First MacBook(Pro?); MB vs. 13" MBP vs. 15" MBP?

[Mac-noob]

Note: I'm not a native English, so there might be some grammatical/spelling errors ;-)
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Hi there,

I'm going to college next year, thus I'd like to have a laptop instead of a desktop solution.

I'm quite sure I want a mac, I've heard pretty much only amazing stories about it, and at my school, they recently have bought a bunch of iMac's and I really love how it works.

But, seeing as I will be travelling a lot and hopping from table to table a desktop is not an option. Also, emailed the college, and they definitely advised me a laptop.

Because of this, I've come to the point of making my choice, which one? There's no need for a fast choice, my college starts in September, but I thought it would be handy to take enough time and make a educated decision.

I definitely need the portability, so the 17" is out of the question.

What my needs are:
- Portability.
- I'm into photography, so it has to be able to handle photshop/aperture smoothly.
- Battery-life, the minimum is 7 hours on the MB, so it won't really be a problem, but i thought I'd mention it anyway.
-Ability to play videos smoothly on my 24" 1920*1080 screen.
- A (tiny) bit of video editing, but not the heavy stuff. Not very high on my request list.

I figured the MB and the 13" MBP would be the best choices, hence they are most portable.

Yet, I'm not sure if they are powerful enough to be able to play 24" full HD videos smoothly. Also, I'm not sure if they are powerfull enough to be able to 'snapy' photoshop heavy stuff. (12 mpix./RAW correcting/brushing/whatever)

So basically my questions are:
- Is the 15" MBP worth the extra €600?
if not:
- MB or 13" MBP?

-edit: please elaborate your answers, it would help me very much in making my decision! Thanks!-

I hope you guys/galls can help me shedding some light on these tough questions!

Thanks!

 

[miles01110]

So basically my questions are:
- Is the 15" MBP worth the extra €600?
if not:
- MB or 13" MBP?

Any current Mac will handle Aperture just fine.

"Portability" isn't really an issue with any of the Mac notebooks, but this is subjective. Some people whine about how the 15" is too big, too heavy, whatever- I've never had a problem with it. The 13" will obviously be smaller and lighter, but what does "more portable" even mean?

I would think that the extra screen real estate would come in handy for Aperture, but the best thing to do would be to go to a store and look at both. If your budget allows, I'd go with the 15".

 

[Mac-noob]

Any current Mac will handle Aperture just fine.

"Portability" isn't really an issue with any of the Mac notebooks, but this is subjective. Some people whine about how the 15" is too big, too heavy, whatever- I've never had a problem with it. The 13" will obviously be smaller and lighter, but what does "more portable" even mean?

I would think that the extra screen real estate would come in handy for Aperture, but the best thing to do would be to go to a store and look at both. If your budget allows, I'd go with the 15".

Well, I'll have to travel about 1 hour - 1,5 hours a day. I'm not sure if the 1,1 (max) lbs will make a huge difference if I have to carry it during this time frame. It's a +-25% increase of weight.

I will probably use my 24" screen for aperture, hence the extra resolution and size. Will the 13" candidates still be powerful enough to display Aperture? (I have no idea if the speed of Aperture is affected by the screen size tho..)

Is there a huge difference between 13" and 15" while doing office work? I have no experience with this screen size.

Thanks for your reply btw!

 

[lamina]

Get the 15. It's got more power and a better graphics processor for Aperture, and you will love the screen over the 13' MB.

 

[diazj3]

Yes: the 15" MBP is worth the extra €600. Check the specifications of all three here, and the benchmarks here and here.

So, if you can afford the extra 600 without breaking the bank, and you value extra performance, go for the 15' MBP. If you can't or don't, get the MB - you'll also be quite happy with it.

cheers!

 

[Mac-noob]

Yes: the 15" MBP is worth the extra €600. Check the specifications of both here and the benchmarks here and here.

So, if you can afford the extra 600, and you value extra performance, go for the 15' MBP. If you don't, get the MB - you'll also be quite happy with it.

cheers!

Heh, I could also invest the 600 in an ext. HDD for Time Machine and maybe some extra RAM.

Tough decision.. I'd better start saving

 

[iPhysicist]

Don't buy things you do not need. The low end 13,3 MBP is just fine for you. Save the extra $.

BTW "more portable", means it is lighter and smaller...

 

[Mac-noob]

Don't buy things you do not need. The low end 13,3 MBP is just fine for you. Save the extra $.

BTW "more portable", means it is lighter and smaller...

Thanks for your reply!

Wouldn't the white MB be fine too? (Honestly, I have no clue whatsoever about specs and posibilities, even less on another OS..)

I think I could use the money I saved there to buy extra RAM and an ext. HDD extra space and that Time Machine feature?
-Is it possible to use the same ext. HDD for saving videos/pictures and Time Machine actually?