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15" standard vs. 15" hi-res

i bought the standard configuration and returned it a few days later. after going on this site, a lot of people were saying how the larger resolution is so much better that it convinced me, considering i'm a graphic design student using adobe programs all the time and work on two monitors in class, i thought it would be best to take advantage of the higher resolution. also, i was annoyed at how i couldn't see some images fully on google reader while online. :rolleyes:

tbh, i can't say if it's better or not because i haven't seen it in person and my computer doesn't arrive for another week at least. there are mixed feelings but my gut says that higher resolution will be worth it. not sure if this helped :p
 
Seriously guys, I really appreciate all the comments!

@Mrmyeah
I've never heard of bubbles behind a glass display before, I'd definitely bring it by the Apple store. Also your comments reinforce that maybe the hi-res is more than its worth or necessary... If its causing 'serious' eye strain, I don't know if I would be happy with that to be honest...

@diablo2112
I love your last paragraph, it definitely speaks of truth.
Whatever decision we all make I'm sure it's the right one. As you say, all the nit picking is brought on by ourselves and causing more stress than it's probably worth. With all the extra options and advancements in technology I'd say we're a bit over privileged to be worrying too much about making the right decision since there probably is still no right or wrong.

I think I'm just trying too hard to be 110% sure I make the right decision but that ultimately there will probably be no sure decision in this situation for me... so it is what it is :p

I think I'll decide on the standard 15"... no regrets I hope (ironic I know lol)
 
Unless your eyesight is poor, there is absolutely no reason not to get the hi res screen. 1400x900 is a very lackluster resolution considering what you're paying for a MBP; that and the fact that it's supposed to be a professional product.
 
Well my eye sight definitely isn't poor and I don't think 1440x900 is lackluster or makes it any less professional. But I do agree that for the price one is paying one should get the best and the 1680x1050 is superior with more pixels, there is no debate on that. But again, my whole point is that I do think there is a legitimate reason not to get the hi res screen, in that from my impressions of the 15" standard vs. the 17" hi-res, the 15" presents everything on the desktop much nicer in terms of proportion and scale.

1680x1050 is superior and more professional... but honestly, I'm inclined to think that it's overkill for a 15". If OS X had resolution independence then the hi-res would definitely be the way to go, but as it stands and without much news on whether that support is coming any time soon, I just don't know if it makes sense.

I really don't know... maybe it is just fine to go with the hi-res... I mean I haven't even really seen the thing! So my assumptions may all be wrong but I'd like to think that I'm not.

Back to square one.
 
Personally I think 1440x900 is far to low for a 15" screen these days (I also really dislike 1280x800 on my MacBook, it's way to low a resolution and my biggest gripe with the machine), 1680x1050 is about right.
 
What are your main reasons for going for a higher res screen though? Other than it having more pixels... what is your key reason?
E.g. is it for the more things you can fit on screen, things appearing too big on the lower res screens or clarity?

Also, what do you dislike in your experience with a 13" macbook @ 1280x800? E.g. Do things appear/feel more cramped, less detailed and noticeably pixelated for instance...?

I know it can be a combination of everything, but what stands out for you to be the biggest difference?

For anyone with a hi-res screen, what is your key reason or joy for using the higher resolution?
 
I've ordered the standard resolution, because it's good for me, I already have a 1440*900 MBP and it's perfect. If you want to play games, definitely go for the standard res as with the 330M GT you'll be able to play native resolution in many games.
If you want to do heavy multitasking, e.g. opening big Numbers spreadsheet and Pages document at the same time, I doubt the small bump in resolution will help, better invest in an external display, that's what I did.
 
M-1 said:
What are your main reasons for going for a higher res screen though? Other than it having more pixels... what is your key reason?
E.g. is it for the more things you can fit on screen, things appearing too big on the lower res screens or clarity?

Also, what do you dislike in your experience with a 13" macbook @ 1280x800? E.g. Do things appear/feel more cramped, less detailed and noticeably pixelated for instance...?

I know it can be a combination of everything, but what stands out for you to be the biggest difference?

For anyone with a hi-res screen, what is your key reason or joy for using the higher resolution?
Click to expand...
Higher resolution screens make for a sharper and more precise image and more work space; overall I find higher resolution screens to offer a much better computer experience no matter what type of user you are.

I dislike 1280x800 on my MacBook simply because it is to low a resolution. 1280x800 is perfect for the 10.1" netbooks that rightfully use it; but on a 13" laptop it is just unacceptable in my opinion; I've seen 1440x900 on many 13" PC laptops and it works absolutely fine (not bashing Apple just saying, since they obviously don't offer a high res 13"). Thing's don't appear/feel more cramped on the low res screen, they ARE cramped; the low resolution on my MacBook feels far to "zoomed in" and almost constantly hamper's my work flow. Due to this I'll probably hop to a 15" with a hi res screen in early june.

The icing on the cake (per se) that annoys me, is the fact is Apple only offer's these low resolution screens to save money on their end. While PC laptop maker's have offered these higher resolution screens as standard for years and years.

hellric said:
If you want to do heavy multitasking, e.g. opening big Numbers spreadsheet and Pages document at the same time, I doubt the small bump in resolution will help, better invest in an external display, that's what I did.
Click to expand...

I have to respectfully disagree. Though yes an external display would be better; having seen both the standard res and high res screen side by side I can say without doubt the difference is truly night and day.
 
I initially got the regular resolution, but after using it for a few days I decided I wanted to go up to 1680x1050.

My local store only had the higher resolution version in the anti-glare, and though I definitely prefer the glossy, it was a trade off on having my new shiny on the spot or waiting two weeks for one to be shipped.

Obviously everything is smaller but overall I don't find it to be much of a problem. My eyesight is average, though I don't use glasses at the computer. At my desk I have it connected to a 19'' monitor (which has the same native resolution) and when I'm away from home I've got it in my lap anyway so it doesn't make a big difference.

The anti-glare/silver bezel is growing on me, but it was worth it for the higher resolution.
 
ABSOLUTELY GET HI-RES!

I purchased a 15" core i7 Hi Res.

The screen is just amazing, text is not too small. I can use this thing comfortably without an external monitor, it feels like a desktop. I always found with my last 15" MBP that the screen was just a little too small.

Now when I use my 24" external monitor (1920x1200), the pixels look ridiculously big and jagged. Apple should upgrade their 24" LED display to the same resolution as the 27" imac.

In summary, Hi-Res screen is just perfect for the 15.4" screen size.
 
DesmoPilot said:
While PC laptop maker's have offered these higher resolution screens as standard for years and years.
Click to expand...

The standard PC resolution these days is 1366x768, and you can find them on 17" screens even. All the optional screens typically cost money to upgrade to, if they offer it as an upgrade. I saw a HP quad core i7 15" yesterday that comes with only a 1366x768 screen with no option to upgrade either.

PCs don't typically come with higher resolution screens, and the 10.1" netbooks?... typically a horrible 1024x600.

Not sure where you got the idea that PCs have higher resolution screens as standard, they typically have rather horrible screens, and I'd take the 1280x800 on the 13" over the 1366x768 on typical PC laptops, vertical resolution is critical for workspace.
 
neteng101 said:
The standard PC resolution these days is 1366x768, and you can find them on 17" screens even. All the optional screens typically cost money to upgrade to, if they offer it as an upgrade. I saw a HP quad core i7 15" yesterday that comes with only a 1366x768 screen with no option to upgrade either.

PCs don't typically come with higher resolution screens, and the 10.1" netbooks?... typically a horrible 1024x600.

Not sure where you got the idea that PCs have higher resolution screens as standard, they typically have rather horrible screens, and I'd take the 1280x800 on the 13" over the 1366x768 on typical PC laptops, vertical resolution is critical for workspace.
Click to expand...

Those are all consumer (ie low cost) machines. If we're talking MBPs, then lets compare them to Latitudes/Thinkpads/even Envys. All offer 1920x1200 on their 15" screens (Envy has 1080p).
 
I had a similar problem, except mine was between glossy and matte, during the waiting for arrandale times I switched back and forwards loads.

You could find one thread whole-heartidly supporting the glossy, and another saying matte is the only way to go.

I know you said you locale store has no high res in, but it might be worth ringing round nearby stores to see if they have one in stock.

The best way to tell is to see them both side by side.

When I did this for Matte Vs Glossy, it was an easy choice for me, maybe you should try for the same?

(went for matte btw!)
 
andrewt1187 said:
If we're talking MBPs, then lets compare them to Latitudes/Thinkpads/even Envys. All offer 1920x1200 on their 15" screens (Envy has 1080p).
Click to expand...

Uh wrong again. No 1920x1200 on those either, just 1080p which isn't the same thing, and a 15" Thinkpad T510 only goes to HD+ which is a mere 1600x900.

These PC laptop screen resolutions today - the 720p, 900p, 1080p 16:9 displays - are cheap panels these days, and cheaper than the 16:10 displays Apple uses. You'll be hard pressed to find 16:10 quality displays in PC laptops, even the high end comparable to Apple ones. Maybe some super expensive bricks for engineering use might still have 1920x1200 displays, but good luck finding them otherwise.

14" Thinkpads used to have 1400x1050 screen options, these days its just 1440x900... those old style screens were so much more useful.
 
got the hi-res and took it back to get the standard 15"

all the zooming in isn't worth the effort in the end and my eyes were killing me after 2 days with it

i was happy enough with the resolution on the 13" so shouldve just went for the standard 15" in the first place
 
I'm a newbie, but IMHO...

I visited my local (70 miles away!) Apple store in Glasgow to check out the difference between the hi res and standard screens for myself... and of course to have a general drool over the Apple loveliness!

I'm by no means a 'pro' user but enjoy photography and using PhotoShop and will no doubt end up doing some audio work for my job on Logic or Pro Tools once I get the new machine. IMHO the hi res screen on the 17" machine made things a little too small for me to feel comfortable with but I could absolutley see that there was much more 'real estate' available on that screen.

I thought that I was looking at a hi res 15" (its the 15" I'll be getting) but now I'm not so sure as the fonts didnt seem quite so (comparatively) tiny on that screen vs the 17"... but I'm guessing this is down to the hi res 15" being 'less' hi res than the 17"? (is this where I get flamed for knowing nothing?! Be gentle! I'm new to :apple:)

I'll visit the store again before finally parting with my hard earned cash but I have just checked the resolution on the laptop I'm using now (again 15") and its 1280x800 so I'm guessing that even the standard res screen on my new Macbook will be higher resolution that what I'm used to... ?

I suppose, when all is said and done, it's like anything else, it comes down to personal preference and how you plan on using the machine?
 
Hi, M-1! Good for you for spending some time to think through your decision! I was much more impulsive, so here's my feedback!

I have the hi-res display. I love it.

I spend 8 hours a day on my laptop, mostly working in Adobe programs (I saw you said you'd be using it for Photoshop). For me, the biggest advantage is having all the space to keep the palettes out of the way of my work. I mostly work in Fireworks, and on my old 1440x900, I would have to readjust the palettes throughout the day so that I could get more working space. Also, usually when you're working in Adobe programs, you're zooming in and out of your work anyway, so my eyes did not feel strained from that.

Occasionally, I will browse the internet for an hour or so at night. This is where my eyes started to feel some strain. As a result, I bumped up the font-size in my browser. Problem solved.

To me, having the extra workspace during the majority of my workday was worth the effort spent bumping up the font size when I'm just reading articles at night. And I figure someday the iPad will end up replacing that experience, anyway =)

Best of luck!
 
Hello,
I've just got my 15" i7 with a high res. I must say that the 1st impression is that everything is a bit too small and a bit more difficult to read. I set a the font a big bigger in some apps so it's a bit better. Maybe I just have to get used to it.

I'm also surprised that I cannot set a resolution of 1440x900 on this display :confused: Only possibility is 1440x852 which looks strange.

On the other hand 1680x1050 is great because there are much more things which fit into the screen. When I had my previous uMBP with 1440x900, I sometimes felt out of screen space when using xCode, Eclipse or GarageBand.


cheers,
Tex
 
M-1 said:
What are your main reasons for going for a higher res screen though? Other than it having more pixels... what is your key reason?
E.g. is it for the more things you can fit on screen, things appearing too big on the lower res screens or clarity?
Click to expand...

My key reason for going hi-res is for the crispness and clarity of the text rendering versus what the standard resolution provides. I had a standard and returned it because I found the text fuzzy and distracting in comparison to my old CFT-backed 2006 1440x900 MacBook Pro. I probably wouldn't have gone hi-res if I found the quality of the 2010 standard comparable to my 2006.
 
miketwo said:
I had a standard and returned it because I found the text fuzzy and distracting in comparison to my old CFT-backed 2006 1440x900 MacBook Pro.
Click to expand...
I'm thinking about returning mine high res :s because I found the text sometimes difficult to read. I'm not sure what to do.
 
Can anyone post up a fullsized screenshot comparison of the menubars for the Hi-Res and Standard-Res 15"? That would be great, thanks. :D
 
I'm in the same the same boat as you guys. I went to my local apple store and compared the two, the high res matte vs. standard glossy. The matte is nice since it doses't show any glare. However the fonts are difficult to read. It's probably an adjustment period that I need. The standard resolution is good too. Coming from a 13" anything with a bigger screen a step up for me. I'm leaning towards the standard screen. Plus I'm already used to the larger fonts, with the iPhone and iPad fonts. Here is a few photos I took when I was there.
 

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I can't decide either.

I want anti glare but don't like the hi res, it hurst my eyes when reading text.

I think I need to go with the standard res screen but not sure if I can handle the glare.

Hmm, tough decision. If only they offered standard res anti glare!

I wonder what's worse, the glare from a gloss screen or straining to read text on a hi res screen...
 
Hi guys,

I going to pick up the MBP 15". As with many of you, im quite worried and can't decide if i want high resolution or not because there is no Apple store for me to go down to and do a comparison.

My mate just got the Dell XPS 16 today so i quickly popped over to look at the screen. I must say the high resolution screens do look gorgeous. Movies looked great. The specs are 15.6" (1920x1080). I surfed the web and this forum for a while. The fonts are definitely smaller but not unreadable.

The Apple in comparison would be 15.4" (1680x1050). So it would be similar i guess. I found it tiring to read the fonts for a while. Maybe you need to get used to it. Or maybe its my eyes going. ha ha..

This is purely a personal preference issue. I'm leaning towards the std 1440x900 as i find it's the sweet spot for me. I have a 24" high resolution monitor so i'm not worried about screen real estate.

To each his own.... Just get what works for you.

Sometimes i find that you can't over analyze everything , you will only make yourself unhappy...

But how i wish there was an Apple store here as well so i can judge for myself what i want and like before i part with two and a half grand :(

Cheers
 
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