13" vs 15" MBP 2011

[xtrem]

I'm about to order a new MBP but I can't decide between 13" or 15".

My current machine spend about 75% of the time infront of a 30" ACD at work (freelance) or 24" ACD LED at home. The other 25% is on the road, traveling. That is why I have been looking at a 13". I used to have a MBA when it came out but the ports and the memory wasn't enough.

I never play on the computer, 90% of the time is normal office work, web design (code), 10% is photoshop and videoediting (for web and youtube, nothing fancy)

13" 2,7Ghz i7 or
15" i7 Hires anti-glare.

Either one will be upgraded by me with a OCZ Vertex 3 and 8GB ram.

My current machine (going to the wife) is a MBP 2010, 2.66 i7, 8GB OCZ Vertex 2, 15" Hi-res anti-glare.

What I can see from Geekbench result: the 13" 2011 will still kick my current MBP in the ass, and the 15" will run around in circles.

So my main concern is the "low-res" screen on the 13", will I get use to it after having 15" hires?

 

[NutsNGum]

I think you'd feel a bit of buyer's remorse if you bought the 13".

The resolution is a big step down from the 15" AG.

Then again, if you're mostly using it with external screens then it shouldn't be too much of a bother, a 13" is vastly easier to carry around, and the dual core i7 benchmarks are fairly excellent.

 

[xtrem]

my ACD is glossy, so I have no problem with that (I guess..) It is the resolution I'm worried about..

so really it is 1,1lbs and a couple of inches on each side vs. hi-res and a lot more money...

 

[maflynn]

If the laptop is going to be hooked up to a large monitor most of the time, and you do travel with it during the rest. Well then to me the 13" makes more sense.

I've used both a 13" and a 15" and like you its hooked up most of the time to an external monitor. I found that the 13" is to be a better option because you don't need the larger screen size because of the monitor and the smaller size makes traveling a lot easier.

 

[nizmoz]

If the laptop is going to be hooked up to a large monitor most of the time, and you do travel with it during the rest. Well then to me the 13" makes more sense.

I've used both a 13" and a 15" and like you its hooked up most of the time to an external monitor. I found that the 13" is to be a better option because you don't need the larger screen size because of the monitor and the smaller size makes traveling a lot easier.

I went from a 13" 2010 to a 15" 2011 i7 and have no regrets. I was going to get a MBA but decided I needed upgrade ability and performance. The 15 is still very portable.

 

[maflynn]

Personally, I really wanted an MBA going from a 15" MBP to a 13" but the 11" seemed too small for my 40+ eyes and the 13" MBA's SSD was too small for my needs. Plus last November Microcenter had the 13" on sale for under 1,000 so it was hard to pass up that deal.

 

[fishmoose]

I'd get the 15", in reality it won't be much harder to carry around the 15" than the 13". In your bag you likely have a ton of other things making the weigh difference intangible and if you buy the anti-glare screen the 15" won't weigh as much as the 15" with a glossy screen since it doesn't have a glass panel.