeable. but the screen size and speakers are definitely a plus.
It all depends on you but don't make the weight a deciding factor. I carried my computer too all of my classes and sometimes the walk was up a hill for a half a mile and it didn't bother me too much.
It all depends on you but don't make the weight a deciding factor. I carried my computer too all of my classes and sometimes the walk was up a hill for a half a mile and it didn't bother me too much.
r.j.s
Moderator emeritus
I don't have any. If you can read regular print books fine, you can read the 13" screen. If you need large-print books, then you might have an issue.
r.j.s
Moderator emeritus
miles01110
macrumors Core
As a counterexample, I have a 15" and have never thought to myself "gosh, this thing is just way too big." I travel a fair amount on planes and trains too.
The 15" is perfectly portable.
queshy
macrumors 68040
The text will be fine on either size display. The advantage of the 15" machine is that you will be able to physically fit more information on the screen at once. For example, on a 15" screen, you could more comfortably open up 2 spreadsheets side by side. Although both the 13 and 15" machines can do this, the 15" gives you a bigger canvas to work on.
Regarding the portability issue, the 13" is definitely noticeably smaller and more portable, but the 15" is very thin and light too for its size. I went from a 15" MBP to a MBA and although I love the size of the MBA, I'm missing the screen size of the 15" at times.
The only thing that is clear for me is that a 17" notebook is too large for college, but 15 and 13" machines are fine. Maybe you can get the 13" and an external monitor as well?
Regarding the portability issue, the 13" is definitely noticeably smaller and more portable, but the 15" is very thin and light too for its size. I went from a 15" MBP to a MBA and although I love the size of the MBA, I'm missing the screen size of the 15" at times.
The only thing that is clear for me is that a 17" notebook is too large for college, but 15 and 13" machines are fine. Maybe you can get the 13" and an external monitor as well?
I don't have any problems reading text on my 13" MBP. In fact, I use the smaller font for MacRumors. Plus, you can always pinch in order to enlarge your text.
As queshy pointed out, it's not about the text size, but the information you will be able to fit into the screen.
For college, I'd strongly recommend the 2.26Ghz one, if you won't be performing heavy-duty tasks, which I doubt you will on a 13" screen. If you go for 2.26, you can order a 4GB one, with a 500GB HDD in order to store all of your files, at the same price as the 2.53 one, or a 320GB HDD for $50 less 🙂 I don't think you will get to feel 200Mhz difference.
As queshy pointed out, it's not about the text size, but the information you will be able to fit into the screen.
For college, I'd strongly recommend the 2.26Ghz one, if you won't be performing heavy-duty tasks, which I doubt you will on a 13" screen. If you go for 2.26, you can order a 4GB one, with a 500GB HDD in order to store all of your files, at the same price as the 2.53 one, or a 320GB HDD for $50 less 🙂 I don't think you will get to feel 200Mhz difference.
The 13" inch screen is fine. For the $200 you are saving, you can get a Dell 24" LCD ($199 on dell.com) for when your not carrying it around. I plug my 13" into my 22" LCD and what I use each night after work. I carry my 13" MB almost 2 hours each way on my commutes. The size and weight are perfect.
I agree with this, except upgrade the ram and HDD yourself for even more savings. 4GB DDR3 ram is ~$60 with shipping from Newegg, and you can get a WD Scorpio Blue 500GB HDD for like $95 from the same place (you want the model without the SecurePark thing, since MBPs have it built in). With your college discount the total would be $1254 - Almost $150 less than the 2.53Ghz version and with 2x as much storage (plus the WD drives are much faster than the stock drives apple uses)
I sold my old MBP 15" about a month ago and bought the new 13" MBP. Personally, I don't even notice the smaller screen size.
queshy
macrumors 68040
Actually, eXan pointed this out first 😛
Just giving credit where credit is due 🙂