I realize this may be a slightly petty question, but it is a $200 one to me. I'm entering college this fall and have decided on the MBP line of laptops. I've got it narrowed down to the upper level 13" or the lower level 15". I've played around with both at best buy and for short amounts of time the 13" screen seems good and gives me an extra bit of portability. But I'll be spending long periods looking at the screen next year. Does anyone with the 13" experience eyestrain or fatigue after looking at it a while? Or should I shell out the extra cash and get the 15"? Thanks in advance
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Is the MBP 13" screen big enough?
- Thread starter palmettoking
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It depends on the person. After owning a 17" Notebook for years now, I could never go back...Keep playing around with them, only you will really know.
I guess it would depend on what matters to you portability or the size of the screen. Personally, I prefer the 15. It is a compromise between the 13 and the 17. If you are in college, I would imagine you would use it to take notes and protability would be really important. You can save up the 200 bucks and just get an extra monitor so you can use that when you are at home or at the dorm.
staring at any computer monitor for long periods of time will strain your eyes, that is just the facts of the matter.
that said, I find my 13" to be more than large enough (pixel wise) for any day-to-day tasks -- even iMovie making!
remember, you can always hook up the 13" MBP to an external monitor if you need more real estate or start to experience any eye fatigue.
that said, I find my 13" to be more than large enough (pixel wise) for any day-to-day tasks -- even iMovie making!
remember, you can always hook up the 13" MBP to an external monitor if you need more real estate or start to experience any eye fatigue.
I'd go with the 13". For me, portability is what a notebook is all about, and the 15 and 17"-ers out there are just too large to be carried around for long periods of time. Just IMO.
I've been using a 15-inch screen since the middle part of this decade, but my girlfriend recently got the 13-inch MBP... I was surprised at the size of the screen! Even though the black borders appear to make it artificially larger, I felt like I didn't have nearly the same strain looking at her old 12-inch PowerBook. If you're looking to do some casual gaming and various other tasks, the 13-inch MBP is a GREAT value.
FWIW, both versions in my experience are EXTREMELY light machines. I noticed the difference immediately between picking up my old 15 inch Powerbook and my new MacBook Pro.
FWIW, both versions in my experience are EXTREMELY light machines. I noticed the difference immediately between picking up my old 15 inch Powerbook and my new MacBook Pro.
What software will you be using? 13" is to small if the software has a very complex user interface. If you are mostly just entering text then a small screen will work. But 13" is absolutely to small if you are doing any kind of media editing like running Final Cut Pro or Logic. Text editing is a very simple user interface and can work on a small screen.
IIt also depends on your eyes ad if you can read small type.
The best setup would be the small 13" screen with a 20" or 24" monitor on your desk.
I think if you have to ask then you should go with the 15 inch. The 13 inch is a great laptop but I'd end up using it with an external monitor--which would probably be more expensive than just getting the 15.
The 13" and the 15" have pretty much the same text size. The 15" has more pixels (desktop space) but the pixel size and dpi is pretty much the same as the 13", there will be no difference in 'eye strain"
MBP 15" = 1440x900, pixel pitch of 0.231mm (110dpi)
MBP 13" = 1280x800, pixel pitch of 0.224mm (113dpi)
MBP 15" = 1440x900 = 1,296,000 pixels
MBP 13" = 1280x800 = 1,024,000 pixels
And the text on the 17" MBP is 15% smaller due to it's higher resolution.
MBP 17" = 1920x1200, pixel pitch of 0.191mm (133dpi)
MBP 17" = 1920x1200 = 2,304,000
I have gone with the 13" before starting my postgrad course this year. So far I've test driven it with all the things I'll be doing and it's more than enough! I switched from a 17" Vaio so I'm used to a pretty large space, but after a few minutes my old laptop started to look a little ridiculous really, too big for what I need, I'm sure you'll be more than happy with the 13". Plus I'd probably recommend getting a bigger screen if you feel so inclined, I'm thinking of doing so for images/video editing etc.
I'm writing this now on a new 13" MBP (with 128GB SSD to boot). Love it. I spend 90% of my time using it attached to a 22" or bigger LCD, and I don't use it as a desktop replacement. However at the moment I'm typing this on my lap and it's still wonderful -- lightweight, beautiful, backlit keys, and no more hard disk spinning around.
As most people said, it's personal preference. If you want a desktop replacement that spends 90% of its time on a desktop, I'd say go 15" or 17".
As most people said, it's personal preference. If you want a desktop replacement that spends 90% of its time on a desktop, I'd say go 15" or 17".
I personally recommend that if you need the portability, get an external and hook it up to the 13". Personally I travel a lot on business (hence I need portability) but I work a lot with presentations, on 1024x768 projectors. Hence the 1280x800 is a bit small for me... lol. That's why I went 15". As I have to have my data with me everywhere I go (my line of work brings me around the world) I just have my laptop and when I actually am home, I hook it up to my 24" ACD (granted it could be any screen, it just so happens that mine is the ACD)
Pretty much any claim of the 13" being "more portable" than the 15" is pretty ridiculous. Sure the 15" is bigger, but I've never been on a plane/train using my laptop and thought "Gosh, this thing is impossible to use in this confined space."
Yes but it IS harder. I can only get a proper viewing angle on my 15" if I'm on the business class section
Which Monitor?
For those of you who are using your Macbook Pros with an external monitor, are you using an Apple display or do cheaper off-brand monitors perform okay?
I'm planning to buy a 13" Macbook Pro later this year and I'm currently trying to decide whether to stick with my current 17" LG Flatron, upgrade it, or do away with the external monitor altogether. From reading this thread my gut feeling is that keeping the Flatron in service is the best option as it's quite a nice display but I would be interested in what others think.
For those of you who are using your Macbook Pros with an external monitor, are you using an Apple display or do cheaper off-brand monitors perform okay?
I'm planning to buy a 13" Macbook Pro later this year and I'm currently trying to decide whether to stick with my current 17" LG Flatron, upgrade it, or do away with the external monitor altogether. From reading this thread my gut feeling is that keeping the Flatron in service is the best option as it's quite a nice display but I would be interested in what others think.