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15 inch VS 17 inch macbook pro?

K

Kinkokoro

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 12, 2007
48
0
Why would someone choose a 15 incher over a 17 inch pro? Would it be for a smaller laptop, how much smaller is it? Or is it the new LED displays, what makes them so great? And, lastly, will they be implemented on the new 17 inchers soon?

Any other advantages/disadvantages?

Thanks everyone for the patience! I'm a new Mac user, as many people are these days. Switching sides is pretty exciting...It just comes with loooooots of questions.

Thank you and take care!
 
The 17 inchers kinda remind me of a cafeteria tray...
But that is just my opinion.
They are more unwieldy than the 15 inchers, and 15 inches seems to be the perfect size for many people.
 
15 inch is definitely the sweet spot. If you don't -need- the extra space, I'd suggest going with the 15 inch model.
 
Im sure the 17" one being almost $3000 has something to do with it... Money doesnt grow on trees.

The 17" one is only 1.4" bigger. Im sure if the 17 and 15" ones were the same price then 90% of the time people would get the 17.
 
I think it really depends on what people are going to use their MBPs for. I went with the 17'' Hi Rez as I am going to use my MBP as a dekstop replacement. I do some photo editing, so I want as much real estate as possible. If I had bought a 15'' I think I would have to buy a monitor too, right away. When going with the 17'' I don't think I'm going to need that(at least not for now, maybe later) :)
 
The trend in laptops seems to be towards the smaller size. Most want a 15" or even a 14" screen size, especially college students and people who fly.

If someone is going to buy a 17" or even a 20" laptop and not move it that much, they midas well just buy a desktop that is more powerful.
 
Trade off

There's no perfect solution. The 17" (which I have) is significantly better than the 15" for working with complex text documents, cutting and pasting, etc. But it's quite a bit larger and is a pain to carry around.
 
glhiii said:
But it's quite a bit larger and is a pain to carry around.
Click to expand...

Depends on how anal you are. I've interchanged between 15s and 17s the last couple years. I notice absolutely no difference in weight when carrying them around in my backpack. 17" is definitely bigger, but I only notice it when the screen is open and I have a lot more pixels staring me in the face. This notion that the 17" is this beast compared to the 15" is stupid. It's 1 lb heavier and it's NOT that much bigger, physically.
 
MovieCutter said:
Depends on how anal you are. I've interchanged between 15s and 17s the last couple years. I notice absolutely no difference in weight when carrying them around in my backpack. 17" is definitely bigger, but I only notice it when the screen is open and I have a lot more pixels staring me in the face. This notion that the 17" is this beast compared to the 15" is stupid. It's 1 lb heavier and it's NOT that much bigger, physically.
Click to expand...


again, all a matter of opinion. i have also owned a couple of 17" pb's from the past. too big for my taste. stickin' with the 15's from now on.
 
MovieCutter said:
Depends on how anal you are. I've interchanged between 15s and 17s the last couple years. I notice absolutely no difference in weight when carrying them around in my backpack. 17" is definitely bigger, but I only notice it when the screen is open and I have a lot more pixels staring me in the face. This notion that the 17" is this beast compared to the 15" is stupid. It's 1 lb heavier and it's NOT that much bigger, physically.
Click to expand...

MovieCutter is right, this is not so big of a difference, and in the end my dad's Macbook with his charger, cables and other accessories gets to be about the same weight.

Also, this really depends what you want to do and what the 15" would be. If you are going to buy a 15" with similar specs to the 17", then you have to think about the screen.

The 17" which I love, has its downsides, specifically if you don't need the screen size and you're really mobile, then the 15" is probably a better option. Also, the heat generated by the 17" is a little bit more. But most importantly the 17" is kind of similar to a drug, if you don't need it, be careful, it's hard to leave, I love the smaller Macbook, but I couldn't use that for a day, So, if you'are a basic student switcher, and were like me you just wanted the ultimate top end, I'd say get the 15" and then when it comes time to buy again, see if you really want that 17", most people that have the 15" don't complain about screen size...plus if you are dropping 3 grand, you should be able to afford another computer later.
 
tekmoe said:
again, all a matter of opinion.
Click to expand...

Indeed. In my case, I'm 6' 3", so it's nothing to me. Plus I edit HD video all the time, so the extra space, pixels, and overall size are priceless to me, not to mention the built in speakers on the 17" beat the pants off the 15"...if you ever use them.
 
MovieCutter said:
the built in speakers on the 17" beat the pants off the 15"...if you ever use them.
Click to expand...

I'll second that. The 17" has some of the best built-in sound I've heard from a laptop.

I own both sizes and don't really notice a significant difference in portability, except in a crowded coach section. As for screen real-estate, I find that I never feel shorthanded when using the 15", but then I'm always glad to get back to the 17" later.

My solution is to just keep the two synchronized and then take the 15" when I travel, while favoring the 17" for the home-->work-->home routine. If I found myself in a situation where I could only keep one of them, I would definitely keep the 17" without hesitation, though.
 
I chose the 17in over 15in because its nice and bigg.
If you have a lot of windows open, its easy to do your work on your Mac.
And the 1920x1200 display is absolutely beautifull:)
 
stainlessliquid said:
Im sure the 17" one being almost $3000 has something to do with it... Money doesnt grow on trees.
Click to expand...

17" = $2499
15" = $2199

Not really that big of a price difference. But if you are scraping up pennies from the floor to buy a 15" I guess that $300 could be a lot of money.

I just think the 15" is a better fitting size for most users, and 13" is a bit too small though for those who *need* the extra portability, the 13" is there.

I always thought of 17" notebooks as desktop alternative for those who want both a laptop and a desktop but cannot afford to buy both.

I will be choosing a 15", and not because it is cheaper than the 17". In fact my 15" will cost more than a 17" when I buy the 27" - 30" display to use with it at home/work.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: retta283
SpitUK said:
Holy thread revival Batman!!
Click to expand...

Actually it is a good thing this thread was revived. If this one had not been revived than the person who revived it would probably have created a new thread on a topic already covered and some people would have commented on his new thread like this .....


" Oh geez don't you know how to SEARCH ! "

SEARCH is something people get slammed for not doing, and now I guess they get slammed for doing it! LOL
 
DustinT said:
I only paid $1599 for my 15" from the Apple store.
Click to expand...


Well to be completely honest I compared prices of the top end 15" to the 17" according to Apples Website.

If I wanted to cloud the issue I could use educational prices. --- LOW END 15" $1799 RETAIL ( $1599 Education Pricing )

Why did I compare the top end 15" to the 17" inch?

Because spec for spec the 17" is closer to the top end 15" then the bottom end 15". ( just look at the video card )

Even if you compare education pricing ......

17" - $2299
15" - $1999

Still a $300 difference.

Low end 15" - AMD Radeon HD 6490M with 256MB GDDR5 ---- 500GB HDD
Top End 15" - AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 1GB GDDR5 ----- 750 GB HDD
17" - AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 1GB GDDR5
 
MovieCutter said:
Indeed. In my case, I'm 6' 3", so it's nothing to me. Plus I edit HD video all the time, so the extra space, pixels, and overall size are priceless to me, not to mention the built in speakers on the 17" beat the pants off the 15"...if you ever use them.
Click to expand...

(Even though the guy I'm replying to posted in 2007 my point still stands!)

I'm 6'3" and the 17" is just too big and unwieldy for me. I would have bought the 15" still if it was the same price as the 17"

It's not a huge difference in size when you look at the numbers but when I'm looking at both of them side by side, the 17" just feels...too big.
 
ahhh this thread is from 2007. When I bought my 17" 2008 MBP it was like $3000
Now they are a steal :D
 
15" or 17" :-(

Hi friends. I'm doing my final year Visual Communication. I had chosen Graphics designs and Animation & web designing for my final year project works.. Can any one tell me which screen size i can go with? is it 15" or 17". Bcoz in India 15" is costing 1,24,900 & 17" is 1,42,900.. so the cost difference of 15" & 17" is nearly 18,000rs. Do you think 15" will be better for me for doing my animation project? Bcoz i gotta invest a lot.. So for 2" i really cannot afford 18,000rs, for that i can buy some accessories.. plz help me guys!!!!!!
 
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