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

13 vs 15

C

cramazing

macrumors 6502
Original poster
so im debating between these two config laptops and I really dont know which way to go.

The reason of my choosing is value here.
I feel like for the money i will put in for the 13", for a little more I can get the 15" and all the extras in it.

13" will be 2.6 i5, 16gb, 512 - $1999
15" will be 2.3 i7, 16gb, 512 +750 and more real estate -$2599

I rarely take my laptop out of the house, but do carry it will me when i travel or work offsite.

so the question is, if i am spending $2k on a laptop, wouldnt it make more sense in terms of value to just get the 15" model?

first world problems..... i know.😕
 
cramazing said:
so im debating between these two config laptops and I really dont know which way to go.

The reason of my choosing is value here.
I feel like for the money i will put in for the 13", for a little more I can get the 15" and all the extras in it.

13" will be 2.6 i5, 16gb, 512 - $1999
15" will be 2.3 i7, 16gb, 512 +750 and more real estate -$2599

I rarely take my laptop out of the house, but do carry it will me when i travel or work offsite.

so the question is, if i am spending $2k on a laptop, wouldnt it make more sense in terms of value to just get the 15" model?

first world problems..... i know.😕
Click to expand...

I prefer and recommend the 15" but that's me.
 
Sounds like the 15" would be better for you if you're not going be travelling with it. But I prefer the 13" for its portability as I do travel a bunch.
 
cramazing said:
so the question is, if i am spending $2k on a laptop, wouldnt it make more sense in terms of value to just get the 15" model?
Click to expand...

From the standpoint of what you get per dollar spent, it's definitely in favor of the 15" when you compare it to the 13"...

2 additional cores/4 additional threads
2880x1800 screen (26% more pixels)
Significantly better GPU

The 13" only wins in portability and battery life.

That said, I'm going to be getting a 13" because I like the form factor better as a laptop that I'll be carrying around and using in my lap. I know I could get more by buying the 15", but it's just too big for how I'm going to use it.
 
I originally purchased a 13" i7 2.8/16/512 and returned for the 15" i7 2.3/16/512. Buying with the educational discount it was only $360 inc tax to make the jump. I do prefer the form factor of the 13" but considering I primarily use my MBP from home, often hooked to an external display, I decided to go for power over portability.

The 13" easily met my needs for power today but I like to get 5+ years out of a MBP before upgrading and I felt having the quad core and dGPU future proofs a little more.
 
cramazing said:
so im debating between these two config laptops and I really dont know which way to go.

The reason of my choosing is value here.
I feel like for the money i will put in for the 13", for a little more I can get the 15" and all the extras in it.

13" will be 2.6 i5, 16gb, 512 - $1999
15" will be 2.3 i7, 16gb, 512 +750 and more real estate -$2599

I rarely take my laptop out of the house, but do carry it will me when i travel or work offsite.

so the question is, if i am spending $2k on a laptop, wouldnt it make more sense in terms of value to just get the 15" model?

first world problems..... i know.😕
Click to expand...

It's not a "little" more. The cost is over 30% more going from 13" to 15". But for the cost, you are getting a heck of a lot more value as well. The 15" is going to be fast-azz.

As you said, if you're going to be home mostly then it is always good to go for as much as you can afford.
 
i guess the real question is, if $600 is worth to have the 750M, Quad Core i7, and 2in more real estate, but less portable, 1 hour less battery life...

😕
 
I would've liked the same CPU in both 13 and 15. Without the dGpu, the 15 is much faster and it really shouldn't be since the 13 has to push less pixels too.

Right now you sacrifice a lot of power and headroom to go 13, and it's not fair.
 
ecrispy said:
I would've liked the same CPU in both 13 and 15. Without the dGpu, the 15 is much faster and it really shouldn't be since the 13 has to push less pixels too.

Right now you sacrifice a lot of power and headroom to go 13, and it's not fair.
Click to expand...

You want a quad core in a 13" rMBP? The battery life would be really bad compared to what they have now.
 
cramazing said:
i guess the real question is, if $600 is worth to have the 750M, Quad Core i7, and 2in more real estate, but less portable, 1 hour less battery life...

😕
Click to expand...

Easy answer: can you afford $600 extra? If so, go for it!

It's worth it.

I went for 13" as i need portability. If i wanted a desktop replacement, I'd get a desktop.
 
cramazing said:
yea the $600 isn't an issue at all
Click to expand...

There you go then.

If you are looking for "value" as you stated in your initial post, then by all means go for the top-end model.

My cousin went for the top-end model 5 years ago and it is still running strong.

So yours will last a really long time as well, and you will be more "future-proof" if you go that route.

If i had that much of a budget, I'd max it out and get more value for my money.

Hope my post helped answer your question.
 
simon48 said:
You want a quad core in a 13" rMBP? The battery life would be really bad compared to what they have now.
Click to expand...

You may well be right but I'm not sure, Intel has lots of features like core parking to minimize usage and esp Haswell is very optimized for low power. I would be happy to compromise another 30min of battery life for a faster CPU.

The main power draw comes from the screen.
 
The main deciding factor is the form factor. Indeed the 15'' gets you more value for your bucks, but some people (like me) cannot deal with its size. For me 13'' is the way to go, and if I could I would even reduce it to 12'' : )
 
It depends on what you need. I'm typing this on a 2010 15" cMBP, but have a 13" rMBP on the way. The rMBP will be more powerful than what I'm currently using, so that aspect doesn't concern me. My only real reservation is the screen size; I expect to be running with a scaled resolution most of the time, but it will be more cramped. However, I decided for this iteration that I'd trade that off against portability, because although the 15" rMBP is thinner and lighter than my current machine, it's actually the other 2 dimensions that I've found most awkward for carrying (and don't ask about using on a plane!). If they made a 14" then I'd be sorted 😉

Now it sounds like you are not particularly concerned about portability, and hence presumably also not about battery life, but do care about power. If that's a correct analysis, then the choice seems fairly clear.
 
I'm trying to make the same decision. I always am drawn to the 15" models, but they are next to impossible to use on a plane. The new 13" is the perfect size for traveling and even has a smaller footprint than the 13" MBA.

When working with a bunch of files (as I often do), the 15" is very nice to have. It's just so hard to travel with (which I often do). I'm debating just going for the 15" and working on an iPad on the plane. First world problem I'm lucky to have, but a tough decision for me nonetheless!
 
If I was in your position I would go with the 15", since you don't tend to take your laptop out much and the added power will help you in the future. I personally went for the 13" since I personally cant justify the price difference but if money wasn't an issue I would go for the 15" every time.

Heck its only 2kg so its not too much of a problem to carry around too, battery life isn't a huge difference, they will both last you a day on light use.
 
In my opinion:

If you plan on buying an iMac or Mac Pro any time soon and you like the smaller size - 13". If you don't care about the screen, consider an Air.

If you need or want to be portable more than you need the speed - 13".

If you rarely move it, and you want the best machine for your money - 15".

I got the maxed 13" as I really want the smaller screen, but in a couple of years I may miss that quad core... At the moment, I love it. 😀
 
jondunford said:
why would you buy a 13 and 15 rmbp?

as your 2nd, why not like an 11 mba or something,

just wondering
Click to expand...

Why not? Maybe they had a 13" and then when they decided to upgrade they got a 15". I had a 12" years ago, but upgraded to a 15".
 
update*******

I just ordered the 15in.
Took me 10 days playing with the 13" to feel like it was too small for me and the screen was annoying when trying to multitask

im going to enjoy this laptop and hopefully have no regret down the line! 😀

:apple:
 
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