About to make a purchase...Help!

[Ktm.Moto]

Hey guys so I am deciding between the 15 inch and 13 inch.

I love the 13 inch because of how portable it is...but I am really liking the specs of the 15 inch.

If I were to get the 15 inch the setup would be as follows:
2.2 Quad
4GB Ram
750GB HD @5400 RPM
Standard Screen

The 13 inch would be:
2.7 Dual
4GB Ram
256GB SSD

I am going to be using the computer mainly for school work and casual everyday tasks. I do like to make video edits, but only for fun. Which one of these would you get and why?! Thanks

 

[MKang25]

I personally would go with the 15" can't use anything smaller than a 15" screen. Also having the dedicated GFX card is nice, it is a bit more future proof than the 13" is.

But if your thinking about the 13" why not the MBA?

 

[Mrguidogenio]

You don't need the 15. The SSD in the 13" will already make it an excellent machine for you.

 

[randomrazr]

u will notice a big jump in speed with an sSD in the 13inh

lookup youtube user detroitborg. he made a video of the speed of a 2011 13 with an SSD its blazing fast. for ur tasks thats more than enough.

u can get the 15inch but doesnt sound like u would take advantage of the specs much. buy what u need. theres no point of spendding more money on something u wont take to its full potencial. the 15inch would be over 500 dollars more.

since u like the portablity, u will like the 13inch more.

i had both, 2010 13, and now a 2011 15. i only wanted the 15 for a bigger screen and specs for sh**s and giggles lol i will say after experiencing both, the 13inch was more fun and easy to carry around

hope this helps!

youtube.com/randomrazr

thats my youtube chanel, made a video of both on there.

good luck and let us know hwich u get!

 

[Ktm.Moto]

I personally would go with the 15" can't use anything smaller than a 15" screen. Also having the dedicated GFX card is nice, it is a bit more future proof than the 13" is.

But if your thinking about the 13" why not the MBA?

I really need the CD rom drive and carrying around an external is not something I want to do.

Ah this is hard! Is the 256GB SSD worth the $585 upgrade? I just don't know if 128 will be enough...

 

[Contiguous]

You can always upgrade the SSD later yourself, as prices for solid state drives will most assuredly drop. It won't void your warranty either. (Having Apple upgrade your RAM or HDD will always be the most expensive option vs doing it yourself.) If you need more storage right away, external drives are cheap. Keep your storage and backup on two separate drives, however, in case one fails.

 

[Ktm.Moto]

Well guys, I just purchased my first mac ever!

Went with the 13 inch, can't wait!

 

[-tWv-]

I just recently switched from a 13" MacBook to a 15" MacBook pro and I probably won't ever but another 13" machine again. I love having the bigger screen, it just makes everything easier to use and less cramped. I would recommend the 15" portability really isn't that different than the space it takes up in a bag. I don't really feel the difference in weight because I normally have tons of stuff in my backpack anyways, so it's always heavy no matter what.

The specs on the 15" will be more than enough for what you want to do, and if you do choose the 13" you really don't need to spend more money on an SSD unless you plan on doing a lot of video editing or other production work. You will just fine with a regular old HDD

I would also you to encourage you to look at the new MacBook Air if you want a 13in machine. Based on some early benchmarks those perform the same or better than the current 13" MBP. It would be more portable, but if you don't care about that as much get the 15" MBP.

 

[elpmas]

15" is good for vid editing, but i think the HR screen would be most beneficial for you as both a student/causal user.

13"+ 256gb ssd is definitely good for school desks and what not, plus it has portability.

If I had the $, I would go 15" AG/HR because paying $600 for 256gb ssd is just ridiculous xD.

 

[Young Spade]

Definitely the 13 inch model. Although the 15 inch is more powerful, iyou wont be using all that it can give with what you're going to be doing. You'd be spending waay more than you need to. The baseline 13 inch should do just fine.

 

[randomrazr]

Well guys, I just purchased my first mac ever!

Went with the 13 inch, can't wait!

good choice